Parenting Tips

• Pay attention to your child and praise them when they are performing at a level of satisfaction you enjoy. Positive reinforcement never hurts.
• Lay down the law. Children need and expect parents to have established guidelines and rules for them to follow. Be clear and concise about your likes, dislikes and expectations. Children may from time to time attempt to test the limits of your rules. When this occurs, follow through with enforcement or your rules.
• Practice consistent discipline. One of the worst things to do is to send mixed signals. If you have established a rule and they break it, be consistent in your punishment. Remember that discipline does not need to be physical. Time out and the loss of privileges that a child holds as special can be just as effective and less dangerous to their health. Never shake or physically discipline a baby or small child. This can cause serious physical injury and death.

Conversation Skills

• Learning and practicing positive conversation skills can alleviate many of the day to day problems that crop up. Once learned, this relatively simple skill will benefit both you and your child throughout life.
• Always seek ways to get positively involved in your children's discussions. Start by introducing short appropriate conversation that adds depth to the subject of discussion.
• Always choose your words carefully. Double meanings and offensive language can lead to additional complications.
• Allow for others to join the discussion, while keeping on top of the subject matter. Ask follow-up questions or make leading remarks that can help to guide the conversation if problems in content arise or the subject of the conversation gets off point.
• Family discussions can be great ways of connecting and staying connected to your children. Meal time is always a great time to create a bonding atmosphere in a discussion.