Not too long ago, I was reading an article in a parenting magazine about getting kids to pick up their toys. One of the suggestions was to tell the kid that if they do not pick up their toys, then the TOY MONSTER would come out at night and eat the toys not put away. Does this really sound like a good idea? I spend enough time trying to convince my 4yr old and 2yr old that monsters do NOT exist. Sounds counter-productive. I could just see my kids imaginations running wild at bed time, imagining this crazy monster coming into their rooms when they’re sleeping to eat their toys and possibly them too!
If you have trouble getting your kids to pick up their toys, (like I am sure we all do) how about saying, “If you do not pick up your toys, you cannot play with them tomorrow?” Or you could just use whatever discipline technique you currently use. For example: if you discipline with time-outs, tell them if they do not pick up the toys they will have a time-out. I personally like putting toys away before they move onto another activity. It usually works really well when the next activity is really fun and doesn’t work too well when the next activity is something not so much fun. So mix-it up, just be consistent in letting them know that cleaning up after ourselves is important in our house and eventually they will get it. Now, if only the same techniques worked on my husband, my house would be spotless!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Potty Training
Potty training is tough work and not for the faint of heart (or stomach). I see so many parents making the same mistakes though. I hear so many people say “She’s just not ready yet.” I think the more appropriate comment is “I’m not ready yet.” And that is fine, just don’t make your life miserable in the process. When you do decide to start, just do it. We get so lost in the process and second guess ourselves and our children. If you have started the process and only make it to day 2 and decide to give up, then you have failed, not you kid.
Pull-ups are the devil and I am not joking. Pull-ups are good to use right before you start your serious potty training campaign. Start using pull-ups to help give them an idea of the change that is coming. It will help them get used to pulling up and own their pants and sitting on the potty. When you decide to really potty train, get rid of them. They are a crutch for both you and your kids. I admit, some days it’s easier to just put on a pull-up instead of navigating the grocery store with 2 other kids not knowing if the next accident will be in the dairy isle. Or when you’re really tired at bedtime and it would be oh so easy just to put on a pull-up knowing there’s a good chance that in a couple of hours you may be up changing a toddler and sheets too.
I think parents have this fantasy that they will put their child in pull-ups and then when they have zero accidents, they will just switch to underwear. It may work for some this way, if you wait long enough, but you're probably pro-longing the process. The pull-up is not that different than a diaper to the child if you really think about it. Looks kind of the same and I imagine that if feels the same. Don’t worry about whether or not your kid is dry after every nap and in the morning. I never waited with my 2 kids and they hardly had any sleeping accidents. Just put the undies on and go for it!
You can do it and do not let people talk you out of it, because they will try. I really feel there is a window with each child around 2-21/2 and if you can catch them during that window it will be much easier. If you miss the window, don’t worry you can potty train and any age.
Here are some tips to help decide if you child is ready:
They can pull up and down his/her pants
He/She can communicate enough to let you know when he/she has to go potty
There are a studies out there on different approaches to potty training, but according to webmd.com:Despite all the articles on toilet training in the popular media, very few scientific studies have addressed the issue of how best to potty train a child. “Most of what parents read in the lay literature -- whether it’s about the right age to potty train or the right approach to use -- isn’t backed up by scientific evidence,” notes Timothy Schum, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Here's the link to Webmd if you want to read the entire article:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/potty-training-seven-surprising-facts
This is because there is no one right way to potty train a child. Each kid is unique and responds differently.
It’s going to tough work and I wish you luck and promise there will be sunny days on the other side.
Pull-ups are the devil and I am not joking. Pull-ups are good to use right before you start your serious potty training campaign. Start using pull-ups to help give them an idea of the change that is coming. It will help them get used to pulling up and own their pants and sitting on the potty. When you decide to really potty train, get rid of them. They are a crutch for both you and your kids. I admit, some days it’s easier to just put on a pull-up instead of navigating the grocery store with 2 other kids not knowing if the next accident will be in the dairy isle. Or when you’re really tired at bedtime and it would be oh so easy just to put on a pull-up knowing there’s a good chance that in a couple of hours you may be up changing a toddler and sheets too.
I think parents have this fantasy that they will put their child in pull-ups and then when they have zero accidents, they will just switch to underwear. It may work for some this way, if you wait long enough, but you're probably pro-longing the process. The pull-up is not that different than a diaper to the child if you really think about it. Looks kind of the same and I imagine that if feels the same. Don’t worry about whether or not your kid is dry after every nap and in the morning. I never waited with my 2 kids and they hardly had any sleeping accidents. Just put the undies on and go for it!
You can do it and do not let people talk you out of it, because they will try. I really feel there is a window with each child around 2-21/2 and if you can catch them during that window it will be much easier. If you miss the window, don’t worry you can potty train and any age.
Here are some tips to help decide if you child is ready:
They can pull up and down his/her pants
He/She can communicate enough to let you know when he/she has to go potty
There are a studies out there on different approaches to potty training, but according to webmd.com:Despite all the articles on toilet training in the popular media, very few scientific studies have addressed the issue of how best to potty train a child. “Most of what parents read in the lay literature -- whether it’s about the right age to potty train or the right approach to use -- isn’t backed up by scientific evidence,” notes Timothy Schum, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Here's the link to Webmd if you want to read the entire article:
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/potty-training-seven-surprising-facts
This is because there is no one right way to potty train a child. Each kid is unique and responds differently.
It’s going to tough work and I wish you luck and promise there will be sunny days on the other side.
IUD's
I’ve had 3 kids in 4 ½ years, yes planned, but now I think I want to take a break. Which means that I am looking into some effective form of birth control. In this search I have come across the IUD’s. An IUD is a small T-shaped device inserted into a women’s uterus by her doctor. At first glance, I thought it was perfect. Little or no hormones, (I mean as women, we could all use a little less hormones) no daily routine involved and pretty effective. I talked to my doctor and thought it was perfect for me. Then I decided to check out the IUD websites to see how it really worked and make sure it was what I really wanted. I am shocked at what I found. Did you know that no one really knows how they work? Call me crazy but I really don’t want to put something in my body that no one is exactly sure how it works. Mirena and Paragard are the two brands of IUD’s available. Mirena releases a small amount of hormones and is made of plastic, Paragard on the other hand is hormone free and made of copper.
This is copied directly from Mirena’s website:
How Mirena® Works
Mirena (levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system) slowly releases very small amounts of the hormone levonorgestrel directly into your uterus.
There is no single explanation for how Mirena works.
Mirena may:
Thicken cervical mucus to prevent sperm from entering your uterus
Inhibit sperm from reaching or fertilizing your egg
Make the lining of your uterus thin
Mirena may stop the release of your egg from your ovary, but this is not the way it works in most cases. Most likely the above actions work together to prevent pregnancy. Like other forms of birth control, Mirena is not 100% effective.
Mirena keeps hormone levels steadier and lower than the Pill.
Read more at: http://www.mirena-us.com/
This is copied directly from Paraguard’s website:
How does ParaGard® work?
Ideas about how ParaGard® works include preventing sperm from reaching the egg and preventing the egg from attaching (implanting) in the uterus. ParaGard® does not alter your body's natural menstrual cycle.
Read more at: http://www.paragard.com/
I love the phrase : “Ideas about how Paragard work”. As if it’s still up for debate or research. In other words, we have no idea how it works but this is our best guess. I know many women have safely used IUD’s for years with no long-term side effects. I guess I need more reassurance than the manufacturers best guess. My search for birth control continues…..
This is copied directly from Mirena’s website:
How Mirena® Works
Mirena (levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system) slowly releases very small amounts of the hormone levonorgestrel directly into your uterus.
There is no single explanation for how Mirena works.
Mirena may:
Thicken cervical mucus to prevent sperm from entering your uterus
Inhibit sperm from reaching or fertilizing your egg
Make the lining of your uterus thin
Mirena may stop the release of your egg from your ovary, but this is not the way it works in most cases. Most likely the above actions work together to prevent pregnancy. Like other forms of birth control, Mirena is not 100% effective.
Mirena keeps hormone levels steadier and lower than the Pill.
Read more at: http://www.mirena-us.com/
This is copied directly from Paraguard’s website:
How does ParaGard® work?
Ideas about how ParaGard® works include preventing sperm from reaching the egg and preventing the egg from attaching (implanting) in the uterus. ParaGard® does not alter your body's natural menstrual cycle.
Read more at: http://www.paragard.com/
I love the phrase : “Ideas about how Paragard work”. As if it’s still up for debate or research. In other words, we have no idea how it works but this is our best guess. I know many women have safely used IUD’s for years with no long-term side effects. I guess I need more reassurance than the manufacturers best guess. My search for birth control continues…..
Sunscreen
Is sunscreen safe? The general recommendation for everyone is to apply sunscreen when going out in the sun for longer periods of time. We should be following the directions and reapply every two hours. This seems reasonable to me. This is pretty much what I do with myself and my kids. When we go to the pool, beach or engaging in other outdoor activities I use sunscreen. Lately, however it seems that now every time I open a parenting magazine or website, they are suggesting we put sunscreen on our kids everyday all year long, even in the dead of winter. I was even at the park one day and overheard a mom say to her kids they could only stay and play for 10 minutes because she had forgotten the sunscreen? Is this really necessary and do we even know what we are lathering all over our kids?
So I decided to find out what is in sunscreen and is it really safe. I was pretty surprised at the results. There are a lot of differing opinions on this subject. According to the FDA, AAP and AAD sunscreen use is safe and recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months. The only problem, I couldn’t find any tests or studies they actually point to validate these claims.
Melanoma cases have increased over 600% since 1950 and mortality rates have increased over 150%. Obviously there is something going on here. It is the only preventable cancer where the death rates are actually increasing instead of decreasing.
There are a lot of studies out there that state that ingredients found in sunscreens are pretty harmful and at least need to be studied further. The FDA, AAP and AAD really just make fun of these studies and say it is ridiculous to think sunscreen use is dangerous. There seems to be many in the scientific community that disagree and feel that sunscreen lotion may be harmful and might cause more damage than it claims to protect against.
Some believe that regular sunscreen use may actually be contributing the rise in skin cancer cases. Some studies link sunscreen to the increase in endometriosis is women and a host of other reproductive problems.
I don’t really know what to believe, but it does upset me when the FDA just laughs off other scientific studies, when it seems that they haven’t actually studied any of this themselves.
I will continue to use sunscreen for myself and my kids at the beach and the pool, but not for half and hour at the park. We just like to take things to the extreme. I mean if it’s good for the beach and pool, it must be good for everyday use. I think it is irresponsible for reputable magazines and websites to be telling people to use these products everyday when they have no idea what long term effects of these products being used in this way. Don’t worry in a couple of years these same magazines will just write an article about how dangerous sunscreen is and how people were so stupid to use it everyday, never mentioning they themselves recommended the practice.
So I decided to find out what is in sunscreen and is it really safe. I was pretty surprised at the results. There are a lot of differing opinions on this subject. According to the FDA, AAP and AAD sunscreen use is safe and recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months. The only problem, I couldn’t find any tests or studies they actually point to validate these claims.
Melanoma cases have increased over 600% since 1950 and mortality rates have increased over 150%. Obviously there is something going on here. It is the only preventable cancer where the death rates are actually increasing instead of decreasing.
There are a lot of studies out there that state that ingredients found in sunscreens are pretty harmful and at least need to be studied further. The FDA, AAP and AAD really just make fun of these studies and say it is ridiculous to think sunscreen use is dangerous. There seems to be many in the scientific community that disagree and feel that sunscreen lotion may be harmful and might cause more damage than it claims to protect against.
Some believe that regular sunscreen use may actually be contributing the rise in skin cancer cases. Some studies link sunscreen to the increase in endometriosis is women and a host of other reproductive problems.
I don’t really know what to believe, but it does upset me when the FDA just laughs off other scientific studies, when it seems that they haven’t actually studied any of this themselves.
I will continue to use sunscreen for myself and my kids at the beach and the pool, but not for half and hour at the park. We just like to take things to the extreme. I mean if it’s good for the beach and pool, it must be good for everyday use. I think it is irresponsible for reputable magazines and websites to be telling people to use these products everyday when they have no idea what long term effects of these products being used in this way. Don’t worry in a couple of years these same magazines will just write an article about how dangerous sunscreen is and how people were so stupid to use it everyday, never mentioning they themselves recommended the practice.
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