The Parenting Thread

[VERT]

Just came across this thread. I have a 2.5yr old son & a 5yr old daughter. My daughter is obsessed with TF & SW Makes me very proud.

The idea's you may have about how you will parent completely go out the window when you actually have them. It is a learning experience every day. Some days are good, some suck, but all you can do is your best.

My kids are very full on, daughter is a Taurus, Son is a red head, wife is a red-headed taurus :S They are very strong willed, very smart kids who know what they want and won't give in until they get it, which makes for some very interesting times to say the least.

On the bi-lingual subject, I wish my kids could speak more than one language, but unfortunately both my wife & I speak only English. They do know a little Spanish & Chinese thanks to kids shows though :P If there was some way for them to learn another language we would jump at the chance, but living where we do, there is nothing like that.

On the pinky ponk dilemma try Kmart.

[Bartrim]

On the pinky ponk dilemma try Kmart.

Tried the local K-Mart and they have no "In the Night Garden" toys. My wife found one online so I had to tell my son that the dummy fairy rang me up at work to tell me the Pinky Ponk (stupid bloody names) would be a little while and that he hadd to be patient. He swallowd that

[GoktimusPrime]

My daughter's now 13 months old and she responding to some simple bilingual verbal cues/instructions (been doing so for about 3 months now). If my wife or I tell her to clap her hands in either target language (e.g.:" 拍手して！"), she does it. She also recognises her name being called out in either target language too. She responds to other cues between each target language, but so far the hand-clapping is the one cue she can fully respond to bilingually. I'm sure she understands a lot more, but the trick atm is getting her to respond to those cues.

[GoktimusPrime]

Playing with PCC Huffer while wearing an Optimus Prime top...

[Hot Rodimus]

only just saw this thread and think it is very cool to read everyones experiences. i am the primary carer for my two and a half year opd duaghter work fulltime also though wrk can be very understanding at times.
sorry forgot who posted it but i have found the good days and sometimes bad days really rings true and it is super easy to get frustrated but when they smile or do something funny or say i love you it is amazing how good that makes you feel.

[LordCyrusOmega]

I have a 10 year old boy (not actually my son, my Gf's who i help with) who does nothing but play X-box and watch tv. I've tried to get him involved in other things but he just doesn't want to. He's taken a liking to my TF's so i showed him some of my comics and books but he refuses to read. He has a brain but doesn't want to use it. Are we seeing a pattern here?

What can i do to get him interested in other things and reading? I've seen where spending all you time on video games and tv gets you and i want so much more for him.

[gekisou]

Playing with PCC Huffer while wearing an Optimus Prime top...

か。。。　可愛い！！！ OMG! She is adorable!!! My missus wants 2 kids... starting with a daughter... I'm personally not sure if I want children. I have a favourite saying... 'I love all kids, as long as their not mine.'

[GoktimusPrime]

What can i do to get him interested in other things and reading? I've seen where spending all you time on video games and tv gets you and i want so much more for him.

I think role modelling is heaps important. I'm personally trying to spend less time on the computer and get more active myself to become a better role model for my daughter. I've been reading to her since she was in-utero so I hope that will get her interested in reading.

But considering that your gf's son is already 10, perhaps you could find out what kinds of things he's interested in and get him reading stuff about that. There are a lot of books out there now based on video games, like:
Halo novels
World of Warcraft Novels
Warcraft manga (I read one once, it wasn't half bad)

If he shares some interest in Transformers with you maybe read some Transformer comics or books with him. And as clichéd as this may sound, the Harry Potter books are meant to be quite good. I've only ever read The Philosopher's Stone and I loved it (a lot better than the film). If he's interested in other forms of fantasy maybe read him stuff like The Lord of the Rings. I'm currently reading "Peter Pan and Wendy" (Japanese version) to my daughter atm.

Years ago I had a year 7 boy whose reading age was that of a Year 2 or 3 student. I knew that he really loved climbing (he did indoor climbing as a sport and he was sometimes busted by the cops for climbing public buildings, like the top of shopping centres); and he had zero interest in reading any of the prescribed English texts at school. So I suggested to him and his father that he should start reading about climbing, which he did. The next year his literacy results improved quite significantly.

I also think it's important to get kids interested in being physically active too. Aside from keeping fit, a lot of studies show that it also helps kids mentally; active kids are found to be more attentive and focused in class and tend to perform better academically. Activities that coordinate left and right sides are said to help with focusing and attention too. Some studies also show that active kids are less likely to suffer from depression and other mental health issues too.

Have you been able to find any kind of activity that he may be interested in? If he's interested in shooting games then maybe just run around the yard or park and play shootings with toy guns. <shrug>

I think the key is to find something that can engage the child's interest. Good luck.

[jazzcomp]

か。。。　可愛い！！！ OMG! She is adorable!!! My missus wants 2 kids... starting with a daughter... I'm personally not sure if I want children. I have a favourite saying... 'I love all kids, as long as their not mine.'

I'm the opposite & don't like kids except mine. I remember my friends wanting to frame a pic of me & my goddaughter when i was younger. I really looked like I was uncomfortable with a baby

[LordCyrusOmega]

But considering that your gf's son is already 10, perhaps you could find out what kinds of things he's interested in and get him reading stuff about that. There are a lot of books out there now based on video games, like:
Halo novels
World of Warcraft Novels
Warcraft manga (I read one once, it wasn't half bad)

If he shares some interest in Transformers with you maybe read some Transformer comics or books with him. And as clichéd as this may sound, the Harry Potter books are meant to be quite good. I've only ever read The Philosopher's Stone and I loved it (a lot better than the film). If he's interested in other forms of fantasy maybe read him stuff like The Lord of the Rings. I'm currently reading "Peter Pan and Wendy" (Japanese version) to my daughter atm.

Years ago I had a year 7 boy whose reading age was that of a Year 2 or 3 student. I knew that he really loved climbing (he did indoor climbing as a sport and he was sometimes busted by the cops for climbing public buildings, like the top of shopping centres); and he had zero interest in reading any of the prescribed English texts at school. So I suggested to him and his father that he should start reading about climbing, which he did. The next year his literacy results improved quite significantly.

I also think it's important to get kids interested in being physically active too. Aside from keeping fit, a lot of studies show that it also helps kids mentally; active kids are found to be more attentive and focused in class and tend to perform better academically. Activities that coordinate left and right sides are said to help with focusing and attention too. Some studies also show that active kids are less likely to suffer from depression and other mental health issues too.

Have you been able to find any kind of activity that he may be interested in? If he's interested in shooting games then maybe just run around the yard or park and play shootings with toy guns. <shrug>

I think the key is to find something that can engage the child's interest. Good luck.

This thing is he's only interested in games. We've brought him Halo novels and other things that relate to the video games and he'll read 2 pages and thats it. Money not well spent. I've tried engaging him in other things But when we're outside he just complains about being bored or plays for a bit then bails.
I limit my play time when i'm around him. I spend more time doing things like work and study etc then i do with the fun stuff. I'm trying to let him see that the fun stuff is ok as long as the real work gets done first.
I know he can read cause he's read with me before.