Reuters reports that “Nearly a third of U.S. parents know surprisingly little about typical infant development, and this lack of understanding can rob their babies of much-needed mental stimulation, researchers said on Sunday.”

What an alarming statement! Parents are the first teachers of their children and if they do not have a good understanding of what babies need, then the babies will be on the losing side. It is true that there are no clear cut rules as to what a parent must do. Indeed, many say that there is really no way to ensure that you will be a good parent. It is something that comes with experience.

So how did the researchers come to the conclusion that a considerable number of American parents do not know enough about babies? Dr. Heather Paradis of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York shares:

The study she conducted covered more than 10,000 parents with 9-month-old babies and asked questions such as:

-Should a 1-year-old child be able to tell between right from wrong?
-Should a 1-year-old child be ready to begin toilet-training?

The passing score is 5 out of 11. Those who got 4 and below are considered to have a lack of understanding of parenting with regard to babies.

Maybe we should all see a copy of the questionnaire and answer them ourselves.

When a woman gets pregnant, she gets cravings for the weirdest things. She just can’t help it. She feels the urge and she has to have it. Some people may never understand just what goes on during those times but WE know that those cravings are hard to resist.

Lucky for those women whose cravings lean towards that thick, creamy, brown bar of goodness called chocolate! Dr. Elizabeth Triche from Yale University and her group of researches have recently concluded a study wherein it was found that chocolate is GOOD for pregnant women.

The rationale behind this conclusion is that dark chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical that works in the following ways:

-stimulates the heart
-relaxes smooth muscle
-dilates blood vessels.

So what do these effects have to do with pregnancy? There is a condition called pre-eclampsia, which is actually a major concern for pregnant women. Though only about 8% get pre-eclampsia, those who do experience the complication also experience cardiovascular problems.

This is where chocolate comes in! The study found out that the women who consumed the most amount of chocolate and had the highest amount of theobromine in their blood were least likely to develop the complication. The catch? None, really, unless you do not like dark chocolate. This is because not all chocolates are the same. The milk chocolates and the extremely sweetened kinds will not have the same theobromine content. As such, they may not bring about the same benefits. More so, because of the high sugar content, it might bring about other complications.

So load up on that dark chocolate!

I honestly did not want to write about this but the topic kept popping into my head and just wouldn’t disappear no matter what I did. People who do not have children and see other people running around like a headless chicken in order to keep up with their kids (especially those tots in their terrible twos) would probably think that being a parent would make staying fit an easier task. And why not? Expending all that energy running after one toddler (let alone 2 or more) should be enough exercise to burn away all those calories, shouldn’t it?

Unfortunately, there is more to losing weight than that. I can’t exactly explain why taking care of toddlers and losing weight do not always come together but I do know that a mom (or a dad, for that matter) may have to actually squeeze in an exercise regimen to keep fit.

This is hard, trust me. For stay home parents, it is already hard enough. For working parents, it is even harder. With work, parenting, homemaking, and other essential activities that we engage in, where do we find the time to exercise?

I suppose the answer would depend on many different factors – the children’s ages, your work schedule, your energy level, and more. I think that the bottom line is deciding that you want to exercise, that you want to make fitness one of your priorities. If this is firmly established, I am sure that you can find some time in your hectic life to exercise – even if it is only an hour a week. What do you think?

No, I am not talking about walking the runway like Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. What I have in mind is being super (role) models for our kids. I am drawing inspiration for this post from an entry in Dr. Robyn’s blog, entitled Powerful Role Models: Seven Ways to Make a Positive Impact on Children.

As I was reading through the entry, I was taken back in time. I remembered how, as a child, I looked up to may parents so much. In my eyes, they could do no wrong. My mom was a strict disciplinarian while my dad pampered us a bit more. They both walked their talk, as they say. My perception changed somewhat as I grew older but looking back now, I realize just how much my parents’ example has shaped who I am today.

Seeing how I regarded my parents as the main role models in my life, I am quite scared as to what my children would see in me. Would they respect me in much the same way I held my parents and their principles in high regard? Would I be able to live up to their expectations or would I be a disappointment to them?

This is where the 7th point in Dr. Robyn’s post becomes really helpful – demonstrating confidence in who we are. Being a parent is really the best – and the toughest – job in the world and realizing that as parents, we have to be “supermodels” for our kids can make it even tougher. Then again, we should not be afraid to make mistakes and apologize for them if the situation arises. The important thing is that we show a good example to our children – in the best way we can.

Whether you are trying to have a baby or you are delaying having one, missing a period could be quite an experience. This is especially true for those who have their monthly period regularly and never miss it. I am actually undergoing this experience as I have been quite concerned for the past 2 months. I have heard of countless stories about women being on the pill and yet conceiving. So the first thing that I do when I miss a period is to get a pregnancy test kit – the one you can use at home.

I could always go to the doctor and have a blood test done but this usually costs 2 or 3 times more than the home kit. Does the home kit work though? Of course! The problem actually might be that you would have countless choices to choose from – which one works best? Which one is most reliable?

The best thing to do would be to consult your local pharmacist. They would certainly know which products are the most popular and reliable. You can also check with your network of girl friends who may have more experience in this respect. Personally, though, I have found most brands to work quite reliably. I never really dwelled much on the brand name. I’d simply go to the drugstore and get several packets of different brands and use them all. That way, I feel that I have all bases covered. Then again, if you really want to be sure, then the best course would be to go visit the doctor and pay the extra cost.

Being a parent is a tough job – I am sure most of you will agree with me on that. It does have its wonderful moments that cannot be replaced by anything else but the fact remains that there are days which are going to try the most patient person. There are days when the stress will seem to be too much too bear. I ran across a post from Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman which presents the ABCs of parenting. Now I would be the last person to simplify things to match the alphabet, to be honest – parenting is so much more than ABC – but I really found this list helpful. Allow me to share some of the letters of the alphabet and how they can help parents take on the challenges of their lives.

A- Accept the things you can not change: Single parenting? Step parenting? ADHD parenting? Just dealing with time crunches, making lunches, bunches and bunches of bills? It’s important to recognize that there are some things you can not control, surrender, move on.

B- Breathe: When things get hairy, scary, and you feel like you can barely hold on, take a step back, breathe, and be calm.

C- Count your blessings. Even though you have the weight of the world on you right now and feel far from compassionate for others who have things much worse than you do, there is some value in taking a moment to look at the things that are going right today, such as your child’s tantrum-free morning or how your spouse took out the trash…

All these three things, I find difficult, especially when faced with seemingly insurmountable things. Yet, I realize that they can indeed help me become more efficient and loving at the same time. I hope you see things the same way as well.

I got an e-mail the other day from Vanessa Van Petten of Teens Today With Vanessa Van Petten. As I was reading the e-mail, I felt like a little kid – I wanted to clap my hands together and do a bit of a jump while I was at it. (Ok, fine, I did clap my hands once.) Here is what she had to say:

I just wanted to write and let you know that your blog has been submitted to my
contest for the “Best Mom Blog!”

Hooray! I actually have already been reading your blog and love it, and have been RSSing for a few months so I am happy to add you to the list.

I wanted you to be aware that (I hope) you will be getting some more traffic from my site as I post the Top 50. I am actually 22 and write a parenting blog from the kids perspective to keep things exciting as a sort of expose on our generation of teens.

Hooray, indeed! I am glad that there are teens like Vanessa and that she sees the value in good parenting and communication between parents and children! Now let’s cross our fingers and hope that we win this one. Even if we don’t, the nomination is reason enough to celebrate, don’t you think?

I think that is every expecting mother’s wish to have a beautiful healthy baby. From the time that a woman finds out that she is pregnant up to the time that she delivers her child, I know that her prayer every night is to have a perfectly healthy child. Yet there are times when our wishes are not granted in the exact manner that we ask them to be.

As that famous line in the movie Forrest Gump goes, “life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get next.” Some mothers get their wish and have perfectly healthy babies. Others, they get something else, something that I would say is perhaps even more special, for God has granted them a baby with something more.

Lori Borgman says it better than I do in her work “Some Mothers Get Babies With Something More.” You can read the whole thing in the blog Special Child. This really touched my heart as, even if I am not a mother who got something more, my nephew is special – in more ways than one. I never really though that we would have to deal with this but God has presented us with a special gift and our family has grown together as a result. That is why I thought of writing a series on special children, in the hopes that as I share our experiences, other families will become encouraged and inspired.

So for mothers who got something more, here is a tribute to you.

The best way to get good tips and tricks on how to properly balance parenthood and personal life is to learn and read it from the people who know. Such can be found from sites that have used the services offered by organizations as the Los Angeles SEO when it comes to affordable search engine optimization and many have been directed towards their way.

For sure, parents are looking for advanced practices on how to become better parents. Moods and the things they do at home are not enough. There are varying techniques in the world of parenting today and people just have to be more open to them. Books may be of help but with the way technology has been spread today, the web is where updated facts and resources are at.

Be assured that there are a lot of ideas over the web today for better parenting practices. They are just waiting to be found!

While there is no question that most parents today know the responsibilities of growing their own breed while at the same time relying on other areas for potential improvement of the same, people often check the web for best sites which can help improve their current practice. Surely, these best sites will often be the first to come out when links or search queries thanks to the expertise of affordable search engine optimization techniques by companies such as Los Angeles SEO.

In fact, people may have a hard time choosing the best one since it is practically hard to select which site truly provides the best resource and information people are looking for these days.

There are a lot of sites on parenting today and each has its own line of specialty. While parenting may be simple to some, many would be amazed at the things they are missing out in their journey of parenthood. It is these little things that they can only locate once they start checking out the leading sites of parenting practices today.