Simple Rules for
Raising Happy
Successful
Children
Successful
parenting means taking the time
to understand what our children
need to be fulfilled, confident, and happy. Of
course, that’s no small task.
Here
are 14 guiding principles:
1. First and foremost, recognize the
true gravity of
your task. Parenting
successful, emotionally happy
children involves a great deal of important,
mindful work and huge, sweeping swaths of time. The first step is to
accept
that fact- and to embrace
the role of parent as one of the most important roles
anyone has ever taken on.
2. Have
a ball. Just because our task is immensely important that
doesn’t
mean it can’t also be great, great fun. Life with a family is
a magnificent
adventure- not simply a hassle filled with laundry and dishes. Remind
yourself
of this as often as necessary. And when the daily work of parenting
starts to
feel like drudgery, it’s time to devote a day (or, at the
very least, an
afternoon) for intense family fun. Get some tickets to a the movies,
the footie or go bowling and relax.
3. Spend
a lot of time with your
children. When you do so, children
recognize that they are worth lavishing with time, praise, and
attention.
4. Exhibit healthy, successful
habits. If you want your
kids to be healthy,
fit, kind and compassionate, you’ll need to live that way,
too. Treat your
mind, body, and soul with the utmost respect. Model caring, kindness,
and
compassion by working together (as a family) on a volunteer project a
few hours
a month.
5. Listen
well. Strive to be honest, open, and attentive with your
spouse
and kids. When your children are speaking, get down on their level, ask
questions, and really listen to their point of view. True listening
does
wonders for your children’s
self esteem, and it helps them to grow into good
listeners themselves. Minimize social contact with adults who are
continually shushing
the children.
6. Show
your children that you are genuinely interested in them.
Make sure
to let them know through your words and behaviour that you care about what they
like to do, even if that's altogether different from what
the rest of the
family enjoys. Get involved in activities
that interest your child. Whatever it
is, learn the lingo and sit down to learn from your child.
7. Try not to criticize, but work with your child
on mistakes in a
respectful way. Never criticize in front of other adults or children,
including
siblings. Work to understand their unique point of view. Taking the
time to do
so sends a message that you accept and trust their decisions and that
their
opinions are valuable and important.
8. Don’t label your kids
even when
those labels sound harmless. Try not to
tell your children that they are shy or overly dramatic or too
sensitive.
Respect the person whom they are and the adult they are becoming, while
respecting all the stages they will grow through to get there.
9. Choose your battles very
carefully, and allow
natural consequences to
teach the lessons themselves whenever possible.
10. Be accepting of your
children’s
friends. Encourage your children to
invite their friends over.
11. Be enthusiastic. Make sure your
face lights
up when your children come
near you.
12. Share
family stories, whether through a family journal, a
scrapbook, or
by simply telling one another over and over again about the memories
that you
treasure. Read aloud at all ages and stages. Cuddle up under a blanket
in the
evenings to read silently, each with a different book. Ask your kids to make up
stories and tell them aloud or create illustrated books to
share.
13. Treasure all the generations.
Revere the
grandparents, aunts, uncles,
cousins. Show your
children that family
is something they can count on for
their entire lives.
All this can be distilled into one
simple rule: Never let
the big picture
fade from view. In other words, make sure you have
identified your true goal as
a parent and live from that frame of mind. For example: My only goal as
a
parent is to raise happy,
kind children who trust
themselves and who enjoy
peace of mind.
If, this week, they decide to eat Top
Ramen every
night for dinner and
sometimes forget to put their shoes in the closet, so be it.
Enjoy
the joyful journey of this tremendous task of parenting.
©Jamie Jefferson - a
frequent contributor to http://www.BestSelfHelp.com
Have
a Bit of Fun! (Make sure you
visit my "Dad's" page for more fun stuff.)
Little
Kid Crafts For All Seasons
- Discover
How to
Quickly and Easily get simple high quality Little Kid Crafts guaranteed
to ignite a Child's Imagination.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone
who has young children knows that the single most difficult challenge
is how to keep them entertained.
It's the very thing
that can make the difference between a happy child who is enjoyable to
be around and a child who is constantly looking for trouble.
But,
this simple objective seems to be much easier said than done. If you
are unable to keep your child entertained, you're likely to find that
they have colored their bedroom walls, stuck a peanut butter sandwich
into the VCR, or cut their own bangs when you weren't looking.
For
some, entertaining their child means parking them in front of the T.V.
to watch Sesame Street. Others haul their child to class
after class, at great expense or spend hours each day at the park
endlessly pushing a swing.
I've personally
discovered that there is an easy way to keep young children
entertained.
Not only does it keep them
entertained, but it accomplishes a variety of other things as well:
- Builds positive self image
- Encourages self-discipline
- Rewards hard work and diligence
- Promotes eye-hand coordination
- Cultivates a love of learning
- Fosters cooperation with others
- Encourages their imagination
Are you ready for the magic bullet? Here it
is: Do
crafts with your child!
I
know what you're saying -- That's all well and good for kids. As
parents, we want the best for our children and will do
whatever it takes to give them the best life we can, but do we have to
do kid crafts?!?
Okay, that's what I used to think.
Doing kid crafts, especially toddlers
and preschoolers seemed like such a pain in the
neck. I used to think that it was too messy, hard to organize, and
really not worth the effort until they got a little older.
Then a friend of mine got me to try it a couple of times and
I found out that doing these types of activities really made my job as
a parent soooo much easier!
- The
kids argued less among
themselves and with me
- Discipline
became easier
and less necessary
- They
played together better, even developed their own little games
- I
didn't have to
constantly entertain them anymore
- My
oldest started helping
me more with the younger ones and even wanted to help in the
housework
- They
all became easier to handle when we went out
You get
the picture. The point is that kid
crafts really made a big difference in our daily lives!
Now we do a project of some kind nearly every day and everyone is
happier! The only problem is finding age-appropriate crafts.
I
searched through a ton of free websites and bought a few child crafting
books, only to be disappointed. Most of the resources I found were just
too old for my children.
That's when I
came across "Little Kid Crafts For All Seasons," and I
absolutely love it!
This craft
book is full
of unique ideas, and lot of extra effort has been put in
to make each craft more or less challenging, depending on the
skills of your child. This is really a guide on how to craft with your
child, create learning opportunities, and create your own projects to
do with your child as they grow. I guess you can tell that I
like Little Kid Crafts
For All Seasons - actually I think it's one of the best
books on the market for crafting
with younger children. That's why I feel so comfortable
recommending it to you.
The best part about this
book is that you can gain instant access to it. It's the
first kid's crafting book that I've ever seen available in an
e-book. If you craft with your toddler or preschooler, or you
want to, don't waste your time looking through free web
sites. Don't waste your money on craft books that will leave
you disappointed. Interested ? Learn
more here ...
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