Character Building from KidsDiscuss.com

Parents and Teachers: 3 Fun Outside Games to Teach Your Kids

  Teaching Kids to Play Fun Games Outdoors

Parents, would you like 3 fun outdoor games for teaching your kids? If your goal is to get them to experience healthy exercise and have fun together, consider our guest blogger, Sarah Oxley's, 3 games. For many of us these games bring back cherished memories.

"Introducing Your Children To The Great Outdoors

Not that long ago, children spent the majority of their time playing outside, no matter what the weather. Now, children spend up to 6 hours a day watching TV or playing video games. TV alone can’t be blamed, as many modern children don’t know what to play outdoors. Concerns for their safety have risen, too. The solution to safe and interesting play is simple. Let your children roam your backyard while teaching them some of the great outdoor games.  

To get the most out of these games you’ll need a group of 4 to 8 children. Go through the rules of the games with them and supervise for the first 2 or 3 rounds. Once they have understood the rules, leave them to play alone. As it is still cold outside, consider making some space in your garden shed adding some chairs and a table. This can be their snack area as well as their HQ for discussing more games. Below are some examples of great outdoor games:

1. Parents ~Teach the Red Light- Green Light Game

One player, the traffic light, has their back to the group and shouts ‘Green Light’. The group takes slow steps toward the traffic light. These steps should be heel to toe. The traffic light faces the group shouting ‘Red Light’. No one is allowed to move. If someone does, they have to return to the start. The first person to reach the traffic light wins, and becomes the next traffic light.

 2. Parents ~  Teach the Freeze Tag Game

 Freeze tag is just like your traditional tag, except that when someone is caught, they’re not ‘it’ instead they have to freeze where they are. They can be unfrozen by another player, but whoever is ‘it’ can also catch the player trying to free the frozen one.

3. Parents ~ Teach the Wolf’s Dinner Time Game

One player is Mr Wolf, and the rest of the group faces him from a distance of about 15 feet. Mr Wolf has his back to the group. The group shouts ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’, and the wolf turns to the group and must answer with a time. If Mr Wolf says ‘6 o’clock’, then the group takes six steps toward him. The wolf then turns his back on the group again. He may only face them when answering. Once the wolf believes the group to be close enough, without looking, his answer becomes ‘Dinnertime!’ and he chases the group. Whoever is caught and ‘eaten’ by the wolf becomes the next wolf.

Conclusion for 3 Fun Outside Games to Teach Your Kids

When the children have had a chance to enjoy these games, encourage them to make up their own versions, or invent new games. Outdoors can be a fun and safe adventure."

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Parents are the best teachers. Children love to learn from them. You can teach your kids to have fun together, play outside, and get healthy exercise with these 3 games. Let's give thanks to Sarah for reminding us of these great games.

Contact Sarah at  sarah.oxley@searchlaboratory.com and Garden Shed

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 Bonus Article:

3 Parenting Tips ~ Teaching Character with Social Skills

Parents, it's your turn to take the microphone:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids have outdoor fun? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

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****** If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

Character: 12 Behaviors Parents Must Change in Kids Before It's Too Late!

Parents Must Change These Problem Behaviors!

When your kids have behaviors that must be changed but you don't know how, relax. Our parenting expert Dr. Partridge, a no nonsense psychologist, knows what needs to be changed in kids before it's too late. We'll examine some problems from his book, Building Character Skills in the Out-of-Control Child. Find out if your child exhibits any of these problems:

Signs of Problems Ahead: 12 Behaviors that Parents Must Change in Kids

1. They avoid effort unless it is "fun."

2. They are unable to finish a task that involves overcoming obstacles because of impulsive immediate gratification patterns.

3. They constantly need to be the center of attention and will act out to accomplish this.

4. They display aggressive, manipulative behavior to maintain exploitive control or to effect easy advantage over others.

5. They tend to abandon peers if they are unable to dominate them. Also, they frequently perfer playing with younger children in order to be able to have their own way.

6. When things go wrong, they tend to blame others or in some way externalize responsibility.

7. They have limited frustration tolerance and will "blow up" or tantrum when things get difficult.

8. They demonstrate a defiant oppositional posture toward adults, have little respect for rules and don't respond to directions.

9. They increasingly, often frantically, test limits.

10. They are not receptive to change/growth messages and have no sense of need to improve themselves.

11. They have limited self-evaluation skills and show great confidence in themselves without possessing real competence.

12. They resist change and cling tenaciously to power and control in order to retain their well-known and easy immature adjustment patterns.

Obviously, a youngster won't show all of the signs elaborated above all of the time. For some, the central issue will be lack of effort and motivation. For others, aggression with peers and defiance of adults will be the central issue. Still others will manifest lack of respect of rules and massive limit testing as the primary problem." (pages 59-60)

A Key Question to Determine the Seriousness of These Behavior Patterns

" Problem behavior - how much and for how long?"

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Let's give a BIG HAND for Dr. Partridge for listing these problem behavior signs.  If you want to change these behaviors in your kids please pick up:

Building Character Skills in the Out-of-Control Child.

   

Bonus Article:

Discipline Tips for Parents ~ 3 Mistakes and 3 Solutions

Parents, it's your turn to take the microphone:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids and 101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate.

****** If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

Tips: When Teenagers Dropout, What Parents Can Do

   Hope for Parents of Teenage Dropouts!

Parents, when your teenager drops out of school and you fear for his future, what can you do? Our expert authors of The Whipped Parent are offering you an example based on their TOES strategy. Let's find out.

When Your Teenager Drops Out of School

"Staying on Your TOES ~

Society expects and I hope that my child will go to school. But, I can't physically force him to go. I can stay on my TOES.

Tell him I hope he goes to school.

Opportunities are presented for him to meet my hope:

•  I can register him at the school.
•  I can buy him an alarm clock and give him two wake up calls in the morning.
• I can provide him with school supplies he may need.
• I can make sure he has a way of getting to and from school. (This does not include driving him if he refuses to get out of bed and misses the bus.)

Educate him with knowledge to help him choose whether of not he's going to try to meet hope:

• I can tell him I believe it's hard to get a job without a diploma.
• I can tell him that others are often critical of people who have quite school.
• I can let him know that if he doesn't go to school he may end up in court or on probation, because truancy is illegal.
• I can tell him that I am going to protect my self from educational neglect charges by calling the school every morning that he refuses to go, and letting them know I've done my part in getting him to school. I'll tell them this is not an excused asence. I'll keep a personal calendar where I write down dates and the names of those to whom I've spoken.

Show (or model it.)

• I can go back to school and get my diploma or GED.
• I can read the newspaper or books  (page 55)
  

In The Whipped Parent  the authors show how we can get control of our emotions before we act. Many parents feel so angry with their out-of-control teenager that they do things they regret. The Whipped Parent gives us  examples and hope.

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Let's APPLAUD the authors, Kimberly Abraham, MSW, CSW, Marney Studaker-Cordner, MSW, CSW, with Kathryn O'Dea for helping us. Their wisdom is priceless.

 
       

 Bonus Article:

5 Parenting Mistakes: How Kids Learn to Disrespect You

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Parents, it's your turn to take the microphone:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your out-of-control teenagers? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids and 101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate.

****** If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

Expectations: How Parents of ProblemTeenagers Can Hope and Cope

 Realistic Expectations Help Parents Cope!

Parents, what are your expectations in coping with your out-of-control teenagers? Do you have realistic hopes and  that help you cope? Let's learn the TOES model from our expert authors of The Whipped Parent.

"When you live with an out-of-control teen, day after day, it can feel like you have no power or control. The good news is, you do. Just not the way you may have thought. You can have realistic hopes and expectations for your adolescent. You can't control whether or not he chooses to meet them, but you can provide opportunities for him to do so.

What You Can Do

...You can stay on your TOES ~

Tell your adolescent what your hope or expectation is.

Opportunity ~ provide opportunities for him to meet that hope or expectation.

Educate him with knowledge that may help him better decide whether or not to make an effort to meet that expectation.

Show him how to meet that expectation ~ model it for him.

That's it. Those are the four things you can control in relation to the hopes and expectations you have for your adolescent. The common thread in these four steps is that they're based on your own behavior, which you control.

It's easy to get bogged down in feeling like you can't do anything. That's how you end up being a whipped parent." (pages 53-54)

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In our next blogs we'll give examples from The Whipped Parent : Hope for Parents Raising an Out-of-Control Teen  by Kimberly Abraham, MSW, CSW, Marney Studaker-Cordner, MSW, CSW with Kathryn O'Dea.

Let's applaud the authors for giving us hope in dealing with our out-of-control teenagers. Can't wait? Pick up their book,  The Whipped Parent 

 

Bonus Article:

3 Parenting Solutions for Beating Stress Not Kids

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Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for coping with your out- of-control adolescents? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids and 101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate.

****** If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

Why Parents Must Teach Kids How to Win and Lose

 

These Kids Know How to Win and Lose!

Parents are your kids learning to both win and lose graciously? Or do they brag when they win and throw tantrums when they lose? Today our parenting expert, Kat Cole, will tell us why teaching children to be gracious is so important. Below is her article, Teaching Your Child to Lose Graciously.

“The Problem with Losing

Is your child’s primary school just one of the many dotted around the United States that has put an end to any one individual or team winning the annual Sport’s Day, due to the potential of hurting the feelings of any child who took part? Regardless of your answer I am sure that you will agree with me that this is a ridiculous move!

 If children are not exposed to the crushing feelings that are associated with losing in their early years then they are sure to find future disappointments all the more difficult to handle. It is a prominent fact of life that we can’t all get everything that we want; never getting to steal a kiss from the popular girl at the high school prom, failing to secure that promotion and not having a Bentley like the Jones’ next door are all situations that can make one feel like a loser!

 If your child’s school is one of the educational establishments that have banned Sport’s Day winners, fear not for there are still some steps you can take to ensure that your child is emotionally strong enough to handle losing in the future.

Allow Your Child to Lose

Presenting your child with plenty of chances to lose at home is advisable in my opinion. Board games have long been the traditional platform for teaching children about losing, though in this contemporary age videogames – although they have a bad reputation –are also useful for teaching your child to emotionally deal with failure. Just be sure to select games that have an appropriate age certificate attached to them! Be sure to play these videogames with your child occasionally too, for coming second place to a computer and a fellow human being can stir very different emotions!

 There are many parents who will purposely take a dive during a match of Connect 4, Guess Who or Monopoly as to not upset their children but how are their offspring supposed to develop emotionally and/or get better at these games if the challenge is removed and they are automatically victorious?  

 Entering your child into sporting teams can also help them to develop a healthy attitude towards competitive situations. Never force a child to join a sports team however, as this can do far more harm than good.

Encourage Sibling Rivalry

If you happen to have more than one child, do not be afraid of stirring a little rivalry between them every now and again. Competition is important for the development of a well-rounded character and a desire to do well in life. Additionally, losing in the home environment is excellent preparation for being beaten by individuals that are external to the family unit.

Placing your children head-to-head is not suitable for all activities however. For example, pitting a five and eight year old against each other in an at-home spelling test is hardly fair considering the fact that these two children would be at very different stages academically. You would be far better off creating two separate spelling tests which cater to the different age groups and declaring the winner as the person who gets the most correct from the age-specific test.

When catering competitive activities to make them fairer for younger children, you should be sure to explain to the elder child why you are doing so. This stops them from complaining that the contest was “unfair” should they be declared as the losing party.

Teach Your Child to be a Gracious Loser (and Winner!)

I’m sure that during your time on the planet you have come across at least one child who will kick, cry and/or scream upon being told that they have lost a game or contest. Whilst it is important to ensure that your child wants to do their very best in everything that they do, you need to concurrently teach them that winning isn’t everything and that there are lessons to be learnt from every failure in life. Something I like to remind my own children is;

 “All participants are winners accept those that can’t take losing on the chin!”

 We all know that children can become boastful should they be declared the winner of a game or contest. You should therefore teach your children to seek happiness in their successes without showing off (those who continually gloat could find that they become very unpopular in the school yard!) Pointing out any competitions that were “close” to children helps to remind them that the turnout could have easily gone the other way. “

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Let’s applaud our author. Kat is a break time supervisor at her local primary school. She is used to dealing with troublesome children who won’t share playground equipment.

 
          Kat Cole


Please connect with Kat at Playground Equipment

Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids win and lose graciously? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids and 101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate.

****** If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

Do Weak Parents Invite Controlling Teens?

      Controlling Teen

Parents, if your teen is in control, do you know why? Listen as our parenting expert, the Teen Doc, Adekemi Oguntala MD, speaks up. She voices a rather strong opinion in her post, "A Controlling Teen." She has a huge following and she telIs it straight. Is she right? You be the judge. 

"If you have a teen that is running the household as in actually telling you what to do then you need to go find your backbone in the garage with your eighties shoulder padded chiffon blouse.

No teen wants to be in control. It's not in their nature. It isn't how teens are built. They'll do it if they have to and some teens will even excel at it because they have a natural talent for creating order, but no teen wants to be head of the household. The extreem example of this is what you see in South Africa if you are paying attention.

These teens and tweens have had to raise siblings because their parents died of AIDS. If you ask them, they prefer to be in school with no responsibility other than doing well in their studies.

If your teen is in control, it is because they saw that you weren't and wanted to see how far they could push you before you found your backbone. If you haven't found it by the time they're in the middle teen years, you are both going to be in such a habit formed pattern that you will continue what you know only because that is ALL you know.

No teen wants to be in control. They want to have parents they love and respect and who love and respect them back. They want to have parents they can depend on to love them, discipline them and hold them accountable no matter what you've heard on the latest talk show." 

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Contact The Teen Doc and http://theteendoc.com/page/2/

Let's APPLAUD The Teen Doc for being straight with us. Parents definitely need backbones to build character in their kids starting from the early years.

    
      The Teen Doc

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Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids and 101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate.

******If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

 

 

2 Expert Parenting Tips for Developing Your Child's Conscience

  

Everyone Needs a Conscience  

If you're concerned about your child's conscience, you'll find good advice from Brenda Nixon, our parenting expert. Brenda is an author, writer, and radio host. She is sharing her post, "The Development of Conscience."

"When a child experiences the results - or consequences - of his behavior, he develops an inner voice. What does that voice say? It tells him that what is "right" brings satisfaction (or pleasure) and what is "wrong" brings dissatisfaction (or pain). The inner voice becomes a moral compass.

Why Some People Fail to Develop a Conscience

Why do some high profile celebs or politicians misbehave? I believe it's because they know they can get away with it. Someone else cleans up their mess, covers up their lies, replaces the money they took or things they've broken. Unfortunately, they've never experienced the consequences of their personal behavior. And the consequence is . . . they have no conscience.

How Parents Help Children Develop a Conscience

We want educators, politicians, and others held accountable for any inappropriate behavior, right? Then we, as parents, must teach our children about accountability by allowing them to face the results of their behavior - to "own up to" their behavior.

2 Parenting Tips: Consistent Boundaries and Clear Consequences

Today, I encourage you to be effective in parenting by providing 1. consistent boundaries and 2. clear consequences for your children's behavior. Then. . . allow consequences to happen.”

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Don't cheat yourself; join Brenda and others for an hour of empowerment every Tuesday morning, 10-11 am (EST), on The Parent's Plate Internet radio show. If you miss a live broadcast, listen to any episode, at your convenience, on podcast or iTunes.

Connect with Brenda at Parenting Expert Brenda Nixon 

 

      

 

Brenda Nixon

Let’s give a GRAND HAND to Brenda Nixon for being clear and concise in helping us help kids develop a conscience.

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Bonus Article:

Social Conscience: How to Use Moral Dilemmas Effectively with Kids

Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids and 101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate.

******If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

 

 

Warning Parents, Don't Let Your Toddlers Suffer!

     Naptime for Toddlers

Parents, if you have a cranky toddler who doesn't take naps, you both may suffer. Our parenting expert and Early Brain Development Specialist, Deborah McNelis, will share the latest research on the importance of naptime from her post, "Naptime is Great."  Let's find out why.

"Naptime is much more than providing rest for a child ... and a break for parents! Children's developing brains need adequate amounts of sleep for healthy brain development       

We all know what it is like to deal with an over tired child. The reason for the behaviors we experience is due to a child not being able to handle the results of inadequate amounts of sleep. First of all the child still has an immature brain. It hasn't developed enough to provide the ability to deal with feelings of brain systems being out of balance. This is even difficult for adults. Getting enough sleep helps keep brain systems in balance. When children have had enough sleep it enhances cognitive functioning and moods.

New research lead by the University of Colorado Boulder reveals that, "toddlers between 2 and a half and 3 years old who miss only a single daily nap show more anxiety, less joy and interest and a poorer understanding of how to solve problems." 

Assistant Professor Monique LeBourgeois of CU Boulder led the study. She states, “This study shows insufficient sleep in the form of missing a nap taxes the way toddlers express different feelings, and, over time, may shape their developing emotional brains and put them at risk for lifelong, mood-related problems.”

Additionally LeBourgeois shares, “Just like good nutrition, adequate sleep is a basic need that gives children the best chance of getting what is most important from the people and things they experience each day,”

Recommended amounts of sleep and tips on promoting sleep are shared in SLEEP ENHANCES COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING AND INFLUENCES MOODS.

Sleep well!"

Let's give Deborah McNelis a BIG HAND for bring this important research to us.

            
     Deborah McNelis

Please connect with  Deborah McNelis and at www.braininsightsonline.com

Bonus Article:

Motivation – 5 Ways Parents Can Motivate Pre-School Kids

Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids and 101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate.

******If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

 

How Parents Can Recognize Concussions in Kids

 Parents Can Now Recognize Concussions in Kids!

How do parents know if their injured child has a concussion? Our expert blogger, Dr. Parnell Donahue, is a pediatrician. He is sharing new information, two suggestions, and two links in his article How Do You Recognize a Concussion? Let's find out his advice.

Parents Worry About Concussions

"What parent has not worried that their child has a concussion, or will get a concussion from playing football, soccer, or falling off a bike?

Unfortunately, infants fall off of beds, out of grocery carts, and on the play ground. Many of these "accidents" need not happen. I  see toddlers and other young kids standing in shopping carts reaching for something on the shelf while Mom or Dad are looking for an item on the other side of the aisle. (When that happens, I usually stand guard by the cart until the parent returns and then say, "I was worried that he might fall." Some parents thank me and remove the kids, but others glare; I have even had a parent suggest that I should go away and let her parent her kids.)

Sports Injuries that Could Cause Concussions

 But there are some injuries which are less easy to avoid. Out-fielders collide while going for a fly ball; soccer, hockey, and football players all crash into each other. Coach Lombardi said, "Football is not a contact sport; kissing is a contact sport; football is a collision sport!" And so are many others.

Two Things Parents and Coaches Should Have:

 How does a parent or coach recognize a concussion? There is lots of discussion in coaching and medical journals about this question and much more information about how to treat them! We'll have to leave the treatment part to the attending physician, but an article in January's issue of AAP News (American Academy of Pediatrics) suggest a smart phone and tablet app which takes much of the guess work out of the problem.

 

Dr. Parnell hopes you'll find out the 2 links he recommends in his article: How Do You Recognize a Concussion?

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Let's give a Grateful Hand to Dr. Parnell Donahue for enlightening us on this very important subject.                                             

  

 Dr. Parnell Donahue

Read Dr. Parnell's Book ~ You'll be enlightened about what he's learned about teens!

Messengers in Denim

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Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive "80 Fun Activities to Share with Your Kids" and "101 Ways to Get Your Children to Cooperate!"

****** If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.

 

Money: What Kids Need to Learn and You Need to Teach!

       Teach Your Kids about Money!

Your kids need to know about money. Use the ideas, from our guest blogger and writer, Sean Gray. He teaches the following techniques to his children about money and you can too. Let's find out these strategies from his article, Teaching Your Kids All about Money.

Allowance and Responsibility

"When it comes time to start handing over an allowance to your children, one of the first things many parents think about is how to reward them for good behavior, or for good grades, but also how to teach them how to be responsible with that money. One of the best ways to teach them about money is to encourage them to do this is to have them pick up small little odd jobs around the neighborhood for extra money also.

Encourage Your Kids to Make Money

By the age of even 10 years old or so, they can do things like:

1. Help walk a neighbor's dog, or

2. Shovel snow,

3. Helping an elderly neighbor with gardening, or other things like this.

Once they have the money that they have earned from those type of odd jobs, they can combine it with their allowance from you, and begin their first effort at saving money.

Your kids can also do things even earlier than age 10, with your assistance and supervision of course. Helping you set up and accept money at a garage sale, and maybe having a lemonade stand at the garage sale is a perfect example of this.

Start a Savings Account

Now once your children get a little older, maybe around 14 or 15, you may want to encourage them to start their first savings account. This is a great way to teach them about responsibility with their money. They watch their savings grow as they are frugal with what they earn. The monthly bank statement can be a time to celebrate what they've managed to save each month, perhaps by giving them a little bit extra that day to go get a cheeseburger or an ice cream with!

Share Your Income and Expenses 

 If you also share things with your children, such as showing them how much your mortgage is each month when they get older, this will help reinforce the idea of why it is so important to save as much money as you can throughout life.

Show them the checks and balances of life, such as how much money you get each month to take care of your bills, explain what can happen if you don't pay those bills. These can be real eye opener lessons for your kids once they are old enough to understand. It can help shape what they do with their own money for years to come. And your children will appreciate you more for doing it!

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Let's applaud Sean for these great ideas for teaching kids about money.

   
  Sean Gray

 

Sean Writes for  Cash for Cars San Diego

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Bonus Article: Money, Parents, Character: Avoid These 10 Mistakes!

 

Parents, it's your turn to take the stage:

What are your opinions about this blog post or your suggestions for helping your kids? Please answer in the comment link below.

With warm wishes,

Jean Tracy, MSS

Sign up for my FREE Parenting Newsletter and receive 80 fun activities to share with your kids.

******If you liked this article, please send it to your social media sites below.