It may start when they are babies as you praise them for each task they learn to do; crawling, walking, standing, sharing, etc. These are big milestones that your child must accomplish to move on to the next. As kids get older parents tend to slow down on the praise and rewards, not meaning to. But there are everyday accomplishments that babies, toddlers and preschoolers need to hear in order to feel satisfied and able to move on to the next accomplishment.  Encouragement does not need to be bought. Encouragement can be done in several ways and can give your child everything he or she will need to move on to the next level. Here are some creative ideas on ways that you can encourage your child.

Children love to see their progress so keep a journal of accomplishments for your child. Start when they are babies so you can show your child how well they progress. Also, most of the time when your kids get older they will ask you when they took their first steps or how old were they when they said their first words. The journal can help you recall exactly when. To make your journal, buy a simple notebook or if you love scrap booking, you can make one using scrap booking decorations; anything to make it personal.  Start filling up the pages with accomplishments or every time you praised your child for something. Let your child doodle a page or later write in their own words about how they felt when they accomplished the task.

Finally,  finish it off with the reward you gave your child for their accomplishment. For example, did you cook their favorite meal? Keeping track of all their accomplishments can be something that they will enjoy looking back on when they are older.

At the end of everyday, sit down and talk about their day. You can do that after you tuck them in or before bedtime. Sitting down and discussing their accomplishments for that day will ensure that they go to sleep with a positive attitude and outlook on what they have done.

Offer a Reward. When your child accomplishes something have a reward box that allows them to draw out a reward from the box that they can use. To make your reward box, find a child size shoe box or a container with a lid. Inside, fold up several pieces of paper that have rewards wrote on it. For example, they can help with dinner or they can pick a game for the whole family to participate in.

Remember to keep the rewards simple. A hug and praise is a priceless reward that you have an over abundant supply of. Your child will learn that it is the simplest things in life that can be the most rewarding.

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Keeping Romance Alive

Although dating is usually thought of as something that unmarried people do, it’s still very important for couples to make the time to go out on dates together to reconnect with each other, if nothing else. Whether you've been together for a short time or are celebrating a few decades together, the main thing to remember is that married people – and couples with children especially – all need to get away from time to time and just spend some "selfish" time together. Not every waking moment has to be about the children, which is sometimes how it can seem to couples just starting out raising a family.

Babies definitely are a blessing, but they can sometimes cause you to put your relationship with each other on the back burner for a while. That’s why it’s always a good idea to take the time to make a date with each other. It doesn’t have to be an expensive night out. Maybe it’s a simple thing like going out bowling if you both like bowling) or to a movie if you’re both into movies). The important thing is to do something that you both want to do for your date. In some cases that may be to simply trade a night of babysitting with another couple with children. This won’t end up costing anyone any money and will allow you to simply stay at home, sitting in the blissful quiet with each other, if that’s what you both want to do.

Building your date nights around common interests will ensure that you both end up spending the night doing what you each want to do. There’s nothing worse than making the time for a date together and doing something that only one of you really enjoys doing. You can both develop a real sense of anticipation about your night out if you both have some input into what the night will be about. Maybe the idea of connecting romantically again appeals to both of you for that night. Spend some time talking about what you each want to get out of the night and let the ideas flow from that.

Maybe your date will be about trying a new place to eat out that you’ve been hearing good things about. If you like, you can make it a double date if you’ve also been missing out on special times with close friends. Again, this all depends on what you each want to get out of the night. You can always find time to be alone together after the meal’s over and your friends have gone home. Some couples use an alternating method of choosing what to do on dates, with each partner taking a turn deciding what to do on their date nights. This allows for changing ideas and will keep the event fresh every time you go out on your date. By talking over the various options for each date and narrowing them down to three choices, the couple can more easily come up with things to do on a date that both partners will enjoy.