Raising a Child

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Becoming a mother was one of the most stressful times in my life. I found out quick that the advice from the members of the medical profession did not always agree with advice that was passed down from the older generation of my family. For example, the advice on introducing cereal to an infant’s last bottle at night for a few extra hours of sleep, or being advised to wake an infant up every two hours in the beginning to feed them, or the most confusing to me the advice on punishing children in general. Becoming a parent (especially at a young age), I found it difficult to separate the real and useful advice from the useless or unimportant advice. I became worried that I maybe really had no idea what I was doing and it became easy for someone else to convince me that I was putting my child in jeopardy or that I was an awful parent for doing something another way.

I always thought my family could be a source of advice and support when I decide to start your own family. In addition to raising me, they had years of experience dealing with making a family function efficiently. This meant to me, I would have no problem getting some useful advice. But sometimes instead of getting helpful advice, I felt like my husband and I were being criticized for the way that we were doing things. And most of the time when we got advice, it went against the way we had chosen to raise your children. Which only leaded to hard feelings when you decide not to follow all the advice we were given.

The first advice I got from my mother after having my daughter for a couple of weeks was, (Mind you, I was not getting much sleep at this point.) to make the nipple in her bottle wider and then add a couple of tablespoons of baby cereal to her last bottle at n...

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...fferently than your grandmother or not take every bit of advice your doctor gives you. I finally figured it out on my own. My doctor and family had different kinds of advice. My doctor had medical advice, while my family had "mommy" advice that came from raising children of their own. The key is to trust yourself, and build the confidence to be a good parent.

Raising a child can be very difficult. Children learn how to be adults from none other than adults themselves, with the most influential adult role models being their parents. Parents need to know that they are one of the major influences in their children’s socialization process. Everyone has their own outlook on how to be a good parent. Every child is raised in a different way. Just remember your obligation is to raise your children the best way you see fit and you will always come out on top of the game.

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