The topic has been debated over and over. Many schools of thought exist on the matter – what’s the best way to prepare your child for school? What is the best strategy for ensuring your child is an achiever (mind you: not an overachiever, nor a blatantly gifted underachiever, but one who will fully realize their potential?). Many argue in favor of appreciating your child’s every effort, irrespective of its actual, objective value. Others insist that this is a very wrong way to go about, as it will only promote a sense of entitlement in the child. Where is the truth? What is the best solution for making sure that your child does the best they can? Here are some useful, tested and true, tips and pointers.

Encourage Effort

What you need to bear in mind on this rather delicate matter is that you don’t want your child to feel stifled and compelled to perform. If you’re familiar with the concept of the “stage mom,” then you surely know what a parent obsessed with achievement looks like. You do not want to be that parent. You want to be a parent that rewards pro-active behavior and appreciates the child’s effort to its just value. A child who will work for four hours on his or her math homework is very likely to develop an understandable adversity to this subject. Avoid the situation in which your child harbors negative feelings by making sure they are aware you understand, support and encourage their effort.

Heredity is Nothing

One of the worst things you can do as a parent who wants to raise a self-sufficient, functional adult, is to tell them they were born a certain way. It doesn’t matter if you tell them that those traits are negative (“You are lazy/messy/stubborn like your dad”) or positive (“You were born with a good ear for music.”) A child who is told they were born a certain way will eventually come to take those traits for granted and not do anything about them. They will stop attempting to compensate for any shortcomings in personality and they will no longer work at honing a certain set of skills.

Don’t Buy into the Bogus

If you’re inclined to take a slightly more esoteric approach to life, do not apply the same principles to your child. It doesn’t matter if they’re a Capricorn, Scorpio, Sagittarius or whatever else. Fortune tellers don’t work. If you choose to use such methods, make sure you use them as good, clean fun. You should never tell your child that they were born a certain way (stubborn, messy, lazy) and that there is nothing they can do about it. Horoscopes are lots of fun for adults, but they are not necessarily appropriate tools for self-exploration for children. Sure, they can learn the names of the signs. A balanced approach, with both the positives and negatives of all signs, will also work. What you need to do, though, is to encourage open communication and conversations instead.

The article was provided and written by Paul Estcott. Paul also owns and operates the site http://www.horoscopes.org.uk/

Photo: flickr.com/photos/tiffany1985/2466611459/

Introducing your child to the concept of doing chores can sometimes be a little tricky. At what age should you start asking your kids to help out around the house and how do you deal with the “I don’t want to” tantrums?

In my experience the earlier you can encourage your children to be helpful the easier it will be in the future.

For example asking a child to put a yogurt pot in the trash after they have eaten it will help them to understand what the trash can is there for and what they do with rubbish. You will find that at the age of about 1 ½ to 2 years old they actually enjoy doing tasks like this.

Another example would be encouraging them to put their toys back into the toy box when they have finished playing with them. You can try and make the packing away process fun by telling them that they need to put their toys to bed and encouraging them to say goodnight. It may take your child some time to put away each toy and as parents it is much quicker for us to do it, but getting them to do it themselves will pay dividends in the future.

Your child will watch you complete everyday tasks and you will probably find that they want to help. This should be encouraged and you could even buy them some ‘house’ themed toys such as a dustpan and brush which they can use to ‘help’ you.

It can be a bit more difficult with children who are around the ages 3 to 4 as they have probably learned to say no and be a little more independent. One of the key things that you should do is make the chores as fun as possible and adopt some kind of reward system. Get them to help brush down the table or dry the (plastic) pots with a children’s themed tea towel that will be fun for them to use. Stick a brightly colored star chart on the fridge and give them shiny stars every time they complete a chore. A reward could be a special desert, something exciting that they wouldn’t normally have.

If you can instil the principles of helpfulness into a child when they are young then they will carry through to adult hood. Even the best of children will have days where they are over tired and the simplest of requests can turn into a huge headache. It’s all part of parenting!

This article was written by Vicky Dean. Vicky works with the site http://www.stuartmorris.co.uk She enjoys writing about all things parenting related especially school and school fundraising ideas.

 Photo: flickr.com/photos/theloushe/4908427309/

Stopping tantrums, bridging gaps and building relationships

Every mommy is a super mommy to someone, and daddy wears a hero badge from the moment of baby’s birth. So what super powers do parents pack in their diaper bags these days? From pacifiers to band-aids, burp cloths to blankie’s there are always those tools parents can’t be without.

Sign language for babies is such a tool and with great free resources online, there is no need to make room next to the sippy cup in the diaper bag to fit a reference guide.

Signing for babies is only one means of expression. But when their speech is still months in the future and the need to communicate is here, BSL is a much preferred means of expression when compared to the tears, screams and other attention-grabbing alternatives. It is tempting to label a tantrum as an unreasonable reaction, but can you think of many situations more frustrating than having a need, want or opinion and lacking the ability to communicate it? And then how much more frustrating to have someone guess incorrectly and offer up something you don’t need or want.

Sign language bridges the gap between baby’s development of opinions and development of speech. Without delaying verbalization, it encourages babies to start building their vocabulary and exploring communication with their parents and caregivers much earlier and much, much more constructively.

In relationships, we have all heard that “communication is key” and the same is true between parent and baby. Teaching your baby to sign is a fun and bonding experience. How wonderful to know what baby is thinking! And while it may start with signing a request for milk, before long baby will be asking you to play, to read a book or even to stop and smell the flowers.

Super babies everywhere are surprising parents with their early expression and understanding of language, improved fine motor skills and reduced fussiness. And super parents everywhere are toning down the terrible twos!

Go to www.babysignlanguage.com to download baby sign language flash cards and hundreds of other free resources.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/sisma/2397817639/

When your little ones run in from the great outdoors, covered in mud, you know that they’ve been having a good time. One of the best parts of being a kid is getting messy, but it’s important that they know about getting clean!

The most common way in which germs are spread is through unclean hands, causing illnesses such as colds, flues and tummy bugs as well as much more scary infections, like MRSA or meningitis. As a parent, it’s hard enough to watch your kids suffering, let alone knowing that they’re missing out on valuable work and play at school.

So many illnesses are preventable, and the single most important thing you can do to protect your family and yourself is proper hand washing with soap and warm water.

Little (and big!) hands should always be washed properly before:

• Eating or touching food

• Visiting a sick person or hospital ward

And after:

• Going to the bathroom

• Playing outside

• Petting or handling animals (this includes Rover and other pets!)

• Blowing your nose/coughing/sneezing

• Visiting a sick person or hospital ward

• Touching anything icky, of course!

Mommy and daddy should also remember to wash up:

• Before and after touching a cut/wound/burn

• After touching raw food, particularly meat or fish

• After changing a diaper

• After taking out the garbage

• After smoking.

Proper hand-washing is an essential activity that is all too often neglected, both by kids and grown-ups. We all know that our kids want to be like mom and dad, so now is the prime time to lead by example, encouraging little people both at home and in school in the pursuit of good hand hygiene.

The best way to teach anything to young children is to make it fun, but it also helps to keep it informative and have correct answers to any questions you are bound to be asked. Visit Wash-Hands.com for useful background info and facts about the importance of hand-washing.

Here are some tips for both kids and parents to get scrubbing:

• Use some fun soaps and scrubbers. If your child has his or her own hand washing kit to use, it will make the process seem more exciting and grown-up.

• Wash your hands while your child watches, demonstrating the correct technique and explaining what you are doing carefully, not overloading the little ones with facts.

• Teach children to sing a song while they wash their hands, so they know they’ve spent enough time to clean their hands thoroughly. The correct hand washing procedure should take at least fifteen seconds. To start you off, this is the amount of time it takes to sing the happy birthday song twice. See what you can make up together!

• Make a hand washing chart, encouraging your child to see how many squares she or he can fill in.

• Visit Wash-Hands.com for free and fun printable posters and activities which teach the proper steps for hand washing and can be used at home and in schools. Featuring Sammy Soap and The Clean Team, the resources feature the necessary fight against nasty germs, encouraging kids to join in too!

Kids might not initially understand why it’s so important to wash their hands, so be sure to talk to them about it. You could maybe tell them a story about touching something dirty and washing your hands afterwards and what might have happened if you hadn’t done so. Try and bring hand washing into conversations to reinforce its importance, and before you know it, they’ll be spreading the message rather than germs!

The Give Soap A Chance campaign seeks to encourage good hand hygiene in kids and grownups alike. For more information, tips and resources about hand washing and its vital importance for preventing infectious illness, visit Wash-Hands.com.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/nicktakespics/3227330677

by Patrick Mickz
If your children are school age, then you know exactly what happens over the summer. They slack off. They run around with friends, play video games, and sleep late. There’s nothing technically wrong with this. I mean, we all did it when we were kids, so why shouldn’t our children enjoy the same privilege?

The truth is, when they go back to school in the fall, they will have failed to retain much of the information they stored up during the school year, making it harder for them to move on to new material. In addition, the complete lack of a structured schedule may make them antsy for a return to the carefree days of summer. So what can you do to keep your child on track with their studies while still allowing them a fun-filled summer?
The simple answer is games.

Games are fun, every kid knows that! What they don’t know, is that games can also be educational. They may not see the academic value of Monopoly or Scrabble, but you know that by playing these old-school board games, they are practicing counting, spelling, and vocabulary. And while flash cards or bingo boards may tip them off that learning is in progress, they can still have a lot of fun with these simple memory games.
Board games really only touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to educational games. There is a whole world of websites devoted to teaching kids in fun and exciting ways.

From math and science to history and geography to spelling, grammar, and punctuation, there are games to teach your children and test their knowledge. And while only a few sites offer organization by grade or age range, a targeted Google search for educational games+(your child’s)age/grade can take you to sites specifically tailored to the needs of a 5th grader, for example, or an 8-year-old. No muss, no fuss, and your child is unlikely to complain that you’re “making” them play computer games.

And it doesn’t end there. If you’re one of the many parents who has given in and allowed your child a handheld device (whether it’s a cell phone, an iPod, or a Nintendo DS), there are educational games to be had.
While most gadgets devoted to handheld gaming are not geared towards education, Nintendo does offer the Brain Age series. And cell phones feature modern revamps of standard classics like Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.

However, the real gem in the handheld diadem is the ever expanding world of Apple products. Whether your child has an iPod, iPhone, or iPad, they can take advantage of the many educational games available on the iTunes store. In fact, there are so many, you may have to do a bit of slogging to find something that fits your needs. The bonus of handheld is that it is entirely portable, so long road trips are a snap.

In any case, it only takes a little time and effort to find the games that will engage your kids in learning (or in some cases, trick them into it) and it’s worth it to ensure that they continue to learn throughout the summer. And who knows, they may even become enamored with the wide world of educational gaming. At the very least, you can help them to retain their stored knowledge and return to school in the right mindset to resume their studies.

Patrick Mickz is an avid Bingo Player and he enjoys playing fun and educational games. You can visit his site Printable Bingo Cards.

7 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Vegetables is a post from: Advice4Parenting.com a Parenting Blog

Vegetables and fruits are some of the most important components of a meal, starting from childhood and going all the way up to adulthood. The important amounts of vitamins, minerals and protein they feature are no secret for adults, and their effects they have on health are never to be ignored. But children do not know that, so they need to be taught, repeated, pushed and encouraged to eat their vegetables every day. There are many ways to achieve this, just browse through this article and pick up a few hints on how to transform your child from a veggie-hater to a “veggie-nator”.

So how do you get your kids to eat vegetables? Here are 7 sneaky and not-so-sneaky ways!

1: Add dip to raw vegetables. Allow your child to add a little dressing to their veggies; they are definitely going to change the way they feel about those colorful pieces of beans or cauliflower they always hated. Just make sure you pick a dressing that doesn’t contain a lot of chemicals and additives in it – opt for the organic versions of these dressings.

2: Encourage them to eat their veggies raw. Getting your kids to eat their vegetables can prove to be a lot simpler than you thought. Just leave pieces of freshly cut veggies on the kitchen counter and be amazed to see their reaction. They are definitely going to enjoy eating their green, white or yellow and red veggies – just like candy.

3: Add veggies to your soup. If a child has a favorite soup he loves eating, he’s never going to know the difference in taste once you chop some really small pieces of vegetables he doesn’t particularly enjoy. All the veggies will melt soon enough into the soup and your kid won’t even suspect he just had his least favorite veggie.

4: Encourage them to plant their own vegetables. Owning a garden can mean the end of your long battle. Just teach your child how to plant vegetables and he or she is most certainly going to be eating their own crop in no time. As long as all the veggies are the organic-type, you can rest assured your kid won’t be able to resist eating their carrots or tomatoes right from the ground.

5: Roast their least favorite vegetables. This can make a huge difference in term of taste. If your child has one or several veggies he’s not exactly fond of, make sure you roast them before serving them – he’s going to love their special crispy taste.

6: Add cheese or butter to them. There is no problem in adding a bit of butter or cheese to your child’s veggies. They both contain calcium, which is also good for their bone structure. So bring a smile to your child’s face and let him serve his veggies with some cheese topping – he’s going to really enjoy them.

7: Have them chop their own veggies. Another great solution to this burning matter is to encourage your child to chop the veggies on their own, or at least wash them and prepare them to be chopped. They’re going to love to feel important and their veggies are definitely going to look a lot tastier knowing they are the ones who chopped or prepared them.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/matupplevelser/4643773705/

How to Kick-start Your Child’s Time Management Skills is a post from: Advice4Parenting.com a Parenting Blog

For many children, the hardest part of studying or completing homework is simply making time to do it.

It’s far too easy to delay studying or doing homework when the pressure isn’t on. This is why so many students leave assignments and study until the last minute – they don’t start until they have to. Consistently successful students understand that good grades come from efficient time management all through the year, not just when the pressure of exams is weighing on them.

Time management skills will become increasingly important as your child advances through school, and a necessity during their college years. By helping to train your child in the art of organizing their time, you will ensure they’ll be much more likely to complete their homework on time and do more than enough studying for their exams.

Setting aside regular time to study is essential.

When your child sets aside time to study in advance, it’s like he’s already decided that he will do the work. It’s like going for a run – the hardest part is just deciding to do it in the first place!

If your child has an afternoon free, with no plans or commitments, it’s going to take quite a lot of motivation to move him from the couch to the desk. On the other hand, if your child has already decided that he is going to spend an hour on schoolwork, he will have to change his mind (and schedule) if he wants to procrastinate.

We are all creatures of habit. We generally want to know what’s happening, and when. If your child knows what’s coming, he’ll fear it less. If he knows beforehand that he spends an hour each day from 4 till 5 on schoolwork he’ll be more likely to sit down and do it.

Help your child set aside time with a study timetable.

A study timetable will give your child a schedule that he can stick to. Once it’s written down he can visualize when he’s going to do his schoolwork. Putting it in writing makes it official.

You can start by making a simple chart that just maps the hours available after school and in weekends. First, block out all the time that your child has other activities or will be busy.

Your child’s workload will depend on his age, the classes he’s taking, and the teachers that he has, meaning the number of study hours required per week needs to be calculated on an individual basis.

Next, sit down with your child and get him to show you how he would like to spread these hours out. It’s very important that it’s not the other way around! Letting your child have a say in when he’ll do schoolwork (given it’s a sensible say!) gives him a positive feeling of ownership, and in turn he will feel more committed to his plan.

Finally, an expert tip.

Once your child has made his study timetable, get him to stick it on his bedroom door for everyone to see.
This way everyone knows when your child should be studying. It gives him a sense of responsibility and will compel him to stick to it!

The Study Gurus are Clare McIlwraith and Chris Whittington. Their aim is to show parents how they can help their children reach their academic potential. They’re sharing their years of studying and tutoring experience at www.thestudygurus.com.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/wwworks/4274040778

Science is everywhere, from the air we breathe to the food we eat to the electricity that powers just about everything in our homes. So why is it sometimes so hard to get our kids excited about it? The key to getting kids interested in science is to make it entertaining and relevant. Are your children interested in spy and detective work? Do their ears perk up when they hear about something gross? Try one of these amazing experiments to get them engrossed in exploring the wonders of science:

Invisible Ink: You’ll need half a lemon, water, a cotton swab, white paper and a lamp or light source. Squeeze some lemon juice into a bowl and add a few drops of water. Mix the water and lemon juice with a spoon. Then dip the cotton swab into the mixture and write a secret message onto the white paper. Wait for the juice to dry so it becomes completely invisible. Kids can decode the message by holding the paper close to the heat of the lamp. So how does it work? Lemon juice is an organic substance that oxidizes and turns brown when heated. Diluting the lemon juice in water makes it hard to notice when applied to paper until it is heated and the secret message is revealed.

Fake Snot: For this experiment you’ll need boiling water, gelatin, corn syrup a fork—and a strong stomach! Fill a mug halfway with boiling water. Add three teaspoons of gelatin to the boiling water and let it soften a bit before stirring with a fork. Add a quarter cup of corn syrup and stir the mixture again. As the mixture cools, slowly add more water. Then check out the long strands of gunk that have formed! Yuck! Since mucus is made mostly of sugars and protein (found in the gelatin and corn syrup), that is all you need to make fake snot. The long, fine strings you see inside your fake snot are protein strands. Protein strands make real snot sticky and stretchable, to protect the inside of your nose and help collect germs.

Egg-xperiment: All you need for this experiment are two eggs, one hard-boiled and one raw. Make sure both are around room temperature. Spin the eggs and watch what happens: one egg should spin while the other wobbles. But which egg does what? The raw egg’s center of gravity changes as the fluid white and yolk move around inside the shell, causing the wobbling motion. And if you try to touch the shell to stop it, the egg continues moving due to inertia (the same type of force you feel when you stop suddenly in a car—your body wants to keep going even after the car stops). The hard-boiled egg stops much faster, since it is one solid mass. Test your friends and family and see if they can tell the difference!

Once kids understand the role that science plays in their everyday lives, they won’t look at it as learning—they’ll just look at it as fun!

Author Bio: Erin is a writer for the MindWare blog and resides in Bloomington, Minnesota. MindWare is a company that offers educational toys for kids that promote brainy thinking and family fun! Erin loves cooking and movies and is expecting her first child in a few months.

One of the most important things to teach your children apart from how to read and write is to teach them about diet and nutrition. While Celebrity Chef, Jamie Oliver, may be targeting schools to raise the number of quality lunches provided to school children, the truth is that good diet and nutrition all start at home.

So the question really is, how do you teach your kids about having a healthy diet?

Here are 4 tips on teaching children about nutrition:

Easy Access

This gives a new meaning to ‘fast food’. Make fresh and nutritious foods for them that are easy to reach. Consider serving sizes and prepackaged healthy snacks in clear sandwich bags. Keep raw vegetables kept at their eye level, tempt them with already washed fruits in a bowl or cut them up into bite sized pieces in the fridge which are ready to eat. Pack healthy snack packs such as raisins and other dried fruit, as well as whole grain and rice crackers.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Children often mimic their parents, especially at such a young age. If you are seen enjoying healthy food, then your children will most likely copy what you eat. As you provide a positive role model on the value of having good nutrition, eventually your children will see that good food choices daily equates to health and happiness. However, do not expect your child to like all the foods that you like to eat. Sometimes peer pressure from kids that you know that enjoy eating healthy food can make them eat that particular food.

Positive Dining Environment

Creating a positive and pleasant dining environment that is not rush can assist in helping your children enjoy eating healthy foods. All meal times should be happy times. Relaxing music, fun conversation, and more can set  the mood. Any discipline, criticism, or eating while the television is switched on is always going to lead to poor appetites. Setting the stage to create a great mood is important.

Always involve your children in the meal planning process, as they can pick themes like Italian or Mexican. Children can make table decorations or make special name tags to make it a special occasion. Special dishes such as paper plates to make a picnic-like atmosphere or even nice plates can be used. As you involve your children in the meal planning process and give them choices, they will find meal times exciting and will have a good attitude towards eating.

Positive Reinforcement

Reinforcing positive behavior has always been an effective technique, and providing praise with good eating habitats will create long lasting effects. Praise your children for making healthy food choices. Do not nag or scold for poor choices. However, avoid praising your child for eating the amount eaten, as this will lead to overeating and possibly obesity. Good statements include “I’m so proud that you are making good food choices that can help you to grow strong and healthy, and be smart!” or “Yum, those fruits and vegetables are delicious!”

Photo: flickr.com/photos/36933654@N00/5106245242/

How to prepare for kindergarten is a post from: Advice4Parenting.com a Parenting Blog

One of the milestones in a parent’s and child’s life is beginning kindergarten. While some kids simply cannot wait to start, others will be sad to separate from their parents and not want to go to kindergarten. At kindergarten, children learn more about communication and social skills rather than the alphabet and numbers. As a result, the best way to prepare your child for his or her kindergarten life is to focus on helping your child learn to cooperate, play with and talk to others, as well as following directions.

Here are some great tips to help your child prepare for their kindergarten life:

Social Life

During most of your child’s kindergarten life, he or she will interact with other children, learning how to share toys or collaborate on various projects. As a result, your child will need to learn how to be comfortable working in a group. If your child has not been enrolled into preschool before or simply is not adept to social interaction, then consider enrolling him or her in a group class like dancing, gymnastics, or pee wee tennis. A part-time summer camp program can also help.

Self-Awareness

Other than learning to healthily interact with others, your child should learn more about themselves. This includes basic information such as their name, address, phone number, age, and naming their various body parts. If memorization is difficult for your child, then you can come up with a fun song to help him or her remember the information.

Improve Motor Skills

An important part of childhood education is developing their motor skills so they can be quick and nimble. This is necessary even before your child learns how to write their name. While motor skills can be developed during playtime, it is also important to give them small jobs around the house that use your child’s fingers and arms such as tying shoelaces, opening mail, and stirring batter. With Bob the Builder being a popular cartoon, you can also buy a kid-sized tool-set to ‘help’ with small repairs around the house.

Expand their Mind

Start teaching your child about letters and numbers that are part of your daily life in an informal way. For example, you can play a “count the number of items in a grocery bag” game or a game where your child has to identify what parts of the house starts with a particular letter or color.

Word Play

Literacy is an important part of any person’s skills. Try reading to your child throughout the day, and eventually try and encourage your child to make up a story whilst looking at photos or pictures.

School Tour

Finally, before your child starts kindergarten, make sure that she or he visits the kindergarten building. There are many formal orientations and informal ones can also be arranged. You can also take your child to play at the school playground after school hours or on the weekends.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/greenlightforgirls/4947932858/