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The world of music for babies is changing. Gone are the days when your only option was your typical (somewhat annoying) CD of lullabies sung by artists you didn’t know and songs that you had no desire to listen to. Well all that is changing.
There is a new collection of children and baby CDs called Rockabye Baby. The CDs are renditions of music by various rock bands ranging from Nirvana to Pink Floyd to Metallica. The band’s music is transformed into beautiful instrumental lullabies. If you click on the links below it will take you to Amazon where you can listen to the samples of the songs.
I recently purchased the Nirvana one for a good friend of mine. The CD jacket contains some fun stuff as well, including a little place where you can keep track of your baby’s first rocker hair cut and favorite rock songs, etc.
For those indie music lovers out there, I had a reader contact me recently about a great website she found that provides mothers who love indie music with an alternative to your regular, run of the mill children’s songs. You’ll find a collection of songs that the blogger put together for his sister. If you are a fan of indie music and looking for something different to play for your baby you should check out this site.
The Indie Baby Mix – Freeindie.com
It is so nice to have musical options out there that are not only great for calming your baby but also something that you want to listen to as well. The two of you can peacefully fall asleep to the lullaby sounds of your favorite artist. I will definitely have to purchase a few of the albums when I have a baby.
UNICEF released the results of a study conducted to determine the well-being of children in 21 economically advanced industrialized countries. The study looked at 6 dimensions of child well-being, these areas included:
- Material well-being: measuring relative income poverty, households without jobs, and reported deprivation.
- Health and safety: measuring health at age 0-1, preventative health services, and safety (such as rate of death from accidents and injuries).
- Educational well-being: measuring school achievement at age 15, percentage of children that go beyond the basics, the transition to employment.
- Family and peer relationships: measuring family structure, family relationships (such as eating together as a family), and peer relationships.
- Behaviors and risk: measuring health behaviors, risk behaviors, and experience of violence.
- Subjective well-being: results of child’s perception of their own well-being in the areas of health, school life, and personal well-being. Children were asked questions about each area and countries were ranked based on the children’s responses.
Based on the results in the various areas the 21 countries were ranked. So how did everyone measure up? Here are the country rankings based on the results of the study:
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Finland
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Norway
- Italy
- Ireland
- Belgium
- Germany
- Canada
- Greece
- Poland
- Czech Republic
- France
- Portugal
- Austria
- Hungary
- United State
- United Kingdom
The study found that there was no direct correlation between the wealth of a country (their gross domestic product per capita) and the well-being of children. For example the Czech Republic has a fairly low GDP compared with the United States and yet still ranked higher. The study found that every country had some weaknesses and areas to work on.
The importance of this study is that it shows us we have a long way to go to ensure the well-being of our children.
What do you find interesting about this study? How do you feel we could better the well-being of our children?
Many families are opting for international adoptions. They are becoming more and more common with international adoptions accounting for approximately 13% of all adoptions in the United States.
When a family is adopting a child from another country in most cases they must travel to that country to pick up the child. Traveling to a foreign country can be a challenge, especially if you are picking up your new child. The packing list becomes very different, the travel plans are more complicated, and the paperwork it different.
There are many things to think about from what life will be like when you get home, what you should pack for yourself and the baby, what you the country is like and what paperwork you have to have with you. The list is endless. Here are few tips for making your travel planning a little easier.
- Pick your airline carefully. You will want to make sure the airline provides good customer service and is family friendly. It is probably a good idea to talk with other parents and the agency you are working with to get recommendations. Some airlines offer specials for adoptions so shop around and don’t be afraid to ask if they offer a special deal. Be sure to find out if you will have to pay extra for your child.
- Most adoption agencies will assist with the hotel arrangements, and will likely have a specific hotel they want you to stay in. Be sure to find out of special rates are available. It is also a good idea to find out what the hotel offers such as room service, free breakfasts, shuttle services, etc, so you will know what additional arrangements you may need to make.
- There is often a language barrier both with communicating with your new child and with their current caregivers. Take the time before your leave to learn some common phrases and important words to help you communicate with your child especially, but also with the people who have been taking care of him or her till now. It would be a good idea to stock up on a few good translation dictionaries.
- Find out what paperwork you will need to fill out while you are there, how much it costs to file the forms, and if you need to pay in cash. Be prepared for all of the expenses you will have while you are there, especially those that will require cash and make sure you have more than enough currency with you.
- Be aware of your own health. Watch out for signs of illness and fatigue due to jet lag. You will be so excited that you might not notice just how tired you are. Also be aware of what you are eating and drinking. It is very common to become ill from eating things your system is not used to. Be aware of things you should stir clear of.
- When you pack your bags be sure to leave room for things you may receive while you are there and souvenirs you may purchase. Be sure you have everything you will need, but don’t over pack. Make sure you know what the weather will be like and pack clothing that is appropriate for the weather. The agency will probably provide you with a list of things you will need to bring for the baby, if they don’t ask them or other parents to find out what is necessary and what can be left at home.
- Educate yourself about the country you are traveling to. Learn about the culture and customs.
- When you return home from your travels you are likely to be very tired and all you will want to do is spend time with your new little family. The last thing on your mind will be cooking dinner every night. Before you leave think about preparing a week’s worth of dinners that you can freeze for when you get home. This will free up a lot of time when you get home, plus it will give you something to do in the final days before you travel.
These are just a few of the things you need to think about when preparing to travel for an international adoption. Most adoption agencies will help you prepare for your trip, make travel arrangements, and provide you with information about the country you are traveling to. Take advantage of the expertise of other parents. Talk with them about their experiences, what they found helped and what didn’t, get recommendations for what to pack for yourself and the baby.
This is a very exciting time in your life. The more prepared you are the better the experience will be.
Here are a few helpful websites.
It doesn’t seem to matter how well behaved your child is, or how hard you try to build a schedule, many children fight and struggle when it comes to bedtime. Children become smarter as they grow up. At some point they will begin to recognize the correlation between putting on their pajamas, brushing their teeth, or cuddling up and reading a book with you with bedtime. The struggle comes in because they are testing the boundaries, trying to stay up and spend more time with you, and being afraid of missing out on something.
What can you do to help make bedtime easier and tackle your child’s delay tactics? Here are a few tips and tricks.
- Develop a schedule and stick to it. Your child may recognize the pattern and challenge bedtime in the beginning, but if there is a definite pattern to the bedtime ritual and it is the same every night your child will eventually accept bedtime for what it is and not challenge it as much.
- Invite your child to decide what order he or she wants to do things. Do they want to read a book with you before or after they brush their teeth? Which pajamas do they want to where to bed?
- Get ready for bed yourself. Although you may not be going to bed at the same time as your child try putting on your pajamas and brushing your teeth with your child. They will see that everyone is going to bed and may not challenge their own bedtime as much.
- Set a limit to the number of books you will read at bedtime. One of the most common ways kids challenge bedtime is by asking you to read one more book. If the rule is one book at bedtime, stick to your guns.
- Spend sometime before the getting ready for bed ritual begins winding down. If your child is all wound up right before they go to bed they are more likely to fight it. Think of a few activities you can do that are fun but quiet.
- Make careful choices about the food and drinks your child is allowed in the evening. Many foods and drinks such as those high in sugar and caffeine will make it difficult for your child to fall asleep.
- Stay calm. If you get worked up trying to get your child to go to bed they will get worked up as well making it even harder to get them to calm down and go to bed. It might hard sometimes, but can make a huge difference.
There are many things you can do to help make bedtime a little easier. The key is to be consistent and stick to the rules.
What things do find helpful? What things does your child respond to?
Something that I think is important to all of us is a healthy family. Everything becomes much easier when everyone is fit and healthy. The challenge is figuring out what you can do to help your family become and stay fit and healthy.
This week I was chosen to participate in The Healthy & Fit Family Carnival. The carnival features ten great articles about things to help build and maintain a healthy family. I encourage you to stop by and read through various articles. You can learn about everything from brain foods for your kids to how to use play time to help shed unwanted pounds.
Also, when you have a few minutes, be sure to check out this week’s Carnival of Family Life, full of fun, interesting, and heartwarming stories.