The process of raising children and educating them from birth till they reach adulthood and even beyond at times falls under the domain of parenting. Sometimes, parents are unable or unwilling to provide such care and the care is thus entrusted to close relatives. There are also cases when it is performed by adoptive parents, foster parents as well as institutions and even godparents. The most important function an individual may have in life is often the one function least prepared for.  Parenting is the hardest job a person may ever have.  The most training people receive for this job is simply the experience of being raised by their own parents. 

The most basic parenting tip for the new parent is ‘Do not panic’.  This may seem humorous but is actually quite a practical parenting tip.  Babies respond to the environment and attitude around them.  As a parent, remaining relaxed and calm will help the infant to be relaxed and calm.  This can be hard to do as a new parent but must be achieved to keep the home more peaceful for everyone. 

It is good if the new parent can have help, for a short time, from an older experienced parent who is calm and self-assured.  Most of the time, one of the grandmothers of the infant will stay with the family to offer parenting tips and support.  New parents need to be ready to accept this help.  If the grandparents are not available, other support can be found from a neighbor or perhaps an older person in ones church.  Some hospitals may have a list of volunteer “grandparents” that will help new parents. 

Parenting Tips for the Future

The most important parenting tip for the lifetime of the parent is to realize that the child is going to make mistakes.  This is easily said but often harder to deal with in reality.  Being a parent is about helping the child avoid the most dangerous mistakes and handling failures and successes.  This begins with teaching a child the stove is hot and continues into their adulthood with career and family decisions.  Many small children, after told the stove is hot, will reach up and touch it.  As a parent, be ready with cold water for the burn and then reinforce the teaching.

A parent shouldn’t berate the child for doing what is a natural response.  A parent just needs to begin to teach the child that a parent has instruction which is valid for life.  This experience may help the child to realize that when given instruction about more dangerous things such as drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex the instruction is probably worth listening to.  No one enjoys a burnt finger and the child will want to prevent further pain. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of information available that provides age-appropriate parenting tips and which helps parents take care of their children. Some of the frequently mentioned topics include nutrition, safety, common problems and what to expect at the pediatrician.

Moms and Dads often need parenting advice that will help them deal with common problems such as sibling rivalry, potty training, getting the child to sleep at night as well as managing behavior problems and temper tantrums. There are many qualified experts out there that deal with such topics and who will be best suited to get parenting advice from for all manner of child rearing issues. Using the RPM3 guidelines and the different parenting advice available should help parents sift the useful from the not-so-useful advice to become sensible and loving parents.

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Discipline and following a healthy schedule of activities are some of the most difficult tasks of single parents. When your child comes to a certain age where Dora the Explorer or Barney become his constant companion, getting your child away from the television and into other, more healthy activities will become much harder than you think. A busy single parent may just easily overlook this tiny disciplinary matter and relinquish parental control over to the television. What single parents don’t know is that becoming television-dependent could be intellectually, emotionally and socially damaging to your child.

A child should accumulate as much significant learning from his natural environment and from interactions with other children and older figures. Being glued to the television simply limits these activities. While it is true that moderate amount of child-friendly television shows develop the spacial and aural abilities of your child, too much television can also impair the other aspects of your child’s mental development and total, wholistic growth of your child.

What can a busy, single parent do to help limit her child’s time in front of the television without the usual resistance of tantrums from the child?

1. Keep household televisions in rooms where your child have no access in. Keeping your television in your locked room prevents you child from watching television without your supervision.

2. Make television a reward for your child and not as a common commodity in the household where he or she can easily turn to when bored. Allow him or her an extra fifteen minutes of watching television if he or she turns in an extra-neat homework or if he or she brings home a star in his or her art class.

3. Allow your child only at least three specific children’s program every week that he or she can watch with you. Make them plot out or plan a schedule on when they can watch these shows.

4. Avoid making the television as a background music or sound when eating or dining with your child. Most parents often do this to block out the silence in the house, and thus, in the process, they teach their child to turn to television to more unnecessarily than they should be. Instead, play classical music or children’s nursery rhymes in the background if the need be. Better yet, teach your child the value of silence and introspection once in a while.

5. Avoid using the television for relaxation. Instead, turn to other alternatives such as reading a book along with your child or do some easy crafts together.

Children’s formative years are crucial and more than anyone, parents - and not
televisions - should play their vital roles well, if we are to grow healthy and happy children.

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With all that’s going on for the mother, whether it be an emotional trauma from the child’s father, work, financial worries, sometimes it feels good to simply move on and be grateful at the chance for a new life partner. However, growing up without a father is never easy for a child, let alone having to go home one day with a mother announcing the arrival of a new permanent fixture in the home - a new stepfather whom the poor kid does not even know. Aside from the fact that children need more time getting used to changes as they find it hard to accept changes if these are not clearly explained to them.

Here are some thoughts to consider or to keep in mind when thinking about dating or marrying again:

1. Children need to feel loved. Allowing another person into you and your child’s life may send the wrong signals to your child. He or she might feel that he or she is being replaced in your life. Although it is important for you to know your new man by being alone with him on dates, it is just as much important for the success of your new relationship and for your child to include your child in some activities with your new beau. This will eliminate the feeling of being left out and assures your child that he or she is still very much a part of you and your new man’s life.

2. Maintain routines. Sometimes, when your children are of age, and if you and your child are emotionally close and have established routines and activities for the two of you, it is important to keep these activities and routines even at the arrival of a new man in your life. Your child needs to feel that your love for him or her will not change. Your child needs to be assured that your new man will never take your child’s place in your life.

3. Most importantly, introduce your man into your child’s life slowly. Give your child the time, emotional space and support to accept the changes in both your lives. Warm him or her into the idea of having a dad.

Single moms who have succeeded in bringing in a new dad for her child with the least resistance from her child is definitely a made mom.

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