MichaelF

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I am a parent of two boys who are 5 years apart, they get along well and play as well as kids can with that age gap. They are half-Chinese and are growing up learning English and Chinese, reading, writing and speaking for both languages. What I want to get out of this site are more ideas on raising my boys, giving them more opportunities for learning and growth as well as more ideas on how to educate them and get them to try new things.

	2,806 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	2 years, 1 month
312 badges		location	Massachusetts		seen	2 days ago

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May 11	comment	What age-appropriate sports allow the whole family to participate? +1 for the Martial Arts, I started my son a year ago and while he is ok with it I know it will take some time with him. When we see older kids and the teens do some exhibitions he is excited about it and I just tell him if he practices he'll be able to do that sometime.
May 10	comment	At what age should a child stop accompanying a parent into the “wrong” public toilet? +1 with the comfort level, especially the child. If they are not going to want to do it then don't force them.
May 8	comment	What is the reason for covering infants during transport? Same here, my wife was very strict on keeping wind off the kids until they were 1 year old. I think its a chinese thing...
May 6	comment	How do you wash a toddler's hands in a public restroom? This is exactly what I have done, although if you have balance issues I would not recommend it. wink
May 5	comment	How can I brush my toddlers' teeth when he won't let me? We do this, but we have my son brush in front of the wall mirror, he likes to see himself while he brushes and its less work for us to hold the mirror. sometimes I even engage in a contest to see who brushes the best, and we do it together.
May 4	comment	How and when should I teach my children how to swim? We did the same thing, there tend to be more and more baby/toddler-swim classes that you can sign up for, we had great success with those.
May 4	comment	How can I get my son to stay in bed at bedtime? +1 for "snuggling" it's how we kept our son in bed when he started doing the same thing.
May 4	comment	How can you deal with tantrums without spanking? +1 for ignore/reward - I have found that to be the best strategy
May 4	comment	How can I explain why it is important to make new friends? It's hard to know what the cause for this is, although taking the central point of the question I'm not sure you can make someone be social, that just sort of backfires. Either kids will want to play and be with others or they will play alone and be happy.
May 2	comment	How do you explain terrorist extremism to children? I get into these explainations with my son now and again usually it's "are those the bad guys? how do you know?"...which I think is good for a 5 year old. I just keep it short, subjects like terrorism are a subjective and deep question that are hard to fully explain. I'd just try and be general and lead them onto something else until they get older and can grasp political complexities.
May 1	comment	At what age is a child able to brush his or her teeth unaided? +1 for the Timer, we use a Sand-Minute Glass we got from our Dentist, my son knows to turn it over when he starts and when its finished he is done. We also help out at the end for hard to get places, as long as he knows he is ok with it.
May 1	comment	Is it healthy for toddlers to play outside when it is cold? My wife is Chinese and believes this to be true, in some instances this is a cultural thing. I just avoid the situations for marital harmony.
Apr 30	comment	Is a cold with a very congested nose dangerous for an infant? Symptoms like this suggest allergy not really a cold, if there are dark circles under the eyes you've got yet another allergy sign. As Lennart says, check with your pediatrician. If you are worried about sleep we used to put out kids in the crib slightly elevated so their head was inclined so their nose would not stuff up as much.
Apr 29	comment	What should children call a step-grandparent? I guess it comes down to whether your kids feel this way and what they want to call Mr. Joe, after all its going to come down to what they want. Talk to them, see how it goes and respect their decision.
Apr 29	comment	What should children call a step-grandparent? As it is most kids might have 2 grampa's, what's 3?
Apr 29	comment	What should children call a step-grandparent? I guess it depends on how you define real grampa, but anyone married to Grandma I would have to consider Grampa. Just saying...
Apr 29	comment	What is a good age to start teaching a child Ancient Latin and Greek? I'm the opposite, I took it because I did not have an interest in French or Spanish but ended up hating it. Although I loved it when we did Mythology, which I liked, so I had one semester of good grades. I agree though, when the kids show interest is always a good time.
Apr 28	comment	When should I introduce different foods to an infant or toddler? +1 Agreed. Your pediatrician will have a guideline you can get, mine gave us one after a few check-ups.
Apr 28	comment	How do you teach a child religious views? Agreed -1, works only if you are a Christian.
Apr 27	comment	Does using sign language really accelerate a child's ability to speak? This was my experience, my son has grown up learning Chinese and English but he did not talk until later, the signing helped him get his wishes across to use when he would not speak. It made him a happier kid when he was younger and he still remembers some of it.