ParentWonder

Helping Parents Succeed

The One Activity Your Children Can Do with Grandparents

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When my children paid a visit to their grandparents last weekend, we didn't do much as it was a short trip. The kids had only 2 days, 1 night to spend.

To best make use of the trip, I tried to get the kids to bond and hopefully form a closer relationship with my parents and siblings, whom they only meet once every few months.

Of course, playing with kids was one of the ways. But there’s one problem. It took a while for the kids to “warm-up” and accept my parents as playmates. Furthermore, my folks can't match the grandchildren’s enthusiasm.

Fortunately, I found a better idea: watching home made videos.

[Read more…]

Parrot Imitates Fire Alarm, Saves Family

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A noisy parrot that likes to imitate sounds helped save a man and his son from a house fire by mocking a smoke alarm, the bird's owner says.

Shannon Conwell, 33, said he and his 9-year-old son fell asleep on the couch while watching a movie. They awoke about 3 a.m. Friday to find their home on fire after hearing the family's Amazon parrot, Peanut, imitating a fire alarm.

"He was really screaming his head off," Conwell said.

The smoke alarm had activated, but it was the bird's call that caught Conwell's attention.

"I grabbed my son and my bird, and got out of the house," he said.

Full report: Parrot Imitates Fire Alarm, Saves Family

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Child Growth and Development: What My 20-month Old Can Do

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To add to my list of skills of a 19-month, here is an update on what my 20 months old son, K, can do:

  • Sweet sound of “Mommy” – Just last Friday, he managed to call “Mommy” and “Daddy” correctly. All this while, he used to call us “Mama” and “Papa.” Only one-syllable words he could master then.
  • “Read this book for me” – Before last night, K was not interested in sitting down quietly and “read” a book. Let alone flipping through page by page. For some reason (Maybe the interest spills over after he sees us reading together with his elder sister almost every night. He wants to be part of it), he asked me to “go through” a book with him last night. What he can do now is to recognize some pictures and say the words out. Such as “dog”, “car”, “shoes”, and so on.
  • Simple communication – K can tell us something without saying the words. He will use sign language to communicate what he wants and doesn’t want. Such as “Mommy gave me this bread.” – while he’s pointing at the bread.
  • Getting violent – If someone blocks his way or stops him from getting a toy he aims at getting, he’d hit or bite! Not sure where he learns from but definitely it’s not from me.

That’s it. A pretty short list, right? But it’s already quite a lot to achieve within a month…for a toddler.

Marriage Problems: 5 Tell-Tale Signs Your Marriage is Going Down

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Does your married life feel like it is on the skids lately?  It may very well be on the skids, which means it is headed towards divorce court.  But how can you really tell if you are on the right track?  What can you do if you are heading in to dark and choppy water?

Following is a list of things to take inventory on in your marriage.  Do you agree on some, all or none of these issues? [Read more…]

The Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Home School

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Somehow this article caught my attention. Because it’s a question I need to find answer to…

“Shall I send my daughter to a public school or private school or home school?”

There’s a debate in great length going on at The Washington Post’s On Parenting column. Stacey Garfinkle posed the question to the floor.

It’s an interesting topic indeed. Some replies that I find worth mentioning are:

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