Archive for Encourage
The basics of healthy children: encourage safe fun in the sun
Posted by: | CommentsWhat does fun in the sun have to do with healthy eating? First of all, sunshine converts inactive vitamin D in our bodies to its active and beneficial form. Vitamin D is necessary for strong bones and normal calcium metabolism. Additionally, an Australian study recently reported that increased sun exposure during childhood and early adolescence is associated with a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis. This is supported by the fact that multiple sclerosis is more common at higher latitudes, which generally have lower levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Second, having fun in the sun is time spent doing something other than lying around in front of the TV, playing video games, or surfing the Web. Outdoor play usually involves a healthful level of activity, which goes hand in hand with healthy eating.
All this said, make outdoor play safe. The sun’s UV rays are present year-round, but because our kids spend more time outdoors and wear less clothing during the warmer months, the risk of exposure is greater. Excessive and unprotected exposure to the sun is associated with premature aging, undesirable, changes in skin texture, and various types of skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, people receive up to 80% of their life’s total exposure to UV light by the age of eighteen.
Start early in promoting a healthy attitude about sun protection for your kids. Think about SPF (sun protection factor) even when it’s hazy or cloudy. Encourage your kids to play in the shade or to avoid playing outdoors between 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest. When your kids are outdoors, be sure their skin is protected. Choose a sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher. Sunscreen is not recommended for children younger than six months old, so keep infants in the shade and covered up with comfortable clothing.
The Basics of How to Parent Your Boys: Support and Encourage, Don’t Control and Push
Posted by: | CommentsSupport and encouragement give boys the energy they need to concentrate better, stay with things, achieve more and feel good about their progress. Controlling and pushing can leave boys exhausted, resentful and inclined to opt out.
When we support and encourage, we share a boy’s burden and give him the courage to try new things. By contrast, when we control and push, we add to his burdens, imply that he cannot be trusted to do it on his own, sap his courage and undermine his self-belief.
If you are a parent:
* Show an interest in what he does; watch him undertaking various activities; ask how things went after he makes a special effort
* Offer help, take him where he needs to go; discuss problems; answer questions
* Listen when he tells you about his problems and successes; share his enthusiasm about dreams and goals; mark his achievements
* Show trust; help him set his own goals in a time frame he can manage
* Discover and accept your son’s learning style and preferred work patterns
If you are a teacher:
* Give him detailed information about the progress he’s made and what he still needs to do
* Help him devise a plan of action if he gets stuck, to keep him on course
* Be enthusiastic about his improvements
* Use stars, stickers and incentives carefully; if boys decide it’s no longer cool to work for rewards, they are left with nothing to work for
* Letters, postcards or certificates sent to students’ homes remove the potential for peer ridicule and allow parents to enthuse about their sons’ achievements
Controlling, pushy adults are likely to finish tasks for their son; fill his time with activities; point out mistakes immediately; be competitive; issue threats; set new goals in quick succession; hover and get involved in homework, rubbing out mistakes and so on.
The Basics of Parenting Your Boys: Encourage and Value A Range of Skills
Posted by: | CommentsA boy in London’s deprived East End wanted to study Dance at A-level. A dance project at his school had given him a new interest and talent. When his father found out, he was furious. He threatened to throw his son out of the house if he went ahead, so the boy was forced to give up his dream.
Children do best when they experience lots of success and believe they are good at a range of different things. The more they experience themselves as competent, the more likely they are to have a go at new things. They will also widen their skills base, which will increase their ability to cope in a range of different situations. Academic success is by no means the only way to value a child.
If you are a parent:
* Try to broaden his base of achievement; let him try a range of activities and skills; libraries keep details of local children’s groups and activities
* Every child will benefit from believing he is good at something – it might be cleaning his bike, playing with other children, being creative with Lego or good at computers, for example
* Limit television viewing; he needs balance and variety to get the best from himself and to feel proud and successful
* Try to involve him in the practical things you do around your home
If you are a teacher:
* Find something that each boy is good at, tell him he’s good at it, and work to develop his strengths
* If a boy has a talent that is unusual, encourage the other children to respect his skill; but first, find what it is
* Work hard to break down gender-stereotypical choices for options in Year 9
* Set up after-school and break-time clubs to introduce students to new interests
Every boy will have many talents. He may be good at football, dancing, drawing, constructing models, climbing trees, rollerblading, or bicycle tricks. He may know a lot about insects, animals or gardening, be good at thinking things through or getting himself organized. He may be quick to understand how someone’s feeling, or be tuned in well to his own feelings.
The Basics of Parenting Your Boys: Encourage a Caring Masculinity
Posted by: | CommentsBoys will be able to feel more at one with themselves and at ease with one another if they can develop their caring instincts in parallel with other features of their personality. Masculinity does not have to be identified solely with physicality, aggression, brutality, crudity or cruelty, to the exclusion of other, softer characteristics.
No one is suggesting that boys lose their gender identity to become like girls or that men ignore the effects of their hormones to ape women. We all, women included, have a tough side and a tender side. Boys’ self-esteem will rise when they don’t have to deny important bits of themselves.
If you are a parent:
Teachers
* Give him permission to feel and express tenderness toward cuddly toys, babies, animals and his younger brothers and sisters
* Teach him to care for other people
* Try not to belittle any men you know or hear about who take on caring jobs or roles
* Don’t tolerate hurtful talk or behavior simply because you think ‘boys will be boys’
If you are a teacher:
* Encourage a policy of zero-tolerance across all classrooms of macho talk that is based on violence, aggression or insensitivity
* Avoid timetabling community service as an alternative to sport; playing sport is not incompatible with spending time with elderly people
* Ensure plenty of class discussion to raise awareness of caring and gender issues
A recent survey estimated that five million workers are bullied each year, which represents a lot of misery. Of course, women can bully too, but it is likely that more people in a position to bully will be men. When we fail to challenge young children’s view of masculinity as associated only with power, aggression and control, the damage to individuals can be widespread.