Having been a part of this site for a couple of months now, learning the ins and outs of everything and making some good friendships, I have realised that sometimes things can get a little heated - especially in the Q&A section.

Regardless of age, race, careers and

even the country we live in we all have one thing in common. We are parents. Whether we are a mum, a dad, a babysitter, a grandparent or a foster parent we all have our children's best interests at heart and that is why we have joined a site like this. When I joined Minti, I joined a community and one that I wanted to be a part of, if not to make new friendships then to at least get some helpul advice on all the wonderful and "not-so-wonderful" stages of parenting.

When answering a question, commenting on a blog, voting on advice or private messaging someone, here are a few tips that I find very important:

1. Try to keep things neutral, especially in disputes. If you do not know exactly what a dispute is about or don't have all the information - only get involved if you have some supportive neutral advice for both parties.

2. Keep things light. When a parent posts a question in Q&A they are doing so because they need help and advice. It is highly unlikely in my own humble opinion that a child abuser is going to spend their free time asking for advice on how to help their children - they are asking for this advice because they are "good" parents and want to find out how to do the "right" thing by their children. Yes in some cases a parent may not be doing the right thing but without having all the information or being able to see what actually goes on in the household, we may just have to keep some of our strong opinions to ourselves. No parent when seeking advice likes to be abused about their parenting style, this isn't helpful and can be quite damaging turning the parent away from the only support network they may have. To do the right thing by the child and the parent post helpful advice and suggestions. If you don't agree with what they are doing, don't be so blunt about it, instead suggest alternatives to their current behaviour. This way the parent won't feel like they are being "picked-on". What it all comes down to is the old saying "If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all"!

3. When voting on advice don't purposefully vote an article down just because you don't like the person who wrote it. The advice you have come across may not have been helpful to you but that's no reason to vote it down - if it could be helpful to at least one other parent then this is worth voting the article highly. Also I have noticed that many parents share their own personal life stories on Minti (as have I) and articles like these should not be voted poorly just because they are not "exactly" parenting advice. It takes a lot of courage to share a personal story with a community full of people and they should be commended for doing so.

4. I have always considered my blog on Minti to be used kind of like my own personal diary that others can browse through at their own leisure and leave a comment or 2 if they like or leave some helfpul advice. However some people can leave nasty comments to a blog, especially if they don't like or agree with what's being said or once again don't like the person. Leaving unhelpful and sometimes nasty comments to people's blogs can be very hurtful to the writer who may have just been having a bad day and needed to vent whatever thoughts were running through their head. They shouldn't be put down for this. And if you don't like what a particular person blogs about then just ignore it and don't waste your time reading or commenting on it. I wouldn't spend my time reading through a diary of somebody I didn't particulary like or didn't share the same parenting concerns with so why should I visit their blogs?

5. Private messaging can be a bit of a tough topic but I have learnt that nasty exchanges can occur in private messaging. My only advice here is why waste time on negative thoughts or angry emotions when that time could be better spent playing with your child or private messaging someone who you actually like and get along with? Purposefully going out of one's way to make another parent feel isolated or hated isn't a very nice thing to do. It's cyber bullying and we wouldn't like our children doing it. So let's step up to the plate, set a good example for our children and just stay away from the people we don't exactly agree with. Sometimes it's better just to keep our thoughts and opinions to ourselves.

6. Always try to leave kind words and helpful suggestions on whatever you are currently replying to on Minti. Treat others how you woul like to be treated and we can make Minti an even friendlier and more vibrant community full of many caring and sharing parents from all walks of life.

I hope this advice has been helpful to you, even if it just serves as a gentle reminder to be kind and show love to all people regardless of who they are, where they come from and the type of parenting style they use. If you have any more suggestions please leave a comment so other readers can take away a few more tips with them!!

Thank you!!

By Samantha Wright.