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kids
My wife and I are the parents to 4 awesome kids. Parenting is quite the experience. I stole Sam’s idea, and decided to keep a note of some of the little tips and tricks that have helped me have an easier time parenting.
Nobody is more qualified to raise your kids than you are.
When sharing food with a kid, always let them have the last bite. If you take the last bite, no matter how small, they will always feel cheated.
Start the bath water before taking off the diaper. The sound of running water has a good chance of making the kid pee and if they’re not in the tub or in a diaper, it will go on the floor.
Generally speaking, kids won’t starve themselves to death.
Kids are a lot tougher than you might think.
Babies and kids don’t know anything. They need you to tell them. They don’t understand most things and are usually confused. This can cause frustration.
Sleep deprivation makes every bad emotion more intense.
Buy kids and baby stuff used. Thrift stores, classifieds, etc. My wife has gotten entire bags full of name brand gently used clothes for pennies on the dollar. Not only that, but it seems like whatever size my kids need, the store is out of. Wal-mart is really good for kids shoes and sandals.
I have not personally found a strong link between screen time usage and behavior. Moderation is the key. Kids naturally want to take breaks, do other things. Giving them opportunities to decide to make healthy choices is more effective than fighting. See the American Academy of Pediatrics’ article on Screen Time Guidelines.
You don’t baby-proof your house to prevent your baby from being harmed. You do it to prevent all of your stuff from being broken. I have learned this the hard way.
Familiarize yourself with poop. Look at the “Bristol Stool Chart”. This will be very informative as you monitor your kids poop in diapers, and then when they are potty training. Constipation is a huge blocker for a lot of kids!
You only get to do this once, so you might as well enjoy it.
Interacting with other kids and their parents can be awkward and strange. It seems some people get very high strung about their kids. However, I’ve found that most people are pretty easy going. Being overly nice and friendly goes a long way at helping me feel more comfortable overall at the park.
Children’s Tylenol and 24 hours have cured every ailment my kids have ever had. Familiarize yourself with basic over the counter medications such as ibuprofen.
Take parenting advice with a huge grain of salt. Especially second hand advice, including advice you read online.
Find a good pediatrician. Hop around if you have to. Your pediatrician, at first, will basically just convince you that you are doing a good job. Write down your questions and take them. Stay away from general google searches.
Don’t take parenting personally. It can be hard to hear your kid isn’t objectively perfect in every way, such as when they get a cavity. It has nothing to do with you as a person. Get out your ego out of the way and make the best choices for your kid as you can, moving forward.
Showing any kind of negative emotion to a child is never a good move.
The only thing your kids want from you is your attention. You have to literally pay attention to them. I don’t know how but they know if you’re really paying attention. They’ll get your attention one way or the other. It’s up to you to decide if it’s positive or negative.
Pretty much none of the things you think matter actually matter.
Write down the funny things your kids say and do.
Buy an iPhone, take lots of pictures and videos, and upload them to iCloud. I have a “photo memories” widget on my desktop and I absolutely love seeing all the old photos of my kids.
Time flies!
The more expensive an activity is, the less fun it will be. Parks, splash pads, Target, strolls through the neighborhood are much more valuable. Kids haven’t experienced anything yet!
Share your hobbies with your kids. Allow them to be your friend. Ride skateboards, play music, build Lego, play video games, watch silly movies. Unless you are an identical twin, your kids are the most genetically similar people to you in the world. It makes sense you’ll be similar.