Women Lines

Shakun Narang wants to share this interesting information with womenlines readers-

According to the findings of the most recent poll, it takes women almost one year of their lives to decide what to wear. Picking outfits for work, dating, gym, dinner parties, holidays and many other activities means that the average woman will be spending about 287 days rifling through her closet.

The survey, carried out by the UK clothes giant Matalan, was based on an adult lifetime and compiled the results after polling nearly 2,500 women with the ages between 16 and 60 years. The results revealed that most women will be spending approximately 16 minutes on weekday mornings and 14 minutes on a Saturday or Sunday mornings selecting the correct ensembles to wear. According to the study authors, women spend an average of twenty minutes when deciding what to wear on a Friday or Saturday nights and the same amount of time is needed for an outfit selection during a week night.

The researchers behind the study also found that women spend about 52 minutes in front of their closet when it comes to choosing clothes for a vacation at sea. While on vacation, ten minutes a morning will be taken up when a lady is trying to find an acceptable outfit, with another 10 minutes spent on selecting clothes for the evening. In addition to that, dinner parties, Christmas parties and black tie occasions - at approximately 36 minutes a time 6 times throughout a year - adds up to three and a half days.

The results of the poll also demonstrate that, on average, most of women will try on two different outfits every single morning before making up their mind and coming to a final decision. In addition, one in every two women spend about 15 minutes the night before work trying to figure out what clothes to select. Among other findings of the survey is that about 64 hours per year women spend on talking about clothes to their female counterparts.

Sarah Gilmore, a spokesman for Matalan, said that what a woman wears is directly linked to how she feels about herself and it is very important a woman feels exceptional in what she wears. “Whatever the occasion your clothes portray an image and we understand this is fundamentally important to women,” Gilmore said.

It goes with every kid I suppose. Most frequent question my kid is asking “When I can watch cartoon mom?”

Quite strange. I never watch TV in front of him. My husband watches only news and he is having very controlled viewing time for cartoons but the most fascinated time of whole day routine is cartoon time. I am worried for his stressed eyes, waste of time, no movements, no eye ball movement (as all these reasons are given by doctors against TV).

Then I have a look at my kid’s happy face, the bliss he is into when he is watching cartoon, some general awareness which he gets while watching educational cartoon like ones on Disney clubhouse, his various new expressive ways of speaking. I am confused which school of thought to follow. I always was in favor of controlled cartoon viewing for kids. As there are many things which we as a parent are not able to teach our kids. Kids come to know about those things through cartoon only.

I just surfed the internet to get some information what the researches are saying. Researches show that the first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. Kids should not exposed to TV and other electronic media which can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.

As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family.

• Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
• Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
• TV characters often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes.

Children’s advocates are divided when it comes to solutions. Although many urge for more hours per week of educational programming, others assert that no TV is the best solution. And some say it’s better for parents to control the use of TV and to teach kids that it’s for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism.

Just have a look at these facts-

The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want.

· According to the AAP, kids in the United States see 40,000 commercials each year. From the junk food and toy advertisements during Saturday morning cartoons to the appealing promos on the backs of cereal boxes, marketing messages inundate kids of all ages. And to them, everything looks ideal — like something they simply have to have. It all sounds so appealing — often, so much better than it really is.

The other school of thought which speaks about positive effects of TV says, in moderation, can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. No doubt about it — TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer.

Good point’s are-

· Because of its ability to create powerful touchstones, TV enables young people to share cultural experiences with others.

· Shared viewing gives family members of all ages an opportunity to spend time together.

· Parents can use TV as a catalyst to get kids reading—following up on TV programs by getting books on the same subjects or reading authors whose work was adapted for the programs.

· Great television can teach kids important values and life lessons.

· TV programs often explore controversial or sensitive issues, which can make it easier for parents and kids to discuss them.

· Educational programming can develop young children’s socialization and learning skills.

· News, current events and historical programming can help make young people more aware of other cultures and people.

· Documentaries can help develop critical thinking about society and the world. TV can help introduce your family to classic Hollywood films and foreign movies that may not be available in your local video store.

To watch TV or not that we will always be in dilemma, but if we can really have a controlled viewing hours for our kids then we can have benefit from both school of thoughts!

Indian women spread their charm everywhere they are, why not in Singapore!

INDIAN WOMENFOLK

Indian women association of Singapore organised a shopping fare, IWA Bazaar, on 11 September, at Holiday Inn Singapore with much fun fare. It was a lovely experience participating in shopping fair and meeting such enterprising ladies.This  fair gave a platform to all those entrepreneur ladies who are trying to create niche for themselves by using their creativity or doing some business. There were various stalls put up by different vendors in the bazaar showcasing jewellery, clothing’s, painting’s and many more such items.

The Indian Women’s Association (IWA) of Singapore is a non-profit organization under the patronage of the High Commission of India. Founded in 1998 IWA comprises of a large exclusive member body representative of both the expatriate as well as local Indian Community. IWA is managed by a volunteer executive committee elected annually.IWA endeavours to bring the Indian community together by giving them a platform to connect, support, and network with each other whilst living Singapore.  Through IWA members participate in social, cultural, educational and philanthropic activities. IWA’s mission is not only to present a cultural platform, but also to provide a networking  interface to its working members.Membership  is open to all women of Indian origin or married to men of Indian origin residing in Singapore.

The organising committee led by Ms Ranjeeta  and Ms Monisha had put lots of hard work in organising such event at such a bigger scale. The show was glamorized by the ramp walk by lovely ladies displaying their brands of clothes and jewellery.Their were some unique stalls which displayed the creativity of our womenfolk. Gifts stall by Ms Shraddha Agarwal was unique in itself. She displayed her creativity through her baby diaper gift cakes which is an innovative idea in itself. Ms Georgie displayed her own designed jewellery in  a very creative manner. She designs jewellery with gems and stones.

Events like IWA Bazaar are really helpful in promoting entrepreneurship spirit of our womenfolk. Womenlines hats off to all those lovely ladies who took the initiative to organise this event.

1.  www.wallwords.com provides fantastic quotes and printed words to apply directly to your child’s walls. If you are feeling thrifty and adventurous, use a transparent sheet to print your favorite inspiring quote or word collection. Simply choose your favorite font, then using a projector - simply display your quote on the wall, ready to trace and paint!

2. Paint walls your favorite soothing color and then create an entire wall of various family members. Choose photo frames that offer either a uniform look (i.e. all black square, all silver, all gold, etc.) or choose a varied and quirky collection of frames. Place photos of family members and dear friends inside and arrange photos in a collage format on the wall. Whenever your child spends time in his/her room, they will be surrounded by the faces of those that love them the most!

3.  Whether your choose bright paint or muted paint, see your painting options at a different angle. Start at the bottom corner of one wall and paint a solid color in a diagonal line up to the opposite corner, near the ceiling. Create diagonal lines throughout the room.

4. Stripes without the fuss. Choose your paint color and purchase half of the required paint in a high gloss finish, the other half in a flat finish. Using painter’s tape, mark off your stripes (in the width you prefer). Starting with the flat finish paint, create an every-other stripe pattern. When dry, remove tape and repeat process with the high gloss paint, finishing all stripes. What a simple, fast and easy way to create a striped illusion without confusing too many colors in the room!

5. Choose favorite childhood board games. Purchase them from various sources (www.craigslist.com) or thrift stores. Be creative! Taking the game-board portion of the game, mount directly on the wall using either hooks, double-stick tape or nails. Place in an appealing arrangement for a fun and playful mood setter.

6. Instead of a wallpaper border near the top of the wall, take many photos of your child during any stage of their life. Focus on specific parts of their little bodies (ears, eyes, lips, belly buttons, toes, etc.). Frame each photo in a 5×7 frame and hang at the top of the wall, nearly next to each other for a unique and very creative decorative statement.

7. Using your child’s favorite storybook, enlist the assistance of a local artist. Recreate the pages of the book directly on the walls of your child’s room.

8. Hang fabric in a variety of ways. Mount curtain rods at various distances from each other around the room. Hang fabric from curtain rods or affix directly to the ceiling or wall with staples or heavy duty double-sided tape. Create a swag effect by draping fabric from a canopy (hanging over your child’s bed or crib) to nearby corners of the room for a dreamy, fairytale feeling.

9. Create a mural! www.walldecorshops.com Many companies provide wonderful wall art that is easy to apply and simple to remove. Check out their many designs, options and suggestions.

10. Most of all - put a bit of yourself into your nursery project. Write an intimate note to your child near the portion of the wall where the door hinge meets the wall. Visitors to your home won’t notice it, and it will provide a special “hidden” love note to your child. Sign and date it . . . your precious child will treasure it forever!

Market research is the most important part for any business to grow!

While reading about the elements necessary for success in any business set up for women,this was a clear message that proper market reseach can help you to achieve success. You will come to know about your potential customers and where to locate them. Networking, contacting potential customers via e-mails, direct mail questionanaires, telemarketing, can help you getting the feedback for your business.In library there are many books  which can provide you information regarding researches related to your business, studies conducted by colleges, universities, search on internet, can bring many researches in front of you.

Point to be noted is that there is a big difference in marketing and advertising. Some books explain that marketing is to determine where and to whom you will sell your goods or services, while advertising is the method you will use to publicly acquaint your customers with your goods or services in order to get them buy what your business is offering.

Market research will help to gather that information which will guide you to plan your business goals, objectives, and marketing strategies. One should start with a free or low cost advertising methods like press releases, referrals, business cards, fliers, donations to charity events, and so on.

One of the very effective advertising method which I found interesting  is Newsletters. A promotional newsletter to your customer mailing list can keep your business in your customer’s mind, give them tips that how to use the product and alert them about upcoming sales.