It worked for me !

Raising a child in the present, competitive world is a great challenge to any parent. Trying to put up with their tantrums, giving into their whims and fancies, adjusting to the next generation lingo, trying to bridge the gap between the generations, everything is a major task for a responsible parent.

I've seen many parents complaining about their kids in several different ways. They just don't eat right, they just don't sleep in the entire night, they don't listen to my words! The list is endless. Am not trying to be sattirical here, but don't we know that kids are a bundle of contradictions ? And most importantly, if we realize that our parents too have faced the same situation with us years ago, I think the level of frustration will remarkably go down in any parent. After all, it's the genes which is running in the blood, and their behaviour is nothing but a mirror reflection of ours.

Of course, there isn't a problem in this world without a solution. We just need to find that magic key to the problem, and life will be definitely easier. Am not trying to imply that I have the most angelic kids in the entire world. No one would believe it too. So, it isn't worth a try.... but, what I am trying to explain here are the little solutions I thought would make a mom's world happier. Read on.

---------> The day kick starts with the waking-up routine. The morning-time battles are best known to mothers who have school-going kids.
One great solution to avoid sleepy mornings is to tuck in the kids early in the night. And it should be developed as a habit. No exceptions to it in the weekdays.(If possible, for the weekends too). When the kids have their right amount of sleep according to their age, morning times wouldn't be a big struggle for both moms and kids.

---------> As a mom of a two and four year old, I know how irritating a child gets during the tooth-brush time. Kids under 4 yrs of age don't tend to co-operate with their brush routine, when ironically, their teeth should be the most-cared for, because of all the sugary stuff they eat through the entire day.
One nice solution is to count their teeth slowly while brushing, or sing a song of ABC's. Their mind will distract off their hatred towards toothbrush. Try it !

---------> Breakfast should be never be skipped for a kid.
Keep it light with a cereal or a single pancake or even a fruit.... if you are skeptical about his lunchtime. But yeah, when a kid skips his breakfast, he gets crankier and tends to give more trouble during lunch. So, its better he starts developing the habit of having more meals instead of just munching it once.

-----> A mother trying to feed a wailing baby tied to a high chair would be a very common sight in many homes.
A high chair is definitely a good idea, with table manners and discipline instilling in the kid pretty soon. But if the kid is unmanageable, it's better to give in to his routine and let him wander for a while, before he comes back to another morsel of food. If a mom is more keen on the amount of food going into the child's tummy than the food lying on the carpet, then the high chair can go in for a toss. Trust me, the kid can be diverted in some sort of a manner,....be it the TV or a fun educational website.

--------> Are you worried that your little one isn't having his right dosage of vegetables and fruits every day ? There's a solution ! Substitute the fruits with juices, and try to mash veggies into a lentil soup. Your kid doesn't need to know what he's eating, and you can be happy as long as the required thing goes into him. If he has a sweet tooth, try blending the mashed veggies with sweetened yogurt. It would serve as a great dessert and no kid would leave it.


---------> I think most of the moms would smile at this topic. The inevitable NO ! Which kid doesn't say no to anything we suggest? Atleast, it's my kids' favourite word.
NO to switch off TV,
NO to being quiet, NO to clean-up,
NO for everything.
Thanks to my elder son, my younger one follows suit. Of course, I do have the right key in my hand, for all their NOs. My elder one, being close to 5 years old now, is the better judge of the two among my kids. He understands my mood in a very subtle way too. He knows that I hate the word "NO", and so, though it invariably comes from his mouth, he realizes immediately how serious I am with my glaring eyes. Of course, time-outs are another remedy for the temper tantrums in my house. And more so, I realized another effective way of avoiding their "NO's" is to get them in a funny or silly mood, with them listening to any word of mine. They tend to listen more to me when I am friendly, than when I show my 'Hitler' attitude. So, what's there to lose? No one's ego!


--------> A common problem in any kids household is the unending clutter, in the form of toys, books, clothes,etc. Modern-day parents tend to go overboard with their kids, buying everything and anything a child points out to. True, a child is an apple of a parent's eye. But, in the process of buying all the unnecessary stuff, a house will be just changed to a sad dumpyard, instead of a lively children's home. My house is also not too much different. We have umpteen number of toys, tons of books, pencils, crayons and all the crazy stuff.
But my solution to getting organized ? To dump the clutter as soon as possible. I tend to sort out all the unused toys and clothes almost every month, and would give them to charity. I tend to recycle all the paper-work as soon as possible, especially the meaningless crayon scribbles.
And of course, teaching the kids to clean-up as soon as the play ends. Thats the most important part! As a rule, I don't allow toys in any other room in my house, other than the kids room. Let it be a mess until they play...After all, it's their world. I let them indulge in their crayons, puzzles and whatever they like. But the fun is confined to that room only. That being said, I find the rest of my house toy-free and more organized.

--------> As a mom, I know how little time you get to yourself, especially taking care of your health and beauty. But, one important point to be noted is that our health is very vital so as to take proper care for our little ones. One should never neglect oneself. Well, am literally working on it.(I still need to be reminded of the daily Iron intake for my anaemic problem).

That being said, a kid and his tantrums are best understood by his parents alone. It's upto you to decide to get the best out of him, in your own little way, thus ensuring a more disciplined kid and an even more happier home.

Happy Organizing !