By Aurelia Williams, author of Finding More Family Time

You hear the complaints everyday from different people about how busy their lives are with work and after school activities. They never have any family time together because everybody is just so B-U-S-Y.

Rather than falling into the category of the “busy family who does not talk to each other,” simply take 30 minutes a day to reconnect with your family members. Here are some simple ideas you can use to form a family bond (and there are more in my instantly downloadable guide, Finding More Family Time):

1. Turn off the television. Focus your full attention on your spouse or child. Having someone’s undivided attention will boost your self-esteem no matter what your age.

2. Take a walk down memory lane. Laughing at the old-style fashions in the photo albums is a fabulous way to relive funny moments or to honor a beloved relative who has passed away.

3. Worship together. Daily prayer brings joy to the soul, helps us become more compassionate toward others and helps us to understand that life is precious.

4. Prepare meals together. Teach your kids that “the kitchen is the heart of the home.” Let your older children plan the dinner menu once a week and assign each family member a job so everyone has a chance to help.

5. Eat dinner together. Sit together at the table with no other distractions and learn about everyone’s day. Approach these discussions with openness and you will likely learn about the important events in your child’s life.

6. Plan an adventure. Head off for parts unknown with a map, a picnic lunch and a full tank of gas. Laugh when you make a wrong turn and hand off the map to see if another sibling can find their way home.

7. Go on dates. Parents should plan regular “dates” with each child individually. Sharing one-on-one time with each child makes him or her feel like they don’t have to compete with a sibling in order to be heard.

8. Enjoy the great outdoors. Taking the dog for a walk or riding your bikes around the park will give your family extra time to talk as well as keep the family healthy. To keep the activities new and fresh, let each family member choose an activity.

9. Exercise together. Working toward a common health goal as a team is easier than tackling a large goal all by yourself. Many gyms offer family memberships and you can share your experiences and your successes along your way to good health.

10. Plan a family fun night at home. Entertainment and quality family fun does not have to cost anything. Pull out some dusty board games, teach the kids a new card game or have dinner and a movie.

As the old saying goes, take some time to smell the roses and put your family first. No activity should be placed above spending time with the family. What a shame it would be to raise a child to adulthood and yet not truly know that person.

Need More Help?

Find even more family ideas in the Real Life Guidance to Finding More Family Time Guide. This practical guide will show you how to set reasonable expectations for all family members, balance work and life, get organized and more. Click here for more info.

By Aurelia Williams, Author of Understanding Your Teen

Parents spend a lot of time teaching their kids right from wrong. They show them what they think is right and hope they can keep their children from falling for negative peer pressure. Even though we work hard at raising our children to do what’s right, they will still make mistakes along the way. It’s not feasible to expect them not to make mistakes, but we can still help them learn to stay on track by utilizing some techniques to avoid peer pressure and something I talk about in my Helping Your Teen in High School Guide.

Some children will blame others when they’re caught breaking a rule. In most of those cases, the kids end up getting away with it, and are rarely held accountable for their actions. Your child is not immune to being blamed for something they really didn’t do by someone who they feel is their friend. Even though you may know your child isn’t at fault and it’s the friend who broke the rules, you should still put some responsibility on your child. We teach them that they should be held responsible for their actions, so that ultimately would include their choice in friends.

You should teach your child how to get out of bad situations and avoid peer pressure. One of the best ways to help them avoid giving into peer pressure is to role play. Think of various situations where peer pressure could rear its ugly head. Then role play them with your child to help them learn proper ways to deal with the situations. Let them tell you how they would handle the situation first and then share what you think should be done to handle it.

Let them know that you’re there to help when needed; especially if their friend won’t listen and insists that your child go along with the rule breaking incident. Sometimes, the simple act of stating that another adult could get involved, may make the other friend think twice before engaging in the rule breaking activity.

Your child will need to know that even though you’re not in charge of the friend, you are still a parent or guardian to your child and enforce the rules you have in place for their health and safety.

The rules can be adjusted as the child grows older and they start to understand respect for others and their property. They will need to know that trust is something that will have to be built over time and they should abide by the rules to increase your trust in them and gain more freedom for themselves.

There are other children who exhibit positive peer pressure behaviors. Let your child know that these are the friends they should be hanging out with, so the good behavior rubs off on your child. The more favorable the intentions the other children have, the better off your child will be in handling peer pressure situations.

Need More Help?

Here are two guides to help you reconnect with your teen, so you can help them with the rocky road of being a teenager.

1. Real Life Guidance to Understanding Your Teen shows you how to accept what you can and cannot control in your teen’s life, how to cope with mood swings, keeping the lines of communication open.

2. Real Life Guidance to Helping Your Teen in High School includes practical suggestions to help your child find his/her identity, avoid bullies, handle peer pressure and more.

3. If you’re gearing up for another summer with your teen and want to dread trying to keep them occupied, happy and out of trouble, check out School’s Out for plenty of expert resources to make it a great summer.

Grab all three to be armed with the easy-to-follow advice at your fingertips. They’re available for instant download, which means you can get the help you need any day of the week, even if it’s the middle of the night.

By Aurelia Williams, Certified Life Coach

Let’s Face it, every mom has had one of “those days”. The baby is feed and dry but very fussy, your child forgot to tell you about a science project that is due tomorrow and hands you a list of 10 things that you must get from the store, you forgot the roast in the oven and now it is dry and your husband just called to say that he is stuck at the office… again! After a day like this, it can be very hard to keep your stress level low. With each passing minute you may feel your stress and irritability rising, your patience getting shorter and your fuse about to blow! Calgon Take Me Away!!

When you feel the need to escape and take a few minutes to yourself to de-stress, follow some (if not all) of the tips I share with my own coaching clients below.

Put yourself in time out: Allow some alone time for yourself. Use this time to focus on you. Find a place in your home that you can go to and find privacy. You can ask your partner or a friend to take the family out for a few hours while you enjoy your alone time. Do nothing, sleep, read, watch a movie, and just enjoy your solitude.

Call a Friend: Rather than yelling at your husband or your children, try picking up the phone and vent to a friend. Be sure not to vent AT her, but rather tell her about your day and get it all out. If she offers you some advice, listen and soak it in. This mini-time out session will leave you feeling heard, de-stressed and you will find that by the end of your call some of you anger will have dissipated.

Play: As adults, we sometimes forget the beneficial value of play. Play stimulates our imagination, encourages our creativity, boosts our energy, and best of all, it is fun. Try a game of tennis, a game of cards online or perhaps invite some friends over for an evening of adult board games.

Meditate: Meditation has been proven to reduce your blood pressure, and helps to dramatically reduce your stress level. Meditation and/or prayer will help you to keep in touch with your spiritual side. Meditation is a very effective method of relaxation. To meditate, quiet your mind and allow yourself to focus on one thing, such as your breath. Find a relaxed comfortable position where Try visualizing good health and peace as you inhale. While you are breathing out breathe out all of your stress. Set aside approximately 20 minutes for this exercise. Upon completion, you will see just how much more relaxed your mind and body is.

Take a nap: Find a quiet, comfortable spot and take a nap. Even a short power nap can leave you feeling refreshed, renewed, and more focused. Studies have shown that people who spent 30 minutes each day napping had one third less heart disease than those who didn’t nap.

Eat: Not just anything but certain things. Studies show that certain foods can help reduce stress. Carbohydrates will actually soothe you. Good sources of carbohydrates include rice, pasta, potatoes, breads, air-popped popcorn and low-calorie cookies. Experts suggest that the carbohydrates present in just one baked potato or a cup of spaghetti or white rice, is enough to relieve the anxiety of a stressful day.

Movie Time: If you don’t have anyone to watch the children for you while you de-stress. Put in one of their favorite movies, supply your children with a few healthy snacks, and have them occupy themselves for a little while so that you can take a breather.

Don’t feel guilty for taking time out to rejuvenate your mind and body. Being a mom is not an easy task and it is a full time job. Take a break when you need it and be sure to ask for help to keep the stress at bay.

Next Steps:

If you need an extra hand getting what you want out of life, contact Certified Life Coach, Aurelia Williams. She’ll help you design a life that allows you to reach your business and personal goals; cultivate more fulfilling relationships and that elusive achieve work/life balance you’ve been striving for.

Click here to learn more about her coaching program.

By Aurelia Williams, author of Journey to Joy

“This is making me a headache!”

That lovely line above came out of my now 5yo’s mouth when he was frustrated over the daunting task of trying to learn how to tie his shoes. He blurted the sentence out then tossed the sneaker across the room. I walked over to him and talked to him about his frustration (Heck, getting those loops just right is hard work — smile). I explained to him that while it is OK to get angry and frustrated that there are proper ways to do it.

Anger is a completely natural response to frustration. Let’s face it, life is filled with things that can become frustrating, and most of those things are totally out of our control. What we do control is how we deal with those issues. In this message that I also share with my Journey to Joy students, I wanted to touch on positive ways that we can deal with, express and release our anger and frustration in positive ways.

Think it out - When you begin to feel angry — sit down, relax and then try to think about how you can solve the issue.

Talk it out - Talk to a friend, coach, counselor, or a church member. Expressing your anger by talking to someone about it is a great way to get the anger out.

Write it out - Keep a journal about your feelings. It really helps to get your feeling out of our head and heart and onto paper.

Let it out - Find a place that is secluded and SCREAM!! Yes, let it out - you can scream into a pillow, punch a pillow or stomp. Sometimes a good temper tantrum is in order.

Channel it out - Find some creative way to channel your feelings. Listen to music, paint, turn on the music and dance! There are many ways to creatively channel out anger.

Chill out - Try listening to calming music, taking in slow deep breaths, meditating or doing yoga.

Work it out - Do something physical. Get out and run, go to the gym or go for a brisk walk.

Please keep in mind that anger isn’t always a bad emotion but sometimes the way we deal with our anger is bad. There are many times where anger can be good and is quite appropriate. At can be protection from allowing other people to manipulate or dominate us. It can also motivate us to take action when needed.

Next Steps:

For more help, instantly access your instantly access your Journey To Joy tools for a happier and more fulfilled you. This inspiring eBook with accompanying audio recordings, worksheets and easy-to-apply action steps shows you you how to eliminate stress and lead a productive and satisfying life.

By Aurelia Williams, author of Journey to Joy

Let’s see. You did the laundry, dropped the boys off at Karate and the girls at dance class, stopped at the grocery store for a few last minute dinner items…What’s missing? As you were taking care of everyone else all day long, did you remember to take care of yourself?

I know it can be hard to carve out space for you, since being a mom is a full time job, but taking care of yourself helps you have the strength and energy to keep taking care of everyone else, from your children to the snake your son left in the pocket of his dirty jeans. It’s all part of what I teach my Journey to Joy students. It IS possible to find the time to get what you need done.

If trying to squeeze out a few more hours a day just for you seems impossible, why not try one of these ideas:

1. Don’t be afraid to start small. It’s better for you to take five minutes to read the funny pages or your favorite inspirational poem than it is to not take any time at all for you.

2. Get up twenty or thirty minutes earlier than usual and spend some time doing something you enjoy, such as reading the paper while you sip your coffee or meditating. By the time the children wake up, you will be ready to start your busy day.

3. Talk to the other moms at your children’s classes and find out if any of them live nearby. See if several of them are interested in forming a carpool, so you don’t have to make every trip to drop off and pick up the kids.

4. Find another mom who has children that get along well with your kids. Alternate babysitting services with her, so that you each have a few hours of free time every week to go to the gym or get your hair done. Don’t be tempted to do chores instead. You need this time for you and you won’t feel very rested and refreshed if you pick up the dry cleaning, do the grocery shopping, and run the car through the car wash instead of relaxing.

5. Delegate evening chores like setting the table, washing the dishes, and packing the next day’s lunch. If everyone does ten or fifteen minutes of work, you will have enough free time to soak in the tub or read a chapter of the newest best seller.

6. If you cook all of your family’s evening meals and always pack lunch for your children, don’t be afraid to give yourself a break once a week. Pizza every night may be unhealthy, but an occasional slice isn’t too unhealthy for the kids. Eating the occasional school lunch can actually be a fun treat for children, even if it doesn’t taste that great.

Finally, make sure your family realizes the importance of letting you find some time for yourself. Speak with your children about respecting your quiet time, whenever and however you manage to fit it into your day.

Next Steps:

For more help, instantly access your Journey to Joy tools, for more time a happier and more fulfilled life. This inspiring eBook with accompanying audio recordings, worksheets and easy-to-apply action steps shows you how to squeeze more time and happiness into every single day.