As parents, we do things to make sure discipline is embedded in the family. However, it’s not something that can be taught by words alone. There are other areas where your kids learn discipline. There’s sports, art and music. Music, specifically is one of the easiest and is something you can do as early as your pregnancy stage – you can play songs or classical pieces and let the child in your womb listen to the song.

As it is never too early to introduce children to music, it is also never too easy to get them into it. So here are some tips to get your child interested.

1. Allow them to listen – allow them to listen to songs because this is when they start learning how to sing

2. Introduce them to musical instruments at a young age – be it toys or real one

3. Be a model – if you play an instrument, do it with your children and let them watch you.

I am not asking you to give them  taylor guitars right away. Introducing them to different things while they are young will be beneficial to both you and the child because you will know what his area of interest is early. When this happens, it’s time for you to act.

DIY Projects
Not every repair or upgrade in your new home requires professional intervention. There are plenty of tutorials online and in home improvement books designed to help homeowners tackle certain projects themselves. With a little research you’ll find that a lot of home improvement projects are within your reach.

Make a list of the projects that need doing around your new dream home. Spend some time researching what it takes to get each of these projects accomplished. If the tools and skills are within your grasp, tackle the project yourself. However, avoid tackling projects that require electrical work, extensive plumbing or tampering with the structure of your home.

Second Hand Furniture
Don’t turn your nose up at second hand goods. After all, antiques are a million dollar business. The key to buying second hand furniture is to know how to shop. Avoid purchasing plastic items or flimsy pieces. Instead, look for quality items that are made out of solid, quality materials like wood or metal.

Don’t let a few scratches or dings turn you off. Most wood and metal furniture pieces are easy to re-finish. Restore their original beauty or re-paint them to match the decor of your new home. Quality upholstered furniture may be re-upholstered for less than it costs to buy a new couch or chairs. A little leg work at estate sales, online auctions and other events can save you thousands in furnishings for your new home.

Discount Electricity
As soon as you get the electricity put in your name, the bills start stacking up. Many homeowners ignore electricity as a viable option for savings. By the time the first few bills come in you will be nice and comfortable in your new home. However, as electricity rates continue to rise there are a lot of ways to save. The easiest way is to use only discounted electricity.

Contact your power company to learn when the peak hours of electricity occur. During these hours, electricity costs significantly more to use. If you’re doing DIY construction projects, save your work until evening. After dark, electricity rates are significantly lower. By concentrating on off-peak rates you can save hundreds of dollars per year. Compound those savings by buying appliances with Energy Star labels identifying them as energy savers.

Just a few changes to your game plan can save you a lot on your dream home. When you add a little effort and ingenuity to your contents insurance comparison you can make the home you want fit into your budget.

Lighting

Lighting is very important consideration when it comes to sleeping. While some people may not realise it, lighting affects sleep even when it does not seem to. Bright lights cause the body to be unable to go into a deep and restful sleep at any age. If lighting is needed in the baby’s room during sleep, ensure that it is a soft lighting such as a small lamp or night light that does not seem ‘wakeful’ and disturb sleep. This is also true in winding down for sleep; bright lights encourage activity while soft lighting encourages quiet and relaxation. Blackout curtains are a benefit if there is outdoor lighting that shines in at night or for daytime sleep situations such as naps or early mornings. With this in mind, choose window coverings that can be bright and cheery during wakeful times and add blackout curtains that can be pulled during sleepy times.

Bedding

Very young babies are safer when sleeping without coverings, as they are too small to move the coverings about to avoid suffocation or entanglement. Ideally, young babies should be dressed in layers for sleeping, avoiding excess coverings completely. Young children often want a favoured blanket or quilt, but keep the rest of the bed free of bulky coverings to ensure the child is cool enough and not entangled in order to rest well. If you must have coverings, lightweight bedding is safer for children.

Floor Coverings

Carpet-less rooms are often a good idea in order to avoid allergens and make for ease of cleaning the nursery. Many parents opt for area rugs to make for a softer play space on the floor for children. These rugs also help to minimize noise while the child is sleeping, allowing parents to slip in quietly to check on the child as well as helping mute sounds in general.

From blackout curtains to comfortable bedding and cosy floor coverings, there are many easy ways to make the baby’s nursery an inviting, sleep inducing space. Some parents even choose to make the nursery a quiet zone, used for calm relaxation and sleeping times only, especially when the baby is very young. A bedtime routine coupled with a dim, comfortable nursery goes a long way to encouraging good sleep.

Sesame Street

Forty-two seasons and still going strong! Sesame Street still remains the absolute ideal educational cable television show moms everywhere approve of. Tackling everything from colors, shapes, numbers, and letters to maintaining healthy psychological inferences, diversity in social behavior, proper mannerisms, and even bullying, Sesame Street has been the ultimate “go-to” show for healthy child development in every aspect. With well-known characters and reliable plots, children from 6 months to 9 years old are able to benefit from the lessons taught throughout every episode.  

LazyTown

Originally filmed in Great Britain, this wonderfully entertaining show was added to the PBS Kids Sprout cable television line-up in September of 2011. Designed for boys and girls alike, between the ages of 2 and 8 years old, this show is packed with action, creativity, and fun ideas for staying physically enthusiastic about staying healthy. LazyTown is an enthusiastic and imaginative world which encourages kids to be active and to make healthy lifestyle decisions. The primary focus is to teach children that exercise and being active are necessary to grow up big and strong.  

Super WHY

Does your child need a little extra help with reading and spelling? This fully-animated educational television series will definitely help your little one become more proficient in understanding the alphabet, forming word structures, components of story-telling and reading comprehension. Although Super WHY is targeted for kids between the ages of 3 and 6 years old, both younger and older age groups will benefit from this educational series, which can only be found on PBS Kids.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Completely revamped, Mickey Mouse is teaching this generation of preschoolers in an entirely new way! Mickey Mouse and the gang have a new clubhouse and your child is invited to learn along with them in an interactive structure. With mathematical skills and different problem solving techniques introduced in each episode, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is one of the best mom approved educational cable television shows found on Disney Junior!

Little Einsteins

If you are looking to add knowledge of nature, world culture and diversity of the arts into your young child’s life, this would be the best show to do so. Every episode contains a mission for the Little Einsteins to complete which is characterized by an expedition. The introduction of classical music, distinctive traditions, and renowned art pieces are what make this an excellent choice for teaching children about cultural diversity on any learning level.

WordGirl

This is another one of the best fully-animated educational cable television shows (mom approved) targeted for kids ages 4 to 11 years old. In every episode, Becky transforms into the superhero WordGirl and fights crime along with her monkey sidekick. All while introducing the viewer with four new vocabulary words that are restated in numerous different ways throughout the entire show. This entertaining vocabulary-building show can be found only on PBS Kids Go!   There are so many options available on cable televisionto keep your little ones entertained on those rainy days. Remember, television programs are not simply a way to entertain they are also a great way to inform and help children learn. But don’t forget about getting your kids outside too!

Which children’s educational program is your favorite? Tell us – in the comments below.

About the author: Vera is a freelance writer, blogger, and social media addict. She’s a stay-at-home mother raising 2 small boys and also owns a small bakery. Follow her on Twitter: @vmosley.

No matter how hard we try to be perfect for our children, we still do fail at times.  One of these times is when we lose our temper in front of our kids.  We come home to a house with toys all over the living room floor, and before we can even count to ten, we have totally lost it and blown our top.

When faced with such situations, we oftentimes can’t help but lift a finger at our helpless kid.  What we fail to realize is that spanking our kid has long-term effects on her behavior and self-confidence.   These will manifest themselves as she grows up.

What we parents must try to do is control ourselves.  We must accept first and foremost that kids are naturally carefree and playful, oftentimes unmindful of the mess they make.  We can reprimand them to drive home a point, but never physically hurt them.  We can still be loving and authoritative at the same time.