Chronicles of a “Mr. Mom”

Warming Hands to Massage Child With Sinus Congestion

Toilet training can be a tumultuous time for both a toddler and his parents. However, it doesn’t have to be. Though it is always a time of transition, it can also sometimes be a wonderful period of learning for both children and their parents. By following these six steps for effective potty training, you can minimize the conflict and maximize results.

6 Steps for Effective Potty Training

1) Communicate: You cannot pile your child high with expectation if they do not understand what it is they are supposed to do. Tell your child what you are doing, why you are doing it, and what you expect them to do and you will find a far more compliant child who is ready to slay the potty training dragons along your side rather than battle you from the beginning.

2) Model: Children are no different from adults, only smaller. Many people learn best by visual rather than auditory instruction. This means you must show them what to do instead of simply telling them. Provide your child with an example to follow and it is likely they will follow it with a smile.

3) Prepare: No one goes camping without a backpack. It is best to prepare yourself for any situation you must embark upon. Toilet training isn’t any different. You must first check for signs of readiness with your child. As long as they meet the basic criteria (listening comprehension, follows direction, and muscle control), then it’s green lights all the way.

4) Start: You will first want to develop a routine and then get down to getting it done. Once you start, don’t stop. You may hit a few bumps, but it is much easier to keep on going than to make a u-turn and have to start down the same road on a different day.

5) Reward: Children, like adults, are often willing to work hard for their rewards. No one knows the currency of their child better than mom or dad. Find out what rewards your child would be most willing to work for and implement a reward system that will keep their motivation high.

6) Repeat: Success is vertical. You must use each victory to climb toward the next. Be consistent and persevere. Soon enough, potty training will be just another fond memory.

Toilet training isn’t always easy, but it doesn’t have to be so tough. Use these six steps to get a good grip on your potty training.

Sean Platt is a dad http://writerdad.com who runs a preschool with his wife, a teacher with over two decades of experience. Their preschool has seen a long string of toddlers learn to use the potty in a developmentally appropriate manner, in no time at all. You can check out their site at http://pottytrainingpower.com for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_Platt

The Boy, who will turn 4 in July, still sleeps in his crib. I’m sure this is against the advice of almost every parenting expert on the planet, but it works for those folks who live in my house. He loves his crib so much that, during a recent time-out where we had chucked him in said crib until he could remember how civilized preschoolers behave, the Boy climbed out of his cage, grabbed a book, and then climbed back in.

This is not how a kid who’s ready to move into a big boy bed acts, right? Given how quickly he is growing, he’ll have to make the change sooner rather than later. But for now, he can keep folding himself into one of his crib’s corners for the night.

The Boy, who in 10 years will hate me for mentioning this, is still working on the whole potty training deal. He gets the idea, mind you, and is willing to play along if you mention stepping up to the porcelain bowl and letting fly. If he is the slightest bit interested in anything else, however, there will probably be a puddle before too much time has passed.

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The source of my most recent humbling is a pledge made several years ago that I would never hyper-parent my children.

Hyper-parenting, you may recall, is the term coined years ago by a psychiatrist describing parents who over-schedule their children in an attempt to enrich their lives. They drag them from one activity to another, always keeping something on the schedule.

As it turns out, experts say this is bad for both the children and their parents. I frequently belittled those parents and felt quite superior in my parenting skills. I hesitate to go so far as to call myself supercilious, but I was knocking at its door.

Full story: Dad has to eat his words about parenting … again

Nancy Shute, expert writer on all things parenting for US News and World Report, has just described the current salmonella outbreak as the ’scariest’ she’s ever seen. Her fears don’t stem from the number of people sickened (491 and counting) or killed (seven so far) or the widespread geographical scope of the outbreak (43 states and Canada). Her concern is for the extremely large number of common supermarket items that are made from peanuts, peanut butter, or peanut paste.

Many items under suspicion of contamination are common products easily kept at room temperature, don’t require cooking, and are packaged to make them so easy to keep handy. Those same characteristics create an ideal living environment for the bacteria that is making so many people so sick.

Full story: Parenting Expert Says Current Salmonella Outbreak is ‘Scariest’ Ever

The rate of accidental suffocation deaths among babies increased fourfold over the past two decades, according to a new study, despite a national campaign to encourage safe infant sleeping.

Authors of the study, which appears today in the journal Pediatrics, say the nationwide increase probably is the result of more thorough investigations and changes in how deaths are classified. Nevertheless, the researchers and local medical experts said the figures reflect a continuing problem and highlight concerns about whether babies should sleep in the same beds as their parents or siblings.

“These deaths are likely preventable,” said Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, an epidemiologist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and lead author of the study. “So this problem is ongoing, and we should not divert our attention. … We need an infusion of more efforts to make them reduce further.”

Researchers have long studied Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, a term that refers to infant deaths that cannot be explained after a medical investigation. Shapiro-Mendoza’s study sought to find out if a newer, more specific category of infant death - by strangulation or suffocation - was increasing.

Full story: Don’t share bed with infant, parents told

Today more than 70 diseases are being treated using stem cells and the possibilities for these remarkable cells keep growing. I’m not alone when I tell you that in the future stem cells will be used to cure and treat diseases now fatal or disabling. Stem cell discoveries in the 21st century will be like the antibiotic boom in the last century.

The reason for the explosion in stem cell research is because these cells have the remarkable ability to develop into almost any type of cell in the body. It’s a complicated process, but after years of successful research, stem cells are now considered standard therapy in the treatment of many serious diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, some bone marrow diseases like multiple myeloma and some immune system diseases. And the list is growing.

Full story: Banking on cord blood

I mean, how much stupider can you get as a parent? Allowing an 8 yr old to participate in a shooting contest?

Dr. Charles Bizilj stood 10 feet behind his son this weekend at a “Machine Gun Shoot” in Westfield, where the third grader aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin in the distance.

As Bizilj reached for his camera, the boy clutched the gun in his arms and squeezed the trigger. The Uzi flipped backwards and 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj fatally shot himself in the head.

Full story: Grieving father says he gave son, 8, permission to fire Uzi

Seven-year-old Ava Childers will soon be responsible for making her own bed every day.

And she can thank the Obamas for that.

Ava’s mother, Danita, got the idea after hearing that the soon-to-be first daughters, Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, are required to make their own beds in the morning.

“I hadn’t given her any chores … and I just mentioned it to my husband,” says Danita Childers, recalling their recent parenting discussion. “Maybe she’s old enough to do something like that.”

Like others across the country who are looking to the Obamas as parental role models, the Childers family of Chicago’s South Side are eating up stories about the Obama family’s values — from the girls’ 8 p.m. bedtime to the president-elect’s “Harry Potter” reading nights to the task of selecting a pet dog.

Full Story: Obamas set parenting guidelines

How many times have you heard, “It’s a tie!”, “Everyone wins!”, and “You’re all winners!”? We have good intentions of not wanting to hurt children’s feelings, but are we really helping them in the long run?

This is the second in a series, “C’mon Parents!”, which tackles tough issues that parents are griping about. Some of my ‘mom friends’ and I were recently talking about this issue and wondering how it will impact our kids in the future. We basically have 5 major gripes with telling all kids they are winners.

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