She said to start off by asking two questions about your life as a parent:

1. When are you happiest with your kids?

2. What part of the normal day with your family routinely causes suffering?

Then make sure your day is structured so that you get routine, habitual happiness and so that you’re eliminating habitual pain.

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Click here for diapering suggestions.

When I first found out I was pregnant with both Girlie Girl and Baby Bug, I immediately went into planning mode. I made lists of possible names, baby items I needed, nursery themes, birthing options, etc. I started scouring the internet for the latest in baby gear.

Is this what they call the Third Baby Syndrome? Is this poor child headed for a lifetime of hand-me-downs and a lack of photos documenting her childhood? With the birth of my first daughter, second-hand didn’t even enter my mind. Everything had to be brand new.

I blame it on the lack of energy I’ve been feeling during this rough pregnancy and am hoping that things will kick into gear one she’s here. Until then, I’ll be cruising Craigslist for affordable used baby items. Hey, she won’t know the difference, right?

Now with a little over 3 months left of this pregnancy, I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t done a single thing to prepare for her upcoming arrival. I haven’t even told our pediatrician that our family will be expanding. I haven’t done any shopping, any planning. I don’t even have possible name choices.

Recent studies show that TV-viewing tends to decrease babies’ likelihood of learning new words, talking, playing and otherwise interacting with others. A new study published Monday in the Archive of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine adds to that evidence while introducing an intriguing new perspective. Many studies have suggested that television impedes learning by inhibiting youngsters’ ability to interact with others, and according to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a University of Washington pediatrician, that effect may be compounded when parents get drawn into TV-watching too.

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As anyone who is a parent to a toddler knows, it’s tough to keep them still. Just today, I was in line at a store and Jack wouldn’t stay near me. Out came the iPhone and he was parked in line by my side until it was time to go. I highly recommend an iPhone or similar device as a parenting aid. By the way, Jack knows he has to sit down – usually on carpet , a sofa or chair – when playing with it.

Here are some tips for talking to your children about cutting back:

Age matters: The younger children are, the more you will have to explain. Use terms they can understand and tell them why it is important to save money.

Don’t feel guilty: You should never feel guilty or let your children blame you for having to cut back.

Back to basics: Remind your children that cutting back on expenses is not necessarily a bad thing. Trimming the budget for luxuries can be an opportunity to teach kids to enjoy simple pleasures.

Get them involved: Especially for older children and teenagers, let them give their input when deciding where to cut back. If you can’t afford to send them to five different summer camps, let them choose the one they most want to attend. Be a good listener, but don’t give in if they refuse to make choices.

Be realistic and optimistic: Be up-front and explain the reality of your economic situation to your children, but try Money-saving activities that don’t scrimp on fun

But if you’re a new parent, your budget is undergoing a different kind of adjustment. From diapers to clothes, the cost of a newborn can add up.

In fact, new parents can expect to spend between $4,500 and $5,000 during their child’s first year for supplies alone, according to an online calculator at BabyCenter.com. If you start day care at six months, the amount may double.

Here are some tips on buying for baby without wrecking your budget.

In our house, every time after dinner, we head straight to the bath. Then we read a few books and within 20 minutes, it’s ‘lights-out’. But it wasn’t always this easy…Here’s how we did it.

First, we established a routine with our bath-time and tried our best to stick to the routine, no matter which night it is. For a child who has a difficult time taking baths its important to follow through and take a bath EVERYDAY—until he/she does this without protesting.

Here are four hints that made bath-time (and bedtime) easier…

• Have your child participate in preparation for the bath by getting the towel out, running the water and picking out the pj’s.
• Let your child enjoy the bath but only with bath-specific toys (meaning, these toys should only be given at bath time).
• It is also important to tell your child FIRST we will wash your hair THEN your body and THEN your face and THEN we are DONE. This helps with the routine.
• Reinforce bath-time AFTER the bath by giving some type of reward…like special time with a favorite toy or book. Make sure these toys or books are only AFTER the bath.

Courtesy: ebeantalk.com

Reading the winds off the Atlantic — so essential for success in this weekend’s Players Championship in Florida — is a breeze next to gauging his teenage daughters’ well-being by their hurried text messages. Interpreting the girls’ fluctuating moods keeps the golfer Paul Goydos up at night.

Now, more than ever, he insists they call him when they are out with friends or leaving work, no matter how late. He sleeps better after hearing their voices as they talk about the day — like golfers rehashing their rounds.

Goydos, 44, has had full custody of his daughters, Chelsea and Courtney, since 2003. With the support of his ex-wife’s family and his own, he has juggled being a full-time father and PGA Tour player. It has been a difficult balancing act, perhaps never more so than this year.

“I do think that sometimes he can worry too much,” Chelsea, 18, said this week in a telephone interview. “I try to tell him we can handle ourselves. I’ll say, ‘If we need you, we’ll text you.’ ”

If Goydos, a two-time winner on the tour, is hyperalert to any spikes in his daughters’ emotional temperatures, there is a reason. In January, his ex-wife, Wendy, the mother of his children, died unexpectedly. She was 44. For years she had battled an addiction to prescription medication for her migraines.

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Parents should always remember that tantrums are a behavior children learn. Attention is usually given to them when they don’t get their own way. Children usually very quickly learn that crying, yelling, screaming, kicking, laying on the floor and generally acting-out can help them get what they want. As long as the child gets what he wants tantrums will continue and worsen over time.

Courtesy: ebeanstalk.com