Sleep deprivation is one of the challenges of having a baby. Parents can find that they have to survive on less sleep when they have a new born infant. Every parent is waiting for the glorious day when their baby sleeps right through the night. Parents’ normal sleeping patterns are often disrupted by babies who nap through the day and then cry at night. They need to apply strategies in order to cope with babies and sleeping habits.
It is recommended that a parent should try to sleep when the baby is napping. You should unplug the phone, put a do not disturb sign on the door and snooze along with your baby. A warm bath can help to make your baby sleepy at nighttime. You should schedule your infant’s bath time just before put your baby down to sleep. Bedtime should to be about the same time every night because babies and sleeping routines are important.
A baby can wake up and cry for no apparent reason. There are times when you can be baffled with your baby’s crying. Babies may be crying because they are teething or have colic. If you have exhausted all the possibilities, they may be satisfied with a hug. You have to acknowledge the unfortunate fact that babies and sleeping don't always go together.
Teething and illnesses make the problem worse. You should have something to rub on to sore gums when your baby’s teeth start to push through. Colic can also interrupt babies and sleeping soundly so you should also have medicines for this illness as well. If you are a despairing parent with a wakeful child, just remember that it won't always be like this. After the first six months babies and sleeping habit will become more regular.
Babies need a comfortable and quiet environment to sleep. A lullaby or a mobile above the cot may calm babies if they are anxious. In fact , some parents have found that placing baby next to a tumble drier soothes them into sleep! Some parents take their babies out for a car ride in order to solve the babies and sleeping problem. Their baby falls asleep in the car and is then carried gingerly to bed. There are some babies that are unable to fall asleep in their cot. Their parents have to wait for them to nod off wherever they happen to be and than carry them to bed.
Teens don't learn responsibility overnight. If you haven't been working with your teen on gradually giving them a sense of independence and ownership of their lives, then you're going to have your work cut out for you. Don't wait until it's too late.
By the time your children are in high school, they should be doing for themselves a lot of the things you've been doing for them all of their lives. What does your teen do when they have a problem? Run to you? Or try to solve his/her own problem, maybe coming to you for advice when they've exhausted their own resources?
I don't know about you, but I want my daughter to be self-sufficient when she heads off to college. I want her to be able to choose her own friends, manage her own expenses, be up to the challenge of solving everyday problems in an effective and positive manner, and generally get her adult life off to a good start.
Sound difficult? Not if you start out with the small things. My teen told me most of her friends don't even know where their moms do their grocery shopping. I couldn't believe it. My daughter is involved with planning our meals (it's in her interest if she wants a say in what we're having to eat), and she goes to the grocery store with me every single week and helps me mark each item off the list. She reads labels, compares prices, and tells me when she thinks I'm spending too much money on something. And why does she care how much money I spend you might ask? Because our family's finances are tight, and she knows that any money we save at the grocery store our family will be able to spend somewhere else. What a great life lesson.
Because our family's finances are tight, my daughter has also learned how to budget. She is not directly involved in our financial planning, but she sees me making our budget and deciding the way we spend our family's money. She knows that when more money than expected has to be spent in a certain area, that something else has to give. She knows that money doesn't grow on trees. She's started to budget her own money--tithing, spending some, and saving some.
A lot of my daughter's friends wear expensive designer clothes. She knows we can't afford to buy clothes like that for her, so we frequent local thrift and clothing consignment stores, shop bargain sales, and do a lot of yard saling. Sure, I wish I could spend more money on her clothes, but she still finds much of the same designer clothing her friends wear. Other friends are jealous of the good buys she finds. When my daughter grows up part of me hopes she can afford nicer things for herself. But deep down, I'm grateful for the life lessons she's learning. Whether she has money or not, she will never want for anything because she knows how to get by no matter what her circumstances.
You might think your teen would think it a chore to go grocery shopping and shopping for second-hand clothing. My daughter doesn't look at it that way. Partly she's bored and wants to get out of the house, but going through these daily routines together is much of the time we spend together, hanging out and talking about other things on her mind. More than half of the time we spend in deep discussion takes place in the car driving from one place to another. I wouldn't trade that time for anything.
I'm not worried about whether or not my daughter is going to be able to take care of herself when she goes off to college. I'm certain she'll be up to the challenge.
A freshman in high school this year, she has four more years to practice before she's on her own. She cooks dinner once a week or so, does some of the laundry, and helps clean up after our pets keep the house clean. At her age, homework is most important to us and that takes priority over other things, so we don't overload her with chores, but my main concern is that she knows HOW to do these things. Especially with something like cooking it takes time to learn some of these skills. And if you don't have enough patience to help them learn something like how to cook, then let them learn through trial and error. Let them cook what they want to cook and let them even go buy the groceries to make it.
Let your teens schedule their own appointments and make other phone calls you normally make for them. I think everyone has a little fear of the phone at first, but after the first few times they'll enjoy the responsibility they've earned.
And did you notice what effect these changes will have on your life? Less responsibility and demands on you! It's a little hard to let go at first and you might have to take baby steps in handing over the reigns a little, but you'll be so proud of your teen the first time they take initiative on their own. When they leave home you'll worry less and know it was a job well done.
Giving the Best Man's speech at a wedding. Is that something that fills you with dread, or is it something that you expect to do at some point in your life. What would you do if tomorrow your best friend gives you a call to announce that he is going to get married to the girl he has been dating for the last couple of years, and he wants you to be the best man. He tells you he is confident he has made the right choice (in selecting you as his best man, not in selecting his partner for life) and will leave it up to you to come up with the perfect wedding speech. It's a sudden announcement; the wedding is to be held in a matter of weeks. The pressure is on. How do you come up with the perfect wedding speech in such a short time? Is the Internet the answer?
Well consider this, do you think that a mass produced free wedding speech available to download from the Internet will go down well with the Bride and Groom's friends and relatives at the wedding reception. The biggest single problem with free wedding speeches that are available on the Internet is that they are generic to try and appeal to a wide audience. The information in them is very general. Whereas you will want to use specific information that is directly relevant to the couple, which in turn will gain the interest of all those listening.
It is widely known that public speaking is one of those activities that creates anxiety in the deliverer. This is why many people do their best to avoid having to do it, particularly at an important function such as a wedding. The fear of messing up the happy couple's big day is definitely an issue.
It's a good idea to keep the speech short, don't ramble on and on. Make it heartfelt and talk about your good times spent together as friends. Use little anecdotes about the groom and bride. It is always a winner to talk about how they met. Talk about when you met the bride for the first time (assuming you have met her before today). Obviously you will express your happiness at their decision and encourage the guests to do the same with the wedding toast.
If you still confident in your ability to deliver the perfect wedding speech then consider these pointers:
It is never a good idea to start to preach to the audience. You are not the Minister. That job has already been done. So don't get on to your soap box and start to lecture them or start giving them your advice on how to live their lives. Remember to talk about the happy memories you have, give personal stories, and offer your best wishes for the future.
There are bound to be guests at the reception who don't know who you are, so at the beginning of your speech make sure you introduce yourself and speak about your relationship to the groom. What you are doing here is telling the audience why his has chosen you for his best man as apposed to anyone else. This will help to get the audience on your side, before you move on to toasting the happy couple.
Finally, if you are stuck for things to say, read out a romantic poem that is a favourite of either the bride or the groom. Let the audience know it is a favourite before you start. You may bring the entire room to tears. If so then you have delivered a perfect wedding speech.
Want to succeed in online dating? Your dating profile (or personal profile) may well be the difference between success and failure. Why?
Well, online, you are what you write. Your personal ad is your first introduction to the person you want to meet.
You see, during face to face communication other aspects such as body language, choice of clothing, individual scent, body language, poise etc. all come to play. While extremely few people (if any) are strong in all the aspects, your one or two strong areas might be so endearing that the other person might forgive or not even notice the weaknesses.
But in online dating all you have is your profile. Lose here and lose all.
Not only that but writing your profile does other positive things to you like:
1. Makes you admit that you do need to find a date.
2. Forces you to look deeper into yourself and get to know the real you.
3. Allows you to be specific about the kind of person you are looking for, beyond the basics.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of a winning dating profile, especially for the single person seeking a serious relationship.
Now, get pen and paper ready, get comfortable. You are going to take a few notes that will make your dating profile talk for you. We begin with the skeleton.
There are three key points to writing an appealing dating profile:
1. Know what you want
2. Know yourself
3. Know the type of person you want
Let’s break each of these down farther:
1. Know what you want: think about what you are looking for such as: • A serious relationship • Casual relationship • A date • Marriage • A discreet partner • An escort • A companion • A friend, pen pal, or e-pal • Experimentation
Other things that it might help think of are: • Kids or no kids (now or in future) • Commitment • Your sexual orientation/preference • Age range • Race, if it’s an issue • Religion, if this is important to you • Geographical proximity • Educational background if that’s important to you
Write it down.
2. Know yourself- Apart from the generic information such as your age, height and weight, you will need to know your qualities, assets and liabilities as well as hobbies, likes and dislikes. Think about:
a. Your assets: Some things to think about are: • Sense of humor • Romantic • Confident • Sociable • Honest • Intelligent • Ready for commitment • Compassionate • Open-minded • Intelligent
The above are just examples, and don’t even scrape the surface. Let your mind run. Write down everything, however trivial or ridiculous.
b. Your liabilities: these may just be opposites of assets (above) or more. List these down. Here are some examples: • Greedy • Cheap • Jealous (not always a bad thing) • Afraid of commitment • Depressive • Prejudiced • Substance abuse or history of • Bossy • Hard to live with • Nagger
Other things to think about: • What are your strengths? • What are your weaknesses? • What do you like to do in your spare time? • Where do you like to go in your spare time? • What do your friends like about you? • What does your mom love about you? • If you were to change one thing about you, what would that be? • What type of relationship do you seek? • What are your likes/dislikes? • What makes you good company?
3. The type of person you want: This may appear easy, but surprisingly most singles do not know what they are looking for beyond the basics.
Now, try to go beyond physical attributes and get into the soul of the person you want. Think of qualities you would like, just as you thought of your own. Also remember that similarities as well as differences do make good matches (a talkative person might match well with a quiet one, for example).
Now you have most of the basics of writing your dating profile covered. Plus, you now can provide answers to profile questions on any dating site without struggling too much.
The next step is writing your personal ad. This is the heart of your dating profile. We shall cover this in part 2.
The 'phone conversation had nothing at all to do with parenting - but it made me think...
'Hello, Eastbank Football Club. Can I help you? '
'Good morning, may I speak with the Assistant Coach, please? '
'Oh, I'm sorry. He's still on vacation. '
'I see. Is anyone on the coaching staff there? '
'No, they're all away right now. The club's closed for another week yet. I'm only the Groundsman. '
'Well, thanks anyway. And hey, why say you're only the Groundsman? If it wasn't for you, there wouldn't be a football club. They'd have nowhere to play! '
(Pause) 'Yeah, I'd never really thought of it like that. (Laughter) Thanks a lot, pal, you've made my day! '
So often we do ourselves down, don't we? We devalue our own contribution or service.
"I'm only a shop assistant! "
"I'm only a... " (fill in the blank! )
Sometimes we even hear women say: "I'm just a housewife"!
Confidence and self-esteem are often in short supply these days. And nowhere more so than in PARENTING!
Even those who are superbly confident in their work or social situations, often teeter on the edge when it comes to their parenting skills.
Why?
Is it something to do with the breakdown in old-fashioned values and concepts of authority; the widening gulf between kids and their parents; the dangers we as parents are so acutely aware of, but which are casually dismissed by our kids?
Whatever the causes, there's a lot you can do to improve things.
Dr Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power Of Positive Thinking, used to advise people to sit down and write out a list of all their assets and abilities.
But Dr Peale's next suggestion is crucial. Once the list of assets and abilities has been written, he tells us to raise the stakes.
Simply BELIEVE that you are at the very least 10% better than you think. It's now widely acknowledged in modern psychology that you'll still be way off the mark! So have faith. You're a whole lot better than you think.
Secondly, do some study. You probably weren't taught parenting skills at school or college, yet parenting is the most vital contribution to society. There are lots of books, courses, tapes, CDs and videos on parenting.
No excuses! Grab some and get busy. Knowledge and insight bring confidence. Whatever stage you're at, you can improve yourself.
Thirdly, learn to temper your reaction in stressful parenting situations. Easier said than done! But you can make a conscious effort to stay calm and remind yourself of Dr Peale's advice (You're more capable than you think you are! ), and you can put into practice what you've been studying about family dynamics.
A fourth way to boost your parenting skills is to develop yourself in some way. Yes, remember those piano lessons you once took, or that art class you attended? Interests like these are great stress relievers and they build self- confidence - which is vital for parenting.
If you feel you're already confident in other matters, but it's only in parenting you feel a lack, why not take up some activity with your kids? Learning together brings you together, and can be great fun!
Finally, resist any temptation to go it alone. Nature intended us to be social creatures. Seek advice from grandparents, relatives, friends. Overcome your pride. Discuss your parenting challenges with others and draw on the communal strength. And d'you know what? You'll find you're not alone. Let's work on parenting together, as a community.
Confident parents raise confident kids.
Take action now. If you do nothing, you can look forward to more of the same old worry, tension, ill-feeling, etc . etc .
Zap these negative trends once and for all. To give yourself a real boost, check out our website. And why not sign up for our free monthly e-zine, Family Features? To show our appreciation we'll send you a free six-day e-mail course entitled A Step-By-Step Guide To Positive Parenting.
