Tears, tantrums and joy

All children love to bake - it exciting and creative and you get something yummy to eat at the end.   Here are my top tips for successful baking:

>If you are new to baking or a bit rusty it may be an idea to bake something with your child which is just for fun.  We often nowadays tend only to bake when there is an occasions such as a school fair or some one’s birthday.  - The problem with introducing your child to baking at these times is that if you are an inexperienced baker you are already under pressure.  Add a child into this equation and it will put you of doing it again for life!!

>Make the first experience just for the fun of  it - that way you will be more relaxed - if your efforts turn out good you can give them to people if not who cares. You will learn from the experience and know how to do it better next time

>Obviously choose something simple to begin with - this will be more fun for both of you as your child can join in more

>Try some of the packet mix bakes that you can get from your local supermarket.  You may feel this is cheating but it is a great way to get you into baking and build up your confidence.  There are ones that are designed for children the great thing about these is that your child can help you with everything as they are made so simple.  The other benefit to packet mix is that you can keep it in your cupboard and use it the next rainy day as you don’t need to worry about having the right ingredients in the house.  I think the ideal scenario is to do baking from scratch and use packet mix as you can plan to bake somedays and at other times when the mood takes you then you have the flexibility of the packet mix.

Please visit my website at:

http://www.tearstantrumsandjoy.com

Having a child that is shy can be more stressful than people realize.  I have found that a lot of the stress I felt in  with this was from other people (mostly family) yes, it is always the mother’s fault!!  In the end I had to remain strong and do what I thought was right in each situation.  Getting a balance between allowing my child the opportunity to socialize and not stressing him out too much:

.Now I made an effort to take him to social events, birthday parties etc.  Sometimes it went well and others times we spent the night sitting out in a quiet place.  Now I will be honest here and say that I did sometimes find this a bit frustrating as I had often travelled a while to get to these events and was annoyed that he would not go in.  However other children usually came out and he was quite happy to place with them outside the event but found going in too overwhelming.  I came to realize that the noise seemed to be a factor

.I began to realize that if we went somewhere I stood more chance of success if I got there before anyone else.  That way he got used to the environment and the people came in gradually so it was less scary.

.We often get frustrated when things do not go as planned and sometimes forget to praise our children when they do good.  Heap on the praise when they manage social situations well and keep reminding them how much fun they had playing with the children

.Taking my nephews to things with us also worked well as he felt safe and secure in their presence.  If their are other children they get on well with it may be possible to take them with you as it will help boost your child’s confidence.

.If your child has a tendency to be shy you will have good days and bad days in this area.  Somedays I think he has been cured and others I think I am back to square one.  You will have to call on your patience here and you will eventually make headway.  Do what you feel is right for your child and remember how wonderfully individual they are and of course ignore anyone who makes negative or insensitive comments.

Please visit my website at :

http://www.tearstantrumsandjoy.com