Tips to Encourage Weight Loss for Children

September 1, 2010

Tips to Encourage Weight Loss for Children

Nowadays obesity and weight loss for children are the biggest problems before parents. The immune system and metabolism of children is different from adults hence it is a little bit difficult to plan weight loss for children. There are some tips given below which can assist in weight loss for children-

Encourage children for nutritional diet-

Make an analysis of diet taken by children and then accordingly encourage children for nutritional diet. Although you are not supposed to count daily the number of calorie taken by your children, you just need to understand diet of weight loss for children. You should know the sources of extra fat in your child so that you can control them.

Do not let them eat sweets very frequently-

In early age children are fond of eating sweeter recipes and it leads to extra pounds of weight. Instead of giving junk food and sweets, it is better to instigate them to include healthy food in their diet leading to weight loss for children.

Boost them for exercises-

The perfect way to weight loss for children is exercise. More exercise and being more active can assist children greatly in gaining healthy body and losing weight. It is essential to maintain balance between calories taken in diet and also the calories burn. Regular exercise keeps children full of energy and vigor.

Creating an awareness-

Parents should create awareness in children about side effects of overweight. Parents should understand that children can have same problems as a result of obesity as they can have. For example, children can also become asthmatic patience due to overweight. Upon that overweight children can easily fall prey to diseases like heart disease and diabetes at an early age. Hence weight loss for children is very essential for keeping them healthy.

Becoming a role model-

Children generally learn by watching their parents. Keeping this fact in mind parents should always try to promote healthy eating and more physical activities. Physical activities and outdoor games can be the perfect way of weight loss for children.

Weight loss for children is a long term process. Parents need to encourage for weight loss for children so that they can led a healthy life.

Jim is a normal person who has realized his passion by writing about being healthy. He has struggled with weight and other associated health problems. He is fit now, and wants to send the message accords to everyone. For more information and advice on Child Health Care , weight loss. Please visit us at http://www.whatyouneedtoknow.co.in

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A Child’s Cry: 10 Ways to Help Children Deal When Worldwide Tragedy Hits

August 31, 2010

A Child’s Cry: 10 Ways to Help Children Deal When Worldwide Tragedy Hits

Worldwide tragedy, such as earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and typhoons can create fear, distrust, and confusion among children as well as adults. Questions may ensue such as “will this happen to me?” and “are we safe?”

It’s normal for children, just like parents and educators, to feel confused and scared. As a Child Development Expert, adults come to me to find out what they can do and if they’re doing enough to help young people during this trying time. While many parents may shield their children from the news, information can easily seep out through friends and the media. It’s important for parents and educators to be available and ready.

Here are some things to remember:

(1) Stay calm: Children are looking to you to see how to react. By staying calm and in control, children will feel more safe and secure.

(2) Be available: Your children may need you to simply “be there” to listen or sit with them. Sometimes the most powerful parenting takes place when we say nothing at all.

(3) Reassure them: Make sure that the children know that the adults are taking care of the problem and working hard to take care of the people who are hurt or lost.

(4) Let them know that they’re safe: If you know that your children and your family members are indeed safe, be sure to let your children know. If this is not accurate information and safety is still in question, don’t lie. Reassure your children that the adults in charge are doing everything they can do to keep everyone as safe as possible.

(5) Comfort them: Allow them to cry, question, and show concern. Don’t shrug them off and tell them to “stop worrying.” This does not help. Tell them it’s OK to be scared or sad and that you’re available to them if they want to talk or just be together.

(6) Be observant: All children won’t express their concern, grief, or fear outwardly. You know your child. Sometimes your child will become very quiet or lose their appetite when something tragic happens. Some children will be more likely to have a reaction

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The Importance of Reading to Children

August 30, 2010

The Importance of Reading to Children

Growing up, my parents read a story to me every night. I always assumed it was the standard in every child’s bedtime routine across the country. As a teacher with my degree in Early Childhood Education, I know the importance of reading to children. The benefits associated with a simple daily bedtime story seem endless. Imagine my amazement when I read the statistic stating that only 39% of parents read to their children on a daily basis (Young, Davis, and Schoen, 1996). In a word, I was flabbergasted. I’ve witnessed the struggling readers and the impact that has on their daily lives. When a child has difficulties reading, everything in school suffers as a result. Would something as simple as a daily ten minute bedtime story interaction between a parent and child prevent these kids from struggling throughout their school years? Could it really be that simple? I want parents to know how vital it is to read to their children everyday.

Benefits

Teaches Basic Reading and Writing Skills

When children are being read to, they are taking in so much at once. Simple things experienced readers may take for granted are introduced during the first few years of life while listening to a story. Children who are familiar with books know how to hold a book and turn the pages from left to right. They know that the book has a title. Pre-readers also understand that the book contains pictures and words and they start distinguishing words and letters. They begin to recognize that the printed text is read from right to left and top to bottom, which is directly related to beginning writing skills. School districts expect children to be reading simple word texts by the end of kindergarten, and having these basic skills can propel them toward success.

Teaches Basic Listening Skills

It’s true, as I experience it in the classroom everyday. Some children don’t have the ability to sit still long enough to listen to a story. It can be possible that some children may have trouble because of a disability, but others may simply lack the insight to what story time is all about. Making story time at home a daily, fun and engaging activity can encourage children to get excited about story time at school which can also discourage behavior issues.

Promotes Vocabulary and Language Skills

Just think of all the new words children hear from books. Our daily conversations do not require much use of complex language or vocabulary and can hinder the development of a child’s oral language. Reading to a child can introduce so many new words, especially nonfiction titles. Children’s literature provides great models of language for children. In hearing the flow of the writing and the innovative words, especially in repeated readings of the same text, can nurture children’s language development.

Builds Knowledge of the World

As in language development, reading exposes children to worlds of new information. As a teacher, I used books to teach children about a topic, such as a place, or a person, or a topic. The amount of information a child can learn from books is never-ending, which leads into the next benefit.

Fosters a Love of Reading

Enabling children to enjoy reading is one of the most important gifts a parent can do. Kids will learn reading skills in school, but they will come to associate reading with work, not pleasure. As a result, they may lose their desire to read, effecting their schoolwork and desire to learn. When a parent shares an exciting story with a child, and in turn, gets excited with the child, the parent is showing how much fun reading can be. Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, encourages parents to lead by example by stating; “Make sure your children see you reading for pleasure other than at read-aloud time. Share with them your enthusiasm for whatever you are reading”.

Encourages Parent-Child Bonding

Reading aloud also creates a special time for parents to bond with their children. Cuddling together for a bedtime story, you’ll be helping your children develop a lifelong appreciation for reading. (Reading Aloud, n.d.) Builds Self-Esteem Children often want to hear the same story over and over. Just as adults may need to hear something more than once to remember or understand, children are the same way. Trelease (2001) makes a very interesting point, “Those of us who have seen a movie more than once fully realize how many subtleties escaped us the first time. Even more so with children and books”. He also points out that repeated readings can turn a child into an expert on a particular book. The child feels good about himself and connects that good feeling with reading (Trelease, (2001).

Written by Constance Anderson

Teacher

University of South Florida Grad Student

Mom

co-owner of http://www.tinytotboutique.com

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Helping Children Develop Their Brain Capabilities

August 30, 2010

Helping Children Develop Their Brain Capabilities

As children grow, they develop their way of thinking, habits and behaviours. Some children, not having a good parental assistance may show development trends that differ from those having good parental guidance. One of the things that parents could do to help their children in their everyday life is to enhance their mental capacities.

As such, parents can encourage their children to read books. Nowadays, there are a lot of books designed especially for children. These can be easily bought in the local book shop or over the Internet. There are also books that contain word searches or crosswords. These can be very essential to improve the capabilities of the children mind which is required to focus and think for the answer. Children who do such activities on a regular basis can achieve a better logical thinking than those who do not.

Moreover, another brain developing practice for children is memory exercises. Memory exercises are one of the easiest practices for children as they can be done anywhere. Since the young age, children are taught how to spell their names. They are also taught about their addresses and contact numbers. Numerous memory exercises exist. Children can work on remembering poems, songs and names of the different members in their families. Developing the memory can help children have a better focus, hence increasing their ability to remember information. Memorising is a very useful skill since many subjects such as Maths or Science require good memory for better learning.

Furthermore, an interesting brain developing activity for children is the use of the least active hand for writing or drawing. Drawing one half of a picture with the most active hand and afterwards completing the other half with the non dominant one can be a good learning option for children. Doing such an activity may encourage children to use both half of their brains to work together. Practicing brain activities are not only fun but they help children to gradually but effectively develop the most important part of their body.

Additionally, books are inarguably one of the best means to boost children development. Books not only are fun to read but they help children develop their language skills. Parents should encourage their children to read books on a regular basis as nowadays a normal education includes the knowledge of using a keyboard. This said, computers have become an integral part of the everyday life. They are used in schools, offices, hospitals, etc.  Similarly, the Internet has turned into a huge encyclopedia. So, the reading of books has somehow been devalued but its importance remains a strong one, especially for children.

In fact, most of the times, we can see children seeking information from a computer rather than from the pages of a big reference book. However, children should remember that when computers did not exist, books made lawyers and doctors. The computer is definitely an immense facility for good education of children but the importance of reading books must not be ignored.       

Ralph Ramah is the webmaster of Discount Web Design, one of the leading web design company in the UK offering quality web site design and SEO services

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