Parenting Questions and Answers

As a new parent, I realized that there are more sounds that babies make aside from their crying. I realized this on the first few months since my child was born. Here are a couple of the noises that I noticed:

Sigh. Most babies breathe irregularly especially on their first few months. When you notice that they seem to sigh, it means that the brain is taking over the breathing process.

Gurgles. Babies do not know how to swallow extra saliva yet not until they are close to a year old. It would either spill or be trapped near the throat area and the result of this is the gurgle.

Coos. After a few months, the baby is experimenting on words and he is planning to say his first word. Before blurting it out, he will say a couple of coos.

These sounds are perfectly normal. However, be watchful for sounds that include high pitched whistling since it may be a problem with the child’s respiratory system.

Teaching manners is not as easy as it sounds especially when you need to teach your toddler proper conduct. Kids are not that hard to teach since they will always listen to what you have to say. Here are a few tips on how to teach good manners to your kids.

Teach them that whatever it is that they do, it will always affect others. Show them how happy your neighbor will be if you help them clean the garage or throw garbage. Being kind to others helps them absorb good manners.

Keep your rules plain and simple. Make sure that it is always understandable for them. Simple instructions like, “No talking while your mouth is full” is fairly easy to understand and repeating this will help them absorb proper conduct.

You may have noticed how your kids love to push things and see what happens after doing so. They start getting to the phone and press buttons. Are they ready to make that call? If they are, then here are a few things that you may want to consider.

1. Create rules. Have them help in creating the rules. Rules should include when to use the phone and for how long and when they could answer calls.

2. Practice. Teach them how to dial, hung up and answer phone calls.

3. Supervise them. Give them freedom but always make sure that they are saying the right things and are being polite.

4. Prepare for emergencies. Teach them how to dial the local police station and 911. Tell them that prank calls will merit them ample sanctions.

Have you noticed that your child is a lefty? When I was a kid, I never realized how my mother taught me how to write and do stuff since I was a lefty. All I can remember is that I was doing the exact opposite of what the right – handed people usually do. When writing, I realized that I was holding the pencil differently and that my arm usually bumps the person beside me. I also noticed how I tilt my paper awkwardly unlike those who can write on their right hand.

If you notice that your child is left handed, then in order to reach your child how to write with the left hand, here are a couple of useful tips:

1. Teach him or her the correct grasp of the pencil.

2. Slightly raise the left corner of the paper or the notebook so that your kid would not put too much strain on his writing hand.

3. Have them sit in a comfortable position so that they will not bump the person next to them.

4. Usually, because they are left – handed, the trace of the ink or the pencil traces will stick to their hand and create smudges. Tell them that it’s alright and that they will soon get used to it and eventually avoid it.

No is probably the most frequent word that your baby hears from you for the whole day. The trick behind this is to have him or her hear the word no and say it in such a gentle and polite manner. Having said this, you must allow him to be comfortable with the word itself and give him other options or alternatives.

For example, if he keeps on pulling the dog’s tail, instead of saying, “No!” just say, “Don’t pull doggy’s tail, just pat him like this and he will like it.” Giving alternatives after saying “no” is a good way to teach your child how to handle things correctly. Do not forget to praise him or her after doing the right thing.

Pointing is a skill that is learned by babies who are between 9 to 12 months of age. This is actually a good way for your child to start the communication process. According to a developmental psychologist, it is a child’s non verbal way of communicating that is very much understandable by all ages. It is their way of saying, “I am hungry” or “look at that nice toy!”. Make it a point that when he or she points to an object that you try to describe that object. That way, she will learn what the item she is pointing at is called.

Being able to point is a great way for the child to communicate with you while he or she is not yet able to speak. Make sure that you also instigate pointing from time to time and make them imitate you. Remember, children learn by imitating what you do so show them the right things.

Diapers may not be appropriate for preschoolers anymore. Its just a thing of the past for them. However, wet pants may be a big problem for them. It has been said by a pediatric urologist in Iowa that children are having these problems because the access to restrooms may be far and that the excitement around them diminishes the signals that the bladder sends to their nervous system. So before they know it, they already wet their pants. Here are a few things to take note of if your child is having this kind of problem.

1. Tell them they are not the only ones having this problem and that there is nothing wrong. This way, they will feel that they are not alone and they will try to keep focus and control.

2. Encourage them to speak up. Tell them that being able to talk will stop this. They need to tell someone that they have to urinate and not be shy about it.

3. Pack extra clothes so that in case it happens, they can just change their outfit.

Have you noticed that at one time your child took something that he or she does not own without any permission? I remember my son who stole a bag of chips in a convenience store. What I did was I brought him back to the store and told him to apologize and return the bag. Its a good thing though that he has not opened it yet. He said he really wanted those chips so what I asked him to do was to pay for it if he wanted it that bad. And so, I made him compromise his allowance. He had to work hard for the money that he needed.

Through what I did, I saw that he was humiliated and he swore never to do it again. Sometimes, scolding or hurting your child will not help. Sometimes it is good to scold him psychologically and make him feel that there is something wrong with what he did.

There are kids who show signs of being pessimistic at their early years and eventually carry that trait until they grow older. It is a fact that every one is having negative days but extreme negative days can be very destructive. This may end up with them doing very bad at school or they may not be able to interact with others well. Here are a few things that you may want to try out if you notice that your child is showing signs of being pessimistic so that you can turn them into an optimistic one.

1. Do something good and fun every week. When the children feel that their parents are showing much love and security, then they will think that the world has every positive thing to offer.

2. Challenge them. If they are saying they cannot do it, then play a friendly bet that they can do it with ease. This way, the child will be challenged and will look forward to something worthy.

3. Broaden horizons. Most negative kids do not want to go out. To turn this around, tell them that you are letting them explore the world and that you are allowing them to go out. If they do not have a good time, then put the blame on you.

Turning your kid into a positive person is not that hard to accomplish. All you have to do is make a couple of adjustments and show some love and respect.

If you have more than just one kid then be prepared to encounter sibling rivalries. Most families encounter this with their children and they may end up even hurting each other physically and emotionally. When you notice that there is a rivalry, here are a few things to consider:

1. Do not try treating the children “equally”. Kids need to be treated by their age, personality and other traits. If one excels at something then he must be congratulated accordingly. It is the parents responsibility to discover the characteristics of the child and congratulate him for his great effort.

2. Be fair. If one of them was given a gift, the other should deserve something as well. It may not be a gift but just a simply appreciation. Bottom line is, you must be fair.

3. Avoid comparing your kids. As natural as it may seem, you have to avoid it or if you simply cannot and needed to talk to someone about it, make it a point that they do not hear what you say.

4. Discourage boasting. Teach them the big difference between being proud and being very rude.

It will be easy to get around this if they have strong bonding together. Try organizing an activity that will make them work together as a team and discover where they are good at.