Best Parenting World

Ten Books Every Boy’s Gotta Read
 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.

The Shocking Secret Behind Your Math Blocks
 by: Kenneth Williams

You’re smart, witty and intelligent.

You’ve overcome many challenges in your life.

And yet, you can’t do simple math sums in your

head.

Ever wonder why not?

In this short article, you’re going to discover

the ONE reason you struggle with mental math.

And I promise you, it’s NOT the reason you think

it is.

You see, it’s NOT your natural math ability, or

the way you were born, or any of the other lame

explanations you’ve been conditioned to believe.

No.

The real reason you’re not a calculating whiz kid

is startlingly simple.

In fact it’s right in front of your eyes as you

read these words now. And yet it’s been hidden

from you all your life.

To understand it, you need to take a moment and

cast your mind back to your schooldays…

Imagine yourself in the math class, writing an

addition sum into your little notebook. Something

like this:

245 +

631

Doing what you were taught, you take your pencil

Breastfeeding - Helpful Tips
 by: Daphne Nancholas

Benefits

Breastfeeding has many benefits for your baby. If your baby can be breast-fed for at least 6 months then the risk of allergies, such as eczema, are reduced, ear infections and stomach upsets are also reduced. Mother’s milk seems to boost your baby’s immune system generally.

How does breast milk do this?

Well breast-milk, unlike formula milk, contains antibodies designed to prevent an immature immune system from becoming overwhelmed with the foreign proteins that challenge it. Research has shown that exclusive breastfeeding for six months is associated with a reduced incidence of allergy and reduced risk of gastro-intestinal illness, respiratory illness, ear infections, diabetes, obesity and respiratory wheeze. So there are lots of benefits for your baby if you breast-feed.

According to the NCT nine out of ten mothers did not know that breastfeeding for just one month has a lasting impact on health during the first 14 years of a baby’s life. All the authoritative expert bodies that advise on parenting are still right behind the message they’ve always endorsed: breastfeeding is definitely still the best. The longer the breastfeeding continues, the greater the health gains for both mother and baby.

Eight Tips For Potty Training Your Toddler
 by: Jacqueline Courtiol, M.A. Ed.

Getting your toddler to perform toileting independently is a welcome milestone for any parent. Few of us want to be changing diapers much past the child’s second birthday. However, children vary greatly in their adoption of the potty routine which is influenced by a child’s innate ability, aptitude and maturity. However, there several tips and techniques you can use to hasten the blessed day when your toddler says: “Mommy, I did potty by myself”.

1) Get your child ready - explain to your child that it’s time to do “pee-pee” and “poo-poo” in the potty. Promote the benefits of being trained such as no more diaper rash, interruptions for diaper changing, being clean and dry. Discuss training as an important stage of growing up.

2) Make it fun - first and foremost, make this a game. Children will naturally resist anything which is not framed as a fun learning experience. Use play, music, toys, and stories as part of the experience to keep the child from getting bored or distracted.

Starting new things for your child sometime difficult, but you still have to do it. Potty training is one phase that your child has to go through. So, find out when is your child ready for potty training. Here are those five ready signs:

1. Takes Off Own Clothes

Let’s face it. The first step to becoming dry begins with your toddler’s ability to recognize he has to go to the bathroom. The second step is his ability to pull down his pants, or lift up her dress. The third step is actually going to use the potty. If your child begins insisting on taking off his clothes then he probably is ready to begin training for the potty.

2. Talks about Using the Potty

He may say, "I want to use the potty." Or, he may just point to it and sit down. Either case he is showing an extreme interest in the little chair. Well, what do you do if he’s interested in sitting; maybe he’ll be interested in using it. You never know unless you try. Hey diapers are expensive why spend more on them if you don’t have to.

3. Does a Potty Dance?

Your Guide To Peg Perego High Chairs
 by: Helen Walters

The usual cost for a Peg Perego high chair costs around about one hundred to about two hundred and fifty dollars. There are many different types of Peg Perego high chairs such as the Peg Perego diner exclusive high chair, the leatherette rocker high chair, the Prima Pappa baby high chairs and much more. The Peg Perego high chairs come in many different styles, shapes, and colors. Some of the different types of Peg Perego high chair colors are Chesapeake, Benjamin, Neptune Blue, Black Leatherette, Bears, Plum Stripes, and Black Sable.

One of the cheapest Peg Perego child high chair is the leatherette rocker high chair, which costs around about one hundred to two hundred and thirty dollars. This high chair has a removable dinner tray, twenty eight different positions, seven adjustable height settings, and much more. This high chair has castor wheels, which will allow you to roll the chair where ever you need it. It also has a restraint to keep your baby in the high chair and a five point harness. Consider toddler furniture that will keep your child in a seat that is cushioned for their own protection.

Seventeen Reasons To Homeschool Your Kids
 by: Rudy Silva

Homeschooling was once a rare educational method. Today it is well known and an accepted way to education your kids.

Most parents thinking of homeschooling have a difficult time deciding whether to do it or not. The following is a list 17 reasons why other parents are homeschooling their kids. And, there is one important question you must answer correctly if you expect to succeed in homeschooling. This will be given to you at the end of this article.

- Private school is to expensive

- Their children have problems learning in school or have a hard time getting along with other kids

- They have special health needs

- They are unhappy with the public school curriculum

- They want their kids to have a better education

- They enjoy homeschooling and being with their children

- They don’t want their kids to be badly influenced by other kid and learn their bad behaviors

- They want their kids to learn the skills they need to succeed in life

- They want their kids to receive an education that caters to their interests, ability level and aspirations

Tips for Staging A More Professional Puppet Show
 by: Gwynn Torres and Sid Berger

Puppet shows on your own puppet stage are not only great fun for children, but are also rich with developmental benefits that include nurturing creativity, teaching pretend play and allowing positive reinforcement. Puppet shows are also dramatic performances, and some simple rules of thumb will help make performing easier and more rewarding for the children, as well as clearer to understand for their audiences.

CHARACTER VOICES: Encourage each child to make up a character voice they think suits the puppet, or that they can perform well. Remember there’s a great deal of flexibility and creative license in matching the role to the puppets on hand. The child can mimic a specific character from movies or TV that suits the part, such as the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz,” Mickey Mouse’s high falsetto, and so on.

WALKING: To simulate a puppet walking or running across the stage, encourage the children to take it beyond merely sliding the puppets across the stage. Rather, have them bounce the puppet slightly up and down to represent each step as they move from one position to the other. These small “step-size” bounces can create more of a sense of excitement on stage and also allow puppeteers some great opportunities for jumping from view and other fun, dramatic moves.

The Kids are Alright: Technology is a Larger Part of Our Kids Lives Now More Than Ever. But Is Technology Making Our Kids Smarter? Part 1 of 2
 by: Michael Dillon

As we enter the new millennium, we face many uncertainties. The cultural and political landscape of the world is changing rapidly, often making it difficult for us to keep up. There are very few constants that we can point to and say, “This will always be here.” Could you have imagined, twenty years ago, that there would no Soviet Union? Or that it would be easier to get a handgun or rifle than a fishing license?

However, one of the few constants of the new millennium that has remained the same is technology, and its presence in our lives. We can say for certain that technology will continue to move forward and that it will continue to be a dominate force in our lives, especially in the United States.

Technology has integrated our lives on the most basic levels, often without us even being aware of it. For example, most appliances and tools we use daily have what we would have thought twenty years ago to have complex technology built into them. Televisions, dishwashers, automobiles, telephones and even toaster ovens have computer chip co-processors built into them, and these chips and essential to their function.

Helpful Tips For Overcoming Sleep Problems For Your Baby And You
 by: Daphne Nancholas

Sleep needs

Did you know that newborn babies need 21 hours sleep a day and children from six months to two years of age need at least 12 hours sleep? Sleep deprivation can cause problems for everyone in the family: fractious babies during the day, exhausted mothers and an anxious, stressful atmosphere.

Sleep deprivation

Sleep starvation is a huge problem for today’s parents. A survey of 2,000 new parents and 2,000 people aged 55 to 65 was carried out by Mother and Baby and Yours magazines.

It found today’s parents try all kinds of things to get their babies to sleep through the night, including taking the infant into their own bed. In contrast, parents in the 1960s and 1970s tended to say their babies had slept peacefully in their own cots.

Today’s parents

New mothers of young babies reported that, on average, they only have three and a half hours sleep a night, compared to five hours which the older generation said they used to get.