Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
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Most schools closed in mid-spring. Playgrounds in many areas are taped off. Sports programs from baseball to swim meets are being canceled. The current COVID-19 crisis and its quarantining measures are directly affecting children every day in a variety of ways. Many parents worry what the long-term effects may be on their children. It’s a question for which there aren’t a lot of ready answers but the consensus from numerous experts is that most children will be all right. It is especially true for younger children. While the...
You may not think of relaxing as a skill that needs to be learned. Doesn’t relaxing just happen without our really thinking about it? Unfortunately, thanks to the current health crisis, relaxing has become more difficult to accomplish for many. While there have always been things that made us stressed or anxious, today’s problems really are more serious and deep reaching. The impact of COVID-19 has affected the way each person feels, even if we haven’t been ill ourselves or know anyone who has been. It’s a 24-hour a day pro...
Summer vacation planning has become a more demanding challenge for many this year. As parts of the country begin to open up, many people are anxious to escape from having been locked down at home and to be someplace different for a while. Past vacation choices might have meant considering travel overseas or a flight to another part of this country. This year the planning and possible destinations for most people will probably require different choices. Road trips are the likely choices for many. If it’s possible, getting a...
The health crisis that the world has been facing over the past several months has had a major effect on just about every aspect of people’s lives. Even for those lucky enough not to have been directly touched by the virus, the lives they are living are nevertheless quite different from what they were just weeks ago. Most of the changes and impact that coronavirus has brought are beyond individual control. But what is not beyond their control, and what each person should address, is how they are handling and reacting to how th...
The COVID-19 crisis and restricted social contact has many people spending more time in front of electronic screens. It might be the family TV, business laptop or streaming on the smartphone. For children, it’s often some gaming device or social media via their phones. Whatever, the result is that screen time is increasing significantly. While business demands for adults and online classes for children are clear reasons why today’s world requires people to spend more time with their electronic devices, many people are als...
Most people have few hesitations about taking actions to correct life’s small problems. They might complain about poor restaurant service, return yesterday’s defective purchase or visit the doctor about a troubling health issue. But are they ready and willing to take action when the problem they’re facing turns out to be the actual life they’re living? Too often people’s response to real life issues and disappointments is to simply push them aside, or to feel sorry and depressed that things aren’t going right. Unfortunate...
The last few months have left many people feeling shaken. Life can be more difficult and harder to manage when they are so strongly affected by things far outside their area of control. But one of the secrets to getting through difficult times is for people to focus more heavily on those areas of their lives which they can control. A starting point is their physical health. While that certainly means doing all they can to minimize exposure to the COVID-19 virus, it also means working to stay in the best physical condition...
Even in the best of times, depression is a major mental health issue. Recent statistics find more than 17 million Americans are affected by major depressive disorders in any given year. And in today's period of pandemics, social distancing and widespread uncertainty about financial and health issues, it’s not surprising that depression is a growing problem. Major depressive disorder is, however, more than simply feelings of sadness or grief. Everyone has times when things aren’t going quite right and the results leave the...
One result of the health crisis has been a great many parents getting to spend a lot more home-time with their children. While situations vary around the country, many school systems have ceased classroom instruction for the year. Instead, children may be doing online classes, while complaining and trying to sneak in as much TV, cellphone and video game time as possible each day. However, parents can help minimize the complaining, the goofing off and their own headaches, by taking action to make home-time more productive. A s...
The coronavirus health crisis that has so terribly affected this nation and the entire world is clearly a cause for heightened levels of stress and anxiety for everyone. One clear result of increased stress for many people is the negative impact it can have on sleep patterns. Stress is an emotional, physical or mental tension caused by something that’s outside ourselves, something over which we usually have no control. Such stress can make it more difficult to fall asleep and to stay asleep and can bring about more f...
The coronavirus pandemic has created high levels of stress and fear for many people. The anxiety can seem overwhelming to many people, but learning to cope with and manage that stress is important for everyone. While everyone has different reactions to stressful situations, there are ways for most people to reduce the negative effects that the stress of a crisis can have for them and those around them. As they might expect, fear and anxiety over this disease is highest for those most at risk, including older people and those...
Regardless of where people live, virtually every community has programs that rely on volunteers to operate. Hospitals, homeless shelters, schools, local theater and just about every other community-oriented program people can think of has a need for volunteers to keep it up and running. And yet many people don’t volunteer. Of course, they have plenty of excuses. Lack of time, work demands, family responsibilities, they’re too old – it’s a long excuse list that people might think about as they sit in front of the TV most night...
If you ever find yourself yelling, “How many times have I told you?” then you’re likely aware that words often are not going to fix many problems. Instead they find that the very behavior that drives them crazy continues to occur. People are often frustrated because they’re talking when they really ought to be acting. The common expression is, “Actions speak louder than words,” and that’s often true in personal relationships. The cure is to take action that gets the message across. Take that toddler in your house who wou...
Yes, people live in a pretty stressful world these days. Whether it’s international events, job pressures or personal problems, most people are touched by plenty of stress-producing situations every day. Though they may not be aware of the ways stress is affecting them, it can actually harm people. Experts said that stressful environments can be a direct cause of anxiety and depression in people’s lives. Studies have found that excessive stress may be at least partly responsible for headaches, drinking problems and a var...
There is a growing body of research showing that the dietary choices people make each day affect not only their physical bodies – yes, that beer belly didn’t just happen by itself – but can also play an important role in their mental health. Most parents have probably observed what foods high in sugar sometimes do to their children. And while studies have failed to find a definitive link between sugar and hyperactivity, most mothers will tell you that their child seems more excited and active after eating a sugary snack...
It’s a common problem many people encounter as they age – they forget more things and it seems to happen more frequently. It can be a frustrating experience, and even a frightening one as they worry that serious issues of dementia are just around the corner. While researchers are only beginning to understand exactly why the brain seem to be more prone to memory issues as people get older, researchers have, however, begun to make real progress in finding ways to help fight memory problems as people age. And the latest advice i...
As parents we may often ignore what is probably the most important influence in our teenager’s life -- peer pressure. While parental opinions may be given some consideration, if only because of the consequences of ignoring them, it’s more often the comments and actions of peers that help many teens decide virtually everything from hairstyles to clothing choices to academic efforts. Peer pressure can be a good thing, encouraging participation in sports, religious activities and working for good grades. But peer pressure can...
Special to The Village News No, those New Year’s resolutions you made weren’t a bad idea. The fact that you haven’t been successful in reaching those goals may seem a problem, but the reality is that it’s also a very fixable problem. The middle of January is about when most people give up on those resolutions that, back Jan. 1, they swore they were going to succeed at this year. So what went wrong? In most cases, a variety of things. The most common is that people often promise themselves too much. they want to lose 20 poun...
Ah, ‘tis the season for many households to find themselves with one or more children suffering from a cold or the flu. Damp, chilly weather and all that contact with other sniffling children at school almost guarantees that winter illness will strike most homes. Most people are well aware of the medical steps to help their child get better, or at least feel better, but they sometimes forget there are emotional things they can do to help their child, too. That can be important because children often feel bad about feeling b...
Special to Village News Parents are naturally proud when their children are well behaved. When our kids play well with others, responsibly complete family chores, and interact politely with adults, we feel we've done a pretty reasonable job of child-rearing. But getting our kids to be well behaved is not always a simple task. Children learn behaviors through the consequences that various behaviors bring. If a child earns a reward for doing something well, he's learned it's a positive consequence. Poor behavior that brings a p...
If you're in a work situation where you have a strong, positive relationship with that supervisor or boss above you, congratulations. While it definitely does happen, this is not always the case for many of us in our jobs. Good relationships with a supervisor require effort on your part, but it's effort that pays dividends. Studies have shown that one of the most important things affecting someone's job performance, stress levels, and overall job satisfaction and happiness is the relationship they have with the person above...
While wanting to see positive changes in your life isn't a bad idea, the way most new year's resolutions come together is usually complicated, often helps little and may even be harmful. Most of us are pretty bad at setting reasonable goals for ourselves. We usually think in terms of absolutes: "I'm going to lose 20 pounds next month." "I'm going to stop smoking now." "I'm going to get that job promotion this quarter." There are several problems with resolutions like these, the main one being that they seldom achieve...
In today’s world virtually any holiday travel is going to be a cause for increased stress and anxiety. Whether driving for a holiday visit with relatives or taking a holiday plane trip, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll experience some stress-producing, travel-related issues. Regardless, holiday travel is popular. It’s estimated that this year’s holiday period will see more than 94 million Americans climbing in their cars for a holiday road trip. If air travel is in the plans, they’ll be joining an estimated 6 million fellow...
‘Tis the season when everyone is bombarded with happy holiday images. Advertisers continually show rejoicing families with their new cars, children opening piles of presents around the Christmas tree and countless cheery family gatherings – upbeat images, laughing children and plenty of holiday joy. Except this image simply isn’t true for everyone. All those happy holiday images and promotion of all the good times and pleasures of the season can build up unrealistic expectations and not just for those children asking Santa...
Special to Village News Many families are facing the important issue of having one or more aging parents reaching the point where they can no longer care for themselves as they once did. Understanding and accepting that point in life is difficult for most people regardless of their age. It’s not easy to admit that one’s physical abilities have deteriorated with age and that many of the seemingly simple activities of daily life are slipping past one’s capabilities. It is a time when family members usually have to step in, b...
