Q: The eye area can become irritated or infected during patching. Keep an eye on your child's eye area. If you see rashes or cuts around the eye, consult with your doctor or pediatrician on how to treat them. Both elastic band- and adhesive-style patches can irritate the skin around the eye and cause a slight rash. If possible, choose a hypoallergenic adhesive patch to reduce the risk of skin discomfort. Nexcare produces a line of hypoallergenic adhesive patches. Ortopad produces hypoallergenic patches in adhesive and glasses-fitting styles. You can also consult your child's doctor for recommendations. If the skin under the adhesive part of the patch has become irritated, try covering an area around the eye that is larger than the patch with gauze. Attach the gauze to the child's face with medical tape. Then attach the patch to the gauze. You can also try trimming away some of the adhesive part of the patch so there will be less of it touching the skin. The trick is to make sure that the normal eye is still completely covered and that the patch is secure. Since it won't come into contact with the skin, this style of patch prevents the problem of skin irritation. This could be a choice if your child has very sensitive skin. A patch that attaches to glasses can provide good coverage over the weak eye. However, you may need to attach a side panel to the glasses to prevent your child from trying to see around the patch. Wash the area around the eye with water to remove any traces of the irritant that may remain once the patch is removed. Use emollients or moisturizers on the affected area to help keep the skin moist. These will help the skin repair itself and help protect against future inflammation. Skin creams or ointments may reduce inflammation, but it's important to follow instructions carefully and not to overuse these products. In some cases, the best treatment is to do nothing and simply allow the skin to "breathe." Check with your physician for advice on treating your child's skin irritation.
A: Monitor the eye area. Reduce irritation. Adjust the size of the patch. Try a patch that can be attached to glasses. Care for the skin.

Q: After confessing about your bad grades, make an effort to show how responsible you are. If your parents see you're taking the setback as an incentive to change, they'll be less likely to respond with punishment. Start keeping your parents up-to-date on your grades. Show them your graded assignments, tests, and quizzes. If you get regular progress reports, show these reports to your parents without prompting. Keep your parents up-to-date on the progress you've made. Do not just say you'll talk to your teacher. Actually talk to him or her and, after the conversation has occurred, report back to your parents. Tell them what your teacher said and any suggestion he or she gave for improvement. You can avoid punishment by being willing to work on the problem with your parents mutually. Together, talk about ways you can work on bringing your grades up to standard. A lot of your plan depends on why your grades were low. If you were genuinely struggling, a tutor may help. You also may want to ask your teacher for help on an assignment. If you slipped up due to irresponsibility, you can take steps to be a better student. Promise your parents you'll always do your homework after school. Set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it. Write down assignments ahead of time so you do not forget them. There are many reasons your grades may have slipped. If you are having personal problems that are affecting your grades, let your parents know. They will want to help you get through difficult times and want to offer you suggestions on how to fix any issues affecting your studies. Depression is a common problem in teenagers that can affect grades. If you've been feeling low lately, suffering mood swings, are having thoughts of death or suicide, and have lost interest in certain activities, you may be experiencing depression. Talking to a therapist to address the issue can help. Let your parents know if you're worried you may be depressed. Attention Deficit Disorder can also cause a slip in your grades. ADD is marked by irritability, an inability to concentrate, and poor decision-making skills. If you think you may have ADD, talk to your parents about getting diagnosed so you can get the treatment you need to get back on track in school. If you're having any personal problems, such as getting bullied in school, you should also let your parents know about this. This can also affect study habits. If you're in an abusive situation, it can be very difficult to talk through things with your parents. Your parents may be unwilling to listen or compromise. In this case, seek help from another adult. A trusted adult can be another relative, like a grandparent, aunt, or uncle. You can also talk to your family doctor, if you get the opportunity to speak to the doctor alone. A teacher or guidance counselor at your school can also help. In the event you cannot think of anyone to talk to yourself, you can contact Childhelp. This is a non-profit agency dedicated to helping children in abusive situations. You can call at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). If you're not comfortable calling in your home, you can ask to use a friend's phone or even try to find a pay phone.
A: Show you're responsible. Develop a plan to bring your grades up. Let your parents know about any personal issues that are affecting your grades. Seek help from another adult in the event of abuse.

Q: When you feel sad that the holiday is over, cheer yourself up by thinking about all of the good times that you had. There are bound to be a lot of great memories from the holiday, so focus on those when you feel upset. Go through photographs from the holiday. If you're from a family that takes a lot of photographs or videos of family gatherings, look through some of them if you're feeling low after the holidays. They'll be a great reminder of all of the fun you had. Talk to the people you celebrated with. It's never to early to begin reminiscing. Speak with your friends and family members that celebrated with you and talk about the good times at Christmas. They're bound to be able to cheer you up with a funny story from the holiday. While gifts aren't the only good thing about the holidays, they can make make you happy when you're sad about the holiday ending. Play with toys or gadgets, read books, and make use of all of the gifts you've been given. They'll be a welcome distraction. If you received money or gift cards, go out and treat yourself. You'll be cheered up by new purchases, and you may be able to forget that the holiday is over. Go out to eat or visit stores for a good distraction. Send messages to the people who got you gifts and thank them for a great holiday. Not only will you be doing a good deed, but you'll be recalling memories of the times that made you happy. Use the notes to talk about how much you enjoyed the holidays, and how you can't wait to spend time together next year.
A: Reflect on the holiday. Get excited about your gifts. Spend your Christmas money. Write thank you notes.

Q: The figure eight knot has a firm, non-slip loop at the end. It is one of the strongest knots there is and ideal for mooring boats. Measure 24 inches (61cm) from the end of the rope, then wrap the rope into a loop. The tail needs to cross in front of the rest of the rope. Hold the loop in your non-dominant hand. Use your other hand to wrap the tail end of the rope behind the rest of the rope, just under the loop. Pull the tail end upwards and push it through the loop. Pull upwards on the tail end and downwards on the rest of the rope to tighten the knot. If you have enough rope leftover, you can use it to retrace your knot. Simply weave the tail around the knot, following the rope that's already there. This will make the knot larger. If you want to, you can leave a loop at the bottom to hook onto things.
A:
Use a figure eight knot if you need something strong. Make a loop near the end of the rope. Wrap the tail end behind the rest of the rope. Feed the tail end through the loop, then tighten. Use the end of the rope to retrace the knot, if desired.