Keeli, thank you for sharing your thoughts.  It is how I often feel as well.

Khatty, I know you know that we are all here for you and you must remember the quote for your dd about her trusting herself.  You need to trust yourself and your children that this is the right thing for them. 

Hi paps,

I voted for you son.  Good luck!

Thank you for the titles.  I am always looking for more books to read to help me with my parenting.

I just went to my Public Library web site and requested the book.  Thank you.

I agree with the posts here.  Having on only child doesn't seem fair to the child unless they live close to their cousins so are able to have them as companions.  Of course it is a personal choice and sometimes parents are not able to have another child.  I also think that there are many children that need parents to adopt them, so if you can't have a second child and want one, then you could adopt.

My oldest is 8 and 10 years older than her siblings, but I hope that when they become adults they will become closer.  I didn't plan on the huge age gap, but life happens.  I also didn't want my first to have the burden of aging parents, or to deal with the loss of us alone.  I wanted her to have a sibling to lean on and share her sorrow with.

Right now she wishes that she didn't have siblings as she is a teenager and doesn't understand being 4 and 7.  But when she was between the ages of 3 and 5 she did want to have a sibling.  The age gap between my second and third is 2 1/2 years and they are close enough to do things together and to also have the occasional fight.  They learn so much from each other, some stuff that you don't want, but so much more that I feel is important that they can't learn at school.

Good luck with your decision.

I have also shouted at my children and then asked for forgiveness.  Parenting is the toughest job out there.  Thank you momtomany for your advice.  I really do hope that my chlidren turn out all right as adults, it is one of my worries.  I also believe in your saying  "It isn't the perfect healthy diet, or the age they learn to read, or the tidiness of the house, or how well behaved they are, or whether they are in school/daycare or at home/homeschooled, or how many languages they learn, or how much/little TV they watch that will determine how they turn out as adults.  What really determines how well they turn out as adults (as far as being happy people with successful families), is the unconditional love they receive from their parent(s) growing up.  So don't worry too much about how good of a parent you are.... concentrate first on loving them just the way they are and expecting nothing in return.... the other details don't matter nearly as much"

I continue to love each of them every day.  To teach them by example how to be patient and that when I have made a mistake to apologize so that they also learn that it is ok to make mistakes.  That we don't have to get angry every time we make a mistake, that we can look at the mistake as a learning experience.

Thank you to everyone who shares their worries, concerns, stories and advice.

All three of our children have brown eyes as both their parents have brown eyes.  But they all have different shades of brown with my son having the darkest brown which looks almost black.

I was able to continue breastfeeding my son while pregnant with my daughter although my doctor asked at each visit if I was going to be weaning him.  I lied and said yes.  I think that he was only nursing at bedtime and in the middle of the night if he woke.

After my daughter was born I continued to nurse him but found it uncomfortable as he had a different latch.  I gradually weaned him by telling him that it was empty and letting him try one or both sides.  I sat with him while he went to sleep.  I found that it was easier to nurse my daughter as I already had milk.

You can't believe everything that you read in every book as they can contradict each other.  You have to do what is right for you and your children.  Books are a great source of information, but all the advice you get in them isn't going to work all the time or with all children.

I don't quite remember, but I don't recall being engorged either b/c my son took any excess.  I didn't even think that I wouldn't have enough milk b/c our milk is produced on demand.  I think that mother's who feel that they don't have enough milk and supplement with formula are then going to not produce enough milk b/c the baby isn't demanding the milk to be produced. 

I would have liked to have nursed my son longer than the 2 1/2 years that I did, as I am still nursing my 4 1/2 year old daughter.  Of course it will depend on whether your daughter decides on her own if she wants to wean herself.  Good luck and enjoy your children!

I have 2 girls, 14 and 4 years old, and 1 son who is 7 years old.

I don't allow much TV as I want them doing other things with their time.  When they do watch they like Dora or Diego which teaches Spanish, and we also read Dora and Diego books.  They also like to watch Richard Scary's Busy Town on CBC.  I liked Mr. Dressup and the Friendly Giant when I was growing up, and I occasionally watched Sesame Street.  We didn't watch much TV either.

Thanks for the site.  I have been meaning to look for a site, and this one is good (I tried it).  I'm going to have my children try it and hope that it works for them.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Thanks for the explaination.

Couplets are meant to be only 2 words.  I have done some couplets, but it is harder to think of ones that make sense.  I agree that they are stepping stones, but with my 4 yr old I have already moved to the simple 4 or 5 word sentences like:

Mom is reading
John is sleeping
Jane is wearing a dress
Kate is riding a horse

As Doman says, there really isn't a wrong way to teach your child unless you are boring them.

Since your child is younger maybe the couplets will help and not really seem strange to them.  It is the way that Doman has the parent keep the old words in circulation so that the child sees them again, but in a way so that hopefully the child is not bored, I think.

I hope that this helps you.

I just started 4 months ago with my 4 year old using the Doman method.  I made about 100 cards that I flashed at her for about 1 1/2 months maybe a little longer.  She started to recognize some of them at the time.  I then took a 2 week break as she didn't seem as interested and finding time was hard as she is also in preschool.

I then started making sentences with the words and stuck them on the wall.  We now change the sentences once a week and she helps stamp the new words that we need to finish the sentence.  She uses most words that I had initially flashed, but of course we always need new words to make a sentence.  She reads the sentences for the week, and even changes the sentences around with the words that are on the wall.  We have been doing this for about a month now.  I like it a little better as the words are always there for her to read.

I of course also read many books to her and when possible will point to the word as I am reading it.  I also have a seven year old who is also beginning to read, but I didn't use any program with him as I didn't know about Doman, YBCR, or LR.  I wish that I would have as I would have used it with him.  I'm not really sure how well either of them can read, but I know that they will get there.