Children Archives - Page 30 of 39

Why You Should Encourage Your Kids to Play Sports

March 24, 2017 by admin

With kids today spending so much time hunched over tablets, Gameboys and computers, it can be a constant battle to ensure that they are getting enough physical activity. One thing that many parents do is to enroll their children in organized sports. Whether your child ends up playing varsity football like Mack Prioleau or simply develops a lifelong appreciation for an active lifestyle, there are many benefits that come from encouraging your kids to participate in sports. Here are just a few.

Cardiovascular and Muscle Strength

An obvious benefit that comes with being involved in sports is the impact on the overall health of your kids. A generation ago, kids would have been outside running around for hours every day. Now, they spend very little time engaged in active play, which makes the time spent play sports even more important. No matter what sport they enjoy, they will spend time developing their cardiovascular health and muscle strength as a result of running, jumping, hitting or swimming.

Coordination and Flexibility

While studies have shown that computer games can contribute to the development of fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination, there is no substitute for sports as a way to bring these skills into the real world. In addition to developing fine motor skills, sports also encourage the development of gross motor skills that can only come from moving your body through space. And no matter what sport your child enjoys, flexibility and mobility will benefit as well.

Discipline and perseverance

As children gain skills in their chosen sport, there will come a time when they want to continue to improve their abilities but they find that it no longer comes as easily or naturally as the basic skills did. This means that children learn that in order to improve, they must be prepared to put in the effort to practice. They will also learn that this comes with sacrifice – in order to practice, there will be times when the child will have to make a choice between practicing and another activity. They also learn that even though not everything may come easily, there are small improvements that they can observe and build on every day, thus teaching the value of perseverance and patience. The sense of accomplishment that they can enjoy as they achieve their goals will reinforce the value of hard work.

Sportsmanship

Whether your child plays a team sport or an individual sport, they will need to internalize the norms of good sportsmanship, which include values of fair play, the importance of following rules, of working with others, and of being both gracious winners and losers. The ritual of players shaking hands and saying “good game” after a competitive match underscores everything that is good about sportsmanship and models positive values that your child can take into adulthood.

These are just some of the many ways that your child can benefit from involvement in sports!

Ingredients & Baby Skin Care Products: How Important Are They?

March 16, 2017 by admin

Many baby product ingredients on the market have no place on an adult’s skin, let alone on a baby’s delicate skin. Human skin in general is porous, like a sponge, and anything we put onto it soaks right in – sometimes causing quite a bit of damage to the system.

So why do companies use ingredients that seem like they belong more in a science lab than in a personal hygiene product? We can’t be sure of other baby skin care companies’ motivation, but we fear it often comes down to cost, convenience, and pure marketing hype.

Fewer Ingredients is More

Even though we sell baby skin care products, we’ll be the first to tell you that your baby doesn’t need loads of ingredients and tons of products to stay clean and soft. A simple cleanser, lotion, and perhaps a baby diaper rash ointment or a few other gentle products are all an infant requires when it comes to personal care.

Further, a healthy baby certainly doesn’t need ingredients with hard-to-pronounce names that have been synthesized. Plant-based ingredients that are naturally cleansing, hydrating, and healing are good for promoting and maintaining healthy baby skin.

The EWG Says to Avoid These Toxic Ingredients

The ingredients that we and many experts (including the EWG) don’t believe should be in your baby’s creams, soaps, and other personal care products include: talc (known to be a drying agent, a lung irritant, and a possible carcinogen), synthetic fragrance (may cause skin, eye, respiratory, and neurological damage), propylene glycol (a penetration enhancer that easily absorbs into the skin and might be carcinogenic), and 1,4-dioxane and ethylated surfactants (the EWG reports that 57% of baby soap is contaminated with this known breast cancer inducing agent), among others.

Baby Mantra thinks that baby skin care should be made with simple ingredients from nature. Many are known to clean, moisturize, and heal gently, such as nut and vegetable oils, flower essences, and herbs. We want to keep babies protected and feeling good, so we make sure that all of our products – including our popular organic baby lotion – are clean, non-toxic, and naturally safe.

How to overcome children’s fear of the dark

March 2, 2017 by admin

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It is very common for young children of all ages to have fears surrounding going to bed and being alone in the dark. As the parent or guardian of young children, you can help set them at ease and teach them that night time is nothing to be afraid of. Whether it is a fear of monsters under the bed or glimpses of mere shadows that look terrifying, your children will need patient coaching to overcome their natural, fearful emotions.

The nature of fear changes depending on your child’s age

For babies, it is primarily the strong bond with their parents or caregivers that leads to fears – in this case, a fear of separation. Even short breaks from people they have grown attached to can lead to a lot of crying. Babies can be reassured if they just hear your voice from a distance, but don’t leave them to simply cry it out as this could make them feel even more anxious.

Toddlers are just starting to develop real feelings like fear and anger, and it is often a fear of these feelings setting in that unnerves them. Elementary school-aged children will have fewer problems with separation anxiety, but their more complex understanding of the world around them brings in a range of new worries. It’s often an awareness – warranted or not – of supernatural beings that scares them the most, but so does the possibility of a burglary or even wars.

What you can do to reassure your children

There are a few steps you can take to make your children feel safer. Never be judgmental or dismissive about their fears; they might not be rational to you, but they are very real to your child. Dismissing and ignoring their fears will only let the problem fester. Instead, do your best to provide reassurance and comfort.

It often helps to find out what exactly it is that scares your child. You might find that there is something in the room that scares them – perhaps an object that looks like it is lurking or casts a curious shadow. If it is something that is completely imaginary, ask your child to check the room with you while the light is still on to show them that there is nothing lurking.

How to make your home a place that feels safe

It might not have occurred to you, but simply adding a carefully selected light in the right position in a room can banish any fears of the dark while still allowing your child to sleep soundly in near darkness. For example, the Night Angel is a light fitting that you may have noticed from as seen on TV products, and it discreetly lights up an area in the room by simply snapping onto an existing wall outlet.

Creaks and squeaks in an old house are other common terrifying culprits as your child wonders whether that scratching noise by the window is a monster trying to come in or simply a tree branch swaying in the wind. Keep your child’s window clear of tree branches, and tie down any loose objects that make noises through the night, such as floorboards or roof tiles.

Practical things to do – and avoid

An empty tummy can often be the cause of your child waking up in the middle of the night, so make sure your child has a small snack before going to bed to help them sleep through the night. Make sure you avoid sugary snacks as these can increase brain activity. Instead, opt for cheeses or dairy snacks along with a warm beverage to set them at ease.

Monsters are a common reason that kids are afraid of the dark, so be careful what media you are watching before bedtime. Don’t watch horror films, even if they are kid-friendly; these films often use dark scenes to induce fear and excitement. Your child won’t be able to separate fiction from reality as quickly as adults do, and what you might consider a walk in the park in the horror film stakes could have a tremendous influence on your child’s ability to fall asleep.

Your input can make all the difference

Children need to learn to navigate the world, and they can benefit enormously from adult input. Irrational fears of the dark are just your child’s way of discovering what the world is about, and you can teach them how to interpret it. However, some small changes in the way your home is arranged can also help, so think from the perspective of your child and you will be on your way to peaceful nights for the entire family!

Teaching Styles at Sunday School

February 25, 2017 by admin

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If you are considering high school ministry, or other forms of Sunday school, you will must first learn to understand the different teaching styles. There are two types of styles to choose from generally, being small group or master teacher format. It is important that you learn the difference between these two options, so that you choose the one that is right for you.

Master Teacher Format

You may feel that something called “master teacher” is quite intimidating. After all, becoming a master takes a whole lot of pressure, work, and focus. In reality, however, being a master teacher means that you will work with the whole student ministry, being a large format. This could be high school ministry, for instance, whereby you could potentially work with every child within that high school. During your cases, however, you will be the sole teacher and spend the first quarter of your lesson introducing the subject, after which the children will be divided into groups, usually by gender and age, and they will then work independently on the subject, facilitated by yourself.

Small Group Format

With small group format schooling, you are likely to work specifically in a Sunday school. All your students will be in smaller groups, and you get to decide how to divide them. You will not just teach them, but encourage discussion and debate. This is the format seen in almost every church across the country.

Which One Is Better?

You will be happy to know that there are no rights and wrongs when it comes to teaching styles. It all depends on where you teach, and what your church expects the children to learn. It also depends on what you are most comfortable with yourself. If you have been used to delivering education using a small group style, and you are suddenly expected to become a master teacher, you may struggle with that to a degree. Similarly, if the church you work for has always offered master teacher styles, you shouldn’t suddenly decide to switch to small group teaching. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to have the flexibility to go from one style to the other while remaining within the same church, in other words. However, you do have the opportunity to switch your style if you were to teach at different high school ministries or different Sunday schools.

At the end of the day, deciding between the two formats is something you need to do based on your personal preferences, and based on the preferences of your church, or the school itself. Remember that you are doing the work of the Lord, and you will not be doing anything wrong by choosing one style or another. The difference is in method of delivery, not in the opportunity to give children the ability to get closer to God, or to increase their understanding of His teachings. That is what truly matters, after all, and not the method in which you are able to achieve this.

All You Need to Know about Making Your Child Look Cool and Funky

February 24, 2017 by admin

It seems like only yesterday where, if you wanted your child to look a bit different, you had to make the clothes yourself. And even then, you were probably quite limited to funky shirt for boys, or a frilly dress with a belt and bow for girls. Today, however, there are so many kids clothing brands available, and at such friendly prices, that you can literally allow your child to dress however they please.

Some say this is a negative development. One where people lose the skill of being able to make things themselves. But on the other hand, being able to pick from such an array of choices, and making your child look cool and funky, yet different from everybody else, could be considered a skill in its own right. Best of all, thanks to the popularity of kids designer clothes, they are now functional and comfortable as well.

How to Buy Clothes for Your Child

You have the option of going all out and buying something from the Ralph Lauren kids line of clothing. Doing so, however, will leave a burning hole in your pocket. It will generally also mean that your child will only be able to wear those clothes on very special occasions, and they will be able to sit still whenever they do. Realistically, this means your child will be able to wear their outfit no more than twice, before they will have outgrown them.

Instead, try to look for some of the more popular, and affordable, kids clothing brands. Those clothes are designed to be practical and functional, as well as being made of high quality, durable materials. In other words, your child will be able to look amazing and unique, while still being able to just be a child, play around, and have fun. Plus, because these items are so much more affordable, you will be able to buy multiple outfits that you can mix and match, so your child can look good every day.

When you do start shopping for your child’s new clothes, make sure that they are involved in the process as much as possible. You have to allow your child to develop their own individual personality, with a little bit of guidance from yourself. Because cool kids t-shirts and clothing are now available largely online, you don’t even have to drag your children out for the dreaded shopping trip anymore either. Instead of having to worry all the time about your child’s sticky fingers getting on the clothing racks, losing them in the mall, and worrying about your husband eating too much fast food and drinking too much beer as they wait for you, you can make a fun activity at home from it. Simply sit behind the computer together and decide on what types of things they would like. Once they arrive, you can try them on together and send back anything that isn’t as nice as you both would have hoped.