Where : GEC Grounds (opposite Larnaca Old Hospital)
When: Saturday 23rd June
Time: 11am - 4pm
Larnaka Municipality Press Release 28th May - 3rd June 2012
This weekly press release is part of an effort to inform our citizens and the public in general about the activities of our Municipality.
Cultural Events
English
For more information call the Larnaca Municipality Cultural Department on 24657745 or 24629333
Construction work
The Department of Construction of the Municipality of Larnaca informs the public that between 28/05-03/06/2012, the following construction work will be in progress:
- Pavement construction in the Shopping Centre.
- Drain repair on Kerkiras street.
- Drain construction on the streets Konstantinou Kalogera and Filosofou Aristoteli streets.
- Pavement construction in Stadiou street.
- Works related to the Flood festival.
- Support construction work on a listed building in St. Lazarus square.
The Larnaca Municipality Finance Department informs the public that payment of the Municipal Property Tax, Corporate Tax and Business Premises Permit for the year 2011 as well as for the previous years is possible only at Larnaca Municipality Offices. A 10% fine will be added on the initial tax amount.
As far as the Refuse Collection Tax is concerned, the payment deadline has already passed and legal proceedings have begun.
The public should settle their payments to Larnaca Municipality on time and within the given deadlines to avoid added legal and court costs.
Visit the website: www.larnaka.com
Energy Team and Environmental Management Department: www.larnaka202020.eu
Contact: 24816559, 24816581/email: perivallon@larnaca.com
Translation kindly provided by
Eri Constantinou
Dogs + kids = best friends
We have 3 miniature pinchers in the house and an 18 month old daughter, as you may know. When I got pregnant we had to bring up the issue of dogs in the house and discuss it with my husband. It was not much of issue for me – dogs are our best friends, we love them like kids and I didn’t think something should change. It was a surprise for me to realize that my husband was not on the same page, and I’m putting it very delicately… If you are married to Cypriot you probably know what I’m talking about. And I’m not criticizing in any way; every nation has its beliefs and stereotypes. Having a dog in the same house with a kid is simply not in Cypriots’ culture.
I was fighting like a tiger defending the rights of “my babies” to continue living in the house. There were plenty of good grounds in my favor: I was raised with a cat and a dog in the house, the dog saved my life when I was a little kid, our dogs are not fit to live outside, it’s a pity to deprive our child of first true friendship, etc. It is worth mentioning that our pets are properly registered, we take a good care of them, taking them to vet regularly, bathing them every week and feeding them like little piggies.
Finally, after some days of passionate discussions we came to compromise: dogs will stay but under my strict control and supervision, not being allowed to touch or even come close to the baby for the first few month. Apparently it was a good thing to do because at first our dogs completely got insane with a little crying thing we brought home. Their eyes were glowing and we couldn’t calm them down for some days. I have no idea why they were this way, it could be jealousy, excitement, curiosity; maybe they thought we brought a cat or some other enemy.
My strategy was plain and simple: be strict when they do something wrong and show lots of love the rest of the time. In practice, it was a little more difficult. No problem with the strict part, but with the love… The baby was taking all my time, like it often happens with a first born. So, I wasn’t taking them out for a walk that often, we stopped playing loud games they love so much; I wasn’t petting them every free minute of my day, etc. And yet they understood and simply followed me everywhere, not demanding much.
After some months, when the baby started discovering the whole wide world, our dogs were there for her. They were standing still when she was touching them; they were barking if someone was approaching her, they were trying to lick her little hand every time she was pulling their noses. Ofcourse we are always there, never living our girl alone with the doggies, but it seems obvious to me that our spoiled pinchers are not dangerous.
In fact, the dogs are great entertainment for a little toddler. They run together around the house, playing very actively when mommy and daddy can simply sit down and enjoy the show. Our daughter learned all the body parts of animals with the help of the doggies; it is much more fun to point at the original eyes and ears then at the drawn ones. Not to mention how many useful things a child can pick up in between the lines when growing up with a dog, like the meaning of love, friendship, compassion, loyalty, being a leader, caring, being responsible for someone else and other priceless lessons of life.
I also learned something. Dogs are not like kids, they are still animals, which is a very positive thing. Their jealousy is not like human’s jealousy. They will accept another member in the family simply if you show that this new one is very important to YOU, because it’s you they love so much. Dogs are the best example of unconditional love - important concept which many people do not understand and therefore have difficulties giving or receiving it.
Irina Evangelou
LPN Mum
LPN is a pure community based site that adopts the true spirit of Blogging. As such we feature unedited raw content from our readers.
I was fighting like a tiger defending the rights of “my babies” to continue living in the house. There were plenty of good grounds in my favor: I was raised with a cat and a dog in the house, the dog saved my life when I was a little kid, our dogs are not fit to live outside, it’s a pity to deprive our child of first true friendship, etc. It is worth mentioning that our pets are properly registered, we take a good care of them, taking them to vet regularly, bathing them every week and feeding them like little piggies.
My strategy was plain and simple: be strict when they do something wrong and show lots of love the rest of the time. In practice, it was a little more difficult. No problem with the strict part, but with the love… The baby was taking all my time, like it often happens with a first born. So, I wasn’t taking them out for a walk that often, we stopped playing loud games they love so much; I wasn’t petting them every free minute of my day, etc. And yet they understood and simply followed me everywhere, not demanding much.
After some months, when the baby started discovering the whole wide world, our dogs were there for her. They were standing still when she was touching them; they were barking if someone was approaching her, they were trying to lick her little hand every time she was pulling their noses. Ofcourse we are always there, never living our girl alone with the doggies, but it seems obvious to me that our spoiled pinchers are not dangerous.
I also learned something. Dogs are not like kids, they are still animals, which is a very positive thing. Their jealousy is not like human’s jealousy. They will accept another member in the family simply if you show that this new one is very important to YOU, because it’s you they love so much. Dogs are the best example of unconditional love - important concept which many people do not understand and therefore have difficulties giving or receiving it.
Irina Evangelou
LPN Mum
LPN is a pure community based site that adopts the true spirit of Blogging. As such we feature unedited raw content from our readers.
Note from an older mum
Dear fellow LPN mums,
I am very happy to have found you all. This is a wonderful place to express ourselves and share information. I admire the enthusiasm and energy of those who have been mothers for 5 years or less and I thank you for letting me be a part of your world.
I have been a mother for 13 years now and I have benefited mainly from older mums who have put things into perspective with their wise comments and experiences. Now it seems it's time for me to get some fresh energy from younger mums too. I have 'been there done that' when it comes to searching for the information as to how best to prepare our children for their future. My first son was conceived and raised 'by the book' and it was hard work, done with much love (always been with all of our children) and it was yielding the expected results: baby slept through the night from 6 months, was introduced to foods on time, was trilingual at 18 months and responded to basic discipline rules. Then number 2 was born, another boy. NOTHING seemed to work: he even jumped out of his cot at NINE months when we were doing the 'by the book sleep alone in your room' procedure. So he shared our bed, stayed up late, couldn't speak clearly and seemed to be winging all the time! It was so tiring and as we tried harder and harder to put him into some kind of mould he rebelled more and more. At some point we started accepting him for who he was and not trying to make him some kind of preconceived toddler or child. He is a PERFECT 10 year old nowadays with a big heart and a loud voice that can be put to good use when needed (like when singing a happy song out loud!). After a 7 year gap we had our baby daughter who is now a toddler at 2 and a half. We have given up on books, rules and we have finally decided to simply ENJOY the ride. She is turning out quite normal, as trilingual as her brothers and as rebel as she naturally is.
I don't claim to be an expert, I just want to share my experience with you. What I would suggest is to enjoy parenthood. This is what I learned from older mums. They were smiling when I was complaining about how difficult potty training was or how much patience was needed to teach them how to write or make them read. I bought all the sticker books, the flash cards, the songs and the educational toys. At the end, each child is different and parents should make sure that they have a break too. I disagree with too much structuring. We should leave at least one afternoon - when they are at school age - just to be home and do simple things like watch cartoons (even if they are educational) or kick the ball. Let your children enjoy each other, interact as siblings like our grandparents did: the older can take care of the younger, they can all play with one ball, find snails in the garden and enjoy bilingualism, music, reading, sports or whatever it is that they are good at in a casual manner. I have discovered teaching my daughter the alphabet in English by singing while we change a nappy. The road is long and bumpy, sleepless nights come without a warning. We are only humans and we shouldn't get anxious on bringing up our children. Sometimes all you have to do is follow your gut feeling. Our children need to learn that we are not perfect and that we are humans just like them. We need our time and our space and as they grow into their teens there is a different danger of invasion into our already invaded space as individuals. It is our duty to help them with time management until their 20s (yes, twenties!) as found by recent neurological studies. Sometimes they will resist and we have to do it. But 20 or more years per child is too long to stress over perfection, don't you think?
Finally, I must to acknowledge that I have been very fortunate in being able to leave a routine that I had developed as a working mother for 10 years and left me EXHAUSTED. We went to a place where life goes on at a slower, more relaxed pace, where most families have 3 children instead of 2 and where mothers are forced to stay home with their children until they are at least 5. That gave me the opportunity to assess those 10 years and to wonder how could I have carried on like that for so long. There I could read more books on older children and I understood that after a certain point we cannot influence them anymore. So our initial efforts are very important and then the Community takes over, including teachers, sport teams, clubs, etc. So now I am using all my free time on bringing the spirit of community into the equation. This is a great place to raise children with a lot of individual effort into everything everyone does but when it comes to feel part of a community I think we are still far from where we could be. But that would be a topic for another note. In the meantime, get plenty of rest when you can, give yourself permission to make mistakes, say sorry when needed and ASK for 'me' time. Spoil yourselves because your children and your community need you happy, healthy and strong.
Thanks for reading.
Veronica Athanasiou
Ex Biology teacher and now full time mum with a particular interest on community issues.
I am very happy to have found you all. This is a wonderful place to express ourselves and share information. I admire the enthusiasm and energy of those who have been mothers for 5 years or less and I thank you for letting me be a part of your world.
I have been a mother for 13 years now and I have benefited mainly from older mums who have put things into perspective with their wise comments and experiences. Now it seems it's time for me to get some fresh energy from younger mums too. I have 'been there done that' when it comes to searching for the information as to how best to prepare our children for their future. My first son was conceived and raised 'by the book' and it was hard work, done with much love (always been with all of our children) and it was yielding the expected results: baby slept through the night from 6 months, was introduced to foods on time, was trilingual at 18 months and responded to basic discipline rules. Then number 2 was born, another boy. NOTHING seemed to work: he even jumped out of his cot at NINE months when we were doing the 'by the book sleep alone in your room' procedure. So he shared our bed, stayed up late, couldn't speak clearly and seemed to be winging all the time! It was so tiring and as we tried harder and harder to put him into some kind of mould he rebelled more and more. At some point we started accepting him for who he was and not trying to make him some kind of preconceived toddler or child. He is a PERFECT 10 year old nowadays with a big heart and a loud voice that can be put to good use when needed (like when singing a happy song out loud!). After a 7 year gap we had our baby daughter who is now a toddler at 2 and a half. We have given up on books, rules and we have finally decided to simply ENJOY the ride. She is turning out quite normal, as trilingual as her brothers and as rebel as she naturally is.
I don't claim to be an expert, I just want to share my experience with you. What I would suggest is to enjoy parenthood. This is what I learned from older mums. They were smiling when I was complaining about how difficult potty training was or how much patience was needed to teach them how to write or make them read. I bought all the sticker books, the flash cards, the songs and the educational toys. At the end, each child is different and parents should make sure that they have a break too. I disagree with too much structuring. We should leave at least one afternoon - when they are at school age - just to be home and do simple things like watch cartoons (even if they are educational) or kick the ball. Let your children enjoy each other, interact as siblings like our grandparents did: the older can take care of the younger, they can all play with one ball, find snails in the garden and enjoy bilingualism, music, reading, sports or whatever it is that they are good at in a casual manner. I have discovered teaching my daughter the alphabet in English by singing while we change a nappy. The road is long and bumpy, sleepless nights come without a warning. We are only humans and we shouldn't get anxious on bringing up our children. Sometimes all you have to do is follow your gut feeling. Our children need to learn that we are not perfect and that we are humans just like them. We need our time and our space and as they grow into their teens there is a different danger of invasion into our already invaded space as individuals. It is our duty to help them with time management until their 20s (yes, twenties!) as found by recent neurological studies. Sometimes they will resist and we have to do it. But 20 or more years per child is too long to stress over perfection, don't you think?
Finally, I must to acknowledge that I have been very fortunate in being able to leave a routine that I had developed as a working mother for 10 years and left me EXHAUSTED. We went to a place where life goes on at a slower, more relaxed pace, where most families have 3 children instead of 2 and where mothers are forced to stay home with their children until they are at least 5. That gave me the opportunity to assess those 10 years and to wonder how could I have carried on like that for so long. There I could read more books on older children and I understood that after a certain point we cannot influence them anymore. So our initial efforts are very important and then the Community takes over, including teachers, sport teams, clubs, etc. So now I am using all my free time on bringing the spirit of community into the equation. This is a great place to raise children with a lot of individual effort into everything everyone does but when it comes to feel part of a community I think we are still far from where we could be. But that would be a topic for another note. In the meantime, get plenty of rest when you can, give yourself permission to make mistakes, say sorry when needed and ASK for 'me' time. Spoil yourselves because your children and your community need you happy, healthy and strong.
Thanks for reading.
Veronica Athanasiou
Ex Biology teacher and now full time mum with a particular interest on community issues.
Larnaca Municipality Press Release 21st May -27th May 2012
Cultural Events for May
English
Greek
For more information call the Larnaca Municipality Cultural Department on 24657745 or 24629333
Construction work
The Department of Construction of the Municipality of Larnaca informs the public that between 21/05-25/05/2012, the following construction work will be in progress:
- Pavement construction in the Shopping Centre.
- Drain covers cleaning on Alithersi street.
- Premix construction on the streets: Georgiou Averof, Alkiviadou, Stavrou Poskoti, Patris Loumoumpa etc.
- Drain cleaning in Kalogera and Filosofou Aristoteli streets.
- Gutter construction in Makras Asias street.
- Work related to the Flood Festival.
The Larnaca Municipality Finance Department informs the public that payment of the Municipal Property Tax, Corporate Tax and Business Premises Permit for the year 2011 as well as for the previous years is possible only at Larnaca Municipality Offices. A 10% fine will be added on the initial tax amount.
As far as the Refuse Collection Tax is concerned, the payment deadline has already passed and legal proceedings have begun.
The public should settle their payments to Larnaca Municipality on time and within the given deadlines to avoid added legal and court costs.
Visit the website: www.larnaka.com
Energy Team and Environmental Management Department: www.larnaka202020.eu
Contact: 24816559, 24816581/email: perivallon@larnaca.com
Translation kindly provided by
Eri Constantinou
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