Top Googled Parenting Questions, Answered by a Mom of One (with Guest!)

In Episode 20 of The Family of One, I dive into some of the top parenting questions people search online, and answer them from my perspective as a mom of an only child.

From “How do I get my child to sleep through the night?” to “What are the best ways to discipline a child?”, I share some funny and relatable stories and moments and introduce my very first guest.

If you’ve ever Googled parenting advice or just needed a little reassurance in your journey, this episode is for you. 

 Tune in for honest reflections, laughter, and practical encouragement.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hey amazing only child mums, I'm 4 Comment, your part-time working mum friend who loves Yahweh, family and fun. Welcome to the family of one where we share joys and adventures of raising an only child. Expect relatable stories, parenting laughs and faithful tips. Let's make small family life enjoyable. Woohoo! Yes, welcome to the Family of One Child podcast. This is for your good friend. So in this episode, I was thinking about questions that parents would ask. Google, for example, I got the inspiration. I was watching YouTube and there's a few like, well, there's actually quite a few videos where they showed episodes and they're interviewing these celebrities, but they have like a card in front of them and it says the most Google questions that people would ask the internet about that person. And the celebrity would go through the most, you know, answering all these questions. And I thought, what is the what is the common or the most popular questions that parents would Google, you know, ask Google or ask Rock or, you know, go on the internet and ask those questions. And I thought I will find out the most 10 common questions that people, that parents type on the internet asking Google, but I will answer it from a mama raising a having an only child and she's eight years old because, you know, I cannot answer questions beyond that because she's not nine or 10 yet. You know, so I couldn't be answering those type of questions, but I can answer from where I am in this season. So the top 10 questions that parents commonly ask that go on the internet and type out is one, How can I get my child to sleep through the night? Now, my experience, I had Olivia with me when, you know, as a toddler. baby. I know some other people, you know, parents, I had my friends and they had their own room for their baby. And so they had their baby cot in there and everything, baby bed and the baby and the child slept separately. But for me, we had Olivia next to us. I mean, she had her own baby bed, her baby cot, baby crib. And I just slid that, I mean, I slid Not that I was sliding anywhere in the bedroom, but I put her bed right next to mine. And so whenever she made a fuss or if I had to get up for anything, she was right there. And what I did was, I think the barriers, like the crib, we lowered one side down. So it wasn't right down just in case she rolled or I rolled. There was enough where I saw I can put my hand over it. But there was a safety barrier because, you know, we don't want to be rolling on our child. Or do I want my child to be rolling over me? And I'm kind of big. So I don't want to squash it. So that was a safety barrier. And as she got older, you know, I would either put it down. I would put it up a bit more because now she could just jump over it. And then eventually when she was a certain age, I just had it write down so that child probably could just... Yeah. Anyhow, so how did I get my child to sleep through the night? It was routine. Routine worked best for us at the time. And that was a tip from my sister who came and stayed with us. And we had a set routine. So we didn't bathe her every night because why do they say not to bathe the baby every night? For us, we didn't. But we had like read a book after bedtime. Okay, hold on. So at nighttime, almost like read a book, we did like a quiet time and then that worked for us but then also you know she stayed in her room but in some ways she still stays in my room oh my goodness the child and I still sleep in the same room and that's another story together but I know so so Is she sleeping? Yeah. I try to get her to sleep in her own room. Because she has her own room. This is so hello. She has her own room. And then we give her story time. And then we give her, like, mommy, daddy loves you. We have prayer time. And then we, you know, it's time to go to sleep. Turn off the light. And turn on the night light. And wah, wah, wah. That did not happen. And then I was like, oh, my goodness. So then once again, I made sure she had, you know, had dinner. We played. Then something quiet. And then story time. Then story time dragged on to a longer story. And then her father would read. And then it was goodnight, love you, hugs, and wah, wah, wah. I think it ended up being... I think she just, we ended up, I'm like, okay, just come and sleep with me and Maya. I'll just snuggle with you and we'll just snuggle together. And dad will just like give you a kiss goodnight and he'll just go to the lounge and hang out. Well, hello, 2025. She's just moved into my room. And yeah, so apparently I go to sleep at 8.30 p.m. school night she goes to sleep eight o'clock yeah like no you and then she can hear children it's so funny because she can hear children like mom the neighbor kids everyone's playing and she'll check the window she's like it's still light time no it's not those children should be going to sleep now get in here go to sleep So how do I get my child to sleep through the night? It's because I'm sleeping and I love sleep. So 8.30 to me is a good night. So we'll go to sleep. And where's your father? Oh, he's, I don't know. I think he's downstairs in the lounge or either he's just got back from work because he'll work late. He'll just get home. So does that even help if you're listening? If you're listening to this and you're thinking there is no hope or there is hope, there's something in between for someone. In the end, my encouragement is how do I get my child to sleep through the night? Good luck and keep going until you find your own rhythm. I have friends that actually have not from, you know, from when they had their child. Their child's always had their own room and they always put that child to sleep. You know, there was no, they didn't sleep with their child ever. That baby can go to bed on their own, and now that child is great. But my child, you know, my husband and I, yeah, what it is, what it is. So there you go. The next question, popular, what should I do about my child's tantrums? For Olivia and I, I wish my sister, I should have her on because I think it was one episode I talked about. I think I cried a lot. And then I, I mean, I was crying cause I was thinking, oh my goodness, this child, what is going on? And she's getting frustrated and she is just, making sounds so loud I thought the way ambulance is coming and then I'm like crying and then she was trying to tell me something but in my frustration I was tired or probably hungry or all of the above I just didn't want to listen and so who was having a tantrum her and I I think deep down I was probably having a tantrum like just do what I asked you to do and she's thinking mommy just listen so how did should I or what should I do about my child's tensions in the end I had to really find just work on myself to know what she's actually wanting and like I think I gave her choices in the end if she was frustrated it's because she's trying to tell me something honestly and I just like do what I tell you to do Cause I'm not listening. And then when I'm not listening, I'm literally shutting down emotionally. Like now I'm no way, just do it. And that doesn't always work. And so I really had to be open up like, okay, I'm the adult. She's trying to tell me something. She's trying to say, I want to play a little bit more. And then I'm like, okay, is this a life or death situation? Is she being disrespectful? Or did I really give her time to play? Did I give her a warning it's time to pack up? Did I tell her, okay, we're going to the park and now it's time to leave. But does she do well when I give her like, hey, we've got 10 minutes. We've got 10 minutes. Like some type of something where she could understand. I'm giving you– I'm letting you know– And then this is about to happen. Instead of like, hey, go now. Boom. That doesn't work with her. And then I met with her frustration. And then... Because, depending on how she's reacting, I'm like, that is disrespectful. How dare you? I mean, inside I'm saying that. I'm like, people are looking at me as a mother. And really, no one's looking at me. They're all doing their own children and living, you know, they're like, ma'am, no, no, just pay attention to yourself. And so... When I started to learn more about how I'm reacting and why I'm reacting, and was it just about that moment or was it something else, which I was probably bringing into that situation, then I really didn't see it as a tantrum. She really did not have a lot of tantrums. And I learned that, I mean, was it easy? No. Was it difficult? Yes. I mean, at this stage now, she will tell me like, mom, you said, and then I'm like, did I really say that? Or was it a misinterpretation? Or she'll just, I'll say, I think you said that. I didn't say you can have the cookie. I said, you can have the cookie for your lunch. You can have it like at lunch, but I didn't want you to eat the second packet for today. Okay. You know, that's your interpretation of what I say. And so in other situations where I tell her I'm going to do something and she goes, mom, I really want to go shopping. And I'll just say yes. And then I'm hoping she would forget. Like, seriously, I'm hoping like, oh my gosh, an hour later. And then she's like, okay, mom, let's go shopping. And I'm like, no, I'm tired. And she'll be like, you told me, you said you're going to go shopping. And I'm like, I'm tired. And then I'll say something like, oh, oh why can't you just give me a break when i was your age and if my mom was tired i would say that's okay mom i love you oh my goodness i will try and put those tricks on it and she's looking at me and she's like so we're going shopping right oh olivia and then i try not to say you always do this with me you're always making me do things you're always and i'm like oh my goodness She's only eight years old. And I'm saying always, which is not always true. I'm just feeling tired. And then once again, I got to check myself. I got to check my attitude. Like, and I tell her, I know I'm really tired. And there has been like certain moments. And I'm like, look, I know I said I was going to do this. And you're right. But I just cannot. I just do not have the energy. My attitude is really bad. And we're not going to have a good time. Now, I know it's not your fault. And it's, And I said that because I was really hoping you would forget. And she'd be like, mom. I said, I know. And I'm sorry, but I just cannot. I cannot do it right now. But most times I'm like, sure, I'll suck it up because I said I was going to do it. Oh, my goodness. The life of a mom with an only child. We are amazing. Okay, the third most common questions that parents ask on the internet is, how do I know if my child is developing normally? For me, I didn't really track these milestones. When I took her to her doctor for visits, I think it was every twice a year or something like that. They had like a checklist. And so if anything stood out, they would just... I suppose they would have told me. But every time we went to doctor's appointments, they said, yep, she's all good. Everything is fine. So I didn't... And I didn't specifically buy books to track these milestones, like talking or walking and holding a pencil. I mean, holding whatever. I just... I don't know. I just, maybe from my perspective, when I was, when she was a toddler and raising her, you know, in the younger years, I, well, she's still younger. I just wanted to give her many experiences. So, for example, I, like, let her, like, I think when it came to colors and things like that, I would sort of say, oh, that's it. Pass me the cup. I'll say, pass me the blue cup. Or, oh, look, these peas are nice. Oh, these green peas are very yummy. So I would, I just naturally introduce just different words. I was more specific on trying to describe what things look like. And then when it came to like coordination, well, because, you know, she started, she was very, she wanted to be around animals like horses. And so at two and a half, you know, I found a coach, a trainer that would help her like ride. And then I go into detail. We didn't do a lot of riding. It was on Polack. five minutes five ten minutes riding but a lot of it was balancing you know skills and holding learning about the different parts of the body of you know the horse and then and then I had different activities where she would play with yogurt because I was looking for paints that were non-toxic for kids and I still haven't found anything like that so I googled and then parents said oh if your child is not allergic to dairy you can get yogurt and just put a little food coloring in or if you want to do it natural way like get raspberries and mash it up and put it in yogurt and banana and you know let your child paint with that on a you know, on the table. So if they eat it, that's fine. I just did things like that. So she, before she went to preschool, she was already, she already learned her name, like how to write her name and then holding the scissors and holding a crayon, you know, pen, pencil, pen, crayon. So I just wanted to give her like fun experience and do things like that. So I, I guess it really depends on how do you know, I mean, if you're developing normally. I mean, there's some adults out there who I think, my goodness, I mean, I mean, I suppose we're all developing in some ways, learning and growing. But for me, how do I know if my child is developing normally? I mean, I did ask, I had a lot of friends as well. So I guess I use them regularly. as a resource, like when she was going to party, when she was reading, when she was, I just asked my friends, oh, hey, did your child start doing this? And, you know, what are the, some of the tips that were helpful? And so, and they're pretty much all the same age, roughly either a year older or a year younger. So it was, that was my tracking device. I just watched, was around. And then I created a group, the little local adventures, the similar her age and, you know, parents will talk about different stages and what to expect. And if someone was, you know, I didn't have a child that was going to a potty at this stage or wasn't able to, you know, recognize colors. I mean, it never was a big deal. And my circle of friends, they're like, oh, that's all right. I've had another child and they didn't get it too much later. So that's fine. It wasn't like a peer pressure or anything. So I would say, how do you know if you can use your resources that's available or your pediatrician or doctor, just someone to give you an encouragement or go onto the internet. The next Google question is, what are the best ways to discipline a child? That's a big one. Well, they're all kind of big. But the best way that we have found raising an only child for our family discipline is the step. Like sit on the step and you can stay there until you have... Just have a little timeout. Timeout worked for us. Now, I know some families, you know, people do it differently. People don't use a timeout. They might give them a little spanking or they might take something away from them. Or, you know, I feel like, no, we don't spank. And we chose not to. And I'm thinking, I don't, Olivia did ask me, she goes, have you ever spanked me? And honestly, I thought, you know, but there probably times where I did want to just spank you, spank you because you're driving me nuts. But no, we, we decided my husband and I not to spank. And it's because, you know, time out on the step has worked very well for us. And I don't know, because there might be some other parents that might like say, well, if I, you know, I had, if that's the way I discipline my child and I put them on the timeout and sit on the step, it would not work. I guess you have to find out what works for you. But for our family, telling her, you know, you're going to have a timeout. You need to sit on that step for how long, and we would use that duration of that time. And she did not like it. I mean, the first time, and I've shared this other experience, episodes that she it was like she was crying like we literally you would have thought that mama smacked you on her bum with something because she was like no i cannot believe that you would want to me be you know on a time out and you know being distant from you even though I'm just standing right there, but there's more to it. So time out worked wonders for, has worked wonders for us. And now that time out is really not a big deal. If I see her go and sit on the steps, she'll be like, sure, I'd love to. So for us, the best way to discipline her now, because she's eight years old, it would be to take away her tablet, you know, take away maybe time with a friend or, you know, You cannot be watching YouTube or something like that. And that has the same effect taken away in electronics. Something that she absolutely loves. She'll be like, no.

UNKNOWN: 20:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 20:32

So that has been a big one for us. Just changing on how we go about being disciplined. How we discipline her in life. And also when we do discipline her, whether we're taking something away from her like a tablet, you know, we tell her– before we tell her, we're like, this is what's going to happen. And then you're going to get– you know, we're going to take this away from you and then we'll– So she knows all the consequences and then we'll talk about it. Sometimes she says that when I do it, she just wants to get it over and done with because I talk too much. She's like, oh, mom, you just talk too much. Just hurry up and do it. Like, I'm like, what in the world? And then I talk about the consequences and the why. She's like, oh, brother. I mean, her eyes are saying that. And she goes, you talk too much, mom. Just do it. I think the talking is like more disciplined enough sometimes. Oh my goodness, my child. But she's not here to like, you know, so I really shouldn't be saying a lot about how she feels because she's like, you know what, mom, I wasn't there and that's not what I meant. But yes, do you talk too much when you discipline me? Yes. So probably that might be a good thing. I just get her to sit there while I talk to her, talk, talk, talk to her. She'll be like, oh my goodness, I don't want to be disciplined by my mom anymore. Okay. The next one is how can I help my child eat healthier? That's another Google question that parents ask, you know, go on the internet a lot. Well, I would like to say, can I speak into the space?

UNKNOWN: 22:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 22:08

Some, yes, because I am a parent, but some, like, if you ask my husband, he would say I probably let her have more free range of eating candy, ice cream, chips, and chocolate more than he. But, so, I mean, there are some days, does she eat more healthier? Yes. And some days, it's like, no, the child just had, like, an ice cream or chips and chocolate. she's good to go but do so how do i handle it most i just give her vitamins i mean trying at least she's got some vitamins in there with something and then i try she likes raw vegetables so i do my best like to have some at least like some broccoli broccoli She likes cucumbers. I think it's more of the texture of a crunch. So when we're having dinner, I'll try my best to have something like that. Otherwise, I mean, I try, I mean, she could eat corn, but she's going through seasons with green beans, like green beans. She likes green beans, you know, when she goes and picks them from the garden with her grandma. So it's just certain seasons. She'll just eat a lot of vegetables and others. She'll be like, nah. But she's not one to like, you know, do I eat to live or live to eat? I mean, I just think they're both the same. So there you go. But yeah, just going to keep it like that. I don't know what you're doing with your only child. But for me, it's the certain seasons. And when she likes something regarding vegetables, I'll buy a lot of it. And so she's like, I'm done with it. Okay, this one. When should my child see a doctor for a fever? That is interesting because... Okay, so for me, like we live in the States, so if she's over above 100, it says 100.4, you should go and see a doctor. But there's only a few times when she's really, like she's been at 100, and then we know it's because one, what was it? I think she had a tummy ache once. And it was about two days and then she had a fever. We checked her temperature. We ended up going to the hospital because now she was just vomiting. And then they said she just She was constipated. And I didn't know she was that constipated because I thought she had been going regularly, but apparently not that much. So when she has a tummy ache, prune juice is something that we use, actually for myself and for my husband. So if anyone gets a sore tummy, we just use prune juice, which is a lot more better and it just works. And so I just buy it. And we just keep it, and if someone, we drink it maybe like, we used to drink it like once a week. I don't know how many, maybe a few teaspoons, and there you have it. Prune juice is good for the tummy. Helps you make you go regular. And what else? Okay, so, it's a bit random, so... That's one little tip. And maybe if you don't like prune juice, you might have something else that helps your tummy go regular. Maybe a kiwi fruit, mango, and other things helps you go regular. But that just works wonders for us. You can just drink it. Okay, so now I just want to say hello to my little guest. Say little because Olivia, she wants to come and say hi. Say hello to everyone. Hello. Now, Olivia, how old are you? I'm eight. And what do you like? I'm going to ask you some random questions. What do you like about being an only child? Because there are a lot of parents out there and their kids, maybe some are listening and they're not yet eight years old or some who are maybe like still a toddler.

UNKNOWN: 26:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 26:24

Or maybe some are older. But I'm just going to ask you, what do you like about being an only child?

SPEAKER_01: 26:30

It's super fun and I don't have to share any of my toys.

SPEAKER_00: 26:37

What don't you like it? Are there some things like, sometimes it would have been nice to have like a brother or sister. What are the things that you kind of sometimes think about?

SPEAKER_01: 26:52

Kind of that, like, no one plays with me, and I like when people play with me a lot.

SPEAKER_00: 26:58

Now, I used to play with you a lot more when you were a toddler, but as you're growing up, maybe you've shared that Mommy sleeps a lot. Is that true? Yeah. So, what about Dad? Who plays with you the most, Daddy or Mommy?

SPEAKER_01: 27:15

Probably Mommy.

SPEAKER_00: 27:18

Oh, you...

SPEAKER_01: 27:20

Wait, no, I think it's Daddy because I don't know.

SPEAKER_00: 27:24

Yeah? Okay, Daddy plays with you more. So what kind of things do you like to do? Do you like to read books? Do you like to sleep all day? Do you like to clean the house? What kind of things do you like to do? I

SPEAKER_01: 27:41

like to go horseback riding.

SPEAKER_00: 27:44

Horseback riding? Okay, tell us about that. What is your horse? Do you have a horse?

SPEAKER_01: 27:50

Yeah, I have a horse.

SPEAKER_00: 27:52

Is it a real horse?

SPEAKER_01: 27:55

It's a real horse.

SPEAKER_00: 27:57

What is your horse's name and what kind of horse is it?

SPEAKER_01: 28:01

My horse's name is Lola and it's a Welsh mixed with Arabian.

SPEAKER_00: 28:07

So if there's a parent out there and they're thinking... Am I going to get a horse? Maybe not. Maybe, maybe, maybe not. It's too much money. What would you tell to that parent if their child is saying, I really would like a horse?

SPEAKER_01: 28:23

I would say if the parent said, no, you can't get a horse right now, I would get a hobby horse.

SPEAKER_00: 28:30

Hobby horses. Now that is another. We should talk about hobby horses. Oh my goodness. What's a hobby horse, Olivia?

SPEAKER_01: 28:38

So it's basically just like a wooden stick. So there's like a stick right between the head and the body. So the body would be the stick, and then after the stick, there's just the head.

SPEAKER_00: 28:53

And so it's kind of like a toy, but you can get different sizes. There's large ones, there's small ones. You can get ones that are like$10, right, Olivia? And then more expensive ones, right? You have both. You have expensive ones and then you have affordable ones. Which one is your favorite? You have quite a few.

SPEAKER_01: 29:15

Probably the expensive ones.

SPEAKER_00: 29:18

Really? Why is that?

SPEAKER_01: 29:21

Because you're more cuter, but I also like the cheaper ones because you're more lighter. Oh,

SPEAKER_00: 29:27

there you go. Is there anything else that you want to let people know about you and being an only child? Do you think as you grow up, you will have more children? Well, you're only eight years old, but or just one child or no children or maybe you think about it later?

SPEAKER_01: 29:49

Maybe like two children so they can like play with each other and then, you know, because I want them to like be experienced with choices.

SPEAKER_00: 30:00

Well, there you listen. There you go, folks. So just letting you know, is mommy and daddy, am I the best mommy for you?

SPEAKER_01: 30:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 30:09

And is Daddy the best Daddy for you?

SPEAKER_01: 30:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 30:12

You are the best child for us. Now, as you heard it from here, from Family of One Child podcast, I am the best mummy for her. Do you want to say anything else? Thank you for listening. And thank you for coming and being a guest on my podcast. In actual fact, you are the first guest. that I've had on this podcast. So I'm glad you were the first guest because I pretty much talk about you all the time. So it was appropriate that you would be the first one and I'm sure we will have you back again another time. So thank you very much, darling. So when I started this episode, I said there were about 10 other questions and I think I only got to four. So let's just say this is going to be part one. of maybe a two or three part series of most Googled questions that parents ask on the internet. Okay, well, there you go. So I just want to say thank you so much for my listeners. I'm just going to give a shout out to those who are listening, who listened to the last episode. And that was from Tampa, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, Calgary, Alberta. in simsbury connecticut i just want to say thank you so much to my listeners who have supported and listened to the last episode so Just letting you know, every time you listen to the last episode, I'll do a shout out and just thank you all for listening to this podcast, supporting the family of one and also for just tuning in each Wednesday and just supporting and also giving me a text and just letting me know that you like it and giving it a thumbs up and subscribing to my channel. Okay, take care and remember you're doing the best you can with the time that's given, with the resources you have. You are an amazing mom to your child, your amazing wife to your husband. You know, be kind to yourself. And as I say in each episode, you are amazing. You truly are. You're doing the best. I mean, you are loving on yourself. You're helping your child to be the best that they can be. And also, you're just taking time out for yourself. You're learning about yourself. You're growing. You're exploring. You're doing things. And also, you're just sharing it with the people that you love and also the community that you're in. So there you go. I will catch you. In the next episode, this is for your friend who also is a mom with an only child. Take care. Bye.