COMMON MISTAKE PARENT MAKE

We all make mistakes as parents. There are times when everyone wishes they hadn't said something, bought something, or been so hard on our kids. Parents are only human, after all. Here are ten common mistakes and why you should avoid them.

1. Too much junk food.

Junk food is convenient. It can be used to pacify an irritable child and is used as a reward for good behavior. As adults, many of us self-medicate with food. Often, we teach our children these same behavior patterns and reward with treats. To break this habit, start rewarding yourself
and your child in other ways.

2. Not reading to your child often enough.

Reading is one of the easiest ways to spend quality time with your child. It is free, teaches valuable lessons about a wide range of topics, and fosters a strong imagination. Reading to children should be a daily habit. Begin reading to your child from birth and continue into the teen years.

3. Formula feeding.

Infants need breast milk, not formula. In the rare instances that a woman cannot breastfeed, formula is available. But, for most women, there is no physical limitation to breastfeeding. Ear infections, infant hospitalizations, and many other things could be decreased significantly in our society if more women chose to breastfeed for longer. Why start your child off on what is second best nutrition? Give them the best from the start and you will see the benefits immediately as well as long term.

4. Being too strict.

Children need guidance and need to know that the adults are providing them with security and love. They do not need drill sergeants. Too many limits and too much control will build resentment in children, which will often boil over in the teen years. Lighten up and give your child some age appropriate control over their own life.

5. Being too permissive.

The flip side of the overly strict parent is the overly permissive parent. A parent's job is to provide structure. No structure is a recipe for disaster. Children need limits in order to feel secure. Letting your child call all the shots puts too much responsibility on the young person's shoulders and not enough on your own.
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Food Allergies in Babies

Food allergy in babies may make the baby break out in rashes or cry inconsolably after trying a food. Babies may have vomiting or diarrhea due to food allergies. Most common allergies in kids less than 5 years old are to milk, eggs and peanuts. It may take a few times, before the baby gets sensitized to a certain allergen and so crying inconsolably is one of the first signs, accompanied by other symptoms that should warn the parents in time. Children may also inherit allergies that run in the family though if a child does not want to have a food, he or she is not necessarily allergic to it. The child may not simply like it.

Children may develop food allergy by consuming a food directly or through nursing where they may become allergic to something moms may have eaten. To prevent food allergies, it is recommended to introduce solids gradually in a child’s diet between ages of four to six months and pay attention to any signs and symptoms that may manifest themselves when you introduce a particular food. One should start with rice cereal, followed by barley and oat cereal and them move on to yellow vegetables, fruits, green vegetables, meats and at last, wheat. Keep a gap of five to seven days before moving on to another food, so you can watch whether any symptoms such as incessant crying, rash, diarrhea or vomiting, develop during this period. If they do, you may call the doctor.

Doctors may do tests to confirm the allergy. If the child is allergic to certain food, you may need to avoid giving it to him or eating it until you are breastfeeding the child. Milk allergies may warrant you to give non-allergenic formula or soy formula to your child and you should not drink milk during the nursing phase. However, the good news is that most kids outgrow food allergies in few months to perhaps, few years. Then, the food can be re-introduced to their diet without any problem. Read More..

Tips for Working with Shy Children, Nervous Children, or Children who Lack Self Confidence

It can be frustrating to work, teach, or parent children who lack confidence who seem shy or nervous. Especially when you are an outgoing, confident person, shy and nervous children can seem like a mystery. That acknowledgment aside, you need to be sensitive and tolerant of children who are shy or nervous, or who lack confidence.
When working with shy or nervous children, remember to…

(1) Tell them never to fear asking questions: Questions lead to knowledge and knowledge leads to confidence.Don’t toss off questions as trivial, silly, rude or annoying. When children question, they learn.

(2) Share Your stories about trials to triumph: When they hear your struggles and how you overcame them, they will learn that they can overcome their struggles as well. You can be a role model in action as well as in discussion.

(3) Highlight that persistence leads to success: We’ve heard it before. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall but rather, how many times you get up. People value persistence! Let them know that perseverance is more important that getting it right the first few times. Read More..

make child be confidence

How make child have self confidence? One of the way is Appreciate Who They Are.
What I mean here is that you should never compare your child to someone else, especially another sibling. While we are all guilty of it at one point or another, I just don’t know that it can be helped, but it can be limited. When you compare your child to another child you are undermining who they are as individuals. We did not come from a cookie cutter, therefore we are each unique and should be celebrated for what us that way not criticized for not being a cookie cutter cut out. Read More..

Ten Tips for Parents of Children Starting Preschool

1. Visit the preschool to become familiar with the setting
The more familiar your child is with the preschool staff and the environment, the easier it will be for your child to settle into the preschool. If possible, make a time to visit preschool during school hours. Parents/carers can observe the preschool in operation and have the opportunity to meet the staff, ask questions and discuss any concerns. Your child will have an opportunity to mix with other children, meet the preschool staff, and become familiar with the environment while feeling secure that someone familiar is close by.
2. Be well informed
Parents/carers need to be prepared for preschool, too. Talk to the principal and the preschool teacher to find out as much information as you can about your child attending preschool. If you know about the new routines and experiences your child will encounter, you will be ready to answer any questions they might have, such as: How will I get there? How long will I be there? How many days do I have to go? What if I want to go to the toilet? What room will I be in and what am I going to do there? Will I get to play?
The first day of preschool can be an anxious experience for both you and your child. Preparing your child for preschool by answering all their questions honestly and in as much detail as they can understand can curb potential anxieties.
3. Find out what your child will need to bring to preschool
Talk to your principal or preschool teacher to find out the preschool's requirements regarding lunchboxes, drink containers and other necessary personal items.
4. Encourage independence
Children who are able to care for themselves and their belongings will feel more confident at preschool. Parents/carers can encourage children to practise personal hygiene, such as wiping their nose and toileting independently. Help your child to feel confident and independent by dressing them in clothing which is simple enough for them to manage with little adult help.
Children who assist in packing their bag at home each morning will readily identify their own belongings during the day.
5. Label equipment and clothing
Children's belongings may look very similar to their classmates'. Labelling your child's equipment and clothing with their name will help prevent loss, confusion and possible upset for your child.
6. Pack a change of clothes for preschool
Accidents do happen. There may be a toilet mishap, wet sleeves from hand washing, or mess from craft or outdoor experiences. When accidents occur children prefer to change into their own clothes, rather than "school clothes". Pack a spare set of clothes, labelled with your child's name, in your child's bag.
7. Share information with the preschool teacher
Children learn best when parents/carers and teachers share together in a partnership. Your child's preschool teacher has many students to get to know. Because you know your child best, you can help the teacher understand your child by sharing information, concerns and insights. Regular communication between parents/carers and teachers bridges the gap between home and preschool and provides opportunities to exchange information which support children's learning.
8. Keep the preschool teacher informed of changes
Changes to your child's family situation can impact on their emotional and academic well-being. If you keep your child's teacher informed of any changed circumstances the child can be supported if necessary. Examples of changes include the birth of a sibling; moving house; divorce or separation or the death or hospitalization of a loved one. It is also important to notify the school of changes to contact details, such as address and emergency telephone numbers.
9. Participate in the preschool and the school
Parents/carers are welcome to participate in the preschool by attending special activities and by volunteering to help in the classroom. This may assist to reassure your child that you are interested in them and their preschool.
10. Provide information about your child's immunisation status
Your child will be coming into contact with other children and infections can spread quickly.
Immunisation records will be requested for preschool enrolment. Under the Public Health (Amendment) Act 1992, children who have not been immunised may be sent home during an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease. Read More..

Brain gym exercises for smarter kids?

Every cell in our body is part of a perfectly engineered masterpiece. Here you will find easy and fun brain gym activities exercises for toddlers that can improve their concentration. The movements are surprisingly simple yet very effective.


If you want to learn how to raise smart kids during this crucial period of development, then Raise-Smart-Kid is here to help you to gain the latest updates on brain development in early childhood, early child development in general and child development research.

But remember …

To optimize the learning experience, the activities should be fun!!

What we don't always realise is that our kids practice this every day through their daily activities.
Daily living skills

* Eating
* Washing hands
* Putting on their clothes
* Taking off their shoes
* Picking up the toys
* Brush their teeth
* Wipe after they have spilled

Brain Gym consists of 26 easy and enjoyable targeted brain gym activities exercises that bring about rapid and often dramatic improvements in concentration, memory, reading, writing, organizing, listening, physical coordination, and more.

During my research I came across a few brain gym exercises (or brain gym excercises as some people prefer), some of which might be too complicated for babies or toddlers. I’m briefly going to discuss it for you to be aware that they exist.

* Drink Water

Water comprises more of the brain than of any other organ of the body. Water is the substance that can help “grease the wheel”. It is important that your child drinks lots of water. Promote water consumption from an early age. Children perspire a lot during the day because of all the activities they undertake. They are very energetic and dehydration can negatively affect their concentration.

* Brain Buttons

This is one of the exercises I feel is too complicated for our little ones. In a nutshell, this exercise helps improve blood flow to the brain to "switch on" the entire brain specifically when needed. The increased blood flow helps improve concentration skills required for reading, writing, etc.

* Cross Crawl

This exercise is a very simple yet effective one. It helps coordinate right and left brain by exercising the information flow between the two hemispheres. It is useful for spelling, writing, listening, reading and comprehension.

* Stand or sit. Put the right hand across the body to the left knee as you raise it, and then do the same thing for the left hand on the right knee just as if you were marching.
* Just do this either sitting or standing for about 2 minutes.

* Hook Ups

This is another exercises I feel is too complicated for our kids. This works well for nerves before a special event such as making a speech or singing in front of people. Any situation which will cause nervousness calls for a few "hook ups" to calm the mind and improve concentration.

* Mind Maps

Mind maps (or similar concepts) have been used for centuries, for learning, brainstorming, memory, visual thinking, and problem solving by people in general.

According to the dictionary, a mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radically around a central keyword or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

The mind map utilizes the full range of left and right human cortical skills and balances the brain.

Exercise this with your child to let them get used to using mind maps. An example of this might be to take something simple such as making a cup of coffee. Break it down into the logical steps. What ingredients do you need to make coffee? What utensils are best suited? Draw a picture to present these ideas around a central keyword “making coffee”.

Your toddler will enjoy these brain gym activities exercises while you stimulate his/her brain.
Problem-solving skills

* Provide games and toys which involve problem-solving skills, such as puzzles, shape bucket, blocks etc.
* Try not to interrupt when a toddler is busy
* Show them more than one demonstration on how something works.
* Give them things to figure out how it works.
* If a child struggles, don’t jump in and help him immediately, first see what he does.
* Take an empty toilet roll and a piece of material. Put the material inside the toilet roll and let the toddler pull it out. Later on the toddler can put it in by himself.

There are lots of brain gym software and brain gym cd's available that can be used to do gym brain training. Brain gym research is still a hot topic for discussion and there exist criticism against the whole brain gyms concept. You have to decide yourself if you would like to have a brainy child (or at least give it a try).

All brain gym movements and each brain gym activity will help your child become positive, active, clear and energetic for learning and learn you how to raise a smarter child.


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10 Tips for Food- Smart Kids

1. Do not restrict food. Restricting food increases the risk your child may develop eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia later in life. It can also have a negative effect on growth and development.
2. Keep healthy food at hand. Children will eat what's readily available. Keep fruit in a bowl on the counter, not buried in the crisper section of your fridge. And have an apple for your own snack. "Your actions scream louder than anything you will ever tell them," says Sothern. Remember, your child can only choose foods that you stock in the house.
3. Don't label foods as "good" or "bad." Instead, tie foods to the things your child cares about, such as sports or appearance. Let your child know that lean protein such as turkey and calcium in dairy products give strength to their sports performance. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables add luster to skin and hair.
4. Praise healthy choices. Give your children a proud smile and tell them how smart they are when they choose healthy foods.
5. Don't nag about unhealthy choices. When children choose unhealthy food, ignore it. Or if your child always wants fatty, fried food, redirect the choice. You might try roasting potato sticks in the oven (tossed in just a bit of oil) instead of buying french fries. Or, if your child wants candy, you might make fresh strawberries dipped in a little chocolate sauce. Too busy? Then keep naturally sweet dried fruit at home for quick snacks.
6. Never use food as a reward. This could create weight problems in later life. Instead, reward your children with something physical and fun -- perhaps a trip to the park or a quick game of catch.
7. Sit down to family dinners at night. If this isn't a tradition in your home, it should be. Research shows that children who eat dinners at the table with their parents have better nutrition and are less likely to get in serious trouble as teenagers. Start with one night a week, and then work up to three or four, to gradually build the habit.
8. Prepare plates in the kitchen. There you can put healthy portions of each item on everyone's dinner plate. Your children will learn to recognize correct portion sizes. And you may find your slacks fit better as well! Please remember that small children must have VERY Small portions or else they become overwhelmed.
9. Give the kids some control. Ask your children to take three bites of all the foods on their plate and give it a grade, such as A, B, C, D, or F. When healthy foods - especially certain vegetables -- get high marks, serve them more often. Offer the items your children don't like less frequently. This lets your children participate in decision-making. After all, dining is a family affair.
10. Consult your pediatrician. Always talk with your child's doctor before putting your child on a diet, trying to help your child gain weight, or making any significant changes in the type of foods your child eats. Never diagnose your child as too heavy, or too thin, by yourself.

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