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It used to be that the most important attribute we were meant to have was our IQ. It was something we were born with, though of course a good education and a positive home environment does also affected IQ scores.

More recently people have looked at Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences and started to value all the different ways people can be clever. A mathematician may be fantastic with numbers for example but not great at writing a literary essay, or vice versa.

It’s very important to give our children a wide range of opportunities to discover what they are good at early on so they can decide what they want to focus on. However one thing no one can really get away with anymore is having poor social skills.

Of course some of us are better than others at being good with people. If you’ve got a wee chatterbox who finds it easy to smile at strangers, and interact with others, then you’re sorted. However all children need to learn to interact with people, so they can use this skill later on in life.

If you’ve got a shy child it s still important they learn skills in communicating. Talk to them about overcoming fears, embracing fear and using it. Even children as young as five and six can understand this. If you’ve been nervous speaking in public, share your own experiences.

Never force your child into a situation where they feel unsafe, but offer to share it with them. Refuse to be curtailed by their fears however. If you are naturally exuberant and cheerful, let your child see the way you interact with others, rather than you opting to stay at home because new social settings makes your child nervous.

Use a wide range of tools to help your child become more confident with others. You can role play with toys, and teddy bears, or make a conscious effort to invite friends over. Interact with other parents, and get your child into situations where they already enjoy themselves and feel relaxed such as a soccer team, or a drama class.

Teach them manners and help them learn tools to self manage difficult situations. Talking to an adult for most children can really be a last point of call.

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Many scrapbooking products were designed by scrapbook enthusiasts, who saw the need for a product and filled it. Product designers can either license their idea to a larger manufacturer or take the plunge and start their own company!

Success stories abound in this industry about people who went from an idea to a multi-product corporation. And if you‘re the next success story, prepare for profits! Of course, going it alone also means an investment of time and money, so be sure you have both before starting your company.

What types of qualities does a product designer need? Above all, creativity is the best thing you can offer. Perhaps you‘ve come up with an excellent new die cut. How about inventing a new pair of decorative scissors? When you‘re a product designer, literally anything is possible.

You need to find a niche that hasn‘t been filled. Then do product research. See if your idea is feasible and what kind of investment you‘ll need to make in order to bring it to reality.

Use the library or Internet to locate information about your product. While conducting your research, you'll notice that products with a good reputation or success story are easily located. That's because companies who've had success with a product are not afraid to boast about it.

Rely on your experience. All great success stories begin with a person that has knowledge or a great interest in the product they're selling. Is the product interesting to you? Will you use it on a continuing basis? What is the life expectancy of the product? Do you know people that are familiar with the product?

Contact a scrapbook supplier and tell them about your idea. See if they think it has marketable potential. A word of caution here – don‘t be too specific about your new idea. You don‘t want to risk someone ?honing in? on your new invention.

However, an informed opinion about the product's potential in the marketplace and value is possible after you have gathered all the information possible. All you really need to know now is if there is a real need for this product in the marketplace so do not rush into making a decision prior to bringing all of your tools to bear analyzing the item.

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You might think this would be the easiest part of combating identity theft, but it really isn’t. Think about it. The thief was allowed to pose as you, how do the companies know that you’re not also just trying to impersonate someone else?

Applications or other transaction records related to the theft of your identity may help you prove that you are a victim. For example, you may be able to show that the signature on an application is not yours.

These documents also may contain information about the identity thief that is valuable to law enforcement. By law, companies must give you a copy of the application or other business transaction records relating to your identity theft if you submit your request in writing.

Be sure to ask the company representative where you should mail your request. Companies must provide these records at no charge to you within 30 days of receipt of your request and supporting documents. You also may give permission to any law enforcement agency to get these records, or ask in your written request that a copy of these records be sent to a particular law enforcement officer.

The company can ask you for proof of your identity. This may be a photocopy of a government-issued ID card, the same type of information the identity thief used to open or access the account, or the type of information the company usually requests from applicants or customers, and a police report and a completed affidavit, which may be an Identity Theft Affidavit or the company's own affidavit.

This all, of course, is a daunting process. There are steps you can take, however, to organize your case and have all the documents you need at hand to combat the theft of your identity.

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Marriages rarely die overnight. Almost always, the destruction of a marriage happens little by little, over time. Ideally, if trouble arises in your marriage, you and your spouse should be able to respond to problems before they cause serious damage to your relationship. You can then either work things out and remain married, or make a mutual decision to separate or get divorced.

However, if your marriage is in serious trouble, any discussion, cooperation, or compromise may be impossible, and you may have no option but to end it yourself, possibly against your spouse's wishes.

When you are having marriage problems, whether they are big or small, the sooner you face facts and decide what to do about them the better. Burying your head in the sand when it comes to marital woes won't make your problems go away. In fact, they'll probably just get worse.

You may find yourself replaying old arguments, resurrecting old hurts, crying a lot, or becoming consumed with anger when your marriage is in trouble. Those responses can quickly turn small problems into big ones and cause you to lose all perspective when it comes to your spouse and your marriage.

Furthermore, when you let your emotions get out of control, it becomes difficult if not impossible for you to identify and realistically assess all the options you have for dealing with your troubles.

To help bring some objectivity and common sense to your situation so that you can gain a true appreciation of just how bad (or not so bad) things really are, consider some of the more common signs of a marriage in crisis, such as infidelity and contempt.

When your marriage is going through tough times, you may find yourself wondering if it's an instance of the "for better or for worse" your marriage vows alluded to, or if your relationship is truly on the rocks.

Although no test exists that can tell you if your problems are typical reactions to the stress and strain most marriages experience at one time or another, or if they point to more-serious issues, troubled marriages do tend to exhibit many of the same characteristics.

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People who live stressful, high powered lives are more likely than others to suffer from panic attacks. As the stress in our lives becomes more intense the pressure increases. It’s a little like one of those whistling kettles that explode with steam and noise once they get to the right temperature. The pressure builds and builds until there is no where for it to go but course through your body. The more stress you place on your body and mind every day, the closer you are at all times to that boiling point.

Our brain is very clever. It is constantly checking and rechecking to make sure we have all the reactions and chemicals we need to live our lives. It is always ready to kick start our flight or fight response, ready to protect us against whatever s our enemy. It can’t tell the difference between a real saber toothed tiger and a metaphorical one, but to all intents and purposes, the tiger is just as dangerous and we need protecting from it. The panic attack is merely our body trying to look after us they way our bodies have been caring for us since we first experienced stress.

Just because our brain thinks its life threatening doesn’t mean that it is. It just means our most primitive part of our body, the part that works completely on instinct rather than logic or reason has decided we need a bit of a kick start. This can be either because we’re living on a constant rollercoaster of stress or because something in our environment has reminded us of something we associate with danger and the need for a flight or fight reaction.

If you’ve ever brushed past a car alarm, barely touching it and it’s gone off you’ll know how easy it can be to set off something incredibly sensitive. Our flight or fight response can be like that too. We can become so sensitive that it starts up at the smallest incident and it’s difficult to stop it once its screams of protest against danger have begun.

The solution is simple. If we go back to our whistling kettle, the simplest way to stop it boiling, letting all that steam and noise go is to turn down the heat. Our panic attacks can be managed or prevented in the same way. All we need to do is turn down the heat. Even if the day to day stress remains, we can learn to manage it at a simmering boil, rather than at a fast and furious froth of bubbles and heat.