Bama Babies and Birthdays

Having children is an amazing event. Actually surviving raising those children takes some perseverance. Too many people are afraid to learn new ways to parent their children. Take some time to read this article and learn some great new tips that may help you survive the parenting years.

To become a better parent, give yourself a break from time to time. Everyone needs a little adult only time and allowing yourself to enjoy it will make you a better parent. This time just for yourself will help to alleviate stress, and make you feel like a more well rounded individual.

When training your child to use the potty, buy them underwear with their favorite cartoon character on it. Children always do better with encouragement. By letting them wear these kind of underwear, they will feel better about using the potty because they do not want to have an accident in their “special” underwear.

It is common for preschoolers to resist transitioning. An abrupt switch from on activity to the next can induce stress, and it will end in a melt down.

Do not allow your own mood to interfere with consistent disciplinary approaches for your children. Even if you are tired or feeling irritable, you should not deliver an uncommonly harsh (or uncommonly lax) disciplinary action. Failure to consistently use the same method creates an impression of flexibility and “wiggle room” that can greatly compromise the effectiveness of your rule-setting.

Avoid arguing with your spouse in front of your children or their friends. It is important that the two of you show a united front, even if everything is not pure bliss on the marriage front. This does not mean you must act like the perfect couple, just that you are united in cases regarding children.

Use your smart phone as a baby monitor. If you are visiting someone’s home or you are on vacation and do not have your monitor, you can download an application that will let your phone function as a monitor. If the baby makes a noise, your phone will call a number that you put into the application.

Start your child’s education as early as possible. Even when a kid is little, there are tons of games you can play with them that make learning fun. You can find games to teach them math, science, reading, spelling, etc. It’s never too early to start your child’s education, and if you make it fun, you’ll make them want to keep learning.

Regardless of how much your children may want one, do not allow them to have a television in their bedroom. There have been numerous studies that have shown that children that have TVs in their bedrooms sleep less hours than other children and they tend to weigh a bit more.

Read to your baby or child every day. Not only is reading one of the best things you can do for your child’s vocabulary and comprehension skills, but it is a wonderful way to wrap up his or her day and gives them a routine to look forward to. Fostering a love of reading also means your children have no excuses for boredom so long as they have library cards.

It is important to make sure that your child is not watching too much violence on television. Children learn by what they see and if they see too much violence it could make them think that it is acceptable or lose a sense of what is real violence and what is not.

A great tip to help you with parenting is to get to know the kids your child is hanging out with. Though who your child hangs out with is ultimately his or her decision, you’d like to know if their friends are using drugs or if they participate in some kind of illegal activities.

When a child throws a tantrum it is important for a parent to take action right away. The child needs to be told that the way that they are acting is inappropriate and that it is not acceptable. Once the child is reprimanded a few times they will learn that their parents mean business and will not let it go.

You have to be determined when you are dealing with a child that is strong-willed. A strong-willed child needs a parent that is just as determined to help them to understand that everything can not work out the way that they want it to. It is hard to be tough with your child but in the long run it is important for them to have proper development.

Building your child’s self-esteem will create a foundation they will blossom from. You have to accept their shortcomings and help them grow past them. You also need to remind them that humans aren’t perfect, and neither are they, but that’s just fine! Everyone makes mistakes, but those who learn from them will go further in life.

If your baby will not settle, dab a bit of lavender essential oil on your neck, and snuggle up to your child. Your child should find this smell very soothing. Lavender oil can also be used to help a child fall to sleep when nap time arrives because the oil is very calming.

It’s important for children to spend plenty of time outside enjoying nature. Children who spend too much time inside, possibly due to video games, mounting homework loads or even the fear of stranger abduction, tend to suffer from increased stress, an inability to focus and a feeling of being trapped. Make sure to get your children outside on a regular basis.

As your toddler is learning to walk, it is best to let her toddle around barefoot. Wearing hard soled shoes while learning to walk can make it difficult for her to feel the floor and can trip her up if the fit is not correct. When you are ready to purchase her first pair of shoes, be sure to have each foot measured so the shoes fit properly.

A parent’s job is never done, but making it through those first 18 years is a not so difficult. There are a million things that we can learn about how to parent but the most important thing is that whatever you do, you do with love. Keep learning, and keep loving and your kids will be the better for it.