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Emotions are expressed through feelings, using language, learning to calm oneself and to treat others with kindness and empathy. Preschoolers learn about these emotions at school and at home. They are often over-excited and give extreme reactions to these emotions such as tantrums, yelling, hitting, biting which sometimes can cause great frustration for parents and caretakers.
Children learn emotional habits in several ways and express their feelings. They learn both at school and at home when they are interacting with their family and friends. They try to pick up these things very quickly and naturally by watching how others respond to various situations and by mimicking their behavior.
Children should be taught to identify different emotions which they experience at home or school. Let the child know that feeling different emotions is as quiet as normal. By letting them know about various emotions and giving them the vocabulary needed to describe how they are feeling, they can express them more productively.
Children need to be taught how to identify their own emotions, through their facial expressions and body language and also of others. We can do this is by making them learn to pay attention to their own body signals, such as queasy when nervous, or tight shoulders and balled fists when they are angry. When they recognize it in themselves, they can easily pick up facial expressions and body language of others and learn to react accordingly.
We can provide a visual reference for children to use and encourage them to recognize and identify how they are feeling. They simply identify the emotion on the chart and that shows how they are feeling.
Emotions can be introduced and taught in a fun way by playing a game with children, by using the emotions chart, matching the emotions or emoji cards, etc. This helps the child to identify their feelings or emotions.
Children learn to accept their emotional state when they realize that it is normal to feel the way they are. As parents, we can provide them opportunities to identify their feelings in a correct way. This helps the child to connect with their emotions in the classroom.
Hence, learning to get through these emotions helps the child to succeed not just in childhood but also in adulthood. These playful activities can be a perfect way for engaging young children with recognizing, thinking and talking about emotions. That’s the reason why emotions for kids are very important!
Quiet a few parents might have heard the phrase “W sitting” and that it is bad for their child to sit that way. Most of the parents are unaware of the reason that children are discouraged from sitting in this position.
What does “W” Sitting mean?
It is a type of sitting position, wherein a child sits on their bottom with both the knees bent and their legs turned away from the body. If we look at the child from above their head, his/her legs will be in the shape of the letter “W”. Their knees and thighs may touch together or spread apart.
Many children, prefer to sit in this position as it is comfortable for them, and they sit that way without even thinking about it. Children sit in this position in order to make up for weaknesses they may have in their hips and trunk. This position allows children to play with toys in an upright sitting position without a fear of falling down.
This is very commonly seen in kids as they move in and out of this position while playing indoors or on the floor. The problem with this position arises when the child sits in the same way for an extended period of time.
As a parent, it is very important to recognize when your child is sitting in “W” position and to correct it for the following reasons:
If you see your child sitting in “W” position, rather than just saying, ‘Don’t sit like that’ you can instead suggest few other ways for them to sit, like:
These positions allow your child to use both the hands at the same time on both sides of the body. In addition, these sitting positions help them to shift their weight from one side to another more easily and also encourage the child to use their back and abdominal muscles to maintain the upright sitting position.
At first, your child may resist the correction when you ask him/her not to sit in that way. However, as a parent, it is important that you consistently make this correction whenever you see your child sitting in W position, as it impacts their growth and development in a significant way.
There has been a generational shift where today’s parents are much less likely to use traditional methods of disciplining their children. Most of our new generation parents who have kids aged 5 years and younger, don’t prefer spanking as a course to correct behaviour. However, there are a few who try to impose old-fashioned discipline techniques when kids frequently misbehave. But trust us, it is only a temporary resolution.
Having said all of the above, keep in mind that your goal is to teach the child to regulate his/her own behaviour. When you opt for spanking/hitting, you are teaching that conflict can be resolved with aggression. So, let’s just teach them better ways of resolution.
Some parents may fit neatly into a single style of parenting, while others use a combination of parenting styles. Parenting styles are mostly mended to adjust the requirement of children at a given time/situation. The interesting thing about being a parent is that there is a great variation in how we raise our children. At the same time, there are many similarities from one parent to others. In fact, researchers have tried to group parents into four common parenting styles.
Parenting style basically refers to the combination of strategies/methods that you use to raise your children. The four parenting styles have distinct names and characteristics:
Authoritarian parents are often thought of as disciplinarians. These parents use a strict discipline style with little negotiation possible. Communication is mostly one way, from parent to child. Rules usually are fixed and not formulated and parents with this style are typically less persuadable/lenient. Expectations from parents are high and punishment is common.
Most of the permissive parents let their children do what they want, and offer limited guidance or direction. They are more like friends than parents and their discipline style is the opposite of strict. They have limited or no rules and they mostly let children figure out problems on their own. Communication is open but these parents let children decide for themselves rather than giving directions. Parents in this category tend to be warm and nurturing making minimal expectations.
Democratic parenting involves treating children as their equals. Parents treat their kids with respect and dignity, they are given choices and are made responsible for their own decisions. Disciplinary rules are made clear and the reasons behind them are explained. Communication among them is frequent and appropriate to the child’s level of understanding. It doesn’t mean that children can do everything an adult does in the family, the freedom given here is age-appropriate.
Uninvolved parents give their children a lot of freedom and generally stay out of their ways. Some parents may make a conscious decision to parent in this way, while others are less interested in parenting or unsure of what to do. Parents in this set allows the child mostly do what he/she wants to do. These types of parents offer independence, with minimal communication and have few or no expectations of children.
Back are the days of chills and laze!
When it is winter, you need to be extra prepared in terms of keeping your kids warm and healthy. Amazingly, winter is the best season to improve immunity. The best way to improve your little one’s immunity is to give include food that enhances immune strength.
Seasonal fruits
With every season, the mantra to stay healthy is to eat a lot of seasonal food. Seasonal fruits are there for a reason. With seasonal food, you are sure it’s not from produce that’s stored long. Seasonal food has all the nutrients and antioxidants that is otherwise lost in cold stored food.
Dry fruits
Include the goodness of dry fruits in the winter season. Dry fruit powder mixed in milk helps your toddler gain weight and the best thing is that its mid aromatic flavor makes it a delicious drink for children.
Vegetables
We’ve always learned that a healthy diet must include green leafy vegetables. Yes, because the vitamins in these vegetables not only energy boosters but also helps fight diseases. In winters, try to include more of underground/rooted vegetables – ginger, carrot, potato, onions, garlic, radish, yams, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, etc,
Badam halwa
Who doesn’t love to have a warm delicacy in winters? This healthy dessert made with milk, sugar, ghee and almonds is a favorite of any Indian. Almonds will keep your child’s body warm and help in the stimulation of digestion. They are also a good source of protein that is essential for bone strengthening
Gajar ka halwa
Another traditional dessert prepared in Indian homes during winter. Loaded with ghee, nuts, and milk, this preparation has the essential nutrients to boost the immune system.
Vegetable soup
Vegetable soups are wholesome and healthy. You can make soup with your choice of fresh vegetables, cream and spices. You can serve it as an evening snack for your babies. The goodness of vitamins in these vegetables helps in energizing your kids and is refreshing too.
Your child’s daily food intake should be a combination of all of the above. As we say, ‘wintertime is for comfort food and warmth,’ give your child good food to treat winter blues.
Parental involvement in a child’s education influences the academic motivation and learning styles of the child. When parents are involved in the child’s activities, the quality of being able to listen and use the information from adults is high. Children are not afraid to try new games and activities and are willing to take reasonable risks and have high self-confidence while doing it along with their parents. Parents can monitor their child’s performance and also can help in boosting rapport between their child and other children of the age group.
Need for Parental participation:
Family is the most effective system for fostering and sustaining the development of the child. The involvement of family/parents in child’s programs or classroom activities helps to succeed in any of the intervention programs. The involvement of parents as partners helps in reinforcing the child’s learning.
Parental participation plays a vital role in early childhood education/programmes of a child. A good example can be Student Led Conferences or Open House wherein your child gets to take you through his/her learning at the school. Such conferences aid the parents to gauge their child’s participation & learning. A survey of parents who participated in a head start programme revealed that there is a positive relationship between extensive parent participation and children’s scores on task orientation, academic achievement, verbal intelligence, and self-concept. It is encouraged that you help children with their weekend tasks/homework so you know the progress he/she is making and also work on an improvement plan along with the class teacher if need be.
Why is parental participation necessary?
Self-esteem can be defined as an individual’s evaluation of their own value. It includes a variety of views about one’s self, such as beliefs, traits, behaviours, emotions and appearance.
Is self-esteem important? How does it affect us in our lives? Self-esteem plays a significant role in your success and motivation in life. Similarly, low self-esteem will put you back at work, in school and even lead you to lose belief in yourself.
Now, we may think. How does all of this apply to kids at such a young age? Self-esteem and confidence in a child is built and shaped from a very young age. Feeling liked, accepted, accomplished and good about themselves, being proud of their actions are a few things that you can notice in a child with self-esteem. On the other hand, children will low self-esteem tend to be hard on themselves, they don’t believe that they can do it or lack the confidence.
Self-esteem in children is very important because it gives them the confidence to try and explore new things. They feel accomplished or feel proud of what they do and can also cope with mistakes. This results in them performing better at school, at home and even later in life.
Children with low self-esteem have the fear of not being accepted by their friends, they lack enough confidence and tend to have a hard time standing up for themselves. This may lead to them not doing as well as they could.
It is important to enable a child’s self-esteem from a very young age. Development of self-esteem can start from when a child receives love, safety, attention and acceptance from their parents. At a young age, allowing your child to learn things on their own, praising them and smiling at them will have a positive impact on their self-esteem.
Every child develops and grows at their own pace and so will their self-esteem. If your child is not very social now, it doesn’t mean that he has low self-esteem. It just means that he may be taking a little longer to feel comfortable and confident. But, even if a child’s self-esteem is comparatively low, it can be raised.
Let us make sure we have a positive impact on our children’s self-esteem and confidence. Be a role model that your child needs!
Children absolutely love nature. You can see how happy they become when you take them to the park; they jump with excitement when they hear about a road trip or a trip to the beach. It isn’t that hard to translate this connection between the environment and children into a life-long commitment to care for the environment.
Especially at preschool going age, children are curious to learn about everything. This is the time that you must introduce them to lessons on being eco-friendly. Getting them to understand how crucial caring for the environment is, will help them become responsible adults.
We try to instil morals in our children at a very young age hoping that it is carried for life. We teach them not to lie/ cheat/ steal/ harm others. What about teaching them to love and protect our environment, keep it clean or to utilize our resources wisely? These values when inculcated at an early age, will grow with them and also reflect in the choices they make towards the environment.
Here are a few easy and quick tips that can teach children ways to reduce their carbon footprint:
Let us all work towards building a healthier and happier environment!
All children exhibit strong-willed traits at some point in their lives. Strong-willed kids are often misunderstood to be aggressive, stubborn, etc. This nature of being strong-willed doesn’t make them bad kids. They are simply determined to do things on their terms. Are you raising a strong-willed child? Look for the signs!
Anger Outbursts
You might have experienced temper tantrums often on small things like – not taking them to the park, forcibly taking them to the mall, etc. It’s their way to show how bad they feel. As a parent, you must acknowledge your child’s emotions and show them an alternative way of expressing their frustration/dislike.
Want to Know All
Yes, this is one of the worst practices of a strong-willed child. They don’t settle to orders, they want reasoning for everything you say. Reasons why they can’t go out to play, why they cannot jump on the bed and so on. If you want to stop your child from arguing, share your answers; how it’s for their safety or how is it morally not suitable. While sometimes it’s not feasible to provide them with an explanation, you can briefly give an underlying reason why you have set a limit.
Pro at Arguing
They just won’t give up easily! Their persistence is sure to tire you. Don’t be surprised when your child recalls that one time you allowed his/her sister to have ice-cream late at night while you have upright refused them to touch one.
Your strategy to combat this behaviour should be ‘not giving in to their demands’. Often, in order to avoid the aftermath, we give in to their demands. But that will not motivate them to follow the rules. Instead, giving them a warning to stop their argument will work better.
They Dominate
They will often be among those that lead a group. It could be minding a class, instructing a group in a game or leading an activity. If their behaviour is not fine-tuned, they may turn out to be bossy. You as a parent can make them practice appropriate tones of talking. Teach them the kind way of asking someone to do something. Explain to them how others may feel offended by their assertive tone.
Firm on Their Decisions
These are the ones who aren’t afraid to stand firm to the things they believe in. If you are trying to convince them of something that they don’t feel is right, you’ll fail to budge their decision. If they refuse to do something, no matter what you say, they will not listen. Nagging, rationalizing or ordering, won’t work for them. They like to be given choices.
Rather than saying, “Clear the mess right now,” ask, “Do you want to clean the mess now or after you finish one last game?” Giving a choice will make them feel more empowered.
They Like Fairness
They’re more cautious about fairness in everything. Remember that one time you lied about their age to get a free entry in the circus, your child would count his correct age in front of the gate-keeper. So make sure you are on your words, avoid justified lies and take fair decisions for them.
Great at Selective Hearing
Yes, they’ll hear what they want to and simply ignore your words if they aren’t interested. For example, if you say ‘Don’t run,’ they’ll ignore you because they’re probably having fun. Here, you got to step in and make them understand that you mean what you say. Don’t just give empty threats.
Before you think your child is not easy going and you’re going to have a hard time with him/her, know that this attitude will prove to be an asset for him/her at a later point in life.
Strong-willed kids can be great leaders. If we are to create peace in our world, we must nurture these kids to stand up for what is right.
After approaching many schools I can say Firstcry Intellitots Preschool as No.1 Preschool. As my sons, Arya is energetic the whole day I wanted him to utilize his energy in a useful way & this has been fulfilled by Firstcry Intellitots.
Everyone in the school has a very friendly approach towards the kids. Welcoming the kids with a broad smile is something I like about Firstcry Intellitots. This school is great if wish to boost child's knowledge.
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