Monday, May 21, 2012

The Anger Scale: Teach Your Kids Now or You'll Be Sorry

The Anger Scale Can Help Your Kids Reduce Rage ~
When Daniel heard he couldn't go on the Hammer at the amusement park, his eyes bulged and he shouted, “That's not fair!”
“The sign where you got the ticket says you have to be at least 4 feet 10 inches tall to ride. I'm sorry,” said the ticket taker.
Hearing that, Daniel began kicking at the man and screaming, “You're a fat pig!”
As Daniel's dad struggled with him, the security guard came over and said they'd have to leave the park if the parents couldn't get their son under control. Because Daniel never did get under control, the whole family had to leave.

The Problem with Excessive Anger:

Excessive anger leads to rage. Rage can keep your child out of activities; hurt his reputation, his social skills, and his life.
How Rage Hurts Your Child:

1. Angry kids are avoided by classmates.
2. Children who rage gain a bad reputation.
3. Kids who rage risk becoming abusive adults.
4. Children who rage harbor ugly thoughts, feelings, and behaviors throughout their lives.
5. Kids who rage lessen the possibility for their own future happiness.
Tantrums can hurt you too:

1. Your kid's rage can deafen your reasonable mind and get you boiling.
2. If you respond to a tantrum with a tantrum, you reduce yourself to your child's level.
3. Your rage makes you look foolish and fuels more blow-ups from your child.
How the Anger Scale Can Help You:
Use it on yourself at a time when you're not angry. Look back at the last time you lost control. Practice changing your anger in that situation to mere frustration. When you make the change, you'll know how to help your child.
Never give yourself permission to be out of control by saying, “I couldn't help it.”

The Anger Scale ~ How to Teach Kids Now

When your child is in an even mood, ask him if he's willing to learn how to control his anger. If he says “Yes,” ask him to list the ways his anger hurts him, like:

1. I get in trouble.
2. I get too mad.
3. I don't have friends.
4. I don't get to do things I want to do.
5. Everybody thinks I'm bad.
Tell him you have a method that will help him. Show him this Anger Scale.

The Anger Scale:

Draw a “zero to ten point” scale. At the zero end of the scale, write “No Anger.” From numbers four to seven write “Frustration.” At the numbers eight to ten, write “Anger/Rage.”
0----1-----2------3------4--------5-------6--------7-------8------9-----10

No Anger = 0
Frustration = 4-7
Anger/Rage = 8-10

In situations where we don't get what we want, feeling frustrated (4-7) is normal.
Feeling No anger isn't realistic.
Rage that expresses out-of-control thoughts, feelings, and behaviors isn't normal or realistic either.
Frustration falls in the middle of two extremes. With frustration we are able to reason and think of better ways to handle disappointments.

Parenting Exercise for Changing Rage to Frustration in Kids:

Tell him the goal is to bring his anger down from the 8-10 range to the 4-7 range. Ask him to vividly imagine the last time he had a temper tantrum. Make sure he feels the anger he had at that time.
Ask, “Where is your anger on the Anger Scale right now?” (It should be high.) Say to your child, “Think about what happened that made you feel so angry. Close your eyes. Feel the anger. Then bring that angry feeling down to the 4-7 range.” Wait a bit to give your child time to do it. Then say, “When you've reached the frustration range, open your eyes.”
Ask your child, “Where is your number on the anger scale now?” (It should have moved downward.)
Then ask, “How did you do it?”
Some kids may say, “I don't know.” If so, say, “Guess.”
Typically, your child brought the number down by changing his thoughts because extreme negative feelings come from extreme negative thoughts. Tell your child to use this special scale whenever his anger feelings are getting out of control.

Conclusion for the Anger Scale ~ Teach Your Kids Now

The Anger Scale teaches how to visualize rage and bring it down to a reasonable level. When your child is consistently able to bring it down to frustration, he'll have a better reputation, he like himself better, and have a real chance for a happy life. So use the Anger Scale now. You won't be sorry later. In fact, you'll be glad you did.

Build Character and Motivate Kids with 3 Little Rhymes!

Raising motivated kids with character-building rhymes can be powerful. Why? Positive rhymes motivate but negative thoughts irritate.
Today you'll receive 3 motivational rhymes, 3 brainstorming one-liners, and how to teach self-talk rhyming to your children.

Your Child's Lead Ball and Chain

Imagine your child carrying a lead ball and chain into school, relationships, and chores. Negative thoughts are that ball and chain if your child thinks:

1. I hate school.
2. I hate those kids.
3. I hate chores
Children learn to try simple tasks, give up on hard ones, and complain. Such a ball-and-chain attitude becomes a habit and poisons their young minds. No parent wants this for their children. What can be done? Keep reading.

How Self-Talk Rhymes Build Character

Positive 2-line poems help your children keep trying. These rhymes become the seeds that grow into strong “can-do” minds. They become the self-talk in your child's daily thinking and they build character.
I taught this rhyme to my granddaughter:

“Hip, hip, hooray,
I tried today!”
Now she automatically says it aloud and gives me a high 5 whenever she tries something difficult. It tickles me inside to see her enthusiasm.

3 Self-Talk Rhymes that Motivate and Build Character

1. Some kids complain about homework. They don't realize that successful kids don't like it either. The difference is that positive thinkers don't give up. If you have a complainer, consider turning him around by often repeating aloud this self-talk rhyme:

Doing homework can be fun,
When I've tried and when I'm done.
This rhyme paints a positive picture of effort and completion. It could help unlock that ball and chain that complainers often drag throughout their lives.
2. Some children fight with siblings, neighbor kids, and classmates. They lack social skills and use fighting to get their way. Here's a rhyme that when repeated often, might help them loosen their ball and chain:

I don't argue and I don't fight,
Getting along is what feels right.

This poem creates positive feelings and motivates kids to get along. With it you can discuss ideas for making friends.
3. Other children hate chores and drag their feet like a ball and chain. They hope their parents will do the work for them. Sometimes their work is so sloppy that parents take over. This poem, when repeated often, could help:

When I put away my toys,
It makes for tidy girls and boys.
This rhyme promotes organizational skills when parents point out that being tidy helps finding toys later.

The Motivational Key for Building Character

When kids repeat positive rhymes, those rhymes become the thoughts that mold their attitudes throughout their lives. The key is the repetition inside their heads. It shapes their character too.
Your Parenting Action Step At dinner give your family a one-liner to rhyme. Explain that the second line must be positive and easy to say and remember. Members can work together in creating the rhyme. Post the rhyme on the refrigerator
. For the next several dinners ask:

1. Who used the rhyme?
2. What was the situation?
3. Has everyone had time to speak.
From then on, repeat the rhyme aloud whenever you need it so your children hear you. This will encourage them to keep using it for themselves.

3 One-Liners for Family Members to Rhyme


1. Say “Excuse me, Thank you, and Please,”
2. My body and mind are very strong,
3. When I go to bed and rest,
Have fun as your family comes up with the second line for each.

Conclusion for Self-Talk Rhymes that Motivate Kids

Teach this fun method to your children. You'll be building character in their thoughtful minds and loving hearts. And remember:

Building character is fine,
When you teach a self-talk rhyme!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Video Games and Your Kids: A Review by Carrie Lauth

 Like many parents, I'm concerned about my kids not spending too much time in front of a screen. Whether that be television, computer, or video games. One reason for this is because I have seen how screen time interferes with other, more important activities like reading, spending time with family, helping around the house, etc.

It seems that boys in particular have a hard time accepting limits around gaming. Since I have two sons, I didn't want any part of the constant fighting over the video game system between themselves and refusing to accept boundaries and limits that I see in other families. I've also observed kids missing sleep and even social interaction with peers because of spending too much in an artificial world, with detrimental effects.

Video Games and Your Kids gathers current research, science and data about why parents should be concerned about their kids spending excessive time playing video (and computer) games. Rather than being the greatest invention since the baby wipe, video games aren't always just harmless fun.

For one, video games are highly addictive. In fact they are designed to be so - marketers call it the "sticky factor". The longer the child plays, the better in their estimation.

Secondly, video games have negative effects on the body and the brain - not only do video games contribute to a sedentary lifestyle but they also retrain the brain and the way it thinks. This has deleterious effects on how a child learns and their ability to learn outside the game.

Parents sometimes believe that video and computer games are "educational" but the evidence does not support that assessment. In fact, some studies point to the opposite effect and have shown a correlation between computer games and decreased vocabulary.

Video games can also lead to a reduced attention span and reduced ability to deal appropriately in social situations. Video games can also lead to eye and vision problems, headaches, sleeping difficulties, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Kids who spend a lot of time gaming even develop poor posture and shallow breathing.

Interestingly, the authors aren't totally opposed to video games but remind parents that they must be very careful about their use. This book is helpful to a parent as it gives us research to back up those gut feelings we have. Allowing a child to have unrestricted access to video games is a bad thing. It also gives you some pointers from these experts on how to spot video game addiction and how to get help for your child - and even yourself or a spouse if you are the ones with a problem.

Carrie Lauth is a homeschooling, work at home Mom of 4 and the mom behind http://www.naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog. Read more of her opinions on parenting books and other products at http://www.naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/reviews

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

3 Highest Appraised Positive Parenting Tips That Are Certain To Deliver You An Easy Home Life!

Are you currently struggling to balance your family responsibilities along with all of your other chores? If this causes you to bear expression difficulties with your children, the next 3 positive parenting tips should greatly aid your dealings.

Only a few fast beliefs just before we move on. We see that being a guardian could be the most difficult event in the world. That's not in doubt. These, or just about any instructions or support you obtain from this post or it's links, have this exact issue in mind!

The very first positive parenting tip to keep in mind is in the case if a juvenile does not conduct himself or herself in a manner that you think is respectful, you must question yourself, are you currently delivering a model of your attitude that you are demanding of them? It is one event that is imperative, not to mention you can not underestimate this.
If you get quite busy in life, at intervals it's no trouble to fail to remember to do this. We just need to call to mind that it is unfair to expect our kids to act one way, while we act in a way that is inappropriate.

An additional, nevertheless every bit as critical a factor to bear in mind is really an extension of the first tip. If you desire your children to respond in a responsible way, you should always set a proper example, as we just pointed out. However, this really is very much easier uttered than actually done. It might be difficult to keep in mind to do all this only because we so often are so per-occupied with our every single day lives, that we don't see that you'll uncover small ones who're constantly watching us!

One of your best ways to get this done is to be clearly sure you stop for a minute just before you over-react. This way, you will be able to train yourself to be absolutely sure that you simply get the time to double-check whatever you will say or do. It is so crucial to complete this due to the fact, just about each event we say and of course do, will of course be repeated back again.

The final positive parenting tip we would like to deliver you today, is about parents' occasional inclinations to come down sternly on their kids. This is actually a topic which should be presented into many posts. However, in regards to the purposes of this succinct article, we want to present this little bit of advice.

If you are going to say something harshly, hostile, or in an extremely lecturing way in regards to the little ones, ask yourself this one single question. Would you say this specific event to your quite finest friend? When the reply is no, then do not say it to your youngsters. So, in a similar way which you simply stop just before you say, not to mention do anything you do not desire your sons or daughters to say and of course do, it should be a great technique to perform which each time you see yourself beginning to speak out severely in the direction of one of your kids.

Healthy Parenting Skills Are Worth Learning

You'll know all too well that parenting is a difficult job if you have children. But still, there are certain measures parents can take to help ease the many difficult and trying times. Becoming educated on the best ways of handling certain situations is the first key step to take. Whilst we do understand that each and every child has an individual personality, the behavior exhibited by any child isn't new. However, the new thing is your behavior and how you respond effectively. This article will offer some very useful tips on how to sort the issues in a positive way.

Children and adults alike will run into a similar difficulty which has to do with recognizing who they are and being okay with that. Children that grow up need to have strong and structured parents that give them a pathway or road map to follow as they get older. We want to raise our children in a way that allows them to feel loved and accepted, not criticized and judged. Unfortunately, there seems to be too little of that in this world. So you can give your child a most wonderful gift by simply letting him or her feel they are accepted. Love and recognition are powerful tools that you can use as a parent to help mold your children in the best possible manner. Children raised in this manner will have a more outgoing personality that will allow them to make friends much more easily. Peer pressure is something every child comes across and is exposed to, and the effects of it cause many different issues for parents. A big part of this all depends on your child's personality and what kind of relationship you have with him or her. Open communication can be very good for assisting your child. Knowing what is going on in your child's life is important, otherwise you will have no idea of what's wrong or how you can support them. During the teen years your child will start learning how to become independent, so the job of handling peer pressure becomes a lot harder. So, naturally the opinions of peers is very powerful.

Childhood obesity can result in difficult parenting situations if the child is enduring ridicule and harassment at school. Children can be immensely cruel to each other when they want to be, and this can result in a scarred adulthood. From the beginning you should try to stop your child from getting obese, as this is the ideal situation. This means that you need to ensure your child appreciates the situation and understands why it isn't healthy at all. But parents must be responsible role models by setting good examples for their children. It is difficult to counsel your child about obesity if you are also overweight.

So let's face it, some parenting problems will be a lot more difficult to deal with than others. But the good news is there are very many areas of support and education available. Getting a referral for a professional from the doctor may be something you should do if the situation warrants it. Parents must fully appreciate the fact that they're not doing everything alone, there is good quality information out there.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Choosing children's sun protection clothes

   by Kids And Outdoors

Sun-protection is so important for our youngsters to be able to guard them from melanoma in adult life. The significant source of skin cancer is an excessive amount sun and exposure to it is drastically decreased with some type of UV protection.

Since most dangerous skin cancers are preventable with the help of Ultra-violet protection gear or sun block lotion, there is no excuse to cause the children unnecessary danger through sun burn. UV protective clothing will be lab tested and may give a coverage to at least UPF 50 or higher.

Motivation – 10 Parenting Mistakes You Must Avoid with Your Kids

By Jean Tracy, MSS

Motivation is difficult when your kids won't try. Some parents get so frustrated that they try unpleasant methods which crush motivation and discourage character. Inside you'll learn 10 parenting mistakes you must avoid.

1. Praise Kids Only for Their Successes.

Parents who praise kids only for their successes:
  • Create anxious perfectionistic kids
  • Discourage kids from trying unless they have a guarantee of success
  • Lessen kids' ability to handle setbacks