PARENT TIPS  & SHARING

Does Your Child Really Know He or She Is Loved by You? 

Time spent having family fun together makes great memories, increases communication and gives opportunities for a closer connection with your children whether pre-school, elementary, middle school or high school students.   This time investment can provide a positive influence, role model and show your love for them. 

There are so many ways to have some family fun.  Many of them are free or low cost.  Some of the games or toys have a small cost but by using them again and again, it could be a cost of only one or two dollars per use.  The gains in your family life are of immeasurable value.  It is an investment you will be making in your family that will help you show your love and your values.

Many preschool classrooms have Show-and-Tell in various forms .  Elementary, middle school and high school students also have Show-and-Tell by presenting reports of interest in the classroom or with their own friends.   When you watch kids of all ages making their presentation you understand the popularity of show-and-tell.  Kids (unless they are too shy or self-conscious) love to talk about their interests and passions but they love to share those interests and passions even more.

Kids are all about show. As a parent you know this. We have to demonstrate and lead our children by the hand through every lesson--both big and small.

Ever wonder why we so often think it is enough to simply tell our children that we love them?  It isn't enough.  Love is the biggest show-and-tell of them all and we need to make it a part of our every day life.

Children do as we do, not as we say, and down the road do we really want our children simply mouthing the word: "I love you" to us as they rush out the door? Or do we want them to show us in many ways?

Hugs and kisses are good. So are tickles and games. My sons and their Dad and I used to have little rituals that allowed us to show our love for each other.  We snuggled for bedtime stories and talk about the day. 

How do our children realize they are top priority for us.   Do we take time to watch their performances, both formal and informal, at home, at school, church, etc.

Even more than that as parents do we take an interest in them as people.  When we take time to play games, ride bikes or simply spend time together doing the things that each child likes doing, we are demonstrating their value and importance to us. 

We all are busy, but it really is a question of priorities. While YOU know that your child is your top priority, what do your actions tell your child?  If repeatedly your actions put something or someone else before your child then they are going to get that message loud and clear no matter what is in your heart.

So how can you show your child he or she is a priority? How can you demonstrate your love for your child? Find some way every day to show as well as tell your child of your love. Some ways families have done this are:

• ·         Skip dinner preparations and make a picnic together to eat at the location of a child's choice.
• ·         Taking a tween or teen out for a treat or meal all by themselves with one parent.
• ·         Bring out one of the Dinner Time Games and use it as appropriate while eating together
• ·         Turning off the TV to lay on the floor and layout a train track or some other floor activity.
• ·         Put a puzzle together either as a family or with those who like to do puzzles.
• ·         Going for a walk and just talking about whatever comes up.  Can be good with teens.
• ·         Bring out one of the new Tokita Games with life situations incorporating values. 
• ·         Setting down my own book to read one of my child’s books.
• ·         Putting off kitchen cleanup to go outside and play soccer or tag.

Serious research has shown that if children are given a choice, they will usually choose an activity with their parent or parents over other activities. Think of this time as an INVESTMENT in your child’s life.

My own experience with hundreds of families bears this out.   When children were given the choice.  Understandably the parents normally had difficulty believing that was true until we had been working together for while.

LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!    Please share your thoughts or raise your questions here and as much as possible we will respond.     …Waverly J Hanson       

Finding Family Fun Games That Develop Kids' Emotional Skills

Common sense may tell us how important it is for people to be able to get along with others, especially those who may be different that we are.  For some time now the business world is finding  that most successful people have one thing in common: the ability to deal with people. As we all know successful employees don't learn this skill when they enter the work force; they learn it at an early age.

As a parent, you may wonder how to help your children develop the emotional skills they need to get through life and be successful in their future careers.

It's a challenging task, but some game manufacturers have set out to make it easier through several games that are available for family fun .  So many real life situations can be “tested out” safely through using games and activities.   This is much less painful than having to learn all our life lessons by messing up big time.

Parents who are looking for ways to breach difficult topics; teach their children about qualities such as empathy, problem solving, assertiveness and good manners;  or who just want to have some family fun will find many opportunities in the products from www.Fat BrainToys.com.

These family fun games and activities might very well get your children thinking beyond the latest “must have” item seen at their friend’s house or the latest TV commercial.  They also make great gifts for holidays, birthdays and other special occasions.