Nurturing Your Child

Spending quiet quality time -
by Marie C. Dimino





Helping to understand feelings and explaining private time     keeps peace in the family. Playrooms can inspire imagination. Avoiding a bully builds confidence.

Children are born with their own needs, feelings and emotions. Allowance for the development of their natural individuality is important. Parents often force their own feelings on their children unintentionally. What you are feeling in the moment should not be inflicted on them.

This means that when nurturing children, anger and personal situations should be put aside. If this is not done, the child will only see that mommy and daddy are angry or too busy for them. Discipline has a greater effect and produces better results when moods and desires are removed from the lesson being applied.

Helping Your Child to Understand Feelings

Children are very sensitive to fear and anger. If they sense these feelings from their parents, the lesson taught will not be absorbed. They will easily grasp and comprehend a learning experience when relaxed and not afraid. The reward of teaching this way will produce a happy, well-rounded and healthy child.

Children are amazing beings. When fear is removed, young minds have the ability to comprehend and absorb information at enormous speeds. Parenting is a responsibility. Children are not possessions. They are gifts and must be treated with the same respect that adults expect from others. Remember to honor every child for the individual and perfect soul he or she was meant to be.

A child needs to express thoughts and feelings. This allowance will help a child understand right from wrong. In order for a child to understand feelings, the lesson being learned must be taught with loving intentions. Personal anger should not be inflicted upon children. This will cause confusion in their emotional growth.

Take a few moments to relax before discipline is enforced. Keeping the lines of communication open is important in a family. The natural flow of energy will greatly improve when all involved are given the opportunity to express feelings.

Explaining your Private Time to Children and Its Importance

Private time is necessary for our well-being. This is a basic human need. People of all ages need their special time to wind down and meditate. This will help refocus emotional thinking.

Private time is playtime for adults. Taking a few moments throughout the day to detach from daily life will refresh the mind. Meditation will incorporate new ideas when the mind is relaxed.

Children must be taught this. It can be explained as the time mommy or daddy needs to play. The results will be noticed. A child will begin to understand and come to respect this private time. They will grasp the idea and learn to use it in their own lives.

What Your Child Needs in the Playroom

Creating a playroom for your child does not require a lot of money. Children can learn and become cultivators with limited funds.

By cutting milk containers in half and punching a few holes on the bottom, you can make several planting pots. With a large bag of soil and common foods from the kitchen, a child can be taught how to grow plants. Seeds can be taken from fruits such as watermelon and cantaloupe. Children can water their plants and sprouts usually appear within three to four days. Potatoes and onions yield interesting results. It doesn’t matter what is used. The idea is to experiment and have fun.

Inexpensive soap can be used to create sculptures. Simple boats and cars can be whittled with a dull butter knife. Plaster of Paris mixed with water can be used to frame a favorite photo or picture. Different sized plates can be used as a mold. The kitchen cabinet is filled with many things that can be improvised with imagination.

Food coloring can be mixed with water and used as paint. It is non-toxic and fun. Learn to relax with your child. Go on a "things to do hunt" around the house. You will be surprised with what you might discover.

Expensive toys will always be around but the true learning experience is when a child’s imagination is activated under close supervision.

Walking Away From the Bully

Bullies are here to stay. Teaching your child to walk away before steamy pressure erupts will build courage. A bully stands alone when the object of torture turns his back on him. Gentle training should be practiced and feelings of fear should be discussed before your child enters school.

A child must learn the tactics needed to stand up against a bully. Occasional fights should be expected. If your child comes home feeling defeated by a bully, it is not necessary for your own emotions to mix in with the incident. Do not scold or criticize behavior. Have the child explain very calmly the event and results. Understanding both sides of the story will help teach a child how it might have been handled differently.

Always reassure children of their own self-esteem and worth. When lessons are applied with wisdom and confidence, the child will gradually learn how to avoid a bully.