is it really hard to be the best parent ever?

As parents, it is our dream to be regarded as the "best parents" in the world. Oftentimes, we would make every effort to be deserving of that citation but should we really sweat it out? Somehow, I believe we only need to do our part as parents. Anyway, for most of us, parenting skills often come out naturally. We don't need to impress our children with a lot of things that they don’t primarily need in the first place.

We must remember that we were and are our parents' children, too; and we didn't require them to do so much before we would think of them as the best parents for us. However, we did appreciate the time that our parents have spent for us while we were still young and needing attention.  So now that we are already parents ourselves, I believe we should also do the same. Although we do need money as well to keep the family going, we must never forget to find some quality time to be with our children. Oftentimes, it is quite tempting to be a workaholic; however, if it’s going to be at the expense of our time with our family, then we’re not actually doing them a favor.

So, is it really hard to be the best parent ever? As far as the popular quotation goes, our children often spell love as T-I-M-E.  Now, if the time we spend for our children should then be the basis for being hailed as a great parent, then I believe some (if not most) of us will fail. However, there are really circumstances when time is sometimes compromised for the family’s sake. Fortunately, as their wisdom and understanding grows, children will likely become forgiving of any situation or circumstance and that is how we would somehow still end up to be the best parents for them. As for us parents, and as much as possible, we should still try to give our children the T-I-M-E they deserve to be worthy of the part.

approaching the second year of our life as parents

Some time next month, my toddler will be two years old. Wow, I am really looking forward to year two of our life as parents even though they say that one of the hardest times in the life of parents is when the child turns two years old because it will be a time where the parents' patience and tolerance will be tested in terms of their ability in dealing with and managing toddler tantrums and other irritating to unpleasant behavior. In fact, I had mentioned in my previous post that we already started dealing with her occasional tantrums. I guess it came early, huh!

One thing I noticed about our toddler these days is that she's all prim and proper when we're outside the house. I mean she wouldn't show off any signs of being cranky except when we're at home. I guess she knows how to place herself. My analysis was that she's really just too comfortable in showing her crankiness only with us.  Her crankiness doesn't happen too often, though. Most of the time she's lovable, sweet and clingy (trying not to sound like a defensive parent here).

How about you guys, care to share your toddler's manifestation of unpleasant or irritating behavior? How do you deal with it?


Anyway, I've been meaning to share this video of my toddler when she first learned to love a Justin Bieber song. I just love the way she had obediently sang her part here. :-)

on self-control, success and modeling the behavior you want

I just read an interesting article today linking self-control behavior to success. Research has it that toddlers at the age of three who had a lot more self-control are likely to end up healthier and more successful when reaching adulthood.

The research and findings make a lot of sense to me because self-control teaches a child to become more disciplined when it comes to the way he would handle his life and in coming up with sound decisions later on that will truly impact his future.

We all learned that the toddler years are the formative years of a child. This is why, as much as possible, parents should be there for their children to nurture and guide them especially at this stage in their lives.

Not tolerating and learning how to manage a toddler's temper tantrums, for example, is very important in teaching a child that he cannot always get what he wants by displaying anger and improper behavior.

Right now, whenever our toddler wants something done her way and shows her tantrums by crying almost uncontrollably, we would not try to pacify her crying by giving in to her wishes. If it's not something we approve of, it's definitely non-negotiable. However, since she's not even reached the age of two, we make it a point to distract her into doing activities that she would also like to do eventually.

Self-control is also important for parents. Even though it is already very tempting to yell at every irritating situation, parents should practice holding on to their anger in front of the child. Modeling the behavior you want is even most important.

more toddler updates

What's good about her being a one year plus toddler now is that it's no longer hard for us to know when she would like some milk herself because she would say "Malk" (sometimes "Balk" LOL). Even though she still mispronounces it, we would really know because she would point at her milk to emphasize her point. The educational video showcasing the letters of the alphabet is also a big help. When the letter "M" comes and it says and shows picture of "Milk", she would also realize she wants "Malk" as well. :-)

Also, we live in a place near the airport, airplanes are a common sight and sound on top. We taught her to say "airplane" everytime we see or hear one passing but she managed to consistenly identify it as "er-ten" everytime an airplane passes by.

And then today, when I took the boneless bangus out of the refrigerator for marinating, she pointed at it and blurted "fish!" although we can barely here the "H" in the "fish". Way to go, baby!

Another word she knows how to pronounce and identify is "dog", although sometimes she would also call a goat a "dog". Hmmm, it looks like I need to handle a few corrections along the way. :-)

By the way, I took advantage of her being a toddler copycat - I took a video of her when she would point and identify her "eyes" and then played it again so she wouldn't forget it. She also knows what an "ice" looks like. So now I'm wondering if it will cause her confusion why there are two words that sound the same but mean differently. :-)

mommy moments 4: the little christmas tree

Do you have a Christmas tree at home?

A few weeks ago, hubby and I were debating whether or not we should get a new Christmas tree in the house. We definitely want a tall one for a Christmas tree but.....

We've been thinking hard about it and decided that it's practical not to buy not only because we would be able to save on that supposed expense but because we feel that it would be safer for our little one year plus toddler to be without it in the house. You see, our little toddler wants her hands full with almost anything she finds new in the house. I have envisioned already what she would do with a tall Christmas tree and with Christmas lights and decorations around it.

Anyway, I also realized that we do have an old little Christmas tree. I bought it from Avon a few years ago. I never thought it could stand tall, I mean short and proud, up until now. :-)

So, here comes our little Christmas tree!

True enough, my little girl is really not satisfied watching at it from a distance. :-)

my clever little toddler

You know I was once told that when babies would already learn how to walk by themselves, you won't feel the pressures of being a mom or a parent anymore or that you'll be able to relax a whole lot better than you did when they were still just a few months old because they no longer have to be carried all the time. However, sometimes I would feel like they're safer in my arms and I would feel more sense of peace within myself when I know they won't get a scratch on any part of the body or a bump in the head for enjoying the newfound freedom to run or move. It's been like two or three weeks now as well since my clever little toddler have discovered a way to reach for anything she has a secret crush on even when it's far beyond her reach. What she would do is grab and pull a chair right to the place of her interest and use it as her ladder so she would climb up to get what she has been eyeing on. No matter how much we try stopping her from doing so and then putting her back down everytime she would succeed in standing on top of the chair's seat and enjoying the view, she's too stubbornly patient to try it again.

Uh oh, watch the tv!