Does Your Child Watch Too Much TV?

There was a time when homework was given first priority, and everything else followed. However, nowadays it seems that the only time children do their homework is when nothing good is coming on television or of course, when parents hang the Damocles' sword on their head. Television is affecting sleep, studies, mealtimes. If your child's favorite programme is on, she will only go to bed when it gets over. The 'trash' that might affect young, impressionable minds gives parents sleepless nights. So how would you tackle this problem?

1. Make it a Family Decision

If you tell your child "No watching television after 9:30 at night," you can be sure that's one rule that's not going to be adhered to. You should involve your child in the decision as well. Have a family meeting and say "There's a problem. How are 'we' going to solve it?"

2. Choices

Give your child the choice of programmes and timings. Sit with her while she makes a study plan and tell her that this plan will have to be adhered to. Let her choose for herself when she wants to study and when she wants to watch television. You will, however, have to hold her to it. The minute you slack off, so will your child.

3. Let Children Think for Themselves

Don't impose your opinions. Tease them into expressing their own. Ask them who they thought the 'bad guy' was, and why. There is an inbuilt moral lesson to be learn from most programmes, the bad guy never wins. Turn this to your advantage. Ask your children if they think it's fun to beat up someone, and what they thought was right and wrong.

4. A Critical Eye

While watching a movie you could pass comments on how unbelievable and unrealistic certain aspects of the plot are and you'll find plenty such aspects when watching a Hindi movie! This will help your children develop a critical eye and spot an absurdity when they come across it.

5. Educational Programs

Encourage your children to watch educational programs on television. They would only be interested in watching Discovery Channel and the like if you inculcate an interest in such channels. If a programme on bees is coming up, you could give your children some fascinating facts, perhaps show them a book or article on bees. This will build their interest.

6. Cartoons

Get your children a coloring book of their favorite cartoon characters. Encourage them to sketch these favorite characters. You never know what undiscovered creative talents are hiding behind their mischievous exteriors. The television need not be such an enemy if you know how to cope with it, and use it to your advantage.

Art As An Experience For Child

Art for most of us is the physical act of drawing and painting. On stretching our viewpoint beyond we will realize that it is much more. Art is an experience, an expression of one's inner self.

Most of us in our schools have been conditioned to a particular way of art. As a part of the ISP(Infant SSY Programme) course we have asked a number of Parents on several different occasions to draw 'a beautiful picture'. 95% of them have always drawn a similar picture comprising of mountains (having pointed peaks), the sun rising from between them (typically with alternating big and small rays), birds flying (drawn as the alphabet 'r'), a river flowing (from between two mountains), trees (more often coconut trees), some ducks or fish in the water. We were shocked to notice such a striking resemblance in most pictures.

The culprit here is our education system and the fact that we have all been trained to think in the same way. The art within us has thus died down making us more mechanical than expressive. In a similar manner when dealing with a child, 'expression painting' must score over 'object painting'. What we can do is give the child (even as young as 1 or 2 years) a blank sheet of paper whenever possible and ask him to draw on it, his feelings about a particular thing, situation or event. The smaller the child the bigger should be the paper.

As the child grows older he will be able to point on the paper and tell us what he has drawn. At this vital point of time it is very important for us Parents to remember not to discourage the child by correcting his drawings, passing remarks or giving suggestions. The visual effect of the drawing is immaterial, what he has expressed is only what matters.

In our curriculum the children are now well accustomed to this form of art and they come up with the most beautiful imaginations. Maximum possible right brain development is thus made possible giving the child an incredible opportunity to become more creative and artistic in the real sense of the words.

It is also very important that the child learns to differentiate between various shades of the same color such as scarlet red, crimson red etc. or turquoise blue, peacock blue etc. In order that this becomes possible expose your child to a range of colors at a very early age rather than only the 12 common colors obtained in every crayon box. We don't limit a child to coloring within boundaries. This activity creates unimaginable strain on him and brings in him a sense of tremendous binding.

Allow him to be free and color with crayons, in a manner suitable to him. Always remember that the child should be stress free and joyful. Freedom within will inevitably reflect freedom without. Coloring within boundaries will come to him naturally with age. So do not waste precious time and effort in teaching him the most obvious.

To develop the child's expression in art, I recommend that you keep one wall in your house free just for the child to freely paint or scribble. In each house there should be a wall painted black, serving as a black board too. 

                           

 - By Manoj Lekhi (Key Disciple of Guruji Rishi Prabhakar ji)  

Positive Parenting Techniques

Positive parenting techniques will help to build your child's self esteem and therefore build a strong foundation to their life. Here are a few practical ideas to help make your parenting more positive.

1.Set a Good Example

It is vital that we set a good example to our kids. They learn behaviour by copying the adults around them, especially their parents and carers, so we need to behave as we want them to behave.

2.Understand Your Child's Personality

It may be that you will need to modify your approach according to the personality of your child. Different types of personality will need different approaches. For example and child with a strong personality and very self-confident will need a different approach to the shy and timid child.

3.What's The Root Cause

Another of the great positive parenting techniques is to have an understanding of the root causes of common unwanted behaviors. It may be that certain behaviors are just a normal part of that stage of development, or it may be that there is something upsetting the child that is causing him to behave that way.

4.Give Time For Free Play

Free, child directed play is great for kids to be able to develop in so many areas. It helps them in their social development, negotiating with their friends in what and how to play. It helps them in their physical development, being active and using their bodies. It helps them in their emotional and cognitive development, they act out circumstances in their lives as a way of thinking through and understanding them.

Food And Your Child

When your child is small, one thing that most Parents are almost paranoid about is his diet or the food he eats. They are forever worried whether their child is eating enough, even if the child is eating well. Or whether the child is eating too much for his age!

Personally speaking, we haven't worried about our child's food. In the first place, we never got worried about the hygiene aspect, in the sense that if she dropped something she was eating and picked it up and put it in her mouth, it didn't worry us unduly. Our child has probably picked everything off the ground and eaten. I have always allowed it unless it was something, which could be poisonous. I never bothered about germs, because I know that the body automatically takes care of some germs that enter the body thus, making the body's immune system that much stronger.

When you are pregnant you must have lots of fruit so that you inculcate 'fruit-habit' in your child from that time itself. It's important for the mother and child to have fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts.

The quantity of food a child may eat depends upon his individuality and is different for each child. One needn't unnecessarily worry about the quantity the baby eats especially if he shows an optimum energy level. If your child has a medium to high energy level, is very bright and playful then there is no need to worry about any other parameters like his weight, height etc. As long as the child is healthy, strong and energetic, the child is eating well. But however, there is a cause for concern when your child is dull, listless and lacking in energy. Then you need to take some action (may be show him to a Doctor).

Another thing that worries most Parents is 'junk-food'. They are most upset when their child eats pre-packed potato chips, chocolates, sweets, ice creams etc. I would say that it's not such a bad idea to allow the child to have these in controlled, limited quantities every day, like a sweet or a piece of chocolate everyday than to suppress his craving, which may compel him do it on the sly, behind your back.

If your child is at an age where he has started understanding the days of the week, Monday to Sunday, then you can easily set up a timetable for him to fit-in such 'junk food', something different each day. Junk food is not all that bad. For generations we have all eaten some form or the other of junk food. So don't cut it out totally and immediately from your child's food-schedule. In fact, I would say a little bit of junk food is healthy food.

                            - By Manoj Lekhi (Key Disciple of Guruji Rishi Prabhakar ji)

Children's Social Skills

1. Be Polite and Kind

When children's are kind, courteous, and respectful, people enjoy being around them and reciprocate with the same behavior. Be polite to your child. If your child hands you something, say "thank you" to him. If you ask your child to do something, always preface it with a "please". Practice saying "please" and "thank you" with your child from a very young age. Those two simple terms will become a way of speaking for him. Manners need to be taught and teaching your children manners gives them "lifelong survival skills". For kids to develop values that essential to being courteous, they need to see those same qualities in people whom they respect, parents have the power to exert powerful positive influences.

2.  Join In and Play

It's fun to make friends and play with others, but it's not always easy to do. You have to make an effort, and you have to know the rules like ask before joining in, take turns, play fair, and be a good sport. Games help children experience how to lose, how to win and playing games with friends and parents gives them the support they need to still be willing to try again. Children who play with their parents develop broader social skills, especially when they play in a positive and peer-like manner. Children who play socially with same-age peers are at an advantage when they enter daycare and preschool. These advantages are increased when children maintain these social-relationships over the long term, thus making good friends.

3. Listen And Learn

The first few years of a child's life are key to the development of speech, language and cognitive skills. For this reason it is important to create activities and strategies that give them all the stimulation, positive role modeling and human contact that they need. For a normally developing child learning is easy and creating opportunities for learning is also not difficult. Through play and simple daily interactions and experiences we can help the child acquire new language and skills. Knowing how to listen is essential to learning, growing, and getting along with others. Simple words and inviting illustrations help children develop listening skills, understand why it's important to listen, and recognize the positive results of listening.

4. Respect and Take Care of Things

Everything has a place. Things last longer when we take care of them. Respect, responsibility, and stewardship are concepts that even young children can relate to because they have things they value. When children are first beginning to help out around the house it is important to focus on their effort, not how well the task is completed. Encourage the children's to pick up after themselves, put things back where they belong, ask permission to use things that don't belong to them. Kids can do a lot of chores at an early stage, including getting clothes to the laundry or cleaning up after dinner, put toys away, fill pet's food dish, put clothes in hamper, wipe up spills, pile books and magazines. 

Be An Active Parent

Being an active parent in your children's lives is extremely important because it helps teach them and shape them into the adults that they will sometimes be. Being an active parent doesn't have to feel like parenting. You can actually make parenting fun and follow this ways to do just that. 

1. Outdoor Activities

Doing outdoor activities with your children such as playing basketball, cricket, kickball, tennis, or football is being active with your children. If you and your children are not into sports, you could always go hiking, fishing, canoeing, bike riding or swimming. If you are looking for simple outdoor activities to do as a family try going for a picnic and playing at the park a few times a week.

2. Board Games

Get children away from those video games and play some fun board games with them at the dinning room table. Heck, even add some munching snacks along with game time. It is sure fine way of being active in your children's lives and having a bit of fun with them too.

3. Baking

Baking cookies, breads, pies, or pizzas can be fun for you and your children to do together. In addition, it helps them learn how to measure out things with measuring cups and how to bake. Eventually, all children do need some real life skills for when they are all grown up.

4. Chores

Now I know you think chores don't sound like a fun way of being an active parent, but taking the time out of the day as a family to clean up the house is one way of being an active family. It also helps teach your children responsibility and home to take care of their belongings.

5. Family Date Night

You and the family should pick one night out of the month or week to go out for a night on the town to grab some food and do some fun activities such as bowling, roller skating, or going to see a movie at a theater, It a great way to spend time with the family out of the house.

          Good Parenting Skills Can Be Learned

1. Availability

Be available for your child. Yes, these are hectic and busy times, but you should never be too busy for your child, especially when they need you. Do not only be available when they say they need you, because chances are high that they will not come right and say that. Offer yourself to them and let them know that you are available to them. Let them know that they are important to you, as they should be. Dedicate a reasonable amount of your time each day to spending it with them. That might even be just watching their favorite TV program with them or reading them a book or going for a short walk with them.

2. Appreciation

The most powerful drive towards good behavior in children is in being appreciated. When a child does well at something, express your appreciation for them. When they do something nice for you, show your appreciation for that. Everyone likes to be appreciated, and children are especially sensitive to this. Appreciation also helps them make that maturing determination of what is right and what is wrong, based on how appreciated they feel. The more you appreciate their good deeds, the more their behavior will be in line with what you want and expect.

3. Affection

All of us wants to be loved, especially children. They are constantly searching for ways in which they can be loved by you. You are their focal point and they want to please you by their very nature. You need to be aware that love is the basis and foundation of a lasting relationship.

4. Acceptance

Everyone wants to be accepted and children are no different. You should go out of your way to show they unconditional acceptance. This provides them with a level of self-worth and helps to keep their self-esteem level high. It also gives them a sense of security in the act of acceptance. If you as their parent cannot accept them, then nobody else will either, and they realize this.