Month: July 2017

18
Jul
2017

How to Comfort Your Dog During His Last Few Days

As dog owners, nothing is more important than knowing that your best pal is happy and comfortable during his last days in the world. However, dogs are experts at hiding their discomfort, illnesses and pain, which oftentimes result in old pets suffering more than we are aware of.

So what can you do to make sure that your pet’s last days are as comfortable as they can possibly be?

1. Visit a Veterinarian
This may not be fun for your pet, but seeing a veterinarian helps manage your dog’s condition better. Regardless of the reason, the first thing you should do when you start noticing something different in your dog is to see an expert. This ensures that he is not suffering needlessly.

2. Go All Out On Food
If the vet agrees that some human foods are okay for your dog, give your pup the most delicious food possible. As long as the vet is okay with it, let your dog have steamed rice, steak or any gourmet meals you can provide to your Fido. Let him enjoy his last few days by serving him with decadent meals every single day.

3. Pamper Your Dog
Indulge in all forms of dog pampering, especially anything that helps your dog relax. Pet him in parts of the body where he likes to be touched. You can even go an extra mile by doing things like taking your dog to a pet communicator to hear and understand what they are really feeling.

4. Inform Yourself on Pet Pain
As mentioned, pets can hide feelings of discomfort, pain and illnesses. This may be a boring subject to study, but remember that there are roughly around 60 different signs of pain in pets, which may vary in severity, from less obvious signs like tucking their tail, losing interest to favourite activities, and being unenthusiastic to being carried to more obvious signs like unusual moaning, panting, lack of appetite, and howling in pain.

5. Let the Children Get Involved
Older children can already understand illnesses, age and dying process. By allowing more participation from your children, you give them a chance to express their goodbyes. When visiting the vet, let your kids ask questions if they have any. Be honest about any of your decisions you are going to make about your dog’s treatments, including about euthanasia. This is an unfortunate event, but learning how to cope with sadness like this is a critical part of growing up.

For the time being, focus more on the comfort of your fury friend. Give your pet all the love and care he needs in order to remain calm and comfortable as possible.

Posted by Editor in Pets
18
Jul
2017

Eat Clean: 4 Restaurants for Healthy Dining in Singapore

Nowadays, people are more attentive to their health and know that eating right helps manage their diet. The only thing that could be holding many of us back is that healthy dishes aren’t as sumptuous as their ‘sinful’ counterparts.

Fortunately, a large number of healthy dining hubs in Singapore have proved us that clean eating doesn’t always have to be associated with bland-tasting dishes. You can experience yourself the life-changing powers of today’s culinary innovations by dining to one (or all!) of these healthy food restaurants and cafes.

Ninja Cut

Launched in October of 2016, this dining place is the sister outlet of Ninja Bowl. The restaurant offers choices of protein-rich bowls that will surely fill you up without busting your calorie limit. If you happen to drop by, try What’s Your Beef (S$18)—a bowl of slow-roasted Australian rib-eye, sautéed mushrooms, grilled corn, onsen egg, honey-glazed carrots and browned garlic shrimps. More nutritious options include Cajun-spiced chicken breast, tuna tataki and yuzu-marinated salmon.

Onaka Restaurant & Wine Bar

This restaurant offers a wide range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian menu. Infusing healthy cooking methods, such as steaming, baking and roasting into their creative recipes, Onaka can surely make your dish healthy and tasty. At S$28, you can pick a set meal of your choice by choosing your own entree, main dish and dessert. That’s relatively cheap for a meal you won’t feel guilty of indulging into.

The Living Cafe

Although there’s no shortage of healthy dining places in the city, Singapore has nothing quite The Living Cafe: a health shop, one-stop cafe and a lifestyle-improvement hub. You will be surprised of their extensive food menu, which proves that healthy eating doesn’t have to be limited in terms of recipe choices and flavours. You can enjoy taco boats loaded with mango salsa, guacamole and meatballs! You can even indulge on burgers without the guilt afterwards. And while you’re there, don’t skip checking out the retail store on the second floor to stock up on some healthy snacks.

Kitchen by Food Rebel

Founded by well-renowned health coach Elika Mather, this restaurant provides specially curated dishes for healthier eating. Everything in this health cafe is made from scratch, including the salad dressings and food sauces. You can’t go wrong by getting one of their sought-after Buddha bowls. The one with sweet potato and chickpeas comes with quinoa, beetroot hummus and a generous dollop of blended avocado and tofu, drizzled with home-made tahini dressing.

Whether you want a break from all the hawker goodness or you’re trying to manage your weight by eating clean, these dining places are sure to hit your health goals.

Posted by Editor in Health and Wellness
18
Jul
2017

5 Signs Your Kid is Ready for School

Determining whether your child is ready for school can be tricky. A child’s success—or failure—in adapting to his environment at school has the potential to shape his social, emotional and educational futures. As such, it’s important that your little one is at the appropriate stage to successfully adjust during this important transition in his early years.

To help determine whether your kid is ready for primary school, here are the signs to look out for:

1. Communicate and Listen Well
Communication is the key to successful relationships. It will be easier for your kid to make friends and convey his thoughts and feelings to his teachers if he can communicate well. Likewise, attentive listening is also crucial for your child’s development in school. Listening improves your child’s communications as he learns new words.

2. Follow Simple Instructions
Perhaps, you are lucky that your little angel follows your every instruction. However, in reality, most children do not behave all the time and do not follow what they’re told. But it’s important that your child is able to listen to his teacher and follows instructions given to him, so there’ll be no problem in school.

3. Show Interest in Learning
He doesn’t have to be as smart as little Einstein, but it is a good sign to see that your child is stimulated to learning when listening to stories or watching educational shows. When your kid appears inquisitive about a certain topic or lesson, it could be because he wants more information and to learn more about it.

4. Get Along Well With Peers
As your child grows, he will likely notice and realize that the world does not revolve around him. Your little one should be able to connect with others to thrive in a group. Notice how he acts in the presence of the people he’s not familiar with—how he connects with children he don’t know, how he approaches them or how he gets comfortable in a group.

5. Physically Ready
Commonly, parents focus on the intellectual domain when determining whether or not their child is ready for school. However, the physical domain is just as important to watch out for. Notice your child’s physical capabilities and fine motor skills. It can be hard to play with other kids if your child is having difficulty in running, jumping and climbing. Check to see how your kid scribbles, paints and uses scissors for his fine motor skills, which is crucial for learning how to write.

These are just some of the signs to help determine if your child is ready to go to school. If you find these signs in your child, it might be the right time to start broadening his academic and social horizons.

Posted by Editor in Smart Parenting
18
Jul
2017

5 Health Benefits of Camping You Might Not Know

Camping is one of the favourite past times here in Singapore. People go camping out because they want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Whether you enjoy hiking, biking or fishing, camping provides an opportunity to totally focus on yourself and your surroundings for a couple of days.

What you probably don’t know is that camping out helps you live a healthier life. If you are a regular camper, or even a first-timer trying a new activity, you will enjoy so many great health benefits, including:

1. Improved Moods
After the trip, you may notice that you feel more energized and generally happier. This is not without merit; doing outdoor activities can reduce the melatonin levels in the brain. Melatonin is the brain chemical that induces the feeling of exhaustion, so by going camping, you’ll feel better during and after the trip.

2. Reduced Stress
Camping, or simply going outdoors, gives you the chance to remove yourself from the stresses of work. Sitting by a lake or in front of a campfire are just a few ways to reduce stress during a camping. Although many of today’s parks and campsites provide WiFi connection, it would be helpful to give yourself some time to be away from technology. When camping, try to avoid checking emails or your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You will feel much more relaxed when you’re disconnected to the social media.

3. More Oxygen
Oxygen is essential. The extra oxygen from the outdoor environment encourages your body to produce more serotonin (also known as the happy hormone), which improves your brain functions and motor skills almost instantly.

4. Exercise
Perhaps, this is the most evident health benefit of camping. Camping gives you body an opportunity to move more, therefore burning more calories. Especially when yours involves hiking and biking, it burns you even more calories and helps get rid of toxic elements in your system. Activity levels vary, but an hour of hiking can burn between 150 and 300 calories per hour, biking burns 300 to 500, and fishing can burn around 200 calories in an hour.

5. Meditation
As mentioned, when going camping, try to keep off your phone and other technological devices. If possible, leave your tablet and laptop at home. Take advantage of this opportunity to totally take a break and meditate. This is a chance for you to reflect and think things through especially if you have important decisions to make.

Camping is a fun and healthy outdoor activity. The next time you plan for a quick getaway for a weekend, try camping out and experience its health benefits, at the same time enjoying the beauty of nature.

Posted by Editor in Health and Wellness
18
Jul
2017

Taking Up These 6 Hobbies Will Make You Smarter

Hobbies are not just a fun way to kill the time. According to science, creative pastimes like photography, knitting and cooking can also boost your performance at work. By choosing the right hobby, you will also be boosting your brainpower as you while away your weekends. Here are some activities worth trying to bump your mental prowess up a notch.

1. Reading
Escapism is a vital part of reading. And the feeling of leaving your own worries and entering a dream-like horizon to mind someone else’s is a way to relax while at the same time allowing your brain to work. From biographies and anthologies to fictions and graphic novels, reading helps diminish stress and allows you to experience different emotions and ways to deal with them. Plus, knowledge is power; the more you read the more wisdom you’ll discover.

2. Travelling
Travelling is expensive, but it doesn’t always have to be. Whether you go across the world or just to the next city, you will always learn something new. While it can be stressful sometimes, travelling gets rid of strain and forces it to focus on things that you wouldn’t typically do. It helps your brain’s functionalities and problem-solving abilities that go far beyond your everyday activities.

3. Playing an Instrument
Playing the guitar isn’t just a pastime; it is also a brain workout that exercises your cognitive control and supervisory system. Moreover, listening to music improves your memory capacity, as well as helps you appreciate cultural diversity. While it can be challenging to learn how to play an instrument, it’s a fun and fulfilling exercise that can lead to better productivity.

4. Meditation
One of the simplest indoor hobbies to practice is the art of meditation. It doesn’t only keep you healthy, but also helps boost concentration. Also, meditation helps eliminate depression, stress and anxiety. All these benefits, in turn, help improve overall productivity.

5. Embroidery
Embroidery is meditative in nature, too. There are many people who find pleasure in embroidering anything possible, be it a quote or their favourite cartoon character. This hobby boosts the creativity in you, as you try to give old clothes a new look.

6. Rock Climbing
Rock climbing is a full-body workout. This hobby doesn’t only let you maintain physical fitness and cognitive skills, but also provides many psychological and emotional benefits. Rock climbing promotes goal-setting and improves perseverance and confidence in you.

Leave the comfort of your sofa, and push yourself to the limit by finding meaningful hobbies that add value to your life. Find fun and creative hobbies that improve your body and mind, so that you’ll live happier and more productive life. Take any of the six hobbies mentioned above, and then see how much healthier and more productive you can be.

Posted by Editor in Healthy Habits