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Tired Of The Mess? Tips To Keep Your Child’s Room Neat

Wanting your child to be organized and stay safe is an innate desire for parents. But sometimes, your kids dont see it that way. All your kids want to do is play, play and play some more! If youre having a hard time keeping your childs room clean and organized, read on for some tips to help you achieve your goal.

Make the room efficient. Make use of small drawers and cabinets where you can put your childs belongings. Utilize anything that fits the design or budget. The easier it to access, the better chance that it will be used.

For toddlers, hanging their clothes on small hangers on a low hung rod can help them choose their outfit and help them to feel like they are making their own decisions. These feelings help them to start to like how things work, and as they grow they will like having their clothes hung.

Organizing a babys room is mostly for the benefit of the parent. Grouping the essential things you need in one area will help you find things quicker and make the job of caring for your baby much easier and safer. For example, put all the items you need for changing your baby on or near your changing table. You never want to leave your baby on the table to move across the room to pick up something thats out of place, and having to pick him up to do that is quite a pain as well. Likewise, arrange babys bath basics together including towels and washcloths. Keep them within easy reach when you are bathing your baby. After all, you cannot leave your baby in her tub while you look for the baby shampoo.

Place shelves at reaching height for your child in his or her room. Shelves can be used to put toys on and when your child wants to play, she can easily reach them without having to drag out all the other toys.

Place a limit on the toys that are used at one time. Teach your child to play with one toy at a time. Then before she can play with another toy, she must put the first one away. If its on a shelf thats at a level where she can easily access it, this job should be an easy one, she just may have to be reminded that the first toy has to be put back before the second one can be taken out.

Make organizing and keeping the room clean fun. Make using special containers for toys with small pieces a fun part of playing with that toy. For example, use an old shoebox as a toy car garage. Another example of making organization fun would be to place a basketball hoop on top of your little boys laundry hamper. Hell be able to practice some basketball moves every time he changes his clothes.

Teach your child how to clean his room. Ask your child to join you when you are cleaning his room. Point out that there is a place for everything and keeping the room clean is as easy as putting every item back in its place. As long as you dont let the room get too out of hand, cleaning will be easy. Eventually, you can transition to sitting on the bed and telling your child what needs to be done. Then later, he will know what to do without you being there.

Keeping a childs room clean can truly be a daunting task, but cleaning as you go and keeping organized makes it a lot easier. Follow the tips above and start to get in a habit, it takes practice and some time before you see results but its well worth the effort.

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Most parents at some stage are driven to distraction by one or more of their childrens annoying habits or behaviours, whether it is a toddler who continually whines, a school-aged child who leaves clothes lying around or a teenager who uses a less than pleasant vocabulary.

How to affect change is a challenge for many parents. Do you ignore a childs annoying behaviour or do you pick up on it? A useful rule of thumb is to pick up on behaviours that are dangerous to the child himself or significantly infringe on the rights and comfort of others.

Also ask yourself: Is this behaviour reasonable for the childs age? For instance, it is reasonable to expect an eight year old not to disturb you while you are on the phone for twenty minutes but it is not reasonable to expect the same of a two year old.

It is also useful to take into account the childs current state of mind and what is going in on their lives that may be related to some unusual behaviour to occur at home.

The following four principles for changing your childs behaviour will be effective if you are both patient and persistent.

Principle one: Change your initial response first. This is important because childrens behaviour generally requires a pay-off, which may be your attention or an attempt to defeat you. The most important principle about changing childrens behaviour is to change your own behaviour first.So if your child’ whines (a child’s version of water torture) to get his own way refrain from answering back or giving in.

Principle two: Practise with your child the behaviour that you want. The notion of behaviour rehearsal is fundamental to learning a new behaviour. Dont just tell kids what you expect, get them to practise the behaviour you want. In the example of a young whiner – get him to practise asking for help or a treat in a normal voice.

Principle three: Minimise the behaviour you dont want. That means when children continue their old behaviour despite your brilliant suggestions ignore it, sidestep it or implement a consequence but dont nag or harp on it. Remember it takes time often to change a behaviour, particularly if it has been happening for a long time.

Principle four: Spotlight the appropriate behaviour. When your children behave in the desired way show your sincere appreciation. We often take children for granted or rather we are trained to give children no attention when they are good, but plenty when they are less than perfect. The behaviours we focus on expand so we need to focus our attention on desirable behaviours more than on the negative behaviours. For our young whiner it is essential to make a fuss when he uses a normal voice to get what he wants.

Like any process it will only work if you stick to it and follow it through. And dont be afraid to adapt it to suit your circumstances. Remember, it is the fact that you have a plan rather than the nature of the plan that is most powerful in achieving a change in your childrens behaviour.

For practical ideas to make children’s irritating behaviours such as whining, nagging, tantrums and sibling fighting disappear read Michael Grose’s ground-breaking book – One Step Ahead. It is available at the shop at www.parentingideas.com.au

Michael Grose is Australia’s leading parenting educator. He is the author of six books and gives over 100 presentations a year and appears regularly on television, radio and in print. For further ideas to help you raise happy children and resilient teenagers visit http://www.parentingideas.com.au . While you are there subscribe to Happy Kids newsletter and receive a free report Seven ways to beat sibling rivalry.

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No matter who we are, or what we do in life, most of us have kids. And there are numerous theories floating around regarding parenting. The two I have found that are crucial above all else: teaching my kids that everything but love, shelter, clothes, schooling and food are privileges, not rights, and more importantly is to be consistent with them.

It is imperative that you are consistent with EVERYTHING starting when the child is very small. Sounds easy, but it’s very hard to do. We all get caught up in our lives, get frustrated or angry and threaten things we don’t mean, are too tired to deal with keeping our word, or don’t have the strength for the temper tantrums and begging. Besides, those little buggers are so darn cute when they plead for something, and have a unique way of melting your heart at the most inopportune times. How do we resist caving in? It’s not easy! But having two boys 13 and 15, I can tell you it only gets worse. Because if you aren’t consistent in the beginning, they learn you will cave, that you don’t follow through and if they wait it out long enough, beg or plead enough, you’ll give in. As an example, I have been telling my oldest for years to raise his grades or he won’t be allowed to get his driving permit. He blew me off, but when he turned 15 1/2 (the driving permit age in California) I refused to let him get it. He was floored. He thought for sure I would cave, but I didn’t. We’ll see if his grades improve now or not.

I have not been very consistent with my boys while they were growing up. I tried, I tried very hard, but I work full time, I have health issues, I had my boys in my thirties, and I’m just plum worn out! They know from past experience if they play me right, I will go ahead and reverse my previous decisions regarding grounding, etc. Add to the fact that I am not home half of the time they are, because I’m working, I am not home to enforce anything. This makes being consistent extremely difficult. But it is do-able. I’ve learned with my youngest I have to go to the extremes. He got in trouble for not doing his homework, so I told him no X-Box privileges till he raised his grades and I didn’t get notes on his report card that say “missing assignments.” In order to keep that restriction, I had to actually take the X-box console to work with me! Sounds extreme, but it was the only way I could enforce my rule. He got very mad at me, but we all need to remember that we are their parents, not their friends. We are here to produce happy, contributing citizens to our communities. I tell my boys all the time “I’m not as worried about your happiness as I am for your safety.” We as parents have to make priorities, and our kids should be our number one priority, not how tired we are or anything else. I just wish I had reminded myself of that more while they were growing up.

My oldest came home with a marijuana pipe with his name on it not too long ago, and I found out he was skipping school, too. Of course I got every excuse in the book…”It’s not mine, I made it for a friend and it broke so I have it to fix for him” etc. etc. blah blah blah. So I went and bought a drug test and told him if he did either again I would kick him out of the house. His response was “Fine, I’ll go to Grama’s.” My reply was “Grama was a school teacher. Do you really think she would allow a flunking student, school ditching drug user in her house?” Sounds harsh, but he hasn’t done either since. If I could go back to when they were smaller, I would change the way I raised them and would have MADE the effort to be more consistent, no matter how worn out I was. Because as they get older, so do I, and I find myself more and more tired each year. I am lucky that they turned out to be relatively good kids. They have their good days and bad days, but all in all I am very proud of them.

Read all the parenting books you want, but I can tell you from experience that the major thing to have happy kids that behave well is consistency with boundaries, limits and rules. And the best thing to teach them to respect things is to teach them the difference between privileges and rights. If you follow those words of advice, you will have happy, well behaved children. Let them speak their minds if they need to, but be sure they do it respectfully. I am not one to censor children, but it better be said with respect! Being consistent with them will also help teach them respect for you.

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If you have a newborn, he or she is going to spit up. Some babies do it more than others, but they all do it. There are several reasons why, and some things you can do to minimize spitting up.

Newborns spit up more than older babies, in part because their esophagus is not mature yet, and in part because they tend to have a lot of mucous to clear, and when they clear it, the milk comes up, too. Most babies stop spitting up entirely by the time they are six months old, but there are those who continue until about one year old.

Other reasons that babies spit up are too much air in their stomachs, or simply eating a little too much. These are problems you can minimize with a little attention. First, dont feed your baby when hes crying, as he is taking in air with all those sobs. Calm him first and then continue. If your baby is taking a bottle, make sure you are holding the bottle so that the nipple stays full of milk, and holding the baby so that he stays partially upright. If possible, put him somewhere where he will be still for awhile right after eating. Jostling him around is likely to cause an outburst. Also, dont try to feed your baby too much. Just because the doctor says that most newborns will take three or four ounces at a time, doesnt mean thats right for your baby. If your baby consistently spits up a large amount after every feeding, you might want to cut back by an ounce or so, and see what happens.

Now, let me point out something important. There is a difference between spitting up and throwing up. When your baby spits up normally, it will look (and smell) like a lot, but realistically, it is probably only a teaspoon or two of milk mixed with mucous. That is normal spitting up. Its important that you know the difference between spitting up and throwing up the whole meal. If your child starts throwing up, its time to call the doctor!

Now, a word about your clothes. Keep a cloth diaper around at all times. When you had your baby shower, I bet people gave you some of those fancy burp rags, didnt they? Well, theyre great for dusting furniture, but simply too narrow for your shoulder. Whenever I used them, I wound up with vomit on my shoulder nearest my neck. It was lovely. I wonder how many people thought I had switched to some new, horrible perfume. Another trick if youre going to work. I used to put an old, extra large button front shirt on over my clothes when I got dressed on work days. I wore it until I had dropped the baby off at the sitters, and then took it off in the car. That way, if they decided to spit up on me on the way out the door, or at the sitters, I didnt have to go home and change.

Spitting up is relatively short lived, thank goodness. So, just take precautions, and wait it out!

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When the little one arrives, diaper bags are a must. This can be anything from a bag specifically designed for this purpose to an oversized shoulder bag with a lot of extra compartments. The truth is that there is no universal rule for diaper bags and how they should look. In fact, they can be very stylish and even affordable.

When shopping for diaper bags, you may sometimes end up paying more for a bag just because of its intended purpose. The truth is that you can often find a bag, with just as much possibility, for a lot less money if you know what to look for.

What are diaper bags? Basically, these are bags that you take with you that include baby items, such as diapers, powders, baby wipes and a change of clothes for the little one incase of an accident. Just because you are sporting a bag full of diapers doesnt mean that you cannot do it with style. Shopping for diaper bags can be as easy as either visiting the infant section of a local retail or online store, but it can also be as simple as a stroll through the purse aisle.

Consider purchasing a large leather shoulder bag with internal compartments and lots of space. One thing that all diaper bags must have in common, regardless of their design, is a snap or zip closure. This will help to prevent the babys things from accidentally falling out or rolling away if the bag slips off of your shoulder. And, this can happen, especially when your priority is holding onto a squirming baby and you arent paying attention to much else. The main thing is to keep your child in your arms at all cost and if that means dropping a few diaper bags, then it helps to have a secured closure so that the contents of the bag will stay safe.

You can find diaper bags, or purses that can be used for that purpose, at any one of the many online stores carrying purses. You can often find a terrific sale on popular designs, which makes the deal even sweeter. One of the important considerations when shopping for diaper bags is their comfort. You will be spending a lot of time toting this bag, so you want and need for it to be comfortable. It should be large enough to hold all of the necessary items, but without being overly bulky or awkward.

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Successful Two-Way Communications with your Child
One of the most frustrating challenges we face as parents is communicating effectively with our child. Though we strive to open an honest two-way line of communication with our child, we become frustrated when it appears their attention isn’t solely on us or the conversation at hand. Yet we seem to find it’s perfectly acceptable to discuss things with them while reading the paper, folding clothes, or working on the computer and then are often left wondering when the lines of communication broke.
Children are by nature easily distracted and not always responsive to their environment. It is the responsibility of the parent to emphasize positive patterns of communication and ensure the child learns that ignoring communication is not acceptable. Early prevention, in the form of educating your child about the proper forms of communication, is the key to ensuring that the non-verbal agreement does not take hold. Teach your child by example. Remain completely and totally focused on them and the conversation at hand. Turn off the television; allow calls to go to the voicemail, or go in a room where there are no distractions.
Talk to your child, and explain to them in age-appropriate terms how they are communicating and why their method doesn’t work. Show your child how to communicate effectively, even when the questions are hard.
Make yourself an active listener. Let them voice their opinion or side of the story and ask questions to ensure you understand their viewpoint.
Be constant in the manner in which you communicate with you child. Send the same message with each and every interaction. Allow your child to see that you will call their attention to those times that the unwanted behavior rears its ugly head.
Kids will be kids and they will sometimes be distractive and non-communicative. You are the expert in knowing your child’s behavior and can best judge the improvement in their communications. The best way to ensure healthy communication patterns is to model positive communication skills.

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Once you return to work, you can continue to breast
feed. If you live close to work or have an on site
daycare, you may be able to breast feed during
your breaks. If that isn’t possible, you have 2
choices:
1. Keep your milk supply by using a high
quality automatic electric breast pump to express
milk during the day. Save your milk that you
collect for your baby sitter.
2. If you don’t want to or can’t pump at
work, you can gradually replace daytime feedings
with formula while your at home but still continue
to nurse at night and in the morning. The milk
your body produces may not be enough to keep your
baby satisfied, even if you only need enough for
2 feedings.

Advantages of pumping at work
Pumping at work will help stimulate your production
of milk, so you’ll have plenty available when it
comes time to feed. You can also collect the
milk you pump, so your baby will have the health
and nutritional benefits of breast milk even
when you aren’t there. To make things better,
pumping can be an ideal way to feel a connection
to your baby during the work day.

Although it can seem like a hassle, many mothers
find that the benefits of breast pumping far
outweight the inconvenience.

To manage pumping at work, you’ll need to have
the following:
1. Breast pump, preferably a fully
automatic electric pump with a double collection
kit so you can pump both breasts simultaneously.
2. Bottles or bags for collecting and
storing the milk.
3. Access to a refrigerator or cooler
to keep the milk cold until you return home.
4. Breast pads to help protect your
clothes if you start to leak.

Make sure that you get used to pumping before
you return to work, so you’ll know what to expect
and how it feels. You’ll be much more confident
with pumping at work if you already know that
you can produce enough milk.

At work, you’ll want to have somewhere that’s
away from everyone else when you pump, such as
an empty office or empty room. This way, you’ll
be away from everyone else and you can have the
quiet tranquility you need to pump. In most
offices, this shouldn’t be a problem.

For the time frame, you’ll want to pump every
2 – 3 hours if possible. If you can’t, every
4 hours or so will have to suffice. After you
have finished pumping, store the milk in the
bags or bottles, clean yourself up, then go
back to work. When you return home, you can
feed the milk to your growing baby.

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Productive and Positive Potty Training
Your child’s showing all the signs of being ready to potty train. That’s great! But now, where do you start?
Explain to your toddler that going potty is a normal process of life and everyone does it, even animals. Talk with them about the toilet, a special place where they can potty just like the big kids. Tell him how the potty works and let him try flushing himself. Explain that they will be wearing underwear and not diapers. Find some educational and entertaining videos of their favorite characters learning to go potty. Be sure to involve other family members in the process and emphasize the importance of consistency during this process.
Make a special trip to the store and purchase new underwear with your toddler. Let them have a voice in what you get. The underwear will have much more significance if your toddler helped choose them.
Overalls, pants with lots of buttons, snaps or zips, tight or restrictive clothing and oversized shirts will all be an obstacle to your child during this process. Put these kinds of clothes away for the time being.
Decide whether or not you’re going to use pull-ups, training pants or regular underwear and try to stick with this decision so your child has consistency and isn’t confused. Think about whether or not you want to use rewards or not. Figure out a strategy on how to handle potty issues when you’re away from home.
If your child is in child care, ask your provider for their advice and make sure there aren’t any hard and fast rules the center or caregiver has in place that may be an issue. Let them know that you’re going to start and enlist their help with the process.
Praise your child for each successful trip to the potty, and comfort them when accidents happen and try to remain patient and calm when they do. Avoid using candy or other treats as reinforcement. Let them know that it will take a while to get the hang of using the potty, and encourage and praise each attempt they make. With consistency, encouragement and praise, they’ll soon be completely trained.

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The first thing that most new parents think about is a bassinet or a crib. A bassinet is very small and is designed for babies, while a crib is designed for babies and toddlers. The main concern with a crib is that some children may find themselves wedged in between the bars, so pay close attention to the spacing if selecting a crib with your new baby furniture.

For those restless nights, a rocking chair is a must have. This is generally placed next to the bassinet or crib and is for one of the parents to spend time rocking their child back and forth, either to relax them or to help them fall asleep. This is an essential piece of baby furniture and must be well constructed in order to avoid any mishaps. If the chair is assembled upon purchase, double check its stability prior to use.

Another important piece of baby furniture is a changing table. This is commonly used for changing diapers, cleaning up after the baby and even dressing the child. It is important to keep the babys clothes in one of the changing tables compartments or right next to the unit in a drawer. The reason that this is so important is so that your hand never leaves the child while on the table, so all clothes must be within reach so that you can safely reach for them while holding onto the child.

A baby bathtub is another essential piece of baby furniture and is designed especially for the little ones comfort. These are found at any baby specialty store or in the newborn department at a local retail store.

Not necessarily classified as baby furniture, but necessary nonetheless is a baby stroller for taking your newborn for a short walk. In addition, a diaper bag with diapers and an extra change of clothes (for both you and the baby) should be taken along.

When selecting baby furniture, it is important to consider quality above all else. This is the furniture that stands between your child and the floor, so make sure that it is sturdy and secure. In addition, pay close attention to recalls on any baby furniture or accessories. From time to time, certain types of baby furniture may be involved in a recall by the manufacturer. If this is the case, the manufacturer typically offers to either provide a repair, replacement or refund for the baby furniture in question.

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When you brought your little bundle of joy home from the hospital, no one told you how much lighter your wallet was about to become. Between diapers, formula, clothes, and toys, it is amazing how something to small can cost so much. Take advantage of the following tips to help you save money on the things you buy for your baby.

Order things online and take advantage of coupon codes. Lets face it, your baby needs a lot of accessories and that can add up to big bucks, but you can save substantially by shopping online. Buying things online for your baby has lots of advantages. With literally millions of products to choose from, shopping on the internet can give you options for items that your local store doesnt carry. Many sites offer free shipping and often you dont have to pay tax on your online purchase which means that you could conceivably get an item online for less money than it would cost you to buy it in the store. Many retailers sell things cheaper online than they do in their physical store, in hopes of tapping into the internet market. The best secret to saving money online is online coupon codes. Upon checkout, you simply input a code when prompted and the amount of the coupon will automatically be deducted of the total of your purchase. If you use a coupon code for 20 % off of an item that can add up to huge savings if you are purchasing something big like a crib or a stroller.

Use coupons when you shop in retail stores. Coupons arent just for groceries. Watch the paper for specific store coupons and save tons of money on purchases like bed linens car seats, strollers, and toys. Many retailers print coupons in their Sunday flier, so scan them closely and watch the savings add up. Often these coupons are for a percentage off your purchase, rather than for specific products, so you can save a lot of money if you use if for a big purchase like furniture. Dont forget to check online for printable coupons from your favorite stores. It is always a bonus to find a coupon for a store you planned to shop at anyway.

Dont wait for coupons to come to you. You dont have to rely solely on the Sunday paper for baby related coupons. Write to the manufacturers of the products you use and tell them what you like about their products. You will be surprised at the amount of coupons they will usually send you. Often they will even send you vouchers for free products. Dont just write to the manufacturers of products like baby food or formula. Contact companies that sell diapers, lotions, shampoos, baby wipes, or toys. Look in your pantry, your bathroom cupboard, and your babys room and make a list of all the products you buy for your baby. Then write to those companies and soon you will be saving a fortune on products you already know and love. You can also call the toll free number on the back of the products you use and ask the operator if they have any coupons available. Manufacturers love to give coupons because if they give you a coupon, they know you will buy their product. Most people never think to ask, so all of those coupons just sit there unused.

Babies need so many things and all of those things add up to a lot of money. Use coupons to cut your expenses everywhere you can. It pays to save as much money as possible now, because before you know it, your little darling will grow up and it will be time to start thinking about college tuition.

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