Parenting Tips: Best Things To Do For Your Child!

What can you do as parents to make sure your child has an advantage in life? A lot of course! Some of the most beneficial things in life cost just little to get. Let’s face it, even though they are quite expensive, it is an investment worth making. Here are few lifestyle investment tips you may want to consider starting up with your child for the most valuable benefits!

Take your child round the globe: This is not meant the literal way, so relax. When was the last time you taught your kid a culture belonging to another state, tribe, country or continent.  We don’t know geography as well as we should because nobody took the time to help us grow a passion in that direction. A hand in hand discussion about this helps a child discover in a tender age that there are many countries in the world, and that there is something called continent comprising a number indigenous countries and understanding that there are cultures different from the one he is born into– and that they are different from one nation to another.

To raise a child who appreciates this, get him/her a globe or world-map puzzle and discuss other countries and places. You might need to do a little research yourself, but you needn’t have all the answers to get started, start from the ones you know. Show your child how to look up this kind of information online or at the library. Challenge each other to come up with a new state to learn about every week and you will marvel when it starts to pay off!

Allot a chore: “Kids get a sense of responsibility and accomplishment by completing chores and being part of a team,” says Norbert Herschkowitz, M.D., a paediatrician, neuroscientist, and co-author of A Good Start in Life: Understanding Your Child’s Brain and Behaviour. Children are capable of more than we give them credit for. A 3- or 4-year-old can do more than just sit and watch the TV. They could help you set the table for family breakfast; they could help you fix items in their right position-and there is how it begins.

Read together for at least 15 minutes: Sharing a story is important not just because of the brain-boosting power of book—it also allows you time to evaluate your child’s intellectual capabilities where necessary. Asides from this, it affords you some good time together as you cuddle and make some good jokes together. 15 minutes a day is enough for kids to feel close connection with you and develop a love for books, says Sharon Darling; president of the Louisville, Kentucky based National Centre for Family Literacy. Consider reading together a good reward!

Hit the playground: Get out there and have fun with your kids! Playing outdoors is a great way for toddlers and pre-schoolers, to improve their large motor skills. Exercise also affects the brain: Recent studies show that kids who are physically active do better in school and have higher self-esteem than those who aren’t.  So take your baby out to the park and encourage them, that way, she gets used to being on the move right from the start. An older child can focus on having a good time doing some of her favourite activities. However, “Don’t push her to be competitive,” says Robyn Housemann, Ph.D., a public health expert. “Some kids who don’t like team sports end up loving to dance, bike, or other engaging activities.

Get them to bed by 8:00: “Things run so much more smoothly when they go to bed early,” says Carrie of Edgeworth, Pennsylvania, who puts her sons, Ben, 5, and Will, 2, to bed at 8:00 every night. “The next day, they’re not cranky and they get along better.” Early bedtimes are a bonus for her too. “Evening is a peaceful time when I can read, catch up on — things I don’t have time to do when the kids are around.” She says.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, 60 percent of children feel tired during the day. One problem they face though is that kids’ bedtimes are driven by adult schedules. The result becomes tired children who forfeit restful sleep routines. They become cranky, find it tough to concentrate, and suffer from impaired memory and all. Not what you’ll need for kid on a Monday morning. Start now to remedy this tonight. Then go and get some rest yourself!

Credits: parenting.com, lifepurposematters.com.