Finding Balance With Work and Kids

You may feel that buying your child the latest gadget or "cool" item is a way for making up for not spending as much time with your child as you would like. Although every kid at school wants to be popular with the latest looks, gadgets and toys, studies have shown that this isn’t always beneficial.

Children may losing the ability to play well because they are being given too many toys and games, and are losing the ability to use their imagination for play.

After studying 3,000 three- to five-year-olds, Professor Kathy Sylva of Oxford University stated: “When they have a large number of toys there seems to be a distraction element, and when children are distracted they do not learn or play well.”

What If Time Is Short?

What if I have to work full time, you may ask? It could very well be a matter of priorities when you are at home. Instead of sitting down to a TV dinner of an evening, you could sit down as a family. Instead of all disappearing to your various rooms and pursuits after dinner, try doing things together.

Maybe going for a walk, even if it’s only around the block to get a breath of fresh air, could be a chance to connect. If you have chores to do, there is nothing wrong with asking your child to help you with them, even if he has been at school all day. It all helps to draw the family together as a team. If all in the household know that things only get done when everyone pulls his or her weight, all will feel needed.

Who Will They Turn To In A Time Of Need?

It is important to show your children that you are there for them when needed. This may sound basic. "Of course my child will turn to me," you may say. But will they? If they see you as someone who is always rushing from one thing to the next, never just taking time out to be together, they could turn to someone else in a time of need.

This could be a peer or another adult. The problem with this is that the person may not give your child the advice that you would want them to. A peer, lacking the experience of a mature person, could give wrong advice, or tell them something that could put them in danger.

Your children may not always turn to you when you want them to, but if you show them you are always there for them you narrow down the chances that they will turn to the wrong person.

Thankful For Little Things

To teach your child to be thankful for little everyday things is a gift. When someone holds a door open or compliments them on their looks, teach them that they should always respond with a thank you. It should be automatic, as should saying please when asking for something. They should practice thankfulness not just to strangers but in the home, too.

One of the best ways to teach this is by example. Do you thank your kids when they do something nice for you or for being a son or daughter you can be proud of? If they are not thanked regularly for things they do, they cannot be expected to do likewise.

It is very easy to spoil your children with things, but much more important to spoil them with quality time and a good example. They are the parents of tomorrow. You need to make sure they are being trained well for that job.

(Source: www.pta.org Outside Role Models in the Lives of Teenagers By Kathleen Cushman)

Working As a Team

Helping Out Around Tthe House

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