What Parents Can Do To Help Their Teenage Children

Posted on August 15, 2023 by rosie

There’s no stage of parenting that’s easy. Well, maybe when they’re fully grown and out of the house things are easy. But that’s not really parenting — by that stage, you’ll have done your job. The different stages of parenting come with their own challenges. Take your teenage children for example. The teenage years can be a tough one because it feels like your kids are becoming different people — and that’s because, in many ways, they are.

Those years can be difficult for you. They’re even more challenging for your kids. In this post, we’ll run through some handy tips that you can take on board to help them as much as possible.

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Give Them Space

Your child will likely be going through some things from time to time. They’ll be moody. They’ll be happy. They’ll go through a whole range of emotions, often within a single day. Being a good parent to teenage children involves knowing when to give them space. If they want to lock themselves away in their bedroom for a few hours, then it’s normally just best to let them. They’ll come out eventually.

Make Yourself Available

Your teenager will be a whirlwind of emotions. They’re going through changes that they don’t understand themselves, and that’s not easy. While they’ll do things that very much require discipline and all that, it’s important to primarily take an emotionally available approach. That means that they feel comfortable coming to talk to you about whatever it is that they’re going through. They’ll be going through it anyway, and wouldn’t you prefer that they come to you to talk, rather than just battling through it on their own? Your teenager won’t always take you up on the offer, but they’ll appreciate knowing that you’re there for them.

Plan For Their Future

When your kids are little, it can be difficult to imagine them as adults. When they become teenagers, you can see that it won’t be all that long before they’re out there on their own. As such, it’s important to make plans for their future. This can take various forms. You may take out life insurance for parents, so you know that they’ll be financially secure in case something happens to you. It may also involve putting money to one side for when they’re older. Even encouraging them to follow the passions that may one day be their career can be highly valuable.

Be Understanding

Your teenagers are going to mess up from time to time. They’ll get things wrong. After all, who doesn’t at that age? By remembering what you were like as a teenager, you can put yourself in the right frame of mind to deal with the fallout. Of course, sometimes you might really need to lay down the law, however!

Keep the Family Fun

Your teenagers will have other things on their minds than having fun as a family. However, though they may pull away in some moments, it’s important to keep those family traditions alive. They’ll appreciate them when they’re older.

7 Cocktails That Are Actually Quite Healthy!

Posted on August 10, 2023 by rosie

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Is there such a thing as a ‘healthy’ cocktail? You could argue that any cocktail with alcohol in it can never be healthy. That said, some cocktails are clearly much healthier than others due to their choice of mixers. In fact, some mixers are so low in calories and high in nutrients that they can help to counterbalance much of the potential damage caused by alcohol. All in all, if you’re looking for a tipple and want to keep it relatively healthy, these are some of the best cocktails that you can choose.

Bloody Mary

The primary ingredients of Bloody Mary are tomato juice and vodka. The tomato juice is what makes this cocktail so healthy – it’s packed with vitamins A, B, and C. At only 95 calories, it’s also one of the lowest-calorie cocktails you can make. It’s become traditional to add other ingredients to Bloody Mary to give it some spice including tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish (which can add extra nutrients). Try this Bloody Mary for a tasty full-bodied version of this cocktail.

Screwdriver

‘Screwdriver’ is a fancy name for what many commonly refer to as Vodka and orange juice. When containing a single shot of vodka, this cocktail contains only 121 calories, making it a great option if you’re trying to watch your waistline. A screwdriver is also full of nutrients due to its orange juice mixer, which is one of the richest sources of vitamin C. Make sure to use fresh orange juice to keep your screwdriver completely healthy.

Greyhound

A greyhound is made up of two ingredients: vodka and grapefruit juice. It’s pretty much like a screwdriver but with grapefruit juice instead of orange. Containing 134 calories, a greyhound has slightly more calories than a screwdriver but is still 30 calories less than a vodka and coke. It’s similarly high in vitamins and is particularly rich in vitamin A, which is great for our vision. All in all, it’s a great choice when you’re looking for a refreshing summer cocktail.

Pomegranate martini

Pomegranate juice is often hailed as the healthiest of all fruit juices. It is densely packed with a range of nutrients which give it superior antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s believed to be particularly good for the heart and cardiovascular system. A simple way to incorporate pomegranate juice with alcohol is in a pomegranate martini – which contains pomegranate juice, vodka, Cointreau, and a dash of lemon juice (removing the Cointreau will make it healthier by reducing the sugar content).

Whisky beet

Beetroot juice is very good at lowering blood pressure due to its unique mix of nutrients. It’s particularly high in vitamin C and folate as well as containing plenty of potassium and iron. It doesn’t work well with many spirits (which is why you rarely see it in cocktails), however, it does seem to work very well with whisky. Because whisky can be quite calorific, this may not be the best drink for those counting calories. However, it is a good option for those wanting to pack some nutrients into their cocktail. In fact, beetroot juice is so dense in nutrients like iron and potassium that it can actually provide too much if you drink it too often – so don’t go overboard on this cocktail. Check out this whisky beet recipe to try this cocktail.

Mulled wine

Mulled wine is a popular winter cocktail made from red wine, brandy, orange, cloves, cinnamon, and sugar. It’s relatively healthy compared to other cocktails because it uses red wine as its main ingredient – which contains powerful antioxidants. Mulled wine does pack a lot of calories, however, it’s possible to lower this calorie content by taking out the sugar and choosing lower-calorie red wines. It’s worth keeping spices like cinnamon as these can provide an extra antioxidant punch.

Gin and tonic

Gin and tonic contain fewer calories than any other cocktail – a single dry gin shot served with skinny tonic water can result in a cocktail that contains as little as 55 calories. While this does mean you can drink gin and tonic without worrying about piling on the pounds, it is worth noting that gin and tonic don’t really have any nutrients to counterbalance its alcohol content and is therefore not as healthy as other cocktails in this respect. It’s also important to avoid flavoured gins, as these typically contain more sugar. Some flavoured gins use more natural fruit flavourings, which can mean extra vitamins – these could be better than regular flavoured gins.