May Jo Shaw

Following some helpful advice about parenting will help you keep your cool and forge ahead with enthusiasm even when the going gets rough. In case of a family emergency, make sure you have a list handy of emergency phone numbers and that everyone in the house knows where it is. Parenting comes with a set of absolute rules, so get to know and consistently practice them.

Once you become a parent, your job has important duties (whether you want them or not): Take good care of your child, keep them safe, and develop a good relationship. A few basic rules apply and must be done as a parent: Thou shalt not make anything more important than thy children. Thou shalt work to have great patience during times of stress.

Don't underestimate the importance of good manners. Your children will grow up to be kinder and more considerate of others if you teach them how to be that way when they're young. You can do that by setting a good example. You must always say "please" and "thank you" to your kids. Even when you are saying, "Please get your bicycle off my foot," or "Thank you for the dead slug.

Good communication skills are the foundation for building a great relationship with your kids. However, so many different elements get thrown in the way that listening and communicating aren't always easy or effective. Here are some techniques that you can use to improve communication with your kids. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll mind you or agree with what you're saying, which is okay, but at least they'll hear what you're saying.

Don't assume that just because you naturally produce breast milk you will, without a doubt, know how to nurse your newborn. It doesn't work that way. For many mothers, breast-feeding takes time and practice before everything goes along smoothly. Then there are those mothers who grab their babies while on the birthing table, hold their newborns to their breast, and never have to think twice about nursing their children.

Pick up any magazine in the grocery store, and you'll find at least one heading that reads, "How to keep the romance alive!" or "Take our survey, are you a good kisser?" or "Is beer more important to him than you are?" A hidden rule that you as a parent must follow is that you must be good to yourself. If you feel good about who you are, your children will learn to feel good about themselves.

The freckle-faced kid at the checkout counter asks, "Paper or plastic?" You seem to lose with either choice: Do you want to use paper and kill a tree to take home your groceries, or do you want to use plastic and fill up landfills? Another major life puzzle you'll face as a new parent is cloth versus disposable diapers.

The fact that you need to discipline your children is not an open invitation to treat them with a lack of respect or decency. It also doesn't mean that you take on the role of Czar with your children as the peasant slaves. Letting kids be kids Kids will be kids and should be allowed to make mistakes, make messes, and get mad and upset.

Teaching honesty and responsibility takes a considerable amount of time and patience, and it isn't anything like teaching your kids how to tie their shoes, where they understand the basic concept after a few lessons. You'll have to keep hammering away at these lessons for a long time. Can we be honest? You teach honesty by encouraging your kids to tell the truth and to let you know what's on their minds.