Harry S Truman: I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.
Encouraging Play Encourages a Child's Development


We've all heard the term, "Oh, that's child's play." It implies something is easy, frivolous and unimportant in the overall scheme of things. But to a child, child's play is essential to their mental, social, emotional, and physical development.

We all know that children like to play. But what we may not know is the importance of play in a child's life. Play is essential to every area of a child's growth and development.

Play provides a means for energy to be put to use. It strengthens and refines small and large motor skills, and it builds stamina and strength. Sensory learning develops mostly through play. Play is significant to physical development in that without it the body could not grow and develop normally.

Children possess a natural curiosity. They, explore, learn and make sense out of their environment by playing. Parents and educators alike can support this learning activity by ensuring age-appropriate toys, materials and environments are available to the child.

Play enables children to know things about the world and to discover information essential to learning. Through play children learn basic concepts such as colors, counting, how to build things, and how to solve problems. Thinking and reasoning skills are at work every time a child engages in some type of play.

Children learn to relate to one another, negotiate roles, share, and obey rules through play. They also learn how to belong to a group and how to be part of a team. A child obtains and retains friends through play.

Play fulfills many needs including a sense of accomplishment, successfully giving and receiving attention, and the need for self-esteem. It helps them develop a strong sense of self, and is emotionally satisfying to them. They learn about fairness, and through pretending learn appropriate ways of expressing emotion such as anger, fear, frustration, stress and discover ways of dealing with these feelings.

So encourage your child's play. Color pictures, make finger paintings, build buildings and imaginary cities with blocks, and built a tent in the middle of the living room and go camping! And as we all know, childhood is fleeting, so let them enjoy being a kid while they are one!

Free Parenting Class

" Experts agree that parents should try not to give biting so much attention that it becomes an attention-getter.

Your child may want to join in or work on their own as a result. Let your child know what they did right and reward them for it before you let them know what they did wrong and punish for misbehaving or a misdeed. Perhaps your past is filled with unresolved hurt and anger. It's also a good time to teach them about personal responsibility and show them how important it is to properly care for their work area and their 'tools of the trade. Maintain a calm but firm tone with them. Though you may not be together anymore, it's imperative that you parent on common ground.

It's also important to take good care of yourself.
Happiness is an Attitude of Choice
If I could only teach one idea to every kid I taught in 29 years of teaching, what would that idea be?"...

Prepare children for such unexpected events and show them that though it can happen from time to time, the routine will return the next day.
For instance, "You need to tell mommy or daddy that you need help and not bite us," or "Show mommy what you need, but don't bite. Safety latches should be installed on cabinets and drawers in your bathrooms as well to keep them out of unsafe household cleaning products and medicines. A parent in this situation may benefit from outside assistance and learning about alternative disciplinary strategies that are more appropriate and less harsh. Maintain a consistent daily routine for your child as much as possible, and make sure your child gets lots of physical activity and time to play and socialize with their friends. Involve your children in the meal planning and preparation. ' Rules that keep our children safe are of the utmost importance.