The Baby Blues & Postpartum Depression

The arrival of baby causes a big change both emotionally and in your daily life. Beware of the baby blues and postnatal depression! The following will provide you with all the information you need.

Preparing Your Children For Daylight Saving Time

I am feeling on the fence about the upcoming weekend. Love weekends. But compared to prior years, this one weekend out of the 52 of them is different. First off, we are turning the clocks back an hour. Great, great news. That equals to more quality time with the two loves of my life. But here's the part that troubles me a bit. My son. I'm a little concerned about the end results for him. How he will adapt and cope with daylight saving time. That's what creates the downfall of this weekend. But im coming prepared. With the bit of information I have collected, not just for me but for you as well, I should survive. Hopefully.

Baby Colic! Help!

Colic: it is as old as the world, yet remains a true mystery. Although some doctors offer a few clues as to its causes, nothing is scientifically proven and there are no existing resolving cures. Nevertheless, when a colic makes its grand entrance 2 to 3 weeks following a baby's birth, to then only disappear roughly 3 months later (if not more!), and makes baby scream like there's no tomorrow for at least three hours a day, every day, oftentimes at the same hour in the evening, it is more often than not enough to make parents loose it! Stunningly, 25% of children suffer from colic.

Guidelines To Baby Communication

It hit me like a brick wall. My son is experiencing issues with his speech. That was the bottom line of his last doctor's appointment. Nothing else really mattered to tell you he truth. Being told that, at 18 months, your son is not anywhere close to uttering words like he should be is shocking. Heartbreaking. Even though I know deep down inside that I shouldn't jump to conclusions nor drive myself overboard before having all the facts in front of me, my little mama heart is still devastated by the fact that my son is not "normal". At least that's how the doctor kindly presented it. My greatest hope right now lays on the fact that a trouble with his hearing could be to blame, therefore causing my son to have difficulty perceiving noises and sounds as clearly as he should be. He would encounter difficulties recreating the words he hears due to the fact that everything he does hear sound muffle. Now what if his hearing is perfectly fine? What else could be the cause of this impairment? Well, it pretty much boils down to two possibilities: he either has a complication with speech, which would eventually require the intervention of a speech specialist, or he's just slow. Lovely. I do not want to think that far ahead though. I will stay positive, at least for now. One step at a time...

Putting An End To Toddler Biting

Biting is any parent's nightmare. It has a way of making parents severely doubt their own parenting skills. Not to mention the very little (more like nonexistent) pride one will encounter towards its offspring! When I first caught my son biting I was speechless. A lot of denial came rushing through me. I couldn't wrap my head around the question of how this came about. I incessantly asked myself how he could have possibly learned about biting! Never ever did myself or his father show him such a gesture. I didn't want my little boy to be labeled a bad kid because of this chomping business!

The Magic Of A Book

Reading, reading, reading. That is what my 17-month-old swears by nowadays. This book, that book, all books! He literally smothers himself in the imaginary world his books have to offer him. Even though he doesn't precisely speak fluent English (he solely masters the baby blabber language for now!) or read, he manages to turn a story into hours of pure personal bliss.

Safe Fun In The Sun

Sunlight is essential for good health. But babies should not be exposed to the sun without proper protection. Their skin is very thin and burns easily. They need to be protected against the sun's strong rays, which can cause dehydration and allergic reactions.

Begone Bedtime Fears!

Many children dread bedtime because they're afraid... either of the dark, the monster under their bed, ghosts... the list goes on. We try as best we can to soothe these fears away, but understanding these fears along with their origin can most certainly make our job as parents that much easier. The following is some information that might help you better understand this phenomenon and help your little ones cope with their fears come dodo time.

Making Household Chores A Family Thing

Anyone who has children knows how they can turn into tornadoes on two legs! Up until a certain age though, we unfortunately cannot rely on our little kiddos to pick up after themselves or to help out with the daily chores. But what happens when they reach an age where they are responsible enough to give a hand? Do your children contribute more in dirtying the house than making it shine? Here are some tricks to restore order in the management of the housework.

Get Your Children Into Reading... And Enjoying It!

Reading is something considerably important in a child's life and development... in my personal opinion. It unleashes his imagination, awakens his mind to new horizons and challenges him intellectually. Bottom line, books can be a powerful tool for your kiddo. Though it's one thing to read to your child, but what about making him actually enjoy it?! Well, I came up with 10 ideas to make your little angel discover the simple joys of reading.

Child Boredom

Many children get bored when they have no other kids or adults to play with. It's just normal. You probably have recollections of, when you were younger, those rainy days that seemed endless, or those family visits where it was all about long dialogues between grownups. Historically, children have all experienced boredom at one point or another. What has changed is how adults perceive and react to the boredom and the inability for some children to manage it. We live in a society focused on productivity and performance, where efficient use of time is valued. Boredom has a bad press. Not knowing what to do translates into a waste of time. When a child says he's bored, we try at all costs to keep him occupied, to find him a jillion interesting activities to do.

Avoiding A Mommy Breakdown

A baby whose needs are greater than the average is often called "child with intense emotions", which translates into more colics, more tears, more sensitiveness to his surroundings and to any sort of change.

Probably not to your own liking, a baby with such needs can bring a significant amount of stress on his surroundings, such as his siblings and other family members. A mom who is constantly stressed out is at risk of a burnout and may even get to a point where she may try to avoid caring for this child who gives her the (false) impression that she's a bad mother.

Baby's First Shoes

Your baby is on the verge of taking his first steps? Then you know what that means... it's shoe shopping time! The six following tips will help you in this process, which can sometimes turn out to be somewhat puzzling.

Could A Gluten-Free Diet Help Autistic Children?

According to a study published in the Nutritional Neuroscience journal, a gluten-free diet could help children with autism to suffer less from some of their symptoms, such as attention deficit disorder and difficulties interacting in society.

Is There Really An Ideal Age Gap?

I keep hearing people say that the best age gap between siblings is two years. That significant gaps can be bad... as it will ruin the relationship between the siblings. To be honest, it gets me a little confused how this rule came about. Where did this theory come from? Is there really such a thing as the perfect age gap between siblings?

Kids' Picky Eating

Mealtime with young children can be difficult and exhausting. Perhaps, you worry thinking that your little one is not eating enough or not eating well enough? Or you fear that he consumes too much of the same kind of food? Do you often get that feeling that nothing is going right? That your child seems completely uninterested in food and stubbornly refuses to swallow what you give him?

The "W" Sitting Position

Is there something wrong with sitting in a "W" position? Is it worth the worry? Well... it might very well be! 

Bringing Home A House Pet

It is almost inevitable... most children ask their parents, sooner or later, if they can please! please! please! have a pet. Most often a dog or cat. The following are things to keep in mind before letting Fido or Fluffy enter your child's life.

Dealing With Temper Tantrums

My B-Boy is still youngish but I am anticipating those infamous anger fits in public. Even though we know we are good parents and our child is well-behaved, these unfortunate events don't fail in making us look and feel like we have the worst parenting skills on earth. The staring gazes and fear of judgment also add on to the stress. And we seem to always find ourselves giving in, knowing we are definitely not going about it the right or best way.

All You Need To Know About Baby Formula

When it comes to baby formula, the choice can be dreadfully overwhelming. What to chose? How to chose? It's enough to drive any parent crazy! But with all the choice that is out there, odds are that your baby would be perfectly fine with quite a few of them, brand name or store name. So then, what's the catch?! Well, there is no catch... we parents are just wired to look out for our children's best interest. Hence the reason we splurge a bit more and go for the brand names. We gather that, if it costs more, it means it's better. Wrong.