Good parenting common sense

DrG

                             About 526 words

On November 8, The Monitor published an editorial that appeared in the Oct. 31, issue of the Chicago Tribune.

Doesn’t Take Einstein to Raise a Baby talked about the Baby Einstein videos that so many parents bought for their children.

The company promoted the video by promising parents that if their children watched the video they would get smarter.

But, after some research it was found that children that watched Baby Einstein for an hour a day were slower in picking up new words.

This incident reminded me of something my mother said to me a few months after our oldest son was born.

I was holding my baby in my arms and like all new moms felt overwhelmed with the love I felt for my child.

There is nothing that can compare to the responsibility you feel when you look at your baby and you realize that this little person depends solely on you.

As I looked at my son I wondered if I would be a good mother. How would I know what to do? What if I traumatized my child by making a mistake?

My mother shared with me what her father had told her a few days after I was born and she was feeling the same way.

Dr. Benjamin Spock had just written a bestselling book on parenting and my mother and all her friends were reading it.

My grandfather assured my mother that she didn’t need a book to raise a child all she needed was to love her baby and follow her instincts. Everything else she would learn along the way, because most of the time parenting was about using common sense.

There isn’t a parenting style or parenting book that we can purchase that will work with all of our children. Every child is different and born with his or her unique personality, and temperament.

Life today disconnects us from our loved ones. Most people don’t stay in the same city they grew up in. And when they have a baby they find themselves alone without the support couples use to have many years ago.

Seeking advice from women who have had children is always helpful; reading books is also a way to help you through your doubts.

And of course seeking professional help is always a good idea to deal with serious issues.

But, for the everyday things that come up with parenting, using your common sense and listening to your instincts is usually the right way to handle things.

Don’t allow yourself to get caught up with new and innovative gimmicks that promise to help you raise a child.

There will never be anything that can take the place of a parent’s love or the time a parent spends with his or her children.

Toys, books and videos don’t raise smart, well behaved, responsible children. Only a parent can do this. It’s not easy. It’s time consuming and sometimes very frustrating.

Raise your children with love, patience, and just good old common sense and the odds are you will be very proud of the end result.

Maria Luisa Salcines is a freelance writer, certified parent educator and corporate empowerment consultant with The International Network for Children and Families in Redirecting Children’s Behavior, Redirecting for a Cooperative Classroom, and Redirecting Corporate America. Contact her at her Web site at www.redirectingchildrenrgv.org.