Parenting Archive

My thoughts on parenthood, and what it's like to be a mom in the Philippines.

School Year Again

For some parents, this time of the years is one of the most difficult time in terms of finances.It’s school time once again and we have so many expenses to take care of. Some loses sleep thinking of ways to gain financial freedom from all of these, some moms out there uses the aid of sleeping pills just so they can relax and sleep away their stress. And for some moms, this is the time of the year where they creativity, frugality and resourcefulness is put to a test.

Tuition Fee is one of the first financial problem a parent encounters. With the rising cost of education, parents are always on the look on how they can maximize their income while giving their kids the quality of education they deserve. But what you can do when finances are just tight? Well, good thing that most school offers installment fee when it comes to their tuition payment. Parents can opt to pay in full or in 4 parts. For those who does not have the resources to pay in full, installment is the way to go.

Another financial burden that comes with the start of the school year are school things such as bags, school shoes, uniforms, notebooks, pens etc. One way to save up on this is to teach your kids the value of things, if it still works, then use it. If your kids shoes are still OK, why buy a new one? If their bags still in working condition (or if it can be repaired) save your money for other things.

The start of the school year can be as fun as the ending if a mom knows how to handle it well.

How To Stop or How To Manage Siblings Fight/ Bickering

I hate when they bicker. It makes me insane, specially when I needed to write something and all I can hear is their fight. Sometimes I want them both out of the house but of course I cannot do that. So instead of writng, I end up researching on How To Stop or How To Manage Siblings Fight/ Bickering.

Below is some advice that I got from HERE

When your kids start arguing or bickering, tell them “Either you guys work this out, or I will.”
They will, of course, keep bickering at which point you step in and say “Looks like you weren’t able to work this out on your own, so I will. Go to your rooms and don’t come out until you can play or interact nicely with each other.” Make sure you tell them to stomp their feet as hard as they can and slam their doors loudly on the way (they HATE doing what we ask of them…my kids go quiet as church mice to their rooms. They aren’t going to give me the satisfaction of slamming their door!).
If and when they come out, DO NOT DISCUSS THE MATTER FURTHER! The consequence is having to go to their room. If they get involved in reading or playing in their rooms, yipee! You don’t have to listen to any more arguing! By allowing them to come out when they can play nicely or talk nicely to each other, you are giving them complete control as to how long they remain in their rooms. I don’t know about you, but I don’t care if they are there three seconds or three minutes as long as the fighting stops.
If the fighting resumes, back to their rooms and so on.
If they are fighting over a toy, the tv or the computer, solve the problem by taking away the desire object. That way they learn that they both lose when they don’t work it out on their own.
Keep your cool! When you have to step in, keep your cool. When we get angry, they start focusing their anger on us instead of thinking about the poor choice they have made.
Be consistent in using this technique.
Mean what you say and say what you mean. Your kids have to know that without question you will follow through with the consequence EACH AND EVERY TIME. If there is any wiggle room, the likelihood of success on your part is minimal.

I wish I can follow all these steps. How about you guys? Do you have suggestions on how to effectively manage siblings fight?

Dealing With Siblings Fight

Now that the kids are getting older, there are more fights than ever. The two older boys favorite game is bickering at each other. It is very painful to see them hurt each other over a single mushroom. Mushroom? Yes, they fight when the other one has more lives than the other. Oh, I am talking about Mario again. If only there’s a software on child rearing like that of project management software, life can be easier. But I don’t there would be any. The behavior of a kid is very complex. And for sure, if anyone would program a software for that, it would take years to even learn the logic, and that is for one condition only.

It was really hard dealing with them when they fight. And sometimes when I scold them, the helpers butt in telling me who is at fault. It was harder because of that. Good thing that my helper can easily understood what I tell them. I told her that she should not tell me who is at fault because I want my kids to be the one to tell me. I want them to learn how to accept their fault and learn how to admit it.

Back to Mario, oh wait, it’s not actually Mario but Naruto..now, even if I want to help them with it, I know nothing about Naruto.