Handling People Who are Rude to Your Family

Everywhere you go people are invading your family’s space with foul language, obnoxious behavior, cigarette and cigar smoke, obscenity, and a host of things that you would prefer to shield your family from.  You don’t have to back down or run away when you encounter these people.
It is nearly impossible to avoid rude people these days.

The first and most obvious way to avoid confrontation with rude people is to only take your family to “family-friendly” places.  If you are hanging out in a bar at 11:00pm with your children, you should probably consider leaving rather than asking everyone to quiet down and stop drinking.  Then later, evaluate why you were there with your children in the first place.  I know, this scenario sounds absurd, but I witness it all the time.  In a family-friendly environment, people are more polite and more tolerant of children’s mischief.  Usually these places are smoke-free, don’t serve alcohol, and typically don’t tolerate obscene behavior.  This, in itself, is a deterrent for a large part of the crowd that you are trying to avoid while spending family time.

Be prepared because no matter where you take your family, you will eventually encounter people who have no regard for others and these are the ones you have to make the decision whether to confront or avoid.  The easy thing to do is to pick up your family and move away from them or leave rather than try to correct the situation, but this approach teaches your children to run away from problems rather than handle them.  Also, this person may be causing discomfort to a lot of other people and will continue to do so until their behavior is corrected.  They should be stopped!

Evaluate each situation for what it is.  Is the offending person breaking a rule of the establishment that you are visiting or are they violating any law?  Is their behavior affecting other people?  Is your family’s safety or health threatened because of this person?  If confrontation is the solution you choose, establish friendly contact with the person and remind them that they are in a family environment and ask that they refrain from whatever it is that they are doing.  Don’t use obscenities or insults and don’t project threatening body language.  Be polite and speak in a firm voice, but don’t be loud and try to draw attention.  If you embarrass the person right away, they may retaliate against you for that reason alone.  The person may be unaware that their behavior is offensive and you don’t want to be perceived as the obnoxious one.  If they apologize and stop their behavior, return to your family and try to avoid contact with the person for the remainder of your visit.  Do not discuss what just happened with your family until you are completely out of that environment.

If the person disregards you or is rude to you, then do a second evaluation.  Is this person stronger or more physically fit than you?  Could they possibly have a weapon?  Are you outnumbered?  If any of these situations are true, then you should choose your next move wisely.  It is not worth sustaining bodily harm or going to jail for a stupid mistake.  If you have an obvious advantage over the person, repeat your request and inform them that if their behavior does not improve immediately, you will seek assistance from security or a manager of the establishment.  If these people are not available or if the person seems unimpressed, then take your mobile phone from your pocket and call the police.  Inform the person that you are calling the police as you walk away, but be careful to watch your back.  The thought of being arrested may influence the offender to move on or it may cause the situation to escalate quickly.

Do not assault the person or threaten them under any circumstance!  If they attack you, then you are welcome to defend yourself and any witnesses to the event will surely corroborate your story if the authorities are involved at a later time.  Just be careful not to take on more than you can handle.  Your family’s safety is absolutely your top priority and you should avoid all of this if possible, but at some point, you have to make a stand and say “enough is enough” or rude people will gradually taint every enjoyable family establishment available to the rest of us.

How to Shop for Your Wife

Buy one gallon, get one free!

Spend time talking with your wife. This is good for your relationship overall. Listen for clues as to what interests her at the moment. Try to be very involved in the conversation and ask pointed questions without being too obvious.

Buy a calendar or a personal organizer. Mark her birthday and other important occasions like your anniversary on the calendar and also mark a day, weeks in advance, to remind you to begin shopping for her. An electronic personal organizer is also very useful for this.

Become involved in activities that both of you can participate in. This makes shopping for accessories much easier. For example, if you both start playing tennis together, you can buy her some new equipment or take her on a surprise trip somewhere out-of-town to play tennis. Other activities may involve hiking, camping, or horseback riding.

Start shopping with her if you don't already. I know that clothes shopping can be excruciating for some men, but it allows you to spend quality time doing something that she probably enjoys and if you watch her closely and pay attention, she will identify things that she wants as you go. Only sit in the department store's comfy chairs while she is in the dressing room, trying on her clothes. Get back up and walk around with her when she comes out! The point is to spend time together and to learn more about what interests your wife.

Do not buy clothes for her! This is not a good idea! Also, do not buy anything practical. She may want a blender, but don't give it to her for her birthday. Save practical gifts for non-important occasions. It's also a good idea to check before you buy certain items. Be sure she's finished that half-gallon jug of perfume before you go out and buy her another. (that's a joke, by the way!)

Your wife will recognize a well-though-out gift when she receives it and she will appreciate even more that you have started spending more time together.

How to Entertain Yourself and Others While Traveling in a Car

Make your next long road trip exciting by using the following tips. If you are traveling with a large group of people, purchase a set of hand-held CB radios (walkie talkies) so that you can easily communicate between the cars without charging down your cell phone battery. Also, this allows everyone to hear the conversation. It is often funny to have someone pretend to be a tour guide while passing through small towns or tourist attractions and create their own version of historical events for that area.

The "Alphabet Game" is a fun way to pass the time. Look at passing billboards and signs and find the letters of the alphabet in the various words. Call out the letter and then the word in which it is found. You can either cooperate your efforts as a group or compete as individuals to see who can complete the alphabet first. If you compete, no two people can use the same word from the same sign.

The "Movie Game" is also fun to play with a group of people. Select a team within your car or you can play as one car load of people versus another using your CB radios. To begin, one team captain says the name of an actor and a movie in which they appeared. The opposing team either has to name another movie with the same actor or another actor from the same movie. This continues until one team is stumped. (ex. Mel Gibson in Braveheart / Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon / Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon) You would be amazed how much fun this game can be if you have some movie enthusiasts along on the trip.

Try to create a song in which one person starts and then someone else continues it using the same melody. Another fun game is to try to invent completely useless road signs. Instead of a curved arrow indicating an upcoming curve, have a straight arrow on a sign beside an interstate highway to indicate that the road just continues straight.

When all else fails and you begin to develop games that don't make any sense, it's time to bring out the music player or CD collection and have a sing along. If you have an FM transmitter attached to your music player, it is often possible for several cars to tune into the same empty radio frequency and enjoy the music with you!

Keeping a Small Dog Still While Grooming

Are you trying to brush a hyperactive smaller dog that just won't stay still? Do you need to get that harness on, but your dog has other plans? Here's how to take charge.

One of the challenges of owning a small dog is that they tend to be a little hyper at times. This poses a problem when you need to do something as simple as brush the dog or put a harness on it. The first thing to do is to issue the dog the command to "sit." If the dog has not yet learned this command, then just try your best to corner it and pick it up.

Carefully place the dog in the middle of the nearest counter top or table. A bathroom counter top is another ideal place. The dog normally will stand completely still while you apply whatever treatment is necessary. Be sure to keep a firm hold on the dog. You do not want it to get away and fall off the counter.

While brushing the dog or putting on it's harness, speak soft words of praise to reassure them that they are behaving appropriately and that what you are doing is not punishment.

When the ordeal is finished, carefully pick up the dog and place it gently on the floor. If the dog is familiar with commands like "sit" or "stay", have it perform one of these tricks and then offer a treat as a reward for being so good.

Tips & Warnings

• Always be gentle with your dog and offer encouraging words while holding them up off the floor. If you are yelling at your dog or complaining, the dog will associate what you are doing as punishment.
• This tip also works for larger dogs if you are able to lift them onto a counter.

Always Remember to Remove Your Baby from the Car

I am heartbroken each time I watch the news and learn that another parent has forgotten their baby in the car and returned to find that something horrible has happened. I will be a parent soon and these are the things that keep me awake at night. After careful thought, I would like to offer some free and relatively easy solutions that may help new parents to overcome unexpected diversions that too often direct your attention away from your baby.

Develop a new routine to always check the back seat of a vehicle before you leave it, whether it is yours or not. Another important thing to do when you approach a vehicle is to look completely around it for hidden obstructions like children or toys. When you reach your destination and exit the vehicle, immediately open the back door and look into the back seat. Do this whether you know that you have your baby in the car or not. It is imperative that this becomes a habit for both parents and for anyone who will ever transport your child. If you are certain that you dropped the child off at the daycare or if you know that today is not your day to drive them, remember... making a careless mistake on the wrong day has needlessly cost the lives of too many young children.

If you are an employer, you have the ability and should make it a priority to watch after employees who transport young children prior to coming to work. Designate several rows of parking spaces for parents only. Have a few people routinely walk through the parking lot each morning to check those cars for forgotten children. This is a perfect job for security guards whose job is to patrol the parking lot anyway. Offer them an incentive to perform these checks. Also, post signs in the entrance of your building with a reminder about leaving small children in vehicles unattended.

Become better acquainted with your co-workers and develop a habit of asking other parents of young children how their children were doing this morning and what color shirt did their teacher have on this morning. Just that type of reminder may cause a person to remember that they never actually dropped the child off. Pay attention to small details. When you walk into the building from the parking lot, keep an eye out for car seats and casually look into cars as you walk past.

For the parents of small children who take them to daycare daily, be sure that your daycare has a list of emergency numbers, including several work numbers. Ask that they call each number and let someone know if you have not dropped your child off with them after a certain time. Check your cell phone each morning after arriving at work to be sure nobody has left messages for you. If you use Microsoft Outlook, set daily reminders asking whether you remembered your child. If you carry a briefcase with you to work, always put it in the back seat in the floor beside your child's car seat. That way, you will have to open the back door to retrieve it and you may discover an important surprise when you least expect it.

Hopefully, some of these tips will help parents to remember what is most important. If work becomes too stressful and you have difficulty focusing on the things that you are supposed to do, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. Exhale slowly and ask yourself, "Why am I at work?" Your most obvious response is "to make money." Why do you need money? To take care of your family because they are important to you. Do not forget this! Take an extra 10 seconds out of your hectic morning commute to simply check the back seat of your car!

If you are a parent and you are reading this article at work, stop what you are doing and go check your car. Do it right now! Tell your boss that you need a breath of fresh air. If this article helps save just one child, then it will be the most important thing I've ever written for this website.

Tips & Warnings

• Your family should be your top priority!
• Protect them and think of them every minute of the day!
• If you carry any one particular item with you to work that you will need throughout the day, be sure to place it in the floorboard in the back seat, beside your child's car seat.
• If you are a parent and you think that this could never happen to you... you are WRONG!
• Be sure that your daycare has multiple emergency numbers and that they know what time to start calling them. Take a sick day sometime and put them to the test.