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Posts Tagged ‘Parent’

It’s the same story every year – you worry about whether the new teachers will understand your child. Will the teacher adapt to your child’s individual learning speed? Will she be able to recognize your child’s special aptitudes and talents? You don’t want to be the overbearing, interfering parent, but you still want to know these things.

You certainly cannot hold your child’s teacher accountable for every classroom nuance. After all, teachers are qualified educationalists, and we have to trust their judgment to a fair degree without questioning it. So what’s the solution? How do you stay on top of how your child is faring under his or her teacher? The answer is – build a good parent teacher relationship.

Parent teacher relationships are like many other relationships – once they are in place, they can overlook quite a few social gaffes. And like all other relationships, building a healthy parent teacher bond involves a certain process of breaking the ice, winning mutual trust and staying in touch.

Your objective here is obviously not to build a rip-roaring friendship – though that often happens. The primary purpose of building such a relationship is to have informal access to your child’s progress at school, and that may not happen merely by attending local PTA meetings.

Is such relationship-building really necessary? After all, you are busy and have lots of other things to do. Also, you as a parent are obviously entitled to inquire with teacher about your child’s academic performance. However, that is not all you need to know about how your child is faring at school.

You need to know how your kid is doing at the emotional level You may need to be able to make requests for special attention by the teacher You may require the teacher to offer instinctive evaluations You may need to communicate your own insights on your child’s mental make-up and ask that these be factored into the teaching process You may need to advise the teacher on your own parenting style and ask that it be supported in class, as well

Once of the main reason why most parents do not make efforts to build a healthy parent teacher relationship is the fear of vulnerability. Such parents worry that revealing too much about themselves will expose them as inefficient and ineffective parents, thereby laying them open to a teacher’s professional criticism.

The fact is – parents are as human as we are, and are often parents themselves. They may have their own insecurities in that role, and are therefore perfectly capable of understanding yours. On the other hand, you will never know of or benefit from this human side if you do not tap into it.

The only way to break the barrier of formality is to initiate and maintain a healthy working parent teacher relationship. If you aren’t the gregarious type who is comfortable with breaking the ice in person, you can take the help of interactive parent web sites designed to help parents interact with their children’s teachers.

Many parents find staying in touch with their children’s teachers in this manner quite comfortable. While signing up for such a parent web site, ensure that it also helps you connect with other parents and keeps you updated on after-school activities.

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In the world today, obesity is on the rise. It is estimated that three quarters of the population are overweight to some degree or obese.

Among these startling numbers, half are children. With all of the fast food restaurants and pizza shops that have been opened within the past decade, it is no wonder that weight problems are on the rise.

When you stop and think about it, who is really to blame for childhood obesity? Many people are quick to blame the parents, and in some instance that is true.

When children are small, parents control every aspect of their life including their diet. They can provide healthy nutritional meals. As the child gets older, it gets difficult to control their diet whether it is because of school or going out with friends.

Ultimately, the responsibility of eating a healthy diet depends on the age of the child. Small children are easy to feed so to speak, however, as they get older and start to go out with their friends, you lose that control to a certain degree. You can instill in them the need for proper nutrition, however when it comes down to it, peer pressure will win out almost every time.

Although schools are supposed to provide healthy nutritional lunches, and many of them do, they also offer choices such as cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and fried chicken and fish. Snack machines filled with chips cakes, and candy also line the walls of the cafeteria’s, as well as soda machines. Many children forego the healthy lunch that the school provides and spend their money in these machines.

When one is asked, who is to blame for childhood obesity, the obvious answer is society. Parents cannot watch their child twenty-four hours a day. It is impossible. The only thing that parents can do is to teach their children what a healthy diet consists of and hope that they will follow it.

Eliminating junk food from school cafeterias and changing the menus is a good start, however it cannot end there. Restrictions and laws need to be initiated and enforced. The fast food industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and will not conform easily.

Of course, fast food restaurants are not totally to blame for the rise in obesity in children, if you walk down the frozen food Isle of any supermarket, you will find hundreds of heat and eat meals that are loaded with calories, carbs, sodium, and fat. The convenience of these ready to eat meals has replaced the nutritional value of a homemade meal.

It ultimately falls upon the parents to provide healthy nutritional meals for their families when they sit down to evening dinner. What your children do outside of your home cannot be controlled. You can only teach them the consequences of what can happen if they do not eat a healthy diet.

Author: Matt Garrett © 2007 [http://www.positiveparentinghandbook.com]

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What Makes a Good Parent [http://www.positiveparentinghandbook.com]

An empowered parent is a parent who is both kind and firm. A strong parent has courage and usually knows when to say “yes” or “no” to their child’s demands. A strong parent understands that their child benefits by having a parent who has strength of character, who doesn’t seem to struggle with endless childhood challenges, and who acts in charge even when their child says, “everyone is doing it.” A strong parent takes the time to communicate and pay attention daily to their child – to be informed about what their child is doing each day and also understands what’s in their child’s heart.

An empowered parent teaches their child values, morals, and how to be loving by demonstrating their own good behavior each day. If all you do is punish, yell, ignore, or blame your child, you’re putting up barriers to connecting. If you decide to encourage, validate, teach, negotiate, and snuggle with your child, you are building a relationship based on healthy emotions.

A strong parent provides a home that is violent free (no violence between brothers and sisters, parents or TV/computer programs). A strong parent doesn’t allow their child’s reply of “no” to trigger a power struggle. Instead a parent can re-state the “no” with, “it seems like you would like to continue watching the video, but its time to go wash up.” Then you are offering understanding and opening up dialogue.

A strong parent helps their child develop compassion by practicing empathy and thereby strengthening emotional bonds. A strong parent is an empowered parent, who truly knows that the decisions they make for their child’s welfare is the best decision. If a parent doesn’t really know what is the best solution, they have the strength to tell their child, ” I’m gong to have to think this over and after thinking this through, I’ll let you know my decision.”

A strong parent respects, loves, trusts, and accepts their child and their behavior. You can still have deep affection for your child while displaying authority. Healthy parenting is both control and love. It’s creating an emotional bond with your child that permits both of you to feel a connection that can withstand a wide-array of emotions. A child benefits by knowing there is a “grown up” in charge who takes care of them. That parent acts “in charge.”

A strong parent provides a home that encourages and helps to make possible an active learning environment. Books, magazines, trips to the library and family discussions should always be available to your child. A strong parent gives each child age-appropriate chores each day, so that their child can learn the word “responsible.” A strong parent has the inner belief that their child will do well, will succeed, will accomplish, and will become a very decent human being with feelings of love and generosity.

I have always thought that it is much more important to be close with my child than it is to always be right. I understand that by building a connection with my child, I am building a comfortable relationship that will last us a lifetime. I also know how important it is to remind my child that he is intelligent, strong, giving, and loving. I also remind my child that the most important things in life are being joyful, having inner happiness and peace, and that he should have praise and feelings of gratitude for everything he has and experiences.

Most of all an empowered parent feels confident that when they expect the best from their child, the best will be shine through. Expect your child to be good and you may be amazed that your expectation will materialize. Parenting is a step-by-step process. Not any person has been primed for being a parent, so don’t be hard on yourself. Just try to remember to be loving and fair in all your decisions, and you will find yourself able to face the tough issues as they come. Also remember that you are not your child’s friend, companion, buddy, or pal. You are the PARENT. Be an empowered one.

Linda Milo, The Parent-Child Connection Coach, specializes in helping mothers and fathers turn their parenting challenges into a more livable, more workable, and more enjoyable family life. Her FREE better-parenting newsletter covers specific, proven, and immediately usable methods for overcoming the most common parenting challenges. Visit www.empoweringparentsnow.com to subscribe to her FREE newsletter, and you?ll also receive her FREE Special Report, ?10 Top Tips On Communicating With Your Child? as a thank you bonus. Also receive a free and informative 45 minute coaching session.