One of the real major challenges parents face is how to make their kids behave in public. Each kid is different and while some are good children, there are others who can test a parent’s patience such as when they throw tantrums or become very restless. When your situation is the latter, it can be difficult to make your child behave when you’re out in public.
So is there really a formula to do this? Unfortunately, there’s no standard formula but some parents have certain techniques that successfully helped them in raising well behaved kids.
You’re probably heard the advice of “avoid labeling your kid” many times. This is very important in raising kids particularly in helping them develop self confidence and a decent behavior. So if you get enraged and are tempted to speak unpleasant words including those that can label your kid’s negative behavior, take a deep breath and instead, assure yourself that you have good kids.
You can actually share stories with your kids about how people think they are good, friendly and well behaved kids. From here, you can follow up by telling them about your expectations for them to behave wherever you may be going. More »
Do your kids have too many toys? Don’t let the piles of Legos, dress up clothes and books take over your house. Instead, tame the toys with six tips.
Clean out the Playroom
At least twice a year, pull everything out of the playroom. Clean the room from top to bottom then sort the toys. Place the broken items on a pile, the outgrown items on another pile and everything you want to keep on a third pile.
Let Go of Broken Items
Your kids want to hold on to everything, but there’s no point in keeping puzzles with missing pieces or items that are broken. Prompt your kids to throw away everything that’s too worn to play with properly or safely. A brightly colored trash bag might make that task easier, and remind your kids that they’ll have more room for new stuff after they get rid of broken items.
Sell Outgrown Toys
When the weather turns warm, hold a garage sale, and unload everything your kids have outgrown. Let them help you choose what to sell, wipe off the items and place the price tags on everything. Then let your kids use the money they earn to buy a new toy, bike or video game.
Donate Unwanted Items
You can’t hold a garage sale during the winter months, but you can donate unwanted items. Talk with your kids about making room for the new stuff they’ll receive during the holidays, and suggest they help kids in need. The Salvation Army, Goodwill and charity thrift stores accept gently used items as your kids celebrate the holiday spirit. More »
Encouraging kids to eat their veggies can be a real challenge to parents particularly the moms. Some kids can be picky about what they eat. You may succeed in letting them eat healthy while still babies but by the time they become toddlers, their food preference can change.
Don’t worry, though, as there’s a way to let them eat the more healthy foods without letting your kids know that their greens are actually in their meals. An effective way is to sneak those veggies whenever you can.
Here are some fast and easy steps that you can follow.
Grated carrots – When you make burger patties, for instance, you can grate a small piece of carrot and mix them with the ground beef, pork or chicken you’re using. When cooked, they won’t have any clue that carrots bits are in the patty.
You can do this too to make your meatballs and taco meat more nutritious. And you may also mix this beta carotene-rich veggie in your spaghetti.
Shredded zucchini - When making your spaghetti sauce, why not include some shredded zucchini as well.
Oats and flax seed - If you love preparing pancakes, you can include oats and flax seed for added nutrition.
Beans – Research has shown that babies love beans so don’t deprive it to them. In fact, some toddlers love eating plain beans and this can be a good snack for them. Beans are rich in protein, by the way.
Dried fruits – Nutrition experts suggest feeding your little ones with dried fruits instead of the usual fruit snacks that are normally loaded with sugar, fruit juice and corn syrup.
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Are you having difficulty controlling your kids? Are you stressed because your toddler often asks you for a lot of things particularly after watching those ads on TV?
Take heart because there are apps that can help you deal with the situation. They teach kids to save and invest, do some household chores and homework and work for their incomes.
Young children of today are so obsessed with their tech gadgets and the best thing parents can do to get their attention is to use the technology. As the old cliche goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them.”
The apps for chores are helpful in giving kids chores and teaching them their responsibilities at home. There are two versions you can choose from – the conventional list type or the game type.
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Kids need to learn their responsibilities early on. Teaching them what they can do to help in the house, for example, can be done at about the age of four or five. From simple things like picking up toys to throwing wrappers in the trash can, they can learn gradually through constant reminder and encouragement given in a nice way.
In terms of saving energy, kids need to know as well that they can do simple acts to help mom cut electricity bills. This is normally taught in school so they should already know this. The trick is to avoid doing a lecture all the time. Instead, tell them their duties in a nice way that they will listen to you or better yet, do it in a fun way.
Join Online Games
Firstly, you might want to encourage them to play some internet games or research about energy saving techniques. You can choose from various green websites some of which are that of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ollie’s World and newyorkenergyrates.com. On these sites, kids can find answers to their questions on saving energy and play games as well.
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Being able to share the things we have with the less fortunate people, no matter how small, is always an admirable trait. Giving often results in a feeling of joy and appreciation to both the giver and the receiver. For many people, the sincere smile alone or simple thank you that they get from the receiver is enough to give them joy in their hearts that can last for a lifetime.
As parents, it is just fitting to start teaching kids to give back and help other people early in their life. And the best way to do this is by being a role model.
Kids easily pick up what they see their parents do and when they see you share things or give some money to those who have less in life, they absorb that. I say this from my own personal experience.
As a mom, I give coins to beggars I pass by on the sidewalks when I go downtown. This act, I’m glad, my 8-year-old daughter has picked up. Every time we stroll to the malls or go to church, she would be the first to tell me of the presence of a beggar or blind person within the vicinity. She would even remind me to prepare some coins and then I would let her give the coins to the person.
In their school, my daughter is also made aware of their responsibility to share what they have. Each year during Christmas time, they are encouraged to share their old clothes, books and toys to the underprivileged children including the orphans and victims of calamities.
Some important points you can teach kids about helping others are that one doesn’t need to have so much in order to give and share his things, that one does need to have or buy many things including the latest devices to be happy in life and that one need not throw his old stuff in the garbage because there are always other people in need.
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Parents should not overlook the value of rewarding a child if you’d like your kid to successfully learn to pee or poo by himself. Don’t consider it a burden but instead, have fun on your own so your child won’t feel the pressure.
So what incentives can you give your child? Sweets should not be forgotten. How about giving your kid a bite sized chocolate or some M&M’s when he or she gets out of the bathroom? Other rewards that you can give although not on a daily basis can be a trip to the park or a lollipop.
Using the doll that drinks and wets can be effective as well. The idea is to let your little girl take care of the doll and let her see how it pees after drinking. You can teach your child the importance of using the toilet seat or potty chair to urinate or to poo.
If you have a daughter, you can also make her excited to potty train every day by letting her decorate her own toilet seat. The stickers are the easiest art tools you can use because your child can easily stick her favorites on the different parts of her potty seat.
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Being able to help a charity or a worthy cause always brings a feeling of fulfillment. This is not only true for individuals but as well as for families and other organizations conscious of their social responsibility to their communities.
Parents with small kids are sometimes involved in fundraising activities in the schools of their children. They work together with the school administration to raise funds for a certain project. But there have been concerns about the unhealthy food choices in these events including those that involve sports clubs and dance events. Some parents say the popular use of chocolates, sausages and pies is not teaching kids the proper way to eat.
In Australia, there’s this group called Parents Jury that is advocating healthy fundraising ideas for kids and adults. It has started a Health Fundraising Campaign that encourages parents and groups to choose other alternatives and where food is involved, use only healthy food. Parents Jury believes that this will have a strong influence on kids and communities.
The Australian Government has also implemented a food supply strategy program which have had a great impact in schools. The program has successfully encouraged educational institutions to do away with the usual fundraising activities and conduct those that are beneficial to the health of kids and adults. Through the government’s efforts, the National Canteen Guidelines have been formulated and several states have carried out specific campaigns. New South Wales, for instance, has its Fresh Tastes program while Queensland has its Smart Choices.
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Admit it or not, many parents find potty training their kids quite a challenge. It can take years for some. Yes, it can get frustrating but with a little more patience and encouragement to your child, you’ll succeed in that aspect sooner than later.
Here are some fun ways you can do to ensure that your toddler gradually pees and poos on his own with no pressures from you.
The sticker chart may be ideal for girls. You can create a monthly chart sort of like a calendar and design it with your child’s favorite colors and cartoon characters. Then create or buy attractive stickers that she can put on the chart for every successful trip to the bathroom to pee or poo. This can make girls look forward to getting that sticker every time.
The coloring book is another incentive. Kids love to color so make sure you get a new coloring book with his favorite characters plus crayons. You can then encourage your child to color one page after every trip to the bathroom. That should give him or her the excitement every day.
You may also use books that can be read only inside the toilet. Make your child read his favorite book and then when he’s ready or when you see the signs, just take off the diaper and let him or her sit on the toilet bowl or his own toilet seat if you have one.
Another trick that works is to use a dye to the toilet water. Use the red or blue food coloring and let your child know that the color changes to green or orange when he or she pees or poos there. This will get the kid motivated to use the toilet seat.
Photo via parentdish.com
The first skill that a child learns at home is talking or his language skills. This is the basic step that most, if not all, parents take when their baby reaches the toddler stage.
A kid develops his language skills properly if the parents talk to him or her in a straight manner. Baby talk is a no-no.
Research has shown that conversing with a child is more powerful than reading bedtime stories in terms of language development. According to health experts in the U.S., engaging kids in a conversation is six times more effective than reading books to them. While these pediatricians do recommend regularly reading fairy tales and bedtime stories as a way to let kids learn to talk and read, they stress that one-on-one conversation between a parent and his child has a greater impact.
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