We live in a culture where we are strongly encouraged to praise our children for every little thing. How realistic do you think this is? If all that comes out of our mouth is “great job” even though in your heart we might be thinking, “Really?!!!” Praising sounds like a broken record. I have noticed that it doesn’t even carry the same weight as it used to.
Appreciation and Tantrums
As the presents under the Christmas tree piles up, and yet more are to come since grandma and grandpa have not yet arrived with their armful of gifts; feeling overwhelmed is common. Even if this is all very exciting and joyful, we forget that it is still an overwhelming emotion and we can easily be tipped over to feeling anxious. This theory applies to all of us, of all ages. Therefore, wouldn’t it be important to keep an even keel anticipation for all?
Worrying About Worrying About Autism
Awareness of Autism is growing, which is good in that the earlier the diagnosis, the earlier and more intensive the intervention which often results in better outcomes. However, with awareness has also come anxiety about prevalence, false positives in diagnosing, and misinformation about cause and the desire for an easy explanation (i.e. the whole vaccines cause Autism debacle).
Okayest mom of the year
I recently came across a t-shirt being sold on the Internet with the phrase “World’s Okayest Mom” and it gave me a chuckle. After the initial giggles wore off, I gave the phrase more thought. I suppose the intention of such a gift would be to poke a little fun at the recipient. But in considering what it takes for young children to form secure attachments and develop appropriate personal-social skills, and for parents and caregivers to not feel completely and totally stressed out (which all kind of goes together), perhaps “okayest” is a superior adjective over best.
The Dad Factor
Bringing a new baby into the family is an exciting time. We celebrate the newness of life and have hope for the future. People are curious about the delivery and the birth story. Parents are excited and siblings are cautious (at best).
Assistance with Assisted Reproduction
Trying to have a baby through third party reproduction is a challenging and emotional process. What makes it even more complicated is that you have to learn a whole new language before you can really make sense of the journey you are about to undertake. Whether you are going through assisted reproduction to create a baby yourselves or need the assistance of others to grow your family, you will need to have some basic knowledge.