Women Lines

Social responsibility is an ethical theory that every individual has some duties towards the development of the society at large!

Society progresses when growth happens evenly for all sections. It’s not necessary that every section of the society progresses together. As responsible human beings we should contribute towards the progress of the underprivileged section of the society. In order to continue with the concept in coming generations, it is very necessary that children should know about the concept at very early age so that they can carry out their responsibility very well when they grow up.

There are various ways through which social responsibility can be taught. First of all we have to become role model ourselves, so in order to teach our kids first practice what you want them to do. Become a member of a social organization. Start doing volunteer work and help the needy as and when required. In this way, parents make valuable contributions to both society and to their children’s own personal well-being.

Local food drives, in which various organizations collect  foods  which is distributed to families in need, are an excellent opportunity for parents to introduce children to concepts of social responsibility. Even young children are able to understand what it is to not have food. Humanizing the issue makes it less abstract and easier for children to empathize with those in need.

Social responsibility of respecting each other and working together in a group is also important lesson in life for children. They should be having the understanding to learn and respect the ideas of others in their classroom and work together happily with any group.

There are numerous ways and acts which we can carry out in our daily life to motivate our children to be socially responsible. We as a human are socially responsible for our environment, our surroundings, and our society , so work together for pleasant progress of everybody!

• Ask your child to keep records of money saved, invested, or spent. To make it easy you can use 12 envelopes, 1 for each month, and encourage your child to place receipts from all purchases in the envelopes and keep note of what they do with their money. 
• Spending money can be fun and very productive spending is well-planned. Explain to your child how to check for value, quality, reparability, warranty, and other consumer concern. Spending smartly at the grocery store like using coupon shopping sales, comparing unit prices, can help in saving lots of money. 
• Teach your child about the importance of budgeting. 
• Explain to your child about the importance of credit cards and how it works. It is important that he understands the concept that it’s a way to borrow money and unless you return it back next month it will be very expensive to use. Credit card must be used in a disciplined way. 
• Let your child take the spending decision. He should be encouraged to do some research work before purchasing anything and waiting for         the      right time to buy.

For many families, talking about money is taboo. The adults make it, the kids ask for it, end of story. Yet financial experts agree that understanding cash, credit, and consumerism is possible, and important, for building a sense of financial responsibility in children. Womenlines will share various ways in future how we can develop money sense in our children.

• Take an active role in providing them with information. Observation and repetition are two important ways children learn.
• Communicate with children as they grow old about your values concerning money how to save it, how to make it grow, and most importantly, how to spend it wisely.
• It is very important to help children learn the differences between needs, wants, and wishes. This will prepare them for making good spending decisions in the future.
• Setting goals is fundamental to learning the value of money and saving. Nearly every toy or other item children ask their parents to buy them can become the object of a goal-setting session. Such goal-setting helps children learn to become responsible for themselves.
• Introduce children to the value of saving versus spending. Explain and demonstrate the concept of earning interest income on savings. Consider paying interest on money children save at home; children can help calculate the interest and see how fast money accumulates through the power of compound interest. Later on, they also will realize that the quickest way to a good credit rating is a history of regular, successful savings. Some parents even offer to match what children save on their own. (contd)

The most common bad habits of kids that parents want to tackle are: (i) Nose picking, (ii) Biting nails, (iii) Thumb sucking, (iv) Hair twirling

1.No Stick Approach: All kids love freebies, and to them, freebies are like hidden booty. Now, freebies can be in the form of presents or rewards or whatever you want. So, tell your child that if he doesn’t do such-and-such-a-thing he will be rewarded. Two things here – you have to be consistent with your rewards, and you have to reward them with meaningful things. If you reward them with chocolates or Pizzas, then you are only spoiling them. Books, stickers, sugar-free candy and a trip out to the movies are examples of good rewards. Okay, along with the reward, do not forget to heap praises on the child – praising him will positively motivate him to try harder!

2.Be Calm:When your kid gets into his bad habit groove, you have to calmly, yet clearly firmly, tell him what could go wrong if he keeps going on at it. Explain to him how his behavior will have an impact on his physical appearance and could also damage his psyche if his friends make him the butt of their jokes. Also, inform him that his bad habit annoys you. Remember once again: do not be harsh.

3.Form a Partnership: Another neat method of breaking bad habits is to involve your child in the breaking process. Make him your “partner in crime” as you break into his bad habits and destroy them. You can start this off by asking your child about his bad habit and whether he has faced any embarrassing moments because of them. Then, let him know that from now on both of you will be partners in making sure that the bad habit is finished off. This involvement will give the child a feeling of adventure and will motivate him to get rid of his bad habits – plus, he will learn to contribute ideas and learn what brainstorming is all about!

4.Patience and Perseverance: Kids are born flexible, but they can become very stubborn when they want to. Sometimes, all your motivation and firmness and rewards will bite the dust as your child refuses to back off from his bad habits. In situations such as these, patience and perseverance is the key. So, don’t give up or turn impatient. Also, do not try to break all his bad habits in one go – keep going and keep trying, and one day the results will show.

Try to involve your child in some hobby in order to kill the monotony of his routine. Many kids develop bad habits because they have nothing else to do. So, if you clue your child on to an interesting hobby, not only will he get rid of his bad habits, he will end up learning a useful thing or two!

Developing good food habits in kids has always been a challanging job for mothers.!

While searching for guidance around I gathered some tips which I want to share with my friends-

1. Praise healthy choices.- Give your children a proud smile and tell them how smart they are when they choose healthy foods.

2. Don’t label foods as “good” or “bad.”Instead, tie foods to the things your child cares about, such as sports or appearance. Let your child know that calcium in dairy products give strength to their sports performance.Discuss about the nutritional value of the food by relating to the benefits they will get.

3. Give the kids some control- Ask your children to take three bites of all the foods on their plate and give it a grade, such as A, B, C, D, or F. When healthy foods – especially certain vegetables — get high marks, serve them more often. Offer the items your children don’t like less frequently. This lets your children participate in decision making.

4. Sit down to family dinners at night. If this isn’t a tradition in your home, it should be. Research shows that children who eat dinners at the table with their parents have better nutrition  and are less likely to get in serious trouble as teenagers. Start with one night a week, and then work up to three or four, to gradually build the habit.

5.  Keep healthy food at hand. Children will eat what’s readily available. Keep fruit in a bowl on the counter, not buried in the crisper section of your fridge. And have an apple for your own snack. Remember, your child can only choose foods that you stock in the house.