In the world of International Adoption, Guatemala is one of the most popular and least regulated Countries. Last year there were estimated to have been 1,500 Guatemalan Children and Babies who have started fresh lives abroad, but the spectre of Illegal Adoptions have haunted Guatemala for years. Stories have emerged of mothers being forced to give up their new born children and of a booming private adoption business that has now grown almost into a multi million pound industry. Read more…
Parenting is a tough job. All too often we do not come to appreciate just how rough our parents had it until we become parents ourselves. While parenting has always been challenging, it seems that parenting today is even tougher than it was for the generations before ours. I believe that is is more difficult because we are raising our children in a far different world than our parents raised us. For the most part, our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had a pretty good parenting guide set out for them by watching the other members of their family and the world did not change the greatly from one generation to the next. In addition, previous generations of parents had a strong support system of not only examples but helping hands. Today, our mobile society and high rate of single parenthood (through divorce or from the beginning) have not only destroyed the support system of yesteryear but also created a lot more challenging childhood to parent. In our electronic age we do not lack for parenting advice and parenting tips, but it is so hard to pick and choose from the myriad of “helpful hints” to know just what will work for you and your child. However, just like so many other problems in life we are often our own worst enemies. Whenever the parenting choices get too tough then boil it down in importance by asking yourself one of these three key parenting questions. Read more…
Beyond making sure they have the right materials, parents often find themselves stymied by what they can do to help their children excel in school. While it’s not likely every little one is the next Einstein, the truth is every child can reach for and achieve their personal best. Read more…
As a parent, your baby’s “first sign” is greeted with as much excitement as your baby’s “first word”. For some parents though, the excitement is short lived as parents wonder what their baby is trying to communicate to them through baby sign language. Read more…
You may have been told by a friend or medical professional that breastfeeding is better than bottle feeding and just accepted the statement at face value. You should understand just how much better it is for both you and your baby as initially breastfeeding is hard work and can be very tiring. Without proper understanding of the real benefits you may be tempted to give up nursing your child quite quickly when your baby could receive a real helping hand by you continuing. Read more…