Saturday, Oct 1, 2011Tips for Raising a Happy Child

One of the best characteristics you can help your child with is to develop self discipline.  It’s also one of the things he will resist.  Children find it hard to adapt to routine but here are some helpful tips for raising a happy child that is successful in both the areas of self discipline and routine:

A Mental Jumpstart
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Breakfast will help your child be able to focus his concentration and solve the problems a school day presents to him.  He’ll be able to remember things better if he’s had a good breakfast; he’ll do better on tests; and he’ll have fewer behavioral problems in school.

Be a Positive Example

You be right there at the table and eat right beside your children.  Leading by example has always been the best way to teach them good habits and healthy lifestyles. Shared meals also anchor and mold your family – which is key to raising a happy child.

Attend your child’s school functions.  It’s important to them and their performance will be better if you show that you care. If you’re sharing responsibilities with your mate or your ex, one of you needs to be there.

For Improving Grades

Give some thought to your child’s study location.  Having a television there might not be the best idea.  Segregate the time and location for playing video games or computer games from when he should be focused on homework or school projects. Developing self discipline in this arena is important for creating work ethics later on.

• Create an area that is only for doing homework.  The key is not location: it is privacy and quiet for focusing attention.
• Make sure they have the right tools for the job. Buy school supplies.  Ask them on the way home from school what they might need.  Don’t wait until you have to go out again to buy them. Be sure they have adequate lighting.
• Create a scenario of “you don’t have to rush through this” for your children. Establish a time that remains constant every day and follow through with it.
• Check on your child’s computer to be sure it’s being used for homework and not play.
• Be there to help answer questions to help them through a problem they may be having.
• Consider a tutor if necessary. Speak to your kid’s teacher for additional ways you can help him.
• Break up long periods of school work with ways to stretch and move.

Following these tips for raising a happy child are just the beginning to creating healthy habits and developing self discipline that will last their whole life.

Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.  ~Neil Postman

Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music.  ~William Stafford