Learn how to talk to your kids

Every parent dreads being asked questions by their children that they aren’t ready to answer.  Learn how to talk to your kids and develop the relationship that you will need when they get older.

There are some basic guidelines that parents can follow to talk better to their children.  Here are a few.

When your child asks a question, find out why they are asking before you go into a long winded explanation.  Sometimes we misunderstand what they are asking.  I had a daughter ask me what a certain word meant.  I went on and tried to tactfully explain this word.  After I finished, she mentioned that she saw the word in the name of a lotion I had, and just wondered what it meant.  I could have come up with a much simpler answer if I would have understood the question.

Allow your kids to have an opinion and express it.  Try not to make them feel like their opinion is less valuable because you know more than they do.  Take the time to listen to them and understand where they are coming from.

Always talk to them at their age appropriate level.  Don’t talk down to them just because they are a child.  I had a nurse at the doctor’s office that talked baby talk to my two year old daughter, who just looked at the women with confusion.  Children are smarter than we give them credit for.

A big part of learning to talk to our children is learning how to listen.  Following these suggestions and paying attention to your kids will help you develop the relationship that you want.  When they are older, that open communication becomes essential.  Develop that relationship now.

http://smartparenting.info

               

Protecting your Kids on the Internet

We hear of online predators all the time.  You hear about things you can do to protect your children.  Have you done them? Below are some of the rules we use that can help you make sure the internet is a safe place for your own children.

                Make sure an adult approves adding an email address.  Don’t allow your kids to send emails to people they don’t know, or subscribe to emails on websites.  This can send junk mail to your children’s email box.  Junk mail can contain information you do not want your children reading, as well as links to websites.

                Keep the computer in a visible place in your house.  If your children are surfing in private, you don’t know what they are viewing.  It’s so easy to find bad stuff on the internet.  Make sure you can see what your kids are visiting.

Making New Friends

There are times when your child will need to learn how to make new friends.  These times include when they starting school or changing to a new school, if you move, or if people have moved into your neighborhood.  This can be scary for some kids.  Here are some ways to help your child make new friends.

    Give them something to do with the new friend.  Asking another child to play in the sprinklers is less intimidating than just asking them to play.  Your child will not have to worry about thinking of something to do when the friend comes over. 

Disciplining for each Child

There are many books with varying opinions on how you should discipline your children.  However, I believe that the person that knows your child best is you.  Articles and books can give advice, but it is important to understand your child and what will work for them.

    Not all children are the same, and this applies to children in the same family.  Using time out for one child may not work for another.  It’s important to understand this and not try to force the same discipline on a child that it won’t work for.

Choosing Good Friends

Friends are an important part of childhood and you want to make sure that your child develops good friendships early on.  It’s easiest to make the best choices for your children while they are young.

    Have your children invite their friends to play at your house.  This gives you a chance to see how they play together and how they interact with other members of your family.  Become acquainted with their parents also, and you will find that this will help you understand their family situation.  Help your child to understand what your values are and to recognize the same values in friends that they make.

Starting an allowance

It’s never too early to start teaching your children about money.  A great way to begin this is by giving them an allowance.  There are several ways to do this, and I’ll talk about a few of them.

    You can give allowance based on chores with specific money amounts.  For example, you can decide to pay fifty cents for setting the dinner table, $1.00 for keeping their bedroom clean all week.  You decide the chores you would like your child to do, and then show them how to do the work correctly.  Let them know ahead of time how much they get for each job, and keep track.  Decide how often they will receive the money they have earned.