Metaphysical Parenting By Silvia Hartmann

In EmoTrance, we have the concept of the 'Creative Template'.

That is who a person was designed to be by the Creative Order at the moment of conception; and then this Creative Template moves through time to its ultimate conclusion, which is death of the physical body and transcendency of those energy systems which are not reliant on the physical body.

The purpose of the Creative Template in EmoTrance is to have people connect with a TRUTH about themselves that is THERE, that is really true, not an idealisation or a fantasy; we all have a Creative Template.

People make unfortunate health goals for example, or appearance goals, personal performance goals, that are either based on:

1. Themselves BACK in time - when they were 16 or something, or 'before the accident' which causes CHAOS when applied to a 50 year old who is actually AFTER the accident;

or

2. Someone who isn't them at all - that's when a red haired Xena The Warrior Princess type girl tries to become Brittany Spears, or even worse, when a fully grown black man tries to become Bridget Bardot when she was 18.

Clearly, in personal health, developement and so on you need to make a goal that is based on YOU at the RIGHT TIME, future orientated, forward pointing; so we evoke the Creative Template of a person so we have something to consciously move towards in healing or restoration.

It's a wonderful thing to find something that is so exclusively yours and STILL so amazingly inspiring; and when we make practitioners look at the Creative Template of their clients so they know what we mean by 'Even Flow' or getting a person's energy system to work the way the Creative Order DESIGNED IT TO WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE (no superhuman nonsense, just as it was designed!), they burst out into tears and are amazed at how remarkable these Creative Templates are.

There is then also an immediate DEEP, DEEP DESIRE in both the client and the practitioner to HELP THE TEMPLATE BE MANIFEST, to do whatever we can to right what once went wrong and get back with that, move towards that, the true Even Flow *for that one specific, unique person*.

What does that have to do with parenting, you might ask?

Well, when I was first exploring the Creative Template, it came to pass that I got very distressed about my kid and didn't know what to do with him, how to help him, how to make things better, how to ensure he would have a good future.

It just so happened that in the middle of being distraught, the instruction to the EmoTrance practitioners to 'see the Creative Template' floated into my mind, and for a split second, I did.

I DID see the kid's Creative Template.

I was completely blown away by it; totally overawed and what happened was that I felt ashamed that I should ever have DOUBTED him, or his inherent strength, his power, and the fact that he was living HIS OWN life here.

I got very calm right away, and I remember dedicating myself, just as we do in EmoTrance, automatically to ASSIST this amazing being in whatever way I possibly could. Not as a 'mother' with all the disturbance that entails, but as one human being, unconditionally, to another.

I am not kidding when I say that this experience changed my life and my relationship with the child profoundly, and I've never looked back.

It changed *me* and in changing me, it changed him.

I've never doubted him really since, and he doesn't doubt himself nearly as much as he did, and when he does, it really is top level stuff all kids have to deal with in these stupid societies of ours.

I've since advised other parents in moments of freakouts to do that, to look not at what they think they see when they see their child, but at their Creative Template instead.

That is an INCREDIBLE being, not the little whiner who makes your life hell, or some defective disapointment from the ideal little sweet child of fantasy and make belief.

That is REAL and it is right here in your life.

To just get a little taste of that is life changing.

To the child, to have a parent who SAW THAT IN THEM must be life changing also.

It MUST be.

To have your parent see YOU for what you REALLY are, just for one instant, and that's quite enough, is the dream of all children - you've made mummy or daddy proud, they admire you unconditionally, you don't have to prove anything anymore.

Just imagine your parents had given you that, how different so many things would be.

But all metaphysics aside, this is a very practical thing.

It holds the answers for the moments when you as a parent are at your wit's end, and you don't know what you should do.

Once you've touched the Creative Template, no matter how briefly again, you DO know. It tells you somehow.

It re-assures you and puts all things back in perspective.

And it makes you love them with all your heart, no matter what, and that, not washing their socks or running rings around them, is what makes a great parent, at the end of the day.

So simple, such profound results.

All parents should know this, not just EmoTrance practitioners.

Try it for yourself. Even if you can only get a brief flash of what the Creative Template really is, it will help you be a better parent - and give you a real tool for those moments of crisis.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=59109&ca=Parenting

A Mother's Wishlist: Peace, Plenty And Understanding By Deanna Mascle

I recently celebrated my fifth Mother's Day. My family spent the day together doing simple fun things. I was perfectly content with my day and the gift my son made for me himself but later that evening as I watched the news (actual several news shows at once as my husband controlled the remote) I listened to several interviews with mothers in various walks of life and I started to wonder what our world would be like if mothers, all mothers, were given more power to control the world. I was no longer content. I know I have a wishlist and I despair of seeing my wishes come true.

Peace has to top any mother's wishlist. My son is only 5 but I have already suffered through sending beloved nephews off to war and war zones. I cannot imagine sending my child to war. No mother wants to. I imagine if mothers made world policy then we would see much less war. I don't believe there are many people who desire war but if the women who actually gave life also had the final say in when it would be spent I think there would be a lot less war.

Plenty for all has to quickly follow the wish for peace as it the unequal division of the world's wealth that so often causes problems in the world. When there is little hope to achieve or a constant struggle to maintain the basic necessities of life then people will be driven to extremes. Our world has a tremendous bounty of food and water and other resources. Modern technology has created tremendous advances in health care. Yet there are mothers who cannot provide food, shelter, clothing, care, or protection for their children.

Understanding would likely resolve the conflicts with the first two wishes. Mothers of all races and creeds share far more in terms of priority and experience than they differ in ideology and culture. No matter where, when or what we worship our prayers contain similar wishes, hopes, and fears for our children and that is an essentially human bond that could serve as a foundation for others. How much conflict and war in our world has simply been caused by not understanding? How much peace would we achieve by finding ways to bridge over those misunderstandings with common wishes? I think with better understanding would also come more tolerance for those differences that now separate us.

I will stop with these three wishes as three is a magical number. Perhaps if enough mothers share my wishes then they will indeed come true. I can only hope that my future Mothers Days will see more peace, plenty and understanding and less war, want, and intolerance.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=56418&ca=Parenting

Teach Your Child Phonemic Awareness By Deanna Mascle

In recent years, the field of reading education has changed dramatically and many reading instructors have divided it between phonic instruction and whole language. Various reading programs that fall into one of the two camps have spent millions advertising the relative merits of both.

The simple truth of the matter is that the best reading instruction takes place using a combination of both strategies. And increasingly reading research has demonstrated that phonemic awareness, not simply phonics, is critically important to ensuring reading success–especially for students with learning disabilities.

However what makes this so confusing for many parents and caregivers is that the term “phonemic awareness” is tossed around so often and in so many different ways. Phonemic awareness concerns the structure of words rather than their meaning. To understand the construction of our written code, words, readers need to be able to reflect upon the spelling-to-sound correspondences. To understand that the written word, beginning readers must first have some understanding that words are composed of sounds (phonemic awareness) rather than their conceiving of each word as a single indivisible sound stream.

The development of this awareness cannot be accomplished in one simple step but rather over time. It is also important to note that these skills are actually pre-reading skills. Children do not necessarily recognize any of these elements on the page but rather by ear.

The stages of phonological development toward the end goal of deep phonemic awareness can include:

~ Recognition that sentences are made up of words.
~ Recognition that words can rhyme & the ability to make rhymes
~ Recognition that words can be broken down into syllables & the ability to do so
~ Recognition that words can be broken down into onsets and rimes & the ability to do so
~ Recognition that words can begin with the same sound & the ability to make these matches
~ Recognition that words can end with the same sound & the ability to make these matches
~ Recognition that words can have the same medial sound(s) & the ability to make these matches
~ Recognition that words can be broken down into individual phonemes & the ability to do so
~ Recognition that sounds can be deleted from words to make new words & the ability to do so
~ Ability to blend sounds to make words
~ Ability to segment words into constituent sounds

Phonemic awareness is more complex however than simple auditory discrimination, which is the ability to understand that cat and mat are different words. To be able to describe how they are similar and how they are different demonstrates a level of phonemic awareness. Young children are not normally asked to consider words at a level other than their meaning, although experience with rhymes may be the first indication for children that they can play with the structure of words.

Learning to recognize and play with rhyme is often the beginning of phonemic awareness development for many children. To be aware that words can have a similar end-sound implies a critical step in learning to read. Sensitivity to rhyme makes both a direct and indirect contribution to reading.

Directly, it helps children appreciate that words that share common sounds usually also share common letter sequences. Later exposure to common letter sequences then makes a significant contribution to reading strategy development.

Indirectly, the recognition of rhyme promotes the refining of word analysis from larger intra-word segments (such as rhyme) to analysis at the level of the phoneme (the critical requirement for reading).

Studies show a very strong relationship between rhyming ability at age three and performance at reading and spelling three years later. A number of studies have reinforced the value of such early exposure to rhyming games.

Rhyming and phoneme awareness are related. Studies have shown that children who are capable of good discrimination of musical pitch also score high on tests of phonemic awareness. Since pitch change is an important source of information in the speech signal, it may be that sensitivity to small frequency changes, such as that involved in phoneme recognition is an important aspect of successful initial reading. Such results raise the interesting possibility that musical training may represent one of those pre-reading, home-based experiences that contribute to the marked individual differences in phonemic awareness with which children start school.

So, what do you teach? Techniques that target phoneme awareness most frequently involve direct instruction in segmenting words into component sounds, identifying sounds in various positions in words (initial, medial, final), identifying words that begin or end with the same sound, and manipulating sounds in a word such as saying a word without its beginning or end sound.

Most of the phoneme awareness activities should not take more than 15 or 20 minutes to complete. Although a particular activity can be selected well in advance, the specific words targeted for phoneme awareness should be selected from material familiar to your child — such as a book you recently read together or a game or a family outing. Phoneme awareness activities are a natural extension of the shared reading activities.

A natural and spontaneous way of providing children with exposure to phonemes is to focus on literature that deals playfully with speech sounds through rhymes. Simple rhyme patterns are easily recalled after repeated exposure, and children will get the idea of creating new rhymes. In “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket” (Seuss, 1974), initial sounds of everyday objects are substituted as a child talks about the strange creatures around the house, such as the “zamp in the lamp.” Children can make up their own strange creatures in the classroom such as the “zuk in my book.”

Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound across several words, such as presented in the alphabet book “Faint Frogs Feeling Feverish” and “Other Terrifically Tantalizing Tongue Twisters”.

Assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds within words, is often combined with rhyme, as in “It rains and hails and shakes the sails” from “Sheep on a Ship” or in humorous ways such as “The tooter tries to tutor two tooters to toot” in “Moses Supposes His Toeses Are Roses”. Some books include music to go with the rhymes, such as “Down by the Bay”, in which two children try to outdo one another in making up questions that rhyme, such as “Did you ever see a goose kissing a moose?”

Spend some time in the children’s section of your library or browse through your child’s bookshelves at home to look for books that deal playfully with language. Read and reread the stories and comment on the language use then encourage predictions of sound, word, and sentence patterns (for example, “What sound do you hear at the beginning of all those words?”) and invent new versions of the language patterns utilized in the stories.

Research has demonstrated not only a predictive relationship between phoneme awareness and reading success, but also a causal relationship. Phoneme awareness that has a positive impact on reading can be developed in children through systematic instruction. Early training in phoneme awareness should be a priority for those interested in improving early reading instruction and in reducing reading failure.

Some other activities include:

Making Word Families Charts: Charts can contain words from one story or a brainstormed list from the children. The children can dictate the words to be placed on a word family chart. As they begin to develop letter/sound knowledge, they can copy or write the words themselves. You can use magnetic letters to “create” words for a word family chart. Provide a rime of plastic letters (e.g., at) and have the children take turns placing different letters in the onset position to create new words (e.g., hat, bat, sat, rat). These charts can be used as reference charts (or the children can make their own word families reference book) for spelling and creative writing activities.

Odd Word Out: Four words, three of which rhyme, are presented (e.g., zveed, bead, pill, seed). The child determines which word is the odd one that doesn’t belong with the others. The game of concentration or memory is a good practice activity for rhyme recognition.

Alliteration: Sound personalities can be introduced naturally and in context by selecting a particular sound to talk about that is stressed in alphabet or other books that use alliteration. For example, presenting “smiling snakes sipping strawberry sodas” for the alphabet letter S. It is helpful to create or provide pictures that represent these sound personalities and to post them as each is introduced. A natural connection can sometimes be made between the sound and the letter, such as presenting a picture of “Sammy snake” drawn in the shape of the letter S or “Buzzy bee” flying in a pattern of the letter Z. Besides providing a label to facilitate talking about sounds, the pictures provide self-correcting cues for children engaged in initial-sound isolation and sound-to-word matching activities.

Counting: To count syllables in words, activities can be used such as clapping hands, tapping the desk, or marching in place to the syllables in children’s names (Ma- ry), items in the immediate environment (win- dow), or words from a favorite story (wi-shy, wa-shy). Initially, two- syllable words can be targeted, building up to three.

Sound Synthesis: Sound synthesis can be done using the following sequence: blending an initial sound onto the remainder of a word, followed by blending syllables of a word together, and then blending isolated phonemes into a word. Model this by blending an initial sound onto a word by using the jingle “It starts with /n/ and it ends with -ight, put it together, and it says night.” When they have the idea, the children supply the final word. An element of excitement can be created by using children’s names for this activity and asking each child to recognize and say his or her own name when it is presented- “It starts with /m/ and it ends with -ary, put it together and it says ———.” Context can be provided by limiting the words to objects that can be seen in the room or to words from a particular story the children just read. As the children become proficient, they can take turns using the jingle to present their own words to be blended.

Sound-to-Word Matching: Requires that the child identify the beginning sound of a word. Awareness of the initial sound in a word can be done by showing the children a picture (dog) and asking the children to identify the correct word out of three: “Is this a /mmm/-og, a /d/d/d/-og, or a /sss/-og?” A variation is to ask if the word has a particular sound: “Is there a /d/ in dog?” This can then be switched to “Which sound does dog start with-/d/, /sh/, or /1/?” This sequence encourages the children to try out the three onsets with the rime to see which one is correct. It is easiest to use continuants that can be exaggerated and prolonged to heighten the sound input. Iteration should be used with stop consonants to add emphasis.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=57270&ca=Parenting

Home Schooling Through High School By Katerina Mitrou

For many parents who have home schooled their children through the elementary years, continuing the process during high school may seem like a daunting task. After all, math and science become more advanced in the teen years, and you may not have been a genius when it came to those subjects when you were in high school. You may also be concerned about the social aspect of your child’s development, as this becomes even more important for teenagers.

But if your son or daughter has benefited greatly from the home school experience thus far, why put a stop to it? Especially with all the online resources available today, it’s definitely possible to give your teenager everything he/she needs to be successful at this stage of the game.

With an older child you don’t have to be a constant guide every step of the way. Of course, a teenager still requires help and guidance, but for the most part a large percentage of the workload can be carried out independently. If you have high-quality learning materials and books at your disposal, your child can work through the subjects alone - if a question ever arises, the Internet, with tons of helpful online information for the curious and home schoolers alike, is just a few mouse clicks away.

Also, you can sign your teenager up for online high school courses, if you prefer that he/she learn directly from a teacher or tutor. There is a wide range of high school courses available online that make it easy to earn a degree, right from the comfort of your own home.

For certain subjects that your child might struggle with, consider hiring a tutor to come to your home a few days a week for lessons. Math and science tutors are the most popular choices, as one-on-one help with these subjects is something most students benefit the most from.

Another option: community college courses. You can actually give your teen an edge if they attend classes at the local community college. For certain subjects, being taught by a college teacher, and interacting with other students who are also interested in what is being taught, this is an excellent way to obtain particular credits and socialize with people who are on the same wavelength academically. You may have to jump through some hoops to enroll your child, but it can be worthwhile in the end.

If you’re worried about neglecting your teen’s social development, there are many ways to make up for any experiences normally enjoyed during high school. Home schooled high school students usually participate in a wide range of social activities, by volunteering, working part-time, and partaking in a sport or musical group. Many home schoolers even plan a prom!

If you believe home schooling is right for your child, there’s no reason to give up when the high school years roll around. There are many ways to make your older child’s home schooling experience one to be cherished.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=57929&ca=Parenting

Home Schooling Through High School By Katerina Mitrou

For many parents who have home schooled their children through the elementary years, continuing the process during high school may seem like a daunting task. After all, math and science become more advanced in the teen years, and you may not have been a genius when it came to those subjects when you were in high school. You may also be concerned about the social aspect of your child’s development, as this becomes even more important for teenagers.

But if your son or daughter has benefited greatly from the home school experience thus far, why put a stop to it? Especially with all the online resources available today, it’s definitely possible to give your teenager everything he/she needs to be successful at this stage of the game.

With an older child you don’t have to be a constant guide every step of the way. Of course, a teenager still requires help and guidance, but for the most part a large percentage of the workload can be carried out independently. If you have high-quality learning materials and books at your disposal, your child can work through the subjects alone - if a question ever arises, the Internet, with tons of helpful online information for the curious and home schoolers alike, is just a few mouse clicks away.

Also, you can sign your teenager up for online high school courses, if you prefer that he/she learn directly from a teacher or tutor. There is a wide range of high school courses available online that make it easy to earn a degree, right from the comfort of your own home.

For certain subjects that your child might struggle with, consider hiring a tutor to come to your home a few days a week for lessons. Math and science tutors are the most popular choices, as one-on-one help with these subjects is something most students benefit the most from.

Another option: community college courses. You can actually give your teen an edge if they attend classes at the local community college. For certain subjects, being taught by a college teacher, and interacting with other students who are also interested in what is being taught, this is an excellent way to obtain particular credits and socialize with people who are on the same wavelength academically. You may have to jump through some hoops to enroll your child, but it can be worthwhile in the end.

If you’re worried about neglecting your teen’s social development, there are many ways to make up for any experiences normally enjoyed during high school. Home schooled high school students usually participate in a wide range of social activities, by volunteering, working part-time, and partaking in a sport or musical group. Many home schoolers even plan a prom!

If you believe home schooling is right for your child, there’s no reason to give up when the high school years roll around. There are many ways to make your older child’s home schooling experience one to be cherished.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=57929&ca=Parenting

Are You Ready To Homeschool Your Child Yet? By Lisa Scott

If you are interested in homeschooling information, it's simple to attain on the Internet. You can actually purchase guides that instruct you on how to teach your child at home. Some parents find it much more convenient to homeschool, or prefer the safety of their child to remain in their own hands. This is perfectly fine; however, you do want your child to interact with peers as they grow.

This essentially allows them to adapt and make friends easier. I remember back when I was in elementary school, and was jealous of the children who were homeschooled. How cool it would be to not have to go to school everyday. Your child's education is a big decision to consider. Discover a spectrum of homeschooling information today. Homeschooling information is just a mouse click away.

Public education can be a life experience. You truly get a sense of how to interact with your peers. I attended public school from kindergarten through senior year, and think it worked rather well. Sure, you have some good and some bad experiences, but overall it was fun. Regardless, more and more these days parents are in need of homeschooling information. Maybe they are a stay-at-home parent, or simply wish to provide their own style of education for their child.

This can be beneficial if you consider the personal attention the child will receive. The key is tenacity. You have to stick to a daily regime in order to properly school your child. Homeschooling information found online can help you better understand this process before you start. Are you qualified to teach? Are you truly going to challenge your child to the same level a public school would? These are questions to ponder.

Our education is certainly a crucial part of our development. As we grow into adulthood we need our minds to be prepared for the job we tackle or the University we venture off to. With public schooling growing on a regular basis, there is always room for more and more children to learn.

However, some parents take a different path in the education process. A second way to acquire academic knowledge is at home. If a parent chooses to, he or she can teach his/her child at home. In fact, homeschooling information is more available now days than ever before. All you need is a computer and Internet access to delve into the world of homeschooling online.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=56837&ca=Parenting

A Balanced Diet For Your Kids By Willie Reynolds

As a parent, one issue that is constantly on my mind is that of ensuring my children are properly nourished. Fortunately, my children have the eating habits of J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbits- they eat at least three breakfasts before lunch. This gives me ample opportunity to ensure that their nutrition intake is set for the rest of the day.

I am sure that other parents have the same concerns, though possibly not the easy time I have with feeding my kids. I would like to share some of the nutrition “secrets” I have encountered in my seemingly endless trips to the refrigerator to keep my little hollowed out munchers happy.

The first secret is that nutrition is not a secret at all. Every container of food you buy has nutritional values listed on a label on the side. These values are very important in determining whether or not the charges of the stay-at-home parent are receiving all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and the hundred other nutritional necessities that keep the mind of the stay-at-home parent occupied.

The second important secret is milk. Milk is the nectar of the gods. By making sure your kids drink just one cup of milk with each meal, you will have taken care of their body’s needs for vitamins A, D and B12, as well as calcium, some iron content and even protein. Other dairy products also help fill these needs, so cheese and yogurt are also good add-ons for snacks or to meals.

Breakfast foods such as oatmeal and most cereals are also chock-full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Sugar cereals should be used sparingly, as a treat. There are lots of other ways to add some zing to a cereal that kids may otherwise think of as bland. Breakfast can also include fruit (bananas are an especially good power food) and juice, although too much juice in a day is bad both for a child’s sugar intake and their teeth. Kids should be allowed some juice, though, and the new style fruit and veggie juice is ideal as it tastes just like regular juice but contains vegetable content as well (such as spinach and carrots), and thus is a good equalizer for a child who is finicky about their vegetables.

Whole wheat bread is also very important to a child’s diet. They will only think it is undesirable if a parent or schoolmate points it out to them. Whole wheat bread, specifically Dempster’s brand, is brimming with nutritional goodness.

Recent studies have suggested that vegetables bought frozen may actually be healthier than those cooked fresh. The freezing locks the nutrients into the vegetable immediately, and does not allow the leeching out that otherwise begins as soon as the vegetable is picked from the ground.

There are some foods that may seem like a good idea for a snack or supplement to a meal, but in fact they need to be avoided. Uppermost among these are dried banana chips. These little nuggets are actually deep fried, and just a handful contain more fat than a Big Mac! Make sure that you know how the food you are feeding your kids is processed before considering it a healthy choice.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=56456&ca=Parenting

Why I Hate An Ear Infection By Analeese Burnabaker

Anyone who has experienced the privilege and the fear of bringing a new baby home from the hospital knows what a mixture of emotions you experience as a new parent with the responsibility and joys of having a new addition to your family. Only new parents know what it is truly like to have a lack of sleep and what it feels like to know that you were directly responsible for bringing a new life into the world. There is no greater joy in all of life than having a new baby, and yet there is perhaps nothing that is scarier as well. One of the things I hate the most about having an infant in the house is the inevitable ear infections that come with it.

I have brought five children home from the hospital in the past ten years, and I have also been around when many friends and my sisters have brought their new babies home to stay. We have all experienced the unmatched joy of adding a new life into the family, but we have also experienced the fears and the frustrations that come when our precious babies get sick and we aren't sure what to do about it. My first experience with an ear infection came just a month after my oldest daughter was born.

I wasn't sure that she had an ear infection at first, but all I knew was that she was more sensitive than before and that she cried way more than just when she was hungry. I let it go for a couple of days, thinking perhaps this was just a stage she was going through. When the crying became worse and more consistent and she seemed to be getting even more sensitive with each hour, I made a few calls to my mother, my sisters and then finally my daughter's doctor. I got the same response from all of them: it sounded like my little daughter was experiecing her first ear infection.

I made an appointment to bring my daughter Ava into the doctor's office that afternoon. Until then, I tried everything possible to soothe what I now knew was a cry caused by great pain. We walked, I sang, I gave her massages, but nothing seemed to help her pain now. Our doctor's appointment later that day confirmed that she had not just one ear infection, but that she had in fact a double ear infection in one ear and a single ear infection in the other. Of course, being a new mother I wondered what I had done to cause this problem. When the doctor and later my mother assured me that I had done nothing wrong, I began to feel better as my little girl began to feel better with the help of her meds.

I'll tell you, having a child with an ear infection is one of the scariest things as a parent. Get good information about the warning signs from your doctor and monitor your children carefully from the beginning.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=56589&ca=Parenting

Your Baby's Crying - What To Do By Heather Owens

A baby only has one way of communicating - crying. Everything is incredibly new to them, every feeling, every experience. Sometimes, for a new parent, it can be very difficult to work out exactly what your baby is crying about. However there are some basics that you can check if your baby cries. It may be one or a number of them are making the baby cry.

The best place to start is the diaper. If it's wet or soiled, then the baby will be uncomfortable and start crying. If the diaper needs changing, then change it. More often than not, that will solve the problem. Some babies don't like having their diaper changed, and will often cry even more. Mostly it's because they don't like the sensation of being uncovered. So change the diaper as quickly and smoothly as you can, to minimize distress. Then cover the baby with a blanket or clothing, so that the baby feels comfortable again.

Babies also like being warm. However it's also possible to overdress a baby, so be sensible about it. When checking the baby, look for very red skin, and see if the baby is sweating. Either of these signs suggest the baby is almost certainly too hot. A good rule of thumb with dressing your baby is one layer more than you're wearing. If the baby is too hot or cold, then adjust clothing or covers to suit the temperature.

Next, is your baby hungry? Is it a while since the last feed? Did the baby maybe feed a little less than normal at the last feed, and so perhaps is hungry quicker this time around? Try nursing or offering a bottle. Babies do need to eat frequently, because they are growing so quickly. Often the action of sucking helps to soothe the baby, even if they're not very hungry. Babies are very good at knowing when they've had enough, and will stop. So don't worry too much about overfeeding. The baby will stop crying once he's not hungry any more.

After feeding, many babies develop gas. The baby's digestive system is only just developing, and eating is a very new experience. Sometimes crying means the baby has some gas rumbling around in the tummy, and needs to be burped. Put a cloth on your shoulder, and hold the baby against your shoulder so that his stomach is against the front of your shoulder. Make sure the head is well forward, or support the head if you can. Rub his back firmly, in a circular motion. This helps to put pressure on the digestive system both front and back, and often produces the required burping. Some gentle patting may also help, but be very careful if you decide to do this - babies are very delicate.

You may even find that just going for a walk with the baby on your shoulder helps. Babies seem to like movement, probably because they're used to being bounced around in the womb. But also, being held close to a parent is very soothing for a baby. Babies love to be held and cuddled - despite some suggestions to the contrary, you can't hold your baby too much.

Some babies also find it very soothing to be swaddled in a small blanket. Swaddling involves wrapping the blanket around the baby's body fairly tightly. The arms are held close to the baby. In some ways this feels a lot like the womb to a baby, because they were tightly enclosed in there too. Sometimes the sudden experience of being able to move around can distress a baby. Your health professional should be able to teach you how to swaddle the baby effectively. It's important to make sure, though, that the head and neck remain uncovered.

Once you've gone through the list above - check the diaper, check the baby's temperature, try a feed or a burp, and swaddle the baby - and the baby's still crying, then trying holding the baby close and making a rhythmic 'shhhh' sound near the baby's ear. If it sounds a little bit like a wave on the beach, great. That's the sort of sound the baby heard in the womb, and is often very reassuring and soothing. Some babies are very sensitive to noise, and an average home produces a lot of noise! You can even try a radio tuned off station, so all you can hear is 'white noise'.

Over time, you'll find that you begin to recognise the difference between your baby's cries, and so probably won't need to go right through the checklist every time baby cries. However if at any time you suspect your baby may be sick or in pain, or if he's still crying even after checking all of the above things, it's always best to visit your health care professional, just to make sure everything is okay.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=52478&ca=Parenting

Is Your Child Ready For Preschool? By Deanna Mascle

Many parents enroll their children in preschool programs without considering whether or not their child is really ready for preschool. Many parents are eager to give their child a head start in the race to educational success so children are starting preschool at younger ages. However, enrolling your child too early in preschool can cause long-term problems with your child's education rather than giving the head start you intended.

How can you judge whether or not your child is ready for preschool? Take a look at three key areas: physical development, social development, and emotional development.

You should also look at the program itself. For example, some programs are specifically geared to a young age group and are less about formal education and more about play and social experience. Some programs have very limited time periods (only a few hours a week) and are intended to introduce young children very gently to the educational experience. However, the standard preschool program is generally geared toward children ages 3 and 4 in preparation for kindergarten. Just because your child falls within the correct age group does not mean your child is ready for preschool. Forcing a child who is not ready physically, socially, or emotionally into a formal school setting could set the child up for failure, which could then result in a life-long problem with school.

Physically your child should be able to attend to most personal hygiene issues independently or under supervision. This means the child should be potty trained as well as able to clean up afterward (including unfastening and fastening clothing). Your child should also be able to feed herself with little or no supervision.

The child should also be able to focus on a task, such as coloring, as well as listen attentively, to a story or conversation, for longer than a few minutes.

Another important physical development issue is whether or not your child is able to maintain the school schedule. Will the snack and meal breaks meet your child's nutritional needs? Will he be able to stay awake until it is time to leave or take a nap?

Preschool is often a time and place when children learn a great deal about friendship and social interactions, but if a child isn't ready for this level of social activity it can be tough on the child, class, and family. Children should have some experience playing with their peers, learning to share and take turns, and working out their differences before attending preschool. Children should also have some experience taking direction from adults who are not their primary caregivers. For example, a child who has only been in the care of a select few relatives may have difficulty adjusting to the care of a strange new adult.

Emotional development is another key consideration when determining if a child is ready for preschool. Is your child ready for the separation from home and parent or previous day care provider? How does your child adjust to new places and people?

If you think your child is not ready in one or more of these important areas then you should put off starting preschool. It may be that in a few months time your child will have leaped past those hurdles and be ready to start. You can also work with your child on the areas you feel need work, such as personal care or social interaction. Many programs also allow you to ease your child into the program with only a few hours a week gradually stepping up to full participation.

Remember, young children grow and develop at a tremendous pace so simply giving your child some time to grow into a program is much better than forcing the issue. In later years your child won't feel the impact of those 'missed' months on their education but a positive preschool experience will have a lasting effect on self esteem and learning.

Starting your child's preschool experience when they are ready, willing, and able is the best way to set your child on the road to educational success.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=58707&ca=Parenting