Best Tips For Successful Potty Training Your Young One

August 10, 2009 by Guest Writer · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Parenting Tips

A toddler usually potty trains at about the age of two. Children who make use cloth diapers can be expected to start potty training 5 to 12 months earlier. Girls tend to start potty training earlier than boys as well. So for successful potty training observe for signs of readiness. Does your child have dry spells of about an hour or two? Is you child aware of his bodily functions? Does your child show irritation at being wet? Can they understand and follow simple instructions? Is he getting interested in underwear instead of diapers? Is he starting to get interested in bathroom habits? If your gut feeling as a parent says its time to commence after asking these question then you can go ahead.
potty chair pink

Commencing too early will in most cases result in spending half your time waiting for your child to potty. Don’t begin if there are big changes ahead, such as a new baby in the family, or you have started a new job, or if the busy holiday season is upon you. The summer season makes potty training easier because toddlers can wear underwear or training pants with just a T-shirt. Less clothing for a toddler to take off when going to the potty will mean less accidents.

Note the toilet seat can seem awfully big to your toddler . Your first step in training should be to buy a small potty chair to attach to your toilet seat. Choose a color and design that will work best to your young one. A desirable potty should allow your child to put his feet on the floor. This helps your toddler to push when having a bowel movement.

Every day, set a specific time when your child is fully dressed and set him or hair on the potty chair . Coincide this with the time they are most likely to have a bowel movement. This will help your child to get familiar with the potty and acknowledge it as part of his daily routine. If your young one doesn't want to sit on it, that's OK. If he’s afraid, Delay it for just a few days.

Your young one will have accidents during his potty training, so be patient. Do not get mad and please do not scold or punish him as this might work against you and set them back. Handle accidents with calmly and distract them away from the accident with another task. All kids go through the same process before they become potty-trained. You can’t have toilet training without accidents, and most young ones will have them occasionally for as long as six months after they’ve finished training. When an accident occurs, stay calm and supportive.

Teach your young one about the bowel movement and its process. Explain it simply easy to understand terms.

The best way of encouraging your young one is to constantly praise and reward them . Praise him whenever he sits and tries to go. Praise him when he was able to sit for 15 seconds or longer. Praise him when he makes progress. Praise your toddler anytime he “makes” something in the potty-chair, particularly in the early stages. Be positive. If nothing happens, tell him, ''That's OK,” or ''Good try, we can try it again later.''
Mastering toilet training can be a time-consuming affair, and it varies from one toddler to the other. Some toddler become good at it in a matter of few days, but most can even take many weeks. Night-time training can take even longer. Don’t try to coerce your child into moving faster through the training process than he’s capable of. Let him take his time and get used to the process. Make him move at each level on his own pace.

I hope you find these successful potty training tips useful and will make a difference for you.
You can find more signs for starting potty training here: http://www.squidoo.com/whentopottytraining

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What Every Parent Should Know About XBox 360 Live

August 9, 2009 by Guest Writer · 1 Comment
Filed under: Parenting Tips

Everyone knows that kids love video games! And, with the economy going the way it is, home entertainment has become super popular with the adult crowd too! One popular online entertainment form is XBox Live.

_XBOX360
With a membership, all XBox Live gamers can play their XBox 360 Live capable games through the network with other players in multi-player mode. While grossly entertaining, and a fast growing trend, this scenario is not without pitfalls.

First is the age of the gamers. Many gamers are children. Probably the vast majority. However, with many adult rated games on the market such as Left 4 Dead 2, Tom Clancey's Rainbow series, and Call of Duty's "World at War", there is an ever growing teen and adult market as well.

Everyone knows the Internet is full of child predators. And, everyone knows that child predators like to use things which kids are attracted to as bait. Kids LOVE video games, and with XBox live the chat feature provides a direct interface for predators to interact with your children under the guise of their favorite game.

All parents with children who play XBox 360 Live games need to monitor their children's activities on the games. Most XBox 360 Live games require a headset and microphone to interact, and many gaming bundles come with these features included (headset). It is strongly recommended that parents of children under 18 use the following tips to ensure your children are interacting safely with the game environment, and not subjecting themselves (willingly or unwittingly) to predators or otherwise bad/harsh influences:

(Disclaimer: This is in no way intended to cause you to STOP your child from playing XBox 360 live. The benefits of the game and live interaction with other players FAR outweigh the risks...it is simply intended to teach you how to be sure they are doing so SAFELY!!!)

1. From time to time unplug your child's headset spur of the moment (ideally during some form of interaction). If you do this, the voices of other players will be then be transmitted through the speaker system of the television, and you can hear what is being said.

2. While the game is turned on, and XBox 360 Live is connected (see profiles), hit the "home button" on the controller and you can browse the friends list your child's profile has. Peruse the friend's list and look for any obvious friend names, bio's, or other unusual clues that your child may be interacting with someone you would rather them not.

3. While the game is turned on, and XBox 360 Live is connected (see profiles), hit the "home" button on the controller and browse to "messages" under the profile. There you can view the types of communications your child is receiving from friends on their list.

4. Even if you don't know how to play the game, log in as your child from time to time with the headset on, and accept any part, chat, or game invites you get. Pretend to play, and keep silent. Listen for clues about what kinds of people your child is playing with. Voices and what is said can give away much, such as player ages, types of personalities, etc..

5. Beware of letting your child play more mature rated games such as Grand Theft Auto, or war games, without monitoring their interactions closely!! These games also attract some unsavory personalities. Believe that when your child is interacting with gamers, they will be hearing some dialog that you would not only find inappropriate, but probably downright offensive/damaging. Remember, it only takes one sentence to corrupt your child's innocence and cause them to start thinking about things they shouldn't!

6. Occasionally message other players on the friends lists with seemingly innocent advances. Don't got over the top and trap/offend other players, but a simple "where do you live?" message might reveal some interesting facts about friends on the list.

7. Feel free to message other players POLITELY, and let them know you are monitoring your child's behavior online, and that you will be making sure they are playing with nice people.

8. DO NOT discriminate against players on your child's friends list. This behavior will most likely backfire. If they are playing with adult or older players that is not a bad thing, you just need to be sure their intentions are pure and that they are treating your child's age level and experience level respectfully!

9. Purchase a copy of "Xbox for Dummies" or a gaming magazine which promotes proper usage of XBox Live for your child, and read it. Use it as a tool to learn about the online activities and what to expect.

10. Pay attention to maturity ratings on games, and listen carefully to the dialog or plots of the actual video games themselves. Having a video game encourage your child to shoot at a cop, or take a golf club to a hooker might not be the best influence. Don't be an idiot about ignoring your child's influences where video games are concerned! (That is if you care.)

11. Be aware there are gaming communities called "Clans" out there, and some of them are good, some of them are BAD. For example, the Rainbow 6 Vegas clan "Tactical Operations Clan" has a website for their gaming clans, and have some VERY SPECIFIC RULES about interaction on live, including demanding their clan members treat the innocence and age levels of other Live players with respect. If possible, these are the kinds of associates you want your child interacting with so that even the other players themselves might participate in policing what your child is exposed to within the game. For example, other players like the TAC Clan would most likely kick/ban players from the game that treat your child in an undignified manner.

12. Don't hesitate to get a second XBox 360 and Live account. Find games that might appeal to BOTH you AND your child and play along with them! This can be one of the BEST ways to find common ground with your child, and help them to feel much more involved in the parent/child relationship. Who knows! Your child may open up to you on Live games in ways you never thought possible, and give you a whole new tool to motivate your youngster! Imagine what seeds the statement "I would love to play Call of Duty with you son, but first I have to do the chores" might plant in your child's mind! Besides, the worst that can happen is you have some quality fun time with your child on common ground, where your child might not feel disadvantaged with you (such as they might if playing a physical sport with their father).

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