Are Gadgets as Bad as We Think for our Kids?

Before I gave birth, I promised myself that I will not let my child play with gadgets of any kind until he was older. Well, if you become a parent, and when your child starts to explore, you will definitely find it hard not to let him play with you iPad and other gadgets. Children nowadays (as young as a year and a half) would be able to explore your gadget and you'd be surprised that he already knows how to look for YouTube and exit applications from your phone. 

We tried to delay my son in playing with iPad, but there are just these instances when he is too fuzzy and nothing (aside from watching his Elmo show) could stop him from crying. At a year and 7 months, we decided to give him access to our iPad but of course, under our supervision and with limited use. 

Aside from attending Kindermusik classes during Saturdays, there's really not much activity that we do at home aside from playing, reading simple books and watching Sesame Street and other learning shows in YouTube. 

ABC Elmo that we have installed in our iPad

While we were eating breakfast last week though, I noticed that he was staring at the clock and started pronouncing the numbers that he could see. To tell you the truth, I never taught him to count and I'm pretty sure he got it from one of his iPad videos. At 1.9 months, I think he did well to be able to recognize and count from 1-10. 

Im not saying that we should allow our children to play and use iPads early, but with proper guidance, these gadgets do help is in our child's learning. 

Here is a few things we do when we let our son access iPad. 

1. No gadgets during meals - this includes us adults as well. To be fair, we always make sure that we don't use gadgets too so we are able to bond and socialize during this time.
2. iPad as a learning tool - we make sure that the contents of the iPad are for learning and not for playing games.
3. No iPads when we go out - we only use it at home and we make sure that whenever we go out, he is able to explore the places that we go to and interact with people we meet. This also holds true when we go on vacations, we make sure sure that we get to bond with each other and not with our gadgets.
4. Parents should set good examples - this is the most effective way to teach our children in every single aspect. We should not set double-standards and not make yourself an exception when it comes to teaching our children.

Share with us how you deal with your children and their gadgets, we would love to learn from you.

Lanna
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Pharenting Article: Breast Feeding VS. Formula Feeding

For those first time parents out there, have you considered whether you wanted to breastfeed or give formula to your precious little one? Check out our Pharenting article: Breastfeeding Versus Formula Feeding to gain more insights on both and help you decide which of the two is best for you.

LaNnA
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Upcoming Articles on Cheftonio.com

I had an unexpected blogging hiatus and I just want to update you guys on the upcoming articles here on Cheftonio.com

- Thinkware FXD700 Car Blackbox Review
- LG G2 Review
- iPhone 5s Review
- More about Miri Destinations, specially the Niah caves!
- Something new from Smart!

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Parenting 101: Are You Financially Ready?

Having watched a late-night investment show talking about preparing oneself to be financially ready for being parents, my husband and I decided to stay up to know what they had to say about smart parenting. They have actually mentioned a number of unanticipated costs when a child is born. Being the "OC" type of person that I am, I also had my own list of unanticipated costs. Combining both, here's the brief summary of costs that couples should prepare and be aware of when they are expecting to have a child soon:

Hiring a "yaya". As most couple nowadays do have work, it is necessary to have helpers at home to aid you in doing house chores. Caring for a baby on the other hand is different as you will need to hire somebody who is expert in this field which sometimes cost more than double than you usual helper.

Baby's necessities. Other than their basic food and diapers, babies grow quite fast in early years so you will really have to spend on their clothing. Here's my Tip: I suggest that you actually buy ordinary home clothes for your babies ("pambahay") and spend a bit more on their outfit when they're going out for a stroll. Remember, there are a lot of baby clothes are very cute but costs more than what adults wear.

Increased utility consumption at home. I remember a friend telling us that their electricity doubled when they had a child. This is due to the air-conditioning that had to be turned on most of the time, not to mention the fact that you have also added headcount, because you hired additional house-help. Recommendation: If you will be purchasing air-conditioning system for baby's room, try looking for the inverter-types. These might cost you more at initial purchase but you will see difference in your utility bill in the long run.

Necessary things for baby's growth and development. This includes check-ups, vitamins, vaccines that are needed by the baby to protect them from the many diseases that world has.

When the children grow older, there will be additional costs to be incurred such as (and not limited to) their education, tutoring, summer extracurricular activities, allowances, and the list goes on..

Since we don't have children yet, I know there are quite a number of unanticipated costs that I have missed, but  the question is, how do couples prepare for these things?

Start saving early. The moment both of you are married, it's best that both of you set aside an amount on a periodical (monthly/quarterly) basis to be allotted for the kids even before the child is born. I'd suggest to open a joint bank account and do automated monthly debits from a source account that you have to be moved to this account. In this way, you are forced to set aside an amount from your children. Since inflation is higher than the interest you earn from banks, explore on other financial products (mutual funds, bonds, etc) that would yield higher returns compared to just earning the normal interest in banks.

Spent less on things you don't really need. Having kids means sacrificing, and unless you are ready to let go of your material wants for the sake of your kids, you will never experience the feeling of how great it is to be a parent. If you have heaps of savings on the other hand, do learn how to set a limit on your spending as well because you don't know what the future holds. It is always good to keep some so when rainy day comes, you will have buffer.

Career-wise, if you think you need a job with a better pay to sustain your family, look for opportunities and don't be afraid to leave your comfort zone. You will never improve unless you explore the world around you.

Having a kid may be as easy but sustaining them is a different thing. May we also be reminded that more than the financial aspect, children are gifts by God to couples, so parents should do their best to raise God-fearing, responsible, loving children.

Have a blessed Sunday Everyone!

Photos taken from http://www.sxc.hu/

Lanna
Cheftonio
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