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Kids are learning to read and write at very early age in today’s times. Thanks to over ambitious parents aspirations!

I came across this interesting article which will definitely open our parents mind. This article is written by Susan R. Johnson MD, FAAP, 5/7/2007-

There is a widely-held belief that if we just start teaching children to write, read, and spell in preschool, they will become better writers, readers, and spellers by the time they reach the first and second grades. This is, however, not true. The truth is that children only should be taught to write, read, and spell when their neurological pathways for writing, reading, and spelling have fully formed. There are many neuropsychologists, developmental specialists, occupational therapists and teachers who are concerned that our current trend in this country of pushing “academics” in preschool and kindergarden will result in even greater increases in the number of children, particularly boys, diagnosed with attentional problems and visual processing types of learning disabilities.

In order for children to be able to sit still, pay attention, and remember abstract shapes, like letters and numbers, they first need to have developed their proprioceptive system. In my clinical practice I see children who are being asked to sit still at a desk who can’t yet “feel” where they are in space. They have to keep their muscles and body moving all the time or sit on their feet or wrap their feet around the legs of their chair in order for their mind to locate the position of their body. They also have difficulty balancing on one foot while their eyes are closed. Their drawing of a person is more like that of a younger child, being stick-like in form and lacking hands and feet. These children are often given the label of Attention Deficit Disorder because they appear fidgety in their movements, have difficulty paying attention, and have poorly developed fine-motor skills. In addition, these same children are often labeled as having learning disabilities in visual processing (for example, dyslexia or other types of non-verbal learning disabilities). They have difficulty recalling letters, numbers, and shapes that are shown to them, and they are unable to recognize letters, numbers, and shapes that are drawn with a finger on their back. These children have difficulty remembering the orientation and direction of letters and numbers when writing, reading, or spelling. They often will confuse the letter “b” with the letter “d” and may write the number 2 or number 3 backwards and not even notice.

The proprioceptive system is strengthened by physical movements, like sweeping with a broom, pushing a wheelbarrow, carrying groceries, emptying the trash, pulling weeds, or hanging from monkey bars. When children do these types of activities they stimulate pressure receptors within their muscles, tendons, and joints, thereby allowing their minds to make a map of the location of these various pressure receptors within the body. A connection is made between the mind of children and the various parts of their physical body. In this way children develop a sense of where their body is in space (proprioception), and even if their eyes are closed, the children will be able to feel or sense the location of muscles, joints and tendons within their trunk, arms, legs, fingers, and toes.

It goes with every kid I suppose. Most frequent question my kid is asking “When I can watch cartoon mom?”

Quite strange. I never watch TV in front of him. My husband watches only news and he is having very controlled viewing time for cartoons but the most fascinated time of whole day routine is cartoon time. I am worried for his stressed eyes, waste of time, no movements, no eye ball movement (as all these reasons are given by doctors against TV).

Then I have a look at my kid’s happy face, the bliss he is into when he is watching cartoon, some general awareness which he gets while watching educational cartoon like ones on Disney clubhouse, his various new expressive ways of speaking. I am confused which school of thought to follow. I always was in favor of controlled cartoon viewing for kids. As there are many things which we as a parent are not able to teach our kids. Kids come to know about those things through cartoon only.

I just surfed the internet to get some information what the researches are saying. Researches show that the first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. Kids should not exposed to TV and other electronic media which can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.

As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family.

• Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
• Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
• TV characters often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes.

Children’s advocates are divided when it comes to solutions. Although many urge for more hours per week of educational programming, others assert that no TV is the best solution. And some say it’s better for parents to control the use of TV and to teach kids that it’s for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism.

Just have a look at these facts-

The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want.

· According to the AAP, kids in the United States see 40,000 commercials each year. From the junk food and toy advertisements during Saturday morning cartoons to the appealing promos on the backs of cereal boxes, marketing messages inundate kids of all ages. And to them, everything looks ideal — like something they simply have to have. It all sounds so appealing — often, so much better than it really is.

The other school of thought which speaks about positive effects of TV says, in moderation, can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. No doubt about it — TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer.

Good point’s are-

· Because of its ability to create powerful touchstones, TV enables young people to share cultural experiences with others.

· Shared viewing gives family members of all ages an opportunity to spend time together.

· Parents can use TV as a catalyst to get kids reading—following up on TV programs by getting books on the same subjects or reading authors whose work was adapted for the programs.

· Great television can teach kids important values and life lessons.

· TV programs often explore controversial or sensitive issues, which can make it easier for parents and kids to discuss them.

· Educational programming can develop young children’s socialization and learning skills.

· News, current events and historical programming can help make young people more aware of other cultures and people.

· Documentaries can help develop critical thinking about society and the world. TV can help introduce your family to classic Hollywood films and foreign movies that may not be available in your local video store.

To watch TV or not that we will always be in dilemma, but if we can really have a controlled viewing hours for our kids then we can have benefit from both school of thoughts!

Creating desirable behaviour in kids is a dream of every parent!

BUNDLE OF LOVE

As a parent we can occupy a powerful role in shaping the tone, texture, mood, and quality of our family system. I came across this set of questions while reading a book , and I want to ask my blog readers to answer to these questions as honestly as possible. You never know you will find answer to find ways of creating desirable behaviour in kids while answering these questions only-

1.What kind of family manager you have been up till now?

2.Do you treat your family as a project and follow day to activities while managing it?

3.Are you able to create a family environment which will bring out best from your child?

4.Do you have plan in your mind for what successful parenting is?

5.Have you created an environment that generates feelings of safety security, belongings, self-confidence, and strength for the child?

6.Is your family environment enough nurturing which can bring out authentic self of your child?

If we really want a healthy and nurturing family which can can provide atmosphere for successful and productive children  we  must commit our self to acquiring the insight and skills necessary to live the values, that we know in our heart are so important.

Kids always look for connection. They never want to be alone and it will really help them grow in a better way if they are well connected with their family members. These activities which I came across while surfing net and want to share with all those parents who really want to bring a positive difference in their kids life.-

1.CONNECTING WITH OTHERS-

Decorate a jar with coloured paper. Write “LUCKY US” on the outside. Once a week ask each family member write one positive sentence about another member of the family. Then place the slips in the jar. When you ask your child to write then first discuss with him thta whats special about him. Then what he likes most in his grandparents, parents.

At the end of the month open the jar and read what each person has written. There will be joy in whole family. Very exciting activity indeed!

2.EXPRESS YOURSELF NICELY-

This activity can be planned as per choice. You can do it daily, weekly as you wish. Make it a ritual for whole family that at the end of the each day everybody has to say something nice about each other. May be like “I liked the way you helped your grandmother” . When you speak these words then kids learn how to express their positive feelings for each other.

Parenting involves commitment and to create desirable behaviour in our kids we have to brush up our parenting skills regularly!

I came across this statement about parenting, in a book recently-”You are raising adults. Right now they are under construction, like a new big house being built from the ground up. Once that house gets completed, it is subjected to the force of nature and the wear and tear of life. Will its foundation crack, or its roof leak? The answer depends largely on how you mold and shape your children, their values, their behaviour, and their ability to take decisions.”

Parent himself as a person is only responsible for creating desirable behaviour in their kids. We as an individual have to check ourselves first. What all we want our kids to be, we have to learn to follow first. Its not a surprise to parent folk, isn’t it?

Its a saying that what you sow so shall you reap. We are really preparing future families. What matters is our belief. If we believe that our family deserve a certain positive way of lifestyle then only we can take action on it. So first of all we have to count our worth. The journey to create a positive family begins from you only so try to clean your inside house first. Improve upon yourself and then with conviction you can discuss with your kids about right habits, attitude, and other things in life.(contd)