Raising Children with Love

Research has shown that the first few years of a child’s life are crucial for their development.  It is the basis for how they will establish life long perceptions and self-esteem.  As a result, we want our children to be raised in an environment that is peaceful and loving so they in turn will become peaceful, loving and confident individuals.

When David and I settled into our new life-style as parents to Emma, Liam and Owen, we immediately realized:  Children are pure and loving individuals, until we as parents, choose to teach and/or model a behavior that is not purely loving. 

David and I decided to create some basic “guidelines” to assist us with our daily parenting in the hopes of maintaining a purely loving environment for our children.  These “guidelines” are as follows: 

1.       Parent with a calm, loving and peaceful state of mind.  If we are calm, loving and peaceful, our children will feel that, and it will impact their feelings and actions. 

2.       Engage in peaceful and loving discussions around the children.  No arguments, heated debates or discussions on world events.

3.       Play peaceful and calm music.  We do not play music that has lyrics conveying a negative message.

4.       Read peaceful books.  We do not read books conveying a negative message. 

5.       Keep the first few months after their birth calm and peaceful to assist with the change of environment they experience. Babies are adjusting to many changes just by being born; we want to help them make the transition from the womb to the world as easy as possible.

By implementing these “guidelines” we are creating a peaceful home life for our children and ourselves. We believe we are creating “a pure beginning” for their development.

So with this, let us start taking a look at different ways we can support each other as parents and provide our children with a rich and wonderful childhood!

~Claire

Mealtime Preparation for Toddlers

Mealtime with toddlers is something that is always a surprise!  One day they eat, the next they don't, one day they like something, the next minute they don't!  But, no matter what the outcome, mealtime in our household is always an enjoyable and entertaining time.  We all sit down together to eat and enjoy our time together.

Many of my friends also have created a family mealtime in their household where they all sit down to eat together as well.  And, the methods of preparing the food differs from household to household, based on the time and priorities established by the parents.

Take us for example, we decided we would tackle the preparing of meals from scratch for our kids: such as Quinoa with squash and cauliflower followed by Avacado and banana pudding for dessert.  Then there are my friends Laurie and Steve.  They both work and decided that feeding their toddlers would consist of more mainstream food that was prepared to allow them more time with their kids when they get home from work.

When we get together, we always love to laugh at how different we are with the foods that we feed our kids.  Her children are eating Mac and Cheese and blueberries, where mine have some sort of veggie medley mash.  It is a sight to behold!

We enjoy sharing stories about different meal plans and how well they go over.  We embrace our mealtime diversity to the tee - with many great laughs and chuckles!  But the one thing that is the same is: we both enjoy sitting down to spend the most quality time possible with our children during mealtime.  That is our priority.

So tell us, how do you plan and spend your mealtime with your children?  Do you eat on the go, do you eat together, do you prepare your own foods, use already prepared foods, or are you somewhere in the middle?

There are so many variations based on the needs of the family and what works for your family.  The important part of it all is that you feel good about what you are doing and that it works for you.

I hope you enjoy your mealtime, and that your children enjoy it too!

~Claire

A Pure Beginning

When my husband and I had our first two children, boy girl twins Liam and Emma, we were overjoyed and excited that they were part of our family. We prepared for their arrival by reading books outlining the different types of parenting methods.  The results: we parent using a combination of all parenting styles based on what feels right to us.   

Now that Liam and Emma are 2, I am reflecting on the past 2 years and remembering fondly their first few months of life as we welcome our third child, Owen, into the family.  While the first months may be filled with broken sleep, the baby/babies are so wonderful to simply hold, cuddle and love.  They change and grow so quickly. In just a few days, they lose the facial swelling and the facial features become more prominent.  In a few more days, they will open their eyes and look at you.  And, in a few more days, they will start moving their bodies more. 

It seems that this is the time in a human’s life when we are full of unconditional love and purity.  This is our Pure Beginning.

So, with this blog, let us explore ideas and concepts of parenting that will help our children keep that love and purity by allowing love to guide our parenting.

~Claire