What are the best pets for young children?

Taking care of a pet can be a valuable learning experience for children. Just be sure to choose the right pet for your child and your family. Dogs and cats aren’t the only possibilities. Here’s a look at some other options for animal companionship:

• Fish. Perhaps one of the easiest pets to take care of, fish can provide companionship without a ton of responsibility beyond cleaning their tanks and feeding them. They don’t require much interaction and are a popular starter pet for most children. They don’t take up a lot of room, but you should be careful not to overfeed them.

• Ants/earthworms. If you and your child aren’t easily grossed out, taking care of ants or earthworms could be a good choice. Ideal for outdoorsy and science-oriented kids, ants are quite capable of taking care of themselves. Just be sure to not leave the lid off the container or let it get knocked over. As for earthworms, they’re quite low-maintenance and can be moved to your garden if your child loses interest.

• Rodents. Small mammals such as mice, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs are excellent pets for those who do not have a great deal of living space. Handle them with care when feeding and exercising them, and clean their cages often. They don’t live for too long, but they are more active at night, when children are home from school.

• Rabbits. While also rodents, rabbits require a different level of care from those previously mentioned. They need a good deal of exercise in and out of their cages. Rabbits also need to be handled with care by their owners and can bite if provoked. They’ll need things to chew on and a roomy cage where they can have their own litter box.

• Birds. Birds such as parakeets or finches can make excellent pets if you make the commitment. Selecting the right kind of bird is key, as their temperament and level of activity should be matched to the family. It can take time to train them, and they can live for several years, so be sure that a bird really fits with your family.

Talking to Baby

Talking to children and answering any questions they may throw at you is one of the fundamental ways in which they learn.  Talking, however, isn’t just important once youngsters have already mastered basic language skills, but well before they have even uttered their first words. 

Human beings aren’t born with language skills, but rather we acquire them gradually from an early age and build on them throughout our lives.  Even as very small babies, we begin to learn the art of communication, which means that by constantly talking to your child you can be gradually teaching words and sentence structures, not to mention the things that go along with spoken language, such as facial expressions and gestures.  Instead of simply repeating the words “mom” or “dad” to get your baby to repeat them, talk about everything that is going on in order to add to their memory banks and make it easier for them to learn a greater number of words in a shorter period of time.  For example, you can talk to them about the foods that they are eating, describe what you are doing or chat about the things that you see on a visit to the park.  The baby will eventually associate the words with the things you are talking about.

Babies may not understand what you are saying when you chatter to them incessantly, but the constant communication will help them build their own language skills that much sooner.

How to Eat Out With Kids

A lot of people – particularly busy parents – enjoy dining out at a restaurant, but many parents can be decidedly nervous about going out to eat with their children because of how the children might behave during the meal. The good news is that there are a few tips that can help you make the scenario of the family eating out together a much smoother and more enjoyable experience for all concerned.

One good idea is to check before you go out to eat that the menu of the restaurant you intend to eat in will have something that your child will actually be willing to eat. Another good idea is to beat the rush by going to the restaurant at an off-peak time, such as between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on a weekday afternoon.

Choose to be seated in a booth if you can, as this usually makes it a lot easier to keep your children contained. Not all restaurants are prepared for children so bring along something to keep them entertained such as a coloring book and crayons.  

Hope this helps and enjoy!

Backyard Safety Tips

The backyard is somewhere where quality time with the family can be spent all year round, but accidents can take place anywhere and it is important to make sure that you have taken all possible safety precautions to make sure the backyard remains a safe area for relaxation and play.

When it comes to your lawn, you should remove tree stumps and get rid of concrete footings so as to cut down the chances of people tripping over. When cutting the lawn, debris such as rocks can turn into flying projectiles so the yard needs to be cleared. If you have children and any potentially hazardous tools or chemicals they need to be stored well out of their reach in a locked garage or shed.

Fencing is important too, serving to protect children from outside dangers and keep toddlers away from ponds, hot tubs, swimming pools or away from strangers and traffic. Fences can also help to protect your pets by keeping other animals away and making sure that they remain in their own yard. 

Tantrum Alert: How to Cope with a Toddler’s Meltdown

Temper tantrums are a part of life for any small child—and for every parent as well. They can be embarrassing, and even frightening, but for your child’s sake, and your own sanity, you need to understand them so you can deal with them constructively.

Meltdowns can be very common in children from 1-4 years old. Kids that age are struggling for control of their environment, and their inability to express themselves with language, or physically get what they want, can lead to frustration that they’re not equipped to handle, especially if they’re tired, hungry, uncomfort­able, or feeling stressed for any reason.

Parents may not be able to head tantrums off completely, but you can keep them from turning into a pitched battle with these strategies:

• Ignore the tantrum. If at all possible, let the child’s temper run its course without interference from you, unless there’s any danger of damage or injury to objects or to your child. The idea is to avoid feeding the tantrum with too much attention.

• Distract the child. Try to direct the child’s attention away from whatever is contributing to the problem. Offering to read a story or play with a different toy may help your child forget about whatever’s upsetting him or her.

• Try a time-out. Remove your child from the situation and give him or her a chance to calm down in a safe environment. Without the stimulus, the child will usually be able to settle down quickly.

• Teach coping strategies. Talk to your child about how to deal with frustration. You might emphasize using words to explain what they want, or finding some alternative way to get what they need (by making a trade, for example).

• Reinforce positive behavior. Take every chance you can to praise children for dealing with problems calmly and construc­tively. Let them know that anger is perfectly natural, and it’s something they can control.

• Follow a routine. When children know what’s going on, they’re less likely to become confused or upset. Take kids on errands early in the day before they get too tired, for example. A regular routine is soothing for kids; constant change can be stressful.

• Know what triggers to look for. Pay attention to what seems to cause a tantrum to erupt. If a certain place or activity seems to set your child off, try to avoid it, or talk about appropriate actions ahead of time.

• Stay calm. Don’t throw your own tantrum in response to your child’s. This can make the entire experience more frightening and can extend the trauma. Be a good role model for handling anger and frustration.

Get Started on Reading to your Kids – Early!

Reading to your children should start early. Really early. The American Academy of Pediatrics recom­mends starting as soon as your children are born.

Reading stimulates brain development and language skills, as well as fostering a closer emotional bond between parents and children. Remember these tips:

• Read widely. Infants respond to voices around them, so start out by reading anything that’s handy—sports pages and cookbooks will do, as well as very simple picture books.

• Ask questions. As your child grows older, get him or her involved. Ask them what they think will happen next, or why a character behaved that way. You’ll start teaching some basic critical thinking skills, and you’ll make the experience more enjoyable.

• Read every day. Make reading a regular activity. Don’t just limit it to bedtime. Bring a book with you to doctor’s appointments and the store so you can read while waiting.

How to Make Time for Your Family

Keeping family relationships healthy can be more of a challenge than it should be in our workaholic, time-starved and cash-strapped society, and focusing too much on any one thing can often have a detrimental effect on family relationships.

We are supposed to work in order to live and yet far too often these days it appears that people are living for no other reason than to work. If this sounds familiar then you need to begin setting up positive relationship habits sooner rather than later. Allocate weekly time commitments for things that are vital to the health of your family relationships, including attending your son’s football match, scheduling date nights for you and your partner, and bathing your children at least once or twice a week.

Such commitments need to be non-negotiable and take precedence over anything happening at work. Time with your children is precious while they still are children, and you will not get to make time with your partner if they end up leaving due to neglect.