Take some time to read and reflect.

Communication starts from infancy

19 May 2010

CHILDWISE
By RUTH LIEW

MANY parents know that punishments and threats do not really work with their young children.

It helps to have realistic expectations of your children. Babies are curious about their world. They use their senses to explore their surroundings. Once they grab something, they will put it in their mouths and then throw it down.

When they are exploring, they are not looking for something specific. They want to find out the limits. This is the best time to commu nicate in the right manner with your baby to help him be cooperative. In every interaction with your baby, show mutual respect.

Before giving your four-month-old baby a bath, take some time to talk to him. Make eye contact and tell him exactly what you are going to do.

Your baby may not know exactly what you are saying but he is learning. Even though he is so young, you must use words that reflect your respect for him, including saying “please” and “thank you.” By doing this, you are acknowledging your child.

Make time to communicate with your baby as this will set him on the right path to learning how to behave. Babies are keen on getting what they want. They are not trying to manipulate their parents. All you have to do is show your baby what he can or cannot do, in the most loving way.

Toddlers are beginning to learn about what will happen if they do something. They may try to do what you do not want them to do. This is their way of testing the limits. They explore cause and effect as part of their growth.

If you are out shopping with your toddler and he screams as you pass by the toy shop, you can say to him: “You are screaming because you want me to take you to the toy shop. I get upset when you scream. You can help me by telling me what you want or show me so that I can understand.”

Your toddler will often act in ways that may suggest he is uncooperative. He is not being naughty or rebellious. It is just his way of asserting his independence. Act firmly but kindly. Your toddler will learn to stay calm and in control by observing and interacting with you. Use positive words to encourage him to pay attention to you.

Knowing that your toddler is active and needs safe boundaries, put him in an environment that caters to his activity level. This way, you do not need to constantly remind him not to do anything dangerous.

Remind your toddler that running and climbing belong to the park. Make time to take him to places where he can be his energetic self.

When he appears to be struggling with a task, ask if you can help instead of taking over from him. Your child would be more willing to cooperate when you seek his permission. He needs to feel in control.

Show him how he can do certain tasks at home, such as helping you prepare the family meal. He can lay the table or help you wash the vegetables.

The more skills your toddler learns, the less he will behave badly. All he needs at this stage is to learn ways of cooperating. Spend more time showing him how to do things rather than telling him what not to do.

The Association of Registered Childcare Providers Malaysia is organising a one-day workshop on May 23 on Effective Parenting Of Young Children And Positive Communication With Young Children. For details, contact Letty (012-228 5086).

Article was taken from ParenThots http://www.parenthots.com/features/Communication-starts-from-infancy.aspx

Republish: 10 Great Reasons to Read to Your Children

Sometimes we need a little motivation to get us going in the right direction, to continue on course or to resume a course of action we once started. This is true for many parents when it comes to reading to our children.

Some of us hardly or never ever read to our children. We must take heed and start reading aloud to our children. Starting now is better than never.

Some parents began reading to our children from babyhood and all the way into kindergarten age. Then slowly we let the read-aloud habit fall to the wayside as our child grew into an independent reader. But our child still needs to hear our voice, expression and pronunciation. Did you know that our children can listen at a higher level than they can read themselves?

So read, read, read. We must read everyday with our baby, toddler, preschooler, kindergarten, elementary, middle school child. We may even read to our late teen/young adult child as one parent has done.

Here are 10 Great Reasons to Read to Your Children

1. “A Command” – The Qur’an, the best book and guidance, begins with the word “Read”. Read the Qur’an, read the hadith and then read some more. There are many Islamic books (and the numbers are growing) for you to read aloud to your child (see the book reviews on this blog).
2. “Learn the Deen” – Sharing books is one great way of teaching children Islam.
3. “Together Time” – Reading brings families together. What better way than to spend time together sitting and sharing books.
4. “Warm Connections” –  Holding the very young in your lap, sitting snugly with an older child on the sofa, or just sitting on the corner of the bed reading aloud can be a warm and loving experience. A child feels happy and secure having his/her parent’s time and attention.
5. “Reading Readiness” – Children who are read to grow into readers. Reading aloud to your child from young makes him/her familiar with the sound and appearance of the printed word. Making this connection makes it highly possible for this child to develop into a confident reader from an earlier age.
6. “Imagination and Expression Booster” – Develops the imagination of an older child as he/she must picture the story, settings and characters in his mind. They as well as younger children learn how to express words by hearing you read.
7. “Life Skill” – You are giving them a life skill. Reading is essential in all functioning as a Muslim and a human being. Besides, it has also been said, every teacher and librarian you ever meet will thank you!¹
8. “Attention Span Grows” – Listening to stories will help learn to concentrate and develop your child’s attention span.
9. “Word Power” – Reading aloud helps to build vocabulary, develop expression and improve pronunciation of new words.
10. “Just Fun” – Yes, reading is fun, looking at the illustrations are too!

Article was taken from: Guide to Muslim Children's Books and Media

Get a new book every month

Assalamualaikum and peace to everyone.

Reading is something that need lots of encouragement from many factors around us. To keep the mood for reading we need to let our eyes see new books almost every month. To make it better, surround your eye view with lots of books.

Looking at all the colors of the covers, the illustrations on them, might improve your thirst for reading. Sometimes, you are too busy to read but I'm sure you have time to browse. Why not let your eyes get the chance to browse the pages of books. And new books are always interesting.

Early teen novels

Islamic history novels

Storybooks for children

Books for adults - motivational, religious, business, management and educational

Make them available at your home. Buy one or two books each month and sooner or later, your house will look like mine.