“Affirming words from moms and dads are like light switches. Speak a word of affirmation at the right moment in a child’s life and it’s like lighting up a whole roomful of possibilities.”
- Gary Smalley
According to Child-Psych Blog, A Little Control Goes a Long Way: Why and How to Use Forced Choice With Your Child, “Parents set the stage with rules, expectations, and guidance while allowing their children healthy decision-making opportunities. And when their kids mess up, they are typically met with a supportive style rather than a punitive one so their kids can worry more about learning from mistakes than hiding them from their parents.”
Read more on Raising Responsible Kids By Allowing Them To Make Choices…
One thing we know from the science behind Kidtelligent is that children can’t make mature decisions unless they’re in charge of decisions. They need to gather enough information to know that they’ve looked at enough options, and then narrow down those options by applying appropriate criteria. Think about it—comments about immature people often center around, “He rushes into things” [i.e., didn’t check out options] or “She can’t make up her mind about anything!” [i.e., can’t narrow down the options].
The following is a video testimonial by another Kidtelligent parent, Brad.
Brad found success with the Kidtelligent system and shares how it helped him with his oldest child who struggles with some subjects at school.
Read more on Video Testimonial with Kidtelligent Parent Brad…
Mark Merrill’s post, The 4 R’s of Technology, makes a great point, “We’ve increased tech and decreased touch.” hyperlink to:
Our society has become increasingly dependent on technology. Technology use is expected, encouraged and taught in our schools, but the amount of time our kids are using technology at home has increased considerably.
Read more on Web Connections: Unplugged: 5 Ways to Unplug Your Child and Reconnect…
Everyone can participate by either voting for your favorite design and/or entering your pumpkin carving creation!
Enter your design by first going here: Contest Entry Form
Long gone are the Halloweens of my childhood, where we roved blocks from home and collected pillow cases full of candy. Afterward, we’d spread out our hauls in the living room and negotiated trades with siblings, some of whom actually liked Licorice Snaps or peanut butter kisses! Then, we stashed that candy in a pest-proof container on our bookshelf, where it became our source of after-school snacks.
My now-adult daughter and I have recently had lots of fun conversations regarding our house rules—especially as she babysat children whose parents had different rules. For example, “Mom, thanks for not buying me everything I wanted. I learned a lot saving for that expensive doll, didn’t I?” Or, “Golly, that town playset really used our imagination—no wonder we played with it for so many years.” And, “We sure wore out that refrigerator box in the basement—it was so much better than a toy house or pirate ship because we could pretend it was anything!”
As retailers ramp up for the holiday season, (Yes, our winter holidays are three months away, but your children will start seeing toy ads and store displays within the next few weeks!!!), here’s a thought about successfully balancing gifts and greed.
Education.com featured an informative article about The Ups and Downs of Friendships: When Parents Don’t Like Their Child’s Friends. It stresses a very important point: “Helping children learn to deal with peer pressure and competition is more important than protecting them from it.”
Read more on Strategies Kids Can Use to Stand Up to Peer Pressure…