Kids And Sleeping Problems.

I think just about every child must go through a phase where they don't sleep properly for one reason or another.

My worst one was Kelsey. Man, she was bad! She so rarely slept properly when she was a baby that the first time she slept for a full 4 hours (at the age of 8 months) I refused to go into her room because I honestly thought she'd be dead! I ran over to get my neighbour, she came and went into Kelseys room and came out laughing at me cos Kelsey was sleeping soundly and sweetly.

With Kelsey, life was a total nightmare. I had Chris and ended up as a single parent by the time Kelsey was born. Chris was then 2 and a half.

Kelsey would NEVER sleep. Well, just about never anyway. She'd feed, then sleep for 20 minutes, then cry for hours and feed and sleep for 20 minutes and cry for hours. Nothing we did helped. Like I mentined, she was 8 months old the first time she even slept for 4 hours straight.

We kept going back and forth to the doctors and got palmed off with 'hysterical mother', 'chest infection', 'virus', 'ear infection' etc etc etc.

Actually, Kelsey was constantly plagued with ear infections and chest infections. I started to notice that when she was sleeping she also tended to snore a LOT and to stop breathing, which constantly woke her up. It was a really scarey time for me, and I had to keep an eye on her all the time when she slept to make sure she DID wake up when her breathing stopped.

This carried on for years, with still no help from the doctors. By the time she was 2 and a half I was totally worn down. She seemed to not be able to hear anything at all, and 'watched' people speak to see what they were saying to her. If someone was behind her and spoke, she had no reaction at all.

Then she started pressing her head/ear up against the speaker on the tv, even though it was already really loud. I decided enough was enough, went back to the doctors and sat there until they gave me a referral to see a specialist.

When we finally got to see the specialist, she pulled out HUGE rock hard clumps of wax from Kelseys ears. Look at the size of the top joint on your little finger. They were THAT size! Needless to say, our 'normal' doctor lost his post as he'd always told us there was nothing wrong and had never found the lumps of wax.

When we got out of the specialists office, Kelsey turned around and looked at me with a great big smile on her face and said 'Mum! I can hear everything!'

It helped a bit, but she was still having sleeping problems. We raised up the head end of the bed, we used breathe easy creams and sprays, we opened windows and everything else we were told to do. She still snored and still stopped breathing, resulting in her waking up.

She couldn't eat anything hard like bread crusts or meat, everything had to be mashed up or in tiny pieces. A year later we had a new appointment to see the specialist. She put us on a waiting list for the hospital to remove Kelseys tonsils and adenoids. It took another year for that appointment to come through. When it finally did, we went to hospital, had the op done, Kelsey woke up and wanted food, and LOTS of it.

She slept through the night for the first time ever at the age of 4 and a half. And again the next night, and the next... In fact, she just stopped waking up through the night at all. Her snoring stopped, her breathing NEVER stopped again and we were in heaven.

To this day Kelsey sleeps a lot, as much as she can in fact, as if she's making up for lost time. She's almost 14 now though, so she should've made up for it by now, eh? LOL.

If your child has sleep problems, don't listen to 'experts' if you have a gut feeling that something is seriously wrong. Keep going and keep pushing. Get a 2nd, 3rd and even 4th opinion if you have to.

I'll cover some of our more 'normal' sleep problems next time.

Anna

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Kids will be kids

I sometimes write up things that the kids have done, and recently found this. I wrote it about 3 years ago, maybe a little more (Courtney is almost 6 now), yet re-reading it still made me giggle.

I think my 6 year old has decided to become a politician when he`s older. Here's a little story from last Thursday:

I woke up, after an hours sleep, at 6am. Opened my eyes to see a bright red 2 year old. She'd managed to get hold of a thick waterproof marker pen, and was covered from top to toe in scribbles.

After rubbing my eyes, I looked closer, and saw the name KYLE (my 6 year old) written across her tummy. So as a good mother, I did my bit of ranting and raving, and asked Kyle why he was writing his name on her tummy. He looked at me with beautifully innocent eyes (as I was walking into the other bedroom) and said 'Wow mum! I didn't know she was THAT clever!'

Trying my hardest not to giggle, I was suddenly faced with bright red marker on the bedroom walls, some of it low down (where a 2 year old can reach) and some a bit higher (where a 2 year old can't reach). Up on the high bit, what do I see? The name KYLE in great big letters.

Immediately, Kyle looks at me and says 'Oh MY! One of the other kids musta written that, and Courtney`s copied it to her tummy!! She really IS good mum!'

Needless to say, the 2 older kids (10 and 13) were fast asleep in their beds and didn`t have a clue as to what was going on...lol

Anna


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Tips for Keeping Children Safe Online

Tips for Keeping Children Safe Online
By Sharon Housley

There was once a time when you only had to worry about children when they were outside or not at home. Those times have changed. Strangers can now enter your home, without a key or coming through a door. How you may ask? These strangers enter your home using a keyboard. These strangers can befriend your children online.

Social networking has become increasingly popular and websites like Myspace have thrived with adolescents and teens. While pedophiles may be the minority on these sites, the threat of having a pedophile enter your home, under the guise of being someone their not, is just too big of a threat to ignore.

It may seem harmless enough, at first glance. I mean, what do other web surfers really know about your child? They might even live half a world away. How could they possibly harm your child? Perhaps you might even see the educational value of your child interacting with individuals from other cultures and understanding the global nature of today's world, but consider this...

Children online don't feel that these "friends" are strangers. They "chat" with them daily. These people, who parents consider strangers, are their friends. They understand what the child is going through and they listen in ways the parents never seem to. The recent riveting testimony of a young boy that was drawn into online pornography at the age of 13, should be a wake up call to all parents. Computers and the Internet can be far more dangerous than most parents ever imagine. The likelihood of a child online will encounter strangers is far higher than a stranger wandering into their backyard.

Parents warn their children about strangers as they grow up, perhaps its time to redefine the term stranger. Consider the following to protect your child, adolescent, or teenager while online.

1. Webcams.
Do not allow your children to use a webcam unsupervised. Children will often forget that the webcams are there or even worse, what may seem harmless online flirting might result in unwarranted or undesired attention from an anonymous predator. Additionally, webcams have been tied to home robberies where burglars viewed items of interest through a webcam. A little online digging resulted in the home address, and items were then stolen.

2. Common Area.
In spite of an adolescents or a teenagers need for privacy, it is best to keep the computer in a family common area. It might be helpful to explain to your child why it is important that computers be out in the open. Children should understand that using a computer is not a right, is a privilege. Parents can and should supervise online activity.

3. Personal Information.
Personal information is just that, personal, and should not be shared by children. As easy as that is to say, sometimes children are often confused as to what constitutes personal information. Educating children about what personal information is, is just as important as educating them as telling them not to share. Children need to understand that just because someone asks for personal information doesn't mean you have to tell them.

What is personal information? Knowing not to share your location, name, age, address, phone number, town, password, and schedule might seem obvious to children, but what many don't realize is that predators will often piece together various bits of information. A predator will aggregate data to determine a child's location or true identity. Predators are able to use IP tracking and the location of an online web provider that you use might assist them in narrowing down a location. Information related to sports events or scheduled concerts will further allow a predator to ascertain a child's location and personal information.

Provide adolescents and teenagers these tips in determining what information is appropriate or inappropriate to share. Tell them to ask themselves how the predator can use the requested information? Is it necessary for them to have that information? Why?

4. Crossing the Bounds.
It is easy to explain to a child that a stranger is someone they don't know in the real world, but online the definition becomes blurred. Is a friend of a friend online, a stranger? If you have communicated X number of times with someone, are they still a stranger? Assist your children in drawing lines about who is appropriate to communicate with, and who is not.

5. Candor.
When talking to children about surfing online, it is important to be honest with them. Children have to understand the dangers, but should not live in fear. Balancing candor and fear might be tricky, but you know your child best and keeping it real will help them navigate and how to stay safe online.

6. Trust.
Trust online is a funny thing, just because someone says something is true does not mean that it is. Bloggers and online wikis are dealing with credibility issues, yet individuals are often trusted until proven untrustworthy.

7. Identifying Information.
Instruct your child NEVER to share any identifying information that includes phone numbers and addresses. And finally ,consider how non-anonymous the web really is http://www.small-business-software.net/anonymity-of-internet.htm .

8. Photos.
Children should not swap photos online. Exchanging photos is unnecessary and puts children at a higher level of risk. Additionally digital photographs can easily be edited by a third party. An explicit online photo can haunt a child for a lifetime.

9. Profiles.
Children should not complete profiles in blogging software or social networks, like MySpace The profiles or hobbies can often raise the interest of unwanted admirers.

10. Questionnaires/ Surveys.
Children should not complete questionnaires or surveys online. The information requested may appear harmless, but you do not know how the information will be used, it is good practice to avoid completing any questionnaires or surveys.

11. Meeting.
It of course goes without saying that children should not meet any individual that they converse with online.

12. Chat Rooms.
Chat rooms are playgrounds for sexual predators. The chat room owners have no method to detect a lurking predator from a child. As a result it is just a good practice to restrict access to chat rooms.

13. Instant Messaging.
Adolescents and teenagers often want to communicate, whether on the phone or via the Internet. Instant messaging is a popular phenomenon for children. If you allow your child to communicate using instant messaging, be sure to block instant messaging from anyone unknown. Additionally, spot check their buddy list to make sure that it has not been altered. Use a tool like AOL where restrictions can be implemented.

14. Online Games.
Often online games, will contain a chat component. The same rules that apply to instant messaging should apply to the online games and chatting. Rarely are filters available for the online games and many children will encounter strangers who evolve into friends through online play. Be leery and weary.

The Internet is global and not governed by any single entity. There are no limitations. By creating clear boundaries for your children they will be able to take advantage of this amazing vehicle without putting themselves at risk.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.




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Breastfeeding: Yes or No? My Experiences.

As this is a blog about parenting I thought I should probably start from the beginning (after the pregnancy itself), and go on to the feeding of our kids.

Breastfeeding: Yes or No? My Experiences.
By Anna-Marie Stewart

I breastfed all 4 of my kids by choice. I lived in Norway when the 3 eldest were born and it was the 'done thing'. If anybody bottle-fed their baby they got weird looks. When I first fell pregnant at the age of 20 or so, I would never have dreamed of breastfeeding, and throughout the pregnancy I swore I'd never do it. It was something ingrained from my first 12 years of life being in England. When they brought Chris to me, he automatically latched on and that was it, no turning back.

I breastfed him quite a long time, until Kelsey came along anyway, then I went directly to breastfeeding her. I had a couple years freedom from breastfeeding then Kyle came along, and it was only natural that I breastfed him too.

Courtney was born here in the UK, and people were really freaking out about me breastfeeding her. It was like we had to hide away whenever she needed feeding. The funniest thing ever was the health visitor though. She decided she was going to teach me how to breastfeed properly! I explained, as nicely as I could, that I'd already breastfed 3 kids and knew what I was doing, then asked her how many SHE had breastfed. Her reply? 'Oh, I haven't had children yet'!!! Needless to say, I requested a new health visitor there and then LOL.

I was lucky, I never really had a problem breastfeeding any of the kids. Apart from once. I got mastitis, an inflammation and infection in one of my breasts. It was my own fault. After I had Chris (the eldest) I'd been told not to get my hands cold as it would most likely lead to mastitis, then I went hunting in the deep-freezer for some meat for dinner. Kaboom! Next day I was in agony! It lasted a couple of weeks, had to have antibiotics and still breastfeed, and I was close to giving up the whole idea for a while cos it was SO painful. But I stuck with it, the infection went away and I ended up breastfeeding the other 3 without any problems at all.

You can safely say I learnt my lesson! If you're reading this and thinking of breastfeeding all I can say is Go For It. It's the most healthy thing you can do for your baby and it creates a fantastic bond between you and the baby. Just make sure you don't get your hands too cold ;)

===============Resource Box===========
Discover how a mom with four unruly kids avoided
a breakdown with this surprise discovery! 12-page
guide reveals 32 ways to keep your kids occupied,
happy and focused. It’s a parent’s dream come true!
http://annamarketing.com/FTS/32Ways.htm
-------------------------------------------------

This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine, web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included. (c) 2006 Anna-Marie Stewart. All Rights Reserved

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Recommended for kids and parents too

Was just sitting here wondering what to write about and one of the kids asked if they could go on one of their fave game sites on the other pc. That made me decide what to write about LOL

If your kids like games (or you do) then check out Neopets at http://www.neopets.com

It's an interactive site, with lots of stuff going on. You create a 'pet' that you can feed, play with, battle with etc. There are multiple games and lots of ways to earn money (neopoints) that you can use to equip or feed and clothe your pet. You can create a neohome, barter for stuff on the trading post, make your pet advance in levels through reading etc. It's really fun and the kids are learning without realizing ;)

Anna

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Help Your Kids To Read Better!

Help Your Kids To Read Better!
By Anna-Marie Stewart

One of my blog visitors asked me to write a bit about how I got Kyle to read after she'd read some posts about him and his ADHD so I thought, yeah, why not?

Basically, what I did was really easy. I forced Kyle to read without him even knowing it. I started off with simple stuff, like road signs. They're big and bright and attention grabbing, and most have pictures to go along with the words. Everywhere we went, I'd point out a road sign and ask him to tell me what it meant. It worked, and it wasn't long before he started reading ALL road signs, with our without pictures and feeling really proud of himself for being able to do it.

We have a gazillion books at home, and I've always read to my kids, but with Kyle I started to 'cheat'. I'd leave out exciting bits, or just read a few words from each page and make the story REALLY short. I started doing that with books and stories he was already familiar with so that he'd KNOW I was leaving stuff out, and he'd call me on it. I'd say, well how do you KNOW what's missing. I can read, can you? He actually took on the challenge.

He started sneaking books up to his room. (I say sneaking, but in reality he just THOUGHT he was sneaking them and I let him think that). Now to me, it was brilliant, he'd NEVER shown an interest in books before, so I took it as a good sign and didn't mention it to him.

Another thing I did was whenever he wanted to watch tv I would make him hit the info button before watching a program to bring the synopsis up, and I'd read it out to him. When I wasn't around, he'd sit flicking through the channels and looking at the synpsis for each program to see which words he recognized. It was a good habit to get into as he now NEVER watches a program without reading what it's about first.

We also get reading in another way whenever we're out, and that's by using cars. Yep, cars. We read the license plates to see if we can make up words from the letters on them. Try it, it can be quite amusing ;)

One of the MAIN things in getting him to read was, of course, sweets! With his ADHD there are a LOT of things we try to keep out of his way, such as e colours and additives. My kids only get sweets on Saturdays and a very limited amout too. As the others are in school I started taking Kyle with me on the Friday to buy the sweets ready for the Saturday. I gave him the choice of ANY sweets he wanted so long as they had no e colours or additives.

It worked! He now looks at every sweet packet and even every food packet to see if it's something he's allowed to have or not.

Kyle also loves the pc and for a while we had 2 pc's right next to each other. He'd play his games and I'd work on my ezine and ebooks. Every time he needed help he would ask. Of course, I was working, so sometimes he'd have to wait for an answer. He got impatient and tried to read for himself. I'd tell him to say it out loud and if he read something wrong I'd help him to see what it actually said and it just took off from there.

All the while, more and more books have been disappearing from the living room.

It's VERY rare he ever asks for help with his reading now, and frequently comes running from his room to read to me about tarantulas, bugs, sharks and anything else he's found interesting.

I hope this helps some of you out there.

===============Resource Box===========
Discover how a mom with four unruly kids avoided
a breakdown with this surprise discovery! 12-page
guide reveals 32 ways to keep your kids occupied,
happy and focused. It’s a parent’s dream come true!
http://annamarketing.com/FTS/32Ways.htm
-------------------------------------------------

This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine, web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included. (c) 2006 Anna-Marie Stewart. All Rights Reserved


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Just a little intro

When I first started this blog is was going to be an experiment, but then the kids went on holiday to France for 3 weeks and I ended up getting REALLY busy with creating my newest ebook Real Life Marketer Interviews Vol. II

So if you're visiting through Dr Mani's Blog Challenge, then forgive me for not following through. It just got way too hectic over here for me to pay the challenge the time and attention it deserved. Now, if you're NOT involved in the blog challenge, but would like to help kids with heart defects, then scoot over to the CHD logo over on the right there -------------->

See it? You might have to scroll to find it, but it's well worth it just for the sake of helping kids.

Anyhow, I should possibly give a brief intro of who I am and what I do, eh? Or, you could just go look at my profile ;)

Yeah, do that, it's probably easier than listening to me rambling on. Hey, waddya expect? The kids have been in France for almost 3 weeks now, I have nobody apart from my fiance to talk to so OF COURSE I'm going to ramble.. LOL.

So anyway, check me out, look at my profile, visit my other blogs and websites, get a feel for who I am and come and say Hi! In the meantime I'll try to think up some really 'cool' parenting stuff for my next post.

Laters
Anna


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