Hurt or Heal

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3 reasons for success

Child : "I can't do it. It's too hard."
Adult :"Aren't you glad I don't believe that?"

This is one of my favorite lines for when a child believes they cannot do something. A primary purpose of a child's education is to teach them that successful people are not born successful. Success normally comes through persistence, hard work, and a never-give-up attitude.

Here is a simple way to teach and reinforce the attributes of a successful person.

When I taught I created a large poster for our classroom that read:

REASONS FOR SUCCESS

• I've been practicing.
• I worked hard.
• I kept trying.

When I would walk around the room to monitor learning, I would simply stop by a student's desk and point to a question or task that they had done well on. I would not say anything. When I had introduced the poster and it's concepts, I explicitly taught students that when I stopped and pointed at their work, it would mean that they need to identify which one of the three reasons for success they think had resulted in them doing good work. Without saying anything, I was asking, "Why did you get this right?" Although I was silent, the student would reply verbally with one of the three reasons.

This simple activity reinforced and recognized a student's persistence, hard work, or never-give-up attitude.

High-achievers believe that EFFORT results in their successes, NOT luck.
With something to think about,

Mr. Russell

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Pick up a copy of any Love and Logic parenting resource. You will not be disappointed!  We enjoy this one.

Driven by love

 

When we discipline our children, what motivates us? Discipline must be motivated by LOVE, not anger. During the process of discipline you want your child to know and understand that you love him/her too much not to do anything. Try using this line when sharing the consequence, "I love you too much not to do anything."

Do we sometimes find ourselves disciplining out of anger? At a recent parenting seminar, an interesting idea was shared. The presenters believe that a big reason for the increase in child abuse is the unwillingness to delay consequences. By delaying consequences, we buy ourselves time to cool down. We also have time to determine an appropriate consequence. You can learn more about delayed consequences here.

Remember, "Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it" (Harold Hulbert).

With something to think about,

Mr. Russell

What Our Mentors have Taught Us

It is not child abuse to say 'No.' - KMT

Discipline means to guide, not punish. - KMT

You can't make a child nap; you can only ask them to rest. - KMT

 Never do something for a child that they can do for themselves. - DVH

Don't expect a child to know how to do something if you haven't taught them.  - DVH

Talk and read to your babies all the time. - KMT

You can have a great family, while still making a great contribution in the work you do. - KMT

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We will continue to add one-liners as we remember them and as our mentors share more.

Child Safety 101

Curious, how do you keep your child safe? Physically, emotionally? Yes, I know this is a very broad question/topic, but after taking this photo of our daughter this afternoon, it got me wondering about child safety, in general.

Cheers!

Jobs for Your Children

By Wayne Russell

Begin building responsibility at an early age.

Here are some ideas we use with our 3 year old (We started introducing these jobs when our daughter was two):

• Help wash dishes. Our daughter mostly plays with her hands in the bubbles. She does however give each plate a wipe or two with the soapy sponge, and then we discreetly wash it a little more.
• Put things away (especially toys).
• Empty waste baskets and help take trash out. She loves going out with Daddy to take out the trash.
• Fold clothes (small articles).
• Get dressed and put pajamas away.
• Brush hair and teeth (with help). Holly, our dentist, encourages us to assist with brushing through ages 6 through 8 in order to instill proper teeth and gum brushing techniques.  You would obviously be a little more hands off as they grow up.

Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.

Cheers!