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Solid Raising-A-Child Tips You Can Count On

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If you are a new parent, or your family structure is about to change, you probably wonder how to look after your child’s emotional needs and troubles. Read on for some valuable guidance.

Playtime is more than just entertainment; it is something a child needs for its creative development. However, the abundance of toys and distractions seems to have a significant impact on many youngsters’ attention span. Especially for younger children, develop a ‘rotation system’ where you remove some toys from their chest and store them out of sight for a while, then re-introduce them after several weeks or even months (depending on the child’s age) and quite often they may have forgotten about them and will greatly enjoy playing with the ‘new’ toy again. This way you can keep them interested and don’t have to spend as often.
Whilst it is important to spend a good portion of your time with your child, be it for playtime, education or general bonding through affection, it is equally important that you as a parent take time out for yourself as well. This will not only allow you to recharge (and a happier & healthier parent is most definitely a better parent) but also encourage your offspring to learn how to entertain themselves and recognize that the world does not entirely revolve around them. Needless to say, this is a very valuable lesson they can’t internalize early enough.

This also applies to character training and setting boundaries. It is of no use to wrap your kids in cotton wool and allow them anything and everything, as this is no reflection of the real world they will invariably encounter. Whilst harsh discipline is certainly no longer considered appropriate, it is crucial to establish rules and boundaries (that you as a parent will maintain and not give in at the slightest appearance of tears, pouts or tantrums). It will assist your child to fit into society a lot easier in the long run. Bear in mind though that there is no ‘one size fits all’ rule for every child, each one requires their individually tailored approach of reward and ‘punishment’. There are many ways to discipline a child, without the need for getting physical. Options include the ‘naughty corner / step’, withdrawal of certain desireables such as sweets or playing with a favorite toy/electronic device, having to go to bed early, etc. Anything that the child specifically likes and will find hard to go without, so regaining (or not losing) this particular privilege will be the incentive to behave. And most importantly – must stay firm, or they will play you like a fiddle in no time.
This can be particularly challenging if you are not the child’s biological parent, i.e. that person’s partner or spouse, or if the child is adopted. Children work out very quickly how to send such a person on a guilt trip or simply disregarding their authority by yelling out ‘you are not my mother/father!’. In this instance it is absolutely critical that you are on the same page with the biological parent and have agreed on a mutual strategy, which both of you must adhere to. Otherwise you will both be played against each other, and this is not only frustrating in itself, but can also damage your adult relationship in the wake of it. Unity is key!

Even if there is initial resentment against the perceived ‘intruder’ into the family structure. Obviously, it is most important to build trust, and demonstrate to the child that you care for him/her just as much as you do for their parent. Include them in activities, do fun things together and show them that you don’t want to ‘replace’ their missing parent, but are there to offer support and in fact can be their buddy, who they will learn to co-exist with. Yet once again – maintain set boundaries gently but firmly.
If the child has developed a trauma and / or emotional issues following a separation, be extra supportive and reach out to them, verbally as well as physically. In these cases the ‘pricklyness’ of a child is nothing else but a cry for help during their time of grief and loss, and /or inability to express themselves in other ways. If you can show that you are – quite literally – a shoulder to lean on, it will generally benefit the relationship between you and that child, as well as help them overcome behavioral issues.

If issues persist over a longer period of time (say in excess of 6 months), it may be worth looking into professional help. Some children find it more difficult than others to open up to new people, regardless the environment, and there may even be other factors playing a role, such as Asperger’s syndrome or other diagnosed conditions. Don’t be embarrassed to seek professional help – nowadays the stigma of a mental health issue or personality disorder is nowhere near as bad as it used to be, and the earlier things get recognized and treated, the bigger the chances to overcome them are.

These pointers should give you solid and valuable guidance from starting out as a new parent and getting you through common issues during the first years. By investing in your child’s behavioral training and being on the lookout for potentially more serious matters you will be rewarded with a healthy family relationship.

Pregnancy Brings Many Changes

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Are you about to have a baby? Being pregnant for the first time sure comes with many changes.
Getting the right care during pregnancy helps to prepare a woman to cope better when starting a family. Here is some good advice to ensure that your pregnancy is healthy.

Tell your doctor if you notice your feet getting puffy after becoming pregnant. While this could be part of your pregnancy, it’s also a possible symptom of preeclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure in pregnant women. This condition needs immediate treatment to ensure the birth can be healthy.

The most common symptom, however, is morning sickness, especially in the early stages. There are a few steps for you to help alleviate this unpleasant reaction. Eat smaller and more frequently to prevent getting hungry. Take prenatal supplements with a meal. Avoid the foods that cause you problems. Exhaustion can also be a factor in the way you feel, so relax when you can.

Good sleep is essential when you are pregnant. Caffeine can impact on your ability to get enough rest to stay healthy. Avoid any caffeinated beverages (this includes black tea!) during this sensitive time. Try munching on crackers and other stomach calming foods through the day if you feel nauseous. A nutritious and healthy diet can also help promote restful sleep.

Create a bedtime routine for yourself in order to improve your sleep while you’re pregnant. Having a consistent evening routine can help your body getting ready for rest more and can make it easier to fall asleep. In order to relax, you can also try reading a short story, or if you have a supportive partner, get them to give you a gentle neck & shoulder massage.

Take note though that the hot bath or trip to the sauna you may normally enjoy are not the relaxants of choice when pregnant:. An overheated body can do serious damage to your developing baby. You should also avoid rosemary and juniper.

Sunbathing should also kept to a minimum, as a pregnant woman’s skin is often more sensitive, making it more susceptible to melanoma (skin cancer) or “pregnancy mask”.

Make sure you take care of your teeth and gums during pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause various dental issues. See your dentist if you notice any problems.

Throughout your pregnancy, ensure you have a high iron intake: You are feeding another individual and your baby need about 50 percent more iron than usual. Iron is necessary to produce the haemoglobin which helps distribute oxygen through your body. You need more during the last two trimesters. Supplements are readily available over the counter.

When you are heading into your third trimester, think about preparing your hospital bag. Putting off this important step is simply tempting fate. Be sure to pack your insurance information, any prenatal medical records – just in case anything does happen – and last but not least a fully charged camera.

One of the most important things a pregnant woman can do for her and her future child is to get the care she needs, both before and after she gives birth. Pregnancy has such lasting implications for both the mother’s life and health that she needs and should always be supervised by a doctor for best prenatal and postnatal care. This is not just a luxury, it is important to the well-being of mom and baby.

Awesome Advice For A Healthy Pregnancy

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Are you about to become a mom? Read on for some great tips.

Naturally, your best bet is to find a good doctor whom you can trust and feel comfortable with. Obviously, care and advice under the watchful eye of a professional with the right expertise and equipment can’t be topped. But there are still plenty of other hints, so have a browse:

Avoid gaining a lot of weight when pregnant. Gaining too much can pose a health risk to you later and make it hard to lose once you deliver. You should only need to put on 15-30 pounds during the entire pregnancy.

Hopefully the following won’t apply to you, but it has to be mentioned: Make sure you are honest with your doctor about the possibility of an STD when you do find out you’re pregnant. Many STD tests are conducted using urine samples or a pap smear. If you do have an STD that cannot be treated, you may have to deliver via C-section.

In case you happen to catch something less dramatic, e.g. diarrhoea, take note that this can still become serious, as it might put you at risk of dehydration. Whilst this is an issue for anyone, it can be particularly dangerous for pregnant women. In order to avoid having to be hospitalized and go on a drip, ensure you take in extra amounts of fluid in such circumstances.
To make up for the loss of minerals that go with diarrhoea, drink a sports drink with plenty of electrolytes, or if this is not available, some good old coke with a bit of salt in it (or salty dry crackers, if you can keep them down) is the low key option.

Pregnancy can intensify the sense of smell, causing everyday smells you barely noticed before to become nauseating. If this happens to you often, carry a handkerchief dabbed with a little lavender or lemon oil, or a small bottle with your favourite scent. You can then quickly grab these items and hold them to your nose to help you cope with smells that don’t agree with you during this time.

Some of the following foods may not even appeal to you anyway during pregnancy, but just in case you do have a craving for them, think twice about consuming: Unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses and raw seafoods can cause potential harm to the baby and are therefore on the no-no list.

You may also suddenly be plagued by leg cramps – many pregnant women experience this. Try some stretching exercises before going to bed and maybe massaging your calf muscles slightly. Relaxed muscles are less likely to cramp and wake you during the night.

Unless your doctor says otherwise, don’t stop with your regular exercise routine during pregnancy.

If you have cats, don’t clean litter box during pregnancy. Soiled kitty litter contains chemicals that are known to harm foetuses. Ask a partner, family member or maybe neighbor to help our during this time so you don’t need to put the baby’s health at risk.

You can never have enough good advice on the subject. Learning all that you can about it will help having the best experience during this special time in your life and the best possible outcome by delivering a healthy and happy baby.

Waiting For Your Baby: A Guide On How To Handle Your Pregnancy

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While you are awaiting the new addition to the family, you will no doubt spend a lot of time and thoughts preparing for it.

You probably want to make the new arrival welcome and redecorate a room of your house / flat into a nursery, but be aware that pregnant women should not be anywhere near fresh paint. If you do wish to have the room re-painted, get someone else to do the job, and then keep the room well ventilated during the process and several days after. Toxic fumes can be absorbed both via lungs or skin and have negative effects on the unborn.

There may another danger lurking in the house one doesn’t generally think of:
If you have cats, be aware that the potentially harmful toxoplasmosis is transmitted via cat faeces. In order to not risk your child’s health, steer clear of the litter box and get someone else to clean it during pregnancy. Or at the very least, wear a face mask and disposable gloves if you have to do it yourself.

To help keep negative development of the foetus at bay, don’t just think of your environment, but also your food and nutrition intake: ensure to take folic acid (a type of vitamin B) right from the beginning, as it reduces the risk of common neural tube defects (e.g. spina bifida or anencephaly) and helps with cell formation and tissue development. These defects generally occur already in the first few months, sometimes even before a woman even knows that she is pregnant. So if you have been planning for a baby, you can’t start early enough with this essential supplement!

In general, eat quality food to keep you and your baby’s bodies healthy. No more fast food – at the very least resist the urge until birth. If you find it hard, try to count down the time until delivery, but you may find that by then the better food choices may actually grow on you and you might wish to stick with them for the sake of everyone’s long-term benefit. Definitely a win-win result!

As the new life inside you grows, so will your tummy. But while skin is elastic, it can only stretch so much. Hot water can actually rob your skin of moisture because it washes away natural oils. Use a heavy moisturizer, like cocoa butter or shea butter, vitamin E cream or special pregnancy oils. Apply generously and gently massage in circles to combat stretchmarks.

Do take photos of your expanding belly: Children love to see pictures of what mommy looked like while she was pregnant with them. It will also help them learn and can be a great tool to explain the cycle of life early on. And years later when the kids have all grown up, these snaps can bring back tender memories.

Pregnant? Be Sure To Read These Great Tips.

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While it is very difficult and emotionally draining, the end result makes it worthwhile. Read this article to get some tips on to learn how to make your pregnancy experience easier.

Buy maternity bras and clothing and bras as soon as possible. You will be much more wearable clothing that is comfortable if you are pregnant. Don’t get embarrassed or self-conscious purchasing the maternity clothes early. You must pick out the clothing that looks great and attractive.

Take some prenatal vitamins as soon as you plan on getting pregnant.

Try using full-service gas stations when pregnant. Gas fumes can actually have a negative impact on your baby. It is always better to ask for help than put yourself at risk.

Avoid taking vitamin A while pregnant. Vitamin A can cause problems for the embryo. Avoid foods that have this vitamin, including liver, mozzarella cheese, and liver. You can have a bit of these, but don’t overdo it.

If you are experiencing constipation during your pregnancy, increase your consumption of high fiber foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grain breads and cereals. Constipation in pregnant women is caused by hormones. This can lead to severe problems and it is very uncomfortable to deal with.

Your labor goes much more easily when you are comfortable to you. Check out multiple locations to find the best for sure what you prefer. Make sure the facilities will work for you and your companion’s needs during your stay while in labor.

Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance when lifting heavy objects. Lifting something heavy can cause stress on the baby or a miscarriage, not to mention that it can cause back strains. Even if the object does not seem too heavy, swallow your pride and ask someone else to handle the heavy lifting.

If you feel cravings, you no doubt have constant cravings that may not be wise to satisfy. Your unborn child has nutritional needs as well. If you partake in every craving, this is only benefiting you, not your unborn child.

Late pregnancy is usually the time to expect leg cramps. Stretch your legs before bed to try to prevent leg cramps. Staying properly hydrated and eating potassium-rich foods will help to keep cramps from happening.

Act like you’re pregnant before you conceive.Stop drinking, get a better diet, get drinking out of your life, and work out. It can take a while to get pregnant, and adjusting to your new lifestyle during this time is extremely helpful.

Make a point of speaking and singing to your fetus each day. Research has demonstrated that babies can feel your touch when ten weeks old. After this, you will be happy to note that your child can react to lights and your voice. You can strengthen your bond with your unborn child.

Don’t just sit around for long stretches of time. This is because the strain pregnancy puts on the body’s circulation. Swelling can increase when sitting for too long in any one position. To cut down on swelling, sleep on your body’s left side, soak your feet, do not wear tight socks and don’t cross the ankles.

Keep your stress under control during pregnancy by staying proactive on your priorities so that the important tasks will be done first. You can even delegate some things to friends and friends. You can also get things done on your list.

Don’t treat acne with salicylic acid if you’re pregnant.It is helpful in cleansing the skin, but it may be dangerous for your baby.

The sun has the quality of your body produce too much melanin which causes “pregnancy mask”. You can easily skip out on this facial redness by protecting your face when you have this.

Pregnancy is a very special time and creates many changes for those around you. This is the start of a new relationship with your new daughter or son, or perhaps even both. The tips you just read will let you get the most out of your pregnancy.