Potato hedgehog

How to entertain a child while doing potatoes stew!

Like this ...

Required:

• potatoes,
• toothpicks.

At least I managed to drive them a little, so I could alone to cook.

Road-trip with baby

Summer come! Lot of family are prepare for holiday. Bab's first holiday, for herself, doesn't have any significance, but I believe that pressure on parents is almost on maximum. How travel will pass, will baby feel nice in new environment...

How to make road-trip easier for mom and dad:

Car seat

Car seat is necessary! If you don't have it, you can borrow it from your friends, because road-trip in it, for kid and you, will be more simply. Before trip, check one more, is it adequate instal.

 More is better

For difference by regular recommendations for adults, for babies and toddlers recommendation is- More stuff is better! Especially, if this is first time out-home-for-few-days for you and your kid. Better is to return lot of unused things, then searching for something in strange town (you don't know where to find it!).

Timing

My experience- at night! Night can be problem because of dark and temperature changes in dawn, but kid will sleep all the way. We usually depart around midnight, and arrive about 7 AM. It is easier for me to walk by the sea, waiting for arranging room, than fighting with nervous kid in car. I believe this is easier for kids, too. One time we make mistake (last summer) and never more, unless this "small one" grown up.

Toys for trip

Unless you are supporter of night-trip, you go on short trip or simply you don't want to risk with waking in car (kids), put toys next to car seat. It should be soft toys, so they can't hurt kid if you  by suddenly stop the car.

Extra mirror

I planned to buy this (few times), but till now, i didn't. And I think it's a great idea, especially when only one adult go on road trip with kids. With this you'll less turn your head to supervise kids. Instal extra mirror next to "regular" one, and position it well. If your baby is very young, and is turn to back of the car, then you can put one more mirror. Baby will have fun, you will be calm.

First aid 

Small toiletry bag with things like dry and wet wipes, few Pampers (if you need it), some plastic bags, painkillers...I suppose that you have First aid kit in trunk.

Medications

 

About this, I'm pretty thoroughly. Where ever we go, only pharmacies are better equipped. Cream for insect bites, cream for allergies, antibiotic cream, antipyretic drugs (thermometer), painkillers, probiotics, herbal spray for throat, nose spray….

Food, drink

By parents choice and kids wishes, but water is the best solution. Drink must be in bottle, so please, don't choose  no-spill cups, because you can spill liquid when you  pour into it.

Psychic prepare

This is only road-trip, and it will last only couple of hours, and you and your kids will beautiful spend that time. Most of all, they will sleep, and you will have time for rest. If kids became nervous, you can make as many pauses as you want. No need to hurry!

I can’t buy you this! I don’t have money!

Parents often Hide lack of money. They don’t recognize why they can’t buy something to their kids. The worst thing is to buy kid whatever he want, no matter how U can handle that, because „kid deserve that“. We often say „kid is good in school“. Great, you find the stimulation, and means for manipulation...manipulation with you. One my friend used to say „If you were my parents kid, they would go bankrupt!“(I was good student). He perfectly manipulated with his parents, but I don’t belive that they were satisfied. 

I don’t practice that. For me, it’s OK that kids also know why something we can’t buy. Not because „no reason“, it’s because we have strong reason. We earn money. Money is limited category (for the most of us) and should be spent wisely. So, be free to tell your kids „I don’t have money for that“ or „I don’t have money now“. It will be unpleasantly for the first time, but that’s reality, and kids will realise that better than you expect.

If you say “I said no, and it’s the end!”, you left kid confused. They don’t know what is the reason, or are they make mistake, or you just express your power over them.  The thirt is the worst!

Yes, it’s tough, but time and training (for them and you) will help. Maybe, even you fix your bad habits, especially if you prefer compulsive buying.

How to develop good communication with your children

Parenting is all about communicating with your child in the right way. We, parents, are grown-ups, with a lot of life experience, whilst the kids are still young and often misunderstood by us. My children, for instance, often tell me “But, mom, you just don’t understand me”. I admit I sometimes have problems in communication with them. However, I’m doing my best to comprehend what they’re trying to say or do. On the other hand, there are those opposite situations when my children cannot understand me. Moreover, they can respond to my words with plenty of eye-rolling, sighing, head-shaking, and showing that they don’t care without any regret.

In order to get full attention of your child, next time when you talk about something important, be aware of the following:

• Find the right time to talk about important issues. You can talk to your child before bedtime, when he or she is in bed, not sleeping, but playing with a toy or reading a book. Sit next to him or tuck yourself beside him in bed. Then take some time to gain his full attention until you start talking about those important issues. Or, you can choose to talk to your child when you’re outside, walking in the park. Remember, the best way to communicate with your children is when they feel relaxed.
• If they do the eye-roll every time you give them some advice, explain them it’s not the right attitude, and ask them if they disagree with what you are saying.
• If you child looks away, ask him to pay attention and make sure your talking won’t take too long.
• Turn off the TV while talking about something important, since TV draws attention away. You’ve probably noticed that they just don’t listen to you when the TV is on (some interesting content for kids, such as cartoons).

You should also be prepared for a conversation. Here are some tips to do so:

• If you want your child to be a good listener, make sure you’re a good role model. Take some time to listen to them and show them you pay attention to what they are saying. Thus, when they are talking about their problems or answer your questions, use phrases such as “I agree”, “Really?”, “Yes, it must be so.”…You can also nod or shake your head.
• Don’t let anything disturb conversation with your child, like a phone call or SMS. A rude thing to do is to interrupt a conversation by saying “Wait a minute, I have to take this call and then we continue!”. This will only show the child that your phone call is more important than the things you wanted to talk about. Therefore, choose the right time for conversation.
• Don’t give endless lectures. A conversation that seems never to end, in which you do all the talking, can be exhausting for a child. In addition, if he knows that you are prone to it, he will probably withdraw from the conversation, not willing to participate. You won’t even reach the point “go in one ear and out the other”.
• Avoid criticism. This is probably the most difficult task for you, especially if the conversation is about something your child has done wrong. Try to put yourself in his place and reduce your criticism in the best possible way, so he might not be aware of it.

Use some of these methods and tips, and you and your child will learn how to listen to each other. This will help you develop good communication with them, which is a fundamental part of a healthy relationship.

(My post on NDF Blog)