Top parenting tips for the week
There is a difference between raising girls and raising boys, says our resident parenting expert, Jenni Johnson….
Raising boys and girls is the same but different, A tip specifically for boys: Give him some responsibility. Following directions and finishing tasks are skills that are often slow to develop in boys. Practice helps. Ask your preschooler to bring you a spoon so you can stir the dinner. Assign your grade-school child the responsibility of feeding a pet.
Raising boys and girls is the same but different. A tip specifically for girls is: Encourage assertiveness. Teach your daughter to express her needs to adults and stand her ground with her peers. If another child is being mean to her, encourage her to say "I don't like the way you're talking to me."
If you and your partner speak different languages your baby will learn both and even a third if the caregiver speaks another language. To get it right everyone must be consistent and speak one language only, no mixing. Baby’s brain creates a file for each language so if one is mixed, that to the baby is another language. Luke, who’s the son of Danelle who works in my clinic, would occasionally ask her a question in English if he was talking to his dad and she would ask him what he said, he’d roll his eyes and repeat it perfectly in Afrikaans!
Becoming a parent is incredibly exciting but the adjustment on yourself as well as your marriage can throw unexpected lows and obstacles into this new family dynamic. Try to show empathy for your partner. Take time to listen to each other with your eyes and hearts. Try to express your negative feelings without sounding defensive. Instead of saying ’You don’t know what it’s like to have the baby for the whole day’, say’ I feel overwhelmed after a whole day with baby’. Seek help if things get out of control.
* Catch Jenni on-air every day just after 10am with her tip of the day.
Jenni Johnson, our resident ‘Baby Whisperer’, has been a practicing child-care practitioner for 15 years, and owns a busy ante and post natal clinic in Durban.
At Jenni’s ante and post natal clinic in Durban, parents are taught a system that gives them structure and routine to the baby and childhood years. Jenni has a nursing background. She’s a registered nurse, midwife, psychiatric nurse and a practicing child-care practitioner for the past 15 years. Jenni’s online clinic, can be accessed online via www.jennisays.com. For appointments, e-mail [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter via @JenniSays or on Facebook by 'liking' The Berea Baby Clinic.