2009 November

Archive for November, 2009

Tips About Parenting

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

There is not more important job in the world than the job of a parent. We expect men and women all over to, without any experience, raise a child for eighteen or more years and turn an infant into a functioning, happy and productive member of society. Most people only know about parenting from the parenting they themselves received as a child. This makes no sense - how many among us can say we had a great childhood? Even if you could, there certainly is room for improvement. This is no slam on our parents; they did the best they could in most cases. However, the resources now exist to understand and apply more information about parenting than ever before. Here are a couple of tips and suggestions about parenting that will help.

One of the most important things about parenting is patience. This is not a new concept, and if you were to ask your parents, they would probably agree. But the thing about parenting patience, is that it is generally misunderstood. The key to raising a child is to increase his or her ability to think for him- or herself. But therein lies a paradox: how do you teach some how to think for themselves? Unfortunately, the only way is through trial and error (with a couple of bits of advice and instruction along the way). In other words, the key to parenting is in allowing your child to make their own choices.

Of course, letting children make their own choices is a difficult and, at times, dangerous philosophy. This is where patience comes in. The thing about parenting in this way is that it is inevitable that your child will make mistakes (often to your chagrin or disappointment). This is not only natural, it is preferable. It is highly unlikely that your child is the first perfect person in the history of the world. In other words, it is just as important that your child learn what to do after they make a wrong choice as it is that they make the right choice. You can see how using this parenting philosophy is tough, but will reap excellent rewards down the road.

No one has the complete and total answer about parenting yet. Psychologists and developmental physicians understand more about parenting than ever before, but there is still a lot of work to do. But the choices you make now about parenting styles will have a profound impact for years to come.

Parenting With Love

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

What Does Parenting With Love Mean?

You may be confused when it comes to parenting. Things that your parents did may make sense to you now that you have your own children, but others may think those things are extreme, outdated, or just plain wrong. What you want to do with your children is up to you, but you should know that there are ways that you can mess up your children. Some say that parenting with love means raising children that are spoiled rotten and that will never have any respect for authority. That is not true, as love often means doing what you have to do to make sure they are safe, secure, and growing in the right direction.

Some think parenting with love means no discipline. That is not necessarily true. If you remember your parents telling you that this was going to hurt them more than it hurts you right before they paddled you, you may not want to use any type of physical punishment. That is fine, and usually nice because at times this type of discipline can go too far. However, that does not mean you do not have to find a way to get the same message across. Some parents will not do anything because they do not think their children will like them. You have to know that this is not true.

Your children look to you for guidance and boundaries. If you do not set these boundaries, they are going to do whatever they want. As you can imagine, this is not a good idea. Your children are relying on you to let them know what is acceptable and what is not. This is not something they are born knowing. Everything is new to them and they would not have any frame of reference when it comes to what is good and what is bad, though you should not put things in those terms. Let them know what is okay and what is off limits and enforce those things if you want to be parenting with love.

Some say that parenting with love means holding your babies all of the time, and others claim that this spoils a child. The truth is that you can not spoil a baby. They do not know manipulation, only how to offer honest communication and a need for love and comfort. If you are parenting with love, you are parenting them with all that you have. That means dropping everything else if they need you. They trust you to come to their aid and if you fail them, they will not know that there is anyone they can trust. As their parent, you should be there no matter what. Hold them as long as they need so they feel safe and secure.

Parenting with love does not mean letting them get out of trouble without consequence. Hopefully your children will never do things that are illegal or that hurt someone else. As much as you love them, you have to make sure they learn from those mistakes if they do those things. You can not protect them from their errors forever, but you can show them that you love them even though they have to face what they have done. If you coddle them and help them avoid penalty for something serious, they are going to carry on with such things when they leave your home. If that happens, they will be facing worse consequences that you can not interfere with in the future.

Why Use a Pregnancy Due Date Calculator?

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

It seems as if the element of surprise is almost lost when it comes to having a baby. While some may think that this is a shame there are those of us who are thankful for the new technologies that give us information. This is especially true for me when it comes to the pregnancy due date calculator.

If you are planning to have a baby you might want to consider when your child’s birthday will be. A pregnancy due date calculator can help you choose a good time to conceive in order to have a birthday fall in a specific month or even week. While this may seem odd, there are those of us who have good reason to avoid certain times of the year.

December is a generally stressful and busy month for just about every family. My family is really overwhelmed during this festive time of the year. We have eight birthdays that fall within this month. While this is wonderful in some regards, it is hectic and overwhelming in other regards.

When I called my mother to tell her my exciting news she was thrilled. Then she added that it was April. I didn’t think much about it. She suggested that I use a pregnancy due date calculator to see when I would be expecting. Oddly enough, my daughter was due on my birthday.

Since my birthday falls on Christmas day, this was a strange delight. In one way I was very happy to discover that the pregnancy due date calculator determined that I might be sharing a birthday with my child. This joy was overshadowed with memories of having a Christmas birthday in my family.

The only problem with the date is the time of year. I guess that this make everything wrong about it. I hated to think that we would have another birthday that receives recognition but during such a hectic time in the year. The pregnancy due date calculator wasn’t my friend.

I spoke to my husband about the dilemma and he thought that I was silly. My doctor also told me that I was silly especially when he reminded me that the pregnancy due date calculator required accurate information. I entered the wrong date for the first day of my last period.

After I entered the right information in the pregnancy due date calculator, I got a very different answer. It turns out that we are having a Thanksgiving baby.

=> FREE Pregnancy Calendar - Track Your Pregnancy Week by Week

=> Pregnancy Due Date Calculator and Fun Birthday Facts

Choosing Baby Boy Names

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

It seems that people are often in search of two things which can cause them a conflict. They want to be seen as a unique individual, and they do not want to be treated than other people. It seems that people crave standing out and fitting in at the same time. Recently people have been trying to give their children uniqueness by giving them unusual names. This has good and bad aspects. In a good light children see they are unique and know that they are an individual because they do not have to learn the concept of sharing the same name as someone else. As a difficulty, unique names are often mispronounced and difficult to spell so children have to correct others. Many times people with unusual names are given nicknames so that people can pronounce them. They can also be teased or made fun of because of a strange name.

My son and his wife are expecting their first child. They know through an ultrasound that they are having a boy. They have been searching for baby boy names since they found out the sex of the baby. My daughter-in-law at times has very different ideas so I have been concerned about what type of baby boy names she is going to come up with. She bought a book of names to find out different meanings. She is into psychology and also the zodiac. She believes that whatever you are named this will be your destiny. I tease her that she will be giving birth to the next Messiah because her name is Mary. She constantly complains about her common name. I think that this is why she is spending so much time looking at baby boy names. My son is stressing about this because he remembers teasing kids in his class in school who had unusual names. He fears that if his wife insists on a strange name his son will be ridiculed and called by a nickname anyway. My daughter-in-law insists that whatever baby boy name they decide on that this is what everyone will call the child. She does not want them to be called by a shortened version or nickname. I have tried to warn her that she cannot control what other people decide to do. As the baby grows and matures he may decide that he would rather have people call him something different than the name she gives him.

When my son asked me for my opinion I told him that my only wish for them is that their baby is healthy. That no matter what name they give to him I will love him because he is their child, and will be my first grandchild.

Need help finding the perfect baby boy name?

=> Baby Names Directory - Everything you need to choose the perfect baby name

=> Click Here for More Baby Name Ideas