December 6, 2009
Don’t Give In to Tantrums - Provide Alternatives
How to Resolve Conflicts and Create Connection with Nonviolent Communication
Most parents must have encountered this situatioin at one time or another. Your child wants to do something, or play with something that is unsuitable or dangerous and when you try to stop them or take it away all hell breaks loose.
This is always one fo the biggest trials that any parent must face. Children will develop social competence and self confidence if they are provided with tolerance and praise for their positive actions. But parents always need to remain in charge.
A typical toddler can be told to stop doing what they are doing up to as much as 20 times in every hour. How would you like to be told what to do or what not to do once every three minutes?
Parents often need to assert control in order to prevent children from harming themselves or one another when they are only doing what comes naturally. Playing with knives, bashing brothers or sisters with toys and fighting are all examples of how children will test their boundaries to investigate the world in which they live.
Providing the child with alternatives can be an excellent way to enable them to continue to investigate and learn. For example, changing a metal knife for a plastic one might be all that is needed. Or let them find out how much it can hurt to be poked in the eye.
Alternatives don’t always work but they can provide an effective way to defuse a potentially explosive situation. The first thing to do is to acknowledge what the child is trying to achieve and then to introduce the alternative. Its then important to encourage the child to engage with the alternative by using it yourself and convincing the child that it is more interesting than whatever they were doing before.
There are goind to be many occasions when it isn’t possible or convenient to provide alternatives but these can provide a valuable lesson that the world has its limits. Distracting children from risking or potentially harmful behvior with interesting and engaging alternatives will help to reinforce parental authority and teach them that altermatives are often available.
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I recommend camping as a great way to bond with children, to provide them with freedom to investigate the world around them and engage with their parents or carers. But always remember to ensure safety by using the right camping equipment. You may like to take part in a bushcraft course where children will learn a variety of skills including how to handle a bushcraft knife, start a fire without matches and tracking skills.
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Filed under Indoor Plants by flowertips
November 26, 2009
Which Doll to Choose for a Boy
Barbie dolls are incredibly popular. A total of over three million Barbie dolls have been sold all over the world and they continue to be incredibly popular. But the male Barbie doll, Ken, is only popular with girls. Boys tend to prefer Action Man.
So why do boys prefer Action Man over Ken? Is it the name, the outfits, the accessories? There aren’t a great selection of accessories for Ken dolls as there are for Action Man Figures. One of the key features of Action Man is the range of weapons that he can grasp with his gripping hands. And boys do love to play with weapons.
Another difference is the dolls themselves. The articulation in Action Man Figures means that they can be made to climb and hang onto pretty much anything. In contrast Ken appears to be something of a softie.
Many people like to discuss the pro and cons of boys playing with dolls. Traditionally dolls have been the toys given to girls. Boys tend to be given model cars, boats, planes, footballs and weapons. Many parents get unnecessarily worried if their little boy shows an interest in dolls.
But experts agree that playing with dolls, by boys and girls, is generally a good thing. It can be very educational, helping children to make sense of the world around them by re-enacting scenes from life.
Most educators and child psychologists agree that play should not be divided based on gender. Boys should be given the same toys {as girls including dolls houses, prams and of course dolls~Ideally boys need to be provided with the same playthings as girls including dolls and dolls houses}. as girls. And girls should be allowed to play with toys that might traditionally be given to boys, footballs, rc cars and even Action Man Figures.
So, dolls for boys can be excellent for their education. However, it is likely that most boys would prefer an Action Man over a Ken doll.
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Filed under Indoor Plants by flowertips