Posts Tagged ‘parenting’

A common situation that many parents face is dealing with their children’s behaviors. For example, let’s say you had a five year old child that has just entered school. She was a polite, considerate, and helpful young lady at home and in front of her teachers. However, her behavior has recently changed at home and it involves talking back, swearing, and discussing sex in general terms. She learned these behaviors from other kids at school.

How do I help her to make the right choices about good vs. naughty (one of her friends got her to play hookie ….at 5 years old?!); of what is acceptable and not, when she is away from me and faced with those choices without me being there to guide ?”

Hmmm, how indeed? Let’s look at the underlying principles.

Kids in general try hard to do succeed in life. Their behaviors reflect what they think will bring them a desired result. The problem is that their idea of a desire result might not be the best idea. Sometimes they want the basics like hunger, warmth, and food. Or they might wish to have their parent’s approval and love. Or they might be out to just have fun.

They will exhibit the behavior they believe will get them the need they have at that time.

They will find that their behaviors don’t always result in success. They learn from this and experiment with other behaviors until they find the ones that yield the desired result. When deciding what behavior to have we rely on experience, direction for our parents, and our skills and abilities. We create a group of behaviors that we hope will serve our needs effectively.

After trial and error we will find the behaviors that meet our needs. We will use these behaviors to get what we want. The more we are successful with a certain behavior, the more we engage in that behavior.

Back to your 5 year old daughter. Her behavior signals that she is in the process of trial and error. She is in a new situation at school and this has expanded her world. She is not sure how to react and is excited and nervous at the same time. She is testing different behaviors to determine which behaviors will yield a successful result.

Your daughter will most likely try a range of behaviors. Many of which will not occur ever again as they didn’t work. Some behaviors will become a part of her usual behavior. Which behaviors will your daughter stick to? It really depends on the results of each experience. She is at an age where having your approval and love is very important to her. She needs to see your reaction to her behaviors. Outside reactions from others also play a role. For example, punishments and rewards can be a big influence on her behavior. She will seek the approval of you, her teachers, and her friends.

How much influence do you, as a parent, have over this? At this age, quite a bit. When they are teenagers, a whole lot less. Your influence is through two means.

1. Your emotional response – your approval or otherwise of her behaviors.

2. Your control of external factors. You can decide what school she goes to, and the types of people she will meet at school and in your neighborhood. You can also impose rewards, punishments, and constraints (such as permissions to do or not do activities).

Integrating what he discussed together and looking at this logically, you need to answer the following questions:

Do you think your daughter is just experimenting with her behaviors and that it will pass? If you do, then don’t worry about it at all as she will move on to better behavior. Kids tend to do mischievous things at this age and still end up to be productive adults.

Bear in mind that if you over-react to things like her swearing that may, in itself, actually make the behavior seems MORE exciting rather than less. Generally, “chilling out” is the better way to go.

If you think that her bad behavior is escalating too much then you need to do something to thwart it.

How do you know which it is? That calls for judgment. Look at your own parenting first – are you dong the very best you can? Are you providing good role models? Yours will be the greatest influence in her life.

Check out the school and your neighborhood. How have the children who were raised in this neighborhood do when they grew up? Do they become productive adults or do most of the kids spend their days being in trouble for most of their teenage years?

Speak with other parents and teachers. Most schools have a “culture” and it may just be that this is the culture in this school – i.e. that lots of kids go through this phase and then settle down, rather like the toilet jokes when they are 7 and 8. Or it may be that the teachers are greatly concerned.

Unfortunately, you can’t watch over every influence in your child’s life. You also can’t be 100% sure that your daughter will learn right from wrong. However, you can improve the odds of this. Your influence as a parent is great and you should be a positive role model for your child.

Parenting Tips For Teens Don’t struggle with your child’s behavior problems any more. Find the right techniques and strategies to help you have a happy, peaceful household. Parenting Tips For 5 Year Olds

This Christmas parents will be looking for great gift ideas for kids. However, there a wide variety of toys, clothes, and other items and clothes that children. How will you know you are picking the item that your child will actually want to get? In the end it is not rocket science. There simple ways to know what they will be wanting this year. If you are attentive and willing to do some research you can be guaranteed of finding great gifts that your children will love to have. For parents with children who still believe in Santa it will mean being more creative with how you find out what they want and actually giving it to them. Here are some great gift ideas and tips to help you find the perfect present for the children in your life.

The most direct approach is to ask. The best way to do this is to let it come up in conversation what your kids want that holiday. The irony is that often while both you know that you are fishing each other for information, you won’t acknowledge it. Pay attention to any hints that your children might drop and ask for clarification when not sure. Of course also pay attention to what comes up in conversations between siblings and their friends when they come over or talk on the phone.

The next approach are wish lists and letter to Santa these are for younger children who still believe that Santa is the one that brings their gifts. Basically have your children list what they want from Santa. This can be an ordinary list or a letter. It doesn’t’ matter as long as they list out what they want. An interesting idea is to use pictures. This picture wish list is great for younger children who have trouble telling what type of gift they want. To make it get a toy catalog and have your child pick out the items that they want. Then you cut out the pictures of the toys and paste them on a piece of paper and that will be the list.

A lot of toys are now electronic. A toy that was popular last year and will be so this year is the Nintendo Wii. This video game console uses motions sensors on the remote and remote sensor placed on top of the TV. This console is popular because there are a lot of multi-player games and it gets people moving. This is a great item to get if you have more than one child that is older. You can get the console as the main gift and get individual games that each person might like. If your kids want to get other video game systems, don’t be too concerned the prices on many of them have been reduced and will probably be cheaper with the holiday sails.

For younger kids the presentation of the present will be just as important. As a fun and exciting sequel for the letters your kids sent to Santa. Have the gifts have actual replies back! There are great online services that do this for a minimal fee. You just go online and design the letter you want and pay for it. When Christmas draws near you will receive the letters with special postmarks from the North Pole. They will be interesting replies to your kid’s wish lists and letters and encourage them to write next year.

Create magic in your child’s eyes with our Santa letters . EZSantaLetters.com offers fully personalized Santa letters and 15 pre-written Personalized Santa Letters . All letters are postmarked from the North Pole and will definitely put a smile on your child’s face.

This Christmas you might be wracking your brain for something extra that you can give with your kid’s presents that will not cost a lot but will still be well received and maybe even cover for the fact that you had to give them only one big gift this year. A great ideas is to give them stocking stuffers. This is an old tradition that has been part of the Christmas holiday for a long time. If you have a fire place and can make some stockings you are in business. The tradition is that children hang their stockings in front of the fireplace to dry and when Santa comes he not only places presents under the tree, he also puts small toys and other goodies in the stockings. You can do the same and give your kids some great small presents for pennies on the dollar here are some fun suggestions to get you started.

Fruit is a great first choice to put in stockings. Many parents are becoming more concerned about their children eating healthy. You can put apples, oranges, and other solid fruit in the stockings along with the other items. It fits in with the tradition as it is honored around the world and also gives your kids a healthy snack to eat. You are able to give an affordable gift that is actually great for the health of your kids. This is sure to be a positive tradition that will promote good eating choices

Another great stocking stuffer are small toys. This will depend on the boy or girl but there are plenty of small affordable toys that you can purchase this Christmas. For boys you can put small cars, plains, or booster card packs for their card games. For girls you can put in small dolls such as Polly Pocket or mini Barbies or Bratz dolls. You can also go with generic versions of these toys. Another great toy will be Tomagatchies small electronic pet games that both boys and girls can enjoy.

You can also put in items that will exercise your children’s minds. Try purchasing word puzzles, word games, trivia games, and other small mind games that will entertain and train your kids’s brains. You can also find cheap sliding puzzles or purchase rubiks cubes. These are great because they will be small enough to fit most stockings and will give your kids hours of amusement on Christmas day as they try to solve the different puzzles and games. If your child has a gameboy or PSP you can also include new games as stocking stuffers.

Finally leave a special present from Santa. A good options is a letter in response to your own child’s letter. You can order one online that will list your child’s accomplishments, what they wanted that year and include a hand written signature from Santa. If you order it on time you can even get a special postmark. You can further personalize the letters by getting different letter that fit each child’s situation. There are letters for kids who have learned to write, kids who are going through a hard time, and even kids who have parents that are in the military and have been deployed. Your children will feel that Santa really ready their letters and their faith in the jolly old Elf will remain.

Create magic in your child’s eyes with our Santa letters . EZSantaLetters.com offers fully personalized Santa letters and 15 pre-written Letters From Santa Claus . All letters are postmarked from the North Pole and will definitely put a smile on your child’s face.

If you are a parent, chances are you will call for a babysitter at some point. Maybe you work far from home, or just need some time off every other week or so. Whatever your circumstance, you want to be certain your loved ones are well taken care off in your absence. A babysitter can be of huge assistance, as long as you hire an individual who is experienced, mature, reliable and who genuinely cares about the well-being of your children.

Secret To Finding A Good Baby Sitter

It goes without saying that if you leave your kids with anyone, you would want to do so with babysitters who are qualified and capable of looking after your children. Begin your search as soon as possible. If you put it off until the last minute, you may overlook some very important factors, which can possibly lead to your kids being with an unreliable and even dangerous person. So if youre planning on a short trip with your spouse for instance, make sure you prioritize searching for a trusted and professional sitter way ahead of time.

One of the best options is to find a reputable agency that offers several options for very busy parents. For instance, there are good online agencies out there that offer options for those who need quick babysitter services for the mean time. If you already trust an agency, chances are you will be able to trust the babysitter they have in their database.

Recommendations and referrals family, friends, colleagues and neighbors will also help you a lot. This is a good starting point so you get an idea of what to look for in a baby sitter. Of course, do not fully rely on these recommendations. You have some other things to consider first to make sure you have someone who can work best with your children.

The internet can also be a very helpful tool. Conduct a search with a reputable online agency. You should be able to find qualified sitters in your area. The agency should provide a database of pre-screened babysitters. It is recommended that you hire certified sitters who have had classes run by your local Red Cross or YMCA. Remember, babysitter services with an insurance bond will cover particular damages or losses to your property, however, not generally to protect your kids in any way. Find out if the babysitter service performs criminal history background checks and screens the sitters in their database or staff.

Secret To Interviewing Potential Candidates

First things first: make each candidate comfortable. The more comfortable he or she is, the more natural and genuine his or her response to your questions. Provide basic amenities such as a comfortable chair and a good, quiet environment to conduct the interview. Ask as many questions as you can, but those that are relevant and pertaining to the job expected. Try not to ask questions that are too invasive or personal.

Do not limit yourself to questions that are found in the resume. It is important to expound on the details. Basic inquiries such as past experiences, training, certifications and fees are a given. Ask situational questions, such as, what would you do? Finally, conduct trials and be around to observe.

Secret To Finding An Online Babysitter Service

Just because you have found your agency, it does not mean that your work as a parent is over. Check on the reputation first and foremost. Make sure you understand the terms and conditions and the membership fee schemes. Also, find out what specific services are offered”the more options you have, the better.

It’s easy to find a baby sitter that suits your family’s needs if you know where to begin looking. Log on to the best-reviewed baby sitting agencies online and discover how to find a babysitter for your kids.

Few moments (if any) in life are as enjoyable as the birth of a baby. Even for veteran parents, a new child means new experiences, new joys, and of course new responsibilities. Among the most important tasks at hand, perhaps none is quite as crucial as setting up a welcoming and safe baby nursery.

Creating a nursery for your baby implies knowing what kind of baby furniture to buy, and having a keen eye for design. Of course, such items can often be relatively costly, and so finding the right retailer and making the best use of hand-me-downs and other used items will be crucial in the setup of your baby’s nursery.

The child’s security and safety, as in all matters, will be the first priority in all regards…always. To begin with, it is simply not acceptable to have any kinds of pointed, sharp, or jagged objects, ledges and so forth in any part of the room, much less the furniture. The risk of possible injury should be systematically minimized to the lowest level.

Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that the items of baby furniture you buy are nice and sturdy. Though you may not believe it, your infant has got more strength than you’ll give him or her credit for, and therefore baby furniture can end up being subjected to significant wear and tear. Now, we’re not implying that everything be made out of solid steel, but do make sure you keep an eye out for quality and sturdiness while you shop.

Though there are tons of different kinds and items of baby furniture, you will want to focus on a few essential items: key among them, it isn’t hard to imagine, will be the baby’s crib. In addition to the fact that you’ll want it to be sturdy as already mentioned, other security concerns are having sufficiently tall and childproof sidebars that will ensure no risk of the baby getting (or rather falling) out.

Another common item in baby nurseries is the glider rocker, a perfect item for lulling infants to sleep and also for providing them with great entertainment (they simply love the motion of rocking to and fro, which is akin to the natural movements they experience in their mother’s arms.

Additionally, let your creative side come out when designing your child’s nursery. As an example of something creative to do, consider having things hang from the ceiling or above the crib (especially as newborns tend to spend a good deal of time staring upwards in their crib).

Of course, whenever hanging things directly above a baby’s crib, you will want to ensure that the mounting is done professionally and that there is no risk of the item falling. If you lack the experience or knowledge to do this on your own, get the help of somebody that does. Your child’s safety depends on this matter being duly honored.

Lastly, incorporate some furniture items that will provide your child with entertainment as he or she gets bigger and more independent. There are indoor child entertainment centers, slides, etc., that come in furniture sets that will be great as sources of fun for many years into the future.

When Byron Jonas started a family, one challenge he faced was choosing prams and pushchairs for an growing family. The Go Bubba Go prams were his choice in the end.

A skill that we seem to be losing in our society is cooking. Proper homemade cooking, the type grandma used to do. Homemade cooking should be taught to all kids, and it’s up to you as a parent to do so. And start your kids with homemade candy.

You’ve got to start by teaching kids to cook something that they love to eat. That way they want to cook more. And kids love to eat candy, especially their own homemade candy.

Last night I did some great cooking with my kids who are 8 and 11, and I can’t still see their faces as they licked out the bowl. Kids love cooking something that is easy to cook and yummy to eat. Homemade candy is both easy to cook and yummy to eat.

And if they learn to love cooking they’ll have a skill they’ll appreciate for the rest of their lives. And they graduate from cooking candy pretty fast.

Remember some basic rules. There is always mess and it always takes longer than you’d expect, at least at the start. Start the kids on a simple candy recipe. There are some wonderful simple homemade candy recipes that are simple for kids to cook. Start them on the easiest bit of the recipe.

And always remember to keep them away from heat. Many homemade candy recipes require that you make a syrup from water and sugar, and a syrup is extremely hot, hotter than simply boiling water. So watch out, a syrup burn is nasty.

And another reason to stay away from syrups is that they are a little tricky to get right, you have to heat them to just the right temperature. There are some fantastic simple homemade candy recipes, so start with something like pralines or truffles.

But once you’re all up to skill there’s no end to the homemade candy recipes you can try. Truffles, nougats, chocolate anythings, toffees, the list goes on and on. Oh and if you try toffee make sure you do chewy toffee, it’s absolutely the best toffee ever.

Now I’m hungry, got to cook some candy.

Seriously though, teaching the kids to cook candy gets them on the road to cooking for life, and they learn to love to cook anything with time.

So get out there and find some hot homemade candy recipes, there’s thousands, including lots on my website. It’s cheaper to make your own candy and it makes great candy. Get the kids involved, in the future they’ll thank you for it.

Find some great Homemade Candy Recipes? Visit Peter’s Website Homemade Candy Ideas and find a great Homemade Candy Recipe and get the kids cooking candy.

It may be fall but it is only 2 more months until Christmas. There are many parents in particular who will in the next couple of weeks start to prepare for the holidays. So what do you need to know to make sure that you plan successfully and meet all your goals for Christmas for your children and family? This can be daunting especially at a time when many families have seen a decrease in their spendable income. However, it is not impossible. With planning and some innovative ideas the holidays can be as fun and memorable as ever. Here are some great tips to guide you as you get ready for the holidays this year.

Set a budget. Many of you already have a budget for normal expenses, however to get the most out of what you spend this holiday you need to formulate a holiday budget. This is going to be your plan for what to spend on decorations, food, and presents. Done right you will find that you have more to spend with than you might have originally thought. A great idea is to set a budget for each child’s presents. Have them ask if they would like one big present from Santa or a bunch of smaller ones. This is great for older kids who will by now know that Dad is Santa. But it also applies for any parent buying presents.

Come up with great traditions that cost little or nothing. They can be anything as long as it involves some sort of activity that allows your family to spend time together. For example an interesting idea would be to do a large puzzle with your children. You can choose one that will take a while to complete preferably until Christmas. Then on Christmas Day you can start a new puzzle that will last you until the next year. It can also be simple things like a special Christmas breakfast or dinner. These are traditions that won’t cost much more than normal and will become great memories for you and your family.

Take advantage of the sales this Christmas. This is normally the rule of thumb but the retail sector was really affected by the recession so there will be greater than normal sales. This translates into huger savings. Try to find out when sales are happening so you can save up and take maximum advantage of what they have to offer. You will probably find yourself able to get more this year than you did in the past.

Make sure to take advantage of new options in shopping such as online shopping and layaway. Online shopping allows you to get items without the hassle of the holiday rush. You can now purchase items on sale so you get the benefit of going to the store without having to sacrifice time driving and dealing with crowds. Layaway is another great shopping option that allows to pay for a purchase over time without using credit. This is a great way to help you focus funds that you set aside for the holidays.

Finally take advantages of special services this Christmas to create special moments for your younger children. For example you can use an online service to order a special call from Santa for your children.

Create magic in your child’s eyes with our letters from Santa & Santa phone calls. EZSantaLetters.com offers fully personalized Santa letters and 15 pre-written Santa letters. All letters are postmarked from the North Pole and will definitely put a smile on your child’s face.

Ladybug baby bedding is beautiful, but because there are so many baby bedding themes on the market today deciding on it can be overwhelming for a first time parent. Even if you are an experienced parent, it is very difficult to decide upon a theme for your infant’s room including bedding, because of an overabundance of choices.

You are overwhelmed with happiness when you discover you a having a baby girl. When parents want to decorate the nursery of their new baby, Ladybug Baby bedding is the preferred choice because of its Perfect Combination Of Style, Comfort, And Elegance. There are a lot of decisions that must be made when buying baby bedding for your nursery, the Lady bug crib bedding is an excellent selection.

Make a list of essential baby items as you choose a nursery theme prior to purchasing modern baby boy bedding. You should look for things that are well made, and will not make your baby feel agitated or have an allergic reaction. To keep your baby safe, you’ll want to be sure the baby blanket is not too heavy, and the crib bumper protects your baby without risking suffocation.

Baby bedding is a very important addition to your little one’s crib, as she will be spending a lot of time there. Make your baby’s nursery just as beautiful as you’ve dreamed it with variety of colors and designs to suit both boys and girls. If your choose bright colors as the basic color scheme for the nursery theme because baby’s love bright colors, make sure that you have the right kind of lighting for the room to give it a soothing atmosphere to help the baby fall asleep when it has to.

Crib bedding in our Ladybug theme is an experienced parents favorite, beautifully designed, comfortable sets for your little one. The online shopping facility available now a days help us to search for and to by an inexpensive and attractive bedding sets for the infant. Ladybug-themed bedding is the ultimate luxury item for your child.

The combination of theme, color and soft elegance of the fabric make the bedding truly charming. It is always good to look for popular brands before you choose the baby bedding theme because each has its own special designs, styles and colors. If you choose a good brand, you will have lots of features and items included in addition to high quality sheets.

Dorothea is a writer and researcher on parenting and family issues. She also works part-time as a freelance writer for a baby products company, Kudlee, Inc..

This holiday season many companies are looking for ways to offer affordable items for Christmas gifts. This allows many customers who may not have as much disposable income to spend this season to still be able to get great presents for their family members. This has also produced some interesting toy trends for the holiday season. Many are tied to cutting cost while some introduce new concepts to attract customers. The whole point of presents for Christmas 2009 is to give something that will have good value for cost and also be affordable. Here are some of the trends to look out for this year.

The return of comfort toys is a major trend for this holiday shopping season. These will be classic favorites that have been around for a while and are relatively affordable and easy for most people to purchase. For example these are toys such as Mr. Potato Head, Etch and Sketch, Bop It and other popular toys that are not necessarily high tech or advanced but are still the favorites of children everywhere. Comfort toys can also be labeled recession proof toys. These are toys that in good times and bad that families could get and be assured that there would not be much disappointment on the part of the children. So if you are wondering what would be a good substitute for some of the items on your children’s wish lists this is a great place to start looking.

Learning toys are going to be very popular for parents with young children. One of the things that parents will be looking for toys is items with added value. Learning toys fit this requirement because they are not only fun toys for young children to play with but also great learning and education aids. These toys help to teach children basic skills such as counting, spelling, reading, and arithmetic. Some toys like the Smart Cycle or Vtech learning computers have interchangeable software. This allows for endless fun and learning for your kids. This will be sure to make purchasing learning toys a smart investment this Christmas.

Mini versions of popular toys are another trend to look for. Many companies want to keep up sales of popular toys, but still want to maintain profits. A solution was to make smaller versions so hot toys such as Zhu Zhu interactive hamsters and smaller versions of toys such as Etch and Sketch will be more prolific this year. This allows you to get presents your kids like and not strain your budget at the same time.

This holiday season you should also look for reduction in the price of video game consoles. Xbox, Playstation 3, and Wii are three game consoles that will be considerably cheaper this season. If you already purchased a console, a great gift idea is accessories. There are many new games that use accessories to enhance game play. A good example is the Nintendo Wii which has new accessory called the Wii motion plus which provides finer control and can be used for Wii games such as Wii Resort.

Another interesting trend is personalized letter from Santa. You can order a special reply from Santa to your kid that will look like an official letter from the North Pole. This is a great way to make Christmas extra special for your children.

Create magic in your child’s eyes with our Santa letters & Santa calls. EZSantaLetters.com offers fully personalized Santa letters and 15 pre-written Santa letters. All letters are postmarked from the North Pole and will definitely put a smile on your child’s face.

Newlyweds often like to live life to its fullest with their new mate, even if it means throwing caution to the wind occasionally. This is the time to get to know each other and understand your partner’s various likes and dislikes as well as tempers and tantrums. The next step have acquiring a home and car is creating a comfortable environment for your new baby.

When a woman becomes pregnant her mind starts spinning with thoughts of getting things ready for the babies room like deciding what style and colors to get when it comes to crib bedding. These days expectant parents believe in keeping everything ready for the yet to be born child, including purchasing baby bedding sets.

Since planning and decorating a nursery for your newborn is no easy task, it’s no wonder there are so many companies out there whose only job is to help you in this endeavor. Baby boy bedding set comes in many themes and there are a lot to choice from but the ladybug theme is a top seller. Baby bedding is one that should not cause any kind of inconvenience or harm to the child and should give comfort and let the child sleep peacefully.

Anyone who has ever gone online to browse various baby bedding themes will realize why Ladybug stands out from the crowd. And if you’re crazy for bright colors, chances are that the new little person in your life will also. Why would you want anything less than the best bedding set for your baby? And what could express your love more than a nursery with a contemporary design?

There’s still plenty to do to complete the nursery decorating even after you buy the Ladybug crib bedding. After you decide what kind of bedding you want for your baby you should then paint the walls of the nursery and buy beautiful baby bedding. The bedding should coordinate with the setting of the nursery. Baby bedding decorated with lady bugs is becoming increasingly popular as a theme because it is so easy to love.

Try to use your imagination when you paint the nursery walls, and give that special softness to your baby’s room with subtle shades. Adding small furniture pieces that can be used for storage and other things will bring a nice touch to the room, without cluttering the nursery. The next step after the basic decorations is to design the ceiling and floor to complete the look.

Dorothea is a writer and researcher on parenting and family issues. She also works part-time as a freelance writer for a baby products company, Kudlee, Inc.