Page 7 - VBP Digital Edition 4

Visayan Business Post
August 2014
7
Lifestyle&Entertainment
Editor JeaN mamasPas
visayan.bizpost@gmail.com
psychoParentis
Home Affairs
Modern Family
ByBeTh BeVaN
Calming ‘angry’ kids
Technology, technol- ogy, technology. That is what society revolves around these days and will continue to revolve around for the rest of the world’s existence.
Technology undoubt- edly brings people to- gether. On the other hand I believe that it is equally responsible for the ever growing family divide in many people’s day to day life.
Children are constantly texting, checking what their friends have posted on Facebook or Twitter, listening to their iPod, surfing the web, and watching television or movies on their laptop.
The emergence of mo- bile technology now means that these practic- es are no longer limited to the home, but can also oc- cur in cars, at restaurants, and just about anywhere that has a mobile phone signal.
But it is not only the children who are re- sponsible for the grow- ing divide between par- ents and their offspring. Parents are also guilty of contributing to the dis- tance that appears to be increasing in families.
Parents are also often wrapped up in their own technology, constantly looking at their mobile phones, checking their Facebook accounts and emails, or watching TV, when they could be talk- ing to, playing with, or generally connecting with their children.
We have come a long way from the days when families ate din- ner around a ‘lampara’, or ’petromax’ lit table, talking about the day’s activities and the fam- ily’s hopes and dreams for the future.
Nowadays it is con- sidered ‘normal’ to see everyone gathered
around the big, shiny Plasma TV, watching some action packed movie or teleserye with a plate of food on their lap!
Now don’t get me wrong, I like technology as much as the next person. It has paved the way for instant news, advancements in medicine, real time access to our hard earned cash and generally makes life better.
But perhaps we need to step back from our ‘busy’ lives with technology and see what is really going on around us and talk to our families face to face more.
Family is the most impor- tant thing someone could ever have in their life time. Let us cherish the time we have with them because you never know what is around the corner.
Grow with us!
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Home Affairs
VBP UK team at London Barrio Fiesta
Business Editor & Web Administrator
101
By aNdy BeVaN
The perils of fake phone chargers
Mobile phone users should take note of the death of a 28-year-old Aus- tralian woman, electrocut- ed while using her laptop and mobile phone.
Sheryl Anne Aldeguer was killed on 23 April and suffered extensive burns to her chest and ears from her laptop and earphones, while using a counterfeit mobile phone charger.
It is believed the phone charger sent a high volt- age electrical charge into her phone, which she was using at the time, and this was conducted to the ear- phones connected to her laptop.
The case is being investi- gated by Australian police, and has prompted warn- ings about the dangers of using fake USB adaptors. The incident echoes the death last year of Ma Ai- lun, a 23-year-old Chinese
flight attendant, who died in similar circumstances while taking a call on an iPhone 5 that was plugged into a non- apple USB charger
Last year a New York woman claimed her iPhone 4S spontaneously melted, oozing acid that destroyed the handset and a UK man was burned and thrown across the room by an elec- tric shock, when an iPad charger exploded in his hand.
In February last year, a house fire in Oregon was blamed on an overheated MacBook battery and in 2011, an iPhone 4 caught fire on an airplane flying over Australia.
It’s highly likely these, and many other anecdotal incidents, are all the fault of poorly made counterfeit chargers. Whilst there is a clear temptation to save money on buying fake charg-
ers for a fraction of the cost of the genuine item, it’s a saving that could prove very costly in the long run.
Unlike a fake Rolex watch or Louis Vuitton handbag, these fakes can kill you!
The counterfeit charg- ers are usually made with cheap and inferior compo- nents and leave out much of the protective insulation, resulting in a risk of electro- cution or fire. They also have less power than the genu- ine chargers, so take much longer to charge your device, putting additional strain on the battery and can cause overcharging.
There are, however, over 600 million Apple devices in use around the world with only a few reported inci- dents. The use of genuine Apple products is very safe, but cheap counterfeit charg- ers are likely to add a very significant risk.
Every year between June and August, Filipinos in the UK look forward to visiting at least one of the several Barrio Fiestas organized by different Filipino organi- zations up and down the country.
To us Pinoys in the UK it is a special occasion for all the family to enjoy. It is a day to have fun, a chance
to meet friends and other kababayans.
But most of all it is a day to enjoy the many varieties of Filipino foods and products from the Barrio Fiesta stalls not normally found in local supermarkets!
This year my family (and the VBP UK news team) went to the 30th
Philippine Centre Barrio Fies- ta sa London which was held in Apps Court Farm, in Sur- rey. And what a grand day it was too! The event was spon- sored by ABS-CBN Europe.
So it was no wonder that many ABS-CBN stars graced the two-day event to the delight of the thousands of Filipinos who flocked to the venue. (Beth Bevan, VBP-UK)
GodisGood!
We live and pass by His amazing grace.
The Gospel this Week
Ps 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62
“Do not forget the works of the Lord!”
Reflection: One of the most difficult things to do is forgive. If the hurt is too deep, it takes a herculean effort before one can truly forgive and forget. And only a few are capable of this. The vast majority of us need time before we can truly heal into wholeness and move on without rancour and ill will on those
who have offended us.
That is why it is not easy to be the
Lord’s disciple. The demand is such that we have to truly believe in order to over- come. We have to acknowledge first our own sinfulness and believe that we have been forgiven of our entuire debts. That’s the only time we can forgive wholeheart- edly. for what we don’t have, we cannot give. To claim that we have been forgiven gives us the power to forgive others as well.
We sometimes feel frus- trated about dealing with irate kids. To loosen the pressure, we most often give in to their small de- mands, ignoring their re- bellion.
Most parents who want a little peace at home con- trol their children by giving in to what they want.
But this strategy can backfire in the form of more misbehavior or outright laxity in basic discipline that can permeate into oth- er aspects of our children’s lives.
We have heard and read about approaches to deal- ing with angry kids. Some kids are easy to sort out, some are level tricky.
However, how our chil- dren behave depends on us parents. Their behavior at home or somewhere else is the result of how we suc- cessfully manage them.
Children who have tan- trums may become physi- cally or verbally aggressive. There is a suggestion that it is easier to manage this
conduct rather than exert control.
Here are some tips about calming angry kids:
1. Leave them be for a minute or so. Let them cry or be frustrated and feel what they want to feel. Even adults need space.
This is also a time to calm ourselves. An angry child with a fuming par- ent is a recipe for disaster! But do not leave an angry child alone or he will feel neglected.
See to it that he is not destroying things, harm- ing himself or other people. You will know when to in- tervene.
2. Make them laugh. Humor is a good way of non-invasive interces- sion. Make sure they can feel you are not mad about their outbursts. You know your kids’ fun sides. Play with them without giving in to their unreasonable demands.
3. Talk to them. After
play time, when your child has begun to calm down, ask him what made him mad. Listen to every detail. Then explain to him what happened. You will be sur- prised of the effect. Kids can understand between reasons.
4. Make peace and com- promise. Close your con- versation by finding a logi- cal middle ground for you and your kids. Make them learn to compromise and accept the things that they cannot have. Tell them exactly what it is that you are not happy about their behavior. They will learn to take it and give in. Chil- dren have minds too.
5. Finally, give small re- wards. The best reward for a behaving child is love, not material things. Give them a good massage, cook for them, treat them to a lei- surely walk at the park or a swim at the pool. Kids will love it. Make a rewards list and give it to them one af- ter another when there is a good reason only.
ByJeaN mamasPas
Fashionable child-rearing.