SharpMom Week in Review: August 20-26
August 26, 2006
Here’s a recap of all the posts from the past week for your convenience:
- Struggling With Your Kid’s Homework? (Tip of the Week)
- What’s Most Important for a SharpMom? (Poll Results)
- Beachside Book Review #6
- Announcing. . .New SharpMom Weekly Poll
- Looking for Some New Dinner Ideas?
- Need Some Help Disciplining Your Toddler?
Hope you enjoyed them!
Need Some Help Disciplining Your Toddler?
August 25, 2006
If your answer is “yes,” read this NOW! By the way, is anyone’s answer “no?”
The September 2006 issue of Parents has an article called “The 20 Commandments of Toddler Discipline” (it’s like they wrote this one just for me!). I have a 3 1/2 year-old son, so of course, this one jumped right out at me. According to the article, all of us toddler parents should commit the 20 commandments to memory. I’ll recap the top ones and let you read the rest on your own.
- Pick Your Battles: Isn’t this really the case for everything in life? When dealing with toddlers, remember that if you say “no” constantly, it starts to not really mean anything to them. Some less annoying behaviors might just stop on their own, because they are not getting any reaction from mom.
- Distract and Redirect: Of course, they will probably test you by going right back to whatever they were doing, but be persistent and stay calm.
- Introduce Consequences: Toddlers are old enough to learn about cause and effect. Start now. This will be very important as your child gets older.
- Don’t Back Down to Avoid Conflict: I see parents do this more than anything. A couple embarrassing confrontations might save you an entire childhood of such moments.
- Give Your Child Choices: This makes them feel important and powerful. I like to let my little guy pick out pajamas, help pack his lunchbox, etc. Big choices for him, but decision making I can live with.
- Catch Your Child Being Good: There’s nothing better than reinforcing positive behavior.
- Don’t Negotiate With Your Child or Make Promises: Remember that you are the boss and good behavior is expected not bought.
Now that I’ve read this, I’m sure tomorrow will go much better, right? Well, seriously, be persistent. This won’t happen over night, but remember as Parents says, “The seed of discipline that you plant now will blossom later, and you’ll be very thankful for the fruits of your labor.” Good luck toddler moms!
Looking for Some New Dinner Ideas?
August 24, 2006
One of my local grocery stores, Albertsons, sends me recipe ideas. I usually just delete them as I’m hurrying through my email, but this one caught my eye. They are calling it their Top Ten Recipes (wow, very creative).
But, they all really do sound good. And, all seem very family friendly, pretty easy and come with 5 star ratings. I noticed that they were all reviewed and rated by over 1,000 people.
So, I haven’t had time to actually make any of these yet, so please check them out for me and let me know which ones are best and more importantly, which ones are the easiest to make! That’s what I look for most in a recipe! Don’t you?
About SharpMom
Hi, I'm Katie. I’ve been successfully working at home and homeschooling my kids for the past 14 years, so I figured it’s time to get out there and start sharing what I’ve learned along the way. I'm glad you're here to join in the fun!
