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Playdates are wonderful. They are an opportunity for our children to learn and practice social skills. They are a chance for them to develop friendships. An opportunity to play with children outside of their siblings. They are also a chance for us to bond with other moms! There is, however, a downside to playdates. How do you deal with the other children? No two mamas parent exactly alike. We all have our areas that we are "hardcore about" as well as ones that we "slack" on. What about when our styles clash with fellow mothers in our same play group? What about those times where their children are behaving in a way in which you wouldn't allow yours to behave? How do you handle this tricky situation? Have an Upfront Conversation: Depending on the bond you share with the fellow moms at the playdate, it's great to kick things off with a general statement. Something like "Hey guys, I trust y'all so feel free to get onto my kids if you see them ...
Toddlerhood is a stage where children are seeking independence. They push the boundaries we have in place. They become stubborn when not allowed to do as they please. They want to do things on their own, even if they aren't yet physically able to do so (hello food all over the floor from the toddler trying to carry her plate to the sink after dinner!). Disciplining a toddler is crucial. We have to help guide them to make good choices and to understand that poor choices have consequences. Being consistent is key, even though it's not always easy. Our third child is in the toddler stage right now and she's my most stubborn toddler yet. I have always required our children to reply with a command I give by saying "yes ma'am" (this allows both myself and the child to know that they heard me and understood what I was asking of them as well as the discipline action that will take place if they choose not to obey). Even just getting the "yes ma'am...
It's important as parents to have a parenting toolbox. A toolbox filled with a variety of parenting tools to pull from when certain situations arise. No two children are exactly like. Each child will respond differently to different discipline methods and a variety of circumstances will occur with children where just having ONE method of discipline simply won't work. One useful tool I have in my parenting toolbox for discipline is the tool of ignoring. While it's not my everyday all day go to item, it is one that can be extremely effective if used in the right situation. And it's not as easy of a discipline method as it may sound. Ignoring a child while they are pitching a fit? Not easy. Ignoring a child who insists they don't want to meet Mickey Mouse after you've stood in line for an hour? Not easy. My husband and I have both been working harder at ignoring when necessary and it really does work so we're getting better at it ;) An important thing to ...
When I first got pregnant with my second child I kept thinking "I'm giving my older child such a gift: the gift of a sibling!" While in the long run I knew this statement would be true...there were many days where I would wonder when that sibling relationship would start to feel like a gift! My older two children are 6 and 3 ½ and used to spend a lot of their time bickering over toys, over whose turn it is, over basically everything. Hearing them bickering and being a referee totally stole my joy. I LOVE being a mom and I love my job as their full time care provider but, man, its' exhausting to constantly having to hear their battles and dictate who "wins" time and time again. When I realized how much the constant arguing affected me and my ability to be the best parent possible I knew we'd reached a limit with it and something had to be done. My goal is for my children to have strong bonds as siblings. I want them to be buddies, to have each o...
Today is Babywise Friendly Blog Network Pinterest Day. Be sure to follow our group on Pinterest for tons of great resources! Our topic today is "intentional home layout." We all have reasons why we do everything we do...including decorating and organizing our homes! For my post today I'm discussing why we intentionally have a chair in every room of our house. A chair in each room serves many purposes from a parenting perspective: 1. Bedtime Stories: Babywise talks about the importance of reading to your children as part of a bedtime routine...but to not read to them in their bed. The bed is for sleeping and by reading with your children in a place outside of their bed you illuminate the whole "just one more story" issue. We have a chair in each of our children's rooms so we are able to read to them in the chair rather than in their beds. 2. Discipline: It is SO important to never discipline out of anger. But all parents get frustra...
One of the biggest jobs we have as parents is to instill a solid self-esteem into our children. It's important for our kids to grow up feeling like they matter, that they have worth. However, it's also important for children to take responsibility for their actions. We live in a world today that is far more concerned about hurting kids feelings than holding them accountable. Parents blame teachers when their kid gets in trouble, parents fight with coaches when their kid doesn't get playing time, parents don't discipline for fear it'll scar their child for life, etc etc etc. Blogging is a tricky thing. I LOVE it and am glad so many of you read it, but having people read it means I also have to be aware of what I write. I don't believe in fluff. I don't blog to get more followers. Or to make people think I have a perfect little life. I blog to accurately tell my "story." To leave a little piece of myself behind for my children, and their children,...
Whew! I know I'm mega late on this and I hate that...but life right now is a constant go-go-go and I just can't slow down! I am probably including way more pictures than I should and I will probably ramble more than usual. Typically when I blog I write to my hearts content then go back and severely edit to make it shorter (I was "that kid" in school who needed the word limit on papers or I'd go over it haha). This post won't have much editing so be warned! Words: I have to start this month off talking about Kye's TALKING! It's really taken off and I'm so excited about it. He took awhile to walk and awhile to talk so it's okay :) He is saying things much more consistently but still not on demand. So it's harder to catch him on video saying them but I promise he does! I started keeping a list in my phone of all the words he says so I can actually remember them and it's pretty long: no (VERY clearly and uses it appropriately - now ...
As you all know I read What to Expect the Toddler Years every month to see where Kye stands compared to the "norm" with developmental things. I also read the chapter associated with the current month to pick up some parenting tips for how to manage his age at that time. Usually it's some pretty helpful stuff! This month the chapter put a big focus on discipline so I thought I'd share some excerpts from it here with you and then I will be posting an entry on why Zach and I discipline the way we do tomorrow. The word discipline comes from the Latin word "to teach" and originally had nothing to do with rules, punishment, or the inflicting of pain. Toddlers need discipline so they will gain an understanding of the concept of right and wrong. They learn this through both what you do and what you say. They also need discipline to help plant the seeds of self-control. If nurtured faithfully, these seeds will become the roots in your child's behavior. The thi...
