Women Lines

Womenlines wants to share this article on parenting by Pooja Kawatra Gupta with its readers. Pooja is a mother who is enjoying her motherhood period by sharing her experiences with a group(she has formed on orkut) of other mothers(1000 mothers approx) on orkut. Here goes the story-

The day Aayan was born we knew that we both have come a long way from just being good friend, as a lover, as a husband & wife and now as a parent .He has given the new meaning to our life.. we realize that as a first time parent there were lot of things which we will be learning everyday .

Just reminded me that ” Kids are teachers and we are student”

Every new day comes as a beautiful moment to cherish for the life long. The day when you saw your baby in scan reports, when baby took the shape, his tiny little hands & feet, his heartbeat and every time your heart beat you think for a moment is it my heartbeat or my baby..Then you just smile back and say he is my heartbeat .That’s one in a lifetime when you have two heartbeat ..

When you hold your baby for the first time and keep remembering many of his first few and the day he says Papa & Mumma..You are at top of this world ..!! Aren’t we waited for this long to hear these beautiful words .

We know that with every new generation parents wants to give best to their baby .Trust me it not only babies have change over a period of time , parenting has gone under huge change. In today’s world it’s not just mother who is taking are of babies at home.. Fathers are equally involved in all the activities..right from the doctors visit at Gynaecologist to vaccination for Baby, which definitely gives mothers sometime for themselves.

Though with raising your baby, parents hardly get anytime for themselves but believe me raising your baby together not only give your baby but yourselves a lifelong security and comfort that both yes we were always there with our kids in each and every step he took in his growing years.

I still remember the time when I was expecting as been a working mother & staying far away from our parents, a first time parents we had enough of queries in our mind.. Why my baby is crying, is he hungry , not well, is there anything which I am unable to understand and so on..
So, my this first hand experience with raising my little son Aayan gave me the inspiration to start a platform where not only we all mums come together to help and resolve each other queries but to become friends for a lifetime. This is when I started a community : Mums & Babies ,we are close to 1,000 mums.. today with love & support of all wonderful mums, who have come long way to share their valuable experience, the best of the tips.. Our little wonders have got friends as well..

 http://www.orkut.com/Main#Community?cmm=50694960

If you are a new Mom then join her community to share the warmth and happiness of one big family……

In today’s busy pace of life we at times wonder that how we can possibly involve our self or show interest in our child’s education!

As both parents are working it is not possible for them to put much time with their kids for their studies. It is also possible that you have never performed well in school and never excelled in mathematics and then you are not eager to involve yourself in your kid’s studies as you are reminded about your days.

Getting involved with children in their studies does not mean that you have to involve yourself in your child studies

Simple ways like listed below can definitely help you to relate to your child through studies-

1.Show interest in what they are learning. Do ask them”What did you do at school today? Then you can discuss about what are his problems in any particular subject or what is it that he likes most. Try to make your conversation very light one not like a strict parent.

2.Do find time to attend his school meets and various other programmes. You can participate also in some activities which involves parents and kids both. This will boost his morale.Try to go to his co-curricular classes, sports classes and discuss with him about his interests.

3.What type of environment you have created at home also effects your child’s personality. Buy books, magazines. Provide him  all those extra resources that will help him in studies. If he will never see you involved in some type of study then he will never get motivation. Try to discuss about books he is reading from the library.

These activities will help you in better understanding of school activities. You can observe how well your kid is performing and progressing. Besides this it gives a chance to parent to personally interact with his child and thus helps in strengthening their relationships. When your child will see that his parent is so involved in his activities then his self esteem will increase. He will grow with a positive attitude in life and will excel in all spheres.

It is said that “Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions”. Teachers are considered to be builders of future pillars of our country. They should be given respect and motivation for the work they are doing.

Teachers have their own reasons for not taking their work seriously and the most common is that they are underpaid. I want to request the concerned authorities that they should include the teaching profession in the highly paid job list so that we can have talented teachers around.

For many families, talking about money is taboo. The adults make it, the kids ask for it, end of story. Yet financial experts agree that understanding cash, credit, and consumerism is possible, and important, for building a sense of financial responsibility in children. Womenlines will share various ways in future how we can develop money sense in our children.

• Take an active role in providing them with information. Observation and repetition are two important ways children learn.
• Communicate with children as they grow old about your values concerning money how to save it, how to make it grow, and most importantly, how to spend it wisely.
• It is very important to help children learn the differences between needs, wants, and wishes. This will prepare them for making good spending decisions in the future.
• Setting goals is fundamental to learning the value of money and saving. Nearly every toy or other item children ask their parents to buy them can become the object of a goal-setting session. Such goal-setting helps children learn to become responsible for themselves.
• Introduce children to the value of saving versus spending. Explain and demonstrate the concept of earning interest income on savings. Consider paying interest on money children save at home; children can help calculate the interest and see how fast money accumulates through the power of compound interest. Later on, they also will realize that the quickest way to a good credit rating is a history of regular, successful savings. Some parents even offer to match what children save on their own. (contd)

The most common bad habits of kids that parents want to tackle are: (i) Nose picking, (ii) Biting nails, (iii) Thumb sucking, (iv) Hair twirling

1.No Stick Approach: All kids love freebies, and to them, freebies are like hidden booty. Now, freebies can be in the form of presents or rewards or whatever you want. So, tell your child that if he doesn’t do such-and-such-a-thing he will be rewarded. Two things here – you have to be consistent with your rewards, and you have to reward them with meaningful things. If you reward them with chocolates or Pizzas, then you are only spoiling them. Books, stickers, sugar-free candy and a trip out to the movies are examples of good rewards. Okay, along with the reward, do not forget to heap praises on the child – praising him will positively motivate him to try harder!

2.Be Calm:When your kid gets into his bad habit groove, you have to calmly, yet clearly firmly, tell him what could go wrong if he keeps going on at it. Explain to him how his behavior will have an impact on his physical appearance and could also damage his psyche if his friends make him the butt of their jokes. Also, inform him that his bad habit annoys you. Remember once again: do not be harsh.

3.Form a Partnership: Another neat method of breaking bad habits is to involve your child in the breaking process. Make him your “partner in crime” as you break into his bad habits and destroy them. You can start this off by asking your child about his bad habit and whether he has faced any embarrassing moments because of them. Then, let him know that from now on both of you will be partners in making sure that the bad habit is finished off. This involvement will give the child a feeling of adventure and will motivate him to get rid of his bad habits – plus, he will learn to contribute ideas and learn what brainstorming is all about!

4.Patience and Perseverance: Kids are born flexible, but they can become very stubborn when they want to. Sometimes, all your motivation and firmness and rewards will bite the dust as your child refuses to back off from his bad habits. In situations such as these, patience and perseverance is the key. So, don’t give up or turn impatient. Also, do not try to break all his bad habits in one go – keep going and keep trying, and one day the results will show.

Try to involve your child in some hobby in order to kill the monotony of his routine. Many kids develop bad habits because they have nothing else to do. So, if you clue your child on to an interesting hobby, not only will he get rid of his bad habits, he will end up learning a useful thing or two!