“The question, ‘Why does she stay?’ is code for some people for, ‘It’s her fault for staying,’ as if [domestic violence] victims intentionally choose to fall in love with men intent upon destroying us.”
Fathers Day is this weekend – and the question I have for all the fathers in our community is, “How is your health?” Let’s start with a simple measure of health and that is your blood pressure. Did you know that 1 in 3 adults has high blood pressure and does not know it? It may not be obvious at first that your blood pressure is raised above what is considered healthy, but left untreated the damage can be very serious.
High blood pressure can lead to many other health issues too and no one is too young to be checking on their blood pressure, as some very simple changes can make a difference.
Dad’s on this weekend when your children and your spouses are praising you for all you do – do something for them and yourself – Get Your Blood Pressure Checked. You can do it at the drugstore or your doctors office – just do it. If it is over 120/80 then you are in at the very least a prehypertension category and need to take action NOW, for the sake of you and your family.
Want to learn more? Check out this link to the American Heart Association
We all know that too much screen time is not a good substitute for play and interaction with our children. The majority of us though have been guilty from time to time of using screens – tv, ipad, computer – as a babysitter. So what is the right thing to do? How much screen time should our youngest children, under 2, be exposed to? You may be surprised by the recommendations of the the American Academy of Pediatrics makes. One of my favorite resources for media advice is Common Sense Media. Here is a great article on How Much Screen Time Should Young Children Have?
It is with great sadness that I must inform you of the passing of Dr. George “Doc” Thompson. For 27 years, as founder and CEO of the Verbal Judo Institute, Doc led the charge to elevate the professionalism and communication skills for crisis professionals, such as law enforcement and all first responders. His work gained many followers, in both the public and private sectors.
“The entire basis of Verbal Judo is to treat people with dignity and respect, most of all your family and close friends,” Thompson wrote in the forward to his book, “Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion.” (This book sold 250,000 copies and is scheduled for re-release later this year.) “Be ever so careful how you speak to them, as words can cut deeper and fester longer than sword wounds,” he continued. “Ironically, we often spend less energy being kind to those closest to us. Change it!”
Dr. Thompson has given us the strategies and the language to make the world a better place.
Knowing that words can cut deeper and wounds from words can last longer is the reason that Balanced Life Skills has learned from “Doc” Thompson to teach our students how to communicate when others are less than pleasant to us. Verbal Self Defense is the communication skills that everyone can learn and practice including children. It is this self defense that is the number one way we can teach our children to defend themselves from those that would like to pick on or tease them. It starts with understanding our own worth and having confidence along with “mushin”. If you do not know what “mushin” is visit us at Balanced Life Skills to see how this ancient Asian philosophy can affect how we deal with others.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. George Thompson here is a link to a summary of his life. If you would like your children to learn Verbal Judo, please contact us at Balanced Life Skills. We would love to have you be a part of our continued efforts to build a culture of peace in our schools and community.
What did you eat today? Did the hot weather encourage you to drink the promoted drinks or to go back to the basics of water? Did you see the latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics about energy drinks, including drinks like Gatorade for our children. As a teacher I must not only set the example, but I must help our students take a deep look at what and how they eat. Even those of us who “eat good”, is what we are eating really good or just better than what others are doing? This is not a matter of comparisons. It is a matter of doing what is best for us and our children.
As a family, as a school, as a community, can we be on a mission to change – make a difference in our community? Starting with our own diet, we can all be resolved to learn about our food and our health. No excuses, we will be the teachers and parents that our children deserve.
This is the first of a series in emergencies every child can learn to handle.
More information on when to call 911 in a medical emergency.
Keeping your child safe is your first and most important requirement as a parent. Talking about these rules ahead of time and on a frequent basis will show your child how important this subject is to you. They may protest at times and say they do not like it or see it as an invasion of privacy, but in the end they will appreciate you having their best interest at heart and recognize your concern for their safety.
It’s this simple: Children defend themselves with their heads. It’s knowledge that protects children in today’s world. Knowledge about safety, about what to avoid, about what to do, where to go, and how to stay out of harm’s way.
I’m a part of a remarkable association of martial arts teachers, really forward thinking and action-oriented instructors, who come together almost every day to move worthwhile projects forward. The group is called The One Hundred, it’s headed by a 6th degree black belt named Tom Callos (www.tomcallos.com).
The One Hundred, all of us, work on things that are, literally, “good for the world.” Like we’re bringing diabetes education to martial arts schools and anger management training and environmental self-defense programs. This week we launched a very simple, but powerful website to help girls (young women) learn about a kind of self-defense made just for today’s world.
The site, still being added to and polished, is www.flavors.me/10Lessons. Check it out.
And if you know a young person who could use some self-defense instruction, send them our way. Tell us you visited our 10 Lessons site and we’ll give you 1-week of lessons, for free –and one thing you will NEVER get at a school in The One Hundred, is a “sales pitch.” We don’t sell over the counter, we sell by engaging in and delivering extraordinary work.
While all of us breathe without thinking about it everyday 24 hours a day, we may not be breathing in a manner that is bringing the largest benefits to our health. Breathing all the way into our diaphragms, deeply is so important for our health and even our thinking ability. The oxygen we take in affects all of the cells in our bodies from our bones and muscles to our skin and brain. In fact the very deepest part of our lungs is where the oxygen needs to get to do the best the job of helping our brain cells.
Did you know that without oxygen that the cells go from being oxygen – burning to one that ferments glucose for fuel. So it makes good sense to breathe deeply and to doing so as an exercise is a good way of getting started.
If you are able to do this exercise 2 times every day, once in the morning and once in the evening, you will begin to feel your energy level increase within a short amount of time. You may want to try it at home or work, inside or outside, while taking a walk. The important part is to keep your concentration and to do it in an area where the air is as clean as possible. You probably would not want to do it near a busy highway.