One of your most important functions as a parent is to help your child to learn, and support their learning. This doesn't just mean their formal learning, but ... PARENTING SKILLS SearchSkillsYouNeed: ParentingSkills: SubscribetoourFREEnewsletterandstartimprovingyourlifeinjust5minutesaday. Subscribe You'llgetour5free'OneMinuteLifeSkills'andourweeklynewsletter. We'llnevershareyouremailaddressandyoucanunsubscribeatanytime. ParentingSkills Seealso:TopTipsforParenthood Parentingmaywellbethehardestjobthatyoueverdo. Unfortunately,babiesdonotarrivewithaninstructionmanual.Theplethoraofbooksandwebsitesthatareavailablecansometimesseemtobemakingthedifficultiesevenworse,withconflictingadviceandapproachesthatjustmaynotfeelright. Ourparentingskillspagestakea‘common-sense’approach. Wetrytoexplainwhatadviceisavailable,andofferyousomethoughtsabouthowtodecidewhatisrightforyouandforyourchild. “Let’sStartattheVeryBeginning…” Parentingstartsduringpregnancy,whenyourbodyiseffectivelytakenoverfromwithin.Mostpeopleknowaboutmorningsickness,buttiredness,anaemia,andmoodchangescanalsobeafeatureofmanypregnancies. OurpageonPregnancyandWellnessexplainswhatyoucandotostaywellinpregnancy. Aswellasbeingpregnant,andmanagingyourbody,youmayalsowanttomakepreparationsforyourbaby’sarrival. OurpageonPreparingforParenthoodsetsoutsomeofthethingsyoumayliketoconsider. YoumayalsoliketoreadourpageonEco-FriendlyParenting,especiallyifyouarekeentominimisetheenvironmentalimpactofyourparentingchoices. LookingAfterYourBaby Itispossiblethatnothingcouldeverprepareanyoneforthatmomentwhentheyfirstholdtheirnewbaby. Ourpagesonlookingafteranewbabyhelpyoutogettogripswiththechangesinyourlife,andhowtolookafteryourbaby.AgoodplacetostartisourpageonLookingAfteraNewBaby. Formorespecificissues,includingsleeping,tryourpagesonBabiesandSleeping,andSleepProblemsinBabies. Whileyourfocusmaybeonyourbaby,itisimportantnottoneglectyourself. OurpageonMeetingOtherParentsgivesyousomeadviceonhowtobuildupyournetwork,andgettoknowotherparentsinthearea.Manypeoplehavecommentedthattheyare,andremain,particularlyclosetothefriendstheymadewhiletheirchildrenweresmallbecausetheysharedsuchalotofveryemotionaltimes.Itiswellworthputtingenergyintotheserelationships. FeedingBabiesandYoungChildren Feedingcomesprobablysecondonlytosleepingasanissueforparentsofbabiesandyoungchildren. Fromtheissuesof‘howtowean’throughtoquestionsaboutwhetheryourchildwillalwaysbeafussyeater(no)andwhetherthisisaphase(yes),youwillfindpagesthatwehopewillprovidesomeguidance. Thereareanumberofveryspecificstagescoveredinourfeedingpages,including FeedingBabies; Weaning;and FeedingToddlers. ManagingandImprovingBehaviouralProblemsinYoungChildren Asyourchildreachestoddlerstage,anotherissue—thatofbehaviour—willalmostcertainlyarise. Thetoddleryearsarenotcalledthe‘TerribleTwos’fornothing,andalmosteverychildwillthrowatleastonetantrumovertheperiod. Thecrucialissueistodevelopanunderstandingofyourchild,andthereasonsfortheirbehaviour.Asageneralrule,childrenwantparentalattentionandwilldowhateverisnecessarytogetit,includingthrowingtantrums.Itisimportanttounderstandthisandtoavoiddoinganythingthatmayreinforcetheunwantedbehaviourinyourchild. OurpageonUnderstandingYourYoungChildorToddlerwillhelphere. ForfurtherreadingseeourpagesonManagingToddlerBehaviour,andDealingwithTantrums. EntertainingChildren Keepingchildrenbusyishalfthebattleinkeepingthemquietandhappy,andthereisahugeamountofadviceavailableonwaystomanagethis,includingourpage-TopTipsfortheSchoolHolidays. FormoreinspirationtryourpagesonCookingwithChildren,GardeningwithChildren,andCraftActivitieswithChildrenforsomeideasforthingstodoathome. Ifyou’rethinkingofgoingoutandabout,checkoutourpagesonOutingswithChildren. Ofcourse,thereistheissueofthe‘electronicbabysitter’,andwhetheritisgoodforchildrentospendtimewatchingtelevisionorusingcomputers.Thisisaperennialissueforallparents,whetheryourchildisbarely18monthsorapproaching18yearsold.ReadmoreinourpageonScreenTimeforChildren. Children’spartiesareanongoingchallengeforparents.LearnmoreabouthowtocopeinourpagesonPlanningChildren’sPartiesandManagingChildren’sParties. Ifyoujustwantsomegeneraladviceonparenting,anddon’tknowwheretostart,tryourTopTenParentingTips. YoumayalsofindourpagesonParentingBoys,ParentingGirls,andMindfulParentingaregoodstartingpoints. LearningandDeveloping Oneofyourmostimportantfunctionsasaparentistohelpyourchildtolearn,andsupporttheirlearning. Thisdoesn’tjustmeantheirformallearning,butalsoinformallearning,socialskillsandinterpersonalskills. Oneofthemostusefulthingsthatyoucando,forexample,istoreadwithchildrenonaregularbasis. Asyourchildgrowsandlearns,youalsoneedtochoosesettingsfortheirlearning. Choosingchildcareisachallengewithwhichmostworkingparentswillbefamiliar,andourpageonTypesofChildcareisdesignedtohelp. Anotherimportantfunctionofparentsistohelptheirchildrentodevelopindependence,agradualandongoingprocessthatstartsinbabyhoodandcontinuesthroughoutchildhoodintoadulthood.Thisprocess,doneright,ensuresthatchildrengrowupabletomanagetheirownlives,bothphysicalandemotional.Formore,seeourpageonEncouragingIndependence. Choosingaschoolisalsoreportedlyasubjectfordiscussionwhereverparentsgettogether. ParentingTeenagers Manyparentswilladmittodreadingtheteenageyears. Ifyou’renotstrugglingtoCopewithTeenagers,orkeepopencommunicationchannels,you’reworryingabouthowyoucansupportthemwithexamsandrevision,ordealingwithconcernsaboutthem. Forparticularconcerns,youmaywanttoreadourpagesonTeenagersandAlcohol,TeenagersandDrugs,TeenagePartiesandSleepoversandTeenageAggression. Tohelpyouunderstandmoreaboutwhat’sgoingoninyourteenager’sheadandbody,youmaywanttohavealookatourpageonUnderstandingAdolescence. Bullying Findingthatyourchildhasbeen,orisbeingbullied,isalwaysgoingtobehard. Ourpagesonbullyingaredesignedtohelpyouthroughtheprocessofunderstandingthesituation(seeAnIntroductiontoBullying),toHelpingSomeonetoCopewithBullying. YoumayalsofindourpageonCyberbullyinguseful asthisisarisingtrendthatseemslikelytobeanissueforsometimetocome. Ifyouarebeingbullied,thepageonCopingwithBullyingmayhelp.Asanadult,youmayneedtoknowaboutWorkplaceBullyingtoo. It’salsoimportanttoconfrontbullyingwhenyouseeithappeningtootherpeople.OurpageonConfrontingBullyingexplainshowyoucandothis. ChangingChallenges Asyourchildrengrowanddevelop,ofcoursethechallengesyoufacechange.Whatdoesn’tchangeisthatyouarestillrequiredtobepatient,resourcefulandresilient.Yourself-esteemandself-confidencewillprobablybetestedtothelimitovertheyears. Itisimportanttorememberatalltimesthatyouarethebestparentforyourchildren,becauseyouareyou. Holdthatthoughtandlifemaywellfeel,andbe,easier. OurNewestSection ParentingSkillsisthenewestsectionofSkillsYouNeedandwe'readdingmorecommonsenseparentingadviceallthetime. We'dlovetohearyourviewsandideasforareasyouthinkweshouldcover.Sogetintouchandletusknowwhatyou'dliketosee. Startwith:TopTipsforParenting Seealso: InterpersonalSkillsforChildren StressManagementSkills TOP