Discipline Techniques

By Kara M Armstrong

As parents, we all make mistakes, no parent is perfect. We all need any additional help we can get. Disciplining your children is tricky and we tend to make many mistakes regarding this subject. Here is a quick list that you can use as a reference.

Make disciplining your kids a top priority!

1) Do not tell lies to your children

Children are smarter than what we give them credit for, this is why I can not stress enough not to lie to your kids. If they happen to catch you in a lie they will not trust you and they will loose respect for you. They also could go to the extreme and think that lying is acceptable and they could start thinking that it is acceptable to lie.

2) Don't back down

Do not back down to your kids. If you give them a consequence, stick to it. It will show them that everyone has responsibilities. It is your responsibility to teach them from right and wrong and it is their responsibility to follow the rules.

3) Do not bribe your children!

I can't tell you how many times I have seen parents bribe their children, especially when it comes to behaving. It is great to reward but that is totally different than bribing. Bribing will only teach them to be spoiled.

4) Stick to the rules!

As parents we have the make the rules and set boundaries for our children. It is very important, as parents, to make sure that we also follow our own rules. Do not let your children see you break the rules that you created. We need to lead by example. If we don't follow our own rules how can we expect our children to?

5) Remain Calm!

It is also very important that we don't lose our temper with our children. Remember to stay calm when disciplining. If you lose your temper you can be rest assured that your child will react to your emotions and they as well will lose their temper. Count to ten and take a deep breath, if you have to hide in the bathroom until you have calmed down... DO IT!!

6) Lecturing

When it comes to punishments there is nothing worse than going on and on. Keep it short and simple. If you start lecturing, the kids are not going to hear it and you're just wastingyour breath. All you have to remember is to keep it short and simple.

7) The Dad Threat or Vice Versa

I know it's tempting to tell your kids "just wait until your dad gets home" but you want them to respect you. Threatening them with their dad or mom is just going to let them believe that they can walk all over you when their dad is not home. You need to also start disciplining to ensure that they also respect you.

8) Nurture while disciplining

Disciplining is hard on everyone involved. It's hard on the kids, the parents, and even people watching it. It is very important that you nurture your kids while punishing them. Remind them that you love them but every behavior has a consequence, whether it is good or bad.

9) Forgetting to Teach

Remember the point of discipline; to teach. You're trying to correct bad behavior. Let them know what the correct or acceptable behavior is. Always teach something during every behavioral situation. Kids are learning something, every minute of the day. Make every situation into a teaching moment.

10) Explain Why They Are Being Punished

In order for a punishment to be effective, the children must know why they are being punished. This is the same as teaching while disciplining. Just explain why they are being punished.

11) Don't Overreact

Remember to stay calm and try not to overreact. No matter how bad it seems its more than likely not that bad. The more you overreact the more they are going to react to your overreaction. STAY CALM!!!!

12) Waiting too long!

Another discipline problem that I often see is waiting too long to deliver the punishment. With very young children they need to have an immediate punishment. Kids under six will likely forget what they did to deserve the punishment and it will ultimately mean nothing to them.

Children are not being disciplined anymore! Parent's leave it up to the teachers at school to do the disciplining. it should start at home. It is almost like parent's are scared of their kids. Kids are now taught at school and everywhere else that when their parents discipline them it is child abuse. They threaten their parents that if they are disciplined then they are either calling child protective services or the police, even if they are not be spanked or using corpal punishment. I believe that kids should be spanked, it is now that society believes that kids being spanked teaches them violence. If this would be the case, their would be so many more people that grew up in the 50's, 60's and 70's in prison. It does not teach kids violence but teaches them to be respectful and know and learn the rules of the household and gives them boundaries.

Along with the twelve simple rules, you might ask yourself "what do I do when my child talks back?" Well the answer is simple, first, you must learn to keep your composure. Don't condone your child talking back but be careful as to how you react to it. You need to determine the root cause of the back talk. Talk with your child and determine what is the main cause of the back talk. Explain to your child that it is acceptable to have intense emotions but it is not acceptable to be disrespectful. Whatever you do you MUST carry out any consequences that you give your child.

http://amothersinspiration.com/blogs.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kara_M_Armstrong

The Practice of Gardening for Kids

By Carlos J Garcia

If you are a nature lover, then the practice of gardening certainly brings you a step closer to nature. Gardening is a part of horticulture that allows you to grow plants of your choice. You can also create a lively green and soothing area near your house by sowing seeds. The art of gardening needs proper care and practice, and a result gives you colorful flowers, fruits and vegetables. All you require to start gardening is a certain space. If you have a front or back yard, you can easily start working on your gardening activities. Selecting the right space or area plays a pivotal role in the process of gardening. However, people living in multi-storied apartments hardly find any gardening space. In such cases, they can take the initiative on an apartment portico, terrace or roofs.

While sowing seeds or cultivating plants on the soil, make sure the plants get sufficient sunlight so that they can grow. In addition to sufficient sunlight, make sure the soil has an abundance of nutrients and minerals. Soil nutrients are very crucial, especially if you plan to cultivate edible parts like grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes etc. These support your plants while growing.

Other than sunlight and productive soil, you also need to keep in mind that your plants need to get sufficient water to grow and remain healthy. Water for a sturdy plant is as important as the requirement of oxygen for our subsistence. The practice of gardening begins duringchildhood and helps the kids aware of the significance of nature and gardening in their lives. However, one of the most challenging things for the kid is to keep the soil perfectly soggy. To keep the plants alive, water is required, but kids should be careful that they do not give too much of it. The best thing to do in such cases is to touch the soil with your hand. If you touch it and it is dry, then it probably needs a greater amount of water. If it is already moist and softer, you can wait awhile before adding more water.

Kids who are doing it for the first time should know that you can place the plants into the soil either directly or through a vessel or container. You will find most of the garden containersused in urban gardening are made of crates, empty cartons or stacks of tires. It is always crucial for you to choose the right plants before you start digging in the yard. This is because; some plants grow better in their natural surroundings. Such plants are referred to as native species and are considered as the perfect plant for those who have just started their gardening plans. They grow better with the usual amounts of sunlight and water in their areas. On the other hand, for cultivating non-native species, kids must be acquainted with all the basics about those plants. This includes, finding out the required amounts of water, sunlight and the nourishment needed for growing these plants. In addition, you also need to know which types of soil suit those non-native species best.

One thing that you must set in your mind while gardening is that you should never get bored. Gardening all together includes a lot of fun, challenges experiences for kids. Those who have never tried gardening before thing initially that it sounds quite challenging for them. However, if you spend a good time in learning what gardening is, you will surely create a pleasant and refreshing environment around you.

Carlos J Garcia has written lot of supporting companion page articles for A Reading Place and if you would like to see the companion page to this one, please visit All About Gardening to see two related videos, a collection of photographs and more articles. If you would like to see a wonderful children's book About Gardening this book on Amazon is a great choice

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carlos_J_Garcia

5 Steps to Creating Bedtime Stories With Your Kids

By Denice Sealy

Does it feel like you and your kids have read every bedtime story that's in the bookshelf four or five times over? Try this twist to mix things up a bit... and watch bedtime become fun again:

Bedtime stories are great for kids because their imaginations get activated when they enter the world of the story. If you want to kick things up a notch, try helping them create a fairytale of their own... here's how:

1. Help them pick a main character(hint hint, it should probably be them.)
2. Create something that this character wants to achieve --maybe it's to climb a million steps to reach a castle in the sky, or swim to the very bottom of the ocean. You can have fun combining creative forces with them to help them come up with something.
3. Come up with an obstacle---maybe there's a wise man at the top of the steps who won't let anybody in until they answer three difficult questions---you get the picture.
4. Invent the part of the story where the main character faces the obstacles and uses his or her resources to fight the battle and maybe even receives some help from other characters.
5. Have the main character achieve his or her goal, or if he or she doesn't, create a to becontinued for the next evening.

As you practice creating stories, your child's imagination will be activated more and more, and soon they'll be coming up with all sorts of interesting characters and twists and turns in their stories. If you want to kick things up even more, take time outs to act out the story, with you and your child playing various characters.

The beauty of creating the story is that you can return to the same story the next evening, or you can create another one from scratch, and this can happen for as many evenings as you would like. You can pick themes or ideas like practicing kindness to others, the value oflearning to work in a team, or any from which you think your child would benefit. A story about a young girl who was bored, for example, and set about on a journey to create fun and creative activities for herself can be entertaining, and informative as well. The possibilities are endless! Who knows, maybe one day, your little one might have enough stories for a book of his or her own!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denice_Sealy

What Is an Executive Function?

By Laine Dougherty

The term "executive function" or "executive dysfunction" refers to those skills that are used to "get things done" and to "manage oneself" and they are often associated with ADHD/ADD. They develop in the precortex of the brain which is in the front forehead area and damage to this area can also impact the executive functions. The prefrontal cortex may not be fully developed in some individuals until they are in their mid-twenties.

I once heard it explained as the skills that a secretary or administrative assistant would handle for an executive. Those things like making sure appointments and schedules were made and kept, projects kept moving, tasks completed, etc. You may have heard it described as the conductor of an orchestra who can come in and transform the racket of multiple instruments tuning up into a beautiful symphony. Here is a more formal definition:

The executive functions are a set of processes that all have to do with managing oneself and one's resources in order to achieve a goal. It is an umbrella term for the neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation. Taken from: Joyce Cooper-Kahn and Laurie Dietzel (2008) http://www.ldonline.org/article/29122/

Why is this important? If your child has a weakness in one or more of the executive functions with or without ADHD then it might show up as:

• Spending hours on homework but be unable to find it when it is time to hand it in
• Last minute projects that take hours and change course several times
• Inability to sit down and get started on homework
• Messy backpacks and notebooks with papers hanging out everywhere
• Unaware of upcoming tests so fails to study and fails the test

As an adult:

• Late fees on overdue bills, extra trips to the store for forgotten items, running out of gas
• Missed appointments and deadlines
• Difficulty organizing the process of steps for projects and reports
• Clutter and disorganization due to ineffective or missing household system

Although the authorities agree on what executive functions are, they do not appear to agree on names for the individual skills that are delayed (up to 3 years according to Russell Barkley). For example, the terms "activation" and "task initiation" basically mean the ability to get started. Individuals with this weak skill may have difficulty getting up and out the door in the morning and/or working on homework or finishing reports on time. Each executive function challenge impacts several areas of a person's life. Knowing what the challenges are, and finding strategies to help can make a big difference.

Laine Dougherty of Laine's Logic specializes in helping students and their families. She is a teacher, organizer and coach. Laine works individually with students to organize, teach and help them improve their grades while reducing the time they spend on homework. Her classes, Learning Logistics, are geared towards all types of learners including those with ADHD and executive functioning challenges.http://www.EndHomeworkHassle.com or (781)659-0513.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laine_Dougherty

Free Programs For Troubled Teens

By Stephanie Harbin

While today's youth are plagued with many challenges, a number of free programs exist to maximize their potential. They address different facets of their development including social, educational, mental, spiritual, and physical. But, where can you find these valuable resources? This article jumpstarts your search by pointing you in the right direction. So, if you work with troubled youth or if you're the parent of a troubled teen, take time to explore the available options listed below. In addition to being viable solutions, they're a source of hope.

• Homework Centers

During the school year, many libraries have homework centers to assist youth with academics. They hire qualified staff to tutor teens in different subject areas.

• Churches

Don't forget the church. Today, the church is doing more to reach troubled youth. In fact, they have youth ministries. Churches do outreach through summer camps, tutoring, drug programs, sports, and vocational Bible school.

• Recreation Centers

Every municipality has a recreation center or two for local residents. Here, paid employees supervise youth activities like sports, games, and arts & crafts. At the same time, other organizations are permitted onsite to work with youth. Call your local recreation center to learn what it has to offer troubled teens.

• YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) has programs for troubled youth. Some focus on prevention and some focus on intervention.

• YWCA

Unlike the YMCA, the Young Women's Christian Association targets young girls and women. They too can be found in communities throughout the nation.

• Boys & Girls Club

The local boys and girls clubs deter youth from the streets by offering a range of recreational activities. Many of the volunteer staff consists of teachers from the area schools. Visit one of the sites in your neighborhood to meet the staff and to learn what's on the menu of services.

• Summer Camp

Camp allows troubled teens to get out of the city and experience something different. Check out the area programs sponsored through city recreation departments and churches.

• Community Agencies

A host of community agencies can be found in your own backyard. Therefore, take a stroll or drive through your neighborhood to uncover these diverse programs and services.

• Hospitals

Likewise, a number of health care organizations work with troubled youth. For example, they hold parenting classes and support groups for teens.

• Schools

Many social service agencies work in collaboration with the schools to reach troubled youth. Principals, guidance counselors, social workers, and coaches should be able to connect you to the right sources.

You're invited to visit http://www.squidoo.com/empoweryouthwithleadershiptraining to receive a FREE special report on the key components to youth leadership training programs. Stephanie Harbin, a motivational speaker and training specialist has developed and presented a wide range of programs for business, government, educational institutions, and non profits. Her focus is on leadership, strategy, training, career and personal development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Harbin

Current Events Project Ideas For Teens

By Stephanie Harbin

Current event projects keep teens aware of what's happening around them. An engaging current event project challenges teens to apply critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills. At the same time it encourages teamwork and blends a combination of instructional methods. The following suggested activities help you to accomplish all of the above. Most important, you motivate teens to increase their awareness of the world they live in.

Activities

• Analyze a case study

This activity focuses on studying current events related to business, especially large corporations. Using similar themes, write a case study for the students to analyze. Prepare thought provoking discussion questions, and break the class into small groups. Then, each group will select a recorder to summarize and present the responses to the class.

• Host a summit.

Select one of the world issues (hunger, peace, economics, etc.) and hold a 1 or 2-week summit to solve the problem. Establish guidelines, break the class into small groups, and have them brainstorm solutions. The best alternatives will be shaped into proposals and presented at the summit.

• Write a booklet.

After reading the obituary section of the New York Times, for instance, ask students to choose persons they would like to study. Each group will conduct thorough research on the person and create a short booklet that covers the different aspects of the person's life. The booklets should be at least 20 pages but no more than 50.

• Create a mural.

Direct the students to find pictures, words, slogans, or symbols that best represent a theme related to a particular current event. With this activity you or the students can select the theme. Some examples might be leadership or diversity. You will need magazines, articles, construction paper, markers, computers, scissors, and tape. Be sure to designate a wall large enough for the mural.

• Hold court.

Select a current issue being argued before the Supreme Court. Instruct the class to research the issue online and in print. The group will need to be divided into different teams (judges, attorneys arguing for and against the issue, and observers). All arguments and decisions must be presented orally and summarized in writing.

• Do a puzzle.

Use a puzzle to introduce a topic from a current event. Go to discovery school online and create a word search or crossword puzzle on the terms related to the topic. Direct the students to work in groups to find the answers. Discuss the terms and ask the students if they think other words should be added to the list. Ask them to explain why or why not.

• Play a game.

For example, play a game like Fact or Crap (a real game that can be found in stores) to increase the students' knowledge of various topics. The new health care plan is one good issue to consider. Generate as many questions as possible.

Bonus Tip: You're invited to visit http://www.squidoo.com/empoweryouthwithleadershiptraining to receive a FREE special report on the key components to youth leadership training programs. Stephanie Harbin, a motivational speaker and training specialist has developed and presented a wide range of programs for business, government, educational institutions, and non profits. Her focus is on leadership, strategy, training, career and personal development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_Harbin

Little Girls Bedding Sets: Fun To Choose and Fun To Use

By Anne McCormick

Has the time come to get your little girl out of the crib ortoddler bed and into a real bed? Is it time to purchase new bedding for your little sweetie?

Choosing a little girls bedding set can be a lot of fun. But there are some considerations to make before you start. First, what size bed are you buying for? Most kids sleep in twin or full size beds, although there are some queen size bed sets out there for children. If you don't already have the bed, you might want to think about the size of the room and the functionality of the bed. Besides your little one, will you also be spending time there snuggling and reading stories? Or taking care of her when she's sick? Or do cousins often sleep over? If so, you might want to consider a full size. On the other hand, if more than one child is sleeping in the room, or there's not a lot of space, a twin bed might be the way to go.

Another consideration is the color scheme. Are you painting the room or keeping the same color? Little girl bedding often comes in pastel colors, like pink, pale yellow, and lavender; but you can also choose brighter colors, geometrics, animal prints, whatever you like. Keep in mind that white walls go with anything, and the wall colors you had for the nursery can probably be found in a girls' comforter set if you don't want to paint. There's a lot to choose from.

Do you want to choose the bedding set, or are you allowing your daughter to have input? If so, a good way to keep both of you happy is to pick out a few sets that you like, then allow her to decide which set she likes best. If you don't want her to pick certain bedding sets, then don't show them to her. Simple. It's like asking a preschooler, "Would you like to put your pajamas on before or after you brush your teeth?" In reality, you don't care as long as she does both, but she feels good because she gets to have some say in the matter. Win-win works great with kids.

Comforter and Quilt Sets for little girls are often designed around themes: fairies, princesses, flowers, butterflies, and more. If your daughter is really into a particular theme, like zebras or leopards, chances are there's a bedding set to match.

Picking out a little girls' bedding set can be really fun. In fact, having little girls can be really fun too. Let's take time to enjoy our children. They are precious gifts!

At Just4GirlsComforterSets.com, we specialize in cute and cozy bedding for girls: little, teen, and in between. If you're looking for bedding for your little girl, find exactly what you're looking for. Visit us at http://www.Just4GirlsComforterSets.com orhttp://www.just4girlscomfortersets.com/girls-bedding.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_McCormick