One of a parent’s joys is to have a smart child. As he grows up, he will be ahead of his class and the other parents will envy you and ask you how you did it.

The brain rapidly develops in the formative years. This is why you have a very crucial role to play in his development. Here are some things you can do to ensure your kid will grow up to be smart and intelligent.

Did you know that hugging and cuddling have effects on your child’s ability to become more interactive? Well it’s true. Interact with your child and talk to him often.

Language is essential to a kid’s learning. The more efficient he is with language, the more capable he is of accessing information. A child who has very good reading skills tends to study more books at a faster rate and will have better faculty to communicate with people.

Buy him educational toys, as well as popular ones. Kids who are exposed to puzzles or word games tend to learn as well as play. But don’t bore him with limiting his toys to educational ones only. Educational videos for kids are also powerful tools to introduce them to new concepts.

Give him good nutrition. Kids need complete nutrition to make sure they stay healthy and focused. Kids who are under-nourished are less enthusiastic to learn.

Encourage your kid’s earliest signs of talents. If your kid shows early signs of inclination towards music, sign him up for lessons. In the same way, if he seems to be interested with computer games, buy him computer games of the smart kind. There is a variety of smart computer games which can help your kid develop brain activity in Math, English, Geography and other subjects.

Good friends are almost family. They happen to be the ones who are with you during your milestones and more importantly, during breakups and other life drama. But not all friends turn out to be good friends. Some are for for keeps, while some are better off as strangers.

If you have a friend who’s becoming more like an enemy — saying bad things about you behind your back, hitting on your girl, or being a pal as long as you treat him to happy hours, then drop this friend now before he ruins your life. You’ll be happy you lost him.

First of all, you have to remember that bad friends are just as common as good ones. So you really have to be careful who you hang out with. What your mom used to say when you were young has lasting truth: do choose your friends.

Identify the friend you want to lose and the reasons why you want to drop him. There are different types of a-holes and jerks but it shouldn’t be hard for you to tell what makes him one. How does he ruin your life?

Spend less and less time with him. Even if he’s the most convenient person to talk to with regard to proximity, try to avoid him when you can. If he asks you to hang-out, make excuses. You don’t have to be guilty about lying. It’s better than having to endure his company, anyway. Do this until he’s completely out of your system.

If he does ask what the problem is, tell him calmly why you don’t want to be his friend anymore. Although most likely he would just back down without asking, prepare an explanation so that you have a ready answer. You don’t have to give specific reasons unless he insists on it. Just tell him you have other things to do.

Choose your friends from now on. No matter how rotten your bad friend is, there will always be guilt when you start the process of dropping a friend. The lesson here is to learn how you can avoid doing it again. Get to know as much as you can about a person first before you decide you want as your friend. This way, you’ll only have the ones for keeps.

All of us have suffered the terrible pains of muscle cramps. It happens when our muscles have contracted in a way that’s painful and involuntary. Among our body parts which are often affected are the calf, back of thigh, front of thigh, feet, hands, arms, and the abs.

Muscle cramps can be caused by a variety of reasons, from poor exercise habits to over-exertion. You have to know how you can prevent this so that you can always be at your best.

Before an intense workout, always start with a warm-up exercise. Stretching is a good way to make your muscles ready. For best results, allow your body to cool down after a strenuous exercise.

Keep yourself dehydrated. Engaging in sports uses up a lot of water in your body, as seen in your perspiration. This is especially important if you are exercising under very hot temperature as it can lead to heat stroke.

These pesky cramps can attack at night, just when you’re ready to take your deserved rest. Fortunately, stretching before you sleep can also be beneficial to prevent these attacks.

If you’re pregnant, you can prevent muscle cramps by taking calcium and magnesium supplements. But before you do, ask your doctor if the supplements will not harm your vulnerable condition. Another vitamin which is known to reduce instances of cramps is Vitamin E.

Help your body to have good circulation, especially in the legs. If you suffer regular muscle cramps, it is best that you consult your doctor to see if you need a more serious medical treatment.

When you find yourself suffering from cramps, stop doing your activity which is causing the muscle pain. A quick relief would be to gently massage the aching muscle or to hold the painful joint in a stretched position until the pain subsides.

Is your grocery bill eating the biggest part of your income? It’s easy to forget your budget when you’re enjoying getting things off the shelves. But your grocery bill shouldn’t leave you broke. Take a look at these helpful pointers so you won’t overspend next time.

Look for good deals either online or in newspaper ads. Grocery chains usually post advertisements of their newest deals so take advantage of it.

Give yourself only a few minutes to buy everything you need. If you spend a lot of time lingering on the aisles, you’re bound to drop more in the cart. Just get the things you need and storm out of the store.

Don’t bring your kids. If your kid is known to throw tantrums in the store, shop without them. Kids can let all hell loose just to make you buy a brightly-colored package.

Opt for the cheaper cuts. Your choices of meat cuts could be the culprit. If you don’t really need the fillet type, buy the more affordable cuts. If you’re a good chef, the taste will define your meal, not the cut.

Try the store brands. People don’t usually trust the store brands because they always go for their “tried-and-tested” labels. But some store brands are actually just as good.

Think twice before buying multiple-item sale. They can deceive you into thinking you’re saving a lot from buying two items for the price of one when the fact is you don’t even need to buy it. This is especially wise for food purchases. Also, check the dates of expiration first. Sometimes, it’s cheap because it’s near its end.

From all of us here in LifeSpy, a happy Thanksgiving Day 2008 to all of you.

In a few days, it’s going to be December again. And you know what it means. December is probably the month when we flush out all our savings because of the holiday’s tradition of gift-giving. For this very reason, some people hate the holidays.

Christmas doesn’t have to suffer this bad reputation of draining all your life’s savings. Indeed gift-giving is the essence, but no one ever said your gifts had to be expensive. All they have to be is special.

Just like your other regular expenses, your gifts have to follow a budget. It’s Christmas and yes, it’s a special holiday but it’s still not enough reason to overly splurge. Good thing you also get a lot of bonuses from work. The idea is to budget this extra money so that the gifts won’t go overboard and affect your normal allowances.

Just like Santa, make a list. It’s easier to do your shopping if you have a list to follow instead of just going all over the place. Other people shop with the “I’ll know it when I see it.” strategy. This is not very wise as this is guaranteed to take a lot of time. Especially if there’s a lot of people also doing their Christmas shopping. Oh and check it twice.

Consider group-giving. A brilliant way to save is to give as a group, or give to a group. Couples usually do this to save and you can do this also when you give to couples. Want to save even more? Buy one gift for the whole family!

Don’t give to people you’re not really close with. Sometimes we are pressured to give to our bosses, our officemates and the cousins of our cousins. The good news is, you don’t have to do it this year especially if you don’t have the money for it. Gift-giving is only for people who are dear to you. Doing that won’t give you any regret for every penny you spent.

We all know cigarette is addictive, but for non-smokers, the smell is just unbearable. It’ hard to have smokers in the house because cigarette odor leeches to the whole room for hours.

Aerosols simply don’t work because it just covers the smell with another overwhelming odor. And most air fresheners are also just as nauseating. If you have this problem, these are some things you can do.

One of the nicer-smelling things you can use against it is soap. Now could be the best time to do laundry. By doing this, you accomplish a house chore and air freshening.

General house cleaning. Smoke of ciggies is so much trouble that it might even require you to do an unplanned general house cleaning. You need your vacuum for this. Clean up furniture, especially the couch where the smokers spent all night puffing. An effective yet troublesome idea would be to bring these furniture outside under the heat of the sun.

Buy some oranges. Peels of orange and other citrus fruits emit strong citrus-y odors which can overpower smoke.

We heard baking soda does the trick. Sprinkle this wonder odor-remover on your carpet or fabric-furniture affected and vacuum after a few hours. Remember though that some fabric could react negatively to this, so make a patch test first.

Open house. It’s an old trick, but still reliable. As soon as the smoking session is over, open all windows and exhaust fans for ventilation so that it won’t get absorbed by the things in the room.

Do you need a professional odor remover and house cleaner? For odors which are seriously difficult to remove, you might need specialists. But do this only after all your attempts at the previous tips didn’t work.

Set house rules against smoking inside the house. Don’t allow smoking inside the house because second-hand smoke is even more hazardous to health. Make everyone follow this policy, especially if there are infants or kids in the family.

Aside from animal dander, allergic asthma can also be caused by dust mites. To make sure you keep your allergies at bay, you’ll have to drive out as many of your allergens as you can.

How can you eliminate dust mites? Dust bunnies are everywhere. Even if you’re a cleaning freak, dust mites will always find a space in your home. The question is on how you’re going to reduce it to a point where it won’t trigger your allergies.

Buy an air conditioner or a humidifier to keep humidity at a low level. The higher your indoor humidity, the higher chances you’ll attract more dust mites.

Is your home carpeted? Carpets tend to pull in dust mites. It’s better to get wooden or tiled floors instead. But if you really like the style of carpets, you should make sure to have it dry cleaned regularly.

Make sure you keep your rooms free from dust mites by changing your covers often, ideally in hot water. You can do this every week and hang them inside where pollens won’t get to them as they dry.

Dust mites as well as dander love stuffed toys. If you can find a way to not have these things lying about the house where they can gather dust mites, do it. Keep all stuffed toys inside a cabinet or inside their plastics so that they won’t accumulate dust. Or you can just wash them weekly, too.

Keep your furniture dust free. Keeping dust mites away means you have to maintain the cleanliness in your house. You may not be able to accomplish this task if you have a full time job. In this case, it would be very wise to hire a cleaner who can maintain all furniture dust-free. It’s an added cost, but at least you can go home to a dust-free home and finally say goodbye to your allergies.

This year I got several one-on-one confrontations with my boss so I think I’ve had much practice on how to complain about work conditions. Boss consultations are the best time to voice out your complaints.

Your boss is not always right. It’s just that it’s hard to tell them they’re wrong. And when you’re being reprimanded, it’s not always your fault entirely. Instead of being the recipient of all blames and complaints, be proactive and be in control by explaining why you don’t deserve to be reprimanded.

Stay calm. Being angry will make you seem unprofessional and emotional. These two are always seen as negative work attitudes. If you allow yourself to get carried away by your anger, you may not be able to justify your complaints eloquently. The calmer you complain, the more dignified you seem and the higher chances you will come across as correct.

Don’t get intimidated. Your boss has an air that intimidates you. That’s why you can’t seem to talk to him straight when you’re having problems with work. If you allow yourself to be intimidated, you will forget your arguments and may not be able to defend them.

Collect all evidences of your complaints. Present proofs to show that it’s not really your fault. State specific instances to support your grumbles.

If you let your boss blame you for every single error that happens, he will make a habit out of it. So speak up, and don’t be afraid to explain. He may think you’re pertinent, but you’re really just being honest and proactive. Being the boss means he has the last word, but it doesn’t mean you cannot defend yourself, especially when you know that you’re right this time.

Nothing beats the simple weight-loss power of brisk walking. If you’re tired of the many modern ways to shed off excess weight, brisk walk your way to a healthier you. Probably the simplest form of exercise and the cheapest, brisk walking is almost a hassle-free activity. No membership fees, no gears, no complex fitness programs. All you have to do is walk.

Scientists agree that walking makes a big difference in fitness. This is because walking makes use of hundreds of our muscles. There are researchers who found that walking even helps prevent many health problems, among which is peripheral artery disease. Walking also lessens the chances of catching colds and reduces risks of bone diseases. Think of these health benefits the next time you take a walk.

Try to walk whenever you can — on the way to the bus station or when you’re out to grab lunch. Use the stairs instead of the elevator every once in a while. When you’re in the office, walk to the person you need instead of calling so you can be active even while inside the building.

Over the weekend, you can walk farther than your average miles on weekdays. Get up early, grab a bottle of water and brisk walk to the nearest park and around your neighborhood. It’s even possible that you won’t notice how tired you are because walking even helps you relax and unwind. In this light, even shopping becomes an exercise!

If you’d rather stay inside the house than walk outside, consider buying a treadmill. It places less strain on your joints because of its ergonomic design. When using treadmills, try to maximize your efforts by setting it up a bit inclined rather than straight.