Monthly Archives: August 2013

Child Fitness, Child Health, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Best Foods To Achieve Optimal Oral Health

Bailey Martin, guest contributor

You already know there are many requirements for maintaining great oral health.  Things like brushing twice per day, flossing and rinsing are some of the common regimens one must follow everyday to keep their mouth and teeth as healthy as possible. You may have also heard that certain foods can sacrifice your oral health.  But, what about foods and drinks that can actually improve it? Read on for tips on improving the dental health of both yourself and your family at meal and snack times.

 

Water. Let’s start with the most obvious.  With every remedy to a condition, water is generally always recommended. child-nutrition Water is also an indispensable part of an oral health regimen because it can be as effective as mouthwash at swishing away particles and residue lodged in teeth. Water also aids in keeping your gums hydrated which stimulates saliva production–the best defense against bacteria.

 

Cheese.  Because cheese is high in phosphate and calcium, it helps to balance the pH in your mouth. This helps to kill bacteria and preserve tooth enamel which also prevents cavities as well as gum disease.

Kiwi.  Kiwi contains the highest amount of Vitamin C among all fruits, which is vital to preserving the condition of your gums. When you lack Vitamin C, the collagen in your gums breaks down and they become tender and more susceptible to the bacteria which is responsible for causing periodontal disease.  Eat lots of kiwi (and other fruits high in Vitamin C) and you’ll be doing your mouth a big favor.

Celery.  Because celery is an extremely crunchy, mainly water-based vegetable, chewing it produces saliva, neutralizing the bacteria that causes cavities. It’s also a naturally abrasive food that massages gums & cleans between your teeth.  It removes debris from the teeth which, therefore, reduces plaque formation.

Onions.  Onions are armed with powerful antibacterial sulfur compounds, making them terrific for dental health. They are strongest and most beneficial when eaten fresh and raw. Try chewing raw onions for two minutes a day, three times per week.  This is said to kill the germs which cause bacteria and tooth decay. Onions also have healing properties which can help prevent certain oral infections.  Too bad they don’t do as much for your breath as they do for your overall dental health.

Green Tea.  If you are looking for the ultimate weapon against oral health blunders, green tea is one of the best choices. First of all, green tea is an anti-inflammatory meaning it is great at controlling periodontal (gum) disease.  Research has also shown that when individuals with precancerous mouth lesions consumed green tea, it helped to slow the progression of oral cancer. Finally, green tea kills the germs that causes bad breath and also prevents cavities and tooth loss.

Dairy.  Dairy products (without added sugar) have the potential to help your teeth in a number of different ways. It can help to stimulate saliva production, while the calcium replaces minerals leached from the teeth.  They provide your body with the right amount of nutrients needed to rebuild your teeth, keep them strong and also keep your mouth and gums healthy. Dairy products also buffer a portion of the acid formed when sugar traces are present in your mouth.  This helps strengthen teeth and forms a protective barrier.

 

Try incorporating a few, or all, of these teeth-friendly items into your family’s diet and see your oral health take a turn for the better.  Dental health is crucial to overall health and making subtle changes in your diet can really make a difference and prevent future health concerns. In addition, starting your children on a healthy path early can really impact their well-being from the start.

——

Bailey Martin blogs for Bassett Creek Dental, a Minneapolis dentist providing preventative, surgical and cosmetic dental procedures for both adults and children.

Child Safety, Discipline, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Safety for Children in Motels

Mark, guest contributor

When going on a road trip or traveling on a budget with your family, you are bound to spend some time in motels. They are much cheaper than hotels, easier to find and there are plenty of them near the roads, which is why they are ideal for spending the night when you want to move on with your agenda the next day.

However, it is all too easy to forget yourself and lower your safety standards when you are surrounded with your loved ones, which can be dangerous if you are traveling with small kids. Motels are simply not designed with kids in mind, so if you want to insure a relaxed, stress-free stay, here are some things you should take into consideration.

 

Reserve a Room Upfront

Don’t try to leave the choice of the motel to chance so as to make your vacation more exciting or spontaneous, and don’t delude yourself that one motel is the same as the other. This is simply not the case.

If you decide that you and your family should lay your heads near the place where the dusk finds you, know that you may be in for more of an adventure that you bargained for, to put it mildly.

To avoid unpleasant surprises, plan your pit-stops and reserve rooms in motels from the comfort of your home before going on a trip. In addition to probably saving you some money, this will enable you to choose the safest and most comfortable option for your kids.

Looking for an adequate motel with vacancies while darkness falls and you are tired from the driving can be a very unpleasant affair. Therefore, it is best to plan and reserve the rooms beforehand.

 

Stick to Interior Rooms

Although staying in a room with a separate access can seem more romantic and better for children, it is simply less safe. There is a reason motel rooms like these are regarded unsafe and are often targeted by minor criminals – they are easy prey for them. Therefore, distance yourself from any uninvited guests by choosing an interior room. This way, anyone with less than honorable intentions will have to go through the lobby and pass the receptionist to reach your room, and it will be much easier for you to monitor your children this way.

 

Check Everything

Check the door locks, the windows and the phone line. Check the placement of the appliances and be sure to rearrange them in accordance with your kids’ age and habits.

Be sure to examine the room and never let the fact that you are staying in a place not adapted to children slip your mind.

If you are staying on the second floor, check the lock and the state of the rails in case you have a terrace. All of this may seem like excessive caution, but it only takes a few minutes, and then you can rest assured that everything is taken care of. Accidents do happen and in this case it is truly much better to be safe than sorry.

This motel safety checklist from Northern Illinois University can come in handy.

 

Do Not Let the Children Roam Alone

Be sure to drive around the motel when you arrive. See if it has a swimming pool, how far you will have to go to breakfast and what kind of neighbors you are surrounded with.

Most kids will jump to the chance to stray away from parents and to set off on a small exploring mission, as every parent knows well. It is true for teenagers, and especially true for younger kids who seldom get to be on their own. There is a time and place for everything and most motels are simply not places you can let your little ones roam unmonitored.

There doesn’t have to be a child-infatuated serial killer looming in every other room. It is quite enough for the kids to go out to play in the parking lot when a less-than-sober driver is looking for a space to park his car.

Swimming pools are also a cause for concern, judging by the number of deaths by drowning. It is a terrifying fact that kids can drown in as little as one inch of water. A good way to avoid this concern is to choose a motel with a protective fence around the pool.

Keep in mind that these seem like minor issues because mistakes like these will happen only once; but that once is one time too many.

——

Mark is a father of two great kids whom he wants to grow up in equally great people, so he teaches them important life lessons while he still has influence on their development.

Child Safety, Discipline, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Should You Track Your Kids Via GPS?

Jamie Tryon, guest contributor

Keeping your kids safe is a full time job. Many parents are stretched thin due to working full time while taking care of the household and shuttling kids from activity to activity. With a busy home life, parents sometimes let their kids have freedoms at an early age, like walking to school or finding a ride from a friend’s parent to go somewhere. With these additional freedoms, it makes it even more important that the parent stay on top of what their kids are doing and where they are going. This is why tracking their kids via GPS may be the answer.

See where they go

GPS tracking helps parents to know in real time where exactly their children are at every moment of the day. This gives the parents a sense of relief knowing the child is safe – whether it be in school, in the playground or at a friend’s house. In this day and age when children are being taken advantage of by predators and kidnappings happen frequently, the whereabouts of your child is important. In case of an emergency such as an accident or kidnapping parents can react immediately, without losing precious time.

Are they where they said they’d be?

When it comes to GPS tracking of teenagers, parents are more concerned if the teen is where they say they are.  Most teens will tell their parents where they are going, however, some of the rebellious ones may skip school or lie to their parents about their whereabouts. Teenagers like to think they are grown up and long for the freedoms of adulthood. Parents must balance freedom with responsibility. With cell phone tracking software they know where their children are without being too restrictive.

There are several types of tracking devices available, the most popular and easy to implement is a cell phone tracking software. Most older kids and teens will have a cell phone anyways, so all you will need to do is install the cell phone tracking software. They are more likely to have the phone on them at all times so they can reach and be reached by their friends.

Combine GPS with other tools

Cell phone tracking software not only shows the location that your kids are at, but it also allows you to  track other things like how much time they are spending online, who they are text messaging, what pictures they are taking and much more. As a parent, this information can be handy when you are addressing behavioural issues or red flags that are popping up in their actions. Teens aren’t always forthcoming with their parents, so finding information out without them knowing may be the only option you may have.

Raising kids this day and age can be challenging, but just think about all of the tools that we have now that our parent’s didn’t have. We have GPS, cell phone tracking software and other technologies that didn’t exist when we were kids. Despite what your kids may think, there is nothing wrong with using these technologies to keep your children safe. It’s your job as a parent to do so.

——

Jamie Tryon is a mobile device sales person and a mom of two. When not working or chasing after her kids, she contributes to the blog at Sniper Spy, a cell phone tracking software.

Child Safety, Parenting, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Parenting Goals for Your Child’s Development

Guest contribution-

There are a lot of parents with young children who prefer to hire child care services most especially when there is not enough time to be with them. Most of the times, parents prefer someone who is just a relative or someone who lives nearby. There are really times when we needed the assistance of someone who can be “physically there” to care for your child.

What are the Goals of each Parent for their Child?

 

Discover what the strengths of your child are.

This will help them develop and make their dreams come to reality.
Never give them something that is not on their list of interests, as this will only discourage them to become better.

Support your child’s excellence and make sure that you are there to guide them all the way.

You have to make them feel confident and let them know that you are there to cheer them up whenever they feel down.

Teach your child to become independent.

This will let your child do things on his or her own even when you’re not around.
Your child will be able to grow with self-esteem.
Build them with a good character so they will grow kind-hearted until they grow old.

Different Styles of Parenting

There are different ways of parenting, and that would depend on one person to the other. Since we all grew up in different communities, we tend to raise each child differently. If you try to research these styles on the web, you may discover which style would work out best for you.

If all these listed above are not doable things to do, then you have to make sure that your child is always in good hands. Child Support Agency is an institution that can help you manage the goals listed above, and makes your child become successful in life. They can help you in arranging child maintenance whenever you cannot do it by yourself.
Child Support Agency would provide you how much you need to shell out for child maintenance services, and they can even help you with the collection of fees. You will surely be informed which organization is most suitable for you and your child.

Who is eligible to apply?

  • Those who have their children with them
  • Those who are considered a child’s grandparent or guardian
  • Those parents who do not have his child living with him or her
  • Those children who are residing in Scotland

If you are the receiving parent, and you are not residing in United Kingdom, then you cannot apply for the services.

All these mentioned above are important notes for each and every parent in the world. If you are self-confident about your parenting style, then there would no reasons for you to apply for these services. There are really children who misbehave and get us out of control but when it comes to your own child, you would know and understand how it is to become a parent.

Try to search for the CSA number in order to get assistance in parenting. Give them all the information that they need to make sure that they would be able to help you accurately.

Child Safety, Motivation, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Fun Activities For a Great Camping Vacation with the Kids

Camping is a great way to spend a few days away from the big city and to show your kids there is an environment different from the Internet and that it’s really worth exploring. Camping is usually associated with fresh air, delicious home-made food and lots of time spent bonding with your family, having actual conversations (you know, without TV interference) and reveling in the beautiful and breathtaking vistas nature has to offer.

Some time away from the constant information bombardment lets you achieve tranquility and peace with yourself, and even though you might enjoy the time off, your children might get bored easily. Luckily, there are tons of things you can while camping that will both let you rest well and entertain your kids. Here are some of the more fun activities you can perform.

Set up the tent

You will be surprised what the right approach can achieve with children. Even though setting up the tent is a job for the adults (obviously), you can be sure that your kids will want to help. And why wouldn’t they? It’s a fun new activity in a totally new place. It’s one of the most interesting things they can do at that moment.

It’s either helping you with the tent, or standing around, poking the ground with a stick waiting for you to check on them every 30 seconds and constantly listening to you telling them to stay near. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? Of course, the children won’t have the time to rationalize all of this.

They will just want to help because children like being involved in the same activities adults are doing (that’s part of our learning process). So it’s safe to say your kids will want to help. Let them. Yes, it will take a little more time to set up the tent, but it’s fine – you’re not going anywhere and you’re not in a hurry. The kids will be entertained for a while and they will feel helpful which is enough to make them happy. After you set up the tent, you should also…

Build a fire

This is where it gets a little more dangerous, but the campfire is a classic. Most camp sites have pits already dug up, but if they don’t (or there isn’t one in that particular location), you can always make one. All you need to do is dig up a little hole (like I suppose you’ve seen people dig in movies), surround it with stones to make sure the fire doesn’t escape, and then gather some wood.

Now, the “digging a hole part” you kids will just love. Let them do it all. Guide them if you have to, but let them dig the hole and help them with the stones. Tell them what a good job they are doing and how much they’ve helped you. This positive reinforcement will make them want to help even more. Let them assist you with gathering wood. They will feel great for helping out.

Make sure they don’t disturb the natural order of things around and that they don’t break branches from trees – explain that they should help you gather wood that is already on the ground. Explain these concepts to them – why they should gather this type of tree, why they shouldn’t gather that type of tree – children love learning. If you know something about the area, talk about that, too.

Eating

After all that work, the kids will feel tired and hungry. A lot of time will have passed before you’ve gotten the camp up and running and the children will feel great that they were a part of the process. Now it’s time for the reward.

Eating near the campfire is a magical experience, possibly causing some primeval nostalgia. It gives us a sense of security and harmony and will definitely calm the little ones down. After they’ve eaten, they will probably want to rest for a bit and that will be about your first day there.

Exploring

There are a lot of interesting things to see when you go camping so you can spend some additional time with your children exploring the campsite and showing them different birds, squirrels and other small animals they are bound to find fascinating. Additionally, you can let them take some photos so they can show their friends when they get back.

Everything related to camping is a overall fun and exhilarating experience and you can spice it up even more. All it takes is a bit of imagination.

——

Jessica Conars loves to spend time with her kids.  In her professional life she works with Clean To Perfection as a professional cleaner. During weekends she likes to go camping with her family.

Child Fitness, Child Obesity, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Is your child overweight? How to improve their health without putting them on a diet

Emily Bradbury, guest contributor

The number of children who are obese or overweight is growing at an alarming rate.  If your child is putting on weight this can be a worrying sign for their health, and could lead to health problems like diabetes, asthma and heart disease in later life. It will be very upsetting to tell your child that they are overweight and need to diet, however it is important that their approach to food is changed.

Rather than drastically change your child’s eating habits over night, it might be best to make subtle changes initially, and change the way you all eat as a family.  You must make it clear to your child that you love them and want the best for them, and with the right encouragement you will help them reach and maintain a healthy weight.

 

Possible causes of your child’s weight gain

Increasingly families are cooking less and buying ready meals or eating out. Although you may feel that you are too busy to cook every night, it is very hard to monitor the fat and calorie content of the food your child is eating when you haven’t made it yourself.

Increasingly children play video games and watch TV in their spare time. It isn’t safe to play in the streets and around the neighbourhood like it used to be in past generations, so it can be more difficult for children to get the exercise they need to stay healthy.

 

What you can do to help your child

 

 

Don’t let your child feel alone

If your overweight child feels like they are the only family member with a changing diet this could make them feel angry and picked on. Make it clear to your child that you are making some changes to your lifestyle as a family so that you will all feel healthier. If you are eating the same food as them your child will feel more motivated.

 

Changes at meal times

Making the time to cook a meal for the whole family is worth the effort, and needn’t take as long as you think. Take a look at some quick and healthy recipes for inspiration. Try to avoid food that is obvious ‘diet’ food, like a big plate of salad, and think about taking some of your child’s favourite food but making a healthy alternative.

For instance if your child loves chicken nuggets, try out a recipe for almond-crusted, oven baked chicken fingers instead. It is important to change your child’s outlook on food, and show them that healthy can be tasty to.

 

Cutting back snacking

Excessive snacking is a quick way for your child to pile on the pounds, and can easily go unnoticed by you. If your child has access to a cupboard of snacks in your kitchen, rather than hiding these suddenly and making your child feel like they are being punished consider the kind of snacks that are available to your child.

You could replace chocolate and crisps with fresh fruit, little packets of raisins or nuts, and healthier alternatives, like cereal bars and rice cakes. Your child will want to indulge less when the snacks are less exciting, and won’t be doing so much damage to their health when they do.

 

Exercise

If your child isn’t very active think about fun ways you can encourage them to change this. You could treat them to a trampoline for the garden, which is great exercise and a lot of fun as well. If your child is quite young, you could take them to the park to play with their friends more often, or if they are a little older you could suggest family bike rides, or going swimming.

By taking these steps you can help your child lose weight gradually without making them feel punished. If your family works together to help your child eat more healthily and enjoy exercise, they will start to lose weight over time, leading to a changed mindset and attitude towards food for the whole family.

——

Emily Bradbury is writing on behalf of Core Assets, who provide foster placements, supervised contact sessions and domiciliary care for looked-after children globally.

Child Fitness, Child Health, Child Obesity, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Developing Good Eating Habits at Home

Ervin Moore, guest contributor

Many mothers may wonder why their children are rejecting the food given to them every meal – breakfast, lunch and dinner. A growing concern among parents has been unlikely develop about the good eating habits of  young children. These concerns are based on the reality that eating the right foods at the right time is essential to a child’s overall health. But as most mothers see, more and more children do not have good eating habits.

Children are really choosy when it comes to eating their meals. They usually prefer to eat sweet foods like chocolates & candies and do not care if it has a nutritional value or not. Of course they’re children. They doesn’t know the right food to eat and don’t understand what is nutritional value either.

 

Consider timing of meals

A child may think that having good eating habits is a daily chore that they have to fulfill. This makes young children think that just by eating at a time they want is enough to make them healthy and strong. For mothers, they always want their children to always eat nutritious foods in every meal but they often reject it. As a mother, what will you do to a situation like this?

In some cases, parents may get tired of having to tell their children to eat promptly during mealtime. They may resort to giving “bribes” – candies, sweets and other unhealthy foods – to make their children eat during mealtime or to avoid their young ones throwing tantrums. Although doing this from time to time may not be a big deal, it would be not advisable to “bribe” young children to eat every meal. Such a move would turn into a habit, and a child would have a disposition of refusing to eat during meals, unless his qualms and demands are met. Should this happen, a child would have a bad eating habit, and eventually, this would affect his or her overall health and well-being.

 

Enforcing good habits

So, how can parents help their children develop good eating habits?

Parents should have the whole family eat meals together as often as possible. This should instil onto children that eating the right food on the right time does not have to be a chore or a burden. Likewise, meals should be made pleasant as much as possible. It should not be a time for scolding young ones or making arguments with other members of the family. Mealtimes filled with unnecessary arguments and scolding would just turn away children and make them lose their appetite. Mealtimes should be a period where family members could freely interact with each other. Such meals would create a relaxed environment for children to create and develop good eating habits.

 

Get them involved in what they eat

Likewise, parents could involve their children in buying food and ingredients as well as preparing meals. Doing these offers several advantages. First, children do appreciate the fact that they were being factored in when preparing meals for the whole family. Also, children who have helped in preparing family meals are more likely to enjoy the food they had a hand in preparing. Parents could also gain hints on the food preferences of their children if they involve them such activities.

Parents could also help their children develop good eating habits by planning the snacks. One of the main reasons why some children don’t have the appetite to eat timely meals is because they have been snacking out of time. Getting a good snack is advisable but it should not come at a time when a scheduled meal is on the way. This will spoil children’s appetite during meal times. Thus, it would help if parents do schedule and plan family snacks.

These are just some the ways by which parents could help their children have good eating habits. Children on their own are not capable of knowing what eating practices are good for them, and most of the time they end up doing what is detrimental for them. Parents really need to step up efforts to guide and train their children to have good eating habits. Home is not only a place to get a good rest and a good place to live, but also a place to have a good meal.

——

About the Author

Ervin Moore is freelance writer/editor that specializes in creating art history essays and related compositions. Learned in the Harvard system of referencing, the author has been writing and editing academic papers for a couple of years.

Discipline, Martial Arts, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Simple Tips to Make Moving out Easy for Kids

Ashley, guest contributor

A lot of kids hate the thought of moving out. When a family decides to move to a new home, children are mostly affected thus showing separation anxiety. There are many factors associated with this. Maybe you are wondering why kids dreaded the possibility of moving to a whole new environment.

Friends are the prime reason as to why children do not want to transfer to a new neighborhood. Come to think of it, kids have built strong attachment and good friendship with other kids then suddenly they will be separated. This thought is worrisome for the little children. Furthermore, being in a new environment means children will see unfamiliar faces and meet new people. This scenario often scares them a bit. But there are simple ways you can consider to make your kids fully grasp the plan to move.

 

Talk it Over Ahead of TimeMoving out can be fun and exciting for the little children if they are prepared.

One effective way to encourage your kids that the move will be beneficial is to talk about it a few months before the scheduled day. Discussing this matter will likely prepare them for the move out. Maybe they will cry or even oppose but it is natural (just let them pour their heart out). Try to explain the situation and the reason why you have to transfer to a new home. Well of course, they might not be able to fully understand all the things you will tell them but at least they have something to reason out to their friends. Tell them they can still keep in touch even if you move to a new state. Talking it over beforehand will help them get ready emotionally.

 

Discuss New Opportunities

When you discuss about the plan of moving out, give them an overview of all the possible things that might happen in your new home. Tell them they will be able to meet new friends and playmates – who can be good addition to their list of friends. If your new house is bigger, bribe them with new stuff for their bedroom. Or, you can ask them to go on shopping with you for new devices and necessities for your new home. Describe other exciting opportunities like new school and activities which they can share with their old friends.

 

Ask Kids to Help Segregate/ Pack Their Things

Once they are settled with the plan, tell them to segregate their things. Check out their stuff and ask them to give out unused toys or garments to their friends. These items can be good remembrance to their friends when they are apart. But be sure these items are still usable. Never give out torn clothes or heavily damaged toys. Segregating is a fun activity to do with your kids as you can bring back memories connected to each item.

After segregating which stuff should stay and what items must go, ask them to help you pack. Ask them to put their all their toys in boxes and label them. Every box should have labels to easily distinguish what are stuffed inside. While you hold the box flaps, let them run the packaging tape to secure the items. Isn’t it a fun activity?

Moving out can be fun and exciting for the little children if they are prepared. Whether you are moving into a bigger house in California or one of those apartments for rent in Houston, it is vitally important to consider the kids during the planning. This way it will not be that hard to convince them to move out.

 

 

Child Safety, Discipline, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

How Baby Monitors Work – Step By Step Instructions

Robert F., guest contributor

Parents always need to have a constant eye on a new born baby, but it is also not possible for most parents to spend a whole day with their child. As a new born baby sleeps a lot, a parent can always find some time to herself, but she wants to be there with her baby as soon as he wakes up. Baby monitors are a nice solution for this problem, as a mother can always hear the noises of a baby as soon as he wakes up through a baby monitor.

The basics

A simple audio monitor uses a one way radio frequency to send sound from one end to the receiver. There are different models available on the market that can send sounds to different distances. The most common types of audio monitors available can send sound to a distance of 140-160 feet. With a simple audio baby monitor, you need to set a transmitter within a range of 10 meters of the baby’s crib. A receiver at the other end of the transmitter is mostly portable, but some models also come with a fixed receiver. Parents can always carry a portable receiver around with them when they are moving in or around a house.

Frequency

As the frequency used in common audio baby monitors often matches the frequency used by police, emergency services, and by cordless telephones, there is always the possibility of foreign interference. There are better models available that can offer you a unique frequency, but they are quite expensive. If someone in your neighborhood is also using a baby monitor, you may have to find a model with a unique frequency so the two don’t interfere with one another.

The use of a scrambler is also a good way to minimize the foreign interference. It is also recommended to not use audio monitors that run on batteries, as parents may just think that their baby is sleeping when the batteries of a monitor die, so it is better to avoid.

Making the Right Choice

There are different models with different features available on the market. There is a one-way model as well as a two-way model of audio monitor. With a two-way model, you can also talk to the baby on the other end. Similarly, there is a choice for parents to choose from audio or video monitor. Video monitors are more expensive, but are often more convenient when it comes to vigilant monitoring of a baby.

You also need to calculate the distance you want to cover with your monitor, and the size of your home, before buying any particular model. All models come with different ranges. A simple and cheap baby monitor may come with a fixed receiver; while a more sophisticated model will come with a portable receiver. You need to decide if you want to buy a model with a fixed or a portable receiver based on your convenience. You may also want to consider one that comes with better protection against foreign interference, especially if people in your neighborhood are also using baby monitors. It is highly recommended to buy a model that comes with a unique frequency. A video monitor is also a good choice in such a case.

——

This article was written by Robert F. for babysfairy.com – a revolutionary product for new babies.

Bullying, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director, SYN The Bully Expert

8 Ways to Protect Your Children from Bullying

Bullying is a sad reality that’s been happening in schools everywhere. In fact, even in 2010, over 160,000 children  miss school out of fear of being bullied.

 

Bullies use their physical size, age, or gender to intimidate other children–whether by abusive language, social threats, physical aggression or psychological abuse. Usually, students who are quiet or those with disabilities are more likely to be targeted than others. Fortunately, schools are now doing more to address this long-standing problem. Nonetheless, as a parent, it is your responsibility to keep your child safe.

 

Is your child being bullied?

If you suspect your child is being bullied, the first thing to do is to take a long breath. As a parent, your first instinct may be to march over to the school, grab the bully by the neck and tell him to stop harassing your kid…or else. However, what you’re doing is just what the bully’s doing to your child. Remember, your goal is to help your child protect himself as much as possible, and not beat up another kid.

 

You’d need planning and understanding to keep your children safe. Here are eight tips to help your children overcome bullying.

 

1. Listen and encourage them to share concerns

If your child begins to hate school or say that other kids are mean to him, you must take the situation seriously–he may be a victim of bullying. It may be difficult to listen to your child talk about bullying, but you have to listen to what he or she says in a loving manner. Remain calm and express support, understanding and concern. If your child thinks you don’t understand his feelings, it will be difficult for them to open up in the future.

 

2. Share your own experiences and feel their pain

If your child learns that you too, have been teased, dissed, bullied or rejected as a child, he will realize that this experience is normal and can be dealt with. You can talk about how you felt at the time and what you did to handle the bullies. This can also help your child manage his emotional reactions to hard situations.

 

3. Learn about the situation

Ask your child about the bullying incident. How and when did it happen? Who is involved? Have other children witnessed it? Also ask your child what he has done to avoid or stop the bullying.

 

4. Brainstorm about how to respond to the bullying

Rather than concretely solving the problem for your child, invite your kid to think about what they can do. They may come up with shocking suggestions but accept them all in the spirit of brainstorming. Of course you don’t want them to retaliate or affirm surrender, but you can turn “strategic retreat” and “seeking help” as good sense. Once you and your child come up with a plan, make sure to affirm it, giving him more confidence.

 

5. Talk to school officials

Don’t contact the bully’s parents yourself. Instead, contact your child’s teacher, school counsellor and school principal. You can also encourage school officials to focus on the problem of bullying as part of the curriculum.

 

6. Follow up

Ask your child for any progress with regards to bullying. If it persists, contact school officials again.

 

7. Seek help from authorities, if needed

You should know when to seek help from authorities and professionals. If your child has been physically attacked or threatened with harm, talk to the school officials immediately to see if the police should be involved. If circumstances lead to getting legal services, prepaid legal expense plans, like those from Legal Shield, can help you battle with expensive lawyer fees.

 

8. Boost your child’s self-esteem

Children who are bullied tend to have low self-esteem, even long after the incident happened. As a parent, it is your duty to pick them up, and make them feel special again. If not acted upon, low self-esteem can lead to lasting problems such as depression and anxiety. Encourage them to join music, art, or sports classes to build friendships and develop social skills.

 

Do you have any other tips to share?

——

About the author

Based in San Diego, California, Melissa Page is an advocate of child safety. She writes about health and relationships, among other things. For more of her works, visit Word Baristas.