First Time MOM

I came up with a theory about parents-child role few years ago.

I think parents-child role should change as the child grows. When the child is a baby, the parents will be its caretaker. When the child grown to a kid, the parents will be its teacher/tutor/guide. When the child grown to a teenager, the parents should be its friend and a mentor. Growing to an adult, the role of parents is no longer needed, instead the child will be the caretaker of the parents.

At my age, I have come to a stage where the parent-child role should be friends. And I am somehow forgot that I should be a friend also. I think, I am not ready to be an equal friend to my parents. It is easy to lean on someone else, but it is not easy when the role is reversed.

Here is one question I asked a mother of one before my baby is born: What's a Diaper Bag for?

Answer:

1. Diaper, Of course, Keep about 4 diapers in the bag, maybe more if you are planning a long trip
2. Milk, bring 1 or two portions. Calculate how long you are going. Also hot thermo and water.
   
3. Extra clothes and pants
4. Wipes. Always handy to have them around,
5. Hand Sanitizer. Never hurt to be clean
6. Plastic bags. To throw away diapers and maybe for dirty clothes/pants
7. Changing Pad. Where else to change the baby
   
8. Bibs.

A Tip: A diaper bag doesn't have to be specially made. It can be a backpack or a suitcase. Any bag you considered big enough to keep all those things above is an appropriate diaper bag.

I stumble into the topics of hypno-parenting. It's kinda like the stereotype hypnosis, but it's not. Hypno-parenting is a technique to hypnotize your kids (or surrounding people) to make them do what is right (like doing homework, etc) but it's doesn't put your kids in a trance mode. Parents can make suggestions to their children in the form of normal conversations.

For example, suppose your child is not doing his homework. The natural consequences occur: your child gets a bad grade in the class, his teacher calls you in for a conference, you and your child have a heated discussion over homework, your child becomes angry, sullen and withdrawn. The homework still does not get done.

Now suppose that you replace the heated discussion with randomly made statements over a period of time, such as “I see that you’re really trying to get done on time,” “Notice how much better you’re feeling,” or “Before you know it, you’ll have that grade up and you’ll be feeling much better about it.” These are all suggestions that don’t put any pressure on your child.

They simply suggest that your child is doing the homework and is feeling better. Pretty soon, your child also will assume that it is true and will make it so.

Making random, seemingly unrelated statements leads listeners to make sense of them and draw their own conclusions. This is done on a subconscious, subjective level. Saying things like “Some people finish things before they need to” can subconsciously translate as “I (some people) can finish my homework (finish things) on time (before they need to).”

The greatest thing about the subconscious mind is that it believes whatever you tell it. Therefore, if you make statements that assume that your child is successful at completing his homework, your child’s subconscious will make it true.

A lot of my friends baby had diaper rash but - I am proudly to say - mine not.

I owe it all to my family tradition. When a woman is pregnant in my family, they would make handmade diaper cloths. Thanks to the tradition, we have plenty of cloth diaper to use.

I know it's not very practical. But it has minimized the chance of getting diaper rash -apparently. I did use disposable diaper for my baby but only when we are going away and at night, so that we all could get a good night sleep. :)

In case of diaper rash, you can find baby lotion (it can treat diaper rash). If it's going for the worse, contact your pediatrician.