Encouraging your Child

Parenting is a great responsibility. All the parents try to provide best of care, love, concern and affection to their kids so that they have the best possible lives. Parents also ensure to prepare children in such a way that they can handle all the challenges thrown by life. Parents need to make sure that the child has enough self-confidence and self-esteem to face obstacles standing in his way. Some of the other important factors are accepting the child they way he is and not trying to mould each and every aspect of his personality as per our desires.

While building up a child’s personality, it is imperative to follow proper discipline techniques. The rules regarding discipline must be consistent and parents should let the children know what are the reasonable expectations from them. One factor hugely affects the way a child grows up. It is the way we are praising or criticizing him. Mind it, there is a very fine line between criticism and being negative.

Parents should try to ensure that child is being nurtured in a positive environment. Negative criticism can adversely affect child’s psychology. Talking it out in a cool and calm manner is much better way than simply making sarcastic comments or criticizing kids in front of other people. Many parents don’t praise child for the good deeds performed by them. Praise is a wonderful form of encouragement. It needs not to be done only if child achieves something big. It could also be for small things like cleaning his room, completing his homework on time or helping mom in the kitchen etc.

There are always some admirable qualities in any kid and parents must recognize these and encourage those positive traits. Qualities could be honesty, organization skills, humor, neatness or social skills etc. Try looking for his positive traits and encourage it by complimenting him every now and then. This will tremendously help child in building his self-esteem.

Co-Parenting Responsibilities

Parenting is a very responsible job and no one can deny this fact. Parenting decisions are jointly made by both mother and father. Both are equally responsible and accountable about the ways a child should be raised. But not always, parents agree to same aspect of parenting. The basic reason behind this disagreement is that there are many ways to raise a child. Each parent has a different perspective and way of raising a child and he or she tries to do things own way. Combining together the best of parents’ ideas would a nice way to make everyone happy but that’s not always possible.

Co-parenting requires discipline and compromise from both of the parents. Sometimes, disagreements between parents can adversely affect the child because he witnesses everything. For example, there is no point arguing on an issue like discipline in front of the child. It is always better to discuss it separately and not affect the child negatively. A calm discussion will always lead to some mutually acceptable decisions.

Talking it out is another simple way to sort out issues and can even nip in the bud the problems that can potentially damage relationship between the parents. Argument is of no help when it comes to setting rules for the child. Parents should always discuss with each other when they are thinking of making some important decisions for the kid.

Each parent should respect the ideas of other one. Listening to the ideas carefully can provide some great insights. Two people can always come up with a better solution together.

Toddler Discipline

It is always a proud moment for parents to hold their beautiful baby in their hands. What a joy it gives! Children are no doubt, little wonders of nature. Your child makes you complete. Everything about them is fascinating and touches your heart. Right from that innocent smile, incredulous eyes to cute voice, they surely win us over. We all like to see our kids grow in full might. They must get all the happiness of the world and they be successful. That’s what we wish for the kids. But parents need to create the foundation for the future well fare of the kids. A child must be given right platform to grow on mental, psychological and physical levels. Successes of life require discipline. It is an important parental job to lay the foundation stone of discipline for toddlers.

The most important thing is the art of saying no to the kids. Parents who say yes to kids tend to suffer more when children grow up. This habit will instill discipline in kids and will make them aware about their limitations. It should be done gently and firmly without using any violence. Most of the parents can’t see their kids in any sort of inconvenience and discomfort. That is quite natural. But at the same time, make him aware of his responsibilities. Don’t give into his all his unfair demands. Children often do irritating activities. In such cases, it is best to ignore them. Try to distract them from unwisely actions. Prevention is always better than cure. Start discipline methods from early age and your kid will do just fine. Finally try to be consistent in your behaviour.

Managing A Rebellious Child

Parenting is a tough job and you know it very well. Parenting is a lot about responsibilities, challenges and trials. Children on their part are simply children. Some of them are quite obedient and some other well, defiant. Call them children with rebellious streak and they cause lots of problems for the parents. Different parents adopt different measures to handle such problems. Unruly kids are hard to control and manage. These kids are quite aggressive and behave as per their whims and fancies. Rebellious children don’t like to follow orders and give hard time to their parents.

Talking about defiant children, they are not an uncommon sight. Parents need to adopt right methods to handle such children. Resorting to high handedness will not fetch rich dividends. Parents need to be very patient while dealing with such child. They should try to know why kid is behaving in a certain way. What is the reason that’s causing their kid to be aggressive? It could be either because of bad company, fear of punishment or expectations of some favors. There is no point shouting on the child if he is misbehaving or refusing to obey. Children learn a lot from their parents so parents need to be rightful in their behavior as well.

Put down rules and regulations for your child. Also express your decision about how you will be handling his wrong behavior. Do not ignore his behavioral traits. Be very consistent in your behavior. Try to implement discipline factor in the household. Try to know what is going through his mind. Listen to him very carefully.

Activities for Autistic Children

Autistic children face a lot of problems in social skills activities. Unlike normal children, they face problems in acquiring the natural ability to interact and communicate with others that other children possess. To teach social activity skills, parents need to go for deliberate treatments and interventions. Don’t try to take all the essential steps in one go. Parents should rather focus on dividing these steps into small ones that become much more achievable that way. Patience is the key word here that parents must possess while dealing with autistic children. It is known fact that autistic children don’t respond positively to coercion.

One of the best tools for imparting social skills in autistic children is by telling them stories. By telling stories that relate to a specific kind of instruction, children are better prepared to learn communication abilities. This approach is quite successful as it focuses upon the process of child using his own skills and strengths.

The other set of activities is relational activities that refer to reinforcement of object permanence in autistic kids. This way, autistic child learns to reference other people's faces. Some of the activities that parents can opt for are, reading, modeling, board games, face games, musical instruments etc. these are interactive activities. These activities teach child listening skills, visual stimulation and other different skills.

Autistic children must be brought in touch with other children so that they learn to develop some communication abilities. Just simple childhood games will serve the purpose.

Coping with Exam Stress

Exam time is a big issue for child as well as for parents. Exam is often accompanied by anxiety and stress. Add to that peer and parental pressure and loads of expectations and the innocent child finds himself surrounded by stress and tension. Parents must take extra care while a child goes through the examination process. It is always hard to prepare so much within a short span of time. Pressure keeps building up and child falls victim to exam fever.

So what are the responsibilities of parents? Parents should make sure child does not get distracted. A kid tends to get easily distracted. Losing focus can be disastrous for his exam preparation and ultimately for his self-confidence. Priorities must be clear and it is the job of parents to help the child in this aspect. They should make sure distractions like TV, guests or tiffs must be avoided or kept minimal.

Child’s sleeping cycle must be proper. Without adequate sleep he will always feel lethargic and won’t be able to give his 100 percent. Taking proper sleep is absolutely necessary and parents should ensure that he follows a definite routine. Proper sleep will also ensure he will be having good retention power. All the hard work will come to a naught if sleep cycle is disturbed.

Provide your child with balanced and nutritious diet. Don’t allow him to skip food. Fresh fruits, juices and pulses etc are must for child during exam time. If he eats well and sleeps well, there won’t be much reason of anxiety and pressure. Finally make him work accordingly. Cheer him up and he is sure to come up with flying colors.

Sponge Bath for Babies

It must have been the best feeling you ever had; holding your bundle of joy in your hand. After all the troubles of pregnancy and obviously difficult delivery, finally you are blessed with a baby and no feeling can ever beat that. A baby so delicate that mother often feels scared of her vulnerability. In such condition, giving baby a bath poses some questions. But a baby being a baby does not need to be bathed on a regular basis and no better way than giving her a sponge bath. Ideally, a baby must be given sponge bath twice a week. The purpose is to maintain cleanliness and hygiene factor.

Mothers are bound to face problems initially but sooner or later, they will adjust to it and will effectively learn how to give baby a sponge bath. Start with turning off all the fans and air conditioner because a baby with bare body will require heat. Don’t take much time while giving baby the bath. Keep all the required things near to you including baby shampoo, baby towel, sponge, warm water and washcloth. Don’t forget to keep diaper and clothes nearby. The temperature of water should be slightly warm and make sure to check it before you start the bathing action. Don’t expose all the body parts of the baby and keep other parts covered with towel. Don’t take too much time and finish the work as soon as possible. Don’t put pressure on any body part and don’t apply too much soap. Do everything gently and now cuddle up your fresh baby.