Parenting Articles & News
Growing Good People
At age seven months in the womb, humans begin language coordination in response to what they hear through the mother’s belly wall. Some 52 muscles learn to respond to the various phonemes (a basic language sound like 'b' in boy and 'm' in man) of the language surrounding that belly. There are also studies showing that the emotional state of the parent imprints as do things like music and other environmental conditions. Nutrition, drug use and pollution spill right through ...
Personal Honor
There are moments in a parent’s or grandparent’s life, when they receive validation for the way they are living, or, have lived, that life. These moments are usually quiet ones, with no fanfare celebrating the occasion. Yet, the importance of these moments has no equal. To those of us who have given of our time, our love, our care, ourselves, they are of far greater private, personal significance, than can be stated.
A Man and His Baby
When a couple steps forth with a baby in tow everything in life is stable and normal. People hold open doors, hard shopkeepers “chuck” and go all gooey before catching themselves and generally life is an easy ride. But gentlemen, when he who dares to step-out with a baby in tow (minus the wife) life becomes a series of obstacles that never ceases to surprise.
The Disadvantages of Home Schooling
“Home Schooling – Look Before You Leap” Are you considering home schooling your children? While you may have focused on the advantages of this form of education, take a moment to think about possible disadvantages of home schooling. Consider the demands of home schooling before you take the plunge. Answer the following questions with “yes” or “no” to see where you stand on readiness to home school your children. 1.) I am available to stay home and commit many hours to ...
Child Obesity And Diet
This article is looking at child obesity as the result of poor diet. Medical conditions resulting in child obesity, or the physical appearance of obesity, are issues to be discussed with your physician and beyond the scope of this article.
Encourage Your Children Potential By Your Modeling
All responsible parents would want to support their children, find ways to encourage their potential, help them be more, discover their hidden gifts and help them reach for the stars.
Reclaiming Her Identity: A Mother's Diary
After giving up my profession to become a wife, a mother of one, then suddenly seven made life very taxing for me. I soon came face to face with a challenging question. How did my identity become so obscure that I lost track of my hopes and dreams? Believing that I did not have any time left in my hectic schedule to accomplish my goals, I slowly began to lose perspective of whom and what I was about. My life became filled with doctor’s appointments, therapy sessions, counseling, grocery ...
Time, Stress, and a Baby
The main thing we noticed since having a baby is that time is a more valuable good. We do not have enough time for many things or time is really tight to accomplish certain tasks before the next feeding time has come. Think about feeding. The little one needs to be fed every 3 hours. Take approx. 15 minutes for the preparation, diaper change, cuddling, etc. before the actual feeding. Now take 30 minutes for the actual feeding, burping, holding and interacting with the baby. This really ...
Children's Safety in Public Places 10 Useful Tips
My kids ask me all the time to take them to playgrounds or any other public place. I can’t help to think that the risk involved in this is greater than we are often aware of. I have four kids, which makes the task of keeping track of everyone very stressful. To me, taking my children to a public place is not “a walk in the park” anymore. Actually, I feel that I am a little traumatized. My 8 year old son, (a very active little guy), has been lost 3 times in public places. Once in a huge ...
The Laid Back Parents Guide to Teaching Your Child to Read
At first I thought of titling this article "The Lazy Parent's Guide" but then I realized that most parents aren't lazy, but they may have a slightly different philosophy about children and learning.
Positive Parenting Oops! I Really Lost My Temper With My Kids, What Now?
Ever blown your top to your children, only to regret it ten minutes later? Silly question, it happens to us all no matter how well-behaved our kids or placid and patient we are. At times the general strains and stresses of life wear us down so our emotional responses don’t match children’s behaviours. Or rather, their less than perfect behaviour doesn’t warrant the ‘screaming banshee’ response that you have provided. So what do you do if you have blown your top and given your ...
Picky Eaters Successful Strategies Part 1
What is in a name? The answer is everything! Jo J. of Victoria, Texas said that her son was a very picky eater between the ages of four and six and refused to eat many of the dishes she made, until she discovered the art of renaming recipes. “One evening I discovered that he would eat ANYTHING he thought might be on the diet of the characters of his favorite TV show at the time, ‘The Young Riders.’ Oh, yeah,” Jo says, “The Kid's Beans, Teaspoon's Favorite ...
Raising A High Maintenance Child
Do you have a high maintenance child? “Thank goodness my second child wasn’t born first. I would have stopped at one child if he was my first,” said a mother at a recent parenting seminar. Many parents can relate to this sentiment. Nature has a way of evening out the score for parents. If you have an easy first born then hang on to your hat because chances are the second or third or fourth born will bring you back to reality. Most families have one child who takes up ...
Peer Pressure Five Ways to Help Teenagers Beat Peer Influence
Young people generally want to fit in to their various social groups so peer approval is a significant driver for their behaviour. For a young person resisting peer influence can mean isolation or instant ostracising so it sometimes takes great strength of will to refuse to follow the crowd.
Puberty Get Ready to Play the Puberty Game
Puberty can be a difficult time for children. Not quite kids anymore and not really adolescents they are caught in the middle in type of limbo. It is a sad time for many young people too. Many look back at their childhood and realise that they can never really act the same way yet they look ahead and realise that adolescence will present them with its own peculiar challenges.
Confident Children Avoid Overparenting
For many years underparenting was perhaps the biggest problem facing children. Recently there has emerged another type of parenting that, whilst never as harmful as underparenting, can be detrimental to children’s healthy development– that is, the trend by many of the current generation of parents to overparent their children. Overparenting occurs when parents solve children’s problems rather than give them the chance to overcome problems themselves. It occurs when parents ...
Friendships Helping Children Develop Friendship Skills
Reasearch into children’s friendships shows that those children who are able to form friendships when they start school are happier at school and also learn better.
Is Your Child Having Trouble in School?
Did you know that the school system is only able to meet 50% of student learning needs? That’s right! - only 50% of the student population is in an environment at school which enables them to be successful learners. The reason for this is not because of bad teachers. There are many excellent, dedicated teachers in schools, whose life’s work and passion is to educate their students to the best of their ability. Teachers want to see their students successful, that is why ...
Resilient, Confident Kids 10 Ways to Promote Resilience in Children
Do your children have a McChildhood? Do they experience the type of childhood that may satisfy them in the short-term as their immediate needs are met, but in the long-term, leaves them ill-equipped to deal with some of the curve balls that are thrown their way?
Raising Boys
The last decade has seen heightened interest in and awareness of the issues surrounding boys in most of the western world. It is common knowledge that boys lead the way in all the wrong statistics, including; problematic behaviours, learning difficulties and health problems. Educators and professionals around the world are looking for ways to cater for and engage young males.
Study Skills Help Young People Study Smarter, Not Harder
Many young people don’t know how to study efficiently and effectively. By knowing how to study students maximize their time, improve their learning and also reduce stress. Research indicates that successful students follow smart study habits to maximize their effectiveness.
Strong willed Kids: Raising a Spirited Child
Sometimes a change of perspective can make a huge difference for parents when their children’s behaviour worries them. This point was evident recently when I was involved in a minor disagreement with one of my daughters.
Time Managment Skills for Children
Time management is an organisational concept traditionally associated with adults and the workplace. The experts tell us that more efficient use of time means greater productivity. So organisations encourage individuals to prioritise, plan ahead and make the most of the time that they have at work.
Starting School What Age Should Children Begin School?
“What age should my child start school?” This is a common question that concerns many parents. It is complicated if your child’s birthday happens to fall near a closing date for new school enrolments. There are many factors to consider including: a child’s gender, his or her general readiness and maturity and also family circumstances such as sibling proximity. However as a general rule I advise parents not to rush children down the academic track. It is tempting to get ...
Are You Reading to Your Kids?
Over a number of years there have been issues raised concerning the literacy levels of eight year old children in schools. The number not meeting minimum literacy levels was almost at 30% only a few years ago. It has since improved but is still a concern to teachers and parents alike.
Sibling Fighting Reduce Sibling Rivalry by NOT Keeping Score
Recently, a much-anticipated game of mini-golf with my children soon turned into a disaster. There were smiles all round as we hit off from the first tee but the enjoyment factor was reduced to zero as my children’s smiles were replaced by tears, put downs and whining.
Are Public Schools Anti Parent?
Some public schools try to turn children against their parents with scary classroom stories or lessons about child abuse. Public school authorities have increasingly decided that they are children’s first line of defense against child abuse. This new attitude falls under what is now known as "protective behavior curriculum."
How Public Schools Assault Parents' Values
Is there anything wrong with lying, cheating, stealing, shop-lifting, taking drugs, premarital sex, insulting your parents, pornography, irresponsibility, or getting pregnant in junior high school? Not according to the values taught to children in many public schools today.
How Illiteracy Can Ruin Your Child's Life
It may seem obvious to many people why literacy is so important in our technologically advanced society. However, many parents may not fully realize the emotional pain and life-long damage illiteracy can cause their children. Literacy, the ability to read well, is the foundation of children’s education.
Now, They're Bullying My Daughter in Our Home: Welcome to Cyber bullying
Last night Tom’s daughter, Sue, came out of her room to see her dad and said, “I got another one of those instant messages. It says, ‘tomorrow you had better not show up at school or else‘.” She has been getting messages like this now for weeks. The result of this is that she no longer likes to turn her computer on.