Parenting

If your school-aged child expresses an interest in learning to cook, you’ll want to nurture that interest along.  Here are some tips on getting them started in the kitchen:

• Make sure that you have a kid-friendly work area.  If the counter is too high for them to work at comfortably, consider having them work at the kitchen table instead.

• Plan to be on hand to supervise and to lend a hand when needed.  Cooking is a skill that requires time to master.  Besides, the kitchen is one of the most dangerous spots in the house, so you don't want to leave the budding chefs in your family on their own while they're cooking up a storm.

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The night before, I lost my temper. I felt so helpless and useless.

My daughter made a big fuss before she slept. I lost my control. I ran out of ideas how to talk to her in a friendly manner so that she could listen to me and lie down.

On the other hand, I was worried if I was not stern enough, soon there would be another spoiled child in this world.

I felt so bad and guilty for losing my cool and the punishment I imposed on my daughter.

I got to do something to improve my poor parenting skills.

I was wandering in a bookstore the following day. As I was browsing at the shelf of the “100 Must-Read Titles,” one book really stood out from the rest. As if the book was yelling at me and said, “Pick me up. You need this.”

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Potential dangers such as child abduction and sexual assault lurk in every possible place where our children spend most of their time. The recent case of an eight-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered sent a gruesome message to all parents and guardians of children.

Yet, many still are still rather careless about their children's personal safety. I still see parents leaving their children behind in corners of the shopping malls and children sitting in a shopping cart outside the shops. Children walking to the neighbourhood shops on their own.

Having two primary-age daughters, I have always emphasized personal safety rules to them before and after school.  When a hypermarket opened next to my daughter's primary school, I immediately went to the principal and volunteered to conduct personal safety sessions for the girls in this primary school. I presented workshops on building self-esteem, learning to be assertive, learning how to stay safe and the good and bad touches.

Even the campaign on personal safety has its limitations if parents do not take the responsibility to help their children. Parents need to take an active role in protecting their children from abduction and exploitation. You need to constantly supervise your children and be alert to their needs. You can reduce their risk of becoming victims of heinous crimes by listening to them and teaching them about personal safety.

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You can find lots of great parenting tips on the Internet. But the problem is only if you know how and where to find. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

When we decided to take on this project, we thought it would be easy. Boy, how wrong  we were! This project took more time than we originally thought.

After a few rounds of searching online, we have found some excellent parenting ebooks. And they are free. It’s impossible to cover every parenting topic but we did our best to find ebooks that cover the most important topics.

Now we have done the legwork for you and the only thing you need to do is to enjoy the ebooks while sipping your favorite drink.

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Halloween is just around the corner. The biggest question for parents is your kids’ Halloween costumes: what are they going to be?

We have found some exciting costumes ideas for your kids, toddlers, infants, babies as well as teens.

To help you save cut down expenses, you can try out some homemade Halloween costumes.

Get dressed up and help your child have a memorable Halloween.

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