Sugar Gliders As Pocket Pets

Most people love their pets and will always ensure their comfort. Pets make good company, and it is essential to take excellent care of all of them. Whatever is fascinating about your pet should make you take good care of it. Every pet needs to feed well, so understanding what your pet feeds on will help you follow the correct procedures to feeding it correctly.

In the case of sugar gliders, sugar gliders are omnivorous. For modern sugar gliders and pocket pets different feeding habits are required. There are a number of commercially processed foods for them that come in the form of pellets.

Sugar gliders need a considerable amount of fruits and vegetables, since they enjoy eating them a lot and so they can get their calcium requirements. If the food is not available, then you will need to substitute for it with cat food, but it has to be of a low fat variety, and also do not use too much - just enough until you get the recommended food.

Sugar gliders are used to warm climate, so when preparing your housing facility, take into consideration that they will need to be kept warm and dry. Another thing about sugar gliders is that they are very active, hence a lot of space is needed. Make the cage spacious enough and provide them something that they can hang on because they naturally like hanging.

Sugar gliders suffer from various diseases that are treatable: skin problems is one of them. They do not need vaccines, but it is important they be examined regularly so that if there is any disease it can be detected early and treated.

Remember The “Generation Gap”?

The techniques of managing relationships between parents and their children is as old as.. well, parents having children. It’s not an easy job, either for the parent or the child. But, the key to any relationship inside or outside the family is the ability to relate; to have an empathy that allows us a slightly special way in which we can communicate with one another in order to understand, and to be understood. We make friends because of the similarities we may have in certain areas and we sometimes can build lifelong relationships on that basis. But, having children means we do not have a choice to make that relationship as we might have in meeting a perfect stranger. It’s a relationship forced upon us, albeit willingly in most cases. We as parents accept that as part of parenting. After all, as parents we have the opportunity to influence the development of our children to be just like us.. thus creating those similarities that enhance a lifelong relationship. Now, note that I used the word ‘opportunity’ in that sentence. I think as parents we all realize that in spite of what we do to manipulate their young lives our children will turn out as individuals just as we did with our parents. And that could very well mean that the relationship you have with your child is not based on similarities but more of accepting the respective family roles of parent and child.

Trying to relate with our children and getting them to relate to us is a great challenge to even the most determined and dedicated parent. Sometimes the frustration level is so great we wonder as parents why we had kids at all; especially when they reach the teen years and become demanding in their own right as they expand social contacts in their own high school social systems and expect us to conform to (and finance) that lifestyle yet requiring us to stay in the shadows so as not to embarrass them.

I often ask myself how it is my folks raised me in one method and yet I have helped to raise my kids using another totally different method and the end result appears the same. While our child-rearing is not quite over we have nonetheless been fortunate to have raised three wonderful children reflecting the values we feel are important; having developed socially and academically beyond our wildest expectations. Yet my parents felt that about me and my sister as well. And many other parents can also claim these same ’successes’. So, what is really the key here?

The key is in a term I call ‘relational adaptation’; you might best know it as the ‘generation gap’. When us boomers were born after World War II there were such vast numbers of us that our mere presence forced social upheavals in every facet of life. Our Depression Era parents had to adapt to raise us.. they had no choice. With the economy booming they had the natural desire to provide all of us newborns with the things they never had when they grew up. We were the first generation to be raised in an era of relatively instant mass communication, opportunities for college education, better jobs, etc. The morals and ideals which were prevalent in our parents’ day were being challenged daily.. many becoming obsolete and passe’ (I overheard my grandmother one day commenting to my mother as to why mother needed a book by some baby doctor named Spock to raise a child when she herself considered her own job at motherhood quite a success without it.). By comparison to previous generations we were indeed, ’spoiled’. The generation gap was broad.. and to bridge it between parent and child in those days was a fairly gut-wrenching transformation.

So, how does all that translate to how we raise our kids now? Well, for the first time in the industrialized history of this country the generation gap between how we were raised and that of our children is the shortest. Our children do not have parents that were raised in a totally different lifestyle or social environment? we had rock and roll, and our children have rock and roll. We had instant mass communications and our children also have instant mass communications (albeit technologically far more advanced). It was our generation that blazed the trails to bring social taboos like sex and drugs to the forefront, which our children also deal with today. Our generation brought change on all frontiers and as we aged we accepted change as a norm.. and we adapted. In other words, as parents we can identify.. and RELATE far more with our children than in all previous generations back to the 30’s.

But while that gap has been closed to a great degree there are some significant differences within the generations. Us boomers realized that certain life compromises can be made.. that life is short and not necessarily a life to be dedicated to just child-rearing or career. When I was growing up there was the distinct attitude that the family centered around the children’s upbringing. By comparison we now feel that the family centers around a more equal distribution of quality of life; that kids can be allowed to develop on their own at certain levels; that parents don’t have to bust their butts to pay for their children’s college; and maybe understand that kids don’t necessarily need direct 24/7 supervision, but rather intuitive guidance.

Ok, so how can all these similarities and differences explain one method of child rearing being any more effective from one generation to the next? It seems the similarities make a great basis in forming a relationship with our children as they grow up; a way to broaden and enhance the ability to ‘listen’ to each other. The differences reflect the times we live in at that moment.. and our abilities to adapt to the ever-changing social pressures. And that adaptation is done in the togetherness of a relationship. For example, I may identify as a parent your need and desire, as a child, to take the car to work rather than walking, but there is a real economic problem going on in the here-and-now that makes gasoline pretty expensive, and we need to conserve money for other things. I was never raised in this situation before so this is not simply a parental control thing. So, let’s reach a compromise that works.

Play up the similarities with your children between your two respective generations and use that to establish a relationship. Then when those expected differences come along in life your relationship will be better armed for compromise, cooperation, and understanding. Make your children identify with you by sharing how you were raised as not being that much different. You may not have the family sitting around the dinner table like in the ‘old days’ but you just might have a greater closeness with your children because you did indeed ‘walk a mile in their shoes’.

About The Author

Doug Burkland is degreed in the behavioral sciences and writes articles regarding family life, parenting, human sexuality, entrepreneurship, and current events. An aging baby boomer raised in the Mid-West and having liberal-conservative attitudes, Doug is an admitted ’survivor’ of public education who thinks he has something to say that people might like to read; sometimes using a bit of healthy satire, mixed with friendly sarcasm, and at times tempered with thought provoking common sense. Along with being an entrepreneur (having had three businesses of his own), Doug has a broad perspective on balancing life and family.

http://www.dougburkland.com or email doug@dougburkland.com

An Organized School Year In 10 Easy Steps

Organizing your kids and keeping them organized throughout the school year can be a real challenge. But it doesn’t have to be. With an effective organizational system, your family can experience a life without chaos and clutter.

It all starts with establishing a system that works. As parents we’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to teaching our children how to be responsible individuals. One of the best ways to do this is to model the behavior and habits we would like to encourage in them and make our school aged kids responsible for their own belongings.

Being organized is all about developing family routines that work. Good routines are anything you do on a regular basis that simplifies your life and makes it run smoother. It could be setting regular sleep and wake-up times for your kids (and yourself) or something as simple as setting the breakfast table, making lunches, or laying your clothes out the night before.

A positive family rhythm is an organized one. Effective organizing involves having a solid system in place with regular family discussions, limited extra curricular activities, creative scheduling and a plan for conflict resolution when it occurs.

Following are some tips to help your family get and stay organized this school year and beyond.

Color-code supplies. Keep things simple by having a different color knapsack and lunch bag for each child. You could also take the color-coding idea one step further and use it as a way of keeping your children’s class materials separate.

Create a homework schedule. Have your child do her homework when and where it makes the most sense to her. Support homework completion by encouraging a regular daily routine.

Eliminate frustrations with an organized backpack. Showing your child how to effectively use her backpack can eliminate a lot of last minute hassle. Have her use the main section for books and binders. Signed permission slips can find a home in an outer pocket. The remaining small pouches are ideal for separating pens, pencils and calculators from personal items like a tooth or hair brush.

Daily backpack habits. Make it a habit to sort thorough your child’s backpack with her the same day it comes home. Depending on your schedule allot some time after school or after dinner. Sign permission forms and record important school events at the same time.

Record everything on a family calendar. One of best ways to keep on top of everyone’s schedule is to have a central spot where things are recorded and easily referred to. A large family calendar in a high traffic area like the kitchen is a great way of keeping abreast of what’s happening and when.

Schedule in nightly preparation time. Encourage your child to spend 15 minutes each night gathering all that they need for the next day. If you have several children set up a shelf with baskets or cubby holes so each child has his or her separate space to store school related belongings. Include in this time clothes planning for the next day.

Ready, set, leave. Set up a spot near the door for things that need to go to school (backpacks, school books, sports equipment, musical instruments etc.)

For more creative tips on how to get your kids up and out in the morning visit http://familysanitysavers.com/morningmadness.html

Make lunches in advance. Plan non-perishables like drinks and snacks a week or two ahead. Make sandwiches once a week and freeze or prepare them the night before.

Plan breakfast the night before. Save time in the morning by setting the kitchen table in advance and making cereal and bread available to those who are ready first.

Set your alarm clock earlier. Trying to get yourself and everyone else ready at same time in the morning only breeds panic. Do yourself a favor by rising half an hour before everyone else. It’s amazing how smooth your morning will go if you’re showered and dressed before waking the kids.

Sherrie Le Masurier is a lifestyle columnist, organizing consultant and a member of Professional Organizers in Canada. She offers up smart solutions for busy families via http://www.familysanitysavers.com and http://www.organizedliving.blogspot.com - Copyright.

Choosing the Perfect Jogging Stroller

When choosing the perfect jogging stroller, a very important question to ask yourself is whether you want a swivel or fixed wheel. The benefit of choosing a jogging stroller with a fixed wheel is that it will offer the stability and straight tracking that you will require. The front wheel tends to be larger on a fixed wheel model which means it will be a smoother ride for your child and will handle bumps better at any speed.

When shopping for a fixed wheel jogging stroller there are several questions you should be asking yourself. Is this stroller travel friendly? Is it important to you that your jogger stroller has a folding mechanism? Consider whether or not you it is important to you that your jogger stroller also has a bike trailer included for people that cycle. For those of you are that are off-road runners, nature trail enthusiasts or live in a neighborhood with bumpy sidewalks, you should consider purchasing a jogger stroller with sturdy frames, suspension systems and high-quality construction.

If you do not plan on actually running with your jogging stroller then you might want to invest in one with a swivel front wheel. A jogging stroller with a swivel front wheel is an appropriate choice for indoor use, such as malls and the grocery store. The swivel wheel jogging stroller is usually 12″ or less whereas the standard fixed front wheel is 16″. Although swivel wheel jogging strollers are less graceful with bumps and do not tend to track as straight they make tight turns much easier. These strollers can be used in a non-swivel mode for the occasional light jog.

Choosing a swivel wheel jogger stroller that is car seat compatible is also an important decision to make. A car seat compatible swivel wheel jogger stroller is convenient for transporting your child from the house to car to stroller without having to wake them up.

Providing information, reviews and shopping tips to find the best jogging stroller for you and your baby at http://www.happystrollers.com . Stroller news, reviews and thoughts for families in my blog at
http://www.happystrollers.com/serendipity/ where your comments are welcome too.