Submitted By: Carl Fletcher
It is never too soon to start talking, reading and singing to your baby as all such communication helps the speech development of your baby. From the day your baby arrives he or she will pay particular attention to your voice and the sounds you make. The baby’s brain records these sounds and speech patterns before slowly beginning to understand them and process them so they to can develop the ability to communicate.
In the early days your baby will look to express himself or herself in the only way they know how, by use of facial expressions and of course by crying. Of course babies cry for a number of different reasons but whatever the reason they are seeking to communicate with you. Over time the crying is replaced with other sounds that in part may resemble words before they can then say words and sentences.
Through talking to your baby, about anything and everything, they will tune in to your voice and begin to appreciate all the different sounds that go into making words. The more you talk the greater the number of opportunities your baby has to understand these sounds and words.
By looking at your baby and making eye contact they will begin to understand that you are talking to them and communicating with them. Indeed that they are part of this communication process and should respond to you.
This is further enhanced by stopping and listening to them as they begin to make sounds and gurgle in response. Allow your baby time to have their say before you then say something back to them, as you would in adult conversation. This interaction informs your baby that communicating is a two-way thing and that they are being listened to. What they tell you is equally as important as what you say to them.
Singing to your baby is another great way to interact with your baby that allows them to hear words and reinforces the sounds that make up the words. It also offers them variety from talking, which is no bad thing. After all we sometimes get fed up when someone talks too much and just won’t shut up!
As well as reinforcing sounds and words, singing helps the baby develop listening skills and that they need to wait their turn rather than just talking and being the centre of attention.
Reading with your baby further enhances their development in terms of forming words and listening. However, it also adds another dimension to the interaction, a visual element that brings the words to life. Picture books enable baby’s to associate words with a whole range of objects, animals and colours. From red tractors to cats and dogs to popular TV cartoon characters, books cater for all tastes across a multitude of subjects.
Reading offers further variety for your baby and more so than talking and singing is a great activity that can form part of a daily routine. Reading a book with them at bedtime helps bring on their communication skills but can also help them to drift off to sleep, a win win situation!
Submitted By: Richard Armen
Anyone with children surely realizes that the time will come when it's time to trust their children to stay home alone. This is always a nerve-wracking time for parents, and it can also be a very touchy subject- some parents find it acceptable to let their young children come home from school alone, while others wouldn't dream of leaving their high-school students home alone for an afternoon.
The decision to stop hiring a babysitter when you'll be out of the house is one that must involve careful consideration. There is no set age when a child becomes responsible enough – so you must consider your child's responsibility level. Then, too, is the responsibility level of his or her friends. Do you trust them to behave themselves when home alone, or will they pressure your son or daughter into bad behaviors? Do the parents of your child's friends already allow them to stay home alone? This might factor into your decision, too.
Making the choice to allow your child to stay home alone isn't just about your child. It's also about the neighborhood in which you live and the security of your home. If you live in a safe neighborhood where parents routinely entrust their kids with a lot of responsibility, you might feel better about leaving your kids home alone.
Of course, it's also a decision about money. Maybe you must work long hours, or can't afford daycare or a babysitter. In this situation, you might find yourself leaving the kids home alone more than you ordinarily would. While this is certainly understandable, it is also important to set aside the resources needed to make your home as safe as possible while you're away.
There's nothing wrong with worrying about your kids when they are home by themselves, but you can help yourself feel more at ease by installing simple home security devices. Outdoor lighting, door and window alarms, and surveillance cameras will all make your home safer, and not just when your kids are home alone. Consider a "nanny cam" or hidden camera, which can transmit a real-time view of your home over the internet to your computer when you're away from home.
Home security is as much about information as it is about security devices. Talk with your child to make sure they feel comfortable staying home by themselves. Make sure they know how to get inside, and what to do in case of an emergency - from an intruder to a fire. If your kids are coming home from school to an empty house, leave a spare key in a disguised rock or thermometer so that they can get inside if they've forgotten theirs. Leave the phone number of a trusted neighbor, and tell them how to contact you if they feel the need.
Finally, establish house rules with your child. Can they invite friends over? Throw a party while you're away? Watch TV and eat junk food all day? Besides outlining acceptable behaviors while they're home alone, make sure that you reinforce the importance of using door and window locks, and arming the alarm system.
Submitted By: William U. Steinmetz
Some parents views parenting as confusing. Some acts that parents do to their children have sense especially to their own children while it is extreme, plain wrong and outdated in the eyes of others. The things you want and you don’t want to do unto your children really depend on you. Others view parenting as raising their children as spoiled brat which oftentimes the root causes of disrespect in the society. While others raise their children in a rigid manner and some secure a safe and tender loving direction. No matter which way you choose to raise your children, it’s always parenting.
A number views parenting as no discipline if you really love your kids. Others are so meticulous on landing a hand to their children and just ensuring that their children is being confronted every time they did a wrong act. That is okay and no questions about it. Parenting totally depends on what style do parents use in raising their children. The fact of providing them the good care and counsel they need when they grow is a total experience of being a parent. Discipline is good but it does not mean that you have to hit your child every now and then as he makes anything wrong or bad. The proper way is to teach them and correct their wrong ways. Discipline doesn’t only mean strict parenting but is have something to do with performing your role as their parent.
When you are a parent, your children are totally dependent on your guidance and directions and it is up to your influence on which direction they chooses to face. If you are fond of setting boundaries, your children also learn the reality of life and that is the ideal thing. On the other hand, if you try to set no boundaries to your children, they grow totally dependent and would not realize the existence of reality. Parenting is not something that you should enroll in school but rather reflecting and thinking in advance while weighing things up for your children. You should not coin the word goodness and badness to your children but rather teaching them what is ideal and what exist. In that way they grow smart, critical and responsible.
Others say that parenting is when you cuddle the baby twenty four hours a day and giving everything your child wants. The truth is you are just making your child’s head bigger. The knowledge of the normal growth and development is vital in parenting since this will be your guide in dealing with your growing child. An infant and toddler are narcissistic so it is okay to give them what they need. But, you can’t do this in a teenager since they are now on the concrete operation of cognitive thinking. The real essence of parenting is something that you give them when they need you and not replacing a material thing to compensate with your absence. Therefore, parenting is when you are beside your children ready to give them a hand when they need you.
Parenting is love. But it does not mean that you will always get them out of trouble because you love them. You are spoiling them. You need to let them realize that reality exists and that they should learn the fatality of reality. Once you have achieved this task, you’ll grow old with your children beside you even though they have their own families. Always remember that when you are a parent you always give them what they need not that they desire.
