Play Is Childhood Work
Through play, children develop into adults. That’s just the way it works. Children develop all of the important skills of life through play. Education gives them information, play is the way they apply that information to life.
Play is not just physical, and the purpose of play is not just pleasure, although play can be both physical and pleasurable. An active play life for a child includes the testing of and enhancement of his physical abilities (learning to climb, run, jump, etc.).
Play also includes learning about human interactions and relationships. The child learns such important life skills as communication, negotiation, and compromise when he is playing a game with other children.
Most friendships begin with play for children and even for adults. Think about how your own friendships develop — mutual interest and mutual pleasure (play) is key to the friendship growing and developing. The same is true for children.
Filed under child development, family, parenting advice, parenting information | Tags: Adult Standards, Boundaries, child, childhood, children, children at play, Compromise, creative ability, creativity, Enhancement, Friendships, human interactions, Imaginations, kid, kids, Mutual Interest, Mutual Pleasure, Negotiation, Pecking Order, Physical Abilities, Play Life, Playing A Game, purpose of play, Serious Business, Shapes | Comment (0)How to Teach a Child Good Morals
What can parents do to help their children be moral when the child lives in an obviously immoral world? The answer is “a lot.” Parents can do a great deal to help a child grow up to be a moral adult. Children are learning every waking minute. They are like thirsty little sponges who soak up information at an alarming rate.
“Morality” is subjective. The definition of moral behavior varies from culture to culture and even from person to person. According to the dictionary, morality is, “conformity to the rules of right conduct; moral or virtuous conduct.” The “rules of right conduct” is where differences lie when morality is discussed.
There’s an adage that says, “children learn what they live.” It’s true. Children are learning what is considered moral behavior in the world that they experience. If that experience is gained by sitting in front of a television set watching people kill one another and having sex whenever and with whomever they please or playing violent video games, that’s what the child will deem “moral behavior.”
Filed under family, parenting advice, parenting information | Tags: Adage, Adult Children, Alarming Rate, babies, Bottom Line, child, children, Conformity, Dictionary, good morals, Having Sex, moral behavior, Moral Compass, moral values, Morality, parenting, parenting babies, parents, Person To Person, raise a moral child, Right Direction, School Of Thought, Sponges, teach morals, True Children, Violent Video Games, Virtuous Conduct | Comment (0)How to Choose a Good Baby Sitter
Choosing someone to care for your most precious possession (your child) in your absence is a major decision and should not be entered into lightly. You know that you will take care of your children and keep them safe. Transferring that responsibility for your child’s very life into the hands of another person is absolutely terrifying for some of us.
First of all, where does one look for a baby sitter? Is the teenager who lives down the block responsible and mature enough to take care of your little one? Does she know CPR? Is she cool enough to handle a crisis?
The best way to find a competent baby sitter is to ask your friends. Ask the people with whom you attend church or those you know through civic organizations. If they have kids, they hire sitters from time to time, and they are the people who are in the best position to know who is a competent baby sitter and who is a better than just competent baby sitter.
Filed under family, parenting advice, parenting information, parenting problems | Tags: Absence, babies, baby sitter, baby sitting, babysitter, babysitting, child, children, Civic Organizations, Emergency Contact, Explicit Instructions, Face To Face, Interaction, kid, kids, Mature, mom, moms, parenting babies, parenting teens, Precious Possession, Teenager | Comment (0)Soothing Worries of Preschool Children
Humans, I’ve decided, are born with the ability to worry. Worry isn’t a behavior that needs to be learned. Worry is an innate ability of human beings. In a sense, worry is a self-preservation factor; if we didn’t worry about being run over by a car, we wouldn’t look both ways before crossing a street. There is, however, a big difference between prudent caution and unreasonable fear.
As parents, it’s our responsibility to help soothe the fears of our children. We want them to be prudently cautious and aware that dangers exist, but we don’t want them to be paralyzed with fear. Hitting that happy medium between teaching our children to be careful without being fearful requires patient consistency and it starts at birth.
Filed under child development, family, parenting advice, parenting information, parenting toddlers | Tags: birth, Brave Girl, Caution, child, children, Consistency, creativity, feeding, Goblins, Happy Medium, Human Beings, infant, infants, Innate Ability, Inner Fears, Little House, Maurice Sendak, parenting, parents, preschool, preschool age child, preschool children, preschooler, preschools, Self Preservation, toddler, toddlers, Unreasonable Fear, Virginia Lee Burton, Voices, worries | Comment (0)How to Buy Toddler Shoes
With so many styles to choose from, knowing how to buy toddler shoes can be a real challenge. The problem that many parents encounter is choosing between function versus style, practicality versus fun. After all, who wouldn’t want their little one to be most stylish toddler on the block? But sometimes fun styles can actually hurt your child’s feet and be more of a hindrance than a help as he takes his baby steps.
So what should you look for when buying your child a new pair of shoes? Here are some tips you might want to keep in mind:
- If you’re planning to bring your child to the store to try out several pairs of shoes, make sure that he is in a good mood. It’s probably a good idea to schedule this particular adventure just after a meal and a nap, and to make it the first thing you do when you hit the mall.
Filed under baby gifts, family, parenting information, parenting toddlers | Tags: Baby Steps, Blisters On The Feet, Buy Shoes, buy shoes for toddler, buy toddler shoes, Encounter, Foot Problems, Footwear, Good Mood, Hindrance, how to buy toddler shoes, Nap, New Pair Of Shoes, Pairs, Practicality, Rapid Rate, Salespeople, Sanity, Shoe Store, Shoelaces, shoes for toddlers, toddler infant shoes, Toddler Shoes, Toes, Velcro Fasteners, where to buy toddler shoes | Comment (0)How to Announce a Pregnancy with Style
You’ve just had your suspicions confirmed that you really are going to have a baby, and now your thoughts turn to how to announce a pregnancy to your husband, mother and everyone else. After all, just saying “Hey, guess what?” isn’t very creative or stylish, is it? Try one of the suggestions below, or give some thought to it to come up with a unique twist of your own.
The first person you should be telling of the joyous news is the father, of course. You could try making a lovely dinner with candles lit and perhaps some romantic music softly playing. Bring out the wine glasses and pour him a glass of wine, then pick up your empty glass to toast. Tell him that you can’t have wine in your condition and watch his eyes as the news sinks in. Don’t be surprised if you get swept up into his arms at that point–-with dinner completely forgotten!
Filed under pregnancy | Tags: announce pregnancy, announce pregnancy ideas, announcement pregnancy, announcing pregnancy, Arrow, Balloon, Bouquet, Bun In The Oven, Candles, creative announce pregnancy, Cute Sayings, Empty Glass, First Person, Football Game, fun ways to announce pregnancy, Glass Of Wine, Grandchildren, Having A Baby, how to announce a pregnancy, how to announce pregnancy, Maternity, Robe, Romantic Music, Sinks, Sports Nut, Suspicions, T Shirt, way to announce pregnancy, ways announce pregnancy, ways to announce pregnancy, Wine Glasses | Comment (0)Fun Ways to Teach Children That They Won’t Suspect
As parents, we are always looking for fun ways to teach children the things they need to learn. From the time they start to walk and become more independent, there is so very much they need to know. It is our job to teach them so many things, but it isn’t always easy to know exactly how to teach them. Simply repeating things isn’t going to cut it–they’ll just begin to tune us out as much as we do when they beg for something after we’ve said no. The key is to find ways of teaching them things without them knowing that’s what we are doing.
So how do we do that, you ask?
Filed under parenting advice, parenting information | Tags: All Sorts, best ways to teach children, Clue, Colors, Creative, creative ways to teach children, Descriptive Words, different ways to teach children, Fun Activities, Fun Kids, fun ways to teach children, Green Trees, Incorporate, Job, Many Things, parents, Purple Flowers, Socks, Spending Time, Teaching Toddlers, ways teach children, ways to teach children | Comment (0)Children Are Not Just Small Versions of the Parents
Two musically gifted parents can produce a child that can’t “carry a tune in a bucket.” Two artistically inclined people can conceive a child that can’t draw a straight line with a ruler.
Children are not just small versions of their parents. Children are individuals, and parents who insist on forcing their own likes, dislikes, interests, and abilities on their children are making a huge mistake. They are robbing the child by denying him the room to grow into who he really is, and they are robbing themselves of making that amazing journey with their child.
The pressure applied by parents on their children to become younger versions of themselves begins early on. The grandmother says that the child’s daddy could sit alone by the time he was four months old, so the child’s parents being pressuring the child to live up to that standard — and it never stops for some children.
Filed under child development, family, parenting advice, parenting information | Tags: Adult, Amazing Journey, child, childhood, children, dad, Early Childhood, Four Months, gifted parents, grandmother, Harvard, High School Cheerleader, Likes Dislikes, Mistake, mom, moms, Opportunity, parenting, parents, parents and children, Ruler, Sit, Straight Line | Comment (0)How to Choose the Right Preschool
There are hundreds of preschool choices out there. Parents can easily feel completely overwhelmed when it comes time to choose a preschool for their youngsters.
The very first thing that parents can do in the process of choosing a preschool for their child is to talk to their friends, neighbors, and relatives about the preschool choices in the area. You can find out about the experience that other children have had in the various preschools.
The second thing that parents can do when they are trying to choose a preschool for their child is to get a list of all of the available preschools in their area. This list is readily available online. The National Association for Early Childhood Education, or NAEYC, compiles the list, and it is updated regularly. The NAEYC is a nonprofit organization.
Filed under child development, family, parenting advice, parenting information | Tags: Best Fit, child, childhood, children, Choices, choose a preschool, early childhood education, early childhood learning, Early Education, family, Friends And Family, Naeyc, National Education, Neighbors, Nonprofit Organization, parenting, parents, Perspective Students, Philosophies, preschool, preschooler, preschools, Red Flag, Relatives, Teaching Methods, Youngsters | Comment (0)How to Find a Good Pediatrician
There was a time when the doctor who delivered a baby became the baby’s doctor automatically. Of course, that was long, long ago. Today, medicine has become highly specialized. One doctor, called an obstetrician, will care for the mother during pregnancy and deliver the baby, but when the baby is born, the parents must have chosen a pediatrician to care for the infant.
I suppose you could, but it doesn’t seem like a very wise idea to simply choose a pediatrician out of the yellow pages of your local telephone directory. You really want to be certain that the pediatrician’s ideas of child care are compatible with your own philosophy. It’s also important that the parents are comfortable with the pediatrician and can communicate with him or her freely.
Filed under family, parenting advice, parenting information, pregnancy | Tags: babies, Baby Born, child, child care, children, Credentials, Doctor Who, Friends, how to find a good pediatrician, infant, infants, Judgment, Local Telephone, Lot, Matter Of Fact, medicine, Obstetrician, parenting, parenting babies, parents, Philosophy, pregnancy, Relatives, Telephone Directory, Wise Idea, Yellow Pages | Comment (0)
