children
Children: Our most valuable natural resource.
Living with & Loving a Sick Child
Most would-be parents wish for a baby who is “healthy and happy.” Fortunately for most parents, that happens. For some parents, however, the baby may be happy but not healthy. Living with a child with a chronic illness can challenge a family’s patience and resources. As the parent of a 13-year-old who has been ill since his toddler days, let me offer you these 5 tips for caregiving for a chronically ill child.
By Brandi Brown6 years ago in Families
Praying for Strength
Let’s start with the beginning, which always seems like a good place to begin. My memories are fuzzy when it comes to life before 5 years old, but I can remember those 5 years as being happy, with good feelings and the excitement of my first sister’s birth.
By Kat Leeshue6 years ago in Families
A Day in the Life
It's 6:30 AM and you're woken up by an obnoxious alarm. You wait for the snoring mass beside you to get up and turn it off. It is his alarm clock after all. As you lay there praying the smaller snoring mass, who crawled into your bed at some point in the night, doesn't wake up, you feel the bed shift and the blaring noise stop. You can relax, she didn't wake up. You feel yourself drifting back to sleep to the sounds of your husband getting ready for work.
By Hannah Fricker6 years ago in Families
Postpartum Depression
It can happen to anyone, whether you're a first time mom or on your third child. It's not fun and it's one of the worst feelings a woman can go through—in my opinion, at least. Postpartum depression—for those of you who don't know what PPD is, let me tell you: the definition on Google—is "depression suffered by a mother following childbirth, typically arising from the combination of hormonal changes, psychological adjustment to motherhood, and fatigue." And for the most part, this is absolutely accurate. PPD is one of the worst all time lows I've ever experienced in my life. At least so far as I'm only 20. My name is Alicia and I'm here to tell you my story and what I went through, and let me tell you, if you are pregnant and reading this thinking, oh that will never happen to me, or it can't be that bad, you are wrong. I thought so before I had my daughter. I never thought that I would be a victim to PPD. I thought when I had my daughter I was going to be so lively as I just gave birth to my very first beautiful baby girl. But as all people, I was wrong. So wrong. Here is my story. And I hope this helps with whatever you're looking for.
By Alicia Hogue6 years ago in Families
Ways to De-Stress Your Toddler
Toddlers are just as prone to stress as adults, but the younger the child is, the less they are going to understand what is going on. Which will probably make them even more stressed out, and that is just the beginning of a very long day for everyone.
By Melanie Ma6 years ago in Families
Contemplating My Parenting Style
My son, Samuel, is 18-months-old (or a year and a half, you'll probably be hearing about him a lot), and I CANNOT TELL YOU how many mornings I have woken up to poop in his bed after he somehow ripped his diaper off in the middle of the night inside of his pants. When he wakes up, I shuffle across the hall to his room, and see him playing in poop. By the way, my son wakes up usually between 4:30-5. Yes, that's the morning. He wakes up even before my husband goes to work. So I immediately take him to the bathroom, undress him, rinse him off in the tub, clean out the tub, and run him a bath. Every time. So after his early morning bath, clean diaper and clothes, we go get in my bed and watch Baby Bums on Youtube and cuddle. I make him eggs for breakfast every morning, but he has to have a pre-breakfast, which is usually a banana. Gee, wonder why my brother calls him a hobbit. All of this happens before 8 AM. I go to work, and come and get him. And this starts over every day this way (the poop part may happen once a week, but there for a while it was a struggle).
By Jessie McDonald6 years ago in Families
A Mom With a Full-Time Job
If you are a parent, congratulations! You are probably one of two things: hardworking or hardworking...same word, but two completely different meanings! Hi, I’m Anna (one of my nicknames), I’m 22 years old, I live in South LA, and I have two beautiful children, an amazing, hardworking fiancé, and I am a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM)! Being a SAHM can be either a blessing or it can be an absolute nightmare. Usually, for me, it’s both of these things all day every day.
By Anna Paige6 years ago in Families