Yasim's Blog

Working parent's guide to weekend fun (ages 5 to 8) by Naomi Williams Last updated: December 2005 Tackle some tasks during the week Complete a few critical chores during the week, and come Saturday morning you'll both have breathing room and be grateful for it. • Schedule certain tasks to occur on certain days every week. Jonathan Yackel, a computer science professor in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and father to three young children, does the weekly grocery shopping for the family on his way home from work every Monday. "I do it by myself, so it's a lot faster than doing it with the kids," he says. He gets home later on Mondays as a result, but it frees him and his wife Lisa, a veterinarian, from having to fit this task into the weekend. • Tak...

Discipline is one of the toughest challenges of parenthood. It can frustrate, discourage, and humble you. When your toddler throws his 19th tantrum in a week, your preschooler hits her best friend in a fit of pique, or your grade-schooler is caught cheating on a test, you may look back on the gritty baby months with utter nostalgia and wonder why you ever thought feeding and sleeping dilemmas were so tough. The good news is that you don't have to go it alone. There's a lot of helpful information out there. The bad news is that there's almost too much information. A trip through the parenting section of your library or bookstore can be completely overwhelming. Dozens of books covered with photographs of smiling children and peaceful parents gleam from the shelves. "There's only one way to do it, and this is it!" they all seem to shout. Some of the books are so similar that they're almost clones, while others appear to offer the opposite advice. The author...

by Kim Lankford Monster Contributing Writer Good negotiation skills have a huge impact on your career -- whether you're a salesperson making deals or an entry-level employee trying to get good assignments or cube neighbors to quiet down. "Most people think of negotiation only when they need to get something more," says Tammy Lenski, a professional mediator who helps universities and businesses nationwide with conflict management. "The reality is that at work, pretty much every conversation is a negotiation. You're negotiating deadlines, the quality level, what might be taken off your plate to make room for this priority project and what benefit you might get for taking on that project. The minute you walk into the workplace in the morning, you're negotiating." Lenski says big negotiation mistakes are common -- people either are too confrontational or cave in because they're afraid to ask some basic questions. "If...

Blissing Out: 10 Relaxation Techniques To Reduce Stress On-the-Spot By Jenny Kovacs WebMD Feature Reviewed by Jonathan Gelfand, MD The kids need a ride to school, your husband can't find his shorts, your boss has just scheduled an online meeting, and your best friend desperately needs your help -- all at the same time. Is it any wonder that you can't find a minute for relaxation? In fact, if you're like most women, you may have even forgotten how to relax. And while experts say that some stress is good for you -- it can sharpen your senses and your mind -- too much stress is bad for your mental and physical health. At the same time, relaxation can do wonders to restore balance in your life -- and may even reduce some of the health risks associated with stress. WebMD talked to the experts to learn more about relaxation -- and how to attain it. What follows are 10 on-the-spot techniques you can use -- any time and almost anywhere -- to reduce the tens...