Television can be one of the worst influences on your child. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be! By following these tips you can help your child get the benefits watching television without becoming a dazed little “couch potato.”

1. Establish limits on how much TV your children watch. You should do this at a very young age but even if your child is older and has already got used to watching too much TV it is not too late to start putting limits on TV watching time.

It is recommended that children under age 18 months do not watch television at all. While this may be difficult for you if you are a couch potato yourself, you may find that cutting back on TV is good for you as well.

For children between the age of 18 months and three years of age, I recommend no more than 1/2 hour of TV per day. And for that 1/2 hour you should choose something such as Sesame Street.

For children between the ages of 3 years and 6 years old, I recommend setting the limit at 1 hour of television per day.

After age 6 you can set the limit at 2 hours. That should be good limit for your child throughout their developmental period. Once they get to their teen years you may want to become more lenient as teens may rebel against too much control.

2. Watch TV with your child instead of just leaving them to watch it by themselves. When you watch the TV with your child, they are less likely to go into a harmful “TV trance.” It’s good for you and your child to discuss what is on the screen. This will make the experience more thought provoking.

3. Never offer TV as a reward. You shouldn’t associate television as something that “good children” get to watch. You should also not use taking away TV as a punishment. When you use TV as a punishment or as a reward it places too much importance on TV in the first place.

4. Set a positive example. If you watch a lot of TV then obviously it will be much harder to convince your kids not to do the same. Cutting back on TV is not only a great thing for kids, it’s a great thing for adults as well. When you are more plugged into life and less plugged into mindless television then you will be a better parent and a better person all around.

5. Select non commercial programming for your kids to watch. The most harmful part of TV for kids isn’t the programs themselves, it’s the commercials which teach them to desire junk (both junk food and junk toys.) Either have your children watch PBS shows only or have them watch videos that are free of commercials! Commercials truly rot the brains of children. Make sure your children are as free of advertising as possible.

The negative impact of commercials is hard to calculate. I think it’s possible that a large portion of today’s child obesity problems stem from commercials which make children desire junk food. Obviously making sure your children eat healthy is another topic but I do think that by making sure your kids don’t watch a lot of television commercials you will be able to lower their desire for bad food which will make it that much more easy to get them eating healthy foods.

One of the most common problems caused by the use of cosmetics is irritant contact dermatitis.  This is generally characterized by an intense facial itch, and an accompanying rash.  This type of skin disorder is usually caused by the use of facial cleaners, toners, and astringents.  These products are generally very acidic, and often contain alcohol.  If you find that your skin is irritated by these products, you should refrain from using them immediately.  Then make an appointment to see your doctor or dermatologist.

Another skin disorder caused my cosmetics is allergic contact dermatitis.  This occurs with less frequency than irritant contact dermatitis, and the appearance is very hard to distinguish from other types of skin reactions.  Symptoms generally include redness, swelling, itchiness, or blistering.  This type of reaction is caused by an allergy to one or more ingredients in a particular product.  In case of a reaction, refrain from using any cosmetic products until the reaction has subsided.  An antihistamine will help to reduce any itching that you may be experiencing, and your physician may prescribe a corticosteroid to reduce inflammation.

One condition that seems to be appearing with greater frequency is cosmetic induced acne.  A great number of the cosmetics on the market are left on ones face for long periods of time, and this can cause the skin pores to become clogged.  These clogged pores will often develop into blackheads or pimples.  Treatment for cosmetic induced acne is the same as that for standard acne; appropriate creams or gels, and/or oral medication.  Applying make-up on these areas is strongly advised against.  If you wear make-up during this time, be sure that it is oil-free.

While this is hardly an exhaustive list of conditions related to the use of cosmetics, they are reason to pause and consider you particular situation.  We all love to look pretty, and make-up generally helps us accomplish that goal.  There are alternatives to wearing excessive amounts of make-up, and I have heard that the all-natural look is really making a big comeback!  If you cannot imagine going without cosmetics, be sure the ones you are using are designed with high quality ingredients.  There are a number of all-natural products available, too.  Explore your options, and speak with your dermatologist about any concerns you might have.  Your skin will thank you for it!

Buying children’s clothing from the internet is becoming more and more common.  Not only is online shopping convenient, but it also offers an advantage over traditional shopping because of the wide variety of clothes that are readily available at your finger tips.  From new designer jeans to used vintage dresses, you’ll be able to find every type of clothing style imaginable on the internet.

If you’re looking for name-brand apparel, you’ll discover that the web site’s of most major department stores sell children’s clothing.  If you visit the sites of large retailers such as JCPenney, Sears, Marshall Fields, Target or Wal-Mart, you’ll be able to browse for much of the same clothes that’s offered at their physical locations.  These internet sites also offer special clearance and sale items, just like you’ll find while shopping the traditional way.

Convenience and variety are both good reasons to shop for children’s apparel online, but discount prices is what draws many people to the internet.  From the comfort of your own home, you can easily comparison shop for children’s clothing from two, three, or even ten retailers if you so choose.  In addition to saving money by finding the lowest priced clothing, you’ll also save money on gas and the wear and tear on your vehicle.

Another nice feature of ordering online is that many retailers provide a way of tracking your shipment as soon as the purchase is made–from the time it leaves the warehouse until it reaches your front door.  You’ll know the location of your package while in transit and when the expected delivery date is.  Depending on the retailer and any running promotions, you may even be able to receive free shipping on your order or a free upgrade to next-day delivery.

As parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, it seems that our schedules are becoming more hectic all the time.  This results in less time for our families, friends and ourselves.  Shopping online for the children in our lives allows us to save some of this valuable time, while saving money as well.  It also adds another much needed convenience that we can all benefit from.

It is lovely to see well dressed children particularly small children who can look cute and fashionable at the same time. Babies have no say in what we dress them up in so we can be as flamboyant or simplistic as we like!

Specialist shops are in abundance nowadays with prices ranging from sensible to the ridiculous. A small child has no concept of wearing designer clothes only the parent. Whether the clothes be cheap and cheerful or expensive and chic, babies and toddlers will still make a mess while eating, crawling and generally doing things small children do!

No matter how much or how little you spend, clothes still need to be practical. For anyone who has had the pleasure of dressing a wriggling baby or toddler, the buttons and zips definitely need to be in the right places. Time is limited when dressing or undressing your child so fiddly buttons and badly positioned zips and ties are a definite no no! Easy access via poppers especially in baby’s trousers is an excellent invention. Just think how much time it takes to put kicking legs into a pair of trousers!

Babies grow at an incredible rate so one doesn’t have to worry much about clothes being worn out, they tend to be outgrown and still in beautiful condition. This is great if you are possibly going to have more children or have someone with a smaller baby to pass clothes on to. Definitely a money saver if you are on the receiving end of another parents generosity.

Toddlers are wonderful little people who you can still dress to look cute – until they suddenly start to become independent and pick their own clothes. When they are at this stage you can forget looking stylish and fashionable, toddlers tend not to have any colour co-ordination or dress sense – be warned!

Early school years can be really simple, as most of the time the child will spend wearing a school uniform. Clothing your child is easier though it can be expensive depending on where you buy the uniform. Most of us buy at least a size bigger blazer or trousers so that the child ‘can grow into them’, this can cause embarrassment to our children. Be diplomatic and not too enthusiastic about your child’s growing abilities.

The wonderful teenage years! – A clothing nightmare. Just when you thought that purchasing a school uniform was simple you find out to the contrary. Your teenager suddenly must have designer named shoes, trainers, trousers – whatever they wear has to have the latest logo emblazoned on the front or back. Buying labels and sewing them on won’t work, teenagers may be difficult but they are not easily fooled.

At the end of the day, buy what you can afford, make sure the clothes are reasonable hard wearing and put together properly.

Dressing smaller children should be practical, it seems silly putting a pretty dress on a crawling baby as they will probably come to a stand still if they keep putting their knees onto the dress! As to dressing teenagers, well that is another matter, birthdays and Christmas come in handy for purchasing expensive clothes or trainers as presents, this can often be a good compromise.

Trends chop and change like the wind for teenagers so while your child is small enjoy dressing them up in colourful tasteful clothes that you have chosen, they at least won’t worry about losing their street cred!