Women say, “Diamonds are the girl’s best friend”. But, for children, books are children’s best friend! Just like my niece who is a book freak. She likes reading so much. Book store is like a heaven for her. I think that’s because we (especially me) started to introduce her to books when she was only 5 months. What I did at that time was reading her a book with great colors and big picture and taught her to turn the pages one by one. I didn’t even care whether she understood the content or not.

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you trying to teach your kids about money? You can try Barrack Obama and his wife’s tips on teaching children about money. Just like other parents, Obama and his wife also set rules for their kids. One of them is about money giving. In a magazine interview Obama and his wife Michelle revealed that one of their steadfast house rules is not giving Christmas or Birthday presents to their kids, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. “They spend ‘hundreds’ on birthday slumber parties and we want to teach some limits. Santa Claus is still permitted to deliver seasonal gifts however,” they said. The girls are also given an allowance of just $1 a week for performing household chores. Those chores include making their own bed, setting and clearing the dinner table, and putting themselves to bed by 8.30 pm. So, do you think it will work for your kids? Just try it with them!

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk, People magazine

Here we are at the part 2 of my article. Let’s continue with the other five foods that can make your kid smarter.

6. Berries

Strawberries, cherries, blueberries, blackberries are the good ones for your kids. Choose the berries with more intense color cause it shows that there are more nutrition in them. Studies have shown that there are improved memory with the extracts of blueberries and strawberries. Berries seeds are also a good source of omega-3 fats. Read the rest of this entry »

“The brain is a very hungry organ and the first of the body’s organs to absorb nutrients from the food we eat,” says Bethany Thayer, MS, RD, a Detroit nutritionist and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA) to WebMD. And, according to her, there are certain foods that may help to give nutrition for the brain that may help to boost your child’s brain growth, improve his brain function, memory, and concentration. Here I share 10 foods that make your kids smarter. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to baby world! It’s time for you (new moms) to learn all new things about baby, including how to diaper your baby. Here are smart diapering tips for you, new moms!

CHOOSING Diapers Tips

·         For your newborn baby, first, get one small package of diapers in newborn size, and one larger package in the next size. Sometimes, some newborns are already too big for newborn size.

·         Test some diapers brands for comfort and leak protection until you know what brands works for you and your baby.

·         You can join a warehouse club or order in bulk online. Many sites offer free shipping for large purchases that may be useful for you and for your baby. In fact, there are some free baby diapers that you can get for your baby!

USING Diapers Tips

·         First, WASH YOUR HAND before and after a change!

·         Put the wipes, new diaper, and change or clothes within your reach before opening the dirty diaper.

·         When you have to wipe (you can use diaper wipe or washcloth), WIPE FROM FRONT TO BACK especially for you baby girl. Wiping in the wrong direction can cause infections.

·         THE CUTE PATTERNED PART GOES IN THE FRONT.

·         If your baby is wearing a sleeper, unsnap and tuck the bottom half of the garment behind her back during the change.

·         When you hear or feel your baby pooping, give her time to finish first before you change the diaper.

·         Take off your baby’s socks before removing a diaper with dirt in it!

·         CHANGE THE DIAPER FREQUENTLY. The weight and smell of the diaper is a clue that you have to change the diaper. If your baby is fussing or cries, check the diaper!

·         When wiping your poopy baby, hold her ankles in one hand, her wrist in another, and wipe with your remaining hand.

·         Wipe your hands from lotion or oil that can render the diaper’s sticking tabs before you touch the fastener.

It’s so easy, isn’t it? Keep practicing those tips for at least a week, and you’ll be a pro- “diapering master”! J

In previous part, we have talked about children with O and A blood types, their personality, and how to “manage” them. Now, it’s time for us to talk about children with B and AB blood types and how parents should raise them. So, how are they like?

The Ignorant “B’

Children with B blood type tend to be sweet but can be wild too. They are also hardworker, stubborn, joyful, realistic, a little bit ignorant and irresponsible. If you wanna teach them discipline, you really need to guide them. They are also flexible but tend to ignore what people say about them and like to supress their anger. That’s why they need to learn more about rules and norms. For creativity, actually they are creative enough but they really need stimulation from their parents to explore their creativity and talents. By the way, they have poor body balance that make them have difficulty in balancing their body.

Tips for their parents:

1. You should give clear and flexible rules for them
2. Know their creativity and talents and give them stimulation so that they can show their potential
3. Guide them to manage their activities effectively
4. For physical activities, direct them to body balancing activities, like running or jumping.
5. Teach them to be more concerned about norm and rules
6. Give plenty of time to talk and share with them.

The Doubtful “AB”

“AB” children tend to be calm, controlable, and rasional. But, the negative side is they tend to be indecisive. Even though they look not emotional, they are doubtful. When they make decision by themselves, they often regret that decision. They also like to supress their feeling, tend to be passive because they are afraid if what they do is wrong. Because they are easily influenced by their surroundings, parents should avoid them from bad influence.

Tips for the parents:

1. Teach them to solve their problems by themselves
2. Teach them to discuss their choices, ask them their reason to choose those choices and what choice that they choose
3. Don’t give too strict rules. Ask them to make rules together with you.
4. Let them choose clothes that they want to wear by themselves
5. Give them a good example at home if you don’t want them do something bad
6. Direct them to group activities, but not competitive ones
7. Teach them to be more independent
8. Give opportunities that can make them to respect themselves

So, does that description match with your child?

“Actually, there is no scientific reasearch yet which proves the relationship between blood type and children personality,” says Tisna Chandra, M.Si, child psychologist and owner of Spectrum Treatment and Education Centre, Jakarta, Indonesia. But, some books mention that there is relationship between blood type and children characters and raising children. In Japan, personality analysis by blood type is known as Ketsuekigata, and becomes part of popular Japanese Culture. So, are you interested to know more what your children personality based on their blood type is and how you should raise them based on that? Let’s start with O and A blood types first.

The Energetic “O”

Children with O blood type are vert energetic and full of emotions. They always need to use their exessive energy and emotion. They are also adaptive, optimistic, perfectionist, and can easily accept others’ opinions and very negotiable. Whatever we ask them to do, they will do it right away. They have a strong leadership quality and high creativity. One thing you must know from them is they don’t like monotonous things and have high need for achievement. They also really care with what others say about them. That’s why what people say to them will affect them so much. Unfortunately, they can get stressed easily and tend to “play” with risks. May be that’s why the energetic O children also have tendency to be hyperactive and get anger easily. But, of course not all of them are like that.

Guides To Raising Your Energetic O Children

Here are some tips for those who have energetic O child:

1. Give him or her opportunity to be a leader. For example, in family meeting to decide what television brand your family will buy, he or she can lead the meeting.
2. Teach them to make plan for their daily activities
3. Don’t give him or her too many extra curricular activities
4. Teach him or her to think positively and manage his or her anger effectively
5. Because your child is very adaptive, you need to avoid them from negative influences such as drugs and free sex.

The Fussy “A”

Children with A blood type tend to be fussy and always exagerate things, and have complicated mind map. They are also a little bit rigid, fragile, very detailed and care about themselves exessively. What people think not really important is very very important to them. They tend to be perfectionist, easily get panic, worry about many things, and not easy to be relaxed. The positive sides of them are passionate, peaceful, sensitive, and creative.

Tips for parents:

1. Give your children relaxing activities
2. Tell them that they don’t have to do everything perfectly
3. For their meals schedule, seperate it into 4 or 5 meal times with small portions
4. Manage their “television time”
5. Avoid using bad words or high voice when you give them advice

What do you think? Does it match with your kids? For B and AB blood types, we will discuss them later on the next part of this article. (to be continued)

 Does your baby cries for hours at a time and make you feel like you want to join in those cries? Moms, this is what we call baby colic. Your baby is described as having colic if he or she has extended and uncontrollable crying more than 3 hours a day and at least three days a week. Colic starts to affect babies around three weeks of age, and getting worse at around six weeks of age. The good news is it usually stops at around three of four months of age.
Nobody knows what the exact cause of colic is. But, many experts believe that colic is cause by baby immature digestive system, while others say that colic is caused by an immature nervous system. Another theory about the cause of colic is milk either from breast or bottle is the cause. Every baby has different symptoms of colic. There are babies who show many symptoms of colic, while others only show one.

So, how do you know that your baby is having colic? Below are some guides to know it:

• Your baby cries with loud and continuous crying that can last from one to three hours at a time and these “disaster” occurring about three or four days a week.
• These crying episodes usually happen in the late afternoon or evening, although some babies can cry at any time.
• Your baby’s face gets red during the crying episodes.
• Legs are pulled up to stomach and then may be fully stretched.
• Feet may be cold and hands may be clenched and may lift their head or legs and pass gas.
• Your baby refuses to eat or become fussy after eating.
• Your baby has difficulty to fall and stay asleep (sometimes makes you have to stay awake all night long).
• Your baby seems uncomfortable and appears to be in pain.

If your baby has those symptoms, here are some smart tips to handle them.

• Make your diary of when your baby cries and in what activities. For example, she cries when I feed him, nap him. You can use this diary to look patterns, which can give you some clues to the solutions.
• If you’re breastfeeding, may be it would work if you eliminate dairy products and gas foods such as, cabbage, onions, and avoid spicy foods and caffeine. But, please be sure to check with your doctor first before eliminate those foods.
• If your baby is bottle-feeding baby, you may need to reduce the amount of air that your baby swallows. Choose a curved bottle or a bottle with collapsible disposable liners.
• Burp your baby frequently.
• Don’t over feed your baby! That will make the colic worse.
• For bottle-feeding baby, ask your doctor whether colic is cause by the formula that you give to your baby.
• When colic happens, take away your baby from bright lights, noise, or a large number of people.

You can also get suggestions from other parents and friends on what their methods to calm their baby. Not every baby will react to the methods the same. So, try one method at a time, and pray that it will comfort your baby and stop his or her cries. If it doesn’t work, try another method and you fill find the most effective one. Now, baby colic won’t make you want to cry anymore!

Does your pre-teen ignore when you speak to him/her? Does he/she come home late and forget to call? Or does your child always protest against your rules? Don’t worry, you are not alone. There are million parents who have pre-teens with this discipline problem. Well, it’s a common parenting problem, don’t you think?

Teaching your child discipline is never an easy thing, especially teaching discipline your pre-teens who always want to do things with their own way. But, with your confidence and some little secrets, you will “conquer” your pre-teens successfully without yelling each other. Here are the secrets to teaching your pre-teen discipline:

1. Never yell, spank, or use sarcasm for the punishment

That’s not discipline. Discipline is a positive concept, same with loving, respecting, and accepting your pre-teen. So, yell, spank, and something like that are big No-nos! If you have to punish him/her, use punishment that can make him/her learn something from that.

2. Be clear with your rules and limitations

Don’t let your pre-teen confused with what you want from them. So, give them clear messages about the rules. Let them know what behavior is acceptable and what isn’t.

3. Use “Do’s”, not “Don’ts”

“Do’s” give stronger impression than “Don’ts. Using word “Don’ts just make your pre-teen more eager to do what you actually don’t want him/her do.

4. Give your pre-teen increasing responsibilities for his choices and actions

Don’t give too many rules and ask him/her to set the his/her responsibilities together with you, and let him/her decide which rules can be applied right away and which one can’t.

5. Be consistent and united

You and your partner have to work as a team. So, when you say A to your child, then he has to say the same thing too. Don’t make your pre-teen take advantage from your inconsistence! So, agree as parents on the rules and stick together!

6. Criticize the behavior, not the child

Never-never use bad words to your pre-teen! What you don’t like is the behavior, not your child. So, never say, “You’re stupid! Why did you do that?” Just say, ” I am dissappointed with what you did this morning. It made me sad, and I don’t want it happen again next time”.

7. Be patient!

Teaching your pre-teen discipline is like a long journey for you and for him/her. So, be patient and learn to enjoy it!

Just do them all, and you’re ready to “conquer” your pre-teen behavior without yelling each other! Now, teaching your pre-teen discipline not a problem anymore!