The list

I've worked with children in a professional setting as a preschool teacher, childcare provider, childcare assistant director and nanny for the past 9 years. Over the years I've seen many parenting styles. I've also received my degree in Early Childhood Education and done extensive reading on rearing children. I try to keep up on the latest information and subscribe to a parents magazine as well. I think I'm pretty well informed on child-rearing issues. Plus, since DH and I have been TTC for 10 years now, we've also discussed how we would raise our child(ren). I thought my child rearing style was pretty defined. However, this new family I nanny for is turning it on its ear. There are several things they do that I was planning on doing with my children that I am now rethinking. This has made me think. What do I want to do/not do while raising my child. I think this will be an ongoing list...

• Set a healthy eating example and insist my child eats the same
• Only cook 1 family meal- I'm not a short order cook and my child can either eat what I cook or wait until the next meal
• Breastfeed my child if at all possible until at least 6 months, hopefully longer
• Wean off of a bottle by 12 months
• Wean off of a sippy cup by 2 years
• Limit juice- offer only milk or water
• Limit sweets
• Teach my child to fall asleep on their own- encourage them to sleep in their own bed
• Be active with my child to encourage a life-long love of exercise
• Pray daily with my child from birth
• Teach my child the gospel of Jesus Christ
• Help my child to feel God's love for them & help them recognize that they are a child of God
• Limit the number of toys my child has- either through rotating through them, donating or asking family/friends to limit toys given to the child
• NEVER allow weapons as toys or allow violent play
• Foster a love of reading- place importance on reading to my child, with my child, and an importance on books
• Allow my child to foster imaginative play by removing toys that discourage that
• NEVER replacing batteries to noisy toys or providing them with batteries in the first place
• Dressing my child for their age- no age inappropriate clothing
• Limit the number of character clothing they wear (ie: Sesame Street, Disney, etc.)
• Dress my child in clothes vs. pajamas to wear in public or at any time other than bed time
• No words written in large letters across the butt of my child's pants (HATE THIS TREND- even for adults)
• Not overreacting to accidents
• Allow my child to solve their own problems when developmentally appropriate
• Choose developmentally appropriate discipline
• Let my child know how much they are loved through my words and actions

Now of course I've discussed this with my DH. He laughs and tells me I'll break all of these "rules" and I probably will at some time or another. However, I hope I'll be able to look back and remember why I thought these were good ideas at one time.