Combined with setting a good example and involvement in a young child’s development of social skills, spend quality time with your child and instruct them about proper, responsible behavior. It can go a long way in helping to correct behavior problems that could lead to serious consequences down the road.
Everyday experiences are a parent’s best tool when it comes to teaching responsible behavior. Because this type behavior is a learned trait, it can become habit through repetitiveness.
Parents can effectively teach children with both words and deeds. Parents can always tell a child to respect others, and they may or may not comply in any given situation. But, when a parent consistently shows respect for other’s opinions, feelings, and possessions, they teach their children to do the same.
Actions + Words = Effective Training Methods
Our daily actions, attitudes, and social skills speak louder and much more effectively than words. As children watch what we do and ask questions, a golden opportunity is presented to teach valuable “life-lessons."
“Mommy, why did you let that old lady skip in front of us?"
“Because she had only a few things to buy and we have a full cartload. I didn’t want her to have to stand in line for a long time."
“Do you know her?"
“No. I’ve never met her before."
“Then how do you know she didn’t want to wait in line."
“Because she looked uncomfortable, and seemed to be in a hurry."
By exhibiting responsible, considerate behavior toward others, children learn from our actions. As we encourage questions and answer in ways that explain why we did something, children better understand and become more conscientious of other people’s needs instead of just their own.
Story Time…A Golden Opportunity to Teach Responsibility
Another good method for teaching children responsible behavior is with the use of stories. Most children are enthusiastic when it comes to having someone read them a story. Select books that teach life-lessons, and then discuss what was read.
At www.savvy-baby-gear.com we suggest you encourage the child to ask questions, seeking the opportunity to emphasize good character traits, and the awareness that all actions – good or bad – will have consequences.
Every Day Presents Opportunities of Its Own,/b>
Consistency and application are keys when teaching small children about responsible behavior. Spend time with your child regularly. Encourage them to tell you about their day and things that happened; what they thought or felt, what they saw or heard, what they did or wanted to do. Use every opportunity to stimulate thoughts of awareness.
Put emphasis on positive feelings, emotions, and qualities such as bravery, thoughtfulness, compassion, honesty, kindness, etc. Help your children identify these traits in persons they know, characters they see on television, or people they read about. Help them to identify and cultivate these qualities in themselves. At the end of each day, ask, “How were you honest today?" or “Tell me two ways you were considerate to someone else today."
Show Children How to Handle Negative Feelings Responsibly
Also help children explore acceptable ways to effectively deal with negative feelings such as anger, hurt, resentment, loneliness, etc. If a child expresses feelings of anger toward someone, avoid the urge to say that anger is wrong; instead, explore their feelings of anger with them.
Ask why they were angry, or ask them to tell you how angry they were. Help them understand that while it is natural to feel angry at times, how we express that anger is very important. There are acceptable ways to express anger, as well as unacceptable ways.
Tell them a story or cite an example of someone who experienced a particular negative feeling, then ask your child questions like, “What should Becky have done when she got angry?" or, “Why do you think Eric was lonely? What could he have done about it?"
Helping a child to understand the feelings of others as well as their own, and appropriate ways to express those feelings, are big strides toward learning responsible behavior.
By spending time with your child on a regular basis and teaching through example and discussion, you equip your child with good socialization skills, and cultivate responsible behaviors sure to benefit them and others around them for a lifetime.
Most of us read with such ease that we forget how difficult it was to learn the skill initially, and when we start to think about the process with regard to our own child, it seems a very complicated procedure. However there are a few things that you can do to help ease your child into the reading process and make it a more enjoyable time for him.
Words are the foundation stones of reading. Even talking to your child about their day is bringing words into their lives in a context that they are familiar with. It's not just about naming objects, but also putting things into the right order, learning verbs, and even something as simple as how words actually sound.
During the early pre-K and kindergarten years the school system will lead your child's reading experience. They will have a system of learning that they will use to encourage your child to learn each letter and how it sounds. Talk to your child's teachers about their system and then reinforce this learning by using the same techniques at home. Learn which letters your child is learning at school and introduce these letters into your activities at home --make flash cards, or a simple memory game where they have to find two matching letters -- or two pictures that start with the same letter.
However it's imperative that your child is motivated to read because there's only so much that a teacher, or even a parent, can accomplish without a child's co-operation, so make learning to read as much fun as possible. If your child thinks that the intent of any conversation or game is "learn to read" they're likely to back off, so keep things very low key. If your child begins to feel that you are pressuring them into reading, they will rebel against it and refuse to focus even at school, so reinforce school learning and encourage your child into the world of books, but don't push them further than you know they want to go.
Reading aloud to your child is a wonderful way to get them excited about books. Don't just choose good stories for reading, but also choose easy early readers where you can point to the words as you work through the book. Your child will follow the words and get to know the shapes and slowly become familiar with more commonly used words.
As your child becomes older and more proficient in reading, encourage them to learn more words, to expand their vocabulary, but always take it one step at a time and never any further or faster than your child wants to go.
Both Lori Anton & Jane Saeman are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lori Anton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Advertising Guide, Hair Care and Parenting. . Lori Anton's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.
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