Most parents cram about one thousand pictures into their child’s first few days on earth. They are snapping pictures here and there, and everywhere, for the first week or two after your little one arrives. Slowly but surely the panicky picture taking slows to a screeching halt and the cycle of professional pictures twice a year comes together. But who remembers those times when you were begging for a camera and you missed all of those candid moments for a lack of one?
Even though we live in the age of picture phones, no one wants to cherish treasured memories from a blurry, dark photo taken on their phone. There are ways to preserve memories without carrying around a full-sized camera around all day, every day. With each passing day new inventions are being presented with innovative designs in camera technology. From mini-camera’s, to credit card sized camcorders, and even camera’s that you hang from your key chain. I’ve seen digital cameras the size of a walnut and have wished to see it in my stocking for Christmas.
The point here is the availability of compact options for controlling your photo taking. For only twenty-five dollars you can own a mini-digi that can go with you anywhere, and is water-proof for those trips to the lake. Digital cameras are the, hands-down, best way to preserve your favorite moments without all of the expense involved with film. You go home and upload the images to your PC and send them to everyone you know, print them on photo paper, and hang it on the fridge for year-long viewing.
Even if you don’t have the money on-hand to purchase a miniature camera you can drop by the local drug store and purchase one-time-use digital camera for about the price of one development of regular film. You can even get the option of receiving a picture CD with all of your pictures stored easily and ready to pop into your disc-drive. There are too many options available to you for any memory to go un-snapped. You are equipped in the age of technology for every movement and breathe of your child’s life. The refrigerator is not just for school work anymore. Printing your own pictures is the easy way to “upload” family photos to your fridge. You have the family, the children, and the power to treasure every minute of their young lives. We get one life, one childhood, and it should never go un-kept. When our parents were young, the options weren’t as readily available to them, and the quality was nowhere near the quality we have today. Harness that, and create projects, photos, and videos that your child will want to look at again and again when they grow up. They will thank you.
When it comes to your family, your wife (or husband), and your children you already know that it can be a horse-race when dealing with all of the emotion that boils from inside of your home. You have so many feelings from different individuals within your home, and that is not mentioning your coworkers, friends, and distant relatives. You have a job at home and that is to maintain stability and hold the household together with “common-bond glue”. You try so hard and sometimes it just slips from your grasp at every turn.
Tranquility can be hard to find but when you know the right key to use, that door of opportunity always opens at the right times. You, being a cornerstone to the household, have one important factor that offers you this bond for little effort. When you use this factor you start to see results immediately, and those who already utilize it know what I mean.
Honesty. This is the key, the great secret, the true faceplate for family oneness. When you create your life around honesty you can be assured that your whole family will begin to look at you through open eyes, and understanding connection and communication. When you become completely honest with yourself and your family you open doors that were closed prior. In honesty I don’t mean that you were lying before. This type of honesty is an honesty of self. You give your true self to your wife/husband, to your kids, even friends and family. This is when you learn to be open and truly honest when you speak. You go to them with respect, true concern, and heartfelt oneness.
When you begin to impress honesty upon your every move with your family, they begin to see you and your motives of love at first sight and they begin to read you, know you, and love you for the openness and fairness that you display. It teaches your children courage to be who they truly are, and to feel free about expressing themselves to you and with you without hesitation. Your unreserved behavior with them, allows them to be unreserved with you, and with children this can be one of the biggest blessing for any parent. But you can never receive this full respect when you do not feel comfortable enough with them to be fully representative about yourself with them. Children, tween’s, and teens need to know that you trust them in everyday conversation and opinions before they will feels secure enough within themselves to open up fully and completely with you. Show them the honest example and they will follow. Some see it as vulnerability, so therefore their children will grow up thinking that honesty and being open with those you love is a vulnerability. You can’t risk this way of thinking if you love your children, your wife, your family.
The family that cleans together stay together. Whether it sounds clever or not it is actually true. Several studies show that families which partake in regular family cleaning sprees tend to have closer relationships. The idea is that when a family is partaking in any given activity together, they are actually openly communicating and congregating while they are completing the task at hand. The best part about this concept is the fact that anyone, any family can pull this off. Even though cleaning may not be the most seemingly productive act of declaring togetherness, it is certainly a means of productiveness, and an act of household fulfillment.
Some families have homes that seem to remain spotless indefinitely, while others carry the burden of constant cleaning and never seem to have the house spotless. There are many factors, such as pets, or country surroundings, that can attribute to the over-all state of the home. No matter what condition your home is in you can always find an excuse to pull the family together for a family-meeting to set up a time for a family cleaning day. This type of day is planned by simply picking a day that works for everyone; kids, parents, and pets alike. Once the schedule is figured out, and the day is set, it is time to plan the day’s events. Write out a simple chart that depicts each family member and their corresponding activities for the day. Be sure to set tasks that correspond to the age of the children.
You can create a day of festive snack foods and music even though the idea is to clean and organize the house. The night before have the kids help you to make and cut-up finger foods for the next day and prepare jugs of fresh tea and lemonade for the day of hard work ahead. By introducing this type of pact-cleaning you can instill qualities of fulfillment, goal-setting, and quality work within your kids. This can help you and your children to grow closer as you work together as a team to complete the tasks assigned. Once the job is done and the chores are completed you can begin to agree on a simple reward system. Rewarding your kids for a job well-done is an impressive way of being a good example. We all love to be noticed for our efforts. Kids are especially impressionable and need to be shown respect and gratitude for doing so well. Make it pizza-and-a-movie-night, make the early evening hours available for a little family Frisbee-golf at the local park. No matter what you decide to do, do it as a family, and the act of togetherness will continue on through the years.
There comes a time in your child’s life when topics of life-altering importance come bubbling up to the surface of their curiosity. Even though, as parents, you may not feel that the topics are age-appropriate, or that it’s not quite the right time for your child, you cannot stop the fact that asking these questions are a way of showing you that they are ready to learn.
Before you blow your child’s in-depth questions out the window, or tell them that a stork delivered their baby sister to the doorstep, you may want to stop for ten seconds and resume with an answer such as “Honey, I am glad that you came to me to ask about this. Why don’t you go finish your homework and when you are done we will sit down and have a chat about it, ok?”
Before you unconsciously tell them that the topic is inappropriate, or generally bad, they need to know that you are secure in your open-and-honest relationship with them as their parent. Sometimes parents may feel as though their child is a bit too young for a specific topic, when in fact, the average child may need to know three years prior. Certain issues can be touchy, but the big topics such as sex and inappropriate behavior, should not be held back from fear or general silence. Children as young as four and five need to know what abuse and sexual misconduct are. They need to know topics such as how to handle meeting strangers and other general topics.
It may be somewhat hard to discuss certain issues as your child ages, but the general consensus is that you are better off answering your child in a respectful and adult-like way rather than have them come to you two years too late to inform you that they’ve made the mistake that could’ve been prevented with honesty. Don’t be ashamed, be a good parent. Be an active listener and be an open forum for any questions your child may have. You can have the ears of a friend and still have grounded advice and knowledge of a parent.
You can easily find help on topics that are a little harsh for you to discuss. There are books to be found on any subject. And be aware that the internet is a great place to find informative blogs, school counselors can offer advice for free, and you can even visit your community church for spiritual advice. This is your child and they deserve the best you can give them; communication is free.