Childcare & Parenting

What You Need to Know

It is so difficult to be a parent in this day and age, bombarded as we are by advice in newspaper columns, from radio and TV psychologists, and from the internet.

 

If you have 10 children, you will have 10 different personalities to deal with when it comes to discipline. You cannot change their personalities (nor should you want to) to fit your ideas of proper discipline.

 

So here are a few simple guidelines that we have developed over the years we hope will help.

 

First, children need consistency along with love. If you are a two parent household you must act as a team and agree on the limits you set for your children. If you do that your child will not be able to manipulate one parent against the other in order to get his (or her) way.

 

Second, listening is the best way to communicate with your child. Pay attention to him, help him to express his feelings, and respond to him in age-appropriate language. This will show that you respect him as a person, and he in turn, will respect you.

 

Third, it is so easy to ignore good behavior that parents need to make a special effort to recognize it. Praise your children frequently and reinforce acceptable and positive behavior by words and gestures of affection. There can never be too many hugs and kisses.

 

Limit unacceptable behavior by trying to divert their attention to some other activity or by ignoring it. 

 

By following these few guidelines you will help your child to become a confident, responsible, caring adult and a great parent just as you have been.

 

 

Resources

There are a number of great resources available online that can make parenting, discipline, childcare, and family life easier. Explore any of the following to learn more:

 

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

Kid's Growth — information on behavior, development, and pediatric health conditions with advice for handling specific symptoms.

PTA — the National PTA’s website can help with educational and safety issues.

University of Iowa Children's Hospital — a virtual library of pediatric health information.

Kid's Health — Nemours Clinic site for parents, kids and teens.

Putting Family First — ideas on how to balance family time in our hectic lives. 

National Association for the Education of Young Children —  full of resources for families of young children.

 

The Wonder Years: Helping Your Baby and Young Child Successfully Negotiate the Major Developmental Milestones (hardcover) - American Academy of Pediatrics, Tanya Remer Altmann (Editor), Bantam Books.  From America's most trusted pediatric authority comes an indispensable, easy-to-use guide to helping your baby and young child flourish in the first five years of life - physically, mentally, and emotionally.