Cool Free Downloads: Family & Friends

Getting Kids to the Table and De-Stressing You & Them

Nancy Gibbs, in Time Magazine's The Magic of the Family Meal, and Jeanie Lerche Davis of WebMD, summarized the recent findings concerning the benefits of family dinners:
• Everyone eats healthier meals.
• Kids are less likely to become overweight or obese.
• Kids more likely to stay away from cigarettes.
• They're less likely to drink alcohol.
• They won't likely try marijuana.
• They're less likely to use illicit drugs.
• Friends won't likely abuse prescription drugs.
• School grades will be better.
• You and your kids will talk more.
• You'll be more likely to hear about a serious problem.
• Kids will feel like you're proud of them.
• There will be less stress and tension at home.

Download - Getting Kids to the Table and De-Stressing You & Them.pdf

Tips on Making Friends

There's a certain beauty in being a lone wolf. You have more time to do the things you want to do, like take introspective walks, read books, write and other solitary endeavors. But it’s also nice to have friends. Sometimes you need that one person to talk to. You can play games, hang out or even just talk on the phone. So consider these suggestions to meet people and form strong, lasting friendships.

Download - Tips on Making Friends.pdf

When the Kids Come Home From College

How do parents and young adults effectively readjust to living in the nest together? Though you have missed your little cherubs, their return can cause the nest to topple. The Seven Keys to Peace and Harmony, and a lot of communication will help you get through it.

Download - When the Kids Come Home From College.pdf

10 Ways for Families to Foster Hope

Here's a simple set of items to help you and your family build very positive skills. You can take one and make it the family activity for the week, or you can provide positive feedback every time your famiy hits on one of these methods. In any case, you'll be better for following along.

Download - 10 Way for Families to Foster Hope.pdf

Cautions and Concerns About “Friendship”

Don’t think that everyone you meet will be good friendship material. In my experience I have to causally meet between fifty and a hundred new people to find one who, three years later, will have become a good friend.

Download - Cautions and Concerns About “Friendship”.pdf

Martha's Gift to Her Friends

The greatest gift I received from Martha came about a month before she died.

Martha's Gift.pdf

Only Friends

It was with some sense of alarm that I heard my care partner refer to me as her "best friend," her only friend. What could this mean? What about my husband, the closest friend I've ever had? All of this was overwhelming. What was I to do? Read the entire story.

Only Friends.pdf

Exercising with Friends #2 - The Health Benefits for Seniors

This download focuses upon seniors and the benefits - short and long-term of regular exercise. Just as eating right and pursuing an active social life can help you stay happy and healthy, exercise can help seniors enjoy a healthier and more satisfying lifestyle. And the benefits of regular exercise are not just physical. You'll gain emotionally and psychologically too!

Download - Exercising With Friends 2 - The Health Benefits for Seniors.pdf

Exercising with Friends #1 - Working With A Buddy

This download speaks directly to the benefits of buddies as social support that encourages physical activity. With so many of us committed to more physical activity in the new year, this download provides supporting reasons why exercising with friends can more readily help you reach your goals.

Download - Exercising With Friends 1 - Finding A Buddy.pdf

Friends Make Your Life Better

This download discusses a variety of new research focusing upon the role of friendship and health. We've come to find out "The Beatles Were Right!" You do need friends - and do much better when surrounded by them. The download also focuses on the story of 11 childhood friends and their 40-year friendship and what that friendship meant to their health.

Download - Friends Make Your Life Better.pdf

Help Your Kids & Home Co-Exist in Winter

We've all heard of spring cleaning, but making sure your home is fresh and clean for winter is probably more important. Why?
Once temperatures nosedive, we spend a lot more time inside. And a poor indoor environment can give kids headaches, coughs and trouble concentrating, and can increase their exposure to toxic chemicals. Take a few steps and you can avoid those hazards and help keep your family feeling good all year long.

Download - Help Your Kids & Home Co-Exist in Winter.pdf

Early Parenting: Start With Humor Not Commands

When it comes to parenting, it's funny how humor can motivate children when more negative tactics do not. Parenting guru Jane Nelsen, EdD, the author of dozens of books, including Positive Discipline and, with H. Stephen Glenn, Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World, says humor is a key tool to successful discipline. When moms or dads issue angry commands, kids of all ages tend to dig in their heels and resist. And no one benefits. How do you learn to take a lighter touch? Try these tips.

Download - Early Parenting - Start With Humor.pdf

What To Do When An Aging Relative Resists Help

If you have an aging parent or other close relative who lives alone, at some point you may become worried that he or she is not managing well. Typically, family members' concerns center around one or more of the following: mobility, nutrition, housekeeping, grooming, financial management, medication use, safety, energy level, mood and mental status of their senior relative.
No matter how difficult it may to be to look after their day-to-day needs, some older adults are reluctant to ask for help or accept it when offered. We've listed the most common reasons and what you can do to overcome them.

Download - What to do When An Aging Relative Resists Help.pdf