Sep

14

Basic Nursery Decorating Tips

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If the baby is on the way, it’s time to decorate the nursery. So we have compiled some tips for decorating the baby nursery while there’s still time and money to get the job done right. As with all decorating, make sure that the the budget has been set before heading to the home improvement warehouse. It’s also imperative to have good communication with your partner or spouse because nursery decoration is one of the first of many big projects you will have to do together… and agree!

Start with the basics - what are the big pieces of furniture needed in the nursery? Some popular choices include a baby crib, a table for changing diapers, and a daybed in case you want to get some rest yourself. Whatever you decide, it’s a good idea to buy a new crib because older ones may not meet today’s safety guidelines.

The next step is to figure out what colors to use to bring the room together. Color matching is important not only for the carpet and wallpaint, but also the mobiles, toys, and wall art. Oopsy Daisy Fine Art is a great resource to find wall art for every style.

That about covers the hardest decisions for decorating the nursery. Many couples have to learn how to work together when they have their first baby, and nursery decorating is often trial by fire.

Jun

18

YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE: A UNITED, UNMOVABLE FRONT

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You and your spouse need to convey to your children, through your words and actions, that you’re together on your decisions and they can’t pit one parent against the other. And they need to understand that when you’ve made a decision, all their arguing and fussing will not change that decision. How do you do that? Before handing down decisions to your children, make sure you and your spouse are in agreement about that decision. (And be sure to do this somewhere that your children aren’t privy to your discussion!) Then, once that decision has been given to the children, make sure you don’t cave under the pressure of their arguing. In our home, when one of the kids asks us for something (say, permission to go to a friend’s house for the night), we take time to think about our response. Once we give it, we don’t change it. Our philosophy is to say yes whenever possible - they hear “no” often enough, and if we can say yes, why not! But when we say no, we don’t change our minds just because they don’t like the answer. If you and your spouse give careful thought to your responses and provide a united, unmovable front, your children will soon stop trying to pit one parent against the other, and will begin to understand that arguing with a ruling is futile.

Jun

12

Saying Yes to Your Kids

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Quick Tip - Teen parenting advice:

“The next time your child asks you something that ordinarily would respond in a hearty, NO, stop and remember this axiom of parenting… “Say no when you have to and yes when you can.” For instance, let’s say Jane wants to dye her hair a lovely shade of fuchsia. She’s got the money to do it and “all my friends are doing it, too.” Now, you know that more than likely she’s going to hate it, and you will probably hate it, too. But think about it… Is this an action that is going to cause her any kind of physical harm? Will it have a long-term impact on her mental health? Some of her peers will likely make fun of her, but she can always dye her hair back, or wait for it to grow out. Think of it as a learning experience. Not every general wins every battle. The goal is to win the war… to turn out a basically good kid who has the tools to be healthy, happy and gainfully employed eventually. And every good general knows sometimes you have to give up some less important ground in order to achieve victory in the long run. Sometimes it can even be fun to give in on something silly. Maybe it’s having dessert before dinner, or letting them stay up late on a school night to watch a movie with you that you can talk about the next day.”

-Kelly P.

Now Personally, My son’s only 4 so I don’t know I will feel when he’s a teen, but I think the outrageous hair color would not be something I could handle, but the principle is the same. Your focus is to win the war not the battle. You want your teens to learn to make correct choices later in life, so they need to experiment with smaller decisions on their own as a teen (and learn that sometimes they might regret quick decisions).  Otherwise they won’t know how their decisions will effect them when they make big choices.

May

27

Letting Kids Grow Up

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One of the biggest challenges I face is being an over-protective mom. I have tried to shelter my son (I didn’t hardly take him out of the house for the first 6 month of his life.) I have been called a little irrational by some, but when it’s your child’s welfare, how much is too much?

Remember that the more the children do for themselves and the more independent they are, the better for them in the long run. Let them take care of the little things, such as putting on their shoes, for themselves. Also allowing them to make small decisions really helps them develop a sense of their own identity.

I found a great Top Ten Parenting Tips List Here.

http://www.parentingbookmark.com/pages/KN03.htm

Check it out. It helps to keep things in perspective.