It is not easy to be a parent. While it is a difficult endeavor for newbie moms and dads, even the “pros” would need to ask their fellow parents for parenting tips and advice, especially if they are facing a situation which they have not encountered with their other children.

Although the Internet has made it easy for all parents to find answers to all their family dilemmas, it is still advisable to do some reading on basic parenting. These tips and advice will serve as the foundation on which future family crises can be avoided or even prevented. Let us take a look at some of these general topics.

Growth and Development

Every parent should know the developmental milestones that are to be expected as their child grows from infancy to the pre-school level. Knowing when a child begins to crawl, stand, walk and other highlights will help parents to detect if there are any lags in their development. Such lags could indicate congenital disorders or other developmental problems. This will enable parents to seek consultation with their pediatricians who can do a thorough evaluation of the child as well as provide treatment.

Health and Nutrition

One of the primary tasks of parents is to ensure the health and well-being of their kids. A key to good health is to see to it that the child gets all the necessary immunizations, such as tuberculosis, smallpox, measles, mumps and Rubella. Despite claims by critics that these vaccines predispose a child to develop ADHD and Autism, there is an even greater risk of an early death if he or she were to develop diseases that these immunizations are meant to prevent. Impress upon your child the importance of immunizations when they reach adulthood. These would include vaccinations for influenza, hepatitis B, and cervical cancer in young women.

Nutrition is also vital to the child’s health. Babies should be breastfed up to two years. To prevent “picky” kids, teach them early on to eat healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and to avoid junk foods.

Don’t forget to emphasize the value of exercise. Do regular baby exercises on your infant. For older kids, allot times for play outdoors. Encourage them to participate in sports, like basketball and swimming.

Behavior and Discipline

The aspect of parenting that most moms and dads dread is disciplining their kids for bad behaviors. This dread is understandable. You probably would have seen recalcitrant toddlers and kids throwing tantrums and screaming their lungs out in shopping malls, an embarrassing situation that no parent would want to be caught in. Equally distressing is having to discipline stubborn teenagers who are determined to have their own way, as a means to assert their growing independence.

This could be easily resolved by building up love, trust and respect early on. Establish open communication lines with kids and teens. Put limits when it comes to demands for toys and allowance raises, while at the same time giving explanations for these limitations. Maintaining open communication will also help prevent situations pertaining to the bad influences of peers.

Learn about these parenting tips and advice and a lot more today!

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Sponsor a Child is a campaign that runs year long and is being hosted by various charities around the world. It gives people the opportunity to help the children of the next generation be well provided and well cared for. These are children who are either orphaned, or come from third world countries where they are deprived of the most basic necessities because they can’t afford it.

I encourage everyone to pitch a hand and support these kinds of projects for a better tomorrow. Find a charity to sponsor a child today!

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Tonight, my little boy had an unfortunate accident in the bathroom. He slipped and bump his head causing an inch long wound. We were terrified! It felt like a dream/nightmare! I wanted to wake up but I know I would not, I know that this is real and that I should not panic.

We brought our son to the nearest hospital/clinic. He got a stitch. He was crying during that time! His crying was unbearable to me and I could not do anything.

How to Childproof a Bathroom

• Secure all lower bathroom cabinets with safety latches.
• Store medication, vitamins, hair bleach, hair dye, bathroom cleanser and other hazardous solutions in a locked cabinet or in another room.
• Be sure to keep bathroom door shut and use doorknob safety guards to prevent children from entering the bathroom.
• Keep toilet seat lids down at all times; lock them with special lid locks.
• Use nonskid mats or adhesive safety strips in the bathtub and shower to prevent slipping.
• Install electrical outlets protected by ground-fault circuit breakers to prevent electric shock.
• Set your water heater at 120 degrees F or install anti-scald devices on faucets.
• Make sure your baby doesn’t find his way into the bathroom unsupervised by installing a hook-and-eye lock high on the outside of the door or by placing a childproof cover over the doorknob.
• Remember to keep the toilet lid down, and install a toilet lock to prevent your baby from lifting the lid. Small children are curious, uncoordinated, and extremely top-heavy. If your baby leans over to peer into the toilet bowl, he could easily lose his balance, fall in headfirst, and drown in as little as an inch of water.
• Put razors, scissors, nail clippers, tweezers, and other sharp utensils in a locked cabinet or high up in a linen closet well out of your baby’s reach.
• Unplug your blow-dryer, curling iron, and any other appliances that create heat, and put them away after each use to prevent burns.
• Keep all cosmetics and medications — including prescription drugs, antacids, aspirin, and mouthwash (which contains more alcohol than wine does) — in a high cabinet secured with a child-safety lock. Even medications that have safety caps, which are only child-resistant and not childproof, need to be placed out of reach.
• Treat all vitamins and other supplements with the same caution you’d use with medications, storing them in a high locked cabinet. Iron pills and multivitamins containing iron are poisonous to young children. Minerals, herbal remedies, and other supplements are hazardous, too.
• Don’t keep anything plugged in near the sink or bathtub. Water conducts electricity, so if a hair dryer fell into the tub while you were giving your baby a bath, it could electrocute you both. To be extra safe, make sure all electrical outlets near the sink or tub are protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI), an inexpensive device that senses a change in the current and quickly stops the flow of electricity. GFCIs are standard in most new homes to comply with construction codes, but if you have an older home, an electrician may need to replace the bathroom outlets.
• Set your hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). A lower water temperature helps ensure safe bathing by reducing the chance of scalding (it takes just three seconds for a child to get a serious burn). You can also install an anti-scalding device on your faucets.
• Place a nonslip rubber mat in the bathtub and a nonslip bath mat on the floor next to the tub to prevent falls.
• Put a soft plastic or rubber guard over the tub spout to protect your baby from accidentally bumping his head.
• Never leave your baby alone in the bathtub, not even for a moment. If the doorbell rings, scoop him up in a towel and take him with you. Bring your cell phone or a cordless phone into the bathroom if you feel you can’t miss a call.
• Teach your baby to stay seated in the tub at all times. If he’s the active type, you may have to repeat this message many times before it sticks, but his safety makes the effort worth it.

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Image via Wikipedia

Having an extra activity after school is a good thing for any child. These kind of toddler activities are an excellent source for an extra knowledge and fun!. So, having an extracurricular activity for your child is almost a must!

What if your son’s school does not offer any extracurricular activities. You are probably be worried of depriving your child of, like I said before, all that extra knowledge and fun. What should you do?

Most of us parents think that after school activities are always thought in schools. Well, it’s not. After school extracurricular activities need not be taught in a school-like environment by professional teachers in a structured and timely manner.

There is a lot YOU can do to support your child’s academic, physical and social development. Do not be too concerned about formal programs, as many of our children are already over-scheduled.

Obviously, school is top priority for children. They need to go to school, and finish their homework. They should then do their daily reading or writing work etc. This may take about 30-60 minutes. In the course of his daily work, your child may develop certain academic preferences and interests. In that case, you can try and find a program in a college or a community center that will help him and encourage him. In the age of the
Internet, information is really not a rarity. Allow him to use the net to find more information about thing that he likes. Encouraging the child to do independent research to gain in-depth knowledge is something that no
formal program does.

The first thing that a parent will be worried about is that their child may not have the social life. If you are concerned about it, enroll him or her in a club. There are all sorts of clubs available for kids. Or they can visit public libraries or even the theater, if your child is interested. It is not necessary for your child to make
friends with children his own age. A parent-child book club is another interesting option. If you can round up a number of like-minded children and their parents, you may well start your own after-school program… but of course, that is a little leaning on the side of the parent and not on the child.

There are instances that there is no organized group activity. Another good place to check out is your community. Many children love to get involved in social problems. They get their first real taste of suffering, charity and community help from such experiences. Volunteering for clean-up sessions, adult education programs etc could be a real eye-opener for your child. The lessons thus learnt are invaluable.

If physical activity or the lack of it is your major concern, enroll your child for some dancing classes. If organized sports are impossible to get, try to enroll her in a gym. She may find friends there and may take to the treadmill.

Your child does not necessarily have to be a part of an organized group to benefit from after-school ctivities. There are various avenues open in front of you. Roping in the enthusiasm of your children in daily household
activities like cooking, cleaning etc can also provide them with a refreshing extracurricular experience. Moreover, it will improve family ties too.

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In a world that is slowly but surely turning away from books and getting glued to monitors or television screens and like I said before, the internet… the importance of having a passion or developing wants for reading cannot be overlooked. Reading is a habit and should be established when the child is relatively young.

As a parent we are the first person to show our kids the value and importance of reading. We must tell them and make them understand that reading can broaden their mind. What can we do to foster this habit and add reading to their daily activities?

Enroll your child for reading classes

There are many well structured after school reading classes that aim to draw the children to books. They help kids with diction, idioms and phrases. For young children, these classes can be fun with animated characters and pictures. Illustrated picture books, rhymes, silly songs and pretend stories all attract the young child. Use creativity to capture the child’s vivid imagination.

Pique your child’s interest
If your child has a favorite character, pick a series of books that features this character. For my son, it was Spiderman. Thanks to friendly neighborhood spidey, my son latched on to comics fairly early in his childhood.

Build a home-library
A skill like reading cannot be learnt in isolation. Do not leave all the hard work to the after school program. Pick up books that you think your child will like. The Internet is also a rich resource of reading games
that will attract little children to the fine art of reading.

The suggestions listed above pertains only to physical books. There are many other ways to give the kids interest in reading if we are to use the internet. Wikipedia is the number one website for information and for kids to know and acquaint them in Wikipedia and other rich of information website will do wonders in their growing up years.

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For generations, parents have known that bedtime stories help kids relax and fall asleep more easily. But what they probably didn’t know, specially for first time parents or new parent like myself, is that reading bedtime stories do more good than just relaxing them and putting them to sleep.

What are the other benefits of telling toddlers the stories of Peter Pan, Cinderella and the likes?

Reading to them can help develop reading skills and emotional child development. You will notice that toddlers will not only look at the pictures but may also follow the words that the daddy is reading.

Another important thing to note is that bedtime stories are the last thing your child will hear before falling asleep and will play in the subconscious part of their mind all night.

Reading Bedtime stories may also be considered as a form of hypnosis, in a good way. All kids stories has values and lessons to learn from it. Reading them these kinds of stories and poiting to them the good values that the stories have will retain it and will be a big help in their mental and emotional development years.

During the age of child development, and of course the young age of toddlers are the time when they believe in magic, Wizards, Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy, you have a golden opportunity to program them for maximum success. You can boost their confidense and build their self esteem.

Perhaps, the best way to understand the importance of bedtime stories is to look back and recall some of your own favourite stories from childhood. I remember when I was young, my mother used to tell this story about a young boy who is mean to his mother. He then was turned to a lizard.

I will never forget that story.. I love my mother and I don’t need to be told of that story but honestly, I think it somehow made me what I am today, the loving son. And I want my sons to have that same feeling towards us, their parents.

“As an adult, you may even notice that some of the messages in your favourite stories have played out in your life in some instrumental way.” — Exactly!

What becomes clear therefore is the need to be very aware of the suggestions we are giving our children that will have an effect on their adult life. Are you for example through bedtime stories, suggesting to your children that the world is full of opportunity or a scary place?

Here are some other benefits of reading bedtime stories to kids according to the experts:

• Bedtime stories aid in speech and language development
• Bedtime stories help in the development of healthy sleep patterns
• Bedtime stories help children develop listening skills
• Bedtime stories help boost a child’s IQ
• Bedtime stories help calm the crying
• Bedtime stories help children develop a love for books

Do you know of other benefits that reading bedtime stories can do to children? Please share them in the comments below.

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This is sad.

As a parent, I am very fortunate to know the joy of knowing that there are little people that came from you. It’s hard to explain the feeling that these little men (that’s in my case, I have 2 boys) will soon become their own individual self and will become part of the social community.

I am very thankful that God blessed us with these two wonderful boys. And now I pray for those want to be parents for them to have their own child. Because having them truly is fulfilling.

Are you struggling to get pregnant? Are you frustrated, or feeling angry for not being able to conceive despite all your efforts ? If you answered yes, then let me tell you that I know exactly how you feel, because I personally had gone through the same experience years ago. I have battled with my so called infertility for more than a decade until I have finally found a cure, got pregnant twice and now am a proud mother of two beautiful healthy children.

That is a quote that I took from someone who is selling an electronic book that promises couples that they will become pregnant. I cannot contest and say that this is true but I still want to share it to you in case you’re interested. Check out her book on “How To Get Pregnant”.

My name is Lisa Olson and over the past 14 years, through a long process of trial, error and experimentation, I have developed a sure-fire, 100% guaranteed, clinically researched system that is backed by 60,000+ hours of nutritional expertise and Chinese medicine research for getting pregnant quickly and naturally. This is a very rare, highly unique and potently powerful Infertility healing system, which very few women even know exists…

How To Get Pregnant?

Most couples think they know how to get pregnant. Well, speaking for myself, I thought it was easy. But like I said before not all couples will meet this challenge with success. Infertility not that uncommon and we have statistics to prove that infertility affects one in every six couples. The information on this post will try to help infertile couples become pregnant quickly and naturally.

• Start taking folic acid now. You reduce your chances of giving birth to a baby with a neural tube defect (for example, anencephaly or spina bifida) by 50% to 70% if you start taking at least 0.4 mg of folic acid each day two to three months before you start trying to conceive.
• Make love often during your fertile period (the five days leading up to ovulation). If you’ve got the stamina to make love at least every 48 hours, you will ensure that there’s a fresh shipment of sperm waiting in the fallopian tube at any given time. Of course, you can get too much of a good thing if your partner has a low sperm count, so if you’re aware of a pre-existing fertility problem, you’ll want to talk this issue over with your fertility specialist.

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Sean will be celebrating his 2nd birthday this coming February 26, 2010 and Matt will be turning 4 on March 1, 2010. I remember when Matthew was 2 years old, he can recite the whole alphabet and he know each one by heart.

Now, it’s Sean’s turn to learn his alphabet. He’s a little late learner, but that’s alright. We are individuals and we are all unique. Sean can’t even speak yet but he is trying to recite and learn ABCs already. When he sings the alphabet song, he can barely say the words and just hum along with the tune but you can know distinctively that he is singing the alphabet song.

My classic tips in teaching toddler alphabet will be a big help for now on. When Sean can talk, we can start applying the technique we used to teach Matt the Alphabet. But sean is learning in his own pace. I am also very proud of him.

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Matt is turning 4 years old now and his little brother, Sean, will be turning 2. That is why this topic on baby constipation is a little late. Good thing (NOT) that my sons sometimes still suffer constipation which reminded me to browse the web and search for remedies for constipation.. specific for babies and toddlers

(image credit – everything-daddy.com toilet training)

Constipation in Toddlers

Constipation is when the stool gets super hard that it takes extreme amount of effort to get it out there. Or basically it refers to the passage of hard stools (poop, poo). We parents assume that our child is experiencing constipation when there is no bowel movement for 3 or 4 days.

Constipation is a common and frustrating problem in children. Before I search information about it, I thought that my sons could be in a very serious situation.

Causes of Constipation in Toddlers

Constipation is most commonly caused by a diet that is low in fiber. This is true for both adults and children. For toddlers, aside from eating food that is low in fiber, constipation can also be caused by drinking too much milk specially in my case where my 4 year old is still drinking plenty of milk while my 2 year old is still breastfeeding. Breastfeeding or breast milk (in excess) can also cause baby constipation. Another common and obvious cause is not drinking enough water or waiting too long to go to the bathroom.

Cure and Treatment for Constipation

How do treat constipation? What are the popular or effective remedies for it? Let us list some tips, cure and remedies for child constipation below. Since we are talking about toddlers, we will only write natural medicine or remedies that are safe for babies and toddlers.

Let’s list down some of the natural ways or safe ways we can do to help our child and prevent constipation

Foods Rich in Fiber

Since one of the causes of constipation is lack of fiber, or eating food that is low in fiber, one thing we can do is to regularly add a fiber rich foods in their diet.

Let us enumerate some foods, fruits and vegetables that are fiber rich and could cure, treat or even prevent constipation in children.

Here are some foods that are rich in fiber:

• Potato
• Raisins
• Pineapple
• Karo Juice
• Prune or Prune juice
• Beans
• Sweet potatoes
• Peas
• Raw tomatoes
• Corn (or even popcorn!)
• and others…

How much fiber is enough for a 2 or 4 year old? Or is there such a thing as fiber overdose?

Children require (age in years + 5) g of fiber per day up to a maximum of (age in years + 10) g per day.

So a 3 year old needs 8 g and should have no more than 13g of fiber per day.

There is about 2g of fiber in:

* A serving of bread or cereal
* A small fruit
* ½ cup of vegetables
* 1 medium potato

Ensuring your child has enough fiber in the diet will help toddler constipation.

source

Drink Lots of Water and Decrease constipating foods

Constipating foods include milk, yogurt, cheese, cooked carrots, and bananas. Drinking too much milk (your child may only be drinking 2-3 cups a day, but it may be too much for his system to handle) is heavily associated with being constipated. Switching to soy milk has been shown to soften stools. If your child is unable to drink milk, then offer a daily multivitamin or other sources of calcium.

Those are just a few things we can do to help relief them from the pains of constipation. Another thing we can to is to encourage the child to sit on the toilet after meals. Try to add this to their daily routine. Toddlers maybe often reluctant to sit on the toilet if they have already experienced the painful bowel movement, but still try to add it up to the routine.

My wife and I have discussed this and will try to do the suggested tips. I hope you do too if you are in the same situation as we are.

Do you have any other suggestions in relieving the kids from constipation? Share them here if you want. Thanks!

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