Any doctor will tell you that depression is a hard illness to come to terms with.   Depression causes people to feel alone, it makes you feel like going into hiding, as if you should just climb up under the bed covers and disappear from reality, though its never that easy and hiding is never the answer.

So what causes this depression?  That answer depends on who you speak with, some will tell you that there is one of a million different causes, while another person will tell you that they are unsure as to what causes it.  One thing we do know for sure is that the world we live in can be a difficult place to wake each day.  As mothers, many of us know all to well what effects depression can have on a family.  Though we do not have the luxury of hiding, crying or wishing it away.  No, we instead have to be strong, we have to make ourselves be better for our kids, our husbands, our family.

One mother can carry the wait of an entire family, career and world on her shoulders when her family is in the room and as they leave, its almost as if that same woman was weakest being on the planet.  There were times when I found myself crying for hours on end and wanting to be left alone, even the idea of taking my own life came into my mind a few times, I never knew where to turn for help.  When I tried to talk to my husband he told me to get over it, he didn't understand that it jst wasn't that easy of a thing to get over, how do you stop feeling as though you hate everything.

I kept telling myself that I needed to get some help, if for nothing more than so I could be around for my husband and my children.  I love my family, they are my world and I didn't want our family to crumble because I wouldn't take the time to get the help that I needed.   Eventually, I went to my doctor and explained to her how I had been feeling, how much I had been crying, not sleeping and how I just felt like everything was falling down around me.  My doctor was able to give me some options as to what I could do to control this disease, I took her advice and went with a medication that, in a short amount of time, made my life a whole lot better.

These days I am nowhere near as emotional as I was then, I can actually sleep at night.   One of my concerns was that my prescription would make me a little loony, not that I don't like space cadets, I just don't want to be one.  Some people told me that the medication would have adverse effects, though in my case I have suffered from none of those.

It is a wonderful thing to know that I can now relax and enjoy life, because life is just so short.  You never realize that until you actually live it.  If any of you feel bad and  want to hide from your life, I encourage you to take the time and see your doctor, allow someone to step in and help you just as I did.  Allow yourself to live life to its fullest and never look back!

As parents, we experience constant mood fluctuations as our kids continue to develop and grow older.  For the majority of us, there will be nothing more difficult than shipping are children away to school that very first time, but we know that it has to be done.  Every parent wants the best for their kids and that includes allowing them to receive a quality education which as we know begins with kindergarten.

So how do we let go of this hardship and separation anxiety?  The reality is that you can't, but you can make sure that your child is prepared both mentally and emotionally to begin the new school year.  We as parents are crucial tools in developing our children's mental aptitude and there is no time like the present to get started.

Most parents tend to think that you can just put your kids in kindergarten and they will learn all they need to know with no effort on their part, well that is not the case anymore.  Now days kids need to be ready for kindergarten.  Children are supposed to know their letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and even how to write their names before entering.  When we were kids, we just went to school and learned all that from the teachers.  We were able to have fun in kindergarten and enjoy it, but now the schools are often so worried about kids knowing every little thing that kids just don't get to have the same fun that we did in school.

Looking back to when I was in kindergarten, I can remember having story time and painting, short naps and milk breaks.  We also had a lot of time to interact with the other kids, which was crucial to developing interpersonal skills.  Now kids are learning how to multiply and are doing fractions, spelling and the like.  I didn't do any of that when I was five, hadn't even come close to anything similar.  In fact, I don't believe that even learned how to multiply until I was in the third grade at least.  The comment argument is that there is just  way to much pressure on such young minds in school right now,  it's no wonder kids want to dropout and what about the parents, often working a couple different jobs just to stay afloat and still manage to find the time to teach you children the things our teachers should be teaching.

Nonetheless, this is the way of school is in many states and to truly give your child a good start in school, you have to take the time to sit down with them and teach them what they need to know.   Most kids are good with shapes and colors and most can say there ABC's but being able to tell what a letter or a number is, might be a different story.

Flash cards are a great way to get kids started on knowing their letters and numbers.  Sure, it is going to take time, nothing ever happens right away, and it will take patients so please be patient with them.  It is so hard on a little kid to be pressured and make sure when they do something or try and do something that you give them praise for that. Try to teach them how school will be, make them as prepared as possible before sending them off to grow up on their own.

Teaching them little things like how to listen to the teacher and raising your hand before you can speak will make a world of difference in the development of your child.  Be sure to instruct them of classroom etiquate, like not talking to the other kids while the teacher is talking and so on, kids have a difficult time knowing what they should and shouldn't do in school.

What are your tips for preparing a child for kindergarten?  Share them with us in the comment section below.