If you want to give your children lifelong survival skills, teach them manners. A lack of social graces will make it more difficult for children with friends, family and teachers.

Here is a fun song to sing with your children. To the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”. 

Manners are the way
To brighten up my day.
Please and thank you's what I say
To brighten up my day.

A blog post from women living well caught my eye today. In her post she talks about the importance of teaching our children how to be gentle. Love this! It reminded me of a mom’s bible study lesson some months past about teaching your children to respect others.

And recently, I talked with one of dearest friends in France, Aurelie. She mentioned also how important it was, to her, that her child (see darling picture of her to the right/first day of school) respect her teachers and to mind her manners. Whether when we were living in Ireland, the UK or her visiting me in Germany, people always mentioned to me how impressed they were with Aurelie’s manners which just proves, more so, that manners are not culturally different when it comes to appreciating/how they make people feel and earning respect.

Some great mannered word phrases, that I personally love, are:

“thank you”, “excuse me”, “pardon me”, “I appreciate that”, “let me help you”, “I am sorry”, “your welcome”, “I appreciate…….(your time, your thoughtfulness, your help)”

Courtney, from women living well, ordered the following book titled: Proper Manners and Health Habits, assist with her teaching of manners. Such a great idea and I instantly fell in love with the book when I saw it.

Women living well is supporting all families on a journey called the “gentleness challenge”. The first chapter in this book being titled, “gentle words”, was another reminder, to all, how much our words affect.

With the theme of manners, you can make a poem, craft, game or role play. As a teacher, I am a huge advocate of role play.

Here is a nice little poem for manners: 

We say, "Thank you."
We say, "Please."
We don't interrupt or tease.
We don't argue. We don't fuss.
We listen when folks talk to us.
We share our toys and take our turn.
Good manners aren't too hard to learn.
It's really easy, when you find.
Good manners means
JUST BEING KIND!

A relationship requires two willing parties. You can’t force your child to develop a relationship with God. God invites, but does not force himself on you or your child. Revelation 3:20 As a Christian, I want to make sure that I’m creating a place for a relationship to grow with the Lord. I try creating conditions, Hebrews 11:6, for my child to meet, know and love the Lord. We do this by taking him to church, reading daily/weekly scriptures a loud, and praying aloud with him. I have a friend who sings some hymns as lullabies which I think is a great idea.

Something that I want to start doing, haven’t yet, is a nightly devotional time. The better mom gave me this idea. She says, It is imperative as a parent that we are intentional about teaching our children the truth of God’s Word, helping them become rooted in their faith.  

She also mentions how important it is to build a foundation of biblical knowledge through reading and knowing the bible through its stories, its word and memorizing scripture. I really love how she says, “It is a privilege to have the Word hidden in your heart.”

With your children; pray, memorize scriptures, read bible stories, set an example by showing your children the difference God is making in your life, and fill your home with things that glorify God from music and your words to what you are doing with your free time.

Choosing the proper carrier for your baby is not easy and you should consider some facts before spending your money.

Certain carriers can cause stress to your infant's spine. While infant carriers offer you convenience, make sure to research into what might be in the best interest of the child’s health when choosing a carrier.

After my son was born I started off with the cuddly wrap to carry him around the house while preparing dinner or doing the dishes. I loved it. It was the most comfortable way, for me, at that time, to carry my son. Then when my son reached 16 pounds I began researching for a safe baby carrier. 

At that time, my sister had purchased and was using the Baby Björn (cheaper versions by Infantino and Evenflo), and my friend had the Manduca carrier. The Ergo is basically the same as the Manduca (German brand name). I had asked both for their honest opinion on the carriers and why they had chosen them. Additionally, I researched the web and went to stores to do my own comparison, by looking and trying carriers on. 

After considering all facts and opinions from other moms and pediatricians I decided to buy the Manduca carrier ( Ergo carrier ).

Here are my reasons why:

There is an ideal leg position which is described as the M-position or spread squat position.

It´s baby´s natural seating and carrying position and is therefore recommended by pediatricians and orthopedics. It means that baby´s knees are higher up than his bum and that his legs are gently spread to the sides. Bum and legs are forming an "M". Your baby´s pelvis will slide to the front and the back will assume the age appropriate rounded C shape.

In the first few months the seating position of your baby is important, as the spine and pelvis are not yet fully developed.

A good carrier allows the baby to be carried in a seated position that does not strain the crotch or spine. This is not possible if the fabric in the baby´s crotch is too narrow or if the baby´s legs are in a dangling position, which can pinch off blood vessels and nerves. It should support the whole upper leg and reach from knee to knee.

Have you noticed, baby´s automatically assume this position when lifted up, because it´s also ideal for being carried on moms hip.

Even if you don´t feel this is a valid concern, doesn´t it just make sense that being seated on your bum would be more comfortable than hanging by your crotch?

Secondly, with many other carriers you have to buy a special insert for newborns or you may even have to purchase two different carriers altogether. The Manduca is different. It has an integrated insert that allows your baby to sit in the carrier starting with 7.7 lbs.

Even though I preferred to carry my son in front, loving the extra cuddle time and closeness, the Manduca carrier can also be used on your back. This is a great optimizing feature. 

The Manduca carrier can not be used for forward facing, that´s why it has the back feature, it´s safer for the baby and better for your back.

A forward facing carrier can throw off mom´s center of gravity. Also, forward facing can lead to over stimulation for a baby that has no way to turn away from all the “outside” action and is not getting comfort from mom. This position also provides no head support for your baby.

In my opinion, the Ergo carrier is a worthy investment for you and your child. I hope my research and personal opinion helps others in finding their perfect carrier.

I love this picture of my son with his German Uncle and girlfriend. When Uncle Philipp came to visit from Germany, he brought this wooden tool set. I also love how they sat nearby watching and observing my son discover, explore and play with the wooden tool set. In general, the Germans, do not like or have commericial toys or electronic exposure. They are known for their wooden toys that promote creativity. Some of the gifts we have received from our German family have consisted of nesting blocks, books and more books, wooden hammer set, wooden stick horse, a bouncy Rody, wooden tool set, wooden bead maze, and a wooden matching game. All stimulating toys that help with creative & imaginative play.

This week, Lisa, Kindermusik by SoundSteps of Dallas, wrote a post about maximizing creative play. I love how Lisa says, “Children don’t need constant stimulation. They must take in information at their own pace to process it. Bombarding the brain and body with lights, sounds, or fast paced sequences has no benefit for a child. Open ended self-directed play teaches a child that he doesn’t have to be entertained to be occupied. The entertainment is discovery.” We wisemommies just love and highly support the ideas of Lisa and her methods for the development of the whole child. We feel very strongly in the concept of giving your child the opportunity for creative play.

The following are some more examples of child-led activities, which we have created, in our son’s room, to encourage imaginative/creative play:

1. puppets (also could be dolls)
2. legos
3. drawing boards
4. books
5. cooking utensils & play food
6. hats (we have hats reflecting other cultures as well as hats for different jobs such as a fireman, postal worker, astronaut, construction)
7. jigsaw puzzles
8. blocks, building bricks
9.