Very Cute!

Minding the p’s and q’s

One of the best gifts we can give to our children besides an excellent education or a desire to succeed is great manners. With so many parents not focusing on this, children who do have them shine out among the rest, and teachers and employers often reward those with good manners with more attention and chances to progress and be promoted.

To see your children develop good manners is fairly simple as long as you know what you want to expect from them and to keep that consistent.

If your children are testing your limits and you’re worried they are picking up bad habits, it’s tempting to make a big deal over it. However, it’s often a good idea to not pick up on the bad habit much and even ignore it while they are acting out such as being rude.

If they get a big reaction from you, they see it as a way to gain attention. So, they may think all they need to do to gain attention again is be more rude.
That’s the last thing you want them to pick up as a habit!

It’s important, however, to have clear expectations of how you will be spoken to. Do not think it’s okay for your children to shout at you, hit you or demean you with their actions. It’s not.

It doesn’t matter how young they are, they need to treat you with respect. If they ask you for something and do so rudely, then tell them they can get it if they use a nice tone, and say ‘please’ or ‘thank you’.

Of course, you need to model good manners too. Your children are not there for you to order them around, so it’s important to ask them politely as well.

Sometimes we may need to tell our children to do something, rather than request them to do it, but we can still do this politely. A good reference point is whether you’d speak to a employee or work mate that same way.

However, keeping a handle on manners can be a little stressful outside the home. It’s important to prep your children every time you leave the home until they’ve build a strong habit to stay well mannered.

Before you leave, run over your behavior expectations with them, so they know what to expect. Also work out the worst-case scenario before you leave, so you know what you will do if they don’t follow through.

If they act up, and you’ve told them there will be consequences, then make sure you carry those consequences out.

Threatening to give them a smack when you get back home isn’t the most effective way to stop bad behavior.

Parents often find removing the misbehaving child from the place to be a better alternative. It may spoil that trip but will make consequent ones easier.

Whatever you do, its’ better to quietly talk to your children instead of making a big deal over it. An embarrassed child can often become even more angry at you, and may flare up again.

While we all want our children to be perfect and not to embarrass us, we do need to remember to have realistic expectations in relation to their age and development.

For to exert their ‘independence’ and may not be the tidiest of eaters.

Sometimes, you will feel like a broken record having to repeat the same things. But if you stay consistent and give them time learn new manners, you’ll end up with lovely children you’ll be delighted to have in your home.

Useful Pointers for 1st time mothers

Watch over them
Never leave children unsupervised in play areas, stores or parks. Make sure you can always see them. Also, never leave them in cars outside stores, even is they're asleep or you're only going to be away for a few minutes. Always take them into the store with you.

Time for a nap
It is estimated that a quarter of children still have a daytime nap a couple of times a week even at five years old age, so don't worry if your children are often tired in the middle of the day. Make time in their schedules for naps as well as activities.

Never start a bad habit
From time to time, your children will not feel sleepy at bedtime and may want to stay up. If you give in, they are likely to want a repeat performance every time they don't feel sleepy, so bear this in mind before you start bad habits like letting them come into your room. I found this tips very useful , when the first time I found my son is mirroring my bad habit,which I was totaly angry and try to correct him by scold, which is not a good way to resolve this problem.

Give them kisses
I used to asked or gave my son a kiss before we both goes into bed. Many children especially when they get to pre-school age, will spurn kisses and cuddles from their parents during the day. So make up for it by lavishing attention on them at bedtime when they are less likely to refuse, and then send them off to sleep feeling warm and secure.

Breath it out
Children always getting trouble in get back to sleep if they have waken up at night, teach them some "sleep" excercises like breathing into different parts of their body, or visualisation, to help their body and mind relax.

Little Baby Need Alot of Sleep, Do you know that?

Infant baby definately need alot of sleep, but problem is , is all the parent in the worlds realise about this? Sometime, I am seing some parent bringing their baby togther with shopping, eating and so on , in the crowded place, is this good for the baby?

Well, I am personaly do not think so.

Sleep is an important time for infants to mature neurologically. When born, an infant’s brain is not completely developed and during sleep the brain begins to develop over time. Even if your baby is not sleeping all night long the brain will begin to develop and mature. By the time your baby is 6 months old he will be sleeping approximately 12 hours at night and napping about three to four hours during the day. The first few months are difficult because babies are not able to regulate how much they sleep or when they sleep, they simply sleep.

The most important thing parents of a newborn can do is allow their infant to get enough sleep and respond to them as soon as they cry. You cannot spoil an infant less than six months of age and sleep training at this age is not an option because your baby needs you. Sleep training may be convenient for parents who need sleep to function, however what’s best for the baby is to be held, cuddled, and loved no matter what time of the day it is. Parents who need more sleep than their infant is allowing them should consider napping during the day, alternating nights, hiring a part time caregiver, or asking friends and family members for help.

Risk of Aspiration for infants who sleep on their backs

Many parents are shocked to learn that they are only supposed to put baby to sleep on his back. This comes as a surprise also to grandparents who were recommended by their pediatricians to put baby to sleep on his stomach. Things have changed a lot over the past few decades and pediatricians now know that by putting baby to sleep on his back the risk of SIDS goes down 10 to 15 times. That’s a very large reduction in the rate of SIDS and certainly worth placing baby on his back to sleep. Some parents have questions, though, about how back sleeping could harm their baby. Luckily, there are no real dangers with putting baby to sleep on his back and certainly very little risk of aspirating stomach contents. In fact, several studies have shown that babies in other countries that have more experience with back sleeping have not found babies to have a higher risk of aspirating vomit or choking.

There have been some studies that show babies who sleep on their backs have a higher incidence of flat had and cradle cap, but those are certainly not risks that are worth avoiding the back sleep position.

Keep in mind that baby only has to be on his back to sleep. During the day “tummy time” is important and it will allow your baby to develop neck muscles, develop motor skills, and let baby see what’s around him. Soon your baby will be able to push and pull himself and will really enjoy the “tummy time.”

Being a parent is filled with worry and concern. However, when you know you are doing the very best you can for your baby you will be able to sit back and relax and enjoy the ups and downs of parenthood.

I found this article from somewhere. Do you practising this for your baby? Do you think this is an bad idea for carry baby on parent backs?

Washing Baby Clothes Together With Family Clothes

I found that most of the parent washed baby's clothes together with the family's clothes is not hygiene. While, I'm personaly think of this definately is not a problem if you decided to wash the baby's clothes together with family's clothes.

But somehow, if you found that baby clothes like cloth diapers having dirt or stain. Then its better to have some liquid detergent to remove the stain eventhough that is tough and hard stain. This kind of clothes is advise to be washed apart from everything else.

I able to found this topic from Kids Health Org.