Discipline our Children - Further Guidelines

I hope you have read my previous post on why we need to discipline our children. If not, please do so.

It is good to provide some guidelines for children discipline before we look into each of the discipline approaches. Improper discipline can put our children at risk for a variety of behavioral and emotional problems in life. 

Discipline Our Children. Why? And How?

As parents, we all love our children. However, sometimes we can spoil our children unconsciously, pamper them into their wants and ways, which later regrets at our own foolishness. To be honest, some parents might just don't know what to do at dealing with their children negative behavior. The old parenting methods from our grandmother or mother are no longer hundred percent workable or legal in our new generation.

Apple Berries Pie

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Too boring to take raw apple fruit everyday? Let's bake them and eat in a apple fruit tart. The mixture with berries gives you a plus for the texture and taste.

Yield 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 pieces of 9" pie crust, ready from the store

Ground Beef Rice

I miss the ground pork rice (肉燥饭), by my Taiwanese friend, Debbie. She cooked with bean paste that she got from Pacific Ocean Marketplace. I understand that some will add in Five Spices power (五香粉）, but I'm gonna make it my personal version with no Five Spices, no pork but beef. My husband prefers beef than pork after watching documentary about swine farming.

Children Need a Good Night Sleep. Why? and How?

"A tired child is a cranky child". Every parent sees and knows it. Scientists discover that children with chronic sleep problems are at increased risk for developing a mental illness later in life. It often link to aggressive behavior, learning and memory problems and obesity.

Orange Chicken with Vegetable

This is a salad dish with homemade dressing, serve warm.

Ingredients:
8 oz chicken breast, cut in halve, 1/2 inch thick
8 oz broccoli florets
1 small carrot, sliced
1 fresh orange, sliced (garnish)
1 tsp canola oil

Shrimp Potato with Snap Peas

This recipe serves 2

Ingredients:
50 grams of snap peas
1/4 cup Potato, cooked and cut into cubes
10 grams of shrimp
1 clove garlic, minced
little onion, minced
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup V8 vegetable juice

Stir-fried Gai-lan with Tofu

Gai-lan or Kai-lan is widely eaten in Chinese - Cantonese and Vietnamese Cruisine. The thick glossy blue-green leaves with thick and tiny stems create beautiful color of a dish. At the same time, it is crispy in mouth. The following simple recipe serves 2.

To replace the West Soy Sesame Peanut Tofu, you may brown or braise the plain tofu in prior to this cooking.

Looking Back into Her Toddler hood

I was in a great searching for desperate solutions to deal with my daughter's dramatic change in behavior and temperament at her age of 18 months old. On her birthday celebration, I recall my husband and I told each other and I told her the same, "Now, you are such a good girl and we are so thankful for you, a perfect gift to us!" What joy could be added to a 2 year old birthday celebration?

In the journey, I admit I couldn't breath normally and I can't help to pray more often as I would. However, in His faithfulness, I received these basic principles, later and continue to be our guide to raise up Faith:

Dealing with "NO" in Toddler

In regard to the negativism in your children, I suggest some useful JustAMom-tested guidelines, in reference to Patient Education given by pediatric and some parenting experts.

From previous post, Why "NO" in Most Children?, we came to know that this is a normal phenomena in our child's normal development stage. So, please don't take it too personally. This stage of age is important to their development of independence and identity.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki is a cooking technique originated in Japanese cuisine. It's all about the sweet soy sauce and marinate meat or fish before broiling or grilling. This is a simple version of teriyaki chicken with simple homemade teriyaki sauce and baked for a non-greasy dish.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

Baked Spaghetti Frittata

A frittata is an Italian omelet or quiche. This egg-based dish is essential with spaghetti or potato, and enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, seafood, cheeses and vegetable.


Preparation time: 15-30 minutes
Total cooking time: 25-35 minutes
Serves 4

Why "NO" in Most Children?

As a mom, our heart is filled with all those sweet unforgettable memories, looking at our child growing up, moving from one milestone to another, every "firsts" - first head lift, first gurgle and coo, first smile and laugh, first grab, first roll, first sit up, first crawl, first stand, first words, first steps, first teething, first scribble, and the list goes on, seems so fresh in our mind. 

RM: Quick Stir-fried Vegetable with Shrimp

Chinese called this as a dish of mixture (杂锦菜) . You are free to make your own selection of ingredients from a variety of vegetables and meat or seafood. I choose broccoli, tomato, radish and shrimp in this dish. 

What is a Rainbow Meal (RM)?

A rainbow meal is a healthy and delicious meal for every family. Rainbow meal is not a diet and quick weight loss plan, but it is the best choice for parents with tight schedule, but never want to trade off your family's health. So, prepare a variety of good food in a meal. Less work, but high nutrition for healthy body.

Tips for Healthy Kitchen

The undeniable truth: Healthy Eating and Healthy Family! It all starts at kitchen.



  Some important tips to create a healthy kitchen:

Beef Melons Soup

Too many dishes cooked with wine during this winter days? Take this great soup to cool down your body. Bitter gourd (bitter melon, 苦瓜) is a known nourishing food and excellent in medical virtue. It is antidotal, antipyretic tonic, appetizing, stomachic, antibilious and laxative. However, not many will bother to just have a bite try. Definitely a great challenge to children too. It tastes as its name -  bitter! Surprisingly, it seems no problem to my princess. She takes it both fried bitter gourd with egg or this bitter gourd soup. Make a try and the more you consume it, the better you like it.
 

Non-toxic Cleaning Solutions

Not a frugal moms will go for non-toxic cleaning solutions, but all wise moms do. Reason simply because it makes you feel loving and secure. Your family's health is protected. Make your home a place to rest your body, mind and souls, but not promote and expose to harm.

As Spring is approaching, spring cleaning is common and moms definitely need some cleaning solutions for your clean and hygiene home. It takes you no time to come out with the non-toxic cleaning solutions. Just check on the following solutions and their simple, straightforward directions.

Three Cups Chicken (三杯鸡)

3 Cups Chicken (San Bei Ji) is a popular dish in Chinese Cruisine. The name derives from the use of three essential condiments - sesame oil, soy sauce and Chinese wine. The ratio for each condiments usually 1:1:1. However 1 cup of oil definitely too greasy and unhealthy. Let's check on my version of 三杯鸡!

Teach your Child about Feelings - Sharing

"Children's understanding of their emotions, their ability to talk about them, and their ability to read the emotion signals of others provide them with some very valuable skills that not only affect their personal and social adjustment but their academic performance, as well.", by an American psychologist, Carroll Ellis Izard, also a Trustees Distinguished Professor of Psychology at University of Delaware.

I began teaching my daughter about feelings at her age of 6 months old. Feelings by Susan Canizare is her very first board book, given by her pediatrician. She loves it and even at this age, she will still get this book out and read.

Mark Pettinelli described emotion as unconscious thought and a feeling is like a conscious emotion because you can "feel" it better.  Therefore, feelings are faster than emotions and thought. We seldom mention the word "emotion" to young children, we rather ask "How do you feel today?"

Sharing is so hard in children? Why? Then, how?

Young parents, especially first-timers, are you upset to see your two-year old keep his toy and never want to share with others? What is your response when your little one cries or screams and grabs at someone's belongings? By understanding the stage of sharing in children, you will show different response in this.

Healthy Crispy Oven-fried Drumstick

Chicken breast is our all-time choice because white meat is considered healthier. In contrast, dark meat (chicken thigh or drumstick) is higher in cholesterol but is much tender. Sometimes, we go for thigh or drumstick.

Got these drumstick from Safeway, they look fresh and nice. During these freezing snowy days, I'm thinking of fried chicken. But, I don't want a greasy kitchen nor the fatty meat.

Parents, have you ever ask?

How children become readers and writers?

How to support literacy in your home?

Ways to talk and read with your young children.

Well, I attended a family workshop "Early Language and Literacy in the Home" on December 8^th, 2010 at Creekside Elementary, addressed some interesting topics by three presenters:

1. Susan Moore, Director of Clinical Education and Services, Speech Language Hearing Sciences (Early childhood language and literacy), University of Colorado, Boulder
2. Barbara Roscoe, Coordinator of Child Learning Center Outreach Program, University of Colorado, Boulder
3. Clara Pérez-Méndez, President at Puentes Culturales, Denver

Are you getting your kiddo ready for the coming snow?

Snow? Fun! Children love snow, but parents worry children may catch a cold if they stay too long in a chilly weather. Another issue, too troublesome to put on and take off full winter gear to be out in snowy days.Well, here present a great fun, economic, safe and convenient idea for children to have snow play at home.

Yes, snow play at home! All that you need is a pail of snow from your yard, spoon, cups and water paint. Enjoy it in your bath tub. Easy clean up too. So, get ready for the next coming snow...weather forecast

Train your child to be a helpful and responsible person

This is so great! You will see amazingly that your child can be your great helper willfully even in her young age. I am not sure is this her personality or what, but my princess, is so lovely in my heart. She can be such a hardworking helper in my house. Before she is turning two, she likes to get busy, busy like a bee. She wanted to be part of my house chores. That was the right time to get her in and let her enjoy her doing as part of helping me. From the least of getting things for me, to cleaning up her own toys, cleaning up her own mess, to helping in house chores like wiping table, hanging clothes, cleaning the windows etc. She is just my little great helper!

Tips for Healthy Cooking

The first big change in my cooking is reduce the cooking oil. My choices are vegetable oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, olive oil, and butter for certain type of cooking. Find out more about health and nutrition for various cooking oil at Wikipedia.

My many thanks to Kevin and Claire's cooking program at goodtv (KC健康廚房). After one year of following their healthy cooking style, at average, my family consumes 2 bottles of 48 FL Oz (1.42l) cooking oil in a year. The picture shows my recent new opened Canola oil. 


There are two most important things to keep in mind when cooking with less oil:

Personal version of "Gam Mua" noodle (干盘面)

Sometimes, I just enjoy to prepare my own simple, convenient yet yummy noodle when I am having the meal alone. Yeah, alone! Today, my hubby will enjoy lunch with his American friend and my princess is off for school. This is my golden opportunity. I changed my mind from beef noodle soup to  my personal version of "Gam Mua" noodle as I read my friend's comment on noodle in facebook.

Temper tantrums in children

What is a temper tantrum?

Simply, a manifestation of anger. It is a sudden, unplanned display of anger. It means to get attention and to control over object (thing or human).

During a temper tantrum, children often cry, yell, and swing their arms and legs. It usually intense at the start and last 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Sometimes, it can longer and more severe. Some children will pinch, hit, bite and kick. These violent tantrums may be a sign of a more serious problem. Further information on this can be found at children.webmd.com.

Why a temper tantrum?

A response to a challenge in gaining independence or learning a skill. The child may not yet have the skill to express anger or frustration in better healthy ways. For instance, a child throws a temper tantrum when she is frustrated while trying to put on her shoes or button up her shirt.

No Obstacle for a child to have fun

December 30-31 2010, a long waited snow was visiting us in Boulder, Co. Based on the local report, the storm has brought m6.8 inch snow, 2 miles W of Boulder. Well, this will not stop my little Faith from having fun in the great snow. How nice that she got her full gear to play in snow this Winter. Video shows of her fun time in snow and the wonderful snowy scenery from Scott Carpenter Park to our apartment.