|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
||
HOMEBOOKMARKNEWSLETTERJoin our newsletter to receive news of offers and discountsSearch
AS FEATURED IN...Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer
Navigation 3 Wheeler Twins And Tripples
3 Wheelers
9 Months To 11 Years
9 Months To 4 Years
Baby Bags
Bath And Changing Units
Bedding
Birth To 12 Months
Birth To 4 Years
Boori
Buggies
Buggy Accessories
Buggy Boards
Cot Accessories
Cots
Cribs
Grobags Sleeping Bags
Heritage Range
Highchairs
Monitors
Moses Baskets
Nappies
Nursing Chairs
Portable Highchairs
Rocking Horses
Starter Beds
Tandems
Travel Cots
Travel Systems
Twins
Walkers
Parening Books |
10 Steps To Prepare You For Life With Children
It's hard to explain to the uninitiated the changes that a child will bring to your life - nothing is quite the same again. If you are an expectant father (or even mother) or just considering the prospect of parenthood, do the following 10-step program so you can learn what you're in for. 1. Go to the nearest doctor's surgery, pharmacy, clothes store, shoe store or sports store and empty your wallet onto the counter. This will be a regular occurrence well into the next millennium. The method of transaction may change but the continuous action of handing over your money will not. 2. Set your alarm for midnight, then every hour after that. Get up and walk to the furthest bedroom because that is what you will do at some stage, either to feed a baby or return a night-stalker to his room. Let your workmates see you with sleep deprivation - they will get used to it. 3. Put on your best clothes, mash a banana with custard and pour the contents over yourself. Smear it in. This will help your prepare for feeding time with a toddler. Don't bother smearing food over your old or worn-out clothes because kids won't spill anything on them. They know when you're wearing your best oufit before they strike. 4. Arrange a simple outing. Perhaps to have a quick drink with a friend. Give yourself two hours to prepare. Make sure you dress yourself in five minutes so you can spend the rest of the time packing the car. Make sure you pack food. Go out to the car and come back. Repeat this process again and again. Then drive round the block and return. You need to get used to forgetting some object such a child's favourite blanket or teddy. 5. Grab a book, sit down and open it. Make sure you get to an absorbing or exciting part, then get up to do part of a jigsaw puzzle, or turn on the tap for a child who wants a drink, or put together a 1000-piece Lego pirate ship. Return to your book but don't read any further. Go into the kitchen and chop up an orange or an apple for snack food. Go back to your book but don't read any further. Get up and yell something about not fighting because you're trying to relax. 6. Stand in front of the mirror and verbally abuse yourself. Tell yourself that you are silly, that you are unfair and that you really hate yourself. Your kids will tell you if you won't. 7. Cover your hands with jam and wander through the house, touching as many items of furniture as possible. Rub your hands along the walls. Turn on the TV and push the channel buttons a few times. Step in puddles then come inside and walk over your best chairs. 8. Bring in a load of tools and tip them over the middle of the living room floor. Leave them there all day. 9. Take three untrained puppies shopping with you - but not on a lead. Buy what you need without letting them out of your sight. 10. Put a snake on your lap next time you phone a friend. This is what your child as a two year-old will feel like whenever you make a call. Next time you want to make a call, wait two hours before picking up the phone. This is the average length of a teenager's phone conversation. Get used to it because that is how long you will have to wait to make your own call. For further information to help you enjoy the parenting journey read Great Ideas for Tired Parents by Michael Grose available at the shop at www.parentingideas.com.au. Michael Grose is leading parent educator and author of six books. For great ideas to help you raise happy, confident kids visit http://www.parentingideas.com.au, and subscribe to Happy Kids, Michael's quality email newsletter. Take a free online parenting course and any of Michael's informative articles
MORE RESOURCES:
babies - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Public Schools Lie to Parents and Betray Our Children Under the "No Child Left Behind Act," public schools whose students consistently fail standardized tests can now be shut down. To protect their jobs, teachers and principals are now under intense pressure to cheat - to fudge test scores and report cards to fool parents and school administrators. Raising Teenagers? Stay C.A.L.M. Parents of teenagers frequently ask what can be done to improve their relationship with their kids. This can be a challenging time, and a time when parents sometimes feel rejected, out of touch, and unclear about what to do. Public-School True Believers with a Mission One reason public schools get away with educational failure, year after year, is because they are run by school officials who passionately believe in what they are doing. As the great English writer C. New Baby - Relax and Become a Yummy Mummy Lets face it becoming a mum is a bit of a shock at first, to say the least. Sleepless nights and eventful days make it a struggle to get a shower and wash your hair in the morning, never mind applying make up and fiddling with volume brushes and hairdryers. Dads - What Family Legacy Are You Passing On to Your Children? Do you want to create a deeper, more loving relationship with your child?To begin, you can learn from your own father:Whether you consider him to have been a good father or not, you can use your experience to become a better parent to YOUR children.Patterns of behavior are often passed on unconsciously from one generation to the next. How Two Quarelling Kids Helped Invent the Better Behavior Wheel When David was nine and Laura was twelve, the battles started. Prior to that, they got along great. Teenagers in America Today "Family Matters" was the headline that caught my attention in the newspaper. That's the name of my radio program here in California's central valley. Study Skills - Help Young People Study Smarter, Not Harder Many young people don't know how to study efficiently and effectively. By knowing how to study students maximize their time, improve their learning and also reduce stress. Delightful Defrazzlers I will cherish this moment. I will not let it slip away like sand between my fingers. Meningitis and Septicaemia Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. It is caused by either a virus or bacteria. The Financially Intelligent Parent: 8 Steps to Raising Successful, Generous, Responsible Children What you say and do about money has a profound influence on your child. There are money moments every day that you can use to teach your children important skills and lessons about life. Top Ten Reasons to Hold Family Meetings 1. Make stronger connections among individuals and, therefore, creates a closer family. Assume Personal Responsibility? Who, Me? As thinking, acting human beings we have the ability to choose our response to events, people and circumstances. We do not become responsible when we mature; we mature when we become responsible. Top Three Ways To Communicate With Your Child Although many parents become frustrated as they try to maintain an open line of communication between themselves and their children, regardless of age, there are three quite simple ways to attempt to achieve this goal effectively. 1 Talk to your kids. A Mothers Love Once upon a time there was a beautiful bird whose golden feathers and sweet voice attracted attention where ever she went. She was not only beautiful but also extremely intelligent and talented and she longed to leave the nest and try her wings out in the big world. The Graceful Art of Defrazzling - For Mothers "I wipe my baby's chin with my college diploma and wonder, 'How did I ever get here?'"-- Joy Rose from the band "Housewives on Prozac"I'm sure any mom on the planet can relate to that quote and the sense of exhaustion and bewilderment that it implies. Let's face it, ladies, after cooking, cleaning, caring, chauffeuring, and "career-ing" we're pretty frazzled - physically, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. Ten Ways To Become Your Teenagers Best Friend Best friends! It may seem impossible to believe, but today's teens do want to consider their parents as friends, even though they think we could never understand the realities of their world. They are also interested in what it was like being a teenager during the Stone Age. Promoting Your Childs Heart Health Cardiovascular endurance is one of the five health-related components of physical fitness. It refers to the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. Parenting Skills - Five Ways To Turbo-Boost Your Confidence The 'phone conversation had nothing at all to do with parenting - but it made me think . . How Can I Teach My Child To Be Responsible? Most of us when asked what we want our children to become, we include "responsible" among other things such as happy, fulfilled and caring. We want our children to learn to make wise choices, be responsible for their actions and live responsibly.
|
