When children do something good we praise them to encourage a good behavior. Our children thrive on us teaching them good things. The same goes for when our children are doing something wrong, disciplining them teaches the child that the behavior they showed is not acceptable. Even though your child may cry or be sad about the inappropriate behavior, they need to see you admonishing them. You teaching what is wrong is just as important as teaching a child what is right. The children will learn that a right behavior brings a good response and a wrong behavior will create a sad response from you. This is okay because you are telling your child that you care about them. If you do not discipline wrong behavior you can easily end up with a child who resents you and actually shows a meaness toward you because they know you really don’t care. As a parent stand up, be strong and have no fear of your child because as the parent you should be the one in control. Children want you in control because it gives them security knowing there is someone watching out for them. Discipline says, “I Love You!”
Discipline says, “I Love You!”
August 25th, 2010Watch Your Attitude – You are being watched!
August 25th, 2010Have you ever had a day when nothing seems to go right and your children’s attitudes are cranky because they are not getting what they want? Or a day when everyone seems somber in the house with not a lot of play or laughter? On days like these when you wonder what is going on the best thing is for you to look at your attitude. Children, including infants, have a strong tendency to see and experience one of Mom’s attitudes and mimic it in their own life. One child will pick up on a different characteristic than the other child. You might say your attitudes are multiplied two to three times which depends on the number of children in the home. If you don’t like what is going on in the house, first look at how you are doing, make necessary attitude adjustments, then evaluate if the children need anadjustment because they might have already mimicked you!
Mom and Teenage Boys
July 21st, 2010When a boy reaches 13 we all know of the obvious changes going on in his life. The difficulty comes when we do not recognize this young man’s emotional needs. Many times as Moms we are use to the fast talk back with an attitude being thrown back in our face, “You don’t get it.” and the talking under the breath, but what does this really mean? The easy reaction is to get defensive and pull our “parent card” to ground him or punish him in some form. What really is the root cause of all this? Yes, he is going through a tremendous amount of life changes. Although his actions are pushing us away, the very thing our son needs is love and affection from us. You heard it right. Your son needs a Mom who loves him by giving him hugs and kisses despite his unloving attitudes towards you as he pushes you away. He needs to hear and feel your love for him.
Feeding an Infant at Night
May 20th, 2010The last post talked about feeding your newborn during the day by putting your child on a schedule. This allows your child to learn that daytime is when it is more important to eat which is his “work.” Also, his tummy is full and ready for a good nights rest. Now let’s talk about the night hours. Pick a bedtime for your child. This time may start out being 10:00 p.m. because your child is only sleeping a four hour stretch and you will only have to wake up once from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. After your infant matures a more natural bedtime for children, like 7:30 p.m., will be a better option. Whatever the bedtime you choose the important thing here is make sure you feed your child as much as possible with this last feeding for the day. Burp your baby and check his diaper. After you are confident that your baby is ready for bed, put him in his crib. He may fuss a little or a lot (I will address this issue in another post.). Once he is asleep, LET HIM SLEEP. Do not wake him up for any feedings. Not waking your baby during the night hours is teaching him that it is time to sleep and will start a good habit for his toddler years. WHEN HE IS HUNGRY HE WILL SURELY LET YOU KNOW THAT HE IS AWAKE and ready to eat. You may find within the first week you will be able to sleep atleast three hours. You need the sleep as much as your newborn, therefore sleep until he let’s you know he is hungry.