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"Parenting"
“He’s using you as a pacifier!” I thought I was the only one who regularly heard this when someone noticed that I breastfed my babies to sleep, until I read it in a list among the annoying things breastfeeding women commonly hear in La Leche League’s The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. When did a pacifier—a [...]
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We really have to be careful with what terms we use, when we refer to our children. Even if not spoken aloud, the labels that we put on our children in our own minds can influence the way we interact with them and consequently how they grow up thinking of themselves. Recently, a woman told [...]
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Last weekend, I picked up the fourth edition of A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson and Lars Hamberger, an absolutely brilliant, breath-taking photographic journey of a baby’s development from conception to birth. I am using it as a way of introducing sex to my children, the oldest of whom is six years old. Some [...]
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When I work with mothers who are breastfeeding or who intend to breastfeed, I cannot overemphasize the importance of nursing on demand. This means not scheduling feedings and not substituting pacifiers or bottles for the real thing. The breasts produce as much milk as is needed, no more and no less. And a baby nurses [...]
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Participating in sports has many benefits that professionals and parents have known about for years. Sports can be a great way to provide your child with regular physical activity, routine and a structured environment to cultivate social and collaborative skills.
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Children learn through doing, and they learn through play. When we provide them with rich sensory experiences such as tasting, touching, and smelling, we are helping them to think creatively and constructively. When you can’t go outside to explore, or you want to provide an outlet for a curious child, sensory tubs are great for building [...]
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Being an attachment parent and an introvert is a challenge, but it’s certainly doable.
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Without a good plan, tantrums from your child can be a source of anxiety. If you’re in public, you also have the added pressure of all eyes on you, watching to see how you will react. What do you do?
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Webcams offer a unique way to connect with loved ones across the country (or the world.) Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives will love the opportunity to see young children as they grow and have conversations with your older children. Webcams are also great for connecting with a parent who travels for business or is in the military.
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The process of becoming a responsible adult is an often shaky one. Many parents realize that their children need some guidance through their teen years, and yet few of us had a good adolescent experience of our own. What can you do to help your teenager live successfully through this difficult period? Be patient. Try [...]
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It’s that dreaded time of the day for you and your child: tooth brushing time. You gently convince (and by that I mean nag) them to brush their teeth, then suddenly, all hell breaks loose! You get the same response every time: thrashing, screaming, twisting away, and a closed-shut jaw that clearly says, “No way!” [...]
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Just this month (August) the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released it’s 2012 Breastfeeding Report Card. The news was good. In areas of initiating breastfeeding, breastfeeding friendly hospitals, and breastfeeding at 6 and 12 months, the percentage is higher than last year. When looking at the data for each individual state, one can clearly see [...]
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