For many, becoming a parent and raising a child is both a time for joy and for trepidation. What follows is some tried and true advice to guide you through the maze of bringing up a child.

Remember that your child looks to you for guidance. It’s important to build a sense in your children that you are trustworthy.

When you travel with a child, strive to keep his eating and sleeping schedule the same as it is at home. Travel takes its toll on young children, particularly infants. Replicating nightly routines can be a great way to help your children adapt to new surroundings and enable everyone to get a proper amount of sleep.

Many times young children have trouble changing. They tend to become frustrated and have temper tantrums when they must change tasks quickly.

All children that walk to school need to have reflective materials affixed to clothing and backpacks. This reflective material comes in convenient Velcro strips. This will make your child more visible to drivers and crossing guards, especially in the early morning hours.

If children live in your home, avoid smoking in the house. In fact, why not quit smoking altogether? Breathing secondhand smoke can be just as harmful as smoking. Second-hand smoke puts children at risk for lung ailments including asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.

If you are traveling long distances in a car with young children, you must be sure to stop often to keep the kids from getting bored and cranky. You may be tempted to spend as little time in the car as possible, but a more relaxed trip is certain to be a more enjoyable one! There plenty of places to stop along the way, like restaurants, parks, or anywhere with some open area to let your children stretch their legs out.

To keep your child from becoming bored with his or her toys, put some away periodically or shift some to the bottom of his or her toy box. Most toddlers will not play with a toy that much after two or three days unless it happens to be one of their most treasured items. Your toddler will regain interest in their toys if they are different every day and this will make it so you don’t have to buy as many.

Hopefully these tips give you some ideas about child-rearing. It should give you a small foundation to think about and to build upon. Try to also realize that child-rearing is unique to everyone. There is no perfect way to parent. Use common sense when you aren’t sure which parenting tactic you will use. Keep in mind that raising a child can be exciting, but relish the experience because children grow up before you know it.