Short Advice

 Know a little? Give an answer Know a lot? Write some advice

Helping someone in Q&A?  The options are to either click on 'Know a little' and add your comment, point of view or experience, or to click on 'Know a lot' and write some advice.  I know this can be a little confusing if you are new to the site, and it can be a dilemna even if you're not.

Many great advice articles come from answering questions in Q&A, however for a comment, point of view or experience to be well received (and rated) as advice, it is usually best to expand upon your idea, and write it in an article form. 

The best article on how to write great advice is called Writing Great Advice Articles That Will Help Us All - by Izzy.  I highly recommend reading this, especially if you are disappointed about any feedback on your advice.  Remember that you can always go back and edit your advice any time, and continually add more information, research and links to other resources to value add to your own article.

Sharing personal photos on the site is fun; it allows people to get to know us better; show cases our greatest assets (our kids), and they enhance our blogs; comments and articles.

Over the past few weeks, and especially the last couple of days, the amount of attention in activity in regard to voting on member's photos is very prominent.  This morning there are pages and pages filled with non member votes; it seems someone has an obsession.

Check the option that you want to have for your photographs when you upload them.  Restricted is generally my preferred option (when I remember to check one).  It means that it is less likely that your photos will be trawled through by a non member, as they aren't in the Minti 'photo album'.

Public (Shown in 'photos' section)
Restricted (Not shown in 'photos' section)
Private (Shown only to friends/groups)

Other good tips:

1.  Make sure pictures of your home and car don't display your street number or your rego plate in the photo.

2.  Try not to upload pictures of your kids full frontal nude shots.  They are gorgeous and adorable, however why attract weirdos and their sick desires.

3.  Don't post photos of other people's children, (especially naming them), without permission, you never know what their personal circumstances are and who they may need to hide from.

4.  If in doubt about whether it is wise to post a particular photo; err to the side of caution, and don't; trust your intuition when things don't feel quite right.

Photos are fun, and I know that when I have been sick in bed, looking at photos and reading blogs is a nice way to pass the time.  However some people are just plain sick, and they seem to flourish in the internet environment, let's not give them a fertile ground to grow in.

There are a huge amount of free graphics and general email postings that float around on the net that are difficult to equate to any original source.

However, if you are quoting from another source, and you are able to contact the author, or site administration, before reproducing a song, a poem, an article, advice or a blog, credit the ORIGINAL author and link to your source. 

If possible, seek the author, or site adminstrators permission to reproduce their work, and hyperlink to the source as well.  Check for any copyright rules that are listed on the site, they may not be on the page you are copying from.

This applies even if you only used their information for research, and it doesn't matter if you use their intellectual property in advice, a blog or a comment.

There are also a couple of larger advice articles and blogs on the site in regard to copyright as well.

Copyright Breaches and Reporting edited & updated again (DarkenedAngel)

Citing Your Sources, Avoiding Plaguerism (Rachel Cook)

Avoiding Copyright Issues (Angieh)

How To Obtain Copyright Permission (Angieh)

What's With That Minti? Copy Cats (llmunchkin)

Minti's Editorial Guidelines (Rachel Cook)

It seems that the advice section seems to have a lot less postings that breach copyright, yet we need to remember to apply this to ALL of our postings.  This is an example on this site where hyperlinking and permissions should have been sought.  While it isn't always possible, we should try to make the effort.

Cheers, Lui.

 

Here is some advice for every person - it doesn't matter if you don't read the advice about Minti that this links to, however you should click on every link provided within that advice before you post anything on Minti especially ADVICE. 

If you plan to write advice, be sure that you are very familiar with Minti's Editorial Guidelines...  Read the information in regard to copyright  carefully, and all the links provided with it.  If you aren't sure about whether or not you are breaching copyright, then you should check with admin members BEFORE you post your advice to avoid disappointment.

I have a really good friend, that is often on his own working far away, and sometimes he gets a bit bored and lonely.  At the moment he has no internet access, and works 11 hour days.   I said that I would text him every day and be his own personal stalker...

Anyway, with it being mainly a one-sided conversation, I am just making up texts to cheer him up, and will add them as I go.  (I can't find my phone, so missing a couple at the moment).

Luism 1
Measure your value as a friend by the quality of your friendships - quantity is over rated.

Luism 2
If you love friends, love yourself too; the traits you admire in them, are reflected in you.

Luism3
How you and I became friends isn't important; what matters is what good friend's we've become.

Luism4
When all else fails; hold your head high and smile.  Your confidence will fool others, and you may even trick yourself.

Luism5
Don't try to take on the world in one day; just take the world on, one day at a time.

Luism6
Dreams are free; thank goodness, the best ones would cost an absolute fortune!

I know that a lot of parents don't like their child in the kitchen - it is one of the most dangerous areas in the house after all - sharp objects, hard - sometimes slippery floors, and hot cook tops and ovens... 

We don't have a barrier to our kitchen, and it can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes.  A few months ago, I used to give Jaydee his bottle, and pull his little couch over to where we could keep an eye on each other while I cooked.  Over the past few weeks he hasn't been content to sit and watch, and I know Stephen was concerned that he was underfoot, and in danger at times when I was out last night.

I forgot to tell him that we have progressed beyond that now... The new deal is that big boy Jaydee stands on a chair on the carpeted side of the kitchen counter.  (He has been climbing on chairs since he was about 8 months old, so he is quite stable).  He has a sippy cup, a little plate of crackers and cheese, and a bowl and spoon.  He helps if there is any mixing to be done - we listen to the radio and bop around and sing and talk.  He tells me if I am about to touch anything hot, and we use the time to count things and practice saying all the words for everything at the same time. 

It is fun - I have always hated cooking, and it is great to share the time with Jaydee learning as I do it.  Jaydee is out of harms way, and we can still keep an eye on each other.  The other night he learned about eggs, and even mixed them for me so that I could make him some scrambled eggs on toast.  it makes him feel important, and he really behaves very well during dinner preparation time now.

Jaydee has been a bit of a wriggler during nappy time for a while, and sometimes it is a real nuisance - especially for pooey nappies.  Lately I have been changing him on a change mat on the floor, and he seems to prefer that to going into his room on to the change table.  I think he sees it as less of a disruption when he is in the middle of something super important - like seeing how many balls he can carry at once. 

I have also found, that since I have included him in the process, by asking him if he needs to be changed, and asking him to grab the change mat and the wipes - he is far more patient and happy to lie still while being changed.  We still have our moments when I have him by one leg as he is attempting to crawl away, and I am trying to wipe his butt - however these are usually at 'tired times'. 

If you are struggling with changing nappies, maybe trying some, or one of these things will help you too.

When it comes to toilets it can be a big thing for a little toddler. We started our girls potty training at 18 mths and they loved the fact that we made it so much fun for them. When it came to the toilet however they seemed not so keen as it was sooo big, so to make things easyier we not only purchased a  toilet seat but a little step to so they could step up to the toilet. Now they still have their little step but no kiddie toilet seat. It just makes life a bit easyier for little toddlers to have a step up to the toilet.

We just bought a couple of pairs of footed pajamas and our boy has grown too tall for the bottoms. They fit other wise, so I cut the feet off the pj's just below the elastic so they won't fray. Worked for me ! Now he will get more wear out of them.

We all know kiddie proofing the house can sometimes be a daunting task, so here is a quick way to proof your cupboards. Instead of buying locks for our cupboards we simply put rubber bands on them, the kids pulled on the cupboards but couldn't open them. and now that our kids are a lil older 2 and 4 they love trying to put the rubber bands on the cupboards themselve's.