Video Games And Violence

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Video games are often blamed for exposing children to violence. Parents are constantly warned about the detrimental impact video games can have. Moreover, when something bad happens in the news and a child has done something they shouldn’t have, there will often be a comment referring to the video games they play – whether the news makes the reference or those watching. In fact, 77% of parents in an online study said they blame video games for the exposure of violence. Nevertheless, video games cannot take all of the blame. In fact, some would say that video games are made a scapegoat for the other issues there are in society which relate to violence.

Are video games the scapegoat?

There is a vast array of video games available, and only a small proportion of these actually relate to violence. If parents have control over the games that their children play then they can ensure that nothing too violent is played. Most games have an age tag on them, and this should be followed. For instance, Grand Theft Auto is rated suitable for those who are aged 18 years old or above. However, you would not believe how many young children are allowed to play this game. It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that all the games played by their children are age appropriate. Of course, this can be easier said than done when children are at their friends’ houses! 

Are video games entirely to blame? 

By totally focusing one’s attention to video games, it is easy to miss the other elements which relate to the exposure of violence in young children. As any psychiatrist will tell you, there are many other contributing factors which are merely overlooked. For example, music videos today contain a large proportion of violence. A recent study concluded that 15% of music videos featured interpersonal violence. In fact, the lyrics of songs themselves can be very aggressive and allude to violent messages. Therefore, even without the videos, the songs can still have a negative effect. This is why a lot of albums come with explicit labels on them and thus you need to bear that in mind when buying music for your child as well. 

Moreover, the shows watched on television often relate to violent acts, and this is largely considered the biggest contributing factor because children are more likely to act out what they see on TV. Therefore it is important to be careful about what you have on your television when your children are about. Moreover, even things which seem little – such as having an argument with your partner – can have a mass effect on young children. This is because their minds are very impressionable. This is something which rings truer the younger that they are. Thus, you need to be mindful of this as well.

Many people share the opinion that video games expose children to violence. Nevertheless, if you ensure the games are rated age appropriate for your child then this exposure will be limited drastically. Moreover, there are other contributing factors which need to be acknowledged as well.

Success Does Not Fuel Happiness

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It’s easy to simplify happiness and claim that it’s obvious that successful people are happy. However, if you really interviewed 100 successful people, you may be surprised that a large percentage of them are not as happy as you think they ought to be. The fact is, you can be a millionaire, have a wonderful spouse, great kids, and everything you think you want and still not be happy. The truth is happiness fuels success.

·         Happiness Leads to More Productivity – When people are happy with the work, they do they tend to be willing to do it a lot more, even for free. Assuming other needs (food, shelter, health) are met a happy person can find joy doing the most mundane things because they can focus on outcomes instead of just what they are doing.

·         Happiness Leads to Higher Profits – In companies that keep their employees happy by offering a living wage, benefits, and a flexible schedule the profits tend to be a lot higher. One reason is that when a person feels respected in their job even if the work is hard, they are happier about doing it.

·         Happiness Leads to Stability – When people are happy, they tend to be a lot more stable, stick to tasks longer, and are more likely to complete an assignment. In addition, they tend to job hop a lot less. This is one reason smart employers know that by making work a happy place they can reduce turn over.

·         Happiness Leads to a Better Work Ethic – Most people think of work ethic as something you must suffer to experience, but for happy people, they tend to stick to their jobs longer and work even harder. The main reason is that they have the energy to do it and can envision the outcomes more positively.

·         Happiness Is Not About Wealth – Everyone knows someone who has plenty of money but is not happy and maybe even hateful. They seem to have everything but happiness. Because of this fact, it’s clear that being happy doesn’t always directly correlate to the circumstances you find yourself in regarding your bank account balance.

·         Happiness Colors the Lens by Which You See Life – The surprising truth about happiness is that if you practice happiness it will begin to affect how you see everything in the world. You’ll be able to pick out the most positive things no matter the situation.

·         Happiness is About Today – Happiness is really all about today. If you’re happy today, you’re more likely to eat right, move more, get your work done, and do everything well. Naturally, that is going to affect the future too.

·         Happiness is a Mindset – It’s hard to imagine it is true, but it is. Happiness is about your mindset. Thankfully, with work, you can train your mindset to be happier and more positive despite your current circumstances.

While bad things do happen to good people and can bring them down, the truth is, happiness can be experienced by most anyone regardless of where they are in life right now in terms of their success. It just requires that you accept that you can be happy, right now, without anything changing while also developing plans to make changes.

Prioritize Your Life: Make More Time for Achieving Your Goals and Enjoying Life

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For many people, it seems like life has two options: achieving goals and enjoying life. Neither one of them seems as if they are one hundred percent fulfilled. There seems to be a broad spectrum on the scale of go-getters and over-achievers versus those who slack in all departments.

Are You Ready To Start A Family?

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Knowing whether you are ready or not to start a family can be very difficult. Some people feel like they have always been ready to have children. There are then those who are never ready for this and don’t want to have kids at all. What is important to remember is that there is no right or wrong. You should not judge yourself on what others have done. You should focus on yourself and what is right for you. With that being said, read on to discover some of the signs that you probably are ready to have children.

Do you feel financially ready? Of course, money is not the most important thing in life. However, when you are bringing a baby into the world, it is important to be stable at least. You are going to be entering a period whereby you are going to have another life in your hands. You will need to buy more supplies, more food, and then you will need to start paying for school once your child starts to get older, and so on. It quickly gets expensive.

Are you ready to put down roots? Are you happy living in the area you currently reside in? Can you see yourself living there for the next few years? Are you happy to swap your regular holidays for the foreseeable future for this new life?

Do you have the capacity for empathy? This is a bit of a strange one, as there are a lot of people who cannot answer this question until they become a parent for the first time and they 100 percent know that they do have the capacity for empathy. However, there are a lot of people who have seen family planning experts upon learning they were pregnant because they simply don’t feel like they have this compassion or that it’s in their make-up to be a parent. This can sound unusual to those reading this who know they want kids, but for some people, it just wasn’t meant to be their path in life.

Is your relationship strong? Last but not least, you need to look at your relationship when you are considering bringing a baby into this world. This may sound obvious, but it is surprising how many people do not consider this at all. They simply decide they want to have a baby, even though their relationship may not be in the best place right now. Remember, having a baby will only add more stress and strain - it won’t fix anything. Your relationship needs to be strong.

All things considered, we hope that this blog post has helped you to figure out whether or not you are ready to have children. Even if you do feel ready right now, you may never feel 100 per cent ready because of the fact that this is such a big change in anyone’s life. Nevertheless, as mentioned, it is all about you and your partner, so concentrate on this.

How To Plan The Best Children's Party

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No matter what their gender or age might be, the most enjoyable part of a birthday for little ones (besides getting some fun presents!) is their party. Setting a date a few months in advance will give you time to plan the whole thing accordingly, and allow them go nuts with excitement as the big day approaches. Whether you’re DIY-ing at home or going all out, in this article you will find some of the best tips, tricks and ideas to help you make sure your child has the best day ever.

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Involve Them In The Planning

It's likely your little one will already have some ideas in their head of what they want at their birthday party. Some of these may be slightly outlandish and not particularly achievable, as unicorns are hard to come by, but you will definitely be able to decipher some great things to include on their special day. Get them to write down a few locations or themes and then you can decide which of those you think would be the most fun but also the most logical too. Giving them the opportunity to help will get them even more excited in the build-up to their party, and also make them feel more involved and special to be part of the planning. It also stretches out the experience from being just a few hours of joy to months of anticipation.

Who To Invite

Dependent on the type of party you’re planning, you have to establish a guest list. Make sure their best friend(s) are free on the day you’ve chosen for the event and establish the size of the group that can attend. If it’s a small get together such as a sleepover, keep the number below 5 and make sure it’s odd so as not to leave anyone behind - pairs always work better. If it’s a larger event like a disco, think about including all of their classmates or sports team members. This way you will be able to involve everyone they know and make it a lovely environment for stronger friendships to be built. If you’re doing the whole school class option, ask their teacher if your little one could distribute some invitations before a lesson begins; often if everyone will be receiving an invite they won’t say no. This can help to build their confidence too, and add to the excitement of it all.

The Budget

Possibly the most important influence to any decisions you can make to do with the party is your overall budget. If you don't have a lot to spend, consider some DIY options and get your child to help too. Spending some time with them to craft decorations or bake a big celebration cake will be a lovely experience, and will make the day even more satisfying for them when they know they contributed towards its creation. It’s also a lot cheaper to create these items yourself rather than outsourcing them, so it’s a win-win situation. If you’re looking for a day trip that won’t break the bank, get some discount Disneyland tickets for a magical cost-conscious adventure. There are many ways to save money whilst still planning the most memorable birthday, so do a little research on alternatives before spending more than required.

Party Favors

It’s a sort of tradition to hand out party favors to all of the guests when they leave so they have something to take home with them. The contents of their ‘party bag’ should depend upon the theme of the day. For a day of arts and crafts include some paintbrushes and pencils, for a wild day at an outdoor adventure park add some cool wild animal figurines or get an entertainer in to do brilliant themed face painting. Always include a piece of the birthday cake, as this is a party favor staple! There are many things that can be personalized and included, and it's possible to make most or even all of the party bags contents yourself.

Games Galore

Keeping your little one(s) occupied is difficult at the best of times, so when you have an entire group of children their age running circles around your feet, you have to invest in some games and entertainment. Again this really does depend on the location of the party, but there are a few go-to’s that you might want to consider. Treasure hunts are a tried and tested winner as all children will want to get involved, especially if they’re looking for sweets and candy. Taking the age group into consideration, you may want to think about hiring a clown or a professional children's entertainer. Unfortunately clowns have lost their touch over the years due to various horror films, but fortunately, a magician or a superhero would be a much better and accessible replacement.

Presents

One of the main reason children look forward to their birthdays is the hope of being drowned in presents. If you’ve splashed out on a big day, you might have to scrimp when it comes to buying them a gift. However continuing with the DIY method, you can create some smaller items on your own that relate to the theme of the party. It’s important that they can see the party as a present in its own right too. It’s likely they will get a few gifts if they host a larger event, so keep an eye on them to make sure they don't forget their thank you’s in the excitement of it all!

It’s hard to get every little detail to be perfect, but it really doesn’t matter! Focus on the experience as a whole, and make sure your child feels special on their big day. With this information, you should be able to plan and execute something spectacular for them to remember for years to come. Don’t forget to involve the special boy or girl in the planning of their party, and try to relax and enjoy yourself too!