Tag: children

Teaching Young Children the Importance of Respect

Posted on | by Dojo Kyle

It goes without saying that respect is one of the most fundamental traits required to be successful both professionally and personally. Schools make it a point to teach respect for authority during a child’s most formative years, but the real education truly begins at home, with the parents themselves. Respect is a quality that can often be difficult to measure, and as such, difficult to teach. However, with careful attention, observation, and re-enforcement, parents can develop this key trait in their children quite seamlessly. Children learn the importance of respect at school and at home, and in group activities like pre-school karate classes.

Respect for people and things

Respect comes in a wide variety of forms. For example, children must be taught to be behave with respect for the possessions of other children. They must be taught a healthy respect for their elders and authorities. As a family, it is of paramount importance to develop a culture of mutual respect within the home itself. There are a number of great strategies that parents use at home for this purpose.

Perhaps the most effective way parents teach their children to behave respectfully is by being respectful themselves. Children typically mimic their parents’ behavior – good or bad, so being a role model and showing integrity, courtesy, and respect in their company are very powerful lessons. Whether it is simply being polite to strangers or being thoughtful and considerate of friends and family, with proper and consistent role models, most children gradually learn to deal with the people and environment around them in healthy, productive, and amicable ways.

Reinforcing respect

When a child displays respect, it is important for parents to acknowledge and commend him or her. Receiving praise and feeling gratified for performing a task correctly or behaving in the appropriate manner helps children of all ages develop self-esteem and self-respect, benefits they will seek to earn over and over. Highlighting appropriate behavior and good manners helps children internalize them. In some cases, a display of respect may even warrant a reward in some material form.

In some cases, it may be required to reprimand a child for inappropriate behavior. Choosing when to punish and when not to is extremely important for parents. Parents must understand that different children learn in different ways, and this may take time as well. Understanding how a child thinks and behaves is the first step toward choosing the specific ways and means of developing this fundamental and vital character trait.


Helping Children Develop Self-Control

Posted on | by Dojo Kyle

When a child throws a tantrum in the middle of a grocery store or a theater, the spectacle can be extremely frustrating for the parent. The first “fit” might be tolerable, but as days, months, and years go by, the inappropriate outbursts can intensify and occur more frequently… unless parents take pro-active measures to correct the behavior of their children. Teaching kids self-control has everything to do with making them think about the consequences of their behavior before they speak or act. Even mature, respectable adults have problems with self-control in many cases, but the parents’ important role as behavior models for their children cannot be denied.

Living in the moment

Young children live very much in the present and do not set goals like experienced adults. Teaching children from an early age the importance of setting a goal (which requires work and patience to achieve) is a fundamental lesson for understanding and attaining self-control. We cannot always get what we want immediately, and in many cases, it may take more time and effort than planned.

A common mistake that many parents make is in praising and gratifying their children too much. When this takes place, children can become complacent, realizing that whatever they do, they will get exactly what they want. Alternatively, parents must try to acknowledge the effort that children are making towards achieving a particular goal, and encourage them to continue displaying self-control in their pursuits.

Balancing incentives and deterrents

In some cases, it may be required to discipline a child when they behave badly. Children under the age of three find it particularly frustrating if they aren’t allowed to do the things they want when they want, whether it’s playing with toys or playing in the mud. Likewise, pre-schooler “temper tantrums” also occur sometimes when instructed to do something they don’t want to do, or when they don’t want to do it. As a parent, it is important to set clear, consistent expectations (rules) for children, to offer choices, and to explain consequences. If a child fails to observe parental rules, it might be necessary to discipline him or her in a productive, non-violent way such as forcing him or her into a ‘timeout’ or denying him or her a certain pleasure for a while.

At the same time, it is often valuable to talk with children about self-control and its importance. Discussing self-control (and its opposite) can often help children appreciate the concept much better and pay closer attention to their actions. As such, congratulating a child when he or she has achieved something through self-control is also vitally important in the developmental process. Enrolling your child in structured self-improvement activities like karate definitely
helps develop self-control in participants. Professional instructors are trained in many methods for keeping the attention of individuals in class, maintaining discipline, and reinforcing positive behaviors, which translates into better self-control exhibited at home, school, and elsewhere by the children who train.

Building a Child’s Concentration

Posted on | by Dojo Kyle

As an adult performing complex tasks, like studying in college or managing home finances, it is all too easy to take for granted the cognitive processes that go into performing them. The brainpower required to do complicated things develops rapidly through experience and practice, starting at a very young age. Improving children’s cognitive abilities can begin at the earliest stages of their sensory development.

Developing the ability to concentrate on particular tasks is absolutely critical for success in today’s over-stimulated, distracting environments, and those who do so at an early age have a leg up on their peers. By the time a child begins schooling, he or she needs to have developed cognitive ability that will allow him or her to perform tasks that may take a prolonged period of time. Consequently, developing focus and concentration at the pre-school level is very important. Here are some practical tips for parents to help their child or children develop concentration.

Creating a Plan

One of the best ways that a parent can go about measuring a child’s concentration levels is by creating a plan and a schedule. Over time, they should monitor their children and record whether and how much progress is being made. Once a plan has been created, parents should present logic or “thinking” tasks such as age-appropriate puzzles to their children, and encourage them to work on them for as long as possible.

Step By Step Approach

Initially, it is “normal” for a child may to have the ability to focus on a particular challenge for just a few minutes before giving up. However, parents should encourage their children to build their concentration, by ensuring that they stick to a task a little bit longer than they did in the past. This must be done in small steps to ensure that the child does not become exhausted or excessively frustrated. As time goes by, a child will naturally build concentration spans that hold them in good stead as they study further. It is also a good idea to get your toddler enrolled for karate classes. This will help in improving your child’s concentration power a great deal.

Rewards

It is also extremely important for children to feel rewarded for the work they have put into developing their mental faculties. Sincere and specific praise is a good example. At the next stage, parents might challenge their children to complete a puzzle, game, or task in a certain number of days while offering a greater incentive, such as the promise of a desirable toy or an
extra hour of television. Rewarding the child is entirely up to the parents as long as the reward is real and ultimately fulfilled when the challenge is complete.

Martial Arts Confidence Keeps Children Secure

Posted on | by Dojo Kyle

There is absolutely no doubt that confidence can go a long way in providing a sense of – and a posture of – personal security, especially for children. Your child’s self-confidence is what lays the foundation for his or her future health and happiness, both mentally and physically. A child’s confidence stems from the environment that they grow up in and how they are taught to perceive and react to their experiences. A household that can provide stability and security will also instill confidence.

Steps to make your child feel secure and confident

  • The most basic step is to appreciate and praise your child when he or she does something good or completes a given task. Giving him or her the required attention can boost his or her sense of security and self-confidence.
  • Listening is an art form in which most of us fail miserably! But you can’t afford to fail at it when it comes to children. When you listen to your children you’re basically opening the doorway to fruitful communication and trust with them. It not only shows that you care but also provides you with an opportunity to explain things to them.
  • Correct yourself in front of your children when you make a mistake. This will provide
    them with a positive frame of reference that teaches them to learn from their failures, correct mistakes, and make amends for their wrongdoings.
  • Build a bond with your child. Share and engage in activities with them. This will help your child trust you and feel secure around you knowing that you’re always there for them.
  • Express your love physically. As they are too young to understand complex human emotions, children rely on physical touch to express their love and affection. So hugging, kissing, and high-fiving your child is a good way to reciprocate their affection.

Karate builds security and confidence

You might ask how karate can help your child feel secure and confident. Karate is an art form founded on the values of discipline, hard work, motivation, and goal-setting. Learning karate allows your children to develop a sense of accomplishment through goal-setting, achievement, reward, and growth of knowledge, ability, and self-reliance. Your child will learn to compete in a positive environment with other children, which will not only boost
his or her confidence but also teach him or her to handle defeat constructively and with good sportsmanship. With intense training and hard work, karate will instill in them a sense of confidence and security that will last a long, healthy, and successful lifetime.