15 Tips for Instilling Leadership Skills in Children

1. Set a good example.

As a leader, you realize the importance of setting a good example for your team.

2. Encourage team activities.

3. Emphasize perseverance.

4. Build negotiation skills.

5. Hone decision-making abilities.

6. Practice confident communication.

7. Encourage work.

8. Enrol in summer camp.

9. Have family game night.

10. Teach project planning skills.

11. Use vision boards.

12. Avoid jumping in.

13. Find a mentor.

14. Encourage reading

15. Reward optimistic thinking.

Top Tips on Stopping Your Child Biting

Why do they bite?

Understanding why a child bites is key to beating the problem. Not all children bite out of anger or to hurt.

• Expressing emotion: Oddly enough, young toddlers can bite as a way of showing love. "Toddlers have really intense feelings but don’t know how to show them"
•  Experimenting: Toddlers are learning how their body works – they put things in their mouths, and sometimes nip. It’s impulsive and they don’t mean to hurt.
• Defending: Young children learn to bite as a defence, especially if they can’t talk.
• Controlling: Some children know biting is a way of getting other children – or their parents – to do what they want. They don’t always do this consciously

How to stop it?

•     Intervene: Open your eyes – look at how intense, how frequent bites are and what the triggers are.
•     Teach them it’s wrong: When your child bites, use simple but firm words. Try, “that’s biting, that’s wrong” or a firm “no”. If you’re in a group, remove them from the situation. Explain that it hurts others and why you don’t like them doing it.
•      Teach them to express themselves: When things have calmed down, try to help your child find a less painful way to express their feelings.
•      Reduce the effectiveness: When children bite to gain attention, dealing with it is trickier. After the first big talking to, don’t try to continue to reason or explain.

   

Attachment: Why it's crucial for your baby

• Why attachment is important??

From the moment they arrive, babies are ready to teach us what they need.

• Won't I spoil my child? 

Do you want your baby to be happy? Of course! But it's hard to know where to draw the line sometimes.

• The attachment theory

To understand why, it helps to know a bit about what's called attachment theory. All infants naturally attach to their primary caregivers, even to adults who are less nurturing.

• What happens if your baby doesn't connect with you?

About 35 percent of babies form unhealthy, insecure attachments. In their young minds, it's not clear that their parents will come through for them.

• You can make a difference

Most scientists believe that what makes the difference between healthy and unhealthy attachment is the parent's response.

• Why the first year is key?

This kind of attention is especially important during the first year because that's when the brain is growing the fastest.

Helping Your Visually Impaired Child Develop Good Motor Skills

Balance

• Balance is a child's ability to hold her body parts upright. This ability starts first with her head, then continues down her body to shoulders, trunk, hips, and legs. Balance is part of running, jumping, standing on one leg, cycling, and ball throwing.

1.  Giving your child lots of time lying on her tummy. She may act as if she doesn't like this  position. And she probably won't—until she has learned to balance, turn her head, and lift it up  off the floor
2.  Giving him chances to sit or stand alone.
3.  Giving her some support and then letting go for a few seconds. See if she can catch herself      before she loses her balance.

•   To help your child practice walking you can:
•    Give your child a chance to walk frequently. It builds up his self-confidence, and yours.

1.  Be sure your child has an opportunity to walk on many different surfaces—rugs, bare floors,  grass sidewalks, gravel, tile, etc.
2.  See that your child has a chance to walk on both even and uneven surfaces—steps, hills,  sloping driveways, etc.

Running

• For young children, running is a release of energy, a source of power

1. ·         "He can't see where he's going."
2. ·         "He'll run into something."
3. ·         "He could fall down and hurt himself!"

• Any one of these could happen. But since there are so many benefits to running, the best idea is to help your child to run safely. You can do that by:

1. ·         Begin by carrying your child as you run.
2. ·         Running together, hand in hand.
3. ·         Running together, each holding the end of a rope.

Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy:

Raw Meat: Uncooked seafood and rare or undercooked beef or poultry should be avoided because of the risk of contamination with coliform bacteria, toxoplasmosis, and salmonella.

Deli Meat: Deli meats have been known to be contaminated with listeria, which can cause miscarriage.

Fish with Mercury: Fish that contain high levels of mercury should be avoided.

Smoked Seafood

Fish Exposed to Industrial Pollutants

Raw Shellfish

Raw Eggs: Raw eggs or any foods that contain raw eggs should be avoided because of the potential exposure to salmonella.

Soft Cheeses: Imported soft cheeses may contain bacteria called Listeria, which can cause miscarriage.

Caffeine: Although most studies show that caffeine intake in moderation is OK, there are others that show that caffeine intake may be related to miscarriages.

Tips for raising a well-rounded boy

1. Give him some responsibility.

Following directions and finishing tasks are skills that are often slow to develop in boys.

2. Let him show his emotions.

Even in these enlightened times, boys are often expected to stifle their tears and swallow their anger while girls are allowed more free rein with their emotions.

3. Give him plenty of physical affection.

Studies have observed that moms and dads have less physical contact with boys than with girls, a trend that starts in toddler hood.

4. Don't try to shut down his high-revving engine.

Boys tend to have a lot of energy, which can get pent-up if they don't have enough chances to run, climb, and blow off steam.

5. Don't worry if he isn't acting "masculine" enough.

Even tough-guy fathers have a nurturing side. (The good ones, at least.)

6. Give him chances to polish his social skills.

Most boys don’t form close intimate friendships as easily as girls.

7. Make music part of his life.

Practicing an instrument can give your son a valuable sense of accomplishment.

8. Encourage his interests, even if they aren't "boy" activities.

If your son wants to take dance lessons, his friends may tease him, which can be hard to deal with.

9. Get involved at school.\

Talk with your son's teacher regularly to find out his classroom strengths and weaknesses.

10. Praise the positive.

"Boy" behavior, even when it's age-appropriate, can be hard for adults to deal with – and boys get plenty of correcting, reprimanding, and scolding in school and at home as a result.

Baby Hair Care

^{If your baby has no hair...}

^{Care tip: Shampoo twice a week to avoid cradle cap -- oily, flaky patches of skin on the scalp.}  

^{Styling tip: Hats are a must to protect baby's head from the sun -- and a bonnet.}

^{If your baby has thin and wispy hair...}

^{Care tip: Comb gently and trim wisps that fall into baby's ears or eyes.}

^{If your baby has thick and curly hair...}

^{Care tip: Slather on a conditioner or baby oil after shampooing once a week if hair is very dry. Comb hair gently from roots to scalp before rinsing conditioner out.}

^{If your baby has thick and straight hair...}

^{Care tip: In some cultures, it's a tradition to shave even thick hair so it comes in healthier, but frequent haircuts can also do the trick.}

^{Whether it's thin, thick, curly, or practically non-existent, parents love to run their fingers through their baby's hair just for the pure pleasure of it. And seeing it sticking up in the morning or slick and wet in the bath is one of those wonderful little joys of parenthood. In fact, many moms put off baby's first haircut for as long as possible, because seeing those wispy little curls fall to the floor is often the first sign that babyhood is coming to an end.}