Parenting Tips That Can Help Change Your Life

Thoughtful parenting begins with the commitment to never stop learning new strategies to improve your parenting skills. What kind of parenting style you use is up to you, but every parenting style can be more effective with the addition of fresh ideas. Take a look at the practical advice below.

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When traveling with small children, consider booking two rooms with an adjoining door. This will allow you to have your child sleep in a separate room without being too far away from you. It also provides more space to unpack without baby going through the suitcases. Be sure to double-check when you make the reservation that the rooms are physically connected with a door, not just next to each other.

 

Make time to play with your children every single day. Playtime helps get you and your children moving, which benefits your health. Playing also encourages creativity, social interaction, imagination, and good self-esteem. Active play is better than passive, so take your kids to the park or even just the yard and let loose your inner child.

 

Praise your children often! If you 'catch' your child doing an appropriate behavior, tell him how proud you are. Children love positive words and praise. Hearing kind words will help your child to feel good about himself and will cause him to continue trying to do good things to receive more praise.

 

If your child must take a liquid medication, ask your pharmacist for dosing spoons, bulbs, or oral syringes instead of using kitchen spoons or measuring cups. Standard kitchen measurements can hold as much as three times the amount of a dosing implement, increasing the risk of overdose, stomach upset, or wasted medication.

 

Although most medication labeling states dosages according to age in years, you should consult your pediatrician if your child falls within those age ranges but is significantly heavier or lighter than other kids his or her age. Children metabolize certain medications much differently than adults, and dosing based on weight is more likely to deliver a therapeutic amount of the active ingredient.

 

A great parenting tip is to let your child make their own decisions sometimes. When you always make decisions for your child, they'll grow up being incapable of making their own decisions. This can really hurt them in the long run. Give your child a little independence sometimes.

 

An effective way to stop a tantrum is to ignore it, as difficult as it may be for you. Children usually throw tantrums to get attention. If you stand next to a child while he is throwing a fit, you are giving him an audience and he will have no incentive to stop. Just make sure that the child is in an area where he will not hurt himself and leave him alone. When he sees that his tantrum is not getting a rise out of you, he will eventually stop.

 

As mentioned above, no matter what parenting style you choose, you can make it more effective when you seek out new ideas. The key to thoughtful parenting is to recognize that you can always use fresh ideas to make sure your parenting skills are right for you and your child.