The Roles of Dad and Mum

Raising children is a lifelong commitment and responsibility. Parents have to strive at their workplaces and to take good care of their children and household at home, which are definitely challenges. It helps if dads and moms can have grandparents, other family members, friends or child minders to share out their parental responsibilities. To foster an intimate parent-child relationship, moms and dads nevertheless should try their best to care for their children, guide them and understand their interests since early infancy.

Your roles as a

Provider: To provide basic care for your child, including feeding and ensuring daily hygiene

Protector: To provide your child with a secure environment and physical measures for safety

                  To maintain your child's emotional stability by fostering harmonious family relationship in the family

                  To have good financial planning for the welfare of your child

Teacher:   To teach your child new knowledge and skills

Role Model:To be a good role model in studies and upholding moral values for your child

Comforter and Supporter: To encourage your child to make various attempts and explorations; always spend time talking and playing with him and sharing his feelings

أدوار الأم والأب

تربية الأطفال هي مسؤولية والتزام مدى الحياة. على الوالدين الذهاب لأعمالهم ورعاية أبنائهم وأسرهم في المنزل وهذا بالطبع تحدي كبير، ولكن بالطبع وجود الأجداد يساعد الآباء والأمهات لتبادل المسؤوليات بالاضافة الى وجود أعضاء آخرين في الأسرة واصدقاء أو مرافقين للاطفال، ولتعزيز العلاقة الحميمية بين الوالدين والأطفال، ينبغي عليهم بذل قصارى جهدهم لرعاية اطفالهم، وذلك بارشادهم وفهم إهتماماتهم منذ الطفولة المبكره.

أدواركم كالآتي:

المصدر: توفير الرعاية الأساسية لطفلك، بما في ذلك التغذية وضمان النظافة اليومية.

الحامي: توفير بيئة آمنة والتدابير المادية للسلامة لطفلك.

          الحفاظ على الاستقرار العاطفي لطفلك من خلال تعزيز علاقة أسرية متناغمة في الأسرة

ان يكون لديك تخطيط مالي جيد لرعاية طفلك.

المعلم: لتعليم طفلك المعارف والمهارات الجديدة.

        نموذج: أن تكون نموذجا جيدا في الدراسات والقيم الأخلاقية العليا لطفلك.

المعزي والمؤيد: لتشجيع طفلك على على تجربة المحاولات والاستكشافات. وذلك بقضاء بعض الوقت في الحديث واللعب معه              وتبادل المشاعر.

 Building self-esteem in early ages

Self-esteem is how children think or feel about themselves and how they are valuing themselves, which be or destroy not only by their thoughts and perceptions but also by their families , friends, classmates and community's thoughts and perceptions .
We can discover the healthy and unhealthy self-esteem by observing their behavior and attitudes.

For example in solving picture puzzles, try to observe their behavior in case of failure. In unhealthy self-esteem you can easily notice that they behave negatively and they my say "I can't solve it". However in the healthy self-esteem they will act positively by saying "I will try to solve it again"

Here I will give you some key points that help to build a healthy self-esteem. Especially in early childhood years because in this stage we can strongly build a good foundation for strong and stable personalities in our children.

The most effective technique is to give them more responsibilities by participating and contributing in activities and sufficiency monitor them and focus on supporting, encouraging and focus on their personal potential and pride to feel more confidence in facing challenges, taking decisions and controlling situations,

In case of failure we should train them the feeling of guilt or shame, we need try to accept their mistakes as an effort towards success and motivate them that to have a healthy self-esteem.

بناء احترام الذات في الأعمار المبكرة

احترام الذات هو كيف يفكر أو يشعر الأطفال تجاه انفسهم وكيف يقيمون أنفسهم. وذلك يبنىُ ويُهدم ليس فقط عن طريق أفكارهم 
وإدراكهم، بل وأيضا عن طريق أفكار ودراك عائلاتهم وأصدقائهم وزملائهم في الصف ومجتمعهم أيضا.

 
يمكننا اكتشاف احترام الذات الصحي والغير صحي عن طريق رصد سلوكهم ومواقفهم. مثال على ذلك حاولوا رصد سلوكهم عند لعبهم بحل ألغاز الصور، ففي حالة الفشل عند وجود عدم احترام الذات ستلاحظون بسهولة تصرفهم بشكل سلبي كقول "لا استطيع حلها"، بينما في حال وجود احترام للذات سيتصرفون بشكل إيجابي كقول "سأحاول حلها مجدداً”

هنا سأعطيكم بعض النقاط الأساسية للمساعدة على بناء احترام الذات الصحي، خصوصاً في سنوات الطفولة المبكرة لأنه وفي هذه المرحلة يمكننا وبفعالية بناء أساس جيد لشخصيات قوية ومستقرة في أطفالنا.

أكثر تقنية فعالة هي إعطائهم مسؤوليات أكثر بمشاركتهم في الأنشطة و الإكتفاء بمراقبتهم والتركيز على دعمهم وتحفيزهم والتركيز على  تحملهم الشخصي والاعتزاز بالنفس للشعور بثقة اكثر في مواجهة التحديات واتخاذ القرارات للتحكم والسيطرة على الأوضاع. وفي حالة الفشل يجب أن ندربهم على تجنب الإحساس بالذنب والخجل وأن، نحن بحاجة إلى تقبل أخطائهم كمسعى نحو النجاح وتحفيزهم، بهذه الطريقة سيكون لديهم احترام الذات الصحي.

Toddler Lunch Ideas from Second Home Nursery

New ideas for sandwiches, wraps, mini-pizzas and more tasty lunch recipes for kids. 

Honey, Almond Butter & Banana
Spread 2 slices of whole-wheat bread with almond butter or peanut butter. Top 1 bread slice with a drizzle of honey (for kids 1 and up) and a layer of banana slices. Cover with the other slice, butter side down.

Apple, Cheddar & Peanut Butter

Split a focaccia square in half crosswise. Spread the cut side of 1 half with peanut butter. Top with a layer of cheddar-cheese slices and then a layer of thin apple slices. Cover with the other half, cut side down and press gently.

Strawberry & Goat Cheese

Split a muffin and lightly toast the halves. Spread each half with softened goat cheese or plain whipped cream cheese. Top with a thin layer of strawberry jam, followed by a layer of thin strawberry slices. Place the top half of the muffin over the bottom half, and press gently.

>> IDEAS :

Cut It Out
Turn the ordinary lunch-box staple into a menagerie of animals with these sandwich cutters.

I Heart Turkey
A plain ol' turkey sandwich heart-shaped version. (Kid not a heart-lover? Stars or dinosaur shapes work, too.) Spread a thin layer of cranberry sauce on two pieces of whole wheat bread. Layer two slices of roasted turkey breast and sliced cheese. Use a cookie cutter to cut the sandwich into the shape of a heart.

Serve with:
Baby carrots with ranch dressing dip
Squeezable applesauce tube

Keeping your child safe at home

Accidents are a main cause of death among children aged between one and five years old.

Every year, about 500,000 children under the age of five go to hospital because of an accident at home.

Exploring and playing are an essential part of learning, and children shouldn’t be overprotected.

Bumps and bruises are inevitable, but you can do some simple things to make sure that your child doesn’t get seriously injured.

Keeping children safe from house fires

Housing safety

If you live in rented accommodation and are worried that your housing may be unsafe for you and your child, contact your housing association or your landlord

If your home catches fire, you and your child could breathe in poisonous smoke. It’s especially dangerous if the fire breaks out at night while you’re all asleep.

• Fit smoke alarms on every level of your home. Test the batteries every week. Change the batteries every year or, even better, get alarms that have 10-year batteries or are wired into the mains or plug into light sockets.
• At night, switch off electrical items wherever possible before going to bed and close all doors to contain a potential fire. If you smoke, ensure you put any cigarettes right out.
• Practice how you'll escape if there's a fire so you know what to do if the alarm goes off.

Your local fire and rescue service can give you the right advice for your own home and may be able to provide and fit smoke alarms free of charge.

Avoiding bath water scalds

Bath water scalds can be very serious injuries, needing prolonged treatment and care. They can kill a child. Toddlers may play with the hot tap, scalding themselves and other children sharing the bath with them.

• Never leave a child under five alone in the bath, even for a moment.
• Fit a thermostatic mixing valve to your bath's hot tap to control the temperature and stop your child being badly scalded.
• Put cold water into the bath first, then add the hot water. Always test the temperature of the water, using your elbow, before you put your baby or toddler in the bath. The water should feel neither hot nor cold.

Preventing children being burnt or scalded

• Fit fireguards to all fires and heaters. Use a sparkguard if you have a coal or wood fire. Guards can prevent under-fives falling or reaching into fires.
• Don’t leave hot drinks in easy reach of little hands. Babies and toddlers may grab at cups and mugs on low tables or on the floor and pull the contents over themselves.

Preventing child strangulation

• Make sure any cot toys have very short ribbons, and remove them when your baby goes to sleep.
• Never hang things like bags with cords or strings over the cot.
• Cut or tie up curtain or blind cords well out of your baby’s or toddler’s reach.

Preventing child poisoning

• Fit carbon monoxide alarms wherever there's a flame-burning appliance (such as a gas boiler) or open fire. Carbon monoxide is poisonous, but you can’t see it, smell it or taste it. Make sure that your appliances are serviced regularly and that ventilation outlets in your home aren’t blocked.
• Remember that child-resistant devices, such as bottle tops, strips of tablets and cigarette lighters, aren’t completely childproof – some children can operate these products. Store medicines, household chemicals (including cleaning products) and lighters out of sight and out of reach, or locked away safely.

Building Parent-Teacher Relationships

Effective communication is essential for building school-family partnerships. It constitutes the foundation for all other forms of family involvement in education.

Parent Benefits

Positive parent-school communications benefit parents. The manner in which schools communicate and interact with parents affects the extent and quality of parents' home involvement with their children's learning. For example, schools that communicate bad news about student performance more often than recognizing students' excellence will discourage parent involvement by making parents feel they cannot effectively help their children.

Parents also benefit from being involved in their children's education by getting ideas from school on how to help and support their children, and by learning more about the school's academic program and how it works. Perhaps most important, parents benefit by becoming more confident about the value of their school involvement. Parents develop a greater appreciation for the important role they play in their children's education.

When communicating with parents, consider your remarks in relation to the three categories that influence how parents participate. For example, are you communicating about:

• Classroom learning activities?
• The child's accomplishments?
• How the parents can help at home with their child's learning?

Student Benefits

Substantial evidence exists showing that parent involvement benefits students, including raising their academic achievement. There are other advantages for children when parents become involved — namely, increased motivation for learning, improved behavior, more regular attendance, and a more positive attitude about homework and school in general.

Teacher Benefits

Research shows that parental involvement can free teachers to focus more on the task of teaching children. Also, by having more contact with parents, teachers learn more about students' needs and home environment, which is information they can apply toward better meeting those needs. Parents who are involved tend to have a more positive view of teachers, which results in improved teacher morale.

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5 Steps to Helping Your Child Become a Leader

Being a leader and developing leadership skills is learned. While some children may have a little more confidence in themselves than others, it does not necessarily make them a leader. It has been proven countless times throughout history that anyone can learn to be a leader. As a parent, you will play a huge part in whether your child is a leader or follower in life.

“Being a Leader” does not necessarily mean that a person is in a position to tell others what to do. Many of the most powerful or influential leaders in history simply “led” themselves, but through their powerful individual choices they influenced millions or even entire generations of people around the world. One of the most important traits of a leader is the ability to make decisions for yourself, being able to stand up to peer pressure and set a personal standard of behavior. Leaders and followers step into their roles at a very young age. You can walk into a Nursery class and within a very short period of time you will know which children are going to be the leaders in the class and who will be the followers.

>> As a parent, the question you need to ask is: “Do I want MY child to be a leader or a follower?”
Because it really is up to you! It is up to you to instill your children with the knowledge and skills to be a leader everyday of their life...beginning TODAY!

There are a few simple skills you can help your child learn and develop that will help them become a leader. These skills will empower your children with the confidence and tools to make choices for themselves and not have to follow the crowd or cave in to peer pressure.

5 Qualities of a “Leader.”

A “Leader” says “Yes, I Can!”
It's called the power of Positive Attitude.
A Leader understands there will be many people throughout their life who will tell them why they CAN NOT do or be something. A leader stays focused on maintaining a positive attitude no matter what the people around them say or do. A leader stands up to peer pressure everyday to make choices for themselves.

Teach your children to say “Yes I can!” even when they are not sure. Help them understand the power of a positive attitude.

A “Leader” says “It's not a problem, it's a Challenge!” It's called Overcoming Adversity.
Everyday life is filled with challenges, however, many people call them “problems” and therefore they are overcome by their magnitude. One of the crutches in life that leaders do not use is the phrase “I Can't.” Leaders learn very quickly in life that saying “I can't” is just an excuse not to try. It makes it easy to give up. The first step to being a leader is to always say “Yes, I Can.” There is always another solution. You just need to ask a different or better question to find more solutions. Each challenge in life is an opportunity to learn a new lesson.

Teach your children to ask better questions and be creative in finding solutions to life's challenges. Help them find the lesson in each of life's challenges.

A “Leader” says “Never give up, never give up, never give up!” It's called Perseverance.
The easiest answer or path whenever something gets hard in life is to stop or give up. A Leader knows that the easiest path is not always the best path. A simple well-known quote expresses the power of perseverance very well:

“Perseverance prevails when all else fails.”

Quitting is easy. It's a habit that begins at a young age. Children need to learn at a very young age the power of building positive habits in life.

Teach your children the power and importance of not quitting and fulfilling their commitments in life. Help them develop a habit of persistence and fulfilling commitments.

A “Leader” says “I may fail or make mistakes BUT I always learn and move ahead!” It's called Commitment.
Mistakes and failure are an integral part of life. We tend to learn the most in life from our mistakes or failures. Leaders learn to do their best and are not beaten down by their mistakes. Leaders learn to ask themselves a powerful question each time they make a mistake or fail: “What can I learn from this experience?”

Teach your children it is OK to make mistakes in life as long as they learn and do their very best. Help them find the lesson in each of life's experiences.

A “Leader” says “I will always do my best!” It's called Excellence.
“EXCELLENCE” or doing your very best, is a daily decision. It's easy to be average. It takes a focused effort every day to do your best. It really is an attitude. Leaders choose to do their best in everything they do. It's not about being better than other people; it's just about challenging yourself to be your best.

Teach your children to do their own best and not worry about comparing themselves to other people. Help them understand the importance of challenging themselves to do their very best everyday.

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55 Ways to Save the Environment and Make a Difference

As parents and educators, we have the responsibility to teach our kids to care for our world. And it is easier than most people think. Here are some tips to make a difference.

1. Take your family to the park and talk to them about the joy of being in green, clean, preserved places.
2. When you are outside, pick up your rubbish and teach your kids that, just as they do not litter at home, they should act the same in our “global home”.
3. Have a garden and teach your kids to care for the garden. If you live in an apartment building, have pot plants and take care of them.
4. Every year, plant new things in your garden.
5. When you go camping, put out your fire properly. Be careful with cigarettes and fire in the bush.
6. Have a compost bin and put your organic waste in it.
7. When you fish, make sure you follow the rules of fishing. The rules are there to protect the fish, but in the long term, they protect the people.
8. Turn off the lights when they are not needed.
9. Avoid long showers.
10. Use water-saving appliances. Consider the water rating before you buy.
11. Walk instead of driving.
12. Ride a bike instead of driving.
13. Walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator (it will make you healthy too).
14. Car pool if you can.
15. Install a “half flush” in your toilet,
16. Use public transport if you can.
17. Open your car windows from time to time.
18. Hang your clothes outside to dry instead of using a dryer.
19. Use your washing machine only when you have a full load.
20. Use your dishwasher only when you have a full load.
21. Use solar power.
22. Recycle your clothes. Donate them or use their fabric to make something else. The more you use, the less everyone needs to produce.
23. Separate your garbage and recycle.
24. Buy products with less wrapping and packaging.
25. Use reusable bags and boxes instead of plastic bags.
26. Do not print things you do not have to. Learn to adjust your computer applications to make text easy to read.
27. Use recycled paper.
28. Print on both sides of the page if possible.
29. Use emails as much as you can to save printing.
30. Pay your bills online (and choose to receive email statements) to save tons of paper waste.
31. Be careful what you wash down the sink (avoid disposing of oil, paint or hazardous chemicals).
32. Use a strainer in your sink.
33. Plan your shopping. If you buy more than you need and have to throw it away, everybody loses.
34. Use leftover food and make new dishes with it.
35. Turn off taps and make sure they do not leak.
36. Find ways to save water in your shower, toilet, garden and sink.
37. Wash your car on the grass.
38. Use energy-efficient light bulbs.
39. Reuse your containers (just be careful when using them in a microwave oven).
40. Buy in bulk to save on packaging.
41. When you use your oven, avoid opening the door.
42. When you heat water, heat only as much as you need.
43. When you bake, try to do all your baking on one day, so you only have to preheat the oven once.
44. Clean all your filters.
45. Use timers for electric appliances.
46. When you mow your lawn, use the cuttings for compost.
47. Borrow equipment from people to avoid buying something you rarely use.
48. Lend other people your equipment, for the same reason.
49. Find out natural alternatives for chemical cleaners.
50. Reuse envelopes.
51. Use old magazines and phone books for arts and craft.
52. Avoid using disposable plates, cups and cutlery.
53. If you can work from home, do it.
54. Buy used furniture.
55. Try to fix things before buying new ones.

Be the change you want to see in the world
– Mahatma Gandhi

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