by Jennifer Shakeel

Nothing can compare to the feeling of being a mom or a dad. The sheer joy of helping to guide a little person’s journey into becoming a well rounded successful adult. You want to be there for every part of it, not wanting to miss a single step, or sadness or celebration. Unfortunately we live in a world where many parents are separated from their children more then they would like to be. This is due to work, being overseas to protect our country and even divorce.

For four years my husband and I raised our two children together even though he was working in another city and state Monday through Friday. To this day I still remember the joy that would fill our children when he would come home Friday night and the tears that would start Sunday morning and last until they fell asleep Sunday night because their dad had to leave in the afternoon. The upward rise of emotions as the week would progress because they knew he would be home after dinner on Friday. While for us that ordeal stopped almost three years ago, what we did for our children is still evident today.

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This can be a very controversial topic for parents. However, taken in moderation, and monitored properly, children can benefit and even learn from online games. There are many different online games for kids. For several years, parents have frowned upon the games that are available to their children. However, after many conclusive studies on gaming and children, researchers have established that online gaming may be beneficial (http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/07/study-online-ga.html). The benefits range from developing social skills in the virtual environment, increasing the ability of the child to successfully maneuver around and operate a computer, increasing emotional intellect, and assisting in the academic endeavors of the child. Here, you will learn about online games for kids who are productive, and educational.

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Whether one or both parents work, moms and dads can find it challenging to hold down jobs and also effectively parent their children. It can be difficult to make the decision for both parents to go to work, but in some cases it is the only option available, especially in these increasingly tough economic times. Although often having both parents working can help out a bit financially, there are other problems and difficulties that can rise up as you try to be a parent and a career person as well. There are challenges that arise, your child may go through stages where their behavior shows that they want more of your attention, so you have to find the right balance between working and parenting. Let’s take a look at these challenges, signs, and some tips that will help you to keep that connection with your children, even when you’re working hard.

Challenges of Working Parents

There are a variety of challenges that you’ll have to do with if you and your partner are both working and trying to raise your children. Let’s take a look at some of the most common challenges that working parents deal with. 

Challenge #1 - Finding the Right Childcare - If you have smaller children, one of the main challenges that working parents go through is finding the right childcare. You want to make sure that you find childcare for your children that is going to be safe and educational and this can be difficult. The financial aspect of the childcare can be stressful as well. Although older children go to school during the school year, you may even need childcare for them during the summer months. 

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Disciplining your children is important as long as it is done in the right way, and while positive enforcement is excellent, at times some kinds of negative reinforcement are going to need to be used, such as a time out. While many parents have heard of time outs, many are not sure exactly what they are, much less how they should be used effectively.

Essentially a time out is a technique that is used to help manage your child’s behavior. If your child does something that is unacceptable, then you simply have them go somewhere that is away from the rest of the activities that are going on in the home. This can be a certain chair, their room, or a corner. The basis form of punishment is to help children understand that when they do things that are unacceptable, they are going to lose the opportunity to be around others.

While it may sound great to you in theory, you may have a hard time actually enforcing it, and there are a variety of reasons that this may be the case. Let’s take a look at some helpful tips that will allow you to take timeouts and use them effectively to help educate and teach your children to behave properly without any form of violence or hurtfulness.

Now, here are 7 strategies for effective discipline and effective timeouts:

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