Unfortunately, there are a lot of things we should have learned at school, because as a society, we cannot rely on parents to be able to do it by themselves. For example, we cannot expect all parents to teach their kids literacy and numeracy because not all of them know enough and out of those who do, not many are also good at teaching.
One day, I took my daughter Eden, who was 16 years old at the time, to a workshop I ran with a group of women about life skills and relationships. When we reached the positive thinking and happiness part of the workshop, I asked everyone to go home and think of a 100 things that would make them happy.
Read Make a list: List Making »
Sometimes, the hardest thing for parents is to get their kids to accept their attempts to motivate them. Kids may treat parental attempts to motivate them as nagging or forcing when they have not given their permission to help them. Whether you like it or not, help is something that needs to be accepted.
Read Motivating Kids (10) »
At the beginning of their life, all kids are helpless. Therefore, all parents quickly develop the habit of doing things for them – feeding them, cleaning them, dressing them and keeping them warm. Unintentionally, this also fulfils the parents’ need for certainty and control – the baby will be OK as long as the parents do things properly and the baby does nothing to mess things up.
Read Rescuers »
Creativity is essential in peoples’ way of handling difficulties and solving problems. Although I think it is possible to spark creativity in anyone, I strongly believe that kids can learn it better and faster, if only because they have had fewer disappointments and they look forward to new experiences. It is never too early or too late to teach creativity and, although you may not see the results straight away, your kids will accumulate creative experiences and will use this skill at the right time.
Read Creative Kids (6) »
I hate the word “chores”. I do not really know why. I have this resistance to the word more than the concept. I believe there are (sadly) many parents like me with a negative attitude towards this word. You see, besides easing the load on the parents (which certainly helps), chores are a great way for parents to educate their kids and teach them some excellent life skills.
Read Kids’ Chores »
For some kids, working together is a great motivator. Many times, when kids need to do something they do not know how to do, it is a big relief for them if someone else is experiencing the same challenges. Suddenly, they are not alone.
Read Motivating Kids (9) »
The State Triangle shows the relationships between our thoughts and feelings (mindset), our words (language) and our posture and actions (body language). Change on and the others will change.
Read The State Triangle »
It was the summer of my first year of Special Education studies and I was initially given a group of 12 kids in Grade 5. They were mostly boys (for some reason) and the dynamic of the group was problematic. The camp was located in a wonderful forest with a creek running through it and overlooked by beautiful ruins of an ancient village.
Read Arabian Nights for Kids »
In the past four Mondays, I wrote tips and ideas for parents to boost kids’ creativity. If you have had a chance to read them all, you know by now that kids’ creativity is very important to their success – experiencing life to the fullest and getting the most out of it.
Read Creative Kids (5) »
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