Nanny to Mommy

With how busy most of our lives are, it leads us to put things on the back burner from time to time. This could be a hobby we had, a passion of ours or even our social lives. However, one thing that should never be put on the back burner and neglected is our family.

While family is always important, it is especially crucial to have a comfortable and interesting family life. If your family hardly speaks, or is constantly arguing with one another, it can make life difficult. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to help your family life be happy, comfortable and interesting. This article is going to go over a few of them.

It's summer and that means the three S's -- sand, sea, and SHARKS! National Geographic Kids Books is celebrating this majestic beast and its habitat with a "jaw-some" shark-themed giveaway for all ages. Chocked full of vibrant photos, exciting first hand accounts of shark encounters and weird, wild and fascinating facts, these books are perfect for shark-tastic summer reading, backseat boredom busting and the ideal gift for the shark “fin”-atic! And don't forget -- the summertime pop culture phenomena of Shark Week and SharkFest is almost here.

Here is a brief description of each title:

Regular family dinners are an excellent way to spend quality time with your kids and help grow a stronger bond as a unit. Your kids may moan and groan sometimes but stick with it because the long-term rewards of sharing in these moments will be worth it.

Maybe your mealtime isn’t going as well as you hoped or you’re trying it out for the first time. In either case, it’ll be helpful to learn some tips for having and planning successful and enjoyable family dinners. While they can’t and won’t all be perfect, you can do what’s in your power to help ensure that they occur and are managed in the best way possible.

No one today is immune to the harmful influences of stress and tension, and we’re all just trying to escape it - one way or another, but how? Most people don’t realize that the things they turn to for stress relief cause more harm than good. The information overload you get from swiping through your phone in your down time or watching Netflix isn’t what you need. Most experts recommend a peaceful, calming hobby far away from the hustle and bustle of your normal life.

If that’s what’s been happening with you, consider trying to pick up doodling or drawing of some kind for yourself. There are countless benefits to the practice. It boosts mindfulness, relaxes the brain, and promotes happiness hormones.