http://www.minti.com Most Recent Advice on Minti Copyright 2009 Minti en-uk serendipity22 I believe young children are naturally spontaneous and joyful.A wise man once said to ask yourself what you can learn from children. They are much fresher and innocent than adults.i have a good memory of my childhood. In my early years everything was new and magical. Really.I had the feeling that everything was awesomeOver time, as more and more dust ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12374/Happiness/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12374/Happiness/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:00:30 -0800 serendipity22 Playing chess has a number of educational benefits for children. Chess is a game of pure skill and no chance element. Also there is no hidden information, as in card games for example.A bright 3 year old is capable of learning chess. It can be a family activity. Its one of the few games of pure skill where a child can better ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12373/Teaching-children-chess/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12373/Teaching-children-chess/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:30:15 -0800 serendipity22 After my first daughter was born a friend gave me some very good advice. He said young children benefit by lots of intellectual stimulation.So we spent lots of time talking to her in simple straight forward language and before she was two weeks old I was reading her picture books (the little Golden books and Dr.Seuss books being amongst the ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12371/How-your-child-can-be-a-reading-whizz/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12371/How-your-child-can-be-a-reading-whizz/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:09:09 -0800 sonalichouhan                      There was a time I use to think and not only myself many other parents too had the same opinion that boarding school is a punishment to a child. But today we see that so many new boarding schools are coming up and there is a good demand for it . Many parents prefer putting their child in boarding. ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12370/boarding-school-a-punishment-or-fun/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12370/boarding-school-a-punishment-or-fun/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:29:25 -0800 sonalichouhan                        My Three year daughter is a gem in recognising words,  as well as naming things. This is no genius or God gift. It is the magic of flashcards.  When only 8 months I have made a daily routine of sitting with her and introducing various flashcards of alphabets, animals, birds, colours, words etc.                       Every week i would introduce new flashcards ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12368/Use-of-flashcards-for-kids/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12368/Use-of-flashcards-for-kids/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:52:04 -0800 Ravenheart This is a great craft idea and a great way to make christmas time more memorable and magical for your kiddies!This is something you can do slowly over the year or at once its up to you. You can make it as lavish or as simple as you like! Its the thought that counts.Over the year or from a craft ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12367/Christmas-Advent-Boxes/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12367/Christmas-Advent-Boxes/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:57:06 -0800 mystikal It's 5:10am Sunday morning as I sit here and write this. It's Sunday, I should be sleeping in and having bacon and eggs. Nope, I've been tossing and turning all night unable to sleep and now sitting here with tears streaming down my face. It's eating me up inside and needs to come out. I AM TIRED OF PLAYING 2ND ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12365/favouritism-ruins-children/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12365/favouritism-ruins-children/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:48:09 -0800 taranicole I recently recieved a pack of disposable training pants for free as part of a research trial. All I had to do was use them and fill out a survey. I'm a big fan of freebies so thought I might my 2 year old started with his toilet training! He HATED them! He said they were itchy and then if ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12364/Toilet-Training-methods-Modern-or-oldschool/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12364/Toilet-Training-methods-Modern-or-oldschool/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:21:55 -0800 blue-raven These 3 events can be very expensive particularly when they fall around the same time in the year. In my house, 3 of our birthdays are in september and my own falls in the first 2 days of october!!!!! So thats 4 birthdays in a matter of weeks. So heres some tips to help keep the costs down.GiftsGifts can be ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12362/Reducing-your-Expense-part-3-HolidaysBirthdaysAnniversarys/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12362/Reducing-your-Expense-part-3-HolidaysBirthdaysAnniversarys/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:06:44 -0800 Ravenheart  Recently a friend had a pregnancy questions but didn't feel comfortable calling the hospital because she was worried they would think her questions were silly or not important.I told her to use a pregnancy helpline and when I googled it for her I had to go through a few websites to find the number so this advice is to put a ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12358/Pregnancy-Support-Helplines-Australia/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12358/Pregnancy-Support-Helplines-Australia/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:31:19 -0800 newdadscliffnotes So a few days ago the kid started to get this really nasty cough, runny nose, and just overall uncomfort. I just didn’t know what to do,  this cough just broke my heart every time she did it.  She sounded like a barking seal.  And the coughing just wouldn’t stop.  For a while I was convinced that she had whooping cough ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12357/Dealing-With-Croup-Your-Kid-Wont-Stop-Coughing/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12357/Dealing-With-Croup-Your-Kid-Wont-Stop-Coughing/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:18:59 -0800 posterday I am not sure if this will work for everyone but it worked like a charm for my daughter. When she first started to teeth we bought a fresh food feeder. We would put ice in the feeder and give it to her. She loved the cool feeling on her gums and she would suck on it until the ice ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12355/Teething-Tip/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12355/Teething-Tip/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:56:31 -0800 blue-raven  I have, a couple times, mentioned how to child proof your dog. I thought I'd take the time to write an article about how I have child proofed my dogs. Most of these techniques are taught by renowned dog trainer Ceaser Milan. These techniques should only be used on puppies and not adult dogs as the risk of a bite ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12349/How-to-child-proof-your-dog/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12349/How-to-child-proof-your-dog/ Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:16:45 -0800 JeanTracy Good discipline builds character in kids. Poor discipline does not.  Notice the manipulation in the story below.Imagine your son returning his report card to his teacher saying, “My dad told me, ‘If these grades don’t improve, someone around here is going to get a spanking.’” And as he passes the report card across the desk, he whispers, “Teacher, it’s you.”Today ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12348/Discipline-Tips-for-Parents--3-Mistakes-and-3-Solutions/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12348/Discipline-Tips-for-Parents--3-Mistakes-and-3-Solutions/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:28:26 -0800 greatppr Hello dear friends, normally childrens not like to interest in school studies. Because of this reason they avoid school. So try to teach them with stories and pictures. This is very effective:) follow these.. 1.telling stories related to topic. 2. Make them to draw pictures related to that subjects and congrates them for good job. 3. Make them to read ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12345/Easy-learning/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12345/Easy-learning/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:39:25 -0800 happysmile I was just seaching on the net for some worksheets for my 4yr old son and came across this site, www.learningpage.com, it has so many worksheets, from the basic numbers and letters, spelling, but check out the themed worksheets, there great, they are all pdf, so you can download them to your computer and print them out as you need them. I got the kindy ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12344/Found-a-great-site-for-kindy-and-school-kids-work-sheets/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12344/Found-a-great-site-for-kindy-and-school-kids-work-sheets/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:36:43 -0800 wellness5 Before we look at ADHD behavior problems, we need to focus on the child himself and remember that we are building on the child's strengths rather than focusing and criticising their weaknesses all the time. Our ultimate goal will be to help them develop confidence, enthusiasm, tolerance towards others and certain ethical values which we hope to transmit to them. ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12343/ADHD-Behavior-Problems-Tips-For-Parents-/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12343/ADHD-Behavior-Problems-Tips-For-Parents-/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:46:46 -0800 carole32 I have just come back from my first ever trip to Bali on the 9/11/09. I thought the place just fantastic. However I can't say our whole holiday was just that. I thought we went totally prepared. My daughter Jessica had already been to the country 3 times before this trip, what more did we need to know? As it ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12342/Be-prepared-for-a-medical-problem-when-travelling-especailly-if-you-have-children/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12342/Be-prepared-for-a-medical-problem-when-travelling-especailly-if-you-have-children/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:57:05 -0800 tribalbaby Changing Nappies. Cleaning up 'messy' ones. Yuck.I like to minimise that as much as possible!Thankfully, there is a way. A method that's been the normal thing to do for ever, and has only been lost in recent generations.It's the Ancient Art of Elimination Communication (EC).Elimination Communication is a perfect companion to using cloth nappies, as you can reduce your washing ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12341/How-Offering-Baby-a-Potty-Break-Can-Reduce-Your-Overall-Use-of-Nappies-Less-Washing-Less-Waste/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12341/How-Offering-Baby-a-Potty-Break-Can-Reduce-Your-Overall-Use-of-Nappies-Less-Washing-Less-Waste/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:49:56 -0800 MrsSanders Or any one of the of the issues found on the Autistic Spectrum, Autism, Aspergers, ADD, ADHD,PDD-NOS to name the most common. Or perhaps you are worried that your child has a Learning Disorder such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and/or Dysgraphia.You have your suspicions but don't know where to start.  The school are bringing your childs difficulties down to your method of parenting, your childs lazyness, your childs slower ... http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12340/Does-My-Child-Have-Learning-and-or-Behavior-Issues/ http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/12340/Does-My-Child-Have-Learning-and-or-Behavior-Issues/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:42:12 -0800