Summer is here and we expect to be outdoors for the next 3 months. But we all know that kids need a break sometimes and the computer can be as much a part of their lives as it is a part of ours. So for those times and days when the kids are indoors and wanting to use the computer steer them to these websites. They are considered safe browsing environments for children and offer other fun features as well.
Children and Family Friendly Browsers and Websites
Take a look at these kid focussed sites to see which ones best suit your family’s computer activities.
Doesn’t every parent want a happy child? Raising children can be hard work. Raising children that become happy productive adults requires a little more involvement. Here are seven secrets, from Zenhabits, to raising a happy child.
- Let your child know you are excited to see them when they enter the room.
- Teach your child it’s okay to be bored. Life’s not always going to be fun and games.
- Manage your child’s exposure to media.
- Let your child know they are more important than work.
- Let your child make some of the rules.
- Teach your children. Don’t outsource this to others.
- Model appropriate behavior. If you don’t set the example, who will?
For more information on these 7 secrets to raising a happy child visit the Zenhabits website.
Time Magazine has put together a list of the top 10 children’s books for 2008. How many of them have your children read?
It turns out that superior intellect and natural talent is not necessarily the key to success. Over 30 years of research shows that an overemphasis on talent or intellect leaves children vulnerable to failure.
The danger is that they do not develop mechanisms for handling challenges and overcoming adversity. Everything comes easily for them and they begin to expect that this will continue. When faced with obstacles later in life they do not know how to handle them.
It is often the children that are faced with difficulties and overcome them that achieve the greatest success. They develop a belief in themselves and know that by working hard they can solve a problem or reach a goal.
Scientific American presents the results of these findings in an article entitled The Secret to Raising Smart Kids. Here are some of the strategies they recommend for producing high achievers in school and in life:
- Praise effort and persistence when your child completes a task.
- Teach your children that the brain is like a muscle that can get stronger the more you use it.
- Provide opportunities for defeat so they can learn from their mistakes.
- Tell stories of achievement that resulted from hard work.
- Instill a love of learning in your child.
- Teach them that even geniuses have to work hard to succeed.
You often see people that were destined for greatness fall short and others with questionable futures achieve remarkable levels of success. There is no doubt that perseverance, hard work and an ability to overcome challenges were life skills that made the difference.
