Jul
15
2008
As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted …
It’s a girl!
Healthy (she has all 20 requisite digits), lusty (she cries louder than an Italian mama at a family wedding), rosy-cheeked, pink-skinned, (you were expecting olive-green, perhaps?), almond-eyed, raven-haired (all seven of them) Irish-South African beauty; born November 10 at Westville Hospital near Durban; a bonny, bouncing (father dropped her on the carpet) sister for Alexandra and Kendall, source of curious concern for eight household pets, and cause of great wonderment for proud father … as in: “I wonder how I’m going to pay for all this.”
Mother and child well; father recuperating as well as can be expected.
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Jun
20
2008
Twins, like other children, need to be encouraged to help with household tasks. They may make double the work, but they can also be double the help. It may often seem quicker to do it yourself when twins of any age are learning a new task, but this is a shortsighted policy and can lead to the labelling of twins as unhelpful.
If a child is encouraged to help he may well put more effort into the task than the parent: shining taps, for example. The six-yearold making jam tarts may turn into the teenager who gives the parent a rest from making dinner.
If twins learn that parents will always do things for them, they may not learn to do things for themselves, or for parents, and they will find it difficult to take responsibility and grow up. Continue Reading »
May
09
2008
Some things that bother you may not be worth a major conflict with your teenager. Think carefully before starting a war over the following:
- A mess in his or her own room (unless the health department pays a visit). Remember: dirty-room syndrome is a self-limited and nonfatal illness.
- Length of hair
- Earrings (for either gender)
- Style of music
- Sound level of music
- Choice of everyday clothing
- Fast food
- Sleeping in when there’s not a specific need to arise for school or work
- How, when, and where homework is done—as long as it is getting done
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Apr
26
2008
By the time your baby arrives home for the first night, you will have had to address a basic question: Will she sleep in her own room, in a cradle or bassinet next to your bed, or in your bed right next to you? There are advocates for each of these arrangements.
Those who espouse sleeping with your baby point out that this is widely practiced throughout the world and that it gives the newborn a sense of security and comfort she won’t feel in a crib. Critics of shared sleeping raise concerns about parents accidentally rolling over and crushing the baby; however, the risk of this is remote. The more immediate concern is the potential disruption of parental sleep, intimacy, and privacy. Continue Reading »
