When people have a new baby, there is a lot of focus placed on the event and the new child that has arrived. People stop by, send flowers, drop off gifts, and generally get excited to see and hold the new bundle of joy. Of course, when this is not the first child in the house, there may be one or more siblings that can feel a bit left out and jealous. The older siblings aren’t necessarily receiving any gifts, though there are times when visitors are sensitive to older siblings and try to make them feel special by bringing them a little trinket as well. With that in mind, here are a few thoughts on how to help your child overcome jealousy of a new baby.

Getting them involved

One way to help children overcome jealousy of a new baby is to get them involved in the process. Sometimes older siblings can also experience some excitement about having a new baby in the house. The older children may not have the maturity or responsibility to handle particular aspects of caring for a baby, but they can certainly help with small tasks. Or, the parents can at least do their best to make the sibling feel like they are involved, even if the parent is keeping a close eye on what is going on. The goal is not to make the sibling upset by putting them to work, but rather to make them feel like the whole family is involved in the process.

Focused time

Another way to make a child feel a bit less jealous is to spend some focused time with them. Despite the busyness of raising a new baby, parents may need to take the older child on a few outings so that they receive some real attention as well. These outings do not have to be long or complex, but they can give the child something to look forward to on a regular basis. Some parents institute a weekly “date” with their child so there is always time that is scheduled.

Working through phases

Overall, some aspects of family life just have to be survived. Parents can work to minimize jealousy, but they still have to meet the needs of all children. A new baby needs constant attention, and parents cannot neglect that infant just to make an older child feel a little bit better about the process. Parents can do their best to spread the love, but being a family is about understanding that everybody needs to be a bit flexible sometimes. A sibling may be a bit jealous of a new baby, but this will also teach them something about living with other people and thinking about others.

How to help a child overcome the jealousy of a new baby is not an easy task. There are family situations that simply have to be endured, but there are times when people should be intentional about helping certain kids work through things and this is one of them.

As August winds down, back to school season starts to take on more and more of its annual dress. Staples commercials abound and the stores at the malls are getting flooded with back to school and autumn fashions. So you just got your kids their allotment of clothes and even got a head start on buying their back to school books and supplies. The question is now: how do you get your children’s minds ready for back to school?

Back to School

Back to school is a big time event in the life of any children. Not only are kids generally excited to see their friends again on a regular basis, but also they can look forward to getting back into a regular routine, which all children, especially teens, so desperately need. Granted, the late nights and easy frivolities of the hot summer will be given up, but the daily structure that elementary and high school classes and activities bring should be welcome solace to both parents and student alike.

Now is a good time for your children to start getting not just their back to school wardrobe and backpacks ready, but their minds too. Too often during the summer grade slide, kids fall into bad habits: too much internet and cell phone, not enough intellectual stimulation. As such, the brains go a bit soft, and the adjustment to school is difficult. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain needs to be worked out regularly. Playing only video games and talking and chatting via text and Skype do not qualify as sufficient mental exercise.

Good Mind Exercise

There are many ways that your kids can get their minds ready for school, and fun ways at that. Have them do things like the puzzles, board games, or crossword puzzles. Why not buy a brainteaser book and challenge your son or daughter to solve some of the problems? Give them some incentives. For example, give them some kind of reward for each brainteaser they solve. These incentives could be of monetary or other remunerative value. Perhaps you can offer incentives in some other way, perhaps by extending certain privileges.

Some other interesting approaches include joining your teens to Lumosity, which is a website full of brain training exercises. These are both fun and extremely entertaining; moreover, these exercises are scientifically designed to improve both cognitive and mental function. This program will provide your teens with an edge to starting school and even keep them sharp all the year through. Stanford and Harvard researchers collaborated with the founders of this website to create games that stimulate and activate brain cells toward higher mental achievement.

Reading Never Fails

Of course, reading can never fail your child. There are many books that could be recommended for back to school reads and reading does more than just build solid vocabularies. According to Ken Pugh, PhD, a director of a research institute dedicated to the science of language, reading keeps your mind both sharp and nimble. So take that drive down to the local bookstore, or better, plan a day at the library to pick up some really good reads for your children. Insisting that 20 to 30 minutes per day be spent reading is a solid way to develop beneficial habits in your children. Be clear in explaining that the time invested in such an activity will pay dividends over a lifetime. For one, your children will never be subject to being bored as they will always be able to use down time to pick up that latest read.

Following some of the suggestions to get your children’s minds ready for back to school is more than just important in creating wholesome and productive future members of society. Too many kids today get lost in the shuffle of peer pressure and other negative influences. Seeing that your children get good guidance and good preparation for back to school will only insure their eventual success. And part of this is good mind stimulation. Toward this end, the time you invest now as parents will certainly be well worth it, as later on you will less likely have to deal with young adults who find themselves lost in a difficult world because of prior lack of preparation.

Without the ability to read, how would you know to stop at a danger sign? How would you know what to order from a restaurant menu, or be able to understand the work contract you have to sign? The truth is, people are using literacy skills all the time. But what if your son or daughter refuses to read? They could be missing out on developing key skills, opening up their imagination, learning about the world, and being inspired to explore. Here are some tips to help your children to read!

1. Why Don’t Your Children Read?

Ask them why they don’t want to read. Is it because they find it boring, or is there a deeper issue? Is it because they can’t read very well, and don’t understand or feel confident? Do their friends think reading is un-cool, and think they will get teased?

Finding out the reasons will help you to find ways of making their reading more enjoyable. If they are struggling, you can help them improve. If they simply haven’t found a story they like yet, you can help them explore different genres – there are many wonderful books for children to choose from, such as comedy or action.

2. Find Books Recommended by Children and Parents

If your children are trend-conscious, make books cool! Find out what their sport, music, and celebrity heroes read. Look for books that have a novelty factor, such as those with furry covers, sparkles, accessories, or pop-up functions. Find quality books about their favourite footballer, film character, or TV show. Be aware of current popular titles, and find out what other children and parents recommend.

3. Make Reading Fun!

Turn reading into an adventure. Create a reward-based “quest” where your children have to read a certain number of books. They could win a treat each time they complete one. Create a fun quiz to test whether they have understood the story. Or, if you are a keen reader yourself, make up a treasure trail, where your children find clues from the books they read, in order to lead them to their prize!

If all this is a bit too much work, there are plenty of schemes you can join in with, for example most libraries run reading schemes during the summer holidays where children can win goodies for reading a certain number of books.

4. Help Kids Relate to Books

Do your children love certain movies or television shows? There are plenty of books and publications out there to prompt their interest, from tie-in novels, to new stories, companion guides, or behind-the-scenes.

5. Help Children with their Hobbies

What hobbies do they have? What captures their imagination? Many children, particularly boys, can be hard to motivate when it comes to reading fiction, but they might read book after book on football or space. Go with the flow. It doesn’t have to be a work of exceptional literature just so long as they are reading! Take them to places relating to their interests too, and encourage them even further.

Finally, the important thing to inspire your children to read is to be enthusiastic about reading. If you are seen to enjoy it, whether that means reading a novel or looking through a reference book that interests you, the feeling might just rub off onto your offspring!

Habits, whether good or bad, start early, and that’s exactly why it is extremely important to correct bad habits in children. The habits that children pick up at their tender age influence their personality and life in more ways than one. If you notice your little one engaging in a bad habit, don’t ignore it. Instead, check out these 5 ways to help correct those bad habits in children.

5 Ways to Help Correct Bad Habits in Children

1. Praise & Reward

Praising and rewarding your kid when he engages in a good habits and consciously avoids engaging in a bad habit can work wonders. It is more of a positive feedback mechanism that always does the trick, and can also strengthen the bond between you both. Letting your kid know that his good behaviour is appreciated will encourage him to be on his best behaviour at all times, and gradually, it will become a part of his personality.

2. Educate

Possibly the only way your kid can actually avoid engaging in bad habits and engage in more good habits on his own is when you educate him about the difference between them both. Make it a point to sit down with him and talk about how his behaviour influences those around him, and how he can too, come across as a beautiful person thanks to his good habits.

3.Take Things One at a Time

Don’t overwhelm your kid by pointing out several of his mistakes or bad habits together. Instead, take things one at a time and work your way up from there. Do not rush and do not lose your temper. One of the golden rules of effective parenting is to never lose your calm and be incredibly patient with your little one.

4.Identify the Cause

Kids often practise unwanted behavioural patterns due to certain triggers. They may have picked up something from a particular friend or if they’re stressed about something. Talk to your kid and try to identify the root cause of his bad habit. Once you’ve identified the cause, you can try to find a way around it and help your kid engage himself in alternative, more positive outlets.

5.Set the Rules

Setting the rules is an absolute must, but the key to doing it right is to do it in a firm yet gentle way. Let your kid know the consequences of his inappropriate behaviour and bad habit, and let him know the reason why. Encourage and motivate him to be at his best, and highlight his strong points often when you’re setting the rules to do the trick!

Of the many things that make parenting a tough job is having kids complaining and whining. After all, who likes to listen to “These potato chips are too salty” or “This bug bite itches a lot” when you’re in the middle of washing dishes, responding to an important phone call, and thinking about what to prepare for dinner all at the same time? Keep reading to discover 7 ways to respond when your child complains.

7 Ways To Respond When Your Child Complains

1. Acknowledge

Minimizing your child’s feelings or ignoring his complaints is literally the worst thing you could do. Instead, acknowledge your child’s complaints, and then move on. Once you start to take things lightly (after acknowledging it), eventually, your child will learn to do the same as well.

2. Highlight the Positive

If your child keeps complaining about literally everything, encourage him to find the silver lining and be more positive. Remind him that there’s a brighter side to everything in life and teach him to be more balanced in general, and focus on the good parts in life as well.

3. Encourage Problem Solving

The next time your child complains about something, instead of having him brood over it too much, get him to whip up ideas about how he can solve the problem. Remind him that he does have power over certain aspects of his life, and that power can help him fix the situations he is complaining about.

4. Listen and Validate

As tough as it may sound, it is super important to listen completely to your child’s complains, and then validate them. Avoid interrupting him and accept his complains without judging him. Be open to what he has to say, but in a way that doesn’t make him give too much importance to his complains.

5. Rephrase

Another cool trick to implement is to rephrase your child’s words when he complains. For instance, if your child complains that he hates his new toy, rephrase it to “you want a different toy.” Get him to remove negativity out of the equation completely.

6. Offer a Choice

Whenever your children complain, offer them a choice. Let them know that there is a lot they can actually do about the problem other than complaining, and remind them that complaining is actually nothing but a waste of energy. It doesn’t make them accomplish anything at all.

7. Encourage Gratefulness

One of the best ways to discourage complaining in your children is to have them practice gratefulness regularly. Not only does it teach them the value of little things in life, but also gets them to see the good things that they experience on a daily basis, which will make them less likely to crib and complain, especially over trivial matters.

These above 7 super powerful ways to respond when your child complains or whines will certainly be helpful!