Helpful Tips on Raising a Happy Child
 

It's not easy raising a healthy, happy, child. I would like to devote this thread to parents that are in the process of trying to do this. Please share your thoughts, experience, helpful tips and ideas here. It takes a village! Please share, thank you

Edwin The Duck-Adorable Cuteness thats Useful!
 

in the midst of so much madness, knowing your child is free to discuss ANYTHING with you is integral.

no matter the topic, no matter the hour, no matter the day.

try never to relay your own predisposed prejudices or fears into her/him.

Firm and loving limits and boundaries are very critical. Kids really do crave limits. I am not talking about being an inflexible (based on situation) rigid, disciplinarian; but clearly letting kids know what is acceptable and what is not.

Family dinners, to the best of your ability, are also very important.

Family dinners, Family night, should be positive supportive safe places for children to express themselves, learn manners, sharing a greater sense of belonging and fitting in. Home should be a welcome haven from the outside world.

Setting clear limits, letting them know what is expected of them as part of the family, and loving them in spite of themselves.

~~~ ^ 5 my sisters and butch bros. ~~~ I am enjoying seeing how much love and understanding there is right here in the Planet ~~ threw the years I didn't have any femme friends w/ children ~ I always got that invitation for adults only for a Sunday afternoon pool party ~ I never would attend because Sundays was family day and still is ~~ ~ ty for respecting our familys :)

this thread is going to be chock full of sage advice, i just know it.

as parents, let us never forget to share humor with our child. show them that it is okay and awesome to be silly, goofy and laugh. laugh. and laugh some more.

yes, of course we parents are the adults but please break into foolishness from to time. don't be so stiff. i see so many folks my age, so humor-less, so devoid of what life can be.

Kid-Friendly Veggies
 

"Eat your veggies, they are good for you" was always greeted with various icky faces with not much success, so I found different ways to introduce veggies without making it a battle. Here are a few:

I made a "No, thank you" bite rule. They had to try it at least once before they could say, no thanks.

I pureed raw or cooked veggies into meatloaf, fruit smoothies etc. (this worked excellently!)

I introduced new veggies by renaming them something appealing to a child
carrots became pinnochio pencils, spinach became silly grass, broccoli became jillybean trees

I mixed dried fruit into raw veggies (i still do this for myself)

Try it raw, instead of cooking them! Cut and slice and make little faces, or animals and serve them on their own individual plates

Plant a garden together-I had mine help me with pea patch and i never had any problems with peas! There is nothing more yummy then picking a pod and eating raw peas out of it.

Lastly-cook with your kids, have them help you by casually making them in charge of the veggies. This almost always worked because they wanted to taste what they had made.

Children know how to play...don't micromanage their playtime. Let them teach you.

Don't raise them overly worried about "happiness" ;). Raise them to be curious , resilient, and disciplined. Happy will take care of itself.

I don't have any children but, I do have six nieces and six nephews all at some point have stayed with me for two weeks during the summer and I've always let them bake with me whatever I'm baking at the time but I think it's important to read bed time stories to kids to help give them imagination.

i raised two children a boy and a girl...and the first 5 years are the most important...you will mold most of their personality and learn most of their strengths and weaknesses in those first 5 years...use those years wisely...and cherish them deeply....you wont regret it :)

I am assisting in raising my niece... the things I have learned that matter most are, Structure, Accountability and Don't sweat the small stuff... Praise often and correct when needed, but make sure the good stuff always outweighs the bad!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...26ac0c7a370259

this post on my facebook by a basketball coach reminded me that team sports really do reinforce some core values...both of my children played soccer, neither were very good...but both are more well rounded for having played on a team of their peers...if your child is not athletic, a non physical team can reinforce the same values...and parents of other team members can be of great moral support...

When punishment is necessary, be clear and make sure your child understands why they are in trouble. Don't just assume that they know and understand what they did wrong. Also make the punishment fit the crime.


I saw someone post something about have fun with your child. You want fun? Have a water balloon fight in the house with your child, they will think you are soooo cool! LOL mine did.

Teach your child to be responsible and respectful. These 2 things will go a long way, in every situation in their life.

i was raised with being highly competitive, in sports and academics.


my daughter made it fairly clear early on that she would prefer not to compete. in. anything.

must admit that was difficult for me in the beginning, so with time and understanding what makes her tick, i get it now. (for her)

it has paid off not to push what was important to me growing up onto her. now, she is becoming her own person, not just a mirror image of me.

All these things make sense. I have learned to also let them start to take responsibility for their consequences, you will not be in the world with them all the time.

Be honest, like someone said, don't sweat the small stuff, choose your battle.

Be there to listen, respect their space and privacy. Trust that even though as teens they become subhuman, they will pull out of it and have a sense of respect and kindness and empathy for others if you model that.

(I finally learned that going ballistic at times does nothing except get tears from all and a sore throat) lol

When I was 10 I had a big issue with an uncle abusing me,I told my mom and she didn't be leave me.This happened again when another uncle call me a worthless chunk of s87t while she was standing there and did not a thing about it ever.Thank goodness my grannie stood up for me and did take care of the issue, big time.By mom ding this set the tone of a distrustful and bad relationship
that never got better ever.Please don't let this happen to you and your child.