I realize not all parents are married and not all parents take marriage as serious commitment, however, I personally think this is a great way to begin a family.
This couple made it look like a fun beginning of a relationship.
It helps if parents see the lighter side of life.
That made me smile and dance. How about you?
I realize not all parents are married but I personally agree with what the bible teaches us about marriage. It is a great way to begin a family.
The couple in the video below made it look like a fun beginning.
That made me smile and dance. How about you?
It helps when parents see the lighter side of life. There will always be challenges and struggles in life.
Put God in the centre. He can guide and support you through them.
If you are unable to attend church but would like to hear some teachings from the bible. City Church Maroochydore has podcasts you can listen to.
This is an interesting article that came across my desk from Andrew Cate; an established author of several nutrition and personal fitness books. I wanted to pass this article on as it is also relevant to how we feed our children and the eating habits that we are helping them to establish.
“There is a theory that people who eat a lot of processed food can often overeat.A diet that is so low in nutrients can make the body want you to eat more until it’s nutritional needs are met.
One of my online clients (Kathy) told me an interesting and related story. She said that after adding minerals in the troughs that her stock drank out of - within a few weeks the stock were grazing significantly less than they had been. So what is the lesson here? You don’t need to drink out of a trough. But by making sure your diet is rich in nutrients, you may feel less hungry, and you will find it easier to eat smaller portions.
The best sources of nutrients come form eating a wide variety of unprocessed foods, such as different coloured vegetables and fruits.
Motivational quote of the week
“Ninety percent of all those who fail are not actually defeated. They simply quit.”
Be well
Andrew Cate
http://www.thehfactordiet.com/
As a Midwife and Child Health Nurse who works closely with babies and children from birth to 5 years old, I have some useful insight into the use of dummies for babies that I would like to share with you. The decision to use one or not will be up to you. Not all babies take to sucking a dummy but there are certainly babies in the world who do benefit from sucking one. Once you have heard my findings the decision to use one or not will then be up to you.
Six positive reasons for a baby to use a dummy
1. Babies who are three to four weeks old who have learnt to attach and feed well from the breast but think they should feed constantly. In this situation, the breast feeding mother and her nipples could do with some relief and possibly repair from constant sucking. It is however, important not to substitute a breast feed for a dummy as this can reduce milk production resulting in an undernourished and unsettled baby
2. A baby sucking a dummy can reduce tummy discomfort, cranial pressure and wind pain until the cause of the pain and discomfort is diagnosed and relieved. However, by aiding the digestive process this then can cause them to become hungrier earlier
3. Sucking a dummy can reduce the pain of oesophageal reflux allowing for a bit more sleep!
4. Recent knowledge indicates a baby sucking a dummy can reduce the incidence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). This is thought to be due to a baby being in a more alert state of sleep and having their airways in a more open position allowing for better air entry. There are also other factors relating to the reduction of SIDS
5. Premature babies are given dummies to help them suck when they are fed via a tube and to stimulate their suck before they are able to breast feed efficiently
6. A baby who settles to sleep best with a sucking action. Commonly, a baby who is fed either breast milk or infant formula from a bottle requires a dummy to build up the length of sucking time they require in a day
Seven reasons why a baby is disadvantaged using a dummy.
1. There is an increased risk of bacterial infections from dirty dummies. Sterilise them regularly and throw out any that have cracks or worn areas where bacteria can settle
2. The continued use of a dummy after three or four months can set up strong sleep associations that can lead to unsettled sleep in the months that follow
3. The regular and frequent use of a dummy has been shown to decrease the length of time a woman will continue to breast feed
4. A young baby who sucks too often on a dummy can be too tired for nutritional breast feeding
5. The use of a dummy after nine months can not only disturb good sleep patterns but it can also interrupt speech development
6. Choking hazard from faulty or worn out dummies
7. Sucking on a dummy when your baby could be awake and babbling restricts the natural development of language
Which dummy do we choose?
There are many dummies on the market and it can be difficult to know which one is best. Consider one that closely mimics your breast nipple.
1. Look for the dummy that is soft and supple. The brown latex rubber is usually the softest
2. Choose a shape that is similar to your nipple, this is usually the round cherry or bulb shaped dummy. Large or small
3. It needs to be large enough to reach back into the back of your baby’s mouth. This will depend on the size of your baby
With the above information in mind, I believe there can be a place for dummies for some babies, providing that it is an appropriate dummy used at an appropriate time and only for the first three to four months of life when a baby’s strong sucking reflex is present. After this age they discover other ways to soothe themselves and dummies can be discarded.
Do you have a baby around four months old?
If so, you may like this ‘I am nearly 6 months old’
If you like to include this article in your newsletter or website; you can, providing you include the following blurb with it:
This article was brought to you by Jan Murray, Private Child Health Consultant who is an internationally renowned expert in her field. Jan encourages parents in the area of infant sleep, nutrition, activities and family balance. She publishes regular ezine and blog articles to provide free parenting tips, tools and resources to educate and support those caring for young babies and children. For more online resources visit http://www.settlepetal.com
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:
* Share everything.
* Play fair.
* Don’t hit people.
* Put things back where you found them.
* Clean up your own mess.
* Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
* Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
* Wash your hands before you eat.
* Flush.
* Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
* Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
* Take a nap every afternoon.
* When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
* Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
* Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
* And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.
Source: “ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN” by Robert Fulghum.
See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/
Your kids need your words and actions of encouragement.
From a very young age children want and need to feel worthwhile and valued.
Children will profit from being accepted and encouraged while they grow and discover their own direction in life. Therefore, raise your kids to see that they are a worthwhile participant in life and that they can achieve?
You can do this by offering your child words of encouragement and show them actions of acceptance, rather than giving constant correction and criticism.
From birth, a baby can sense when an adult accepts them.
You can reach the heart and soul of your child by giving positive acknowledgement when they do something right. Ensure they feel encouraged when you are in their presence as their heart is not won through criticism but acceptance and believing in who they are.
Praise a child’s behaviour rather than always picking up on the things that they do wrong. When anyone is encouraged rather than corrected it makes them try harder the next time.
Here are some phrases you might like to use when you praise your child’s behaviour. If you include their name (………) in the sentence it will make an even greater positive impact.
“That’s it; you’ve got it ……”
“You’re doing a good job getting the pegs out of the basket ………..”
“You’re learning fast………”
“Way to go, high five…….!”
“Keep on trying …….., you will get there”
“…….., now that’s what I call a fine job of packing away the blocks”
“Wow, good remembering to shut the door………”
“You make painting look easy………….”
“Now you’ve figured it out; great page turning ……….”
“……..you’re getting better with cleaning your teeth everyday”
Talk to your child about how to manage their feelings. Explain to them that it is ok to feel a certain way and then help them do something that will make them feel better. (For example: Feeling SAD: “it’s ok to feel sad, Sam. When I feel sad I look at a colourful book and that makes me feel happy. Come on, let’s find one and look at it together”)
