Just wanted to take a moment (finally) to let you know that our little girl was born at home on September 8, 2011! Yes, it’s taken me 6 weeks to get this announcement out to you; sorry about that! We are all happy, healthy, and only a little sleep deprived! Needless to say life is crazy and if you haven’t noticed, I will be taking a short break from writing on my blog.

In my absence I do hope to have several guest bloggers writing interesting content for you to read – stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are a few photos of our new family, her birth slideshow (below), and birth story for you to read. And some of my previous articles on midwives, homebirth, and natural childbirth.

Have any of you birthed at home or with a midwife? Leave a comment and share!

shortly after birth

big brother loves his sister!

us with our midwife

our new family, taken about 3 weeks after birth

We hired a birth photographer to document our special moment and we couldn’t be happier with the results!

• Sneak peek at some photos (if you just have a minute)
• Birth slideshow set to music (if you have a few more minutes)

Curious about midwives and homebirth? Read some of my previous articles on the topics:

• Demystifying Midwife-Supported Natural Childbirth Part 1: Misconceptions and Facts About Midwives
• Demystifying Midwife-Supported Natural Childbirth Part 2: Safety
• Demystifying Midwife-Supported Natural Childbirth Part 3: Who Chooses Midwifery Care?
• 8 Ways Midwives Promote Safe Childbirth
• How to Have a Natural Childbirth

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• Movie Review: The Business of Being Born

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

- James Baldwin

Most of us know that kids will repeat things we say, which is why many people try to watch their language when kids are around. But kids learn more from us than just a few choice words; they learn how to behave in certain situations, as well as learning positive (and negative) attributes and skills. Every day you are teaching your children by example how to react to situations, and if you are not conscious of what you are doing you may be teaching them something you don’t want them to learn.

Modeling

The process of teaching by example is called modeling and it affects behavior far more than telling your children what to do (and far more than punishing them, too).

Modeling can teach a child how to:

• handle conflict
• react to stress or fear
• interact with others

There is a fabulous article on Teaching Children Respect by Pam Leo on the Natural Child Project website. Here are a couple of powerful messages from that article:

• 95% of everything children learn, they learn from what is modeled for them. Only 5% of all they learn is from direct instruction.
• The language children grow up hearing is the language they will speak.

If we expect children to have manners, to share, to apologize, to be honest, kind, respectful, and loving, we must do and be those things so they will have that model to imitate. For example:

• If we expect children to always say please and thank you, we must always say please and thank you to them and to each other, otherwise we are modeling that sometimes you say it and sometimes you don’t.
• If we want to teach them gratitude, we need to practice gratitude every day in many situations.

It may sound silly, but in our house we say thank you to everyone all the time.

• Thank you daddy for making breakfast.
• Thanks for doing the dishes, hon.
• Thanks for helping me with ____.
• Thanks for picking up your toys.
• Thanks for watching him so I could go for a run.

And on and on and on. We try to live gratitude for everything so that it becomes a normal part of life.

Kids are Kids

Modeling does not always dictate a child’s behavior; your kids won’t inevitably do everything you do. But it is an important and underappreciated way to transmit information, experiences, skills, beliefs, values, and large segments of behavior.

My Story

This finally clicked for me when I started hearing my 3-year-old son say things and seeing him do things that I know I have done (yes, both positive and negative). I am immensely proud of the positive things he has said and done and I inwardly cringe at the negative things he did. It was both a great reward and another reminder to think before I react.

I’d like to share a couple of the positive things I’ve seen him say and do, ones that actually kind of shocked me:

• When I showed him a card I made he said, “Oh wow. It’s neat. I like it. Good job.” He was naturally supportive because he has heard the same thing from me in the same type of situation.
• When I get hurt he says, “Are you OK mama? Don’t worry. It will feel better in a few minutes.” And gives me kisses. He responds with genuine concern because he’s seen it many times from us.
• We have taught him to express his feelings and one time when we were having issues he said, “Are you mad at me? I still love you.” This comes from other times he knows I am upset with him, but I always make it a point to say that I love him.
• Whenever I pick him up from pre-school he always asks me, “So what did you do today? Did you have fun at home? How was your coffee?” He has picked up this habit from me always asking him about his day when we’ve been apart.
• When we came home after an evening out, he was in our bed sleeping. He stirred when we came in and said, “I’m so glad you’re back. Did you have fun?” He has heard us say this to him whenever we have been apart.
• After having a discussion about him yelling at me he said (completely without prompting), “I’m sorry for yelling at you.” He has learned this from me. I am not a perfect parent; I’m also not afraid of apologizing to my son when I have been wrong. Since he has watched me apologize to him, he knows how and when to do it also.

Why Practice Positive Modeling? It’s About Respecting Children

The old saying “Do as I say, don’t do as I do” not only doesn’t work, it also brings mistrust into the relationship.

Children have all the same feelings we do. The same kind of treatment that would embarrass, humiliate or hurt us, embarrasses, humiliates, and hurts children. When adults try to “teach” children by criticizing, lecturing, shaming, ridiculing, giving orders, screaming, threatening, and hitting, it shuts down their thinking so they can’t learn what the adult intended to teach them to do or not to do; they can only record what is being modeled.

Learning to treat children with respect will require a change of heart that can come only from a major shift in consciousness of how we view children and how we define respect. But once we start treating children with respect, they will learn how to treat others with respect.

However we treat the child, the child will treat the world. -Pam Leo

Treat Friends, Kids the Same

There is a neat article written by Erma Bombeck titled “Treat Friends, Kids the Same” in which she imagines having friends over for dinner and saying to them all those things that most of us heard growing up and therefore, say to children:

• “Shut the door. Were you born in a barn?”
• “I didn’t work over a hot stove all day to have you nibble like some bird.”
• “Sit up straight or your spine will grow that way.”

(In case you want to read it, I found the entire article here.) We all would probably get a good chuckle at the thought of speaking to our friends that way, but it’s just as disrespectful to say those things to children. Let’s stop and think about it the next time we talk to our children. Are we talking to our children as we should?

Think about it. We don’t say, “What do you say?” or “What’s the magic word?” to our friends but children hear it all the time. But what should we say in those situations? That’s where some thought must come into play.

Many Models in Child’s Life

You are not the only model in your child’s life. Children imitate parents, family members, friends, caregivers, teachers, and television characters. In two-parent households, the two adults will model different behaviors and ways of being in the world. Sometimes the discrepancies are large, but this is a normal level of inconsistency for family life. Children have to cope, and they usually do.

Art of Apologizing

Modeling is unforgiving in that it teaches your best and worst behaviors, the ones you’re most careful to practice and others you’re barely conscious of. Kids may be resilient but that doesn’t mean we can take them for granted. If we have modeled disrespect to them, we must then model apologizing. Thankfully kids are very forgiving, also.

Whenever I mess up as a parent, I apologize to my son. I have probably been doing this since he was too little to completely understand. Most of my apologizing is around the theme of me not being patient enough with him.

How do you apologize to a child? The same way you would apologize to anyone else. For me, it usually takes the form of me apologizing for my action, then guessing how that made him feel, saying how I should have acted, and then offering that I will work on being better (at whatever issue is at hand), and of course lots of hugs and kisses. (I also don’t offer excuses for my behavior.) For example:

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t very patient with you this morning before school. I bet that hurt your feelings. Did you feel sad? Mama should have let you take your time putting your shoes on. Mama will work on being more patient with you.”

What Can We Do?

Has anyone else noticed that when trying to figure out how to best parent your child, it often comes down to learning how to change your own thoughts and behavior? When certain stressful situations happen, we all have automatic responses that we learned as a child. In order to be the best parent we can be, we need to deprogram all our negative automatic responses, relearn new positive responses, and practice them until they become our new automatic responses. Here are a few thoughts on how to do this:

• Train yourself to stop and think before you speak or react, remembering that everything you say will be recorded and imitated. We can then intentionally model the kind of behavior we expect and will accept from our children.

• Follow Erma Bombeck’s advice and treat your kids the same way you would treat your friends. Ask yourself, “Would I say those words, in that tone of voice, to my good friend?” If not, it was probably disrespectful.

• Read a few good books. Some of my all-time favorite parenting books are Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids: 7 Keys to Turn Family Conflict into Cooperation and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, both of which offer practical alternatives to yelling, nagging, threatening, and criticizing.

Closing Thoughts

What things have you been trying to “teach” your child lately? Have you been trying to “teach” gratitude by just talking about it? Have you been trying to “teach” cooperation by yelling when it doesn’t happen?

Take this time to think about the past few days with your children, what you want them to learn, and how a different approach might be useful.

I’ll leave you with this popular poem that hung on the wall in my sister’s room when we were children. It’s called Children Learn What They Live by Dorothy Law Nolte.

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[Photo credits: Vivek Chugh (parent/child), Andrew C. (girl), Nara Vieira da Silva Osga (boy)]

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What About Cost?

I would guess that most parents who choose disposable diapers choose a brand mainly for cost and therefore choose a mainstream disposable brand. Whether parents aren’t sold on the merits of a natural disposable diaper or the presumed higher cost keeps them away, Seventh Generation diapers are probably not found in the majority of households with babies.

But if cost has kept you away in the past, I have found a way to save big money on Seventh Generation Diapers and wanted to share it with you.

How To Get Discount on Seventh Generation Diapers

The popularity of Seventh Generation diapers is increasing; I have seen them available in more and more locations, from Target stores to those small natural sections of grocery stores. But if that is where you buy your Seventh Generation diapers, you are paying too much! I have seen packages range in price from $12/pack up to $17/pack, depending on the store.

Here’s how to get them cheaper:

1. Buy them by the case (four packs) on Amazon.com. Just by doing that the price drops to $10/pack ($39.99/case).
2. Sign up for Amazon.com’s Subscribe and Save. By having a case automatically ordered every so often (you choose the frequency) you save 15%, bringing the price down to $8.50/pack ($33.99/case).
3. Sign up for Amazon Mom. With this free membership you save another 15%, bringing the price down to $7/pack ($27.99/case).

Bonus: There is free shipping for Subscribe and Save!

Let’s do the math:

We just went from $12/pack to $7/pack, for a savings of 42%! (If you currently pay $17/pack, you can save 59%!) Don’t you just love Amazon.com!

I grabbed some quick numbers from Target.com to compare size 4 diapers:

• Luvs case of 96 diapers for $16.99=$0.18/diaper
• Seventh Generation case of 120 diapers for $27.99=$0.23/diaper
• Pampers pack of 27 diapers for $8.99=$0.33/diaper
• Huggies case of 108 diapers for $36.99=$0.34/diaper

As you can see, this discounted rate is even better than most mainstream diapers!

My Thoughts

I have been getting our diapers at this discounted rate for quite awhile now and it’s been great! Now that my son is potty trained during the day we don’t need as many diapers, so I changed the frequency of delivery. Even if the frequency isn’t exactly right, you can order more anytime and update the next shipment. It’s so easy! And I usually get my diapers in a few days.

How To Purchase

Simply click on Seventh Generation Diapers to take you to the Amazon.com product page. Seventh Generation Diapers are also listed in my Amazon.com store in the ‘Diapering’ category.

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I also found some good information about ear infections in the book How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor, which was written by a doctor and actually recommended to me by my son’s doctor. If I remember correctly, the book mentions how most ear infections heal on their own and antibiotics actually provide little to no benefit. The book helped me many times when I started to wonder about a medical condition.

Again, I should remind you to read my disclaimer. I am not a medical doctor and you should always consult your physician for medical advice and opinions before you try any of these ideas.

With that said, here are some tips and natural remedies for ear infections:

• Similasan Earache Relief Drops – I’ve used these for my son and they seem to work great.
• Put 1-2 drops (no more than 2) of Lavender Essential oil into a humidifier and let it run overnight in the child’s room. (Make sure it’s essential oil.)
• Put oxygen water drops into ears.
• Put drops of garlic oil into ears. (It fights the infection.)
• Put drops of colloidal silver into the ear to reduce swelling and relive pain (usually within an hour).
• Put drops of white vinegar into the ears.
• Put drops of hydrogen peroxide into the ears.
• Put drops of breastmilk into the ears.
• Don’t drink cow’s milk.
• Get adjusted every other week by chiropractor (helps with draining).
• Put white willow bark drops into the ears. (It is a natural pain killer.)

-Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

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• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton crops as the most dangerous; they are cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite, and trifluralin – and they are probable carcinogens.
• As cotton becomes clothing, it is exposed to more toxic chemicals – silicone waxes, harsh petroleum scours, softeners, heavy metals, flame and soil retardants, ammonia, and formaldehyde.

When it’s been time to purchase new cloth items for our family we’ve been trying to buy items made from organic cotton, especially bedding. With your face and body touching those sheets for many hours a day, it seems logical to want the purest cotton. And with the green movement becoming more mainstream, it’s becoming easier to find organic cotton items. We purchased organic cotton sheets for our bed from Macy’s online. (I’ve since seen cheaper ones at WalMart.)

Then came time to buy a few things for our son. He needed a toddler pillow, nap mat for school, and a blanket. I was happy with the products I found – and even happier when I saw how much more available (and cheaper) organic cotton items for babies and kids are.

Here are a few ways you can green your child’s sleep:

Toddler Pillow and Pillow Case

There were several online stores that had organic toddler pillows (small pillows or travel pillows), including Amazon.com and kidbean.com. But I ended up getting our son’s pillow and pillow case from a seller (SK Naturals) on Etsy.com, a great place to buy and sell handmade items.

Nap Mat

Our son needed a nap mat for his preschool and we didn’t want the plastic ones that are so common. I looked all over and besides buying the materials and making it myself, the only organic one I found was also on Etsy. I love that site! The seller I purchased from is baby momo and here is the organic nap mat. And I just saw another vendor on Etsy have an organic nap mat as well. If there is demand, they will make it!

our son posing for me on his new organic nap mat

Crib Sheets

Organic cotton crib sheets are more available now than ever. When my son was born almost 2.5 years ago, I don’t remember seeing many organic cotton choices. Just last week I went into my local Babies R Us store and saw a whole section (albeit in the back of the store) for organic bedding items, such as crib sheets, blankets, changing pads, etc. I thought that was great! And they were a great price, too. Of course, you can find many organic crib sheets (at varying prices) on Amazon.com and Pottery Barn Kids has more to choose from as well. Target has organic crib sheets as well as crib sets.

Mattress

Many parents want to know why you should buy an organic crib mattress. They wonder if it’s worth the extra money. According to Absolutely Organic Baby, the mattress layer just under the top vinyl layer in most regular (not organic) mattresses contains a fire blocker.

That fire blocker is actually 7.5% boric acid, which is used for killing roaches, and 2.4 % antimony, which is most similar to arsenic. In Europe, researchers have found that antimony actually leaches through the vinyl and can be absorbed by a baby’s body. They have directly related high antimony levels to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

The price of organic cotton crib mattresses has gone down a bit and they seem to be more available in more places. Amazon.com has a great selection and you can also find a few at Babies R Us. If you do a search online you can also find stores like The Organic Mattress Store, Savvy Rest, The Organic Mattress,

And don’t forget organic mattresses in other sizes, like twin and bassinet.

Stuffed Animals and Lovies

Don’t forget those blanket lovies and stuffed animals that become your child’s security item. They chew on them and snuggle with them and they spend many hours next to their faces. It makes sense to have some organic options.

MiYim has a good assortment of organic stuffed animals, lovies, rattles, and other toys. Under the Nile is another good brand, too.

Laundry Detergent

Now that you’ve purchased organic cotton bedding items, don’t forget to wash them with eco-friendly options! Amazon.com has many organic laundry detergent options. We use soap nuts, which is a super eco-friendly option, and great for those with skin sensitivities like eczema (like me and my son).

Please leave a comment and share your good finds for greening your child’s sleep! Sweet dreams!

-Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

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The Milk-Saver

When breastfeeding a baby, especially during the early days, many moms experience leaking from the opposite breast baby is on. Many times they use a towel to soak up the breastmilk as it pours out. But those of us who nursed know hat breastmilk is like liquid gold, every drop, every ounce is to be treasured!

Apparently so did the folks over at Mymilkies.com. They have a product called The Milk-Saver, which actually provides a way to save that milk for future use! The milk-saver collects the breast milk that is leaked out when your milk lets down. You can store this milk and save it for any time you need it.

You can find Milk-Savers by the Store Locator tab on their website, or at Amazon.com.

Milk Bands

Nursing moms all have their own ways of remembering which side is next to start nursing on, but I’ve come across a great new gadget to help you! Milk Bands look similar to those “Livestrong” bracelets popularized by Lance Armstrong. One side says “Left” and the other side says “Right”. Just flip the bracelet inside out when you start to nurse so you always know which side is next. They also have time measuring sliders that can track how long your baby nursed!

You can purchase Milk Bands on their website, or at Amazon.com.

ITZBEEN Baby Care Timer

The Itzbeen Baby Care Timer has four timers that count up with the touch of a button. The four timers count how long it’s been since the last changing, feeding, sleep or awake, and other (medication, exercise, etc.) There is even a switch to flip back and forth to help moms rmeember which side to start nursing on. The timers are available in three colors: blue, green, and pink.

You can find the Itzbeen timer by the Store Locator tab on their website, or at Amazon.com.

Has anyone used any of these products? If so, leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Wendy - Parenting Tips 365

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Enjoy my big list of books that love the earth!

Earth Is Our Home

• Our Big Home celebrates the interconnectedness of all living things; it shares the important environmental message that we not only share this planet with all the people but also with the plants and animals.
• I Love Our Earth features a poem that celebrates nature and complements photographs of people and places around the world, which reflects our shared connection with the planet.
• The Whole Green World is the story of a little girl who goes off into the world to plant seeds. She spreads happiness as she goes and is surrounded by the flowers and trees that make the “whole round world”.
• The Earth and I is the simple story of a boy and his interactions with his special “friend”, the Earth. One example is: “I help her to grow. She helps me to grow”, which accompanies pictures of the boy tilling soil, then eating food.

Earth Day Books

Here are a few books with an Earth day theme:

• It’s Earth Day! (Little Critter) is about Little Critter learning about climate changes and then wanting to do something to slow down global warming; he learns to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• Earth Day-Hooray! combines math ideas with Earth Day and recycling as the students try to collect 5,000 aluminum cans to raise money to buy flowers for their park.
• Earth Day Birthday is written to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”; it celebrates Earth Day and 12 different creatures that inhabit the planet (e.g., eleven seals a-swimming). It also provides a brief history of Earth Day, ideas for gifts that children could give the Earth (e.g., plant a tree), and the lyrics and music.

Little Green Books

Little Green Books are produced by Simon and Schuster. Their slogan is “Green books for Green readers”. Not only do the books have green themes and stories, the manufacturing of these books is environmentally friendly. The books are printed on recycled materials with vegetable or soy inks and most books are Forest Stewardship Council certified (responsible use of forest resources). The SimonLittleGreen.com website has great “green” tips as well. Here are some of the books in the “Little Green Books line:

• The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling is the diary of a plastic bottle as it goes on a journey from the refinery plant, to the manufacturing line, to the store shelf, to a garbage can, and finally to a recycling plant where it emerges into it’s new life…as a fleece jacket!
• Easy to Be Green: Simple Activities You Can Do to Save the Earth is filled with cool coloring pages, Earth-saving tips, fun facts, and easy activities kids can do to help the environment.
• My First Garden follows a mother and daughter as they dig up soil, plant a flower bed, and water the seeds to make their very first garden. Together they watch the colorful vegetables grow!
• I Can Save the Earth tells the story of Max the Monster, who is an environmental nightmare. His excessive ways finally cause the power to go out, which forces him to go outside where he discovers the big world and all the ways he can help the environment. I found an interview with the author, Alison Inches.
• Little Monkey and his friend Little Panda spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together! It is a supersoft fleece cloth book that’s made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.
• Little Panda his friend Little Monkey spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together. It is also made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.
• The Polar Bears’ Home: A Story About Global Warming is an 8 x 8 storybook that shows how global warming affects two baby polar bear cubs and their family. It includes tips for kids on what they can do to help slow down global warming.

Why Should I Books

Why Should I books present brief, entertaining stories that answer children’s questions and feature amusing color illustrations on every page. A note at the back of each book is for parents and teachers, suggesting ways to use these books most effectively. Books in the series are:

• Why Should I Recycle?
• Why Should I Protect Nature?
• Why Should I Save Energy?
• Why Should I Save Water?

Kids’ Involvement Books

Here are a few books that have activities kids can do to help save the earth.

• Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids discusses how to recycle to cut down on the need for landfills. The author talks about paper, plastic, glass, cans, and polystyrene as well as mentioning the ozone layer and facts about garbage.
• 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth shows children how specific elements of their environment-like a light switch or a toilet-are connected to the rest of the world. Practical tips show kids how they can conserve energy, recycle waste, and take on important environmental projects.
• Earth Book for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment is filled with ideas for arts and crafts projects, experiments, and experiences that encourage children to enjoy and heal the environment. Topics discussed include acid rain, endangered wildlife, pesticides, energy, recycling, pollution, landfills, rain forests, water conservation, and related topics.

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Theme Baskets

Instead of traditional Easter baskets, use something else that can hold goodies and build a theme around it:

• Fill a big plastic bucket with fun sand box toys such as sand molds, shovels, and sifters.
• Fill a bucket with swimming items such as new swim suits, water shoes, floaties, pool toys, or goggles.
• Fill a flower pot with packets of seeds, gardening tools, gloves, etc.
• Fill new backpacks with fun things like a flashlight, bug jar, magnifying glass, etc.

Non-Food Ideas

Here are a few non-food goodies and toys, especially for younger kids:

• Bubbles
• Bubble blowers
• Coloring books, crayons, markers
• Books (Happy Easter Little Critter, The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs, Peter Rabbit’s Easter)
• Card games (such as Uno, Go Fish, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Slap Jack)
• Fun flashlight
• Homemade play dough
• Yo-yos
• Natural finger paint
• Egg & Chick-Shaped Chalk
• Stuffed animals
• Travel games
• Homemade silly putty
• Bug collecting kit
• Flash cards
• Disposable cameras
• Egg shakers

Here are a few ideas for older kids:

• Age appropriate reading books
• Sketchpads and pencils (for older kids)
• Origami paper and instructions
• Cross-stitch kits
• Model car kits
• Movies

Oriental Trading is a great place to find some goodies for their Easter basket.

Healthier Food Ideas

Here are a few ideas for some healthier treats:

• Pretzels
• Granola bars
• Small box of raisins or other dried fruit (my son *loves* dried cranberries so those would indeed be a treat for him!)
• Trail mix (raisins, pineapple, banana chips, almonds, papaya, walnuts, etc)
• Fruit leathers (such as FruitaBu Organic Smooshed Fruit)
• Yogurt-covered pretzels and crunchy sesame snacks (check out the bulk bins at natural food stores)
• YummyEarth Organic Lollipops

I found a place to buy all natural candy, but their Easter deadline has passed. You should check out The Squirrel’s Nest and see what they have!

What to Put In Plastic Eggs

Here are a few small things that you can put in plastic eggs:

• Small cars
• Stickers
• Small toys
• Money
• Coupons (for things like an hour of TV time or video games, stay up an hour later, etc)
• Puzzle pieces (regular for older and wooden ones for younger kids)

For the puzzle piece idea, assign each child (if you have more than one) one egg color. Buy a small puzzle for each child and place a few puzzle pieces inside their plastic eggs. Instruct them to only pick up that color egg. Once they find all their eggs, they open them up and start putting their puzzle together (with the help of the puzzle box).

I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for alternatives to candy in Easter baskets. What are you putting in your kids’ baskets this year?

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The book is designed to be a step-by-step guide to help parents learn the new communication skills. The information is presented in seven chapters:

1. Helping Children Deal With Their Feelings
2. Engaging Cooperation
3. Alternatives to Punishment
4. Encouraging Autonomy
5. Praise
6. Freeing Children from Playing Roles
7. Putting It All Together

Each chapter is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 discusses the new topic, provides short exercises to help learn and understand the topic, shows cartoons that illustrate “ineffective” and “effective”methods, and ends with a quick reminder page that is perfect for reference.
• Part 2 is filled with common questions, comments, and parents’ stories to help understand the topic further and hear about real situations.

The book starts by addressing how important it is to respect and accept your child’s feelings. Empathy towards another person, especially a child, might be difficult for many people. The authors suggest reading the book slowly so you can practice one aspect at a time.

The book has a great section on problem solving and it focuses on involving your child in the process.

I was surprised to learn how they don’t agree with the common use of time-outs as punishment. Once they explained their reasoning, I agree with them completely.

What I Thought

The book was easy to read and I loved the cartoons they used to help illustrate ideas; the visual aspect really helped me learn the ideas. I did do all the exercises, as they suggest, and it really helped me understand why these ideas work so well. I was also surprised to learn the correct way to give praise; it will definitely take some practice!

This is easily the best parenting book I’ve read! It falls in line exactly with how I wish to parent my child. It will take some time for these new ideas and methods to become more natural, but I’m so glad I have this book to help me.

When Should You Read This Book?

As the authors say, it’s never too early or too late to read this book. I read this book now and my child just turned two. Even if he’s too young for some of the situations discussed, he’s never too young to have a mom that talks to him with respect. I’m glad I read it now; it gives me time to start changing the way I talk – and think.

The book is also great for improving relationships with anyone; it can help improve how you communicate with adult family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

Other Books by the Authors

The authors have also written several other books that may be of interest to you:

• Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
• How To Talk So Kids Can Learn
• How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk
• Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family

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• Gentle Parenting Technique: Modeling Positive Behavior in Children

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Once you’ve used your discount to purchase some great Kids Konserve products, come back here and share with us! Yes, let’s have our own Kids Konserve show and tell! What products did you get and how will you use them?

©2012 Parenting Tips 365. All Rights Reserved. This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement.

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• BPA-Free Food Containers: Safer Options for Your Children
• Kids Konserve Discount for an “Eek-O-Friendly” Halloween!
• Older SIGG Bottles Do Contain BPA Afterall
• Product Review: Laptop Lunches Bento Lunchbox