Parenting Questions and Answers

If you are a dog lover, then having a new baby in the house may be one of the problems that you are thinking of right now. Dogs are usually not that friendly to newcomers. He doesn’t even know that it’s your son. So basically, you have a lot of adjustments to do.

First, you have to introduce them gradually. You have to let your dog know your child’s scent first. You can do this by letting him smell your child’s blankets or used clothes. Also, you can try holding your baby close to your dog as a simple introduction but never leave them alone. You can never tell what will happen if your kid tries to pull your dog’s tail.

You should create a no pet zone as well. Pets should not be allowed to be in your child’s nursery. Until your kid is out of the crib, then your dog is not allowed inside. Never share toys as well. Dog’s have this territorial attitude so you better keep your kid’s toys away from your dog’s play place. If you don’t do this, it may lead to a jealous dog.

As kids grow older, they become aware of the opposite sex. They will soon feel a strange feeling that they always want to spend time with someone from the opposite sex. Whether it is just to watch cartoons, hang out in the park or get some ice cream, you will notice a glow from your child that feels like the very same glow you have when you had your first crush.

If you notice this, do not discourage them. Discouraging them would just make them sneak around and try different things out. And this is something you do not want. Remember to give your child advice about curiosity, crushes and love. As soldiers say, "do not let them fight in the battlefield without ammunition."

Being young and having crushes and first love is inevitable. Do not control your kid’s emotions because this will not help them. Encourage them to tell you a lot about how they feel. Make them feel comfortable with this feeling and if they got their hearts broken, then be there to comfort them.

As strange as it may sound, most children act up because they want you to lay down the rules. When he melts down in a public grocery store because you did not get those chips that he was craving for, he is not just acting like a brat but there is a substance with what he is doing. First thing is that he wants you to teach him how to deal with disappointment in a sociable manner and second thing is that he wants to know what to do with his intense desire for food.

First thing that you should do is to take him outside the grocery store and sit in a place where you can both talk. Tell him that you will only start listening if he stopped whining. When he is calm, don’t rush into scolding him but ask him a couple of questions that would make him understand the situation. Questions such as, "why did we leave the store?" will help him analyze things that he did. When you are both ready to go back, help him control his desires by saying that what you are buying is for the entire family and he will have his turn when special dates arrive. Make a list while you are both shopping - birthday, graduation day, etc. It will also help as an added distraction.

Most kids do not like vegetables in their meals. I didn’t like them either when I was a kid. But eventually, I grew fond of vegetables when I started helping my mom in our garden. Yes, it sounds pretty awkward but it worked!

It started when my mom asked me to help her out. she gave me a couple of tools and in no time, I was raking the soil and putting the seeds in. I started out with quick sprouting plants such as radishes, spinach and beans. It worked well because I was really excited in seeing the fruits of my labor.

After a couple of months, I started eating vegetables. Most of the veggies that I eat grow from our garden. I did not know how it changed my state of mind but whatever it is that my mother did, it worked wonders.

Being a parent of a toddler, I can always hear the familiar sound of a thump. It will always come from my kids play place. Surely he is up to something - tumbling. My son loves to do cartwheels and forward rolls. I used to do that back in my younger days as well so I thought it will be OK for him to do that. I think most kids went through this stage as well so I would not have to worry. Who knows? He might end up being a good street dancer someday.

To keep him safe, all I could do is to make sure that he has a clear and open space to play in. There must be ample cushion like a carpet or a soft mat. I also designated a no-play zone to keep my furniture safe. Sure enough, my wife will go berserk if he broke her Asian vase.

All has been going smoothly for my kid and ever since I bought that mat and designated a couple of no-play zones, I won’t worry that much.

Some kids do not know the meaning of sweetness. More often than not, they end up trying to be sweet but not really giving out much love in the action that they are doing. They must know how to treat things gently and with ample care. Here are some ways for you to do that.

Show them how to be gentle. Teach them that the hand is used to give and let others feel that they are loved. Children learn from experience so you have to show them how a gentle touch feels. Try holding their hands in a subtle and gentle manner so that they can feel it.

Speak in a kind manner. Speak softly towards them. Its all about the tone in your voice that would make them feel that someone cares about them. If they are having a bad day, then this is the perfect time to speak to them in a kind manner. As what I have said earlier, you have to set an example for your child to follow.

Always apologize. If you shouted at them earlier and you looked really mean, try to explain why you ended up doing that and apologize for what you have done. This will teach your kid to apologize to others if they have done something wrong to them. This will greatly improve the way your kids talk to others and on how they socialize or fit in the crowd.

Summer is fast approaching and I hope that you have some fun activities in store for your child. The lazy days of summer will definitely make your child put on a lot of weight and by the time they go back to school, he will definitely be an eye-catcher. To avoid this situation, here are a few things to consider.

1. Stick to the same meal schedule that he is used to during school days. If they follow this regular routine, there will be less risk that they will be eating a lot of junk food from time to time.

2. Store healthy food in your fridge. This means that you must have high fiber food stored including a lot of fruits. This will encourage your kid to pick healthy food.

3. Play outside. Get him out and play tag with him or climb trees. Keep him moving instead of just bumming in his room in front of his playstation.

4. Enroll him in a summer camp or a summer class. You can also find some time to have fun together.

Now that its spring time once again, kids will most likely sneeze the day away. In the peak of the season, it is basically hard to avoid the triggers of the allergy. However, you can always lessen the triggers of the allergy.

Keep your windows closed or at least your child’s bedroom should be kept closed to have a pollen-free zone. You can also tru to keep her out of the room for the rest of the day so that she would not bring pollen in with her and let her come back at night after a bath.

Keep your kid indoors before 10:00 AM. It has been studied that this is the time when a lot of pollen is emitted. Keep them indoors when you are cleaning outside and if it is very windy. Also, try not to hang sheets and clothes outside to dry during this time because it may gather a lot of pollen that triggers the allergy.

You might as well stock your medicine cabinets with Claritin and Benadryl which is available over the counter. They are both effective and pretty much recommendable.

For most airlines, a 10 year old is old enough to travel alone. I was 11 when I first traveled alone and tell you what, I was probably the most nervous kid in that plane. Is your child ready to travel alone? Sure he is old enough but can he handle it? For better judgment, ask the following questions.

Does he have any experience flying? If he has flown before, most likely he already knows stuff about turbulence, landing and takeoff. If he does not have any experience yet, then its about time that you try to tell him about the things that could happen. Do not exaggerate though because you might scare him.

Is he patient? Flights take a couple of hours and if he can entertain himself until he lands, then you will have no problem. Help him out by packing things that he love doing so that he would not be bored throughout the flight.

Can he respect authority? He has to learn to listen to those who have superiority on the plane. He must learn how to follow rules strictly.

Does he know how to ask help? Some children are not comfortable when talking to grown-ups so teach him to ask for help from the adults around him.

There are a couple of times when I notice my son is in an argument with other kids because of sharing toys. He does not want to share his toys with his playmates and they always end up in a nasty fight. I never thought that teaching him to share can be pretty hard but I really had to do something or else he’ll end up having no friends at all. Here are the things that I did when this happened. Gladly, they made a big difference.

1. Be a model. Its pretty much an old saying that you should be the role model of your child. And indeed it worked. I asked my friends to come over and borrow things from me. We played our little skit when my son is home. I would say, "Look, I’m letting uncle Rex borrow my CDs." Sooner, my son is already showing me that he is letting his friend, Jag, borrow his toy robot.

2. Use toys to play as models. My son loves his Power Rangers action figures. And so I thought, what the heck, let’s play these. I told him, "Look son, Red Ranger looks hungry, can you share your crackers?