Tag Archives: Lifestyle Online

3 Shows We Avoid Watching with Our 2 Year Old

Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When it comes to having your toddler or small child watching TV I think it goes without saying, you are the parent and you decide what they watch or how often they watch it. There is no right or wrong way to allow this to happen. That being said, I have seen places where they talk about not allowing any child under 2 watch TV. This might be particularly challenging if you have multiple children of various ages. Are you going to tell them no to a TV show because they have a younger sibling? Or are you going to compromise and put a TV show om for a period of time. If you decide to put a TV show on, here is the 3 shows we will not be showing in our household.

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The wiggles is a show that I honestly have not seen a whole lot about but know that once you start it can be very obsessive. This is based on the fact that whenever they were doing shows around the world pre-covid people all over my Facebook with small children would be posting how they want tickets or whatever for their little kids. For me, I am not a fan of any type of show that has adults jumping and playing and singing songs the entire time. I will admit I could be way off on this and the show might be OK but in this house we will be doing our best to avoid it at all costs. And before I hear “But Blue’s Clues has an adult doing those things” not really. It has a host yes, but the main character is a puppy ans they learn and do things. There is just something that I want to avoid and shows such as this or even the one that was popular when I was growing up “Imagination Movers” are shows that I would honestly like to avoid when it comes to allowing my child to have any screen time!

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Baby Shark or Peppa Pig are shows we also are trying to avoid. For obvious reasons. Now as an adult, Peppa is a spunky pig. But as a child I do not want my kids to be learning how to be spunky and back talk me! Maybe when they are older and want to watch and understand that she is a bit out their in terms of defying her parents sure, but as they are learning no. Another reason why we aren’t watching shows such as Baby Shark is again the obsession it had caused. I heard this song far more often before I had kids due to everyone talking about it or videos being made with the song that I honestly am just over it! We do not need to introduce a song that will lead to an obsession. Sure, they will probably like it. But as an adult, you don’t want to make it a problem where whenever your child is upset you put it on. Or whenever you turn it off you find yourself dealing with a temper tantrum. You as the parent are in control of what your child watches. I personally do not want TV to be an obsession or a way to relieve a tantrum unless maybe your little one is sick. Even then I dont want to rely on a TV show or songs to divert a crisis. My partner and I already sing enough of the Blue’s Clues songs we really do not want to add to that list of songs by these that you hear for months and months after the first are heard!

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And, last, but certainly not least. The number one show we will never ever ever play in our home, is Caillou. This kid is a straight up brat. As a teenager or older child we actually made fun of how Caillou was. He whined and cried whenever he did not get his way. His parents kind of let him do it. And when he had a sister Rosie come along it was just the same! This is basically the exact opposite of what type of child we hope to avoid when it comes to raising our children. Not to mention the fact that he still never changes through all of the seasons. Be still wants everything to be about him with everyone around him. His grandparents, neighbors, friends and everything else. The fact that this show has finally also been cancelled due to the fact that the kid is a menace. Apparently some episodes are even banned by PBS due to the fact that the kid is a big old meany. Sure, as kids grow up they have to be able to learn things and explore how to properly behave but when it comes to Caillou there really is no learning in the many episodes where he properly learns to behave with nearly a melt down every single show.

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I am sure there are plenty of other shows out there that can be really off putting and parents avoid at all costs. These are just the shows that I will continue to try my best to avoid at all costs. And mentioned in the blog post here where I talk about the top 3 shows we watch, we really limit our TV time with my son. TV shows are not babysitters and if you are going to put something on to grab your child’s attention for a few moments than that is totally fine. My son watches a bit of TV every day but it is never excessive. It is mostly before bedtime or even the occasional moment when I am prepping food or trying to get him to watch something while I run up and down the stairs to switch over loads of laundry on different levels.

Do you allow your child or toddler to watch TV?
Is there any shows that you choose not to allow to be shown in your house?

Let me know in the comments below, I know there must be some I missed!


3 Things I Would I Tell My Younger Self

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Looking back at when I was a teenager in particular, I can say that I was legit a rotten kid. I was combative with my parents, I tend to have been rude more often than not and I felt like they were out to get me. Not that I am 30, have a son and another child due towards the end of 2021, it really has given me some perspective that I didn’t think I would have if you had asked me as a teenager. Here are 3 things that I wish I could tell my younger self.

Number 1 : Your parents are not the enemy. Growing up I would say my parents were leaning more towards strict. We, meaning my siblings and I grew up in the era without cell phones til we could pay for them, and to follow the street lights. In high school we we not allowed out past 10-11pm depending if there was things we were doing and we had to check in regularly if possible too. Even though we were secretive with things as most teens are, we still had a pretty good means of communication though. I felt like my parents were the people who would do things just so I wasn’t having any fun when looking back now it really wasn’t. I know my sister mentioned this before and she agrees. There is a reason why we had to be in specific times, why is this you might ask? Because there really is nothing out here after 1030pm that is for teenagers. Not only that but a lot of times when I would hear my friends who had parents who really did not care what they did and were out all hours of the night, they often were the ones who would be getting in trouble with multiple people and in multiple places. So I guess by them being more strict than some of my friends at the time they really were doing us a favor.

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Number 2: Do better in school! I know this probably comes as no surprise but for me it was something I put on the back burner and really did not focus on. I was too busy smoking cigarettes and hanging out with the stoners.. maybe partaking in that as well, to be bothered with good grades. The funny part in all this was I never missed more than 4 classes. I always was there so that I could get exempt from exams we were allowed to miss. I wish I could tell myself to focus more on grades both in high school and collage because it may have helped a lot more when trying to apply. I went to community collage and while nothing is wrong with that, looking back I wish I had some sort of honors in school. I was just scrapping the bottom of the barrel to get by that I never really thought grades were that big of a deal. I wish I had even applied for scholarships or put some effort to maybe help myself financially by achieving good grades or even by just applying for things. I know that I failed chemistry and advanced math in my first year but I think if I had not of gotten lost in the mix of weed and wanting to look cool than maybe at the end of the day I would have been able to go to a university easier instead of collage.

Number 3: It does get better. I know this may seem like it never will but it does get better. When I was in high school everyone liked me. I could be everyone friend. I was however, never close with people. Coming right out of high school and into collage I was in an abusive relationship. It felt never ending and it felt like I was essentially trapped there for all of eternity. I wasn’t Fast forward to now, I am a 30+ year old women, with a solid relationship of almost 11 years, one son and another baby on the way. Things DO get better. The friends i made in high school who I was really close with which is not a lot, we still talk semi regularly. However a lot of people I am close with are from collage or even just friends from before high school and things. Even friends that I made from work are still around. You do not need to jump through hoops in order to feel secure. At the end of the day being popular in high school or collage does nothing for you as far as a career goes. It might help with social skills but other than that it wont get you good grades, or promotions, or job interviews. You get those on your own. And even if you are the bullied kid or you are feeling like you are lost without a specific clique to belong to, that wont matter when you are 20, or when you are 25, or when you are 30. You will find your people or they will find you and when you find them you just know.

Those would be the three things that I would tell my younger self. Im sure the longer I sit here the more things I would be able to write about what I would say. Not to mention if I was to write this in another 10 or so years I would assume that there would be more or different points that I would want to tell myself also. Everyone I am sure has something that they would tell their teenage selves. Even if it was just to let them know that everything is going to be okay!

Do you have similar things that you would want to tell your younger self?
Is there anything that you did as a teenager that was risky and are surprised that you are still kicking now?
Is your life in the spot where you expected it to be after all these years?

Let me know in the comments below!


Prepping for the Month Ahead

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Prepping for the month ahead can seem like a major chore for some people. For me, I LOVE IT! I love doing so many things and setting myself up for success not to mention it really is helpful for me to see the month ahead. Being pregnant again it helps me stay on track for appointments, blood work, meetings, goals, and whatever else I needs to have done also too.

The things that I schedule may seem pretty trivial however when I don’t leave the home due to covid and a stay at home mom it really does help to schedule everything even if I don’t always follow it too. For me it helps me feel a sort of normalcy because when I used to work and live back home I would schedule so much. Being at home you can get lost in the moment (which is not always a bad thing) and fall behind on things. For me it helps me to keep track of things such as my streaming schedule, or things related to streaming such as clips, scheduling tweets, blogging as well. I also have certain days I schedule writing whether that be for blogging or the books or poetry that I am working on. I also schedule in days that I do absolutely nothing because even those are important to have too. Right now in the prep for moving we are also going through certain things so that we can make sure that we are gutting out the basement and throwing things away to make things easier. I also have doctors appointments and blood work to plan and take care of due to moving and being pregnant and trying to make it as seamless as possible between changing doctors too. And of course it can change month to month on what is scheduled and planned.

The first thing I normally would do is I would write in my planner, This is the easiest way for me to see the month in advance with the days laid out. I can write it in pen or pencil whatever I choose to do and It is a clear way for me to see what is happening. I find this best to start with as I can sit in front of the TV and chip away at it. Normally I start about a week before the end of the month so I can change around dates that are possible to be changed.

After I have everything pretty well sorted I will then transfer the dates on to my calendar. I like to do this after my planner as I use permanent markers and well, if i make a mistake it low key gives me anxiety because I then have to either scratch it out or make it work because white out doesn’t typically work on that. And if that happens it legit gives me low key anxiety that the whole month is thrown off. It also hangs above my computer as a quick glace for me to see what is up and coming for the month. I feel like if I don’t do this before the end of the month I look up more often than not and get completely thrown off on what is going on for the month.

Lastly I use post it notes a lot. If it is something important or something I am keeping track of like an appointment or something I will write it there and put it on that and stick it to the bottom of my monitor. I find this to be easy since I see it all the time when I am sitting there working on whatever or gaming as well too. I keep so many post it’s around and stick them to scribblers and lists and things that it does help for sure I think.

The only thing that I Have never done before even when I was working shift work is put things in my phone. I don’t think I will ever use my phone in that way and truth be told I have seen more people miss appointments and things because they put it in the wrong date or the wrong time that I simply do not trust myself to not mess it up. I will sometimes text my boyfriend if I am on the fly for an appointment date or he does the same to me, but only because I typically do not bring my planner around everywhere with me and I don’t carry a post it either. As far as using my phone goes, I just don’t trust technology to not screw it up or even user error. Being 30 something years old I have never used my phone for scheduling and I don’t plan on starting it now.

Overall I would say to anyone who doesn’t schedule to not sleep on this. When you schedule things even if it means really relax scheduling it makes you feel like you do have your life together. I know some things I schedule probably don’t need to be scheduled and most times things re flexible, but in the long run it really can help with organizing your life. Knowing what to expect and what is up and coming can help to prepare for it, whichever it might be. I know being stuck inside during quarantine, not working and being a stay at home mom, prepping for a move across provinces, and whatever else, it really does help to have things laid out and feel like I am living a “normal” life where I can get grocery’s regularly or I can go to appointments for my son instead of having one parent go on them.

Are you a scheduler?
Or do you just wing it in hopes that everything works out and nothing clashes?
Do you use your phone to plan things or are you a pen to paper person like me?

Let me know in the comments below!

– Stacey

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5 Tips to Make Your Social Media More Enjoyable!

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Being on social media can be great however there is also a dark side of things as well. You ever check your phone or computer for the time but get distracted instantly by looking for something else and forget to even check the time? Or have you ever by chance went on Facebook or twitter and you find yourself 30 minutes deep into a “doom scroll” where you continuously are scrolling and not really taking in the information you are reading you are just trying to scroll this infinite page? Here are some of my tips that I have only recently just followed for myself, and by doing so my enjoyment on social medias have become that much better also!

1. Un-follow Negative People. I know this might seem like a no brainer but it really isn’t. I was following people who perhaps might have had drama around them whether it be streaming or people I have seen through tweets too. This also includes people who post nothing but negative things all the time. This is not the person who is venting or who is commenting on something in the world with their opinion. This is the people who post “Having a bad day” every single day, and then when someone tries to cheer them up they immediately respond with something to enforce the helper that nothing can be done to turn the day around. Un-following these types of people can be hard because you feel like maybe un-following them might impact them mentally however at the end of the day if reading these constantly sour posts impacts your view and experience that should come first. Always. Since un-following these types of people my timeline especially on twitter or the “Streamer Twitter” has been that much more positive also too.

2. Follow interests you enjoy. This was something that honestly took me so long to do and I have no idea why! For the longest time since I started streaming a few years ago I followed streamers or anything video game related. Well, believe it or not I do have other interests besides streaming, case in point this blog! What I started to do was search in the search bard for tags like #Blogger, or #Blogging. Another thing I did was I wanted to get more in touch with the art community and creating so that I could potentially tap into that when i wanted to by searching again hashtags like #Artist, #Painting, #Crafting etc and then I would check out their profiles (A lot of them really retweet others so the spam is real but you can mute a profile so that it is not always near the top or clouding your personal timeline as well too). This was great for me to keep an eye on trendy artwork that people are making money off of as well.

3. Limit time on it seems like a pretty easy thing to say. But when you spend hours and hours on it per day you can lose track of time and that can be challenging. Set some time away and limit when you want to interact. A few tips I started doing was that I stopped taking my tablet to bed. Not that I don’t bring my phone and that isn’t bad also but when I had my tablet I found that i was spending so much more time trying to fall asleep. Another is I don’t typically check social medias until I am awake a bit and then I just quickly browse. A lot of the times too I try to “forget” about my phone. I won’t carry it around the house with me because I find I check it more frequently. I also try not to have any notifications on it either. I find when my phone is constantly buzzing I am more inclined to reach for it. I also have my phone on silent nearly 95% of the time unless I am anticipating a phone call which I then would turn it up. This helps to get out of the habit for reaching for it.

4. Block or mute people who you really do not like! This goes a step more than un-following. Sometimes when you have a lot of mutuals with a person simply un-following does nothing because you still are going to see many things popping up if people you follow interact with them. To stop this all together just mute or block them. Some people I know who I un-followed like to be social justice warriors recycling the same tweets and praying on others with guilt and for sympathy and others eat it up. I muted their profiles so no matter how many people like these fake tweets I wont see them anymore. It just doesn’t make sense. And I am tired of seeing it cloud up my timeline!

5. Disconnect. I know this may sound difficult and hard to do. But think if you are camping what are the chances you are going to be sitting on your phone instead of socializing and enjoying the company you are with. This might be the hardest of all because disconnecting can be tough. And if you are saying you are disconnecting, DO IT. Don’t just post about how you are disconnecting only to sit on there all day. That will not be doing anything for you mentally or to recharge. Some of the best days is when you barely touch your device and you have the day pass and you think whoa, I accomplished a lot!

There you have it! That is my top 5 tips for making social media more enjoyable. We all have been trapped down the rabbit hole of wasted time trying to search and find the best tips and tricks that help you. This is just what I have found to work for me and if none of these work experiment with things that will work for you!

What is something that you do to disconnect from social medias?
Do you do any of these tips or tricks? And did they work for you?

Let me know in the comments below!

-Stacey

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