Category Archives: Parenting

What Do Your Kids Think About You?

09/27/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

kids, family, parenting — (Image Source)

Having kids can be a magnificent thing. The opportunity to bring new life into the world is one which a lot of people want to grasp, with the idea of being a parent being at the top of their list of goals. Of course, though, getting through a pregnancy is only the first stage in this process, and things can get more complicated as the little one gets older. As they get smarter, they will be able to develop an opinion and idea of who you are. As a good role model, you will want them to see the best side of you for this, and this post is here to help you out with it.

Knowledge & Intelligence

Kids will naturally look up to their parents, and will assume that they are borderline geniuses until they reach their teenage years. You will find their school work easy, will have knowledge of loads of subjects they haven’t heard of, and will have a lot of ways to demonstrate this. Of course, though, intelligence is a double-edged sword, as no one likes to be made to feel stupid, and this applies to your children, too. When you’re playing a board game, for example, it makes sense to give your kids an edge with something like Unscramble. While this will mean that you have a disadvantage, it will show your children that they can use tools to enhance their natural intelligence.

Empathy & Compassion

It’s not uncommon for parents to tell their children off when they are angry at them, and this can get worse and worse once a child reaches their teenage years. Along with this, throughout their life, your child will see you interact with loads of different people, and the empathy and compassion you show on this journey will have a big impact on your child. Acting compassionately isn’t always easy, with a lot of people finding their emotions leading the way when they get into arguments or conflicts. Being mindful is a big part of this, and can make it far easier to keep yourself cool and collected.

Strength

Physical strength is becoming less and less important in the modern world, with people using their wits and minds to do battle, rather than their bodies. Parents need to be strong, but it isn’t big muscles which they need; it’s a big heart. When someone passes away, a natural disaster occurs, or anything else happens which could make you upset, it’s worth being strong for your children. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t show your emotions, as your children need to see this side of you, too. Instead, you simply have to avoid letting them wrap you up, keeping your head strong and giving your little ones the support they need.

Living in a family can be a challenge when you haven’t had any kids before. There are a lot of little things you need to think about, and everyone will want to take the same approach. Of course, though, as time goes on, you will learn how to handle these areas, and this will give you an edge in your parenting journey.

Life, Parenting

Growing Pains: Helping Your Child With Their Teenage Anxieties

09/17/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

anxieties, teenager, child, parenting, kids, growing up — Pixabay – CC0 Licence

While you might think that once you get past the toddler stage, it is plain sailing! After all, the idea of a good night’s sleep went out the window when they were born, and you look forward to reclaiming that later on. But, you could very well struggle with this issue again when they become teenagers. Not because of the general day-to-day duties, but because of something far deeper. Teenage anxiety is, as you will remember, incredibly unique. And in fact, it can be argued that it’s worse today than it ever was. But what can you do to help your child with their teenage anxieties?

Pinpointing The Actual Problem

It’s not always about asking them directly, but it’s about casual observation. It can take time to get to the root of the issue but it may very well be a straightforward problem, like acne. In which case you might very well be able to help in this respect, by pointing them in the direction of the right medication, or take them to the doctor. Or in fact, make your own acne cream with RU58841 5% solution! It’s better to take a step back and observe so you can see what the main issues are and if it’s something that, in the grand scheme of things, is cosmetic, this is something we can aim to fix.

They May Not Want To Speak To You About Their Problems

If this is the case, can you point them in the direction of someone who can help? It all depends on the nature of the problem, but what you can help with is to give them a way to express themselves. This is something that as a parent we have to realize that we might not be able to directly influence the outcome. But what we can do is to point in the right direction either in terms of counseling, or giving them the opportunity to vent with someone else. But what they don’t want us to do is interfere. This might be a bit heartbreaking because you want to help your child, but if they don’t want to speak to you directly, it’s important to remind them that when they are ready to talk to you that you are there.

Be Careful With Positivity

Ultimately you might have been there before, and experienced all the same issues, but now you feel okay. But when you try and communicate this to your child, it’s important that you don’t hurry them along to get over it, because what they’re going through his seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It’s difficult for them right now, and as much as you can tell them to be more positive, this might not be what they need to get to the core of the problem. Sometimes we have to just let them ride it out. But we can do as a parent is to ensure they know we are there.

Maybe their problems are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they’re going through a huge state of anxiety. Whatever your opinion is this can be more stressful than you think. Keep your perspective, and remember, you were there once!

Life, Lifestyle, Parenting

3 Things to Remember When Planning a Child’s Baptism

08/29/2019 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Your child’s baptism is an important event in their life and possibly one of the first big events that they are a part of. It is also likely to be one of the first opportunities your family and friends will have to celebrate your child’s life and show their love and appreciation for you and your growing family.

baptism, faith, family, events, christ — Royalty free photo

Planning your child’s baptism can be difficult and time consuming. There are a lot of things to consider if you are going to get it right and have a baptism that runs smoothly so that you get the time to enjoy yourself.

This quick guide is going to cover three things you should take the time to consider if you are planning a child’s baptism and want the day to go without a hitch.

Find the Right Venue for You and Your Guests

The venue is an important thing to consider for any celebration. You want to choose a venue that has enough space for all your guests and for children to play, but you do not want one so big that people feel separated from one another.

You also need to consider space for any food, refreshments and entertainment that you are going to have for your guests to enjoy.

Make Sure You Send Out Invitations

You want to have a celebration that has a good turnout with plenty of family and friends in attendance to give the party a good atmosphere.

Using an invitation that you send out early, you can almost guarantee good attendance at the event by making sure everyone has enough time to pencil it in the diary. You can use a template to create a unique baptism invitation that will stand out from the crowd and get you a lot of RSVPs early.

Get Plenty of Food – Consider Catering the Baptism Yourself

The food is often one of the most important factors in any party. If you are paying caterers to provide food for your guests, you can take a lot of stress off your plate and let them do all the food preparation and service.

You can provide food yourself, however, or ask party goers to bring a dish with them to help feed everyone. Catering the party yourself is an opportunity to give your party a unique feel and make sure that any special dietary needs for the party congregation are accommodated.

The baptism of a child is a special event that gives you the opportunity to introduce your child to your wider family and your group of friends. Like any celebration, a baptism requires and deserves a lot of planning to make sure your guests have a great time and that your child enjoys themselves too.

It doesn’t have to be too challenging to plan a successful celebration, and with the right planning, any party can be a success without too much stress. Hopefully, this quick guide has given you some of the information you need to plan your child’s baptism and have a celebration that is a success for everyone.