INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Opening up your body to the other person tells them you are listening, engaged, and ready to communicate. It also makes eye contact easier and more natural to maintain. Position yourself a few feet away from the other person's face. Most commonly, this is one of the other person's eyes, but if you are uncomfortable you can look between their eyes, just under or above the eye, or at the earlobe. Think of how you would look at a painting or great view -- you are not focusing intently on their eye but instead looking at them gently. Hold your eyes in this position and resist darting them around. Relax your gaze by breathing slowly as you make eye-contact and nodding occasionally while you listen. Too much eye-contact can be as off-putting as none at all. While you don't need to count the seconds, you should look away every once in a while to keep the conversation light and easy, but only for a few seconds. Some casual ways to do so include:  Laughing, nodding, and acknowledging the other person. Looking at the sky/weather. Looking off to the side briefly, as if remembering something. Running your hands through your hair.

SUMMARY: Turn your shoulders and head to face the other person's eyes. Choose a focal point near the eyes. Make gentle eye-contact. Break eye contact briefly every 5-15 seconds.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Spray your Christmas tree with a cat repellant spray that you can purchase at your local pet supply store. This will deter your kitty without leaving a noticeable odor to human noses. Or, you might try a citrus spray, as cats are repelled by citrus odor too.  Apple cider vinegar can also be sprayed as a cat repellant. If it's a plastic tree, a small amount of Citronella oil shaken into a bottle of water and misted on to the tree makes it smell unpleasant to the cat, but fresh and citrus-like to you. Spray some pine cones with Citronella and pile them around the base of the tree. Cats do not walk on pine cones! Pine cones also have the same effect in the base of your houseplants. You could also place orange peels under the tree to make your cat less likely to go near it. Cats also dislike the smell of rotten apples, but then you probably won't like that smell much either! Try spraying your tree with a little orange juice. Cats hate the smell of citrus, so orange juice can act as a deterrent. Slices of orange can also be used for decoration. Be sure to tape down excess wire and to make it too hard for the cat to reach the power point or where the cords join. Do not leave any wires dangling – wrap wire around the base of the tree rather than having it dangling anywhere. It can also be helpful to cover exposed wires in wire covers or piping to prevent the cat from chewing them.  Cords can also be coated with cat repellant sprays. Just be careful not to spray too much liquid on the electrical cords – a light misting will do. Plug the tree lights into a short indoor extension cord and tape the plug into the socket with electrical tape. Simply unplug the lights from the extension cord to turn them off. Consider using cords that shut off if damaged. Always turn off Christmas tree lights when there is no responsible adult in the room to keep an eye on them. Place toys the kitty likes in the same room as the tree and place his/her scratching post reasonably near to the tree. These are the cat’s things and encourage the cat to use them rather than hang around the tree. Burn your cat’s extra energy by engaging in playtime. This will leave the cat with less energy to attack the tree. Keep all of the cat’s water, food, and beds in a different room. This will make the cat less tempted by the tree.

SUMMARY: Use repellant sprays. Be careful with electrical wires and lighting. Distract your cat.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Babies naturally explore the world through biting and hitting things around them. Hands and teeth are a child's first social tools. A child learns to use them to explore the things around them as well as the reactions she gets from others when she uses them.  Biting and hitting is most common between the ages of 18 months and 2 1/2 years, while language is still developing. Biting usually stops as language develops, but hitting often continues for several years into early childhood. If your child is hitting in particular environments, such as at a particular child's house or at preschool, take a look at these places to see what might be causing her behavior. Consider the behavior as a nonverbal communication, and think about what she might be trying to communicate.  Most children have shorter tempers when tired. Consider whether the hitting is happening at a particular time of day or in a limited number of situations. Consider the possibility that your child is responding to unkind behavior. Teasing and bullying often occur very subtly, in ways that your child may not be able to communicate. If this is the situation, you'll need to address those behaviors even as you teach your child alternatives to hitting. Teaching your child to identify her feelings is important. Anger, frustration, and jealousy are feelings, and feelings are natural and normal. Never make your child feel ashamed of having a feeling, even though you are trying to teach her alternative behaviors.  Notice how you respond to your own feelings of anger. Use these moments to help teach your child alternatives to hitting. For example, if you get angry at someone, use your hand like a puppet. "Okay, hand, you feel angry, but no hitting, okay?" It might feel silly, but your child will get the message. Using words to identify your feelings will help your child better connect words to his own feelings. Saying out loud when you're feeling upset, angry or frustrated can help your child learn that these feelings are normal and okay. Follow up by stating what you're going to do to help yourself feel better. For example, you might say, "I feel angry, but I'll feel better if I take 5 big breaths."

SUMMARY:
Consider normal child development. Learn what causes your child to hit. Remember that being angry is okay.