Parenting Tips-Locating My Child & Eating Habits

     I would like to address two different parenting issues I see plaguing many people around me-location of children and children's dietary habits. I am no perfect parent by a long shot, but over the years my wife and I have developed some systems that have helped us drastically cut back on these two issues and I would like to pass them along to you other parents or soon-to-be parents in hopes they will help you too.

Where is my Child?

     I see a lot of parents wandering around looking for children who have evaded them. I also see many parents separated from their children and they have no idea the child is even gone, or they just don't care. This is a major problem because small children left on their own can get into all kinds of mischief, or even worse, flat out danger! Sometimes the simplest solution is the correct one, and such is the case when addressing this issue. I have found that in order to eliminate the problem of unwanted child/parent separation the best thing to do is watch your children. Yes, it's that simple. All one needs to do is keep the child nearby and watch them...as in physically look at them once in a while and keep track of them. This is great because you can see with your own eyes if your child is near, is taking off, is in danger, or anything else the child may be engaged in. Looking at your child on a regular basis is step one. Step two is to stop the child from doing wrong if wrongdoing is observed. I know it's hard at first to try and make your child do what they're told, but if you can get through those first few times I promise it will get easier, plus the benefits of a child who does not run off constantly are almost too many to list.

My Child Refuses to Eat!

     Another problem I see parents facing on a daily basis is the battle at the dinner table. My wife and I have had to drudge through this issue with a few of our children so I know what you're going through. Again, the solution to this is surprisingly simple. All you need to do is prepare a meal for your family and make the child in question eat it. But what if the child in question refuses the meal in front of them, then what? When this scenario arises (and it no doubt will) all you need to do is allow the child to not eat. Your child will not be harmed if they skip one meal, and by the time the next meal comes around the child will be hungry enough to eat whatever is placed before them. But what if the child still won't eat? That's ok. Let them not eat again. I know it sounds mean but your child will eat eventually, and when they do it will be a well-balanced meal you have prepared and you can feel good about that. If you commit to using this method I would advise that you do not allow the child in question to snack between meals they have refused to participate in and do not prepare an alternate meal for them. Fixing more than one meal at every meal time costs far too much money, plus the preparation robs you of quality time you could otherwise be spending with your family.

     I hope the above advise helps you through this maze we call parenting. If you have a parenting topic you would like to see addressed by someone other that a so-called "expert" who doesn't even have children please email A Mind On Display and we will do our best. Also, please pass this along to someone you know who may benefit from this advice!

A Mind On Display would like to thank Christie Cunningham for her contribution to the above article, namely the pre-birth carrying and delivery of Justin Cunningham's 4 children.