Babies: How to Get Your Children Excited About the New Arrival
May 29, 2007
The sudden appearance of a new baby can be rough on the other children in the family. Daily routines are disrupted and suddenly mom and dad are too busy to pay attention to older siblings. Worst of all, the new baby is the instant star of the family - the center of attention. The adorable baby is the big attraction for everyone from mom and dad, to visiting relatives, to casual acquaintances bumped into at the mall, right down to strangers on the street. Everyone is talking baby talk, cooing at the new baby, and making a fuss over the newborn. The older kids may feel shunted aside and resentful. This is especially true for the displaced former baby of the family.
Given these natural reactions, anything that you can do to prepare your other children for the new arrival will ease the transition. Everything you can do to involve your kids in advance and to get them to actually look forward to the birth will make a big difference in how they experience it. It might even help establish a stronger brother or sister bond with the new baby that will contribute to the lasting closeness of a positive sibling relationship.
Parenting Your Teenager: The 4 Ds of Time with Family
May 29, 2007
How would you like to have more time? Of course we all want more time. There are just two problems: 1. We can’t add more hours to the day; 2. Even if we could add more hours, we would just fill them up with the same stress we have now.
What we can do is use our time differently. And I don’t mean buy a new schedule planner. Adapted from the work of Stephen Covey and Anthony Robbins, here are some skills for creating more time in your life and some suggestions for what to do with the time.
Distraction. Distractors are ways we use our time that are not urgent and not important. Some might call it recreation. Exercising, playing a sport, taking a walk, reading a book, watching TV or playing solitaire on your computer are all ways of distracting ourselves from the stress in our lives.
And we all need some distraction in our lives. The problem is that many of us spend far too much time in distraction that could be spent on more life-giving activities.
How to Foster a Love of Reading and Writing in Your Child
May 28, 2007
The key to lifelong learning is reading and writing. When reading and wiring are a regular part of your family’s life, you send your child the message that they are enjoyable, valuable and great ways to learn. Here are some ways you can start helping your child:
Reading
Keep many age appropriate books and other reading materials in your house. If you have the time, schedule weekly or biweekly trips to the library with your child. Take out books for yourself too. Show your child that you value reading and that it is important to you.
Start reading to your child at an early stage.
Make reading daily to your infant or toddler part of your daily routine. It doesn’t have to be for more than 20 minutes a day. Do it at the same time each day, if you can, so that you both become accustomed to it. Have fun reading to your baby. Choose books with vivid colors and point out images and shapes to your baby. Be animated with your voice and facial expressions.
Morning Sickness Survival Tips
May 28, 2007
“Just eat a few saltines and you’ll be ok”.
I don’t know about you, but as someone who suffered with prolonged, severe morning sickness (which I affectionately call morning noon and night sickness), when I hear someone say this, I just want to slug them!
If you’re suffering with nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, you’re not alone. Most women experience it to some degree during their first trimester. If you’re one of the unfortunate few whose symptoms last longer than the typical 6-12 weeks, I empathize. I’ve had the same experience with all 4 of my pregnancies. I have learned a few things that helped however, and I hope you can get some relief with these tips.
1) Getting your blood sugar regulated is priority #1.
One theory about why morning sickness is worse in the morning (and for some women only occurs then) is because when you wake up from sleep, you have low blood sugar. For some pregnant woman, going 8 hours without food is just a bad idea.
You might find it helpful to eat a high protein snack before bed, and even to eat a bite each time you get up in the night to go to the bathroom. (Which in the beginning may be quite frequent!)
Parenting Your Teenager: Back to School Blues
May 28, 2007
Q: Our son has been in honors classes all through school up until his junior year last year, when his grades took a dive. What could be going on and what can we do about it?
A: The cause of suddenly declining grades in school can often be found in one of seven categories.
Many times it’s not just one issue, but a combination of issues.
Seven deadly reasons and then what to do about them
1) Some very bright kids have gotten through school so far by just showing up. They are bright enough to simply show up for class on a regular basis, listen with half an ear, and still do very well. At some point, however, they reach a level where just showing up stops working and they actually have to put forth some effort. If they have never had to study before, they may not know how. So learning how to study and work in school is the solution that is called for in this case.
Pet Loss Can Be Just As Devastating!
May 28, 2007
‘And all because of a damned cat! It’s only a cat, for God’s sake!’
I’ll never forget the wracking sobs of the girl sitting before me, and the disbelief on the face of the mother who uttered these words.
I was a Guidance Counsellor in a city high school, and the girl’s performance had slumped in recent weeks. Her mother couldn’t believe it might possibly be related to the loss of the girl’s pet cat.
It became obvious that there wasn’t much of a bond between mother and daughter. So over the years the girl’s need to receive and GIVE affection had been transferred to her cat. Now that the cat had passed on, the girl was devastated.
What made matters worse was her mother’s total lack of insight.
Studies carried out by veterinary associations in the UK suggest that most kids will have a pet of some kind at some time: cats, dogs, mice, hamsters - whatever! - and it’s probably the same in other countries.
Since kids’ pets are so common, it’s well for parents to be aware of the impact they can have on their children’s lives.
Natural Disasters: Help Your Child Cope With The Anxiety
May 27, 2007
How on earth can you help your family cope with the anxiety and fear that natural disasters strike into the heart of everyone?
In early 2005, for example, the world was rocked by the tsunami in South East Asia that killed thousands and left many homeless and orphaned.
Yet, at the Edinburgh International Festival yesterday I saw a group of Sri Lankan children, all victims of this natural disaster, perform a dance routine based on a play by Shakespeare.
Their smiling faces and youthful exuberance left no one in any doubt that these kids had not only survived, but had been helped to grieve, move on, and live life to the full again.
It can be done.
But what of our own kids, who have not suffered the actual experience of a disaster? They may nevertheless fall prey to an insidious and potentially devastating trauma.
This is unacknowledged fear or anxiety, and many parents may be unaware that it’s happening to their own kids under their very noses.
I say unacknowledged anxiety because often children themselves don’t recognise it for what it is. And that’s when real trouble starts!
Baby?s First Year ? What to Expect
May 27, 2007
As a new Mom, you are probably wondering about many things: how will he react to his new surroundings? when will she sleep for more than 2 hours? what can I expect in the following year? an so many other questions…..
Each baby is different. Your baby’s rate of growth, appearance, and personality, will all be unique to him or her. As you embark on this journey with your new baby, take time to enjoy their presence in your life.
Here are some of the milestones to watch for in the first year of your baby’s development:
Newborn stage
You have just brought your baby home from the hospital to his or her newly decorated nursery, and we are sure you are very excited. In these early days, your baby may have a pointy head from the delivery process, or jaundice ? yellow eyes and skin tone. These things are perfectly normal, and should go away in a few days. It is important to cuddle and love your child as much as possible now, as this is when mother/child bonding begins. Breast-feeding is very important to your child’s health both now and in later years. Newborn babies often sleep 10-12 hours per day, but will wake every 4 hours or so for feeding.
What Values Are We Giving Our Children?
May 27, 2007
On a bright Sunday morning, a couple of weeks ago, I went to South London to receive a message sent from Nigeria. As I entered the lift, I saw a couple, apparently in their early 20s, smoking marijuana while their young son sat comfortably in his push-chair. As I was going down through the staircase, I saw another three children in their teens smoking marijuana and drinking beer.
The above situation depicts the state of our children abroad. What values are we giving our children in foreign lands? Is it the environment or our work that forbids us from giving our children good values, home training, love and care? Or did we dump the values we were brought up with at the airport as we boarded the aircraft to England?
Agreed, many parents work hard to provide for their children, but parents also have to find the balance between work and family. American researchers have confirmed from empirical studies that when both parents give long hours to a career, it is often their children’s self esteem that suffers. ‘They don’t have the self-assurance that comes from knowing that your parents are really interested in you and behind you’, says Ronald Levant, a Harvard Psychologist. Another author, Patricia Morgan says, ‘children who spend long hours in day care from early age tend to develop anti-social and aggressive behaviour.
How To Use Positive Child Discipline
May 27, 2007
I am a single mother of a 17 year old boy. He has turned out so great. Honor Student. Just a loving person. I attribute this to the way I brought up my son. I can’t say I never yelled at him–that would not be true but I did not hit my son. Hitting is just a way of getting out your anger quickly. Verbal abuse is just as bad. So what can a mother do to raise her children in a loving way.
I have also ran a daycare center for children many years ago and have been around a lot of children throughout my life. My sister has a 14 year old daughter and she going through h*ll right now. I can see everything she is doing wrong. And it is very simple…
Do you remember when your child was under 5 years old and as soon as you walked in the room, their eyes just lit up! They ran to you like you were the most important thing in their life! What happened? I know as they get older, things change but they could still be glad to see you.
