Parentsology

With so many children and teens using the internet today, using parental control software is a *must* for parents who want to control what their kids see and don’t see on the web. The internet leaves little for the imagination and it can be easy not only to find but get addicted to porn. Never think it can’t happen to your kids.. it can!

One of the best defenses against your children and teens visiting web sites that contain objectionable material is to have parental control software installed on the computer your child uses. There are several software programs available that offer parental controls. One of these is Optenet PC Parental Control Software.

Optenet PC Parental Control Software offers a fully featured 14 day free trial of their parental control software. Try it out before purchasing it. Try don’t even ask for a credit card to get the free trial. It’s totally risk free.

Toddlers and young children can be fussy eaters who refuss to try new foods at least half of the time. Approximately half of all toddlers fit this description, so it is no wonder that healthy eating and food issues are often a source of stress for parents.

Establishing healthy eating patterns is important to avoid problems such as obesity and eating disorders later in life. Various strategies can help your child accept a wider range of foods. It may be necessary to offer a food to your child as many as ten different times before they choose to eat it. The problem is, many parents get frustrated and give up before the fourth or fifth try.

Try to make foods fun. Colorful foods like carrot sticks, raisins, apples, grapes, cheese sticks and crackers can all be fun and healthy choices for your growing toddler. Explain to them that eating good food is important so they’ll grow big and strong, and how it will help them run faster and play longer.

One of the newer more popular ways of making sure your child eats healthy food and meals is to grind up or puree foods into dishes such as stew, soup, pasta sauce, etc. Using a blender or the Magic Bullet, puree healthy foods such as spinach, carrots, or any other healthy food. Once added to another favorite dish, odds are the child will never notice the additions and munch on a good and healthy meal.

Children learn behaviors from their parents. If you restrict yourself to a narrow range of foods, your child will take notice and mimic your actions. Don’t limit your child’s food variety to only those foods you prefer. It may be that your child’s tastes are different to yours, and perhaps you are simply serving them foods they don’t happen to like. Try to set a good example and try a variety of foods in front of your child.

If your child seems healthy and energetic, then they are eating enough. If you are still concerned, keep an eye on how much food they actually eat over the day. Children tend to graze constantly, rather than restrict their eating to three meals per day like adults. You may be surprised how those little handfuls and snacks add up. For further reassurance, check your child’s growth and weight charts, or check with your child’s pediatrician.

Try not to worry, and remember, that unless a child is ill, they will eat. Children are very good at judging their hunger and fullness signals. Try to stay relaxed about mealtime and offer your child a wide variety of foods, and most importantly, remember to set a good example by trying a wide variety of foods yourself. You may discover you and your toddler share a new found favorite food!

We all know that as parents discussing and negotiating the rules with our children is never easy. Children are all very different, and what might need to be a rule for one, may not even be an issue for another. That being said, there are many parameters that we set as parents that are the hard and fast rules, those with no ‘wiggle room.’ Those are the rules set forth to protect our child’s health, safety and well being. These rules and their consequences should be very clearly defined and it should be understood by all involved that they are there for a very important reason and that they are ‘all or nothing.’

Rules that keep our children safe are of the utmost importance. These could include everything from teaching youngsters not to touch the hot stove to teaching your school aged child the importance of obeying the laws while riding their bicycle. Children need to understand these rules are to be followed to the letter and there is no room for negotiation here.

For adolescents and teenagers, such rules should include expectations about drinking, the use of illegal drugs, or safe defensive driving. These rules are also imperative to a child’s health, well being and safety. There should be no room for experimentation or relaxing the rules in specific social situations.

There are rules that can be fairly and equitably negotiated with your children as well. Rules regarding how many hours per week can be spent on video game playing, what time a child is expected home for dinner, what time each night homework is to be completed, or how late a teenager is allowed to stay out on weekend nights are all rules that can be discussed openly and honestly between you and your child.

These should also be consistent, however. Don’t allow 11 p.m. one weekend night and then tell your teenager 9:30 the following weekend night when going out with the same group of friends. If your teenager broke the 11 p.m. curfew the weekend before, the consequence of losing the privilege of going out that weekend should be strictly enforced. Don’t bend the rule just because your teenager seems genuinely sorry and promises never to do it again. Consequences should be consistent, fair, and always followed through.

Many American women leave their kids with a babysitter or put them in daycare while they work outside the home. But just how safe are your children in the care of a person who might be watching a number of kids? There are some signs to look for that might mean your child is being abused, hurt, or neglected while with the daycare provider or babysitter.

Most people would agree that taking care of kids can be very stressful. A person who doesn’t isn’t able to control themselves when stressed out might not be able to handle a crying baby or a child that cries or whines a lot or simply isn’t cooperating with the babysitter. Sometimes they go off the deep end and they abuse an innocent baby or child. And often the parents have no clue that the babysitter or daycare provider is hurting their kids.

There are several signs that might indicate that your child is being abused by your daycare provider. While these don’t necessarily mean there is abuse, they are reasons to be concerned. These tips are also for parents who have been using a the same babysitter or provider for at least a couple of weeks, time enough for the child to know the babysitter and not be going through leaving you withdrawals.

If your child has been comfortable with the babysitter but that changes suddenly and the child is very reluctant to be left with the babysitter, there could be a reason why the child is behaving in that manner. Has the child not had a problem in being left but recently began to cry and be very upset that you are leaving them with that particular person? Is the child doing this when left with someone else or only the babysitter or daycare provider in question? Assuming the child is very upset at being left with the babysitter, it would raise the question of why the child is so upset and crying. There is a reason that the child pitches a fit when you drop them off with the babysitter, when this behavior is new and not common for the child.

Is your child leaving the babysitter with bruises when they haven’t had them before? While it’s normal for kids to get cuts and bruises when playing, when this occurs too much, it raises a red flag. Ask the child and the babysitter separately how the bruises occurred. If you get two different stories or this happens repeatedly, it’s possible the bruises aren’t from playing.

Another sign of abuse is a child that flinches when you raise you arms near the child, such as reaching for something that might be near the child. A child that has been hit will often flinch out of fear that they are about to be hit again. If your child has never done this before and is suddenly doing it, it could be time dig deeper into what’s going on when the child is with the babysitter. A child that flinches in this manner has most likely been slapped or hit near the head or face.

Abused children will often become withdrawn. If your child has been a loving and happy child and has recently become withdrawn, it could be from abuse. This could be not just physical abuse but also mental or verbal abuse. A stressed babysitter might scream or yell things at the child or berate them with names, etc. Talk to your child and find out how the babysitter speaks to them.

If you suspect that your babysitter is hurting your child, proving it might be a bit difficult unless there are bruises to prove or the child outright tells you that the babysitter is abusing them. While you don’t want to falsely accuse anyone, you want your child to be safe and unharmed.

There are several things parents can do if they suspect abuse. The first thing is immediately remove your child from the suspected babysitter. Take pictures of any bruises or suspicious marks on the child. Contact the police or child welfare department and file charges. Depending on the severity of the abuse, the child might need counseling. The important thing is that the babysitter is not allowed to care for any other kids and hurt them too.

Unless you already know the person who will be caring for your kids, it’s important to always get background information on anyone that is going to be watching your child. Whether it’s someone that babysits in your home or their home or a daycare business, do some research before just leaving your kids with anyone.

One way to find out how a daycare is treating the children they are caring for is to drop in unannounced and see how the provider is dealing with the stress of watching several young children. Leave work early and pick the kids up earlier than usual and observe how the babysitter reacts. If she seems angry that parents arrive early, it might cause you to ask why. If the daycare provider seems upset that you are there unexpectedly, you might want to consider another babysitter.

No one that watches your kids should be upset that you want to know how they are handling things. It’s very important that babysitters understand that they are caring for your kids and that the welfare of your kids always comes first. Any babysitter that is upset that you arrive early to get the child or that you arrive with announcing it first is a cause for a red flag. Remember that you are the parent! The safety of your child should never cause a babysitter to be upset over you checking them out unexpectedly.

If you suspect your child is being abused by the babysitter, take action quickly and get your kids away from the babysitter and alert the police and child welfare agency as to what is going on with that particular daycare provider.