8/16/2019 Nany 911: Pointers For Parents

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by Deborah Carroll

and Stella Reid(NAPSA)—If there’s one thing 

we’ve learned as nannies, it’s thatparents need to be parents so chil-dren can be children. Following thatbasic rule will help families getalong in a happy and healthy way.

Establishing consistency, con-

sequences and helping childrenestablish routines can all go along way toward nurturing theirdevelopment.

To help parents get a handle onthese and other parental tasks,we’ve come up with what we call“nanny commandments.” Here aresome tips:

• A CTIONS H AVE CONSEQUENCES.Good behavior is rewarded. Badbehavior comes with penalties.

• ESTABLISH  A ROUTINE. Forexample, at bedtime we have thefour “B’s” routine: bath, brushteeth, book, and bed. Parents caneven make the routine fun by

singing a song and by giving theirkids toothbrushes such as Oral-BStages. These are specifically de-signed for various stages of yourchild's growth and developmentwith features such as handles thatfit their smaller hands, softer bris-tles and cartoon characters they

recognize.• S AY  WHAT  Y OU MEAN  A NDMEAN IT. Think before you speakor you’ll pay the price.

• P ARENTS WORK  TOGETHER  A S A TEAM. If you can’t be on thesame page, your children are notgoing to know whom to listen to—and they’ll end up not listening to

anyone.• DON ’T M AKE PROMISES  Y OU

C AN ’T K EEP. If you tell the kidsyou’re going to Disneyland, betterget ready to pack your bags.

• BE CONSISTENT . No meansno. Yes means yes. Don’t bend therules for a short-term emotional

gain.

• LISTEN TO  Y OUR CHILDREN. Acknowledge their feelings. Say “Iunderstand” and “I am listen-

ing”—take the time to understandwhat they are going through.

• RESPECT IS  A TWO-W AY STREET. If you don’t respect yourchildren, they are not going torespect you.

• POSITIVE REINFORCEMENTWORKS MUCH BETTER THAN NEGA -TIVE

REINFORCEMENT

. Praise, plea-sure and pride accomplish farmore than nagging, negatives andnay-saying.

• DEFINE  Y OUR ROLES  A S P AR-ENTS. It is not your job to keep yourchildren attached to you. It’s your job to prepare them for the outsideworld—and then let them go.

Deborah Carroll and StellaReid—Nanny Deb and NannyStella—are the stars of the hittelevision show “Nanny 911” onthe Fox television network.

Their tips are taken from theirbook, “Nanny 911: Expert Advicefor All Your Parenting Emergen-

cies” (HarperCollins, $15.95).

Our Top Ten “Nanny 911” Commandments

Parents need to work together asa team. If you can’t be on thesame page, your children are notgoing to know whom to listen to.