Child Development | Growing Pains

How To Encourage Your Teenaged Child To Study Harder?

July 22, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

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Parents often face trouble with their teenage children because they fail to understand that old methods of communicating with their children will no longer work with their teenaged child. Many gifted students stop studying during their teenaged years because they feel unappreciated by their parents.

When your child is young, he or she may want to excel in studies to make you happy. However, when teenage arrives, the child begins to develop his or her own identity and develops an ego. In such a scenario, the child may not be interested in getting good grades simply to satisfy you. Rather, he or she may focus on self-satisfaction and adopt a more selfish approach.

Many parents make the mistake of taking their children’s obedience for granted. They presume that the child should do well in school because they have done a favor by being a good parent for the child. Well, do you think you would appreciate such a sentiment? Obviously not.

As your child grows, you should set up a quid pro Quo system where you appreciate the child for efforts made and acknowledge that the child is going to benefit a lot in the future from his or her efforts. Instead of demanding good grades as a right, you should express appreciation that the child is considerate enough to work hard for you. That is the right way to motivate your teenaged child to continue being a good student despite the physical and emotional changes in the teen’s life.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education, Parenting Tagged With: Adolescence, Child, Parent

Encouragement is Free

May 2, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

While there are so many things that parents today want to give their child, encouragement is one of the most important. As you look around chances are that you are bombarded with all types of products and services that insist that you need them in order to be a better parent. Some of these things may really work but just taking the time to say uplifting words to your child is completely free and priceless all at the same time.

Don’t worry about being eloquent. Kids, no matter what their age, would rather have your sincerity than a long list of words that sound nice but don’t mean anything. Just begin to look for an opportunity to give them a little boost. Your daughter sits at the table working through a complicated math problem and can’t quite seem to figure it out. Take the time to sit down with her, look her in the eye, and tell her that you know she can do it. Help her work through the problem, but when she finds success, encourage it!

If your son is struggling with a decision that he is making about school or an extra curricular activity take the time to listen to each option he is considering. You’ll get insight as to where he is coming from. As a parent, you may want to jump in and tell him just what to do because you see the big picture; you see what is best for him. But give him the chance to work it out himself and encourage him by letting him know that you believe he will make the best decision.

Filed Under: Child Development, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Family, Parent

Keeping Older Children Dressed in Style

April 30, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

There comes a point in time when children begin to come around to the realization that there is a set fashion and style for their age group. Different individuals come to this conclusion at different ages but for the most part it happens when they get older. Typically, certain brands become popular and you may be wondering how much you should give into your kid’s clothing desires. Should you go out and purchase them a brand new wardrobe? What are the other options?

Older children have a desire to fit in with their friends and when everyone else is wearing Coogi pants, they want to as well. In order to save money, consider buying them a few key pieces from the collection in order to give them a start. They can always pair their brand name clothes with other pieces in their closet. This will get them on the right track to keeping up with their peers in style and still make some of their current wardrobe usable.

There are benefits to buying well made, brand name clothes. While they may cost a little more, they do tend to last longer. Older children reach a point when their growth spurts have taken a break and they stay a consistent weight and height for an extended amount of time. At this point, clothes that will last and will hold up well, wash after wash, will be beneficial. In the end, spending a little more on quality clothing items end up saving you money in the long run.

Filed Under: Child Development, Parenting Tagged With: Mommy/Gifted students/Older children/Stress of a having a special child/Encouraging a child

Stages of a Child’s Moral Compass

March 25, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Children somewhere between the ages of seven and twelve already know about the rules they must follow in school and at home. They are able to use moral judgment when deciding whether to engage in certain activities that breaks the rules. They can reason that although they may enjoy the activity, the punishment if caught, is not worth it. They also know that parents, school officials, and law enforcement officials have power over them, and can enforce the rules if need be.

As children progress from the middle years into the preteen years, they experience the consequences of breaking the rules or going against the moral code set forth by their parents. Additionally, they feel good about themselves when helping others, when doing what others expect of them. They know they gain approval when they follow rules.

Because of the experiences they have already gone through, this preteen stage allows them to understand why adults put rules and morals codes in place. When they get into trouble, they may place the blame on someone or something else. They may even feel guilty during this phase when they break a rule or if they do something that, they believe is wrong.

This is a great time for parents to discuss with their preteen the importance of doing what is right and giving examples of what can happen when they do something wrong. It is significant because by the time children reach the teen years, they gain a full understanding of the moral compass their parents set forth for them, and becomes the perfect time for them to disagree and rebel against the rules. Fortunately, for most parents, this rebellious stage only lasts until the teen reaches adulthood.

Filed Under: Child Development, Parenting Tagged With: Adolescence, Morality, Parent

What Parents can do for Discouraged Teenagers

March 16, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Changes teenagers go through cause them to experience a roller coaster of high and low periods. Teenagers that spend more time in a low period than a high one cannot always put their finger on what is bothering them. Fortunately, for most teenagers, these feelings fade away over time. There are ways parents can help them until it does.

Parents need to remain consistent in encouraging their teen. Parents can put emphasis on the many areas where their teenager excels, and spend more time helping them work on areas where they may struggle. They can also look for ways to compliment their teen at various times to build up their self-esteem. Parents may ease their teenager’s stress by engaging in activities the teenager enjoys doing with their parents, more often.

Everyone becomes discouraged at some point in his or her life, though for teenagers, it can seem like the end of the world, because they believe they are the only ones who feel that way. All teenagers go through this and it is perfectly normal.

Another good way to relieve a teen’s feelings of inadequacy is to arrange for a get-together with several of the teens’ friends they consider trustworthy. They can make a list of their attributes and their faults, as they see them, and share these with the group. This will initiate conversations between them where they can encourage each other. Additionally, it will help teens to see that they are not alone in their feelings.

Encouraging others when they are down comes easy for adults and teens alike. Making this a regular activity will help your teenager to see that by encouraging others, they can help themselves through the rough patches.

Filed Under: Child Development, Parenting Tagged With: Adolescence, Parent, Teenagers

The Mix of Adolescents and New Technology has its Disadvantages

March 9, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Parents recall a time when they begged their parents to buy them the latest fashion in school supplies. Owning the snazzy new binder or the hottest selling lunchbox made them actually look forward to going to school. Today teenagers do the same thing, convincing their parents they must buy them the latest in electronics. In that sense, not much has changed.

What has changed is the effects the new-fangled items can have on an adolescent’s ability to function as they reach adulthood. Being able to master all the latest gadgets may attribute to the burnout some teenagers experience.

The advantage to owning some of the latest technologically advanced items, is that instead of buying a camera, a cell phone, a music player, and a calculator, parents need only to buy the latest hand-held do it all device. While this may save money in the end, it could very well stifle the teenager’s ability to think.

Some child psychologists believe that a child playing video games or using their cell phone excessively takes away from their ability to deal with peers. They believe that teenagers lose the ability to get along with others because they spend more time manipulating a video game control to produce a desired effect. They cannot manipulate their peers so easily. Electronic overload can also interfere with problem solving. The old adage, use or lose it, applies when machines do all one’s critical thinking for them, with the push of a button.

Ironically, the scientists and mathematicians that developed this new technology are the ones who told previous generations of schoolchildren that learning math and science strengthens critical and logical thinking, and gives humans the ability to solve problems and work out solutions.

Filed Under: Child Development Tagged With: Adolescence, Mobile phone, Parent

Problems of Children who Ride the School Bus

March 4, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

When children come home frequently complaining about problems on the school bus, parents need to call the school, to find out if school officials are aware of any problems. It is the school’s responsibility to instruct the school bus driver on how to handle problems on their bus. A parent’s call may be the first they hear of any problem. If the problems persist, parents should make follow-up calls until the problems go away.

There are school bus issues that parents may not think are the school’s responsibility. These problems have to do with the safety of children at their designated school bus stops. Unfortunately, parents of children old enough to walk to the bus stop themselves might not find out about these problems until tragedy strikes. Parents should observe what goes on at the school bus stop. With or without their child’s knowledge, parents must make sure drivers observe the rules for school buses.

When children are boarding or departing school buses, the driver puts out the stop sign on the side of the bus, and flashes the red lights. Anyone who drives knows that there are people who disregard stop signs and red lights. Any parent that does not drive, observes drivers ignoring traffic regulations regarding pedestrians. These drivers do the same thing when it involves small children at school bus stops.

Any parent, who sees a driver ignoring the red lights and stop sign on a school bus, needs to contact the school and the local authorities, and never let up until someone takes action. A child’s safety is of the utmost importance, and parents, the school, and authorities need to ensure their safety at all times, including at school bus stops.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education Tagged With: Bus, Parent, School bus

Children with Special Needs

February 24, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Those who label children with special needs may be doing more harm than good, to the children and the families of those children.

Special needs children have the same needs as other children. They may have additional needs that parents must fill, but calling them special is something that may cause a lifetime of heartache for the children and the parents.

As a society that is supposed to accept people from all lifestyles, it would seem that there is much work to do still, when it comes to advising parents of children that society calls special. All children have a naivety about themselves, their family members, and about the world around them. Children learn about differences in people from adults. They do not have a preconception of how supposedly normal children act. Nor do they know how those normal children behave, or what they are supposed to look like. It is adults who do all of this.

Parents of children with additional needs must impose on school officials and parents of other normal children, how they expect others to treat their child at all times, which except for an additional need here and there, is the same as other children.

Parents of children with special needs are the advocates for their children; just as any other parent is for their child. However parents of children others consider special, need to be especially vigilant so that their child does not begin to believe that he is special or different from any other child his or her age.

Just as school administrators label so-called normal children according to their academic skills in a school setting, children with special needs do not need singling out, and their parents do not want that either.

All children with special needs really need, is the support and help that all other children want and need, with a little extra, nothing more and nothing less.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education Tagged With: Child, Family, Special needs

They’ll be Grown all too Soon

February 20, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

It’s a weird feeling when you realize how far your children have come in what doesn’t feel like any time at all. One day, they’re just warm lumps that can’t even roll over on their own. And then the next, they’re talking all the time, getting into stuff faster than you can believe, and just generally making you wish you had their level of energy. Just mark the words you’re reading here today. They are going to grow up more quickly than you can believe, and when they do, hopefully they’ll at least remember a few of the things you taught them when they were kids.

As kids grow into adults, the process is pretty subtle. One day they’re talking a mile a minute, and the next day they’re observing what’s going on around them. If you’ve ever noticed, when a child is about to begin a new stage of life (such as when they go from baby to toddler, or go from toddler to the stage they’re in from about 4 to 6), they observe a lot. This trend continues and adults do the same thing when we’re about to enter another stage of our lives, so maybe it continues forever. At any rate, it certainly continues throughout their schooling.

You need to be very stringent about preparing your kids for college. While they may not even be old enough to go to school yet, the day is rapidly approaching. You only have so much time to teach them (or make sure that school teaches them) the things they need to know in order to be successful at that level. In college, things that used to just be practice become very real. Things like grad school (and GMAT class online) and getting a professional type of job stop being “eventual,” and enter the here and now. Before you know it, it’ll be happening.

Filed Under: Child Development, General Tagged With: Education, GMAT, Graduate school

Promoting a Child’s Creativity without Being Overbearing

February 18, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

It is perfectly natural for a parent to want their child to engage in extracurricular activities they enjoyed when they were children themselves. Parents can certainly offer suggestions or present choices to a child regarding outside activities. This is an excellent way for a child to highlight his or her talents or creative ability.

The downside is that a parent may tend to push a child to remain in a club or on a sports team they do not enjoy. Once the child begins to balk regularly, it is time for the parent to listen. Not every child will want to participate in certain activities, regardless of whether or not he or she possesses the necessary skills to excel.

A child may love to paint, draw, or write, regardless of their level of talent in creative arts. On the other hand, a parent may know that their child has artistic or athletic ability and wish their child would pursue that instead of playing sports. The child may not care for the discipline and time involved in playing a musical instrument, or completing an art project now, but they may decide to do so on their own later.

As long as the child is happy, a parent does not need to worry that their child may miss the opportunity to become the next Beethoven, Rembrandt, or Mickey Mantle. Children have a tendency to find their own way, when it comes to figuring out their passions.

One last thing to remember is that even if a child gave up being a scout, a ballet dancer, or a team player, it just means that they have not yet found an activity they enjoy. With so many opportunities for a child, parents can reassure themselves that whether it is music, art, sports or something else, your child will find his or her niche at some point.

Filed Under: Child Development, Education Tagged With: Child, Mickey Mantle, Parent