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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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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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Your expecting a baby soon and have begun designing your babys nursery. You want everything to be perfect but there are so many decisions to make. What type of theme are you trying to achieve? What colors scheme are you going to use? What Baby bedding design will you choose? While picking out your Baby Bedding there are some things that should be considered before making your purchase.
It is important to make sure that your baby bedding materials are flame resistant. It is also a good idea to find out what the thread count of your baby bedding is. The higher thread count in your baby bedding the higher the quality of the fabric and the softer it will feel to your baby. You would not want a scratchy fabric rubbing against your babies delicate skin. Your Crib Bedding should be as comfortable as it is interesting for your baby to look at. After all they will be spending quite a bit of time in their crib.
When you purchase your baby bedding you may notice it has a stiff feel to it. This is normal. Most Designer Baby Bedding manufacturers use products on the bedding to make it stays wrinkle-free and looking new. You may want to wash your new crib bedding set before using it for the first time. This will help soften it up and make your baby more comfortable.

Once you decide on your crib bedding design, you may want to shop around. Shopping around can save you a great deal of money as many online retailers offer discounts and bonus items with your baby bedding purchase. Many also offer free shipping with your purchase. It is also important to find a retailer that carries coordinating accessories for your baby bedding. You may also want to ask if the retailer offers any discount on their accessories with a crib bedding purchase.

You may only use your Baby Bedding for what seems like a short period of time but it is a very special time for both you and your baby. Years from now when your kids are grown and you take it out of that old cedar chest you will say, this was their first baby blanket and those fond memories of watching your baby laying their content, just staring at their Crib Bedding patterns or their musical mobile will surely bring you joy and maybe a tear or two.

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Planning a baby nursery is a big task. There is furniture to choose, walls to paint, safety to take into consideration. Probably the most exciting part of planning your baby nursery though, will be choosing your nurserys theme. The theme you decide on will set the tone for the whole room so it will certainly need to be one of the first decisions that you make when your start the planning process.

There are an almost endless supply of themes available for a babys room. You could choose to go with something gender specific, a girl themed room for a girl and a boy themed room for a boy, or you may want to consider choosing a gender neutral theme if you plan to have more children. This will save you the trouble of possibly having to remodel the nursery when the next baby comes along. A pink princess themed nursery wont work so well if your next child is a boy. Likewise, a girl will seem out of place in a nursery decorated with cars.

If you want to plan a nursery that will stimulate your baby as they grow, consider bright primary colors and geometric shapes and patterns. Red, blue, and yellow have been found to be the colors that help stimulate young infants. Bedding and wall dcor with geometric shapes and patterns will also do this especially if the shapes and patterns are large. This will make it easier for the baby to see since it takes many months for an infants vision to completely develop.

Whatever theme you decide on for your nursery, be prepared to live with it for a few years. Most babies are not ready for a toddler room until they are two to three years old. If you want to save money, choose a theme that will grow with them into their toddler room. Since toddler beds take the same size mattress and bedding as a crib, you could continue to use the theme and bedding you choose in a toddler room if you wanted to.

No matter what theme you decide on, remember to have fun while taking on the whole nursery planning process. This is a joyous time in your life that you will always be able to look back on fondly.

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It is just part of parenting teens to feel shut out and worthless as a parent, right? This is not the case. Most children (remember, teens are still kids) need a firm parental hand on their shoulder. While most of the time they will make good decisions based on what you have taught them through the years, other times they will struggle endlessly with peer pressure. The first thing that you need to do as a parent is to take a step back and then make your move.

Take A Step Back

Parenting teens is no easy task. The first thing that you need to do, no matter how angry you are, is to take a small step back and realize what is really happening with your teen. To do this, you need to realize what they are facing. They are facing peer pressure, constant rejection from friends and are usually struggling with their self image. They are under a lot of stress and do not need you to add to it.

Make Your Move

No matter what you see when you take your step back; you need to react to it. If you are thinking that you do not need to worry about your child because they will make the right choices, you are welcoming their pain. Instead, you need to pull them aside when they are having trouble and talk to them in a frank yet understanding way. For example, if you suspect that your child is doing drugs, sit down with them, tell them what you think is happening and offer to help them to get them back on track. No accusations, no pressure, just you being a parent.

Realize that all children make mistakes, even teens. The mistakes teens make are just bigger and more life threatening than those that toddlers make. Yet, parenting teens means being a parent to them. Realize what is happening to your child. Realize what you need to do about it. Forgive them for making the mistake and help them to get out of it. You will need to do this type of parenting for as long as you have teens.

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There are lots of decisions to make when theres a baby on the way. One of the most controversial is the ever raging breast or bottle debate. There are many people who have strong feelings on both sides of this issue, and many of them will try like a televangelist to get you on their side. Im not going to do that. Im going to give you the facts, and share some personal insight on the subject, which hopefully will leave you feeling good, whatever your choice.

Scientifically, breast milk is best. There are nutrients in breast milk that help your childs brain develop, and try as they might, formula makers cannot replicate these nutrients. Breastfeeding protects your child from illnesses because, as long as he or she is nursing, they are protected by your immune system, which is much more developed than theirs. Breast milk is very well tolerated by babies, and hardly ever causes gastric problems, and breastfed babies are less likely to be overweight.

But, realistically, the scientific facts are not the only things to be considered. Women who simply dont want to breastfeed will probably not be very successful. Even some women who want to breastfeed will find it so difficult, that they are miserable trying to make it work. Some women will have difficulty making enough milk to satisfy their babys hunger, and some women will suffer more pain with breastfeeding than they can endure. If you fall into one of those categories, dont beat yourself up. Your baby can do quite nicely on formula, too.

When my daughter was born, I was anxious to breastfeed. I had two boys, but one is my husbands by a previous marriage, and the other was adopted at ten months, so this was my only chance to be pregnant and breastfeed. I read all the books I could get my hands on, and like a fool, spent a bunch of money on a breast pump.

Well, it turns out that my nipples are not exactly a matched set, so my daughter completely rejected one nipple. So, I nursed on the side she would take until my nipples looked like ground beef. Plus, she was an eight pound eating machine at birth, and no matter how long I nursed her, I couldnt satisfy her appetite. Even with pumping from the breast that she rejected, she was always hungry. I made myself crazy from it, worked with two different lactation consultants and tried every trick in the book, but still every attempt at nursing ended in tears. After two miserable weeks, I gave in and put her on formula. We have never looked back. I was happier because I wasnt constantly frustrated, and she was happier because her tummy was full and because her Mommy was much more relaxed.

Now that Ive told you that story, Ill tell you this. If I ever had another baby, I would try breastfeeding again. Every baby is different, and a Mothers body is different with each pregnancy. I would try again to give my child the best from a nutritional standpoint. But, I understand now that sometimes it just doesnt work, or it isnt right for you, and that doesnt mean that youre not a good Mom.

Breast or bottle is a personal choice. Weigh the facts and the preferences, and make the choice that is right for you and your baby. Whatever you decide, you dont owe anyone an explanation.

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Ive heard a million parents lament the fact that they didnt get their children interested in music sooner.

There are also hundreds of adults out there that wish they had learned how to play an instrument when they were younger.

Studies actually support the idea that music stimulates certain brain connections and can actually help children grow smarter!

Music also provides an invaluable outlet for safe expression of feelings and emotions, and can also serve as an important learning tool throughout your childrens lives!

Music helps educate in many ways, by developing childrens memory skills and nourishing their spirit.

Now, some children are a bit resistant to music at first, but you can easily find ways to encourage them to enjoy music in many different forms early in life.

You need to simply adopt some creative ways to introduce music in your childrens life without forcing them to take on a task they arent interested in (Hint: dont go buy a saxophone and tell them to practice or else).

Heres how you can successfully and gently introduce music into your childrens life:

- Allow them the opportunity to select an instrument they are interested in. Even if that instrument is something you consider too large or incompatible for them. Be willing to let your children make their own decisions and encourage them when they do.

- Play a variety of different music in the home whenever your children are around. Turn on the radio and turn off the TV, and make a point to try and play something different every day.

- Teach your children how to sign songs. Children learn through music. You can use songs to teach numbers, the alphabet and even help develop basic memory skills.

- Help your children make up their own songs. This will encourage them to use their natural creativity and talent.

- Hum a tune with your child. Praise them when they try something a little different.

- Consider taking your children to age appropriate concerts.

There are many concerts specifically designed with children in mind, chock full of songs and beats that will entertain and delight even the youngest of children.

Music is an important part of the developmental process children go through.

Children who are involved in activities such as band or other musical outlets are less likely to get involved in problematic behaviors and dangerous after school activities.

Music has even reportedly increased the intelligence of newborns, particularly building spatial reasoning.

Music also makes the world a happier place to live in.
Youll enjoy learning as much as your children will, and you can even explore music together!

By introducing your children to music while they are still young, you will ultimately improve their lives and their appreciation of the world in many ways.

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Every parent of a newborn will inevitably deal with many sleepless nights. Babies, of course, have many needs, and when they awake in the night they will cry for their mothers. One of your most important tasks as a parent is to establish good sleeping habits in your child. Every baby must go through a transition where he adjusts from sleeping with his mother to sleeping on his own. This is a natural transition of course, and takes some time, but there are things you can do to expedite the process. Not only will this help your child develop better sleep habits, it will allow you to get some much needed rest.

Many baby sleep tips exist, and every parent would be well advised to research many different baby sleep tips. It is important to keep in mind, however, that no baby sleep tip should be considered hard and fast rules. As a parent, your instincts know best, and when you are in doubt in regards to baby sleep tips remind yourself of this fact. Many first time parents experience insecurity in terms of whether their decisions and strategies are correct, and while you shouldn’t be uninformed, you should always view baby sleep tips through the lens of your own parental instincts.

Now, one thing you should consider when trying to get your newborn to sleep better at night is what his feeding habits are. Oftentimes the child will be active and otherwise busy during the day, and won’t be doing a lot of feeding. The problem with this, of course, is that he will then wake you repeatedly thought the night for feedings. A good technique, then, for getting your baby to sleep better at night is to “tank up” during the day. Try feeding every three hours during the day. This will not only ensure that you child’s appetite is satisfied for the night, but will create an important association: you want your child to associate feeding with the daytime. If your child does wake up in the night for a feeding, try to get him to do one full feeding the first time he wakes up. If you don’t do this, you encourage him to “snack” throughout the night – i.e. wake you up every couple hours.

Again, it is important to understand these baby feeding tips should not be taken as hard and fast rules, but rather as guidance. In a general way, you want to create both daytime and sleep associations for your child. You want him to associate feeding and play with something that happens during the day, and lullabies and baths as something that happens at night, before bed. By doing this you ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness, which is the ultimate goal in terms of putting your child to bed easily. If, however, your child doesn’t want to feed every three hours, don’t force him. Similarly, don’t force a full feeding when you wake him at night. Rather, think of the bigger picture: by creating general habits and associations for your child, you will ensure a hasty and healthy sleep development.

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It’s impossible to list all the different skills you need, and decisions that you have to make, as a new parent. Although you should try to educate yourself and talk to other parents, in most cases the best solution for any questions you may have is to follow your instincts. Parenting is, after all, one of the most natural things in the world. One of the most common and difficult things you’ll deal with as the parent of a newborn is in getting your child to sleep well and throughout the night. Often, the process of achieving this seems to be a combination of science, art, and just plain luck. There are many baby sleep tips out there, and many of them are useful, but before you begin researching and applying them, you should develop a realistic and healthy attitude towards sleep. If you don’t do this, you risk applying tips in a rigid and scattershot manner, which isn’t likely to work.

One of the keys to this is understanding that you should be developing a long term goal, in terms of your baby’s sleep habits. As much as any parent’s short term goal is simply to get their child to go to sleep, so that she can get some sleep herself, you should be thinking of the long term goal of instilling healthy sleep habits in your child. A successful way to implement this goal is to be realistic and flexible. Your child is not going to sleep the same way or in the same manner every night. What you should be trying to do, therefore, is creating an environment that is conducive to sleep, so that your child can slowly learn to fall asleep on his own.

The best thing you can do is help your child develop an attitude in which sleep is both an enjoyable and secure state. Your child should think of sleep as a comforting thing that comes naturally. One way you can help foster this idea is by avoiding too much interference with your child’s sleeping habits. Although it can be tempting to follow guides and implement rigid rules regarding your child’s sleep, in many cases this can cause problems down the road.

If you rouse or put your child to bed at set hours, you may achieve a short term goal of getting some rest, but you may also be altering your child’s attitudes towards sleep. Instead of thinking of sleep as an enjoyable activity, he will begin to think of it as something he “has to do” like eating his dinner. By altering your child’s attitude towards sleep in this way – by making him think of it as a task rather than an enjoyable activity – you risk problems developing later.

In older children and adults who have sleeping problems, doctors can often trace the source of the problem back to sleeping habits enforced at an extremely young age. If as a baby the subject was put to bed at a set hour, for example, regardless of weather he was tired or not. By trying to stay more in tune with how your baby is feeling and what he wants, you will encourage a healthier attitude towards sleep, which will benefit both you and your child in the future.

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Dear Daughter,

I love you so much. I wish that I could always protect you from all dangers, but I know that I cant. You are growing up and you will have to face dangers and make some decisions on your own. However, I am always here and I can always be a pretty good coach. Please talk to me anytime about any problem you may have, even if you have messed up. I have messed up a few times myself.

I was thinking about my last letter on dating. I would like to continue those thoughts. As I think about the potential dangers to avoid, drugs and alcohol are at the top of the list.

The moment you learn that a boyfriend is using any type of illegal drug, begin choosing the location for the break up. Never let the relationship continue thinking that he will give up the drugs for you. I know this sounds cruel, but it is true. People who are using drugs will look you in the eye and convincingly lie about the drug use. The drug use actually alters their personality. They will lie and do things that they wouldnt normally do.

When you break up with someone over drug use, its a little different situation. As described before, choose a semi-private but public location, such as a restaurant. Take your own transportation and enough one dollar bills to pay for whatever you order, if you are meeting in a restaurant.

Get straight to the issue. If you like him, tell him so. If he has some good points, compliment him. Then tell him that you cannot continue dating him because he uses drugs. Tell him that this is something you decided long ago and that you are sticking to it. If it is true, tell him that you still consider him to be a friend, but you will not date him.

He will try to minimize the drug use. He may say that he doesnt use drugs that often, and that its no big deal, everyone does it. He may say that he can quit anytime he wants to quit. He may try to make you feel guilty for treating him so badly. Dont believe any of this. Tell him that only he can decide what he wants to do, you wish him the best and that you hope, for his sake, he does decide to give up the drugs. Get up and leave.

In about a week or so he may call to tell you that he is off all drugs and doing great. Congratulate him and tell him that you will not consider dating him until he has been drug free for at least a year. He will then try to make you feel bad for being so unreasonable. He may even try to make you feel guilty for not helping him stay off drugs by continuing the relationship. Without you he may start using drugs again. Dont buy any of this. Tell him that it is up to him to quit the drugs, not you. You are not responsible for his behavior. By the way, if you are thinking that everyone does some drugs so there is no one left to date, you are hanging around the wrong people.

While we are on the subject, do we need to talk about drug use? I dont think that we do, but if we do, please, please, lets talk. You need to know that there is a lot of false information out there, most of which comes from the people who are using the drugs. They make it sound really good. Its not. I have seen many people lose their family, friends, their productive lifestyle, and sometimes their life, because the drug became number one in their life.

Do you know what upsets me the most? Not a single one of those people set out to destroy their life. I am certain that if these people had known what destruction lay ahead, they would have never taken that first drug that seemed so harmless. In reality, the most dangerous illegal drug is the first one taken. It seems so harmless in the beginning.

In spite of the seriousness of drug use there is a simple solution; simply dont do it. Dont take that first drug. No matter how harmless it may seem or how good other people make it sound, dont do it. Make that decision now, before you find yourself faced with friends who are encouraging you to just try it. Make the decision now so that you will not have to decide when under pressure. There comes a time when you have to make some decisions about yourself. Make good decisions.

By the way, what would you do if you were with a group of friends and suddenly alcohol or an illegal drug turns up? You may be thinking Dont take it. Thats a good answer, but you must do more in this situation. You must leave the group immediately. If the individual with the drugs or alcohol is caught and arrested, the whole group will be arrested. It is important that you choose wisely when it comes to friends. I will have more to say about this in a future letter.

Let me also mention a few things about alcohol. Alcohol is probably the most dangerous drug available in terms of destruction to individuals and families. The reason it is so destructive is because it is legal, socially accepted and readily available.

For those who have trouble with alcohol, the onset of problems is slow and not even noticeable to the victim. Victims of both drug and alcohol dependence often have their world falling apart all around them, and they are in total denial of the problem and the consequences.

You are under age. It is illegal for you to drink alcohol. This makes my advice simple for now. Dont do it. Its that simple. No doubt you will find yourself at a party and there will be alcohol present. Dont do it, leave immediately. Its illegal and you could be arrested.

When you become an adult and are living on your own, you will have to decide what you will do about alcohol. Some people can drink socially and never have a problem with alcohol abuse or dependence. Other people begin with social drinking and the use slowly increases until it becomes abuse with the entire range of social, and eventually, physical problems. Which group are you in? I dont know either.

I want you to know that there is a danger involved. To avoid the danger, the best thing to do is choose to not drink alcohol. This is the safest route and the one that I recommend to you.

As far as dating someone who is using alcohol, it is similar to the drug issue. You are under age. If your date brings alcohol around you, he is putting you in danger. You could be arrested. He is being irresponsible and this is your cue to plan the break up. What if he is older and is of legal age to use alcohol? It doesnt matter. He is still endangering you. Plan the break up.

What will you do later on, when you are of legal age to drink alcohol, and your boyfriend drinks alcohol? This is not a black and white situation. If you have chosen the safe route and you do not drink alcohol, you may have decided that you will only date people who, like you, do not drink alcohol. If so, this simplifies things.

On the other hand, if you wish to continue dating the person, there may or may not be danger. As discussed earlier, some people have trouble with alcohol and some dont. If the relationship becomes serious, discuss your concerns with him. If you have a good relationship, an in-depth discussion should not be a problem. Remember that you always have access to professional drug and alcohol counselors who can help you evaluate your situation. Be sure you are comfortable with the situation up front rather than after the marriage.

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