Why play and creativity are important to parents and children.
"I am not my child's playmate, I am his parent" a mother announced in our playgroup. Many in the group echoed her thought with similar comments such as, "It is not my job to entertain him all day!" My first thought was, "I can tell you as the mother of an only child I am my son's main playmate." My second thought was, "Wow. Play is really important to me and my son. Am I doing something wrong?"
Here are some top secret parenting tips to help make your life easier!
An Old Chinese Proverb states, "Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who tread on their toes." Clearly some form of structure is needed to keep the peace and limit the chaos. With these 3 powerful parenting secrets, you do not need to yell or scold, but you do need to be consistent and firm.
Become a better parent by understanding the difference between tough love and bully parenting.
Since the 1970s, tough love has received a great deal of attention. It's all about creating tough consequences for teens when they make irresponsible or dangerous decisions. Sadly, the term has been used to describe a parenting style that often resembles bully behavior. Parents are struggling with their parenting voice – trying to find a way to be effective parents with teens who are making poor choices. They need help practicing tough love by creating healthy boundaries and external controls for children who are unable to do this for themselves.
My child is three. She is sometimes a terrible three. I have had the typical day most parents have. Not enough time, not enough patience, and not enough sleep and then along comes the unrelenting three-year old terrorist. They ask a million questions, talk over you, cause you to ask people to repeat themself a dozen times over the phone. Then you try to engage the three-year old and she pouts, shouts, and hits. This is where the battle of wits begins. There are many options to redirect the behavior. Some people use guilt, consequences (toys), time outs, and spanking.
Why children need childhood and what you can do to make sure they get it.
I was people-watching at a posh restaurant while waiting for my friend to join me. People with money, power, expensive clothes, cars, and dates arrived. I began wondering what I was doing; was the great food going to somehow make this display of affluence okay? I was underdressed and evaluating that in my mind, when all of a sudden I heard someone laugh. It wasn't the laugh that caught my attention, but rather the lack of laughter from most of the guests there. In fact, prior to her laugh, people had the right clothes and accessories, but none of them looked very happy. These people were what Sidney Sheldon would call social skeletons.
Study found men who have never fathered children are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.
In the "largest-ever study in the United States to examine the relationship between fatherhood and cardiovascular disease," Michael Eisenberg, MD, has found that childless men are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease than fathers.
Barriers to parenthood are crumbling, opening up motherhood to women over 50. But should they do it?
According to an article in New York magazine, over the last decade the number of women having babies over the age of 50 has doubled. Plus, 25 percent of parents who adopt are over 45. Is this unnatural and unfair to children, or an extension of the women's liberation movement?
Worried your lack of sex might drive you to cheat? Learn how to get your relationship back on track.
Are family and work getting in the way of your physical needs? Are you afraid you might do something you will seriously regret later?Busy Mom? 3 Ways To Find Time For Sex (And Why It's Important)
In this video, YourTango expert and therapist, Carin Goldstein compares relationships to a garden...you need to water it it see it grow! And the perfect fertilizer to help any couple through a dry spell is communication.
To snip or not to snip? That was the question we couldn't get past.
I understand a man wanting his son to be like him, especially in this particularly masculine way. The thing is, when my husband was circumcised it was because of an actual, honest-to-goodness medical necessity. The foreskin was too small. It was painful. The surgery had to be done. If it were medically necessary, I would do the same thing. But otherwise, why put my son through elective surgery?
While I'm not ashamed of my stretch marks, I won’t be posting photos of them on Facebook. Ever.
While I understand and respect that many women proudly wear their stretch marks as badges of honor or battle scars, I don’t feel the same way about mine. I am not ashamed of them, but if they don’t fade by next summer they won’t be seeing the light of day. I think of it this way: If I have a blemish, I conceal it. If I pack on a few pounds over the holidays, I conceal those too. For me, stretch marks aren’t any different, even if they are a result of my beautiful journey to motherhood.
A new survey also reveals that 25 percent of moms would choose a different husband if they could!
Ever have a sneaking suspicion that your mom wished you were a boy? You might be right. According to an anonymous survey of more than 26,000 moms conducted by TODAY.com and Parenting.com, ten percent say they wish their child was the opposite sex. And of that ten percent, 60 percent have boys. Sorry, boys!
