Opportunities to Turn A Bad Experience Into a Good Experience
by: Bill Platt
The biggest challenge I have had to face in my own life is that of being a good parent. My kids make it hard for me to stay true to the rules of good parenting... They break everything I own... Repeatedly...
Fortunately, I do have the presence of mind to realize that as toddlers and young children, they really do not intend to break things... Instead, they are trying to get a grasp on how the world around them works.
Yep, the lego floats. I wonder what it will do if I flush it??
"Daddy! The toilet is stopped up."
So, Daddy pulls the toilet up, tries to backfeed a snake, and finally gives up. Daddy had to buy a new toilet, because he could not loose the lego stuck in its plumbing.
Of course, the kiddies never told me what they flushed. All I knew is that I could not get it out.
So, I turned it into a learning experience for my boys.
I carried the toilet to the street, and took the boys with me. I took my trusty hammer and broke the plumbing portion of the toilet to see what kind of blockage I had tried to overcome. Upon finding a lego in the plumbing, I instructed the boys that the reason they could not use their toilet is because their lego got stuck.
We have been working with the kids to teach them an understanding of the value of money. The six year old is starting to get it, but the boy who just turned four is still a bit unconcerned about such things.
I explained to the boys that we would have to spend money to buy a new toilet. And, because that requires money to be spent, I would not be able to afford to take them bowling as promised. I could have afforded to do so, but they needed to learn a lesson.
Once they calmed from losing their bowling privileges, we took a bad and made it fun.
Each boy got the opportunity to use the hammer on the remains of our toilet. The trash guys would not have picked up the toilet, because it was a big object. So, I killed two birds with one stone, so to speak.
Each boy got to take turns breaking the toilet into smaller pieces. They had a blast.
Then, we took the chance to teach them the basics of basketball. We needed the small chunks of porcelain in the trash barrel, so we set the barrel nearby and tossed bits of the remains of the toilet into the trash can, as if we were playing basketball.
It was an awesome experience overall, and my kids got to learn a few things, and try a few new things along the way.
And yes, we did wash our hands after our game of basketball.
--
About The Author
Bill Platt is the owner of http://thePhantomWriters.com Article Submission Services. This learning experience came directly on the heals of another unfortunate experience with his children. The people who have read the story have all agreed that they felt bad for Bill and his wife, but they just could not help themselves... As they read the story, they were overcome with fits of laughter... You can read the story for yourself and make your own judgments as to whether you want to laugh or cry: http://thephantomwriters.com/x.pl/tpw/kids/omg/index.html
Monday, October 1, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Should Your Baby Sleep In Your Bed?
Should Your Baby Sleep In Your Bed?
Tony Luck
Should baby sleep in her own cot or in bed with you? There are arguments on both sides.
Tony Luck
Should baby sleep in her own cot or in bed with you? There are arguments on both sides.
Advantages:
- Breastfeeding is easier, you don't have to get out of bed to feed baby.
- Many mothers say baby sleeps better - if she wakes she is more likely to be comforted by your presence and heartbeat and go back to sleep.
- You will probably get more sleep.
Disadvantages:
- Other mothers can't sleep for fear that they will roll over and suffocate baby.
- They wake any time baby makes the slightest noise.
- Baby's presence could disrupt your sex life.
According to the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths:
- The safest place for baby to sleep for the first 6 months is in a cot in your room.
- Never sleep together on a sofa or armchair - it is easy to suffocate baby who can sink into the soft surface.
- Do NOT share a bed with baby if you smoke, have drunken alcohol or take drugs that make you drowsy, are ill or are exceptionally tired (how many mothers are not exceptionally tired in those first few months?!!).
- A recent study found the risk of infant death doubles if you co-sleep before 8 weeks, and if either partner smokes this risk increases eleven-fold.
- Make sure baby's room is not too warm, use lightweight sheets or blankets in her cot, and never use duvets or pillows as she may overheat or suffocate.
****************************************************************
Author: Tony and Katy Luck who run a site with advice on having a baby, everything from conception to the toddler stage, and a personalized gift site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Luck
Thursday, September 6, 2007
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Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Baby Birthmarks
Tony Luck
As many as one in three babies are born with a birthmark. These are neither painful or harmful, although about one in a hundred will require medical treatment. If the birthmark is hidden from view it is generally not a problem, but if it is on the face or neck parents will often want to do all they can to remove the mark, especially if baby is a girl.
Types of Birthmark
* Strawberry Naevi Marks - these often appear at age 2 or 3 weeks, are red in color and may feel lumpy. They often grow in size for 6-9 months.
* Stork Bites - also called 'salmon patch', a pinkish color, lie flat on the skin and don't grow. Stork Bites usually disappear in the first two years.
* Port Wine Stains - as the name suggests, these marks are a reddy-purple in color and they can cover quite a large area.
Treatment
Stork Bites require no treatment. Strawberry marks are usually treated with steriod cream or in extreme cases by laser. The only treatment for Port Wine marks is by laser.
Early treatment is more successful. Laser treatment is best started by the age of two and can take up to six treatments spread over three years.
****************************************************************
Authors: Tony and Katy Luck who run a site giving advice on conception, pregnancy and birth and a personalized gifts site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Luck
As many as one in three babies are born with a birthmark. These are neither painful or harmful, although about one in a hundred will require medical treatment. If the birthmark is hidden from view it is generally not a problem, but if it is on the face or neck parents will often want to do all they can to remove the mark, especially if baby is a girl.
Types of Birthmark
* Strawberry Naevi Marks - these often appear at age 2 or 3 weeks, are red in color and may feel lumpy. They often grow in size for 6-9 months.
* Stork Bites - also called 'salmon patch', a pinkish color, lie flat on the skin and don't grow. Stork Bites usually disappear in the first two years.
* Port Wine Stains - as the name suggests, these marks are a reddy-purple in color and they can cover quite a large area.
Treatment
Stork Bites require no treatment. Strawberry marks are usually treated with steriod cream or in extreme cases by laser. The only treatment for Port Wine marks is by laser.
Early treatment is more successful. Laser treatment is best started by the age of two and can take up to six treatments spread over three years.
****************************************************************
Authors: Tony and Katy Luck who run a site giving advice on conception, pregnancy and birth and a personalized gifts site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Luck
Teaching Children Good Manners
Rexanne Mancini
Last week in my newsletter, I mentioned that my children knew how to behave in nice restaurants because they had been exposed to the atmosphere at an early age. My idea of well behaved might be different from yours, however, I think there are certain basics that are important and universal.
When my daughters were babies, we would take them wherever we went. If they began to fuss or cry, one of us would promptly remove them from the room/restaurant/market/wherever. Not because we felt their crying or fussing was a bad thing. No, it's a perfectly normal occurrence for infants and toddlers. We removed them as a courtesy to others who we felt did not need to be as tolerant as we were with our children's noise. In consequence, my daughters know that other people are not as wildly in love with their racket or with them as we are. Nor should they be expected to be.
As our children grew older, they were always told the rules of our outings, how to behave and to always speak softly if other adults were present. Sometimes, it's fine to let them get a little crazy ... just know your audience! If we are at a five star restaurant where many other diners have come to enjoy a gracious and expensive meal, would we expect everyone there to be enthralled with junior's vocal or behavioral outbursts? Would we really expect them to care if our child is having a bout with walking pneumonia and coughing uncontrollably? Nope. It's rude. And rudeness is basically nothing more than bad manners. If there is an emergency with your child, by all means don't give a flying flamingo about what others think. But this is the exception. Besides, children who are that sick belong at home, not in public.
Last night, my girls and I were in a department store. There was a toddler carrying on and screaming for more than 15 minutes when my younger daughter said:
"Now his mommy is going to tell him to stop because there are other people in here that don't want to hear it!"
Unfortunately, his mommy did not tell him any such thing. She let him wail and scream and cry, much to the chagrin and annoyance of everyone else in the store. You know what? As much as I love kids and cannot bear to see or hear them suffering, I disliked this kid immensely!
My reasoning is this: if our kids learn that they are free to trample on the peace, space or rose gardens of others, they will develop into spoiled and inconsiderate brats. And then who will like them? Who will want to spend time with them? Who, besides their forgiving parents, will be able to tolerate their lack of social graces and good manners? No one … except maybe another ill-mannered person who feels at home with a similarly clueless individual. Do we really want our children reduced to such horrible options? I think not.
We teach our children not to steal, lie or punch their brother in the nose. Shouldn't we teach them respect for others at the same time? That their whining and out-of-control behavior is something no one really wants to hear or witness, especially strangers who have no vested interest in their developing minds or self-esteem? A simple reminder of the rules, consistently, works wonders ... eventually. ;-)
Good luck. Kids need to learn manners and social graces. They will go farther in life if we teach them well.
Copyright – 2000-2004- Rexanne Mancini
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rexanne Mancini is the mother of two daughters, Justice and Liberty. She is a novelist, freelance writer and maintains an extensive yet informal parenting and family web site, Rexanne.com – http://www.rexanne.com Visit her site for good advice, award-winning Internet holiday pages and some humor to help you cope. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Rexanne’s Web Review, for a monthly dose of Rexanne: http://www.rexanne.com/rwr-archives.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rexanne_Mancini
Last week in my newsletter, I mentioned that my children knew how to behave in nice restaurants because they had been exposed to the atmosphere at an early age. My idea of well behaved might be different from yours, however, I think there are certain basics that are important and universal.
When my daughters were babies, we would take them wherever we went. If they began to fuss or cry, one of us would promptly remove them from the room/restaurant/market/wherever. Not because we felt their crying or fussing was a bad thing. No, it's a perfectly normal occurrence for infants and toddlers. We removed them as a courtesy to others who we felt did not need to be as tolerant as we were with our children's noise. In consequence, my daughters know that other people are not as wildly in love with their racket or with them as we are. Nor should they be expected to be.
As our children grew older, they were always told the rules of our outings, how to behave and to always speak softly if other adults were present. Sometimes, it's fine to let them get a little crazy ... just know your audience! If we are at a five star restaurant where many other diners have come to enjoy a gracious and expensive meal, would we expect everyone there to be enthralled with junior's vocal or behavioral outbursts? Would we really expect them to care if our child is having a bout with walking pneumonia and coughing uncontrollably? Nope. It's rude. And rudeness is basically nothing more than bad manners. If there is an emergency with your child, by all means don't give a flying flamingo about what others think. But this is the exception. Besides, children who are that sick belong at home, not in public.
Last night, my girls and I were in a department store. There was a toddler carrying on and screaming for more than 15 minutes when my younger daughter said:
"Now his mommy is going to tell him to stop because there are other people in here that don't want to hear it!"
Unfortunately, his mommy did not tell him any such thing. She let him wail and scream and cry, much to the chagrin and annoyance of everyone else in the store. You know what? As much as I love kids and cannot bear to see or hear them suffering, I disliked this kid immensely!
My reasoning is this: if our kids learn that they are free to trample on the peace, space or rose gardens of others, they will develop into spoiled and inconsiderate brats. And then who will like them? Who will want to spend time with them? Who, besides their forgiving parents, will be able to tolerate their lack of social graces and good manners? No one … except maybe another ill-mannered person who feels at home with a similarly clueless individual. Do we really want our children reduced to such horrible options? I think not.
We teach our children not to steal, lie or punch their brother in the nose. Shouldn't we teach them respect for others at the same time? That their whining and out-of-control behavior is something no one really wants to hear or witness, especially strangers who have no vested interest in their developing minds or self-esteem? A simple reminder of the rules, consistently, works wonders ... eventually. ;-)
Good luck. Kids need to learn manners and social graces. They will go farther in life if we teach them well.
Copyright – 2000-2004- Rexanne Mancini
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rexanne Mancini is the mother of two daughters, Justice and Liberty. She is a novelist, freelance writer and maintains an extensive yet informal parenting and family web site, Rexanne.com – http://www.rexanne.com Visit her site for good advice, award-winning Internet holiday pages and some humor to help you cope. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Rexanne’s Web Review, for a monthly dose of Rexanne: http://www.rexanne.com/rwr-archives.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rexanne_Mancini
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