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RAISING A STRONGWILLED CHILD

The arrival of spring usually inspires a whole lot of cleaning and rearranging, but there’s no need to end up frazzled while you try to stay on top of everything that needs to get done. Try a few of our handy tips to keep you organised and stress free.

CREATE A FAMILY COMMAND CENTRE

Sometimes, in the bustle of your family’s daily life, it can seem like a military operation is required to keep everything in check – embrace it and create a family command centre. Devote a wall in your home to your command centre and paint it with chalkboard paint. List important telephone numbers, appointments and other essential dates on the chalkboard so everyone knows where they need to be and when. Alternatively, invest in large year planners for each member of the family and stick them up on the wall. That way, you’ll know at a glance who’s doing what. The best part about both of these options is that you can let your children decorate them as they please.

GO DIGITAL

Throw away your paper diary and use an online calendar system that synchronises across all your devices, including your laptop, cellphone and tablet. By using an online calendar or diary service, you’ll know where you need to be at all times, no matter where you are. For example, Google provides you with a free calendar service that’s attached to your Gmail account.

Aside from a couple of very important documents, like your marriage certificate, car warranty and other items, there are very few pieces of paper that you need to file. Scan what you’d like to keep and store them “in the cloud” online, using Dropbox or Google Drive. As for storing important receipts, check out Myslips. A South African invention, Myslips stores digital copies of receipts or slips in the cloud. All you do is take a photo of your slip, and send it to your unique Myslips email account that you’ll receive upon registering. It’s as simple as that. Check them out at www.myslips.co.za.

THINK AHEAD

It’s a well-known trick, but preparing everything you need for the morning the night before is an incomparable sanity saver. When you’re busy with dinner, pack the school lunches for the next day, and make use of leftovers that you can pop into the microwave, rather than spending money on cafeteria salad for lunch at work. Not only will you save time, but you’ll save money too! Make sure all the work and schoolbags are packed and ready to go before bedtime and you’ll be ready to race out the door every morning, without scrambling to find a lost shoe or school hat or blazer.

SELF-SERVE FOR A SUPERSMOOTH START TO THE DAY

Make breakfast fun by letting your kids serve themselves. Store plastic cups and dishes on a low kitchen shelf, within easy reach of children. A wide variety of breakfast foods are child-friendly, including dry cereal, fruits and other finger foods. Letting your children prepare their own breakfast will save you a lot of time, and little people love to practise their independence.

KEEP CLUTTER DOWN

Children come home with all sorts of interesting and gorgeous artworks they’ve created at school – but there is so much of it! Don’t let them become dusty piles that annoy you. Create or buy art files for each of your children, and simply file each artwork away once they bring it home. Then, during the holidays, you’ll be able to make fun collages or collections to adorn your home’s walls, or frame the very best ones as gifts for family members. YB

Babyheadbands is an online store that caters for all your precious princess and prince’s needs. They stock all kinds of baby and toddler accesories – from headbands,leg warmers,footies,and tutu’s,to ties, leggings, pettiskirts and princess dresses. Their items are specially made with great care and love for your special little human and they offer convenient online shopping in the comfort of your home – snuggle up with baby in bed, click-click and open the door for the courier. All Baby Headbands’ deliveries are completed within two business days. Visit www.babyheadbands.co.za for more.

FITNESS TRACKERS

Fitness trackers are generally worn on your wrist and, depending on the make and model, monitor your steps, calories and distance covered each day. These stats can help you monitor your habits, and get you setting goals such as taking 10 000 steps a day – and achieving them. Most can be synced with free apps, so you can access your stats and connect with other users easily.

FITBIT FLEX

This tracker also monitors your sleep cycle, and helps you to learn how to sleep better. It can wake you each morning with a silent alarm, and it syncs to your device so you can access your stats on your smartphone, tablet or computer. The rechargeable battery lasts about five days, and you can check the LED lights to see how far you are from your daily goal. pretty straps, plus the Flex is water-resistant too.

FITBIT CHARGE HR

The Charge HR goes a step above the rest with continuous heart rate monitoring without having to use a strap – it uses Purepulse technology that tracks your heart rate from your wrist. Along with steps and calories burned, it also tracks workouts, floors climbed and sleep, and call notifications with compatible smartphones. that lasts up to a year. It even reminds you to stay active throughout your day with its move bar with audible alert that lets you know when you’ve been idle for an hour or longer.

Choose from more than 16 hours of ready-made yoga and meditation videos, which are filtered by level and duration. There’s a library of more than 280 poses with detailed instructions, and you can customise or create your own video classes.

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