Parenting Help for Inspiring Your Children

Everyone in the world has hopes and dreams which they would like to see to fruition. This is also true of very young children. By motivating your children and inspiring to achieve their goals, you teach your kids to be go-getters and not settlers. By motivating and inspiring your kids, you will also create a stronger child parent relationship that will stand the test of time.

Believe in the Books

Reading with your children is a great way to spend quality time together and enhance the parent children relationship too. A goodparenting tip for using books to inspire your child is to find the right age appropriate books to motivate your child.

There are many inspiring books available, even picture books for little ones. Experts in the field of parenting help suggest books such as “The Little Engine That Could” and “The Fox and the Mountain” for tots. Your local librarian will be happy to help you find great books to motivate your kids. The important thing is that you spend the time to read the books to your kids. Working parents will need to set aside a bit of time to do this but the results will be worth your time and effort.

Feed the Body and the Soul

No person in the world cannot stress enough the importance of mealtime as a family. Dinnertime is a great opportunity to talk to each other in a relaxed atmosphere and work on your child parentrelationship. Children are more apt to discuss their current hopes and dreams over the dinner table than at any other time. It is especially important for working parents to sit down to dinner with their kids. This shows them that although the parents are busy people, they will always have the time to talk with their kids.

Back to Basics

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that kids enjoy playing outdoors and embracing all that our natural environment has to offer. Nature tends to inspire creativity in young children. A simple picnic in the park, walk in the woods or even camping out in the backyard can motivate your child and inspire him in a variety of ways. You can encourage him to draw pictures of the outing, sing a song about it or for the older kids, write a story or poem about the experience. Creativity is essential to inspiring children to reach for the stars.

The Dream Wheel

Every child should have a dream wheel to use as a guide for accomplishing their goals. The wheel could have small and easy goals such as learning to tie shoes, being able to write his own name or more difficult ones such as learn to ride a horse or build a model car. The point of the dream wheel is that the child can learn to set his own goals and work toward achieving them. Of course, you will need to make the time to assist them in attaining their goals but this time will help to improve the parent children relationship as well.

Videos Mean Victory

Another great parenting tool to motivate children is the use of motivational videos. Motivational videos convey important messages using powerful images and simple texts. You can read children quotes or watch a motivating video daily with your children and inspire them to follow their dreams.

Wisdom for Raising Kids to Be Eco-friendly

It is essential for everyone to be good stewards of the Earth so that future generations will be able to live and enjoy it. It is important for children and adults to respect the planet and its wildlife, and learn how to preserve it. In the wise words of Henry David Thoreau, “What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?” Those words of wisdom are very true. If we weren’t parenting children to take care of the Earth, the human race as well as all living things here would cease to exist.

The Three Rs

Years ago, the three Rs referred to reading, writing and arithmetic. Nowadays, the three Rs are to reduce, reuse and recycle. Children in kindergarten are taught about recycling in the classroom, but you can start teaching about it even before your child goes to school. It is never too early to be raising children to be eco-friendly stewards.

You should always have a separate container for recycling in your kitchen. Many people will put a recycling bin in the pantry or in the garage so that it is out of the way. Anyone who is raising kids knows that if something is out of sight, it will be out of mind and go unused. Always remind your child about the items that can be recycled. This will consistently instill proper recycling in their day-to-day life.

Neighborhood Cleanup

Many communities have begun programs for neighborhood beautification and cleanup. Litter not only makes our communities look less appealing, but also harms the environment. Nobody likes litterbugs, so we all should be parenting children who are conscientious about keeping their neighborhoods and the planet clean. A few hours spent cleaning up litter will also strengthen child-parentrelationships, because you will both be working together toward the same goal.

Become a Gardener

Most kids absolutely love to garden. Simply digging in the dirt just feels really great and natural to them. You should encourage children to plant trees, flowers and foliage. Trees and other plants help to clean the air that we all pollute. The time that you spend gardening with your kids can improve parent children relationship and increase the bond that you have with one another.

Organic fruit and vegetable gardening is also good for the earth. Raising kids to be aware of the pesticides and other chemicals in their food will help them to lead a healthier life while being good stewards of the earth. Children really enjoy watching things that they planted grow and produce delicious foods. Working together and growing food for the family is a great way to spend quality time and develop your child-parent relationships.

Save on Fossil Fuels

We all know that fossil fuels are slowly killing our environment and planet. Cutting down on your fossil fuel usage is not only good for the Earth, but for your pocketbook as well. Those who live in areas that have public transportation should be raising kids to embrace this energy conscious and budget friendly transportation.

People who heat their homes with oil can be eco-friendly by turning their thermostats down a little bit. Raising kids in the freezing cold isn’t a good idea, but simply by having your children wear sweaters in the house can make a big difference in your oil usage. A nice fire in the fireplace can make a chilly night into a warm and toasty family time. What's more enjoyable than gathering by the fire and enjoying family time together.

Raising Children to Excel in School

It also means starting them off early in life so that they will enjoy learning new things

Many kids appear to be natural scholars and get good grades from the first day they walk into the classroom. Many parents are raising children to understand how important their education is to their futures. Being a parent doesn’t simply mean raising children anymore. It also means starting them off early in life so that they will enjoy learning new things. These helpful tips for parents will have your kids on the honor roll in no time.

Preparing Your Kids for Kindergarten

For many kids, kindergarten is their first introduction to any type of real education. One of the most important tips for parents raising children who are between three and five years old is to start teaching them early. Simply by teaching your little one the alphabet will help him when he enters kindergarten. It would be much better if he could sound out and recognize simple words.

Singing the alphabet song will familiarize your child with the names of the letters; however, he will also need to recognize the letters and learn the sounds that they make. This is a prerequisite to reading. If your child understands the sounds, you should be able to teach him to read simple words even before it’s time for kindergarten.

Raising Children in Elementary School

The big problem with parenting children who are in elementary schools seems to be homework. After a long day at school, very few children want to go home and do more work. You should allow your child some down time after school. Your children will need to relax after sitting at a desk all day. By allowing them to play for a while and have a snack, they will be recharged and able to do their homework.

Some parents who are raising children in elementary school have problems getting their children to do their homework. Quite a few even say that their kids said that they don’t have homework when they truly do. This lying is not only morally wrong, but will cause the child to get poor grades in school.

Always send your child to school with a small notebook. Tell your child that he must write down all of his homework in that notebook. It is also wise to have the child ask the teacher to sign the homework page each day, even if there is no homework. This will ensure you that your child is telling the truth. Raising children to be truthful is just as important as raising them to be good scholars.

Other Tips for Parents

Beinga parent who is active in their kids’ lives is very important. It shows that you really care for your kids and want what is best for them. Raising children who are well adjusted will help them throughout their lives. Give them every opportunity that you can so that they experience as much as possible.

Museums and Discovery Centers are great excursions while raising children to enjoy learning new things. You can visit hands-on children’s museums and centers, as they are more apt to hold the kids’ attention. Visiting these types of places helps parents raising children of all ages embrace education.

Educational vacations are always great when raising children. Sure, a trip to Disneyworld is awesome, but there are few things that the child will learn. You should always spend at least one day doing educational things while on vacation. This could include the zoo, historic buildings or monuments and even places like SeaWorld. Education doesn’t need to be boring when you are raising children.

Military Parenting Help

Military families go through a lot when one of the parents is deployed overseas.  This can create a major strain on the spouse that is left behind to handle raising the children.  Not only does the spouse need to do everything for the kids alone, but also has to deal with the worries that their spouse could be in harm’s way.  There is parenting help available for our military families.

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye to a loved one is never an easy thing to do.  It’s even harder to say goodbye to a mother or father who will be away for many, many months.  This can cause stress for the children, and they may act up at home and at school.  Parenting help advisors believe that this is a relatively normal reaction to feeling abandoned.

You can help your children handle these feelings.  Oftentimes, just letting the children express their feelings can work wonders.  Kids often feel that the child-parent relationship gets put on hold when his or her parent leaves for active duty.  This is a valid point.  You’ll need to explain that Mommy or Daddy loves them more than anything, and that is why Mom or Dad is in the military to ensure that they will always be safe and sound.  

Internet Contact

Most military spouses use email or Skype to stay in contact with their mates.  Parenting help advisors suggest that the children be able to have some alone time with their parent on Skype too.  The child-parent relationship is already strained, and this is a great way to strengthen the bond between parent and child.  Many young parents use Skype to show their spouse a new baby once it has been born.  Although a video isn’t the same thing as being there, parenting help experts believe that is the next best way for kids to maintain the child-parent relationship with the Mom or Dad in the military.

Snail Mail

Many military spouses have foregone the use of snail mail for communications with their loved ones.  Sure, email is quicker, easier and cheaper but it really doesn’t give the person overseas something to touch and feel.  One of the finest parenting help suggestions is to have the children draw pictures for their parent.  Every parent oohs and ahs over pictures that their kids draw.  The parent away serving our country shouldn’t have to miss out on that.  Making something special for their Mom or Dad can enhance a child-parent relationship.

Care Packages

Every member of the military loves receiving care packages from home.  Military parenting help experts suggest allowing your kids to help decide what should go into the care packages.  Let them think about their personal child-parent relationship, and come up with something special that would be meaningful for their Mom or Dad to receive.

It could be something as simple as a package of a snack that they liked to share or as thought provoking as a photo of the fishing spot that they frequent.  Let the child decide what would remind their Mom or Dad how special their child-parent relationship is to them.

Plan for Their Homecoming

 Planning for the parent’s homecoming should include the children’s ideas, according to parenting help experts. This will get the kids excited about reestablishing the physical side of the child-parent relationship.  Young parents with small kids might want to create artwork for the party with painted prints of their children’s hands.  Older kids can help make signs and decorate with balloons and crepe paper.  The options are endless.  The only thing that will matter to your children is that they have their Mom or Dad back home with them.  That’s the best homecoming gift of all.

Using Wisdom to Correct Child Behavior

Currently, most people think that with all the technology and advancements that we enjoy, people should have no problems finding ways to correct unacceptable child behavior. It’s true that there are tons of outlets for finding tips for parents and child development advice. Many people have gone that route, and have turned their ways of thinking around and decided that raising kids in the old school way is best.

The morals and lessons of times gone by will help you to raise happy, healthy, well-mannered children. In the 1860’s or even 1950’s, it was rare to see a child talk back or even question a parent’s authority, without the parent spanking their child. Old school rules can bring back those happier family times.

Improving Your Child’s Self-Esteem

Many kids suffer from low self-esteem. This can occur from a variety of reasons, including living in a verbally abusive environment, excessive shyness or bullying. Of course, there are other reasons that kids can have self-esteem issues, but you must recognize the child behavior that could lead to more problematic behavior.

Children need to feel that they are needed and worthy members of the family. Many child behavior experts believe that assigning chores that the kids can actually accomplish can boost their self-esteem in a big way. In days of yore, even the smallest of children had things that they needed to do, and these small tasks helped to increase self-esteem and reduce unwanted child behavior.

The Rebellious Preteen

Most parents dread the teenage years, but never even realize that the preteen years can be worse. Preteens tend to have bigger and nastier attitudes than full-blown teenagers, because they are no longer considered little kids but aren’t quite young adults. They just don’t know where they fit into the world.

Preteens can often have strange reactions to normal questions and conversations such as, “How was school today” or “Where were you”. These normal questions can create child behavior that is unacceptable for the household. If day-to-day questions set off your child, you might need to consider signing up for parenting classes. Parenting classes can help you learn to deal with your child’s individual issues, and help them to succeed in life.

Inappropriate Child Behavior

Dealing with inappropriate child behavior problems can really put a major strain on parents. The stress increases if the parents have different parenting styles. It is confusing to a child when he or she receives mixed signals from the parents. Consistency is the key to teaching your child how to behave in all situations.

Marital problems can even occur because of conflicting parenting styles. This usually happens when one parent enforces the rules and the other allows the child to break some of them. If a child isn’t allowed to jump on the bed and the lenient parent ignores it, this could cause a rift, as the disciplinarian would need to take control of the situation. Forcing one parent to be the "bad guy" can really strain the marriage as well as the family relationship.

The best way to correct inappropriate child behavior is through the use of positive discipline. Taking away the child’s ability to attend a special outing or banning the use of a toy or video game can correct unwanted behaviors. However make sure that you are gentle and yet firm with the children. After a while, the mere threat of taking something away will immediately remind your child that you expect nothing less than exemplary child behavior.

Does Your Child Understand True Friendship?

"If ever there is a tomorrow when we're not together…there is something you must remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart…I'll always be with you."
~ Winnie the Pooh

Friendship is that one special love relationship which is born out of choice, you are not born into it. We can choose our friends just as they choose us. It is a relationship that does not come with give-and-take, it is purely about love, faith, trust, companionship, understanding and mutual respect.

As children, we start understanding this relationship as something very valuable, apart from the relationship we share with our parents. When kids take the first faltering steps toward making friends, they realize the meaning of togetherness, companionship, playing and sharing, connecting and giving, trusting and believing in someone else rather than just their mom and dad.

Choosing friends

Friendship is a choice and hence you have the option to carefully pick and choose who you want to be friends with.  For children, this is all the more important as peer pressure is extremely influential in these formative years.

Parents often are just happy to let their children be with their friends and do not pay attention to what kind of children these “friends” are. This can be a serious mistake. An important parenting tip is to keep a watch on the kind of children your child is mixing with. Are they well-mannered and well brought up or are they self-centered and bullies? 

Check the background of “friends”

Find out what kind of families these children belong to. Are they from well-knit loving homes or do they come from disturbed, broken homes? Of course, there is no guarantee that all disturbed homes will have rowdy children or all loving parents have well brought up children, but one cannot ignore the fact that the atmosphere at home has a very big role to play in shaping the personality, character, nature and temperament of the child.

When your child insists on staying over at a friend’s place or invites her friends over to dinner, spend time with the children to assess how they react, talk, think and interact with your child and other children. 

Save your child from bullies

Children themselves may not always be able to choose the right kind of friends themselves. You may find that your soft-natured daughter is caught in a group of aggressive children, who bully her and pull her down but she is unable to get away from them as they are either her classmates or neighbors.  

Children who are introverted sometimes suffer quietly from bullies without being able to extricate themselves from the dominating bunch of children. And they also believe that these children actually are “friends” and thus suffer from low confidence levels from their inability to connect with such children at their level.

Step in before it’s too late

As parents, you must step in to guide your child out of a group of friends who do not add value to his life and simply make him feel badly about himself.  Step in before the wrong group of “friends” does incalculable damage to your child’s psyche and emotional development.

Help your child understand what real friendship is by showing him how to become friends with children who are caring, well-mannered,  and well behaved. Such children not only make other children feel good, they also pass on the values of love, tenderness, compassion and help their friends to perform better in school.

Be a friend to your child

Most importantly, be a friend to your child yourself. Parenting children does not mean directing your child with a list of “do’s” and “don’ts”. It also means raising children who trust you as their best friend. You will love it when your kids share everything with you and look to you for support, guidance and love till the time they are able to make their own decisions. This will also strengthen your parent child relationship. Even after that, having mom and dad as their closest pals is always the biggest support system for any child.

Help your child understand that it is wonderful to be with friends who cherish you. Just as you would like your friends to be there for you, make sure you are around when they need you. Friendship is all about loving, believing and giving.