Our children however, have no problem showing, displaying, or expressing their emotions. As parents, we need to be a part of helping our children learn to recognize, label, and control their emotions.

The 5 Steps To Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child:

1. Be aware of your child’s emotions. Your child has emotions, which are inside, and they express them externally in their behaviours. You need to recognize, even though your child may be young, that they do have emotions.
2. Recognize the emotion as an opportunity for teaching. You can empathize and teach your child about the emotion they are feeling.You can acknowledge and accept the emotion, even if it is negative.We can also teach our children how to control and manage their emotions.
3. Listen, empathize, and validate your child’s emotions. Listen with your eyes, ears, mind, and heart to understand what your child is trying to say from their perspective. With your words you can reflect back what you feel your child is trying to say, and help label the emotions.
4. Help your child label their emotions in words they understand. Make sure you label what the child IS feeling not what the SHOULD or OUGHT to be feeling. You can describe their behaviour and attach it to an emotion. Something simple like “When you are crying, I can tell that you are sad”.
5. Help your child come up with ways to manage their emotions. Help your child come up with healthy solutions to help manage and control their emotions. Also to find ways to appropriately express their emotions.

As we become our child’s emotional coach, it will help our child discover and manage their emotions. It will also help us, as parents, develop a closer relationship with our children.

Source: Dr. Sonia

Starting early
You may have heard that playing music for babies, even as early as when they are in the womb, can help boost intelligence. In fact, the studies behind this are mixed and nothing conclusive is known, but there is no denying that having plenty of music in the household prepares a child to learn music when she is old enough.

During the early months of your child’s life, play music whenever your baby is wide awake. And in fact, she may even sleep well if you play some soft music in the background during sleep times. Play every kind of music that you have in the house. All will help your child develop familiarity with the diverse melodies, harmonies, and tones that go into music.

Meanwhile, even if you are not particularly musical yourself, it is a good idea to hum and sing to your child often. She will enjoy it, and it will make your household a little more fun and musical.

Introducing instruments
A good way to prepare your child for a musical life is to have musical toys in the house. But you do not have to bring into the household any of those noisy, flashy musical toys that you see at the toy store. Even to the most tolerant parent, some of these noisy toys can be quite annoying. In any case, a child who is interested in music will enjoy even the most tasteful musical toy. Small glockenspiels and keyboards, for example, are great for a start.

While musical toys are fun for children who are still young enough to be called babies, there is nothing wrong with introducing real instruments as early as it seems feasible. Many of the great musicians started playing real instruments at the age of three or four and practiced regularly even at so young an age. Of course, you do not need to make your child play or practice if he or she does not like to, but do keep in mind the importance of practice. If your child seems musically inclined, you may have to give a little extra encouragement to make sure he or she gets truly develops.

And as soon as your child is old enough to play a real instrument, you might want to invest in some lessons. Be careful with this, however, because if your child does not truly enjoy playing, lessons can quickly become a chore. Also, it is important to have a good teacher who makes practice fun.

If you do all this and your child does not seem to develop into a talented musician, do not let this bother you. Remember that a large portion of musical talent is inborn, and some kids simply are not born with it. You can still have a musical household-and who knows? If you continue to make music a central part of your family’s life, your child may develop into a late-blooming musical talent.

By Jamell Andrews on http://www.parenting-journals.com/849/children-music/

As time goes by, you will find ways to fit in your other work once baby needs have been attended to. You can always keep her with you in the kitchen in her play pen while you are cooking.

However, be attentive and make sure that she’s not anywhere near the gas or within reaching distance of pots and pans thatcould topple on her.

Make bath time a pleasure for both of you to interact and enjoy. Sing to her and tell her little stories which, even if she doesn’t understand will make an impression on her; what matters is that she hears your voice calm, loving and soothing; and know that you are the person looking after her.

This bonding is very important from baby hood because this is what will give her the confidence of knowing that she’s safe and secure when she’s growing up.

When babystarts to become aware of colors and shapes, hang little colorful mobiles on her cot, she will spend hours watching them move and make tinkling noises. You can use these times to do your laundry or ironing or attend to other household chores.

Cuddle baby whenever possible because touch is very important. Both parents should do this; even daddies, no matter how busy or tired they are. Little babies need to know all the time that you are there loving and supporting.

Soon enough you will realize that you really don’t miss all those things you used to do before baby came. You will be so engrossed in her life and enjoying watching her grow up, you will hardly miss going out, seeing your friends etc.

Beware however, that you should have your restand relaxation as well. Eat well, exercise and sleep whenever you can. Always remember that you have to be strong and healthy for your baby.

Source: Dr. Anu

A new study has found that even into adulthood, problem children continue to give their parents heartache.

“What this study finds is that the children may have their own lives and moved on, but their ups and downs are still deeply affecting their parents,” said psychology professor Raj Anand of Pune University.

For this study, 500 middle-aged parents in the Mumbai area rated each of their grown children”s achievements in relationships, family life, education and career.

They were asked to rate each child”s successes compared to other adults the same age. Most parents had more than one child so there were reports of 1,200 grown children included in the study.

Parents also answered questions about their own psychological well-being, what kind of relationship they had with their children, and whether each of their children had experienced specific physical, emotional, lifestyle and behavioral problems.

Lifestyle and behavioral problems included: trouble with the law, drinking or drug problems, divorce and serious relationships problems. They also considered if each child”s problems were deemed involuntary, such as a health issue, and controlled for them within the study.

The research found 60 percent of parents had at least one grown child suffering at least one problem in the last two years. Close to 40 percent of parents said at least one of their children was highly successful.

The majority of parents, 60 percent, said they had a mix of successful and less successful children, while 17 percent had no children suffering from problems and 15 percent had no children they rated as being above average on life achievements.

The researchers then looked at how children”s successes and failures affected parents” well-being. Parents who had more than one highly successful child reported better well-being.

However, having even one problematic child had a negative impact on their mental health, even if the other children were successful. Simply having at least one successful child was not associated with better well-being. The findings suggest parents react more strongly to their children”s failures than their successes, according to Fingerman

“Having two children suffering problems may be more demanding than having only one child who suffers problems,” she said. “By the same token, having a successful child did not bufferthe effects of problem-ridden children.”

Source: Professor Raj

The more problematic the children are, the more are the parents affected from a psychological point of view. The situation is opposite if the children are successful in life from various points of view such as career, education and romance, because the parents have a better mental health in that case. The findings revealed the relationship between the children and the parents and the strong connection between them. Some parents are very affected by the children because feel that the children are an extension of themselves.

The researchers analyzed 633 parents who had 1,251 children in total. The parents were asked to rate the success of their children from various different points of view such as education, career and relationship. The parents were also asked to reveal if their children had any problems with the law, or a history of alcohol or illegal substances abuse, relationships, or if they had a divorce. The parents had to answer about their psychological well being and they had to talk about their relationship with their grown children.

The study revealed the fact that the children who are closer to their mother have higher chances of being successful from a romantic point of view. If the children had a close relationship with their mothers while they were teenagers, they were more successful in their relationships when they were older.

The children can be very amenable and the relationship between them and their parents is very important. If the parents did not pay too much attention to them when they were younger there are very high probabilities that they will act in the same manner with the people around them, meaning that it will be very difficult for them to establish relationships when they become older. However the relationship between the mother and the child should be established before they reach the age of 14. If the relationship is only beginning to form at that age, then it will not have an impact and it will not influence the romantic life of the child in the future. In most of the cases the relationship between the children and the parents is not seen at the same level by the two parts. The parents often feel that the relationship between them and the children is stronger than the children see it.

The experts believe that this might be the main reason why the relationship between them is successful, because the children have no idea of it. If the children might realize that the relationship between them and the mothers is strong, they might try to reduce it especially when they become teenagers. It has been revealed that the children who had a very open relationship with their mother had a closer relationship with their partner, and did not have fights as frequent with their partners as the other ones.

However, the experts do not surely know if the relationship between the child and the mother can have the same importance if the child has been adopted. The bonding process is complex even for the biological parents. The attachment between the mother and the child is influenced by the hormone oxytocin.

My 1 yr old son has been banging his head A LOT lately and it is really getting to me.  He will bang his head on the floor (carpet or tile – it doesn’t matter).  He bangs his head on furniture and on walls.  He even bangs his head on ME.  Sometimes he will bang it softly and it doesn’t necessarily hurt him, but sometimes he will bang his head really hard until he makes himself cry.   I have even seen marks on his forehead from the banging.

________________________________________________

I did some research about toddlers banging their heads and why they do it and it pretty much confirmed what I thought.

According to BabyCenter.com, they list out several possibilities:

• Self-comfort. This one seems a little weird to me.  I have heard of thumb sucking, rocking, and hair pulling for self comfort, but not head banging.  They say that toddlers sometimes bang their heads to relax. They bang their heads rhythmically as they’re falling asleep, when they wake up in the middle of the night, or even while they’re sleeping. Developmental experts believe that the rhythmic motion, like rocking in a chair, may help toddlers sooth themselves.

• Pain relief. This one makes sense to me.  I have felt like banging my own head when I am in pain with a migraine or a toothache.  Your toddler may also bang their head if they are in pain — from teething or an ear infection, for example. Head banging seems to help kids feel better, perhaps by distracting them from their discomfort.

• Frustration. This is the one that I see in my 1 yr old.  They say, if your toddler bangs their head during temper tantrums, that they probably are trying to vent some strong emotions. They haven’t yet learned to express their feelings adequately through words, so they are using physical actions. They can also be comforting themselves from being frustrated.

• A need for attention. I do see this sometimes in my toddler.  Ongoing head banging can be a way for your toddler to get attention.  Understandably, as parents, we can get upset seeing our child banging their head.  And since he likes it when you fuss over his behavior, he may continue the head banging in order to get the attention he wants.

• A developmental problem. Head banging can be associated with developmental disorders such as autism. It can be one of many behavioral red flags. Rarely does head banging alone signal a serious problem.

Source: Mrs Pappi , Child specialist

What is a mother? A mother is a friend.
What is a mother? A mother is your hero.
What is a mother? A mother is someone who can make your wishes comes true.
What is a mother? A mother is sugar and spice.
What is a mother? A mother knows all the coolest music and style.
What is a mother? A mother is everything in between.
What is a mother? A mother is a better version of you.
What is a mother? A mother is your mommy till the day that you leave this world behind.

A mother is someone who loves her children unconditionally. She gives herself without waiting to be noticed. Her day starts and ends with a prayer that God would bless, guide and guard her children. Her heart bleeds whenever she sees her children in pain, but exercises disciplinary measures when necessary in order to mold her children to be a person of good values, inner strength, integrity and good character. She doesn’t force her children to be what she wants them to be. Instead, she supports and guides them to realize their dreams and reach their full potentials. She painstakingly teaches her children life skills, patiently answers their queries no matter how trivial they may be and truly pays attention. She teaches them to do away with wrongdoings and leads by example.

A mother’s task is never ending. It doesn’t stop even she’s in the office or anywhere away from home. There’s no day offs or time outs. No amount of money would compensate for the enormous tasks that a mother takes, but the hugs, smiles, kisses of her children are enough to soothe, to lift her up and to refresh her soul.

She is like a wonder woman. She takes different roles at different times. She could be a teacher, then a counselor, a nurse, a caregiver, a protector, a playmate or a friend. She would try hard to be what she thinks her children need her to be in a given moment. A mother will do everything even the unimaginable out of her enormous love for her children.

She is an angel in disguise who gives her children wings to fly, helps them to soar high and who is always there to catch them when they fall.

By. Lovely

If you used to swim, there is a line of maternity-swim-wear that will give you clothing that will still fit you. This is hugely important, especially when you consider how much your body will change externally during the pregnancy.

Moderate exercise during a pregnancy is even a good idea since it will help keep both the mother and the baby safe and healthy. The reason for this is that the water provides buoyancy, which makes it easier for her to stay up and perform the exercises that she would like to do.

Maternity swimwear is designed to stretch to accommodate the extra space that the baby is taking up. You can choose between one and two-piece styles and even some styles that look more like traditional maternity shorts and tops. In the end it’s all up to you and how comfortable you feel.

The one-piece styles do nothing to hide your tummy, but you can choose sliming colors and cuts to offset your appearance. Of course, a two piece with a traditional bra top is going to let your tummy hang out for all the world to see, but if that doesn’t bother you, go for it.

If you feel more comfortable somewhere in-between, choose a two piece that includes a maternity smock top with a built in bra. This “tankini” look gives you the freedom of movement that a two-piece affords and still keeps your stomach away from prying eyes.

By. Ms. Priya