Baby Kangaroo: February 2009

Last Saturday, my brother and his kids came over and spent the weekend with us. Julia was so excited to play with Mia! The two girls were inseparable :) They shared Julia's toys and books, went to the park and then swimming... in the front yard! We dressed them up in bikinis and filled Julia's small inflatable pool with water and hosed them both down. Haha! They had a great time! After that we went to Fun Ranch and let them play for 30 minutes before heading to BF to meet Drago's family for dinner. We ate at Aveneto, loved the eggplant parmigiana as usual! Drago had to leave early to go to the bakery so Julia and I rode home with everyone else. At around 9pm Char and I went to Shopwise. She bought shelves (on sale for only 500 each!) and I got a bigger inflatable pool for the kids. The very next day, as soon as Julia woke up, we let them go swimming! I really really wanted to post pictures here but I can't figure out why blogger isn't responding to my photo uploads (grrr!) so anyway, I uploaded the pictures at my multiply site.

Check them out here :)

Gotta go! My last student for the day is arriving in a few minutes :)

I've always found parenting and childcare books, magazines and online articles really interesting especially since i had Julia. I enjoy reading everything from feeding to potty training to choosing the right toys and books to disciplining and more. Anything i can possibly learn and apply in raising a physically and emotionally healthy child. My sister sends me piles and piles of Baby and Parenting Magazines from her subscription in the states and I don't mind reading them over and over again. Those people can write some really good stuff! My favorite online sites are babycenter, Dr. Sears and Dr. Greene among others. Recently, National Bookstore had a super sale and I got 3 childcare and parenting books for only 30 pesos each!

Right now, I'm hooked on reading about child discipline. Since Julia is now a very active toddler and socializes with kids everywhere--cousins, neighbors and friends, Drago and I found it important to teach her good behavior even at her very young age. They say spoiling your baby is fine, and it's harmless...until she turns 1 and begins to learn how to communicate with people around her. I already told myself, I don't think I will spoil Julia, because alot of other people can do that for me :) Plus Julia seems to be such a good natured little girl that i have no problems with her being around other children. Still i know kids really go through some rather difficult stages. I've dealt with plenty of spoiled, rude and generally aggressive kids while teaching in the preschool and i hear parents complain endlessly about them. Some of them are pretty clueless about their child's behavior and worse, about the way they deal with them. They don't realize early on that it's the way they deal with their child that matters more than the child's behavior itself.

This article came up on yahoo news and was featured on Oprah.com:

Are Your Children Spoiled?

No child is born spoiled or a brat--it's only indulgent parenting can make them that way, Oprah & Friends Radio host Rabbi Shmuley says. "Naturally, children are innocent and have a cuteness which makes people's hearts warm to them and helps bring out our best qualities," he says. "When we raise kids who are spoiled, we snuff out the child's natural attractiveness." If you are guilty of spoiling your children, Rabbi Shmuley says chances are, you have brats on your hands.

10 Signs Your Children Are Brats:

They resort to crying or yelling when they want something.
They throw themselves on floor and won't get up.
They constantly throw tantrums or even hit you when you punish them.
They ignore you when you ask a question.
They are rude to other adults and even to other children.
They refuse to share toys or treats with other children.
They are show-offs and are constantly trying to one-up their peers to be the center of attention.
They always want whatever everyone else has. Once they have it, they want something new.
They keep a messy room and never help out around the house despite your pleas for them to do so.
They refuse to go to bed.

What to Do if Your Children Are Brats:

Reward good behavior but NEVER tolerate bad behavior. It's that simple.
If your children yell when they want something, don't give it to them and take away something they like.
If they won't get off the floor during a tantrum, pick them up and put them in their room until they calm down and apologize.
If they hit you or their peers punish them immediately. Put them in a corner and don't let them out until they apologize.
If they won't share, take away the toy or treat.
Always explain afterward, when the child has calmed down, the reason for the punishment. Processing is the key to reinforcing good behavior, not the punishment itself.
Don't just buy them whatever they want. Teach them to earn things.
Enforce bedtimes. Continually put them back into their beds. After a while, they'll stop getting out. You must show there is no other option.
Compliment your children profusely and give them rewards when they do the right thing

Tough as it may seem, it's simple and makes alot of sense. Bad behavior will not be tolerated, good behavior will be rewarded. There's no other way around it.

It's simple and straight to the point diba? If you're aware of the 10 signs then it will be alot easier to deal with your child's difficult behaviors.

Next... potty training :) Gotta do more reading for that!