DO

FIND the time to organise the party yourself. Get help from family or friends if you need it, because a child’s party is at least a two person job. Parents know that it takes time to organise a child’s party, which has lead to the trend for hired party organisers. But such events lack the personal touch and cost a fortune. A good kid’s party should not cost a lot: it’s your love and imagination that will win the day with your child, not your money.

LET your child in on the planning. Learning to plan is all part of growing up, and who better than your child to tell you what children like.

THINK twice before running an activity party such as rock climbing at the local gym/sports facility. The cost can be very high per head, and you’ll often find kids who are not interested in the activity. Then what do you do with them for the next hour?

HAVE a theme and stick to it. This means sticking with your theme from the invitations, to the children’s dress, the decorations, through the fun and games and into jelly and ice cream. You need to create a unified experience, whether it is super heroes, outer space, dinosaurs or cartoon characters. A themed party will definitely streamline your planning and it will give you ideas for activities, whereas running an unconnected series of games is to invite chaos. Being a parent is hard enough.

CONSIDER your child’s interests when picking your theme. Horses, rockets, cartoons, football…let his or her interests be a guide.

SPEND time thinking about the birthday invitations. See the invitation as the first party activity and set up anticipation and excitement. Invitations with a gift are a good idea. A pirate party invite with an eye patch, or football party invite with a football chocolate. Balloons with hidden invites are always a winner.

DRESS for the part. Where is the magic when the pirate games master is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt? – or worse, in a shirt and tie?

START with a bang. A good idea at the start, when everyone is gathered round, is to reinforce the theme with something visual, and incorporate a little gift. For example, pirates get a pirate medallion, cowboys get neck scarves. Then it’s into something energetic like a relay race, obstacle course, followed by something creative and calming, then something active, and so on. In this way, you can to moderate energy levels during the party.

LET the children have a small snack early on to keep energy levels up.

KEEP your party short, but active. Two hours is fine. If you keep it short, the children’s experience will be richer and they will enjoy things so much more than if you drag things out. Your child has a reputation to keep after all, and having parents who throw a good party is important, stupid.

PLAN for quick changes in activity and focus. Kids will love it if there is always something new to do, so plan a selection of activities. Jumping from one to the next is the key to success. As a guide, plan for one activity for each 15 minutes of party time, and have two or three as backup.

KEEP the prizes and surprises coming, and give the children a goal in doing the activity. For example, ‘the first one to find five chocolate eggs gets…’

AIM to have the children go wishing the party had never ended. The end is all about show biz and pizzaz. Have the pile of coats and goodie bags all ready before this final activity, then fill the final minutes with spectacle. You could release helium balloons, or run a silly race. Do anything that will send the kids off with smiles on their faces and leave one on yours.

STAY relaxed and enjoy yourself. Yes, you have to make the whole thing run smoothly but make sure you enjoy yourself. You are running a birthday party not a trade conference.

DON’T

LET your child pressure you into an overly complicated or expensive event at a local restaurant complex, with all manner of fee charging special entertainers. Your child is a consultant, you are the parent. Have the party at home, space allowing, where you can control it, and have maybe one entertainer if you think it necessary. Remember that YOU can create sufficient fun and excitement in your own back garden with careful planning and high energy on the day.

GREET arriving guests at your child’s dinosaur themed party by charging out the front door dressed as Godzilla, roaring like a formula one car. If you do, things will most likely start with tears when some of the more nervous guests don’t see the funny side of this six foot terror coming down the garden path.

FORGET to write down your plan. Know where you’re going and what’s next. As any teacher will tell you (your author has ten years teaching experience) once a child loses confidence in the games master, non-cooperation and trouble are never far away.

FORGET to add a bit of make believe. If your theme is pirates and treasure, build up the story. ‘You are shipwrecked, but all is not lost because you have found a clue to the location of the magic coconut. Find the coconut, knock it off the perch and…’

FORGET to allow enough time for jelly and ice cream. Twenty minutes should be fine.

TRY to reinvent the wheel. The tried and tested party games like relays and treasure hunts are so popular because they work. You can always build in more novel ideas around them, but have the tried and tested activities central to your plan. They will save the day.

LISTEN to anyone who tells you nonsense rules about how many children should attend for a 5 year old, how many for a 6 year old. Ask your child who they want to invite and take it from there, keeping things manageable. Make sure that no one important is left out due to a recent children’s argument, and make sure you don’t have a room full of strangers.

FORGET to ask the invitees’ parents for an RSVP/reply by a certain date then follow up with a phone call.

PANIC! Expect the unexpected because it will happen, and you will just have to adapt. Such is the lot of the parent.

About the Author
� Stephen Turner 2006. Stephen has set up http://www.invitationbirthday.co.uk. You’ll find birthday invitation information, ideas, articles and links. This article may be reproduced provided that this ‘author resource box’ paragraph is displayed below the article.

Article source:
Birthday Party DOs and DON’Ts – a Parents’ Guide

A baby cries the most during his or her first three months. Though the amount of crying steadily increase, the crying time period may vary from an hour to most of the day and this could still be considered within normal range. Like, whoa, right? Babies are also known as howling tear factories.

Some thought that a baby cries more during the afternoon accounting it to the anxiousness of the mother or the stressed mood of the father after going home from work. But the most accepted assumption now is that babies have this automatic screening ability they use to shut off all the noise that may stimulate some response from them so they could get enough rest. But in the long run, this filter weakens and totally disappears during the approximate age of six weeks. This, then, make a baby very sensitive to the external factors such as noise, movements, etc. And these generally elicit a reaction from a baby and how best he or she could respond but only through crying.

There are many reasons why a baby succumbs to crying. Deciphering these reasons is the major feat a parent must surmount. Here are some of the things your baby is making you understand through crying.

Hunger.

Yes, your attention-hungry baby is craving to let you know that his tummy is grumbling. This is the most common reason for a baby to cry, especially, during his early months. The pattern of the hunger howl could be characterized as being persistent, demanding and almost rhythmical. But that rhythm is not at any rate close to becoming musical, of course.

Boredom.

What can I say? Aren’t these babies just plain spoiled? Crying because of boredom, errr, I’d find that a bit more twisted or weird if it’s with an adult that is. But babies are really built like this. Crying is their way of telling you, “Hey get me a life here!” Aside from attention and food, consequently, babies need a lot of stimulation. And when they don’t get this, there you get your waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!! The trick is to pick the baby up and play with him. This move may be frowned upon by some because of its amounting to spoiling the baby. But it is important to know that stimulation is also one of the major necessities of an infant and it won’t hurt to provide him with some while in his growing age. This boredom cry is said to be also rhythmical and full of sobs and moans.

Discomfort.

Pain is another precursor of the baby’s crying. Who won’t cry when in pain, right? Babies are not major pains to endure the most excruciating discomfort they could undergo. They are little, vulnerable beings that need to be attended to when injured or when in an inconvenient situation. This cry could be more persistent, louder and more demanding. Shrieking and screaming, those are words that better describe the crying pattern roused by pain.

Another cause may be disturbance; surely, howling will proceed just when they’re about to sleep or are already fast asleep and suddenly gets surprised by some noise, or movement. An illness that causes discomfort to a baby may also be the reason for a baby’s bursting into fit of tears.

About the Author
Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. To get quality baby strollers for you baby go to http://www.babystrollersplusmore.com

Article source:
Why Babies Cry And How To Tell What They Want

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Parenting a toddler is very crucial. It is one of the hardest when it comes to parenting. It entails different kind of responsibility and commitment.

During their children’s toddler stage, parents are often faced with new problems and issues. These make them confront themselves to make sure that they are in the right track in parenting. The following are some tips and advices in parenting toddlers.

Ensure nutrition basics.

As your toddler gets off baby food and start eating more and more regular table food, you can expect his diet to look just like the rest of the family’s diet. That means three meals a day and a couple of healthy snacks.

Ensure safety.

Childproof your home for toddler safety. Keeping toddler’s safety is a big part of the job of parents. However, it can be tricky to balance a young child’s desire to explore everywhere and everything with a parent’s need to keep the child safe. Parents should know that toddlers often forget the rules about safety and scolding them can make the forbidden item and place seem even more attractive. Childproofing is not substitute for parental supervision; it substantially reduces the likelihood of injury.

Discipline toddlers.

Toddler discipline is a difficult task for parents. Parents need to set limits and provide structure to create an atmosphere in the home that makes these limits easier to respect. One of the behavioral tasks that toddlers undergo is looking and testing for boundaries. As such, it is important that they clearly know where these boundaries lie.

Toddlers must also learn that there is consistency in the way that these boundaries are handled when they cross the boundaries. When you first implement structure, you can expect a lot of testing, crying and often an increase in misbehaviors, as they will be testing your limits.

Discipline is needed on a healthy relationship between parent and child. To know how to discipline your child, you must first know first your child. Build and strengthen this connection between you and your child and this will lay the foundation for discipline.

Set activities for your toddler.

There are plenty of activities for toddler that you can do with your child by using simple household items. Every toddler is an active learner. With his newfound ability to walk around, he is in a completely new relationship with the world and can explore new territory like an old world adventurer.

Through the toddler’s falls, bumps and as well as his triumphs and discoveries, he is learning about how the world works and also about how his own emerging self can help it work even better.

Set potty trainings.

Toddlers are ready to begin potty trainings as early as eighteen months, while others don’t begin until they are two years old or older. And while there are many different potty training methods, one thing is clear, starting too early or pushing your child to become potty trained when they are not ready doesn’t work. So develop a plan on how you want to potty trained you r child and then wait for signs for readiness.

Temper tantrums.

Temper tantrums are another universal part of the life of a toddler, since they can get frustrated easily and cannot express what they need or want very well. While they are something that is to be expected, that does not mean that you cant take the steps to try to make them happen less often.

Most importantly, try to anticipate tantrums, distract your child before one erupts and keep in mind that most toddlers cannot be easily calmed down once a tantrum starts, although you should pick up your child id you think they will hurt themselves.

With these tips and advices, it will make toddler parenting easier and more meaningful. Toddler parenting is really hard and tough. The most important thing is the patience and the love for your toddler.

About the Author
S. Stammberger is the editor of ParentingWeb. Get information on parenting, education, homework help, children’s software and games.

Article source:
Tips and Advices for Toddler Parenting

Four suggestions to being a successful parent and add to your natural parenting skills to give your child the best start are as follows:

Show Your Love:  Little ones do not always understand the words “I love you” but they do connect with smiles, hugs and kisses, playing and singing.  Pay attention to your child by listening and watching them which makes them feel special and secure.  This also helps build a good foundation for self-esteem.

Be A Good Example:  Children will imitate their parents as a way to show their love for you.  Your child learns how to behave, develop new skills and take care of themselves from watching you and will closely pattern their own behavior and beliefs after yours.  Being a good example for your child means being responsible, loving and consistent with your child and all other members of your family.

Communicate Honestly and Openly:  Communication is one of the most important skills that you can teach your child.  Even as a newborn, they will gaze into your eyes and listen to your soothing voice.  They will watch and listen to you as you communicate with others to sort out concerns and problems in an understanding and patient way.  They will learn how to express their feelings and be open and honest with you, if you lead the way.

Spend Time Together:  It is important to spend a great deal of time with your children.  Spending time with your children gives them the ability to know you and feel confident of your love.  You can work full time and still spend quality time with your child daily.  The important thing is that you devote the time just to your child, meeting both your needs together.  It is up to you to direct your attention and shape your schedule that you can spend this quality time with your child.