“A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” – Paulo Coelho
Have truer words ever been said? It can be hard sometimes as parents to remember that you are also a person. You're more than just a nappy changer, face wiper and house cleaner. As adults we can forget that there was life before children. They are of course the priority, but never forget about yourself.
In this age of distraction, it’s important to reconnect with our inner child. All too often, us adults lose sight of key factors to happiness. When was the last time you were happy for absolutely no reason? Watch your kids, they're happy 99% of the time for no real reason in particular. Happy just because. Now as an adult of course we have greater responsibilities etc, but we do tend to take ourselves a little too seriously sometimes. We fear looking silly! Lets knock down our own in-built barriers and just have some fun. Get involved in role-play, run around the garden and splash some water. Its invigorating! And that’s just at home with the kids. Try it at work as well, maybe not the role-play, running or splashing, but the having fun bit. When did work become so serious and straight? We can still can be both professional and fun, there not mutually exclusive.
The second point is always be busy. Now there is good busy and just busy being busy. The latter is just doing something to say you're busy but actually not really doing valuable stuff. Good busy is the activity that makes you happy and or is valuable. For example, rather than another hour of TV, how about reading an educational self-help book? Rather than checking social feeds, how about exercising? Even better than that, how about working up your dreams and aspirations for the future - now that’s some powerful stuff. Kids are happy because they have no boundaries, the world is literally their oyster. Adults have built up self-imposed boundaries over the years which can impact happiness. Mapping out your dreams can be an excellent way to reconnect with that inner child and open up possibilities. Pictures are a great way to reconnect.....
That nicely leads on to the final point ........ know how to demand with all his might that which he desires. Children just ask and ask (and ask). In can be quite overpowering at times but they're just simply not afraid to ask for what they want. As adults, we can forget this. Again, we have to do this is a slightly more delicate way than simply saying please over and over again, but we need to be more forceful in asking for what we want. Again, its fear that holds us back, fear of rejection. Children don't have fear, we install fear in them (sometimes for their own good, often not). This is another area where adults could improve their happiness, by no longer holding back on asking for what they want. This can be done in a very polite and considered way. What's the worst that can happen? You get a no, and you're exactly where you were, but at least you asked. You can then make a decision on what to do next. Knowing is half the battle.
As a side note, check out Paulo Coelho's book, The Alchemist. It's a fable about following your dreams, which feels very appropriate. It's a wonderful read.
]]>Remaining patient with a little one can be a real struggle can’t it? It's another one of those things that you learn when you become a new parent - learning the art of patience is really important. A lack of patience can have a profound impact on your relationships with your nearest and dearest, which in turn can impact your health and mindset. We live in a time when stress levels seem to be an all time highs, so putting things in place to help manage this can be really beneficial to you and those around you.
Being or becoming more patient first requires awareness
Once you understand what is creating a lack of patience, you can make changes. Ask yourself, why are you getting so upset and what actions are causing this emotion? It can at times feel like children are purposely doing things to get you frustrated which reduces your ability to remain calm, but remember they’re young and still finding their way in the world. We cannot judge them by our standards. It’s our ‘job’ to make them aware of the impact of their actions.
Like any skill, it requires practice and constant awareness and commitment. Real patience requires the willingness to let life unfold at its own pace and reveal itself to you. Again, our children are learning constantly so we must show them with our approach and carefully explain the impact of their actions.
But how do you learn patience? Some thoughts to consider…..
Awareness
The first thing to do is to understand what it is that causes you to become impatient and the impact this is having. There are likely to be some common causes, but it will be different for everyone. I would encourage you to grab a pen and paper and just write out the things that cause problems. This process alone will help massively - getting things out of your head and on to paper can be very soothing. Better awareness = better choices.
Avoid speaking when angry
Speaking in anger often makes the situation worse and can escalate what in the grand scheme of things is a fairly trivial issue i.e. tidying up toys, in to a major problem. If you can feel yourself losing control of your emotions, walk away from the situation and take the time to cool down. This will enable you to collect your thoughts and revisit the situation with a clear mind. Not only will an escalation be avoided, but you can calmly explain why the toys need to be tidied, for example.
Be present in the moment
When you’re with your children, try to be with them completely. We can all be guilty of trying to balance too many things are once, which can raise stress levels and prevent us from reacting with the patience required. This needs to be a conscious decision to switch off distraction and provide absolute attention to your little ones. This alone may reduce the need to be extra patient as children can often ‘act up’ just to gain our attention - it’s what they crave most!
Sow the seed and water the plants
What does that mean? Well, you've probably heard the phase ‘Trust the Process’. The temptation can be to try and control every element of our little one’s young life. For all the right reasons, we don’t want them to get hurt or do things we wouldn’t, but for them to grow, we at times need to step back and trust the process. Set the direction but allow them space to experiment. Again, this takes personal awareness and commitment. The benefit of adopting this approach is that little ones come to their own solutions and you don’t have to tell them what to do every 5 minutes - removing a level of stress on both sides. This can feel un-natural and in the early days can feel like it’s not working, but if you allow the seed to grow, it will turn in to a beautiful flower.
Put things in to perspective
Linked to the 2nd bullet point, some of the things that make us impatient are generally really not that important. They are in the moment, but how often do we say things in the moment and then regret it afterwards? Learning from those times is key and again, make a conscious effort the next time a situation is developing to put it in perspective. Ask yourself if the situation is worth a full-on argument? 9 times out of 10, the answer will be no. That’s not to say we should ignore it, but we do have the choice how to react. Our actions have a much more meaningful impact on our children than the words we speak. It’s the old adage - actions speak louder than words.
Cradle Cap is a skin condition sometimes seen in babies caused by excessive production of sebum, characterized by areas of yellowish or brownish scales on the top of the head.
The good news is that it should clear up by itself in a few weeks or months. However, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the research and information wing of the National Institutes of Health, offers the below suggestions to help manage it.
Use your fingers or a brush with very soft bristles to gently rub your baby's scalp each day. This will boost circulation and help scaly patches of skin fall off easily.
Wash your baby's head each day with a gentle soap (try one made for "sensitive skin") until cradle cap subsides. Then shampoo about twice weekly.
Be sure to rinse away all traces of soap.
Before shampooing, rub a bit of mineral oil into baby's scalp and cover it with a moist, warm washcloth to encourage scaly patches to fall off. Leave it on for up to an hour, making sure the cloth stays warm.
If cradle cap doesn't improve or baby continues to react to scalp itchiness, see your pediatrician about a topical lotion or cream.
We hope you find this useful. Please share with any new parents who may also find it useful.
]]>Bath Time should = Fun Time in our opinion! The little ones love them, but the routine can sometimes feel just that, a routine. So we thought we would share some ideas to help make bath time as fun as it can be.
Give them a try and let us know how you get on. Did they make bath time more fun? If you have any good bath time games, feel free to share.
]]>As a company which specialises in baby products, a lot of our customers are first time parents. As parents ourselves, we know how daunting those last few weeks of pregnancy can be - its natural to be apprehensive but getting prepared early can help calm those nerves.
We're always trying to provide useful hints and tips for our customers based on our experiences and those of the Little Tinkers community. The below link provides a really useful article on what to pack in your hospital bag.
https://www.babycentre.co.uk/what-to-pack-in-your-hospital-bag
It covers what you pack for labour, what your birth partner should pack, what you will need after the birth and what you should pack for your new arrival.
Being as prepared as possible will help make this time as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. It means you can just focus on you and your new miracle!
We hope this proves useful - as always, please share with anyone you feel would benefit from this information.
]]>Speaking from personal experience, life is easier with sleep! This is probably the most challenging part of being a parent - the lack of sleep...... It's the one thing that you simply cannot prepare for and it can come as a big shock to the system.
So we thought we would share some useful insight from webmd.com on their 9 ways of making bedtime easy (or easier at least). You can find the full content at the below link, but here is a summary -
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/raising-fit-kids/recharge/bedtime-routine-tips#1
There you have it - easy! Not all of these will work but some will, and you'll find your flow as a family. But rest assured, you're not the only ones who will need some help with this - keep going, it will happen. Bring on those full nights sleep again!!
]]>But just wait a minute. Press the pause button. Sit down and eat that last mince pie. It is January. It is the new year. That means another year has passed. Another christmas come and gone, another set of birthdays celebrated, another set of memories made. The years pass so quickly and those little tinkers; they grow up too soon. Do you really have the time to spare to sit thinking about gym memberships you won’t use and fad diets that make you miserable. Do you have time to spend a month wallowing in guilt and self-pity and pangs of failure? When you are a parent, with 1001 things sitting on your to do list do you really have time to think about any of that? You have other things to think about, things much more mundane but no less important. Things like making sure someone’s favourite clothes are clean for the weekend or remembering to give someone a goodnight kiss, or making sure you all go over the park and get some fresh air tomorrow before they are all back at school stuck in a classroom again. These may be everyday things for you but they are so important for your kids. Our children don’t care what we look like, what we are wearing, if we went to the gym this week or ever. They don’t actually notice if we are doing the 5:2 diet or just stuffing our faces with the leftover Christmas chocolates. What they do care about is that we are there and that we are present.
In the current climate of technology and social media we find it increasingly hard to be present and in the moment with our nearest and dearest. We are, as parents often absorbed with what we are doing next and later and tomorrow, accompanied with distractions from our phones and social media. Non stop news articles and beeping notifications. We are available on demand all day everyday to the people who want to Whatsapp or text us, to the companies wanting to sell us their products and to the social media companies wanting us to engage. But how available are we to the people who really matter?
This January, as parents, there is only one new years resolution we need to make and that is to be more present with our families. More available to our children and more conscious of making memories, not from the extravagant or the impossible but from the mundane.
But with a to do list that never seems to get any shorter and in an increasingly busy world how do we give more of our attention to our children? Here are some ideas to help you.
Have them help you change the beds or do the laundry. Make it a game to have them run around picking up the toys before you hoover them up. In the words of the great Mary Poppins: ‘In every chore that must be done, there is an element of fun’.
Make a day where you go out and do something as a family. You can make this easier by writing down all the things you would like to do on pieces of paper and folding them up and putting them in a pencil case or tin. Then on each family day you simply pick one out and go with that.
Make sure all TV’s phones and devices are off so that meal times can be times to talk to each other. Ask them questions about their likes, dislikes, their favourite things to do as a family and what they would do on the weekend if they could do anything at all! You might be surprised at their answers.
The more they can do themselves, the more time you have to sit down and spend with them. You can spend time teaching them now or spend time doing it for them later.
Whether it’s bike rides or Marvel movies; if you are all interested in the same thing it is easy to spend enjoyable time together. Granted, this is much easier as kids get older.
When you have a break, you are much better able to be present with your children. You are more relaxed and available to listen. Not only that but going away from them reminds you how much you enjoy being with them.
Go to the park, walk through the woods, go swimming or get out on a bike ride. ‘The family that gets fit together; sticks together’ (Maybe!).
At least one day a week cook a meal together as a family, It is good teamwork and gives opportunity for conversation and we have to cook anyway! Food made with love tastes better too.
Don’t see play as something you can do if you get all of the housework done, factor it into your weekly routine as a job in itself that needs to be done. Play dolls or action figures or sit and do some arts and crafts or play-dough. Whatever it is, leave your phone alone and enjoy; it is good for you too!
Go on holiday, a road trip, camping or a day out doing something completely new. See it through the eyes of your children and go make some happy memories together.
Let us know what you intend to do to be more present with your family this year!
]]>Trying to stay organised with a baby is next to impossible. No matter how hard you try, there always seems to be something else to pick up - how can something so small, make so much mess? If only there was something we could do.........
Step forward thebump.com who have created 6 fantastic tips to help organise your nursery. You can head over to the blog post following the link below but to summarise, the 6 tips are -
https://www.thebump.com/a/nursery-organization-secrets
We hope this proves useful - as always, please share with anyone you feel would benefit from this information.
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