Raising happy healthier Children…

Parenting ————

This single word has so much weight and depth to it. We all have our own parenting styles. I’m still learning each day on parenting two young girls.

I read on article on how to raise happy, healthy children.
The article laid out a few things parents can do to light up their children life.
As I went over them in my head, i decided to do a self check.

Here they are, read through them and perform a self check yourself.

• If you do all the below things, you are on right track and your kids are lucky.
  If you do some of them and not consistent , now is the time to rethink and work on it.
  If you do none of these, please take an immeidate action to change your style.

1.Tell them you love them every day:

“I love you” – the power of these 3 words is boundless. Never let a day slip by without saying these words to your kids.
Letting your kids know of your love every day boosts their security and confidence level.

2.Tell them you are glad to be their parents :

Reiterating positive words does bring an amazing personality change. At times, kids get overwhelmed and they undergo a rough time with their activities.
Their confidence soar high when we let them know they are valued. Expect a smile and may be “Iam glad to be your kid” from them.

3.Be an example:

I’m sure this is not easy. We all lose the fact that kids mirror us most of the times. We yell at them asking them to be quiet. We give them mixed results. We confuse them.
We expect them to be disciplined while we are not. Show them how you can be a better yourself in everything you do. It’s very true we learn and we change with our kids.

4.Laugh with them :

One simple thing my husband and i do is to watch curious george or kids shows with my kids and laugh with them.
Try to laugh at their jokes even if they are not funny. Teach them the value of being fun and taking things lighter.
Sometimes, acting funny will ease up a power struggle or conflict with your kids.

5.Hug them:

A parental hug is priceless. Hug them all the time to appreciate, to assure, to cherish and to love.

6. Be there for them:

It’s not about the toys, clothes, the money you spend for them. It’s about being there for your kids when they are sick, when they are happy, when they are sad and when they need you.
Sit down and have a moment with them. The ability to count on you will take your child a long way in life.

7.Listen to them:

This is again the toughest one. Most of the times, kids complain “You never listen to me”, “You always want to talk first”.
As we want our kids to listen to us, it becomes important for us to listen.
It’s always better to start a converstaion with “You go first” step.
They will learn to listen as we give them the priority to talk first.

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Are we pushing our kids too hard?

Are we pushing our kids too hard?
Are we making them more stressful?

I always ask these questions to myself.
My childhood had less opportunities. I lacked the commitment to stick to any activity I pursued. I joined the music class and left it half way through. Same happened with my dance class.
I had a passion for writing , but never found time with my constant drive for grades.

I found myself pushing my kids in activities in the interest of my own ego. I didn’t realize until lately the adverse impact my childhood dreams were having on my family and my kids.
As parents we all have good intentions. We want our children to excel in all areas. But if you think about it , are our intentions noble ?

We enroll our kids in extra curricular activities most of the times due to social pressure, our own ego, our childhood dreams.
We do sacrifice and take them to every class rain or shine. It is also important to remember the extra curricular activities per se are not the problem.
Research have shown that kids performing various activities like sports, music have higher levels of self-confidence and academic performance.

But have we gone to an extreme?

What if these activities are making the kids overwhelmed?
What if our expectations are crunching the family time?
What if your child is into these activities with no interest?

If your child is over stressed and you find yourself having no family time, it’s time to cut back on their activities.

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