Saturday, January 28, 2012

Family Meetings.....Little Investment with Huge Rewards

Although it may seem cheesy, or hard to schedule into an already packed week, Family Meetings can be a fabulous time to make decisions and connect as a family. The following information is adapted from the Positive Discipline blog and is well worth the read.

Family meetings are one of the most important tools parents can use to teach children so many valuable social and life skills such as:

* Listening skills
* Brainstorming skills
* Problem-solving skills
* Mutual respect
* The value of cooling off before solving a problem. (Problems are put on the family meeting agenda so a cooling off period takes place before focusing on solutions to the challenge.)
* Concern for others
* Cooperation
* Accountability in a safe environment. (People don’t worry about admitting mistakes when they know they will be supported to find solutions instead of experiencing blame, shame, or pain.)
* How to choose solutions that are respectful to everyone concerned
* A sense of belonging and significance
* Social interest
* That mistakes are wonderful opportunities to learn
* Having fun together as a family

Family Meetings provide an opportunity for parents to:

* Avoid power struggles by respectfully sharing control
* Avoid micromanaging children, so children learn self-discipline
* Listen in ways that invite children to listen
* Respectfully share responsibility
* Create good memories through a family tradition
* Model all of the skills they want their children to learn


Where else can you get so much for such a small investment in time?

It is most effective to have family meetings once a week and to stick to the allotted time of 20 to 30 minutes—even if everything on the agenda has not been covered. This will help your children learn "delayed gratification." Also, it gives them time to absorb what was discussed during the meeting, to try the agreed upon solution, and to practice working things out for themselves in between meetings.

Hopefully, you have been inspired to experiment with a family meeting in your own home and could perhaps begin a wonderful family tradition that may carry on for generations.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Winter Blues?!?! Why Not Craft?!?!

Kids of all ages love spending creative, quality time with their parents. Even if you aren't the "crafty" type, the age of the internet provides even the most artistically talented with thousands of free, easy ideas that can be made with supplies (even trash) found around the house.

The site below is one of my favorite and has led to the creation of homemade bath paint....a HUGE hit kids of all ages! Check it out, and post any sites you enjoy to the comments section below.

bubble bath paint



You don't have to worry about kids painting themselves with this because it can be made with gentle, tear-free, baby wash. It only takes minutes to make too, which is always a bonus. Don't worry about this staining your tub walls either, it washes off easy with a damp rag. Try this out with your kiddos, they'll love you for it! Here's the 'recipe':

What you'll need (this was enough to make 4 containers):

1 cup baby bubble bath or body wash - as long as it is clear/white
4 tbsp cornstarch
a few drops of food colouring
small containers with lids

Directions:

1. in a mixing bowl mix together your bubble bath and cornstarch
2. pour this mixture into 4 small containers
3. pour a couple drops (you only want to use a couple drops so it won't stain) of food colouring in each container and mix well
4. your kids can use either paintbrushes or their hands to have fun in the tub
5. when you're done, snap on the lid and they're ready to go for next time

http://www.meetthedubiens.com

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Tackling Frustration in your Children

The following was an excerpt from an article found in the January issue of Focus on the Family. Since frustration is common during all stages of development (and adulthood), we thought it was great food for thought and very worthy of sharing with our readers.

"I Can't Do It!!!!!!"

Sooner or later, every parent hears these words, usually uttered with a pitiful whine and slump to the floor. Try these tips to help your children turn "I can't" into "I'll try."

Set clear goals. Explain to your child that his bed doesn't have to be made like Mommy and Daddy's, but he should straighten the blankets and put his pillow in place.

Divide the project into manageable pieces. Instead of telling your child to clean her room, tell her to put away "all the animals" or "every toy that is blue or green." Continue suggesting different categories until she is finished.

Reinforce past successes. Point out specific things your child does well-setting the table, kicking a ball, feeding the cat, and so on. Tell him you can't wait to see what he will do next.

Don't shield your child from failure.
Let your child work through some frustrations, learning appropriate ways to deal with challenges. Give her time to wrestle with a problem or try a task a few times before you offer assistance.

Encourage kids to try, try again.
Talk about perseverance and what it means. Share a story about someone in your family who showed determination.

Assume your child will succeed. Optimism is contagious.

Monday, January 16, 2012

"Flakey" Family Fun

As the snow hopefully begins to pile up outside, don't get cold feet about heading outside with your kids! Follow your family to the nearest snow drift and try one of these winter games from Disney's Family Fun!

JUMP SNOW HURDLES

Lightly pack a bunch of basketball-size snowballs and then use them to build a course of hurdles to jump over in a round of follow the leader.

ROPE TOW

Team up for a slip-sliding variation of tug-of-war. Tamp down a wide, shallow trench in the snow to serve as the midline. Then, take up positions at the ends of a long, thick rope and let the tugging and towing begin. Whichever team pulls the entire opposing group over to its side of the trench wins.

FLAG IN A SNOW STACK

Tie a white cloth to the end of a short stick or around the bowl of a wooden spoon. Then, give each child a chance to hide it by staking it anywhere within a predetermined set of boundaries. Keep track of how long it takes for the rest of the group to find it. Whoever hid the flag that takes the longest time to spot wins the game.

STRIKE OUT
For this pitching contest, first mound up snow to create three bases and a pitcher's mound. They should each be about 2 feet high and 20 feet apart. Next, build a tin can pyramid on each base. The challenge is to knock down the stacks in order from first to third base by throwing snowballs from the pitcher's mound. The child who succeeds with the fewest pitches wins.

HAT TRICK
Once you've built a plump, frosty snowman to stand sentry in your front yard, make a game of topping him off in style. Take turns trying to land a hat on his head by throwing it Frisbee style from 10 or so feet away.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Food For Thought....Print Awareness and the iPad

This video was presented as part of an early literacy workshop, and while deemed controversial by many of the participants, served a great "food for thought" about the impacts of technology on basic book handling and print awareness skills.

As you watch the video, think about the following questions:

*What might be the implications for her learning to read?

*Is this something to be concerned about or are times changing?

*What can parents do to support the early literacy skills of our children
while embracing the latest technology?



We encourage you to post your thoughts/reflections by hitting the comment button below the post.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Positive Discipline Tool: Upgrade Your Praise!

While we would all most likely agree that any praise directed towards a child is positive, it is often helpful to reflect upon the desired impact of our words. Are we looking to simply acknowledge a request ("Mom look at my drawing") or is our aim to increase self confidence and encourage personal growth. Even the youngest children are able to feel the difference between sincere flattery and canned expressions....why not make it a goal to increase your child's self-esteem by tweaking your compliments to sound more encouraging! Hopefully, these examples will help you get some ideas of how to upgrade your own specific praises.

Instead of: "What a pretty picture?"
Try: "Your trees are getting much more detailed...they almost look real!"

Instead of: "I am proud that you got an A on your spelling test"
Try: "I see you worked hard to memorize all your words this week!"

Instead of: "Terrific job selling all of your Girl Scout Cookies!"
Try: "What a great idea to smile and make eye contact when you talked to customers!"

With just a few simple words you can help your child feel responsible for their own achievements and provide them with tools for continued success!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Become a Member, Take our Survey.....Reap the Benefits of the BHF Blog!

Becoming a member of the Building Healthy Families Blog is easy. Simply click on the button in the right margin and your done! While you don't have to be a member to enjoy the site, one simply click allows you to better connect with other families, request resources specific to your needs and become eligible to win our monthly drawings for individuals answering our survey question.

This month's question, asks about parenting challenges. Regardless the age of your child, all four answer choices are frequently areas of conflict within families. Members who answer the question by the 30th of January, will be entered into a raffle for a free "Family Dinner and a Movie Night" basket, consisting of a large pizza, 1 free movie rental and a box of microwave popcorn!

Happy voting!