Being a parent is hard work but it does have great rewards. Children are our best chance to make a difference in the world. What they become depends on how they are raised, taught and the opportunities they are given. They depend on their parents for everything for the first dozen years of their life.
Develop a support network of people you can call for help with breastfeeding. The early days after giving birth are stressful and tiring. It is very tempting to just get a bottle and hope it works when things start going wrong. If you have a strong support system in place ,you will be able to contact them for advice and support. That support will make you less likely to give up and go for the bottle.
If you have children in your home and you have a fireplace, make sure to get a fireplace or hearth gate. Thousands of children are injured each year from fireplace accidents. These injuries could have easily been prevented if the parent had taken safety precautions and gated off the fireplace.
As unfortunate an event it may be, divorces happen all of the time. In order for you, a divorced parent, to hold a good relationship with your college aged and older children you must never get them in the middle of your divorce. This will push them away for you and your ex-spouse.
If your baby or young child has diarrhea, make sure to give them Pedialyte and lots of fluids. Just like adults, babies and young children get dehydrated after they have had excessive diarrhea, which can cause severe health problems. If your child has diarrhea for more than a few days, bring him or her to the doctor.
As you buckle your child into his or her car seat, you should check to ensure that the shoulder straps are snug – not tight enough to cause red marks or indentations, but not loose enough that the child could wiggle out of the harness. To check whether or not the shoulder restraints are too loose or tight, try to pinch the straps together above the buckle. You should not be able to pinch them together.
Remember to reward good behavior with praise and recognition. Children usually hear more reprimands for bad behavior than praise for good behavior and that might become discouraging to them. However, if you praise them for specific good behavior that they have exhibited, their confidence will be lifted, and they will exhibit the good behavior more often.
Raising teenagers can be a challenging task, but there are some approaches that may help. For example, instead of lecturing them you should try to discuss issues with them. Make the teenager feel free to speak, provide an open forum to exchange ideas. You will find this positive approach to parenting will work wonders with your teen.
Lead by example. Don’t spank your kids for hitting, it makes absolutely no sense. Your kids look up to what you do more than anything else. Show them the kind of person you want them to be. The more you act out what you are saying, the more they will believe that you are doing the right thing.
One of the most important things to remember when raising a child is to stay calm. No matter how angry or upset you get, you need to take a deep breath and calm down before you react. If you react while you’re upset or angry, you’re liable to make rash decisions that you’ll regret.
If your child comes and asks you a question about something and you do not know what the answer is you should be completely honest about that. Making up something is not going to solve the issue, so it is best for you to say you do not know and offer to help them find the answer.
Do not tolerate bullying. Do not allow anyone to tell you bullying is a natural part of growing up. If your child is the one being bullied or the bully, remember bullying is counterproductive to healthy psychological development and academic progress. You can intercede to make a positive difference not just for your child but for their classmates as well.
Never let your baby cry it out. A baby who cries it out, will feel abandoned and confused. The only way they have to communicate with you is to cry and when you don’t respond, it’s like you aren’t listening to your child. All babies will sleep through the night eventually, so use a gentler approach to get there.
If you have a young child who avoids eating anything green, try to make your vegetables more interesting. For example, if you stick broccoli florets into his mash potatoes and tell him that he is a giant eating up a forest, he just might play along and eat his broccoli. His enjoyment in playing this game will take his focus away from “yucky” vegetables.
Make sure not to do your child’s homework for them. It can be tempting to give a child the correct answer to a question that should be easy, but they won’t ever learn if they don’t arrive at the answer by their own merit. Try to guide them gently toward discovering an answer instead.
If you are the parent of a sick toddler who is struggling while you attempt to give them their medicine, try mixing the dose with chocolate syrup. This will make the medicine seem like a treat instead of a punishment. If you are out of chocolate syrup, try refrigerating the medication to mask its taste.
Positive Parenting
Positive parenting is a great practice to follow because it allows for structure and discipline for the child. Parents that practice positive parenting methods focus on the good things that their child is doing rather than the negative. By doing this, parents build up the self esteem of their child, as well as promote a positive environment for everyone.
