Next time your preschooler has a play date or goes to a friend’s birthday party, you may have your own relationship with her to credit her many friends. Scientists have known for some time now that there is a link between attachments and the quality of a friendship, bu
t could never pinpoint why or how. A new study found that a secure mother child relationship can help preschoolers form closer friendships.
The study, conducted by the
Recent studies found that an adequate amount of time for maternity leave can both reduce the odds of delivering by c-section and establishing solid breastfeeding practices. For some mothers, the amount of maternity leave may be monetarily based but there are a few things you can do utilize the time you do get. Here are 10 ways to maximize your maternity leave:
1. Save vacations: as soon as you discover you are pregnant, start saving your vacation, sick, and personal days. These can be a life saver if you will not be paid for all of your leave.
2. Leave your notice: If you are planning not to return to work after having a baby, wait until the last 2 weeks of your leave to give the final 2 weeks notice to your employer. Although it may seem to not be best practice, any earlier could mean less money for you in the end.
3. Set boundaries: When you are home and the office continues to call and email you; it is imperative that boundaries are set. Simply let the office know your family is your first priority and you will be available to handle emergency situations only.
4. Lean on friends and family: the people in your life that you are close to are probably pretty excited about your new baby so when they offer to help- say yes!
5. Get appointments in: Make sure to schedule well baby visits, check ups, and immunization appointments for you and your baby before returning to work.
6. Be open: honesty is the best policy and it is best to be upfront with your boss or employer from the time you announce your pregnancy to how to handle returning to work. Discuss how your duties will be divided amongst coworkers while your gone, discuss maternity leave policies, and find out how best to handle time off for sick kids.
7. Use your resources: talk to other working moms you know, search the web, or visit blogs to get ideas and tips from mothers who already know what you are going through.
8. Start in the middle: try making your first day back in the middle of the week like a Wednesday or Thursday. This will help make it easier to adjust for both your and your baby.
9. Do a trial run: after you have found daycare you approve of, attempt a trial run at dropping the baby off for a few hours to see how you both do. This way if it doesn’t work out, you still have time while being off from work to find other options.
10. Enjoy it: Although that may seem obvious, having a new baby is also stressful especially if you are concerned about your job at the same time. Be sure to enjoy your maternity leave and savor that precious time you have with your baby because it certainly goes by fast.
Several studies this past year have found that good parenting can have lasting positive 
effects on your children helping with everything from doing better in school to establishing healthy sleeping patterns. When it comes to low to middle income families, the evidence is no different as a new study found that good parenting can make up for what income may lack.
(more…)
With the presidential election behind us, many are left trying to put the pieces the together and hash out a familial economic plan for forging ahead. With so many unknowns in the future, parents are tending to err to the side of caution when it comes to expenditures. Unfortunately, as MSNBC reports, daycare may be one of the extra expenses parents are forced to cap.
Ever wonder what your child would pick out if they could do the grocery shopping? You may
provide a balanced diet at home while secretly hoping your child would do the same if even if they had their own choice. The answer to that mystery may have arrived and surprisingly a toddler’s food choices do indeed stem from you eat.
Many of the recent studies on child development have one common thread: a healthy bond between parent and baby leads to a well adjusted child and even teenager. Upon giving birth, parents are obviously bonded with the child for life in terms of being a mother and father. Bonding, in a more esoteric sense, is really a sense of trust and closeness your baby feels towards you and visa versa. A healthy bond is an intense attachment that develops between parent and child, and is what makes you get up at night to feed her and why she stops crying only when you pick her up. This loving bond is the type researchers are hoping all parents can achieve and is actually one of the best aspects of being a parent. Here are 8 Ways to bond with your baby:
Several studies over the past year have revealed a consistent message: good parenting in the first year of a baby’s life can have a lasting impact on child development well into the teenage years. While the definition of “good parenting″ is loosely defined, here are the top 10 science based parenting tips:
Parenting can certainly be stressful at times as raising children is no easy task. While watching your baby happily cooing in his crib you may think to yourself infancy is a stress free time in his life. For certain babies, however, dealing with stress might not be so easy. You can help though, as a new study found that both genetics and parenting play a role in how an infant responds to stress.
Having a baby certainly is a life-changing experience, and during those first few years it feels like you will never have any time to yourself. It is very important, however, for mothers to create a schedule that includes some ‘me’ time- moments when you can relax, unwind, and take a deep breath. Having time daily for you to de-stress and take care of yourself will ultimately help you be a better mother. Here are a 4 ways for mums to create some ‘me’ time:
Suscribe to RSS
Australia
Cambodia
Israel
Malaysia
Myanmar
New Zealand
Peru
Singapore
South Africa
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam