Tips&Tricks

Being a new parent is a lot of work, and there are so many things to think about on a daily basis. It is normal for you to put a lot of pressure on yourself to be perfect when you first bring home your new baby, but this just is not possible, and it might be time to cut yourself some slack and accept some help from other people.
When it comes to bedtime there is a lot to think about, and that is why we are here to tell you about 2 common mistakes that new parents make when putting baby to bed, and how to solve them.

2 Mistakes New Parents Make When Putting Baby to Bed

Unsafe Co-Sleeping

Due to the fact that sleeping alongside your new baby and having skin to skin contact are two of the main ways that parents bond with their children, it can be tempting to bring your new baby in your bed and sleep with them right in the middle of you and your partner. It can also be tempting to curl up with your new baby on the couch and take advantage of a good nap while they are also asleep.

But these bad co-sleeping habits can be the most unsafe thing that you can do with you baby for many different reasons.

When you are asleep next to your baby without any sort of assistance, you are taking a great risk of accidental injury to your new baby. You run the risk of your newborn rolling off the bed or being accidentally tangled in the covers or smothered underneath you. You don’t have control of what you do when you are asleep, especially during the postpartum coma-like naps that you take whenever you get the opportunity. Basically, it’s really dangerous to have your baby sleeping near or with you in an uncontrolled situation.

Luckily, there are a lot of good options that still allow you to co-sleep safely with your baby as a new parent. One of the most common options for a new parent is to keep the baby’s crib or bassinet in the parent’s room within arm’s reach. This way there is no risk of accidental injury for the baby while sleeping but you can still be near to and bond with your baby while asleep.

Another great option that is super common is having a sidecar co-sleeper that attaches to your bed and allows you to feel as though you are sharing the same sleeping space without any of the risk of sharing an actual bed with your new baby. There are a lot of great options out there for safe co-sleeping, like this website for co sleeping cribs.

Using a Crib Bumper

Despite the amount of warnings that have been released over the years, there are a lot of crib bumpers out there on the market. These are unsafe for your new baby, even though they may seem like they are increasing baby’s safety while they are in their crib.

The fact of the matter is that crib bumpers are now outdated and unnecessary, as they were invented when the bars of cribs were wide enough apart that a baby’s head could fit through them. Nowadays crib bumpers are essentially pointless and actually increase the chances of SIDS or suffocation.

The best way to fix this problem is to ditch the crib bumpers and instead keep nothing in your baby’s crib. Ensure that your cot meets modern safety standards, meaning that the bars are positioned so that accidental entrapment of the baby is not possible. If you are still worried about your baby hitting their head on the slats of the crib or injuring themselves, then consider swaddling when asleep or using bumpers that wrap around the slats of the crib and don’t sit inside the crib.

Conclusion

Being a new parent can be overwhelming, and there are a lot of things that you need to consider. However, taking little advice such as this  about putting baby to bed can make a huge difference in the happiness and safety of you and your baby.

A lot of us decide to become a work-at-home parent in order to take an active part in children’s life yet keep our valuable professional identity and skills. However, it is not always easy to combine work with parenthood and succeed in both. Here are a couple of work-life tips for those, who just decided to become a work-at-home mom, and those, who struggle to do it.

Separate work time from parenting hours

 It is indeed important to understand that working and taking care of children shouldn’t be done at the same time and/or in the same place. If you want to be a successful work-at-home mom, you should pursue excellent time-management skills. Try sticking your child on a daily routine and adapt your working schedule correspondingly. This will help you to not only discipline your child from her early age but also make a clear separation between working and parenting hours, find more time for your job, and focus better.

Find Quality Babysitters

Finding quality babysitters, nannies or childcare centers can help reduce your family work. Organize interview to choose nannies or babysitter. Nannies with long term commitment to families prove how easily they can adapt to kid with different age groups.

Create a kids-not-allowed workspace

 Another good thing to do to separate your mummy-life from your work life and concentrate better on each is to create an isolated from kids’ duties workspace. It can be a separate office room, where children are not allowed and that is nicely decorated and well-equipped for work, or a simple desk in a corner of your living room with a perfect work-atmosphere, preferably looking away from children’s playroom or kitchen, to keep you less distracted from doing business.

Outsource, not only household work but your business-related tasks too

 It is essential to understand that none of us are superwomen and that there are only 24 hours in a day. Therefore, learn to outsource some of your work that is related to both, household management or childcare and your business. Find a good nanny that will look after kids regularly or whenever you feel like you don’t have enough time to meet a work deadline. If possible, hire a housemaid. This will give you more time to spend with your children and to concentrate on business. Remind yourself from time to time that you and your spouse have parents. Conversations between different generations are important for the child’s development and most of the grandparents will be happy to hang out more with their grandchildren. Hence, take this opportunity not only to find more time for work but also to enjoy a night with your husband alone, away from work and children.

There are plenty of websites right now where you can find freelancers that can handle some parts of your work efficiently and cost-effectively. Check such platforms as UpWork, Guru, and SimplyHired. Who knows, maybe another work-at-home mom will be there, online, to help you.

Becoming parents can bring you immense joy and happiness, but the journey of parenting has its ups and downs. There’s a lot to learn along the way and no matter how hard you try, you can’t perfect parenting. You will experiment a lot, explore and learn and this is what makes the parenting journey so amazing.

There are so many unique parenting styles, but there are some things we all should never do in front of our children. Here are six most important things you shouldn’t do in front of your kids!

6 Things You Shouldn’t Do In Front Of Your Kids

Being Hooked On Gadgets

Technology has gotten the better of us and while it’s made life easier, it has also got us hooked on to it. It’s common for parents to spend time staring into their phones or computers even when their child is talking to them. This is something you should always avoid. When your kid is talking to you, give him your undivided attention. Also think about the idea of family technology detox – pick one day a week that will be technology free.

Using Foul Or Abusive Language

This is something that you need to avoid when you’re at home. It’s important for you to make a conscious effort to avoid using bad language or abuses when you’re in front of your kids. Children pick up on anything their parents say, and the last thing you want is for your child to learn bad language.

Lying

Being a parent is all about protecting your children and keeping them safe. However, there may be certain questions that your child will come up with every now and then. Some are easy to answer, others not so much. At times there are things you might not know the answer to. In such situations is best to tell them you don’t know the answer rather than cooking up stories. One of the things that you should do is handle the situation with the importance that it deserves. Lying to your child will certainly not help them during their development phase and this will come back to haunt them when they start growing up.

Making Fun Of Others

Sensitivity is something that every parent needs to teach their child. When you make fun or taunt others your child believes this is not wrong. However, this makes your child ignorant towards the feelings of others and that’s not a good thing. Teach them how to respect people, encourage them with positive words rather than negative ones. This helps in the development of your child in a healthy way.

Eating Junk Food Regularly

Everyone loves indulging and cheating on their diet every once in a while. However, when that becomes a habit there are a number of things that can go wrong especially with children. Exposing children to junk food regularly will take away the concept of healthy eating for them. Junk foods are addictive and once it becomes a habit for your child, you will find it difficult to get them back on track. Limit junk food to once a month and everyone stays happy.

Losing Temper

Children are always looking for their next adventure. Being a child is no fun unless you draw on walls or mess up the kitchen when your parents are not around. However, as parents you need to be patient with these adventures. Losing your temper or screaming at your kids is the worst thing to do. This will scar your children for life and they will always be scared to have fun. While it’s important to teach them what’s right from wrong, you need to do it in a way that doesn’t hurt their feelings or scares them.

Each child is different, so what works for one kid doesn’t have to work for the other. However, there are certain parenting rules that are common for all parents. There are things that every parent should do, and things that they shouldn’t when in front of their kids. This is just a short list of things you shouldn’t do and if you have something to add feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section.

There are a number of studies that prove having a pet is beneficial to a child’s emotional, social, physical and cognitive development. One such study that took place in the UK revealed how children who had a dog exercised dog exercised on average 11 minutes more every day than those who didn’t have one. Another study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics proved that young children who had contact with cats and dogs suffered less from respiratory and ear infections than those who lived without pets.

The Pros and Cons of Pets for Children

The responsibilities

As research appears to indicate, having a pet is beneficial to child development in many ways, which is why it’s important that we take
care of our pets as best as we can. This means ensuring that they are fully covered by an appropriate pet health insurance plan. It also means that we must be fully committed to the responsibilities of having a pet before we make the decision to have one. Even though our children will benefit from having a pet in the house, they might not be able to take full responsibility for its care. Ultimately we need to be ready to take care of our pets in the long-term. We must accept beforehand that the commitment won’t be minimal.

The main benefits

On the upside, running around and interacting with a pet can help children to develop strong motor skills. It can promote physical activity and keep them active. There’s also plenty of evidence to suggest that pets help children to socialize. Interestingly, when Dr. Lisa Wood conducted a study for the University of Western Australia, her findings revealed that cats and dogs are not the only pets that can help children become more sociable. Rabbits and snakes are just two of the household pets that also made the list.
The real beauty of a pet in terms of child development lies in the emotional support that it affords. Animals provide unconditional love and they never judge. They teach children to empathize with others and they provide safe environments in which to make mistakes and express true character without running the risk of not being accepted by others.
An interesting article published by ‘The Week’ also delves into the importance of pets for cognitive development. Children who read aloud to their pets are more likely to develop higher reading skills, according to the results gathered by a study that evaluated a group of second-grade children.

Possible cons to deal with

Even though dogs tend to be a real favorite with children, there’s always the risk of dog bites when small children are involved. There
are a number of breeds that are knowingly gentle with children – including golden retrievers, labradors and beagles – but the possible
risk never goes away and so children with pets must be carefully monitored.

Some parents may find that the death of a pet is an excellent learning curve for children to experience, while others may be concerned about the possible heartbreak that could come from losing a pet at a young age. While children under the age of two might only respond to the pet’s death if he or she senses the stress and sadness in other family members, children between the ages of 5 to 9 already begin to understand death as a permanent state of affairs. As such, the experience could be more traumatic for them.

Choosing the right pet

Choosing the right pet for your child is also very important. Cats and dogs are the most obvious choices, but turtles, birds, gerbils and fish are also great options to consider. While fish don’t offer the cuddly attention that dogs and cats provide, they are really easy for children to take care of and they require very little maintenance.
Birds, on the other hand, are very high maintenance. Their cages need to be cleaned regularly and if your child refuses to take on this responsibility in the long-term, it will become another weekly task to add to your already long list of household chores. The great thing about birds, however, is that they fly. This can be highly entertaining for young children and can get them interested in biology and animal development.

Likewise, Cats and dogs are playful, cheerful and adorable – and kids love them. Their veterinary check-ups, preventive care and maintenance are easier than the other animals. For more information, check out the resources at selfpetcare.

All in all, there are many benefits experienced by children who grow up with pets by their side; benefits that probably outweigh the causes for concern. The only real question you have to ask yourself is whether you are also willing to make a long-term commitment. Remember… a pet is for life.

Most parents try to transition their kids from rear-facing seats to front facing ones as soon as possible. In most cases, people want their child to transition quickly because they’ve outgrown their old chair. However, this can be a huge mistake for child car safety, which is why we urge you to wait. According to AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), children should ride in rear-facing car seats until they are at least two years old.

Child Car Safety

Moreover, studies have shown that rear-seats reduce the risk of sustaining a serious injury or even dying staggering 75%. That’s a huge difference when you think about it. So why are rear-facing car seats so necessary? Or better yet – how do they keep your child so safe?

In short, rear-facing seats spread the force your child experiences during a crash across the back seat and their body evenly. What’s more, these seats also limit the motion of the child’s head, which helps to prevent serious neck and spine injuries. And these injuries can potentially have a huge effect on your child’s life quality for the rest of their life.

So to sum things up, here are a couple of facts about rear-facing car seats you should know:

• They protect the feet, legs, head, and spine of your child far better than front facing seats
• They are far more comfortable than front-facing models and help the development of joints
• They come with a five-point harness system that distributes the force equally during a crash

In order to help you better understand the importance of rear-facing seats, good folks from the Parenting Pod have created the infographic about child car safety below. After all, we as humans remember visual data better. Make sure to share the infographic with other parents you know to protect as many children as possible.

 Whether it happens in primary, middle or high-school, chances are your kid is going to be in love at some point. By this I mean, obviously, he or she will develop a crush on what of their classmates and will probably struggle over telling them, pouring their heart’s desires and whether or not others will make fun of them. Love hurts, so this will probably cause you to worry.

Here is some advice on how to deal with your kid when she or he has a crush.

Don’t romanticize unrequited love

Unrequited love does not make us happier, more sensitive people. It can disgrace us, especially when others around us keep telling us to “go for it”. You don’t go for it when the person tells you no, particularly if they have to tell you no over and over again.

If your kid has a crush on someone they never even talked to, the chances for romance are low. If they are from different social groups or if the crush in question has a collection of disillusioned suitors, perhaps the best thing to do is just move on.

Don’t encourage your kid to do “grand gestures”

The politics of love in middle and high school are no laughing matter. If these are the first real crushes your kid ever had, they might end up defining how he feels about relationships for a long time. If you encourage your kid to write a song, make a love declaration, write a letter, etc., especially if it is supposed to be in front of the whole school, and if it goes wrong, that can completely shatter your kid’s self-esteem. Remember: there are smartphones everywhere now, so your kid’s humiliation can end up on the internet forever.

Don’t laugh

Laughing at people crazy in love might be fun, but your kid won’t think so. If you act as if crushes are something to be made fun of, he might be reluctant telling you about it. If that happens, you won’t be able to do any damage control in case he really is suffering. Think twice before joking about the subject, depending on how sensitive your kid is.

Be there for a broken heart

Oh yes, that can happen too. We all know that unrequited love is by far the most painful. Time will heal it, as always, but you need to show your kid some empathy and be there for them. Mention some of your love experiences from childhood so your child realizes that what he or she is going through is perfectly normal.

Don’t panic. Think about this love lesson as a wonderful opportunity to help our kid understand the power of emotion. Early infatuations usually don’t last long – and most kids get over them quickly, so just don’t worry, everything will be ok!