In a parents perfect world their children would share all of their toys without a single squabble, but in the real world…rarely does that happen. Learning how to share takes lots of practice throughout childhood. We teach our children to share so they learn to become giving and compassionate, as well as mastering those useful and necessary lifelong personal and social skills. Quickly diffusing sharing battles is one of the best opportunities for teaching children to share. One way to do this is to allow children to have a specific time allotment with a toy, and then have them pass the toy on to another child when their time is up. Have each child do the same over and over again. Play games that encourage sharing. The more children are taught to share, the more they will. Read stories together that focus on sharing, while emphasizing throughout the story how great it is to share. Also have your children share things other than toys and books, such as an article of clothing or a favorite food. You want to make sharing a positive “feel good” thing in the child’s mind, something for your child to be proud about being able to do. There are times when it’s ok not to share too, so don’t always pressure a child that he or she has no choice in the matter. As we have come to know, babies seem to be born with a built-in ”it’s mine” gene, so be prepared for it to take a good amount of practice and lost battles before a total victory can be claimed. As always, repetition and praise will be the key to success.

Whether its grandma’s silverware or your favorite family jewelry sterling silver is going to tarnish. Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% mass of silver and approximately 7.5% mass of other metals, usually copper. The standard for fineness of sterling silver is 9.25. The reason other metals must be added is because silver is too soft otherwise. Gold and platinum also contain metal alloys for the same reason. In my opinion nothing is prettier than shiny sterling silver, I even prefer its look over yellow gold. However, sterling silver jewelry may need to be cleaned more frequently than gold because it oxidizes more quickly. Being exposed to the air can tarnish your sterling silver jewelry, not so much due to the silver, but to its copper alloy. Exposure to perfumes, body lotions, and the natural oils on your body and hands can also affect the shine factor. It’s also best to remove your sterling silver if you’re planning to swim in the ocean or a chlorinated swimming pool. I don’t even wear mine into a bath or shower to keep it looking it’s shiniest.There are many ways to clean sterling silver jewelry. There are specially treated polishing cloths and liquid dipping solutions that will get the job done. There are also some cleaners you can make yourself at home. A white cream toothpaste works well when rubbed with a soft baby washcloth onto sterling silver, be sure to rinse well. Another thing that works is a denture cleaning tablet, the kind that fizz in a glass of water. Just drop your sterling silver into the mixture and let soak for about 30 minutes and rinse well and dry. A little plain dish washing liquid and water works well for cleaning some minor tarnishing. If there is tougher tarnish imbedded in detailed pieces you can use a soft baby’s toothbrush to work in the mixture. *Always use soft cloths so as not to scratch the silver. There is also a method used where a piece of aluminum foil is placed inside the bottom of a bowl, shiny side up, the bowl is then filled with warm water and a tablespoon of Arm & Hammer laundry detergent stirred in. Place your sterling silver in the bowl and let it soak for an hour or so, the aluminum foil attracts the tarnish to itself and off of the jewelry. Pretty cool. Some experts swear the best way to clean sterling silver is a soak in 7-Up, yes the un-cola supposedly works well for cleaning silver. Whatever method you decide to use always be sure to never use anything abrasive, as it can cause scratches – and always rinse well and dry well. Leaving any residue or moisture on your jewelry will only start the tarnish process all over again. Here’s to having the shiniest sterling silver jewelry!

There’s nothing in the world more pure and natural than a baby. “Organic” means natural and unadulterated, so it makes perfect sense that choosing organic would be best for baby. With all of the harmful chemicals and pollutants in the world today babies don’t need any extra stress on their newly forming immune systems. You might decide to go partially organic by just feeding organic foods – or you might chose to go all out organic by using a vast array of organic products, such as diapers, clothing, bedding, shampoos and soaps. Don’t overlook organics in your home environment as well. There are more and more organic and green household products popping up on store shelves every day. Products such as eco-friendly paints, furniture, rugs, flooring, appliances and cleaning products…the list goes on and on. The more you go organic with your baby’s world the less chance of adverse immune responses and the stronger his or her immune system will become. It’s not necessary to make your baby’s world 100% sterile, as the immune system needs some stimulation to prompt and rouse it to become hardy and stay strong, but obvious chemicals in foods like hormones and antibiotics, and chemicals in the environment like formaldehyde and coated cook wear are easy enough to avoid today. So, keep baby organic and have a healthy baby!

Sibling rivalry, it’s a phrase that sounds somewhat combative, and for good reason. In some families the contention can create an unhealthy dynamic that is downright warlike. If you have more than one child chances are there is some degree of normal rivalry. Well-meaning, yet amateur parenting may well be the vehicle that catapults the bitter competing and verbal and/or physical mistreatment that can take place between siblings. Allowing older children to help mom or dad tend to a new sibling can make them more accepting of each other when baby first comes home, however, there’s a thin line to cross making sure that “helping” does not turn into more than it should. Each child needs to have one-on-one time alone with each parent. Make sure that each child is appreciated for what they are individually good at, without overshadowing another’s talents or accomplishments. Praise talent appropriately, to over compensate a child can be equally damaging. Most importantly never make comparisons between children; every child is an individual with their own strong and weak points. It’s best not to point either out at the expense of another sibling. Statements of that nature serve no good purpose other than to build resentments between siblings. If we pit children against each other in a way that sets them up to compete – they will compete for a lifetime. The secret to keeping rivalry levels low between siblings is to always make your children feel equal to each other, there should be no obvious “pets’” or “favorites” and if there is a favored child it should be downplayed and attention never brought to the fact. If you’re a parent and have a favorite child, keep it to yourself. If another relative prefers one child don’t press the point to your other children. Children frequently made aware that one child is favored will inevitably create fierce rivalry and could also cause the favored child to become targeted or alienated by his or her siblings. Fairness and balance are the keys to preventing and taming sibling rivalry. Smart parents know that in order for siblings to form close healthy bonds they must give each child the same exact amount of love and attention.

Mother and baby jewelry is not just for Mother’s Day anymore. Today’s discriminating moms love their mother’s jewelry and they’re getting back to traditional mothers jewelry and away from the name tags. That’s because traditional styles are timeless and elegant and because in this day and age moms are being very cautious about wearing their children’s names for all to see. It’s fine for Hollywood moms to wear their children’s names because they often travel with bodyguards, but for regular moms without a personal guardian being more discreet is safer.

There are many different kinds of mothers today, all with their own unique taste. One thing is for sure – mothers love wearing jewelry that tells the world they are “mothers.” Some mothers wear mother’s jewelry because they work outside of the home and it reminds them of the baby they hold in their heart until they get home. Stay at home moms also love to wear their birth jewelry.

Mother jewelry comes in so many styles. Pieces can be traditional or contemporary. It could be a necklace or a bracelet, a gold birthstone ring or a sterling silver mother’s charm, with or without birthstones. Some pieces are engraved with dates and names on the back. The array of jewelry for mother and child is growing almost at the rate that babies grow!

The most important thing to a mother is that her baby is first and foremost healthy. A healthy baby makes for a happy baby and vice versa. Keeping baby on a sound and regular schedule is vital to both health and happiness for the whole family. The schedule should focus mainly around proper meal times, play times and sleep times. Meals should be a pleasant experience for babies and center on healthy organic foods and liquids, whenever possible. Play times should be light and fun using music and hand games that provide entertainment and teach hand-eye coordination. Games such as peek-a-boo and building blocks may seem dull to an adult, but they build a babies motor skills. Babies love to be sang to and learn faster when music is involved. It’s never too soon to read to your baby, reading time can never start too early. Babies’ need a good amount of cuddle time each day but be careful as continuous handling and cuddling can create imbalances and problems such as clinginess and separation anxiety. Everything in moderation is best when it comes to babies. Sleep time should be consistent in that baby’s schedule is the same on a daily and weekly basis. There can be flexibility in your baby’s schedule, but it shouldn’t veer off too much from its normal course. For example, weekend schedules can be different from week days, but all in all the number of hours sleep should be the same, as well as meals and play time. Babies should not be overly sensitive to noise or change, to achieve this subject baby to a little of both on a regular basis. In this way baby will grow up better equipped to adapt to change; changes are constant throughout life. Healthy happy babies make healthy happy parents!

I loved motherhood immensely, but while raising our two toddlers I can also remember occasionally being a wee bit overwhelmed with just how much work it involved. All the daily chores of housework, preparing their wholesome meals, their baths, and being able to keep both a girl and boy happy and entertained were a great achievement in and of itself. Our days consisted of playing learning games, listening to music, drawing, coloring, painting and making noodle art – and going outside to get our daily dose of sunshine. By days end after tucking them both in, reading them a story and singing them a lullaby I would contently collapse on the couch and think about how it was all going to start all over again tomorrow! I was experiencing what most loving mother’s feel I’m sure. Then one day it suddenly dawned on me how fast they were both growing and a profound sadness washed over me. I wished “if only we could keep them little” – and from that moment on I never took any of the chores I felt privileged to do for granted again. It was that mere thought which inspired the following short poem I composed entitled…

“A Mother’s Lament”

“Treasure the moments of motherhood…

they slip through our fingers so fast.

Don’t ever take them for granted…

for babies, like moments don’t last!”