Guest Post: 10 Tips for Living with Infertility

Infertility is unfortunately the reality of 1 in 8 couples. It’s hard, lonely and painful. After being on our road to our baby for two years, I’ve learned a few things. Honestly, I’m still a rookie in the infertility department, but after learning these things, I’ve found so much more peace and happiness in our journey than before I started applying these things to my daily life.

Does Birth Order Impact Parenting and Child Development?

If you grew up with siblings or have multiple children, you probably understand the major effect that birth order has on family dynamics. We all know the stereotypes about how oldest, middle, and youngest children likely behave and what their place in the family means about their future achievement and success. Everyone probably has a story about how they were impacted by older or younger siblings and how they were treated differently by their parents. I could probably write a book on my opinion and experiences with birth order and family dynamics (middle child here!), but I really wondered how much birth order impacts a child’s development and the way parents interact with their children.

Guest Post: Preparing Your Home for Parenthood When You Live with a Disability

Nesting is the act of preparing one’s home for the arrival of a new baby or child. Typically, nesting involves things such as painting a nursery, buying a crib, baby-proofing the house, and making sure everything is as clean as possible as the due date approaches. However, when you are a parent living with a disability, your nesting process is generally more intense.

How to Teach Children Honesty

It can be surprising, frustrating, and worrisome when your child first lies to you. It can also be really hard to know how to respond! Lying is actually a normal and necessary part of a child’s development. Though parents should teach their children to be honest from a young age, they shouldn’t be too concerned when their child begins to tell lies, because it’s a normal part of childhood that every child goes through.

Talking to Children about Sexual Assault

With all of the stories in the news recently about sexual assault against children, taking time to talk to your children about what sexual assault is, signs of sexual assault, and other information is more important than ever! Children need accurate and age-appropriate information about child sexual abuse and confidence that adults they know will support them. Here are some ways and guidance for addressing the issue in a conversation with your child to make sure they understand and are aware of the danger.

Teaching Children Emotional Intelligence

 Emotional intelligence is so important for your children to learn while they are young. Most of us use the same 3 to 4 words about how we feel when we are asked “How are you?” However, encouraging children to use words other than “good” or “fine” and to use words like “excited” or “worried” or “curious” will help them recognize feelings and to use their emotions effectively.

Guest Post: Take a Tech Break

We are excited to have Carrie Rogers-Whitehead contribute to our blog this week. She is the founder of Digital Respons-Ability. 

A recent Common Sense Media report said that mobile screen usage has tripled among young children in four years. Children 8 and younger spend 48 minutes a day staring at a mobile screen and almost half of children this age are reported to own their own tablet.

Is Your Child FUSSY?

A fussy baby, especially when mom and dad are tired or fussy themselves, can seem like the hardest hurdle in parenthood. There were several times when, especially in the middle of the night, I couldn’t seem to figure out what my daughter was trying to tell me. What was I missing? 

Poop Problems

Potty training can be hard for some kids. From my conversations with parents, I can tell that they are doing a great job at helping their kids get ready and excited for potty training. However, sometimes there are setbacks or problems come up that you were not expecting. Hopefully these tips will help with some of those problems your child may be having. Warning: this blog will be talking about POOP.

Effective Communication to Help Your Child's Development and Well-being

   Let’s be honest, having a relationship isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Learning to mesh all of your strengths, weaknesses, schedules, finances, life goals, parenting styles, communication pattern, and favorite Mexican restaurants can be a huge transition. Relationships are challenging enough between partners, but when you add children, the difficulties in communication become more complex.

Parenting Crucibles: Childhood Grief

My children were 4, 7, and 11 when their brother passed away.  That day, seemingly ordinary in every other way, Atticus slipped away from us peacefully in his sleep.  As I look back on his little life now, three years later, it seems impossible that a baby has ever been more loved. Our days revolved around him and we doted on his every move, fighting over who got to hold him next.  When love is so strong, it’s only normal for loss to be devastating.  Atticus’ death plunged our family into an indescribable darkness.  We found ourselves crushed under the weight of our grief. 

What She Didn't Expect While Expecting

When imagining and daydreaming about the day you will become pregnant, you might envision “the glow”, a perfectly round belly, or the excitement of holding your new bundle of joy. You may think about the side effects- the nausea, the swollen ankles, and so on. But that doesn’t seem to matter because it will all be worth it in the end, right?

Tips for finding (and keeping!) a great babysitter

I spent most of my free time in high school babysitting for people who lived in my town. At one point in time, I was busy almost every night of the week and even some days when I didn’t have school! When I moved away to university, I passed “my families” onto my little sister. I loved babysitting and even moved into a nanny position when I got to university. Here are some tips on how to find and keep a great babysitter that I have gathered from being a babysitter for over 8 years!

Helping Children Cope with Divorce

Photo Credit

Sitting on my couch with my sister, I start to cry as my parents tell us that they are getting a divorce. At 8 years old, I do not completely understand what divorce means and how my life is about to change. My mom hugs me and starts to cry. My sister asks if the divorce is her fault and starts to cry as well. All three of us continue to cry on the couch as my dad grabs his suitcase and walks out the door. After that, everything seems to start moving in fast forward and nothing feels real. I want my dad to come back, I want to keep living in the only house I have ever known. I want my old life back.

Dealing with divorce is difficult, especially when children are involved. Doctor Kevin D. Arnold, Ph.D and director of the the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy in Columbus Ohio, gives 6 tips to help parents talk with their children about divorce.

When Being Pregnant isn't Joyful

Pregnancy is supposed to be one of the happiest times in life. Yet for many expectant mothers, it isn't the joyful experience that it is often communicated and portrayed. There are many body and hormonal changes that can make the pregnancy experience rough, such as mood swings, nausea, swelling, fatigue, and lack of sleep. Most of these are well known, and there are ways to help.

There is one aspect of pregnancy that isn't as commonly known, and that is depression and anxiety during pregnancy. Most people are aware of the "baby blues" that many post-natal moms experience, but less well-known is that 1 in 10 pregnant women experience depression and/or anxiety during their pregnancy (Baby Center, 2016) Expectant mothers may not fully realize that their low mood isn't just due to the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy.

Parenting Pyramid

Have you ever asked yourself questions like, "What do I do to stop my child from fighting with their siblings?" or "What do I do if my child isn't completing their homework?" or "What do I do to get my child to clean their room?" Simply put the question, "What do I do when things go wrong?" is most often the question we ask ourselves in parenting. The Arbinger Company (1998) suggests first asking yourself, "How can I help things go right?" and then offers four more questions to ask yourself to help in the parenting process.

Guest Blogger: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression

Lizzie Langston is a mom of two by day, and a singer-songwriter by night. She loves to connect with other moms via instagram, follow her @lizzielangston In this blog post she shares her personal experience with Postpartum Depression (PPD) and Postpartum Anxiety—how they first presented, how she recognized them, got the help she needed and healed.

Lizzie’s also shares this story in a video on YouTube. View it here

The creepy thing about postpartum depression and anxiety is that you can seem completely fine to people who aren't around your for more than a short conversation. I remember family coming to visit me while I was in postpartum recovery at the hospital; they left thinking I was doing great, everything normal. But I was overwhelmingly lost and struck with fear on the inside. At the time of this photo (about three months after giving birth to my second child), I was facing paralyzing anxiety regularly. I was still having panic attacks every 2-3 days (some in the middle of the night--the worst), and I felt out of control. Panic attacks and regular anxiety were completely new to me, and the most mind-boggling part was: I did not have a clue why it was happening. But it was. And it was starting to become an exhausting way to live.

Guest Post: How to Reach Out to Grieving Parents

In 2013 the U.S. had 23,440 infant deaths.  Infant deaths are those that take place before the child turns one.  This does not include those that experience miscarriages and stillbirths.  Losing a baby, no matter at what point, is very difficult for a family.  For family and friends around them, it can also be very difficult to know what to do to show love and support to the grieving parents. I found myself in that exact situation just over a year ago when my friend Hailey gave birth to her son at 24 weeks.  We were hopeful that he would make it, but 32 days later, he passed away.  Hailey was willing to share her experience and how you can support grieving parents....

Don't be Crying Out the Baby Blues!

Although mothers prepare for nine months for their baby to come, bringing home a baby can be overwhelming, exhausting, scary, and unexpected among many other things! Between feeding, burping, changing diapers, and sleepless nights, it may be hard to take time for yourself. Around 50-80% of new moms report experiencing "baby blues" which could then lead to a one in ten chance of getting postpartum depression. While these statistics may seem scary, many mothers never experience any symptoms of the baby blues or postpartum depression.

Ways to Prevent Cyberbullying

First let's start with what Cyberbullying is....

Cyberbullying is any type of bullying that happens using electronics. Today there are many different electronics that cyberbullies use. Phones, computers, tablets, gaming systems, etc. Cyberbullying can happen on the internet through social media or email, or it can be done through text messages. Sometimes we know who is the cyberbully, but sometimes the bullying comes from an anonymous source.