Best Parenting World

Parenting - Find The Right Balance!
 by: Dana Goldberg

Parenting can be a daunting prospect even for the most accomplished and the most prepared. Good parenting is a balance of many different factors and you will need to discipline as well as spend good, quality time with your child. In this modern age, time is of a premium. Even when parents do find they have some spare time to interact with their children this time is often spent worrying about what needs to be done next.

Make sure you set aside some time every day to spend with your child or children and when you do, try to concentrate solely on them. If you appear withdrawn or distracted your child will notice and in many cases they will associate it with their own actions. Do things that will educate and entertain them and remember that socializing is as educational as any other activity.

A well-socialized child will grow into well-adapted young adult. Usually, they will easily make friends and treat people with respect. They will also be able to attract similar responses from those around them. Socializing should start very early on and playgroups can be an excellent opportunity to interact with children of their own and different ages. Because there are a number of children at playgroups and parents can attend, a playgroup should become something to look forward to.

With our twin boys getting ready to start solid food, I have been reading about making and freezing my own baby food. It is very easy!

You can make up large quantities of baby meals and freeze them for later use.

Green beans are in season and were on sale at the grocery store, so I bought several pounds to prepare and freeze. I steamed them in an electric steamer for about 20 minutes and then blended them in the blender with some water until they were pureed. I then poured the puree into ice cube trays. After the cubes were frozen I transferred them to a reclosable freezer bag and labeled the bag with the name of the vegetable and the date. These cubes can be stored in the freezer for 1-2 months.

One cube is approximately 1 ounce of food and can be thawed out in the refrigerator or microwaved for a quick meal. You can also mix cubes together (e.g. one meat, one vegetable) for a combination meal. The cubes also travel well, just place a frozen cube in a sealed container until ready to eat…it will be all thawed out and ready to go.

Practical Tips To Survive The 1st Trimester Of Pregnancy
 by: Christine Dugan

So, you’ve gotten over the elation of being pregnant. Now, despite the joy of having a little one growing in your belly, you (and your husband or boyfriend) need to deal with the nagging symptoms of pregnancy. Here are just a few tips to help you to survive:

1. Get plenty of rest: Most likely, you will be more tired than ever before during the first trimester. Listen to your body and go to bed or take naps when you are feeling tired. This may also mean cutting back on obligations, or going out with friends. Do not let yourself worry about housework, errands, or getting ready for the baby, which needs to be done. You will have more energy in the 2nd trimester, so let the things that can wait, wait. Also, ask your husband, boyfriend, or family to help you when you are tired.

Finding A Pediatrician For Your Newborn
 by: Jacqueline Courtiol, M.A. Ed.

Congratulations, you’re pregnant. As the count-down to the birth of your new child approaches, you should consider finding a pediatrician who will work the best with your soon to be expanding family. Having a pediatrician on-hand though the formative weeks and years of your child’s life is in the best interests of both you and your child. Waiting until your child gets sick or needs a check-up is absolutely not the time to be going through the selection process, which can be stressful even when everything is going according to plan.

Beginning Your Search

There are several sources you can tap into to locate qualified pediatricians in your community.

* A good place to start is the “American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)”. A pediatrician who is certified by them will have will have graduated from four years of medical school, received three years of resident training, and passed their written examination. They provide pediatrician search service on-line.

* Another source is the “American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)”. They also provide a referral database of participating members.

School Bullying Stopped: 5 Ways to Have a Pupil Services Meeting that Works!
 by: Paula McCoach

You have had so many meetings on these bullies, but none of them ever seem to be effective.

You waste time and energy, and the bullies keep bullying.

Follow these 5 steps and have a meeting that produces results.

1. Be sure you have the decision makers at the meeting. It is fine to meet with the team of teachers, psychologists, social workers in attendance. But, in order to get anything accomplished, you need the staff members present that can make the decisions.

Be sure you have the principal or vice-principal of the building present, so decisions can be made and carried out.

If the bully is a hardcore bully, you will need the Pupil Services Supervisor or Alternative School Principal from the Board of Education present. If your plans are to remove the bully from the school, be sure to have the appropriate staff members present.

2. Be sure to invite the parent(s) or guardian of the bully. When you contact them, you should spell out exactly why the meeting is being held. Parents like administrators and Board of Education staff, are the people that can make and/or carry out the decisions make to help this child.

Top-Ten Boy Books - How To Get Our Boys Reading Again
 by: David Skuy

Boys don’t read - hundreds of reports and newspaper articles have made that clear.

The mantra of the literary community is to just get boys to read anything, even the back of a cereal box.

This message ignores the fact that literacy is not the real problem. Boys can read - they just choose not to. The dumbing-down of literature will not solve the problem of boys not reading. We need to inculcate a love or reading. Let’s not lower the bar and endorse mediocrity. Let’s raise it. Are you happy when your kid is reading a comic book? Or would you prefer he bury his nose in Tom Sawyer?

Below is a list of great books every boy should read before they’re twelve, books that will capture their imagination and motivate them to read more. It’s a mix of old and new, and guaranteed to get a big thumbs up.

1. Chasing Vermeer

A terrific action and mystery story surrounding the disappearance of a priceless work of art. Two kids find themselves at the centre of an international art scandal. Boys will be drawn to the story’s dramatic conclusion, as the heroes solve a crime that left the FBI baffled.

Parenting Tip: The 7 Step Guide to Child Development Using Teaching Material with Child Stories
 by: Paul Arinaga

Child stories are an excellent way to promote child development. You can use teaching material along with children’s stories to teach moral lessons, factual knowledge or emotional intelligence.

The beauty of using child stories in this way is that children learn without feeling like they’re “learning”; they learn by osmosis.

Using stories to teach also gets children to really think about things. They can actively get involved in the story rather than just passively listening to it or reading it.

So, how can YOU use stories in this way? When you follow these 7 simple steps, you’ll find that using stories to teach is incredibly easy, and fun, too!

#1 Decide what you want to teach

What do you want your child or students to learn? How do you want them to feel at the end of the “lesson”?

#2 Ask specific questions about events or characters from the story

Questions such as “why did this happen?”, “why did Santa do that?” or “how do think Billy felt?” are good examples. Try to get children to “analyze” the story - to think about why something happened and its consequences, the motivations and feelings of characters, etc.

LIFE AFTER BIRTH: THE FIRST 6 WEEKS

Life after birth can be chaotic, especially if this is your first baby. Taking care of your newborn is hard work and won’t be much fun until he or she develops a personality. In case you didn’t know, a newborn doesn’t laugh or smile, it can’t play or even hold its own head up without a supporting hand. All it can do is eat, sleep, dirty diapers, pass gas, throw up and cry. Despite all of this, you will ? believe it or not ? love your little tot more than anything else in the world. Moreover, you will learn a lot about yourself and your partner as you both navigate through these initial days of parenthood.

Sex (or lack thereof)

How Will I Cope? How Relaxing helps you and your Baby - from Pregnancy onwards
 by: Daphne Nancholas

Pregnancy

You’re in the final trimester of your pregnancy. Up until now you hadn’t felt so bad. Now, though, you feel enormous and there seems no end to it. Baby has started kicking on a regular basis and is so active at bedtime that you rarely get a good night’s sleep. You start to worry how you will cope once the baby is born if you feel so tired now. Your digestion is dreadful, you seem to have permanent heartburn - and when you try to bend down!

Baby arrives

You’d been waiting for this moment for so long. Here she is, in your home, a real human being created by you both, a little miracle. And what happens? She cries and cries and cries. It scares you. You’re on your own for so long in the day and her crying seems to go on and on. You are so very tired, you can hardly think straight anymore. When your partner comes home in the evening it isn’t so noticeable. Maybe she’s worn herself out with the crying. During the night your partner sleeps right through. (you have no idea how he can do that!).

Having a baby can be one the most life-changing experiences there are. And not all those changes will be easy to cope with. Here are some tips for a first-time Mom, to help you get through the rougher times.

The vast majority of women today, are working when they become pregnant. That means making a decision whether to stay home with the baby, or return to work. This is something you can consider during your pregnancy, weighing the pros and cons of your income, versus the benefits to this child, and any others to come in the future. If you decide to return to work, finding childcare ahead of time, will relieve you of the worries when your maternity leave is at an end.

Women who do work full-time, often find themselves swamped in things that relate to the baby, whether it’s their laundry, their nap schedules, or their feedings. At times it can seem like your whole life revolves around them, where it used to involve co-workers, friends and visits to family.