Raising Well Balanced Children

1
Raising Well Balanced Children
2
Objectives

• Growing up fast why balance is important
• Understand differences in development
• Learn how to develop childs personal potential
• Discuss independence and responsibility
• Understand discipline
• How to encourage healthy body image
• How to teach healthy habits
• How to discuss emotions
• Promote activities that encourage spending time
  together

3
Growing up fast

• Children are being bombarded and have access to
  an abundance of information through all types of
  media.
• Social and academic pressures on children tend to
  make them mature rapidly in a fast moving world.
• Stress on dual working parents and single parents
  make it hard to maintain parental guidance and
  supervision

4
Differences in development

• Boys and girls often have different developmental
  timelines in some areas including
• Verbal skills
• Relationship skills
• Physical growth
• Fine and gross motor skills
• Spatial skills
• Both nature and nurture influence gender-specific
  development and behaviors
• Biology is not destiny

5
Personal Potential

• There are many different kinds of boys and girls
• Dispel gender stereotypes and discourage labels
  such as sissy, wimp, boys dont cry,
  ladylike etc.
• Choose a broad range of gifts, playthings and
  activities to broaden their skills
• Talk about what you see in the media and their
  television programs
• Allow children to reach their individual
  potential help them cultivate passions

6
Independence and responsibility

• Age appropriate freedom
• Learn by doing and failing - testing boundaries
• Let them own consequences
• Teach common sense behavior the right thing
  to do
• Teach important life skills cooking, cleaning,
  home maintenance, budgeting, lawn care, grocery
  shopping etc.
• Values show them

7
Discipline

• Children like to know the rules
• Will push the limits
• Permissive parents vs. helicopter parents
• Discipline does not mean to punish, it means to
  teach
• Be authoritative rather than authoritarian
• Respect is a two way street which starts at HOME

8
Encourage a healthy body image

• Help your child develop positive attitudes
  towards his/her body
• Be a good example and model self acceptance
• Give lots of positive reinforcement for strengths
  and abilities unrelated to physical attributes
• Discuss unrealistic body types promoted in media
  images
• Encourage your child to come to you with
  questions and concerns

9
Healthy Habits

• Teach your children about health, weight and
  nutrition
• Share information early about their changing
  bodies
• Teach good body hygiene starting at a young age
  with new information as age appropriate
• Make sure your child gets enough sleep
• Learn the behavior signs of risky behavior

10
Emotions

• All children should be encouraged to express
  their emotions
• Listen and acknowledge without criticizing how
  they express their emotions
• Help all children learn to articulate their needs
  with a broad emotional vocabulary
• Teach children the best ways to process their
  emotions
• Provide positive role models especially if one
  parent is absent from the home

11
Spend time together

• Limit and monitor screen time, texting and
  messaging yours too!
• Play Have fun!
• Promote family exercise with outdoor activities
  you all enjoy
• Share plenty of physical affection even as they
  grow older including boys
• Sit down for regular family meals

12
Additional Resources for Further Reading

• Books  
• Lise Eliot, Pink Brain, Blue Brain
• JoAnn Deak, Girls Will be Girls
• Leonard Sax, Why Gender Matters
• Helpful web resources
• http//www.pbs.org/parents/raisinggirls/
• http//www.pbs.org/parents/raisingboys/

13
WorkLife4You Resources
WorkLife4You web site www.WorkLife4You.com

• On Demand WebinarsChildrens Wellness, Keeping
  Children Safe in an Uncertain World, Working
  Parents How to Achieve Balance, Parenting Your
  Teen, Communicating and Resolving Conflict with
  Your Teen, Keeping Our Children Safe, Bullying
  How to Protect Your Child, Internet Safety for
  Parents, Raising Financially Savvy Children
• WorkLife4You GuidesPositive Parenting Strategies
  for the Toddler Years, Encouraging Healthy Habits
  in Your Toddler, Typical Toddler Transitions,
  Positive Parenting Strategies for the Preschool
  Years, Encouraging Healthy Habits in Your
  Preschooler, Typical Preschool Transitions,
  Healthy Eating for Children, Positive Parenting
  Strategies for the Teenage Years, Teens and
  At-Risk Behaviors, Encouraging Healthy Habits in
  Teens, Social Issues and Teens, Keeping Youth
  Drug Free, Healthy Eating for Children

• Child Care Parenting Web Service
• Parenting Toddlers Library
• Parenting Preschoolers Library
• Parenting Teens Library
• Health Care Issues Library
• Social Development Library
• Audio Tips and PodcastsPositive Parenting Tips
  Toddlers, Communicating with Children Series
  Healthy Eating for Children Parents, School
  Success, and Health Making Healthy Choices,
  Internet Safety for Parents
• HTML Articles
• Related Web Sites

14
Let WorkLife4You Make Your Life a Little Easier!
Contact WorkLife4You 24/7 1-877-WL4-NOAA
(1-877-954-6622) (TTY 800-873-1322) http//www.wo
rklife4you.com Look for the Already a member?
box Not a member yet? Follow the Register
link and enter Registration Code NOAA
14
14
15
(No Transcript)