It is hard trying to figure out when is the right time to potty train your child. Most children are usually ready for potty training between the ages of 18 to 24 months. During the whole potty training process, parents should always try to keep their sense of humors about them and keep things upbeat, making potty training a fun time for the child. Here are a couple of tips to get you started on potty training:

* Use a Drink and Wet Doll to demonstrate to your child how to go to the potty. After you pour water into the doll’s mouth, you can have your child walk the doll to the potty chair, pull the doll’s underwear down, seat it on the potty and watch the doll “pee”. This is a good visual aid to motivate your child to do the same.

* Give your child a lot of fluids so that he has to go to the potty more often. The more often he goes, the quicker the child will be potty trained, and the more he will be trained to hold it in.

* If your child looks like she wants to go, then take the child to the potty every thirty minutes or so until he pees.

* If the child does not urinate right away, have him remain seated on the potty for a couple of minutes and maybe read a book together until he is ready to pee. You could also try placing his feet in warm water or turning on the faucet to encourage him to pee.

* Have your child look at learning aids such as books, videos and DVDs as they are an educational and fun introduction to potty training.

* Play games such as the blue and yellow make green game. Put some drops of blue food coloring into the toilet water, have your child urinate and he will see the water turn green much to the child’s delight.

* Drop a couple of cheerios cereal into the toilet water and have your child aim and pee at them.

* Use charts and stickers to positively encourage and reinforce the habit. You can give stickers to your child for going to the potty, sitting on the potty, peeing successfully into the potty, or for been accident-free

* Use potty training toys such as musical potty chairs that play tunes when your child uses the potty, or potty training watches that vibrate at a set time to remind your child that it’s potty time.

* Get rid of the diapers and put toilet training pants on your child for easier toilet training.

Who doesn’t love a massage! One of the best ways to relax is getting a great massage from a loved one. If this is true, then why wouldn’t your baby enjoy a massage as well? Massaging your baby is a great idea and can help him wind down and possibly sleep better. It is a great way to bond with your baby or for your partner to have one-on-one time bonding with your baby if you are breastfeeding.

Step One
Pick a time when you and your baby are the most relaxed or calm. After your baby’s bath is a great time, while you are applying baby lotion. Make sure you are in a warm environment, especially if you are just pulling your baby out of the bath since his body temperature may be dropping already.

Step Two
Use baby lotion to keep your hands smooth and help them run evenly. There are various kinds of baby lotion out there from the classic pink bottles to night time lotion that includes lavender and is supposed to help calm your baby and help them sleep.

Step Three
When massaging your baby you should start with his head and work your way down. Be careful that you do not press on your baby’s soft spot if he still has one, but you can still lightly massage around the top of his head, his forehead, and behind the ears with your fingers. Massage your baby’s face including eyebrows, cheeks and chin. Move down to this neck, and shoulders, then his chest. Don’t forget his back! Massage his belly and down his legs, front and back, including his feet and toes. Bend and move his legs while massaging him helping him stretch his muscles.

Step Four
Don’t be afraid to look at, talk to and even sing to your baby while you are massaging him. This interaction is likely to build a very big, tight bond.

Step Five
Don’t stop with just one run through! Your baby will love how this feels so continue it two even three times, for as long as your baby is calm and enjoying it. Follow your baby’s cues. If he wants to change position let him, and if he seems to be frustrated, looking like he has had enough, stop the massage. Get your baby dressed and cuddle, feed, play with, or put your baby to bed, depending on your baby’s schedule and the time of day it is.

If your child is being a bully at school, you have a responsibility to teach him or her that the bad behavior that will not be tolerated. Your child has to understand that other people are her hurt by his or her actions, and that it is very wrong to hurt other children’s feelings in an attempt to feel better about him or herself. Try to figure out why your child has turned to bullying in social situations. Chances are, your child is not a bad person. Good people make bad choices. The important thing is that you inform your child about more appropriate ways of dealing with his or her peers and social situations in the future.

First of all, if you have discovered that your child is being a bully, ask your child why. Listen carefully to the explanation. You always want to be on your child’s side first. While it is possible that your child is in the wrong, you are still his or her number one supporter, and you have to listen to what your child has to say in defense of his or her actions. Listening leads to understanding and understanding can lead to change. Your child may have felt that in order to distract children from making fun of him or her that he or she would have to bully someone else instead. You may not have known that your child had been picked on, but often bullies are the result of bullying. Your child might get defensive and say that their bullying someone simply because that person is annoying or they don’t like that person, but that excuse is usually just the surface answer for the underlying reason. Try hard to get to the root of your child’s anger and upset.
If your child is physically violent towards other children, try to figure out where your child learned that this type of behavior was acceptable. Is there violence in your home? Does this child have an older sibling who is physically violent towards this child? Does your child spend a lot of time watching violent television programs or movies or playing violent video games? Does your child listen to music that has violent messages and song lyrics? You have to stay on top of what is going on in your kid’s life so that you can keep violent images out of it. If there’s violence in your home, then that is a major problem that you have to deal with as a family unit. Violence is completely unacceptable behavior, and it is not something that you want to pass down from generation to generation. If you were formerly in the domestic violence situation, and your child was witness to it, then you should seek professional counseling for your child so that he or she can learn to express anger without physical violence. Explain to your child that hitting, kicking, punching, fighting, and name-calling are intolerable behaviors, and make it clear that you do not support any type of violence.

Tell your child to reflect on his or her actions. Ask your child how he or she believes they would feel if someone were to beat up on or make fun of them on a regular basis? Tell your child to put him or herself in the shoes of the people that he or she is bullying. Explain that it is very wrong to intentionally hurt someone physically or emotionally. Ask your child to recall a time when he or she has felt bullied. Demand that your child apologize to the children that he or she has bullied. If your child has gotten in trouble with his teacher or the school administration as a result of being a bully, he or she should also be required to apologize to those people. Tell your child that if there is something that they want to talk about with you, you are available at any time for discussion. Oftentimes, a child who is a bully is a child with very low self-esteem and self-confidence. They feel that their only way to gain control in peer situations is by being a bully. Help your child to develop social skills by getting him or her involved in youth groups in the community or sporting activities. Try to nurture your child’s talents and dreams so that he or she does not feel the need to rebel through bullying, fighting, or making fun of others.