by Awesome Author | Dec 4, 2021 | Grandparenting
Grandparenting might be underrated in the modern world, but you can never take it for granted. Suppose you live in a joint family with grandparents; you’ll never know how your kid grew up. In that case, when you move out to live in a nuclear family where all you have is your kid and spouse, you might be able to understand the point we’re trying to make. Since this is one of the universal realities, you need to acknowledge, the presence of grandparents can do significant wonders for you and your grandkids.
Here, we have enlisted vital pointers for you to incorporate whenever visiting your kids’ grandparents. Besides the point, it is understood how hard it is to raise kids. This is where dedicating your life to their doings becomes a part of you. In addition, there comes a time when you’re not present to offer advice and outlining of life or even to indulge in parenting activities. Grandparents of the modern era are relatively more involved than their childcare providers, live-in family members, weekend hosts, and visiting playmates. So, let’s get started with it and understand all the activities a grandparent can indulge in with their grandkids.
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Nature Walk
When you visit your grandparents, consider taking both of them to a nearby park to experience the sounds and sights of nature. As a grandparent, tell your grandkids to collect some treasures like leaves, flowers and make something extraordinary to remember the entire outing. This allows them to make nature walk a bit educational. You can even buy a nature kit for your child to take with them.
Arts & Crafts
Most kids love the feeling of getting crafty. Here, even grandparents like to pitch in their experience and their love for arts and crafts. However, as a parent, if your kid does not have a proper kit for arts, consider buying one for them to play with their grandparents.
Cooking & Baking
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Having mentioned that already, cooking and baking are two of the essential activities your kids can indulge in with their grandparents. So, if your kids like to bake or cook, have them visit their grandparents to make the most of their time and energy.
Puzzles & Games
Oh well, checkmate, kids! This might be the best thing you can do with your grandfather. Enjoy a bit of an intricate time of yours. Remember, most of the board games you have played with your kids are still famous with your grandkid’s generation. If you do not know the games you need to play with your grandchild, check out card games and puzzles like crazy eight and hearts. And, guess what? Floor puzzles are still the favorites. So, make a wise choice.
Gardening
Gardening is not only therapeutic but also potent for the heart and brain. But, just wonder how you would feel growing pumpkins, berries, vegetables, and flowers with your grandchildren? While you sow the seeds, have your little ones water the seed with a watering can. As a grandparent, you can also teach them a thing or two about such activity. And, don’t forget to teach them the basics about every gardening tool.
Reading
Like parents love to read short stories to their kids, grandparents have an instinct for these things. Not only does your grandma love to do it before your bedtime, but she also adores the fact that she is experiencing this. So, as a parent, have your parents pick the right book for the little one.
Playground Time
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Hit the playground from the word goes with an ever-so-energetic grandkid of yours. From exercising to playing specific sports, there is so much to discover and experience together. But, just be prepared for several minutes to push me more if your little one gets hooked to this activity.
Bird Watching
Goose. Duck. Duck! Well, your grandkid needs to learn a thing or two about birds as well. And, some of them are fascinated about bird watching too. So, bring your grandkid to a nearby local park to have him, or she observe birds and ducks. And, if you are lucky, you can have them collect feathers and store them forever.
Teach a Hobby
Remember, a hobby is not just a hobby. As a kid, you tend to develop whatever you learn as a hobby. And, it is essential to learn new things like knitting, fishing, and everything your grandkids can make the most of. You can even look for websites and books with insights into introducing children to their hobbies. So, consider buying a kid’s fishing pole, toolbox, knitting set, model car kit, or anything that can pique a kid’s interest. Speaking of which, fostering an all-new hobby is one meaningful way to make memories and pass the time with your grandchildren. You can introduce your grandchildren to your world of crafting and knitting with such knitting needles.
Featured Image Credits: Pexels
by Awesome Author | Aug 24, 2021 | Family Etiquette & Social Skills
This is the 21st century, and we’re living in 2021. This simply implies that we need to come out of our cocoon and act wisely. That being said, this does not apply to kids. Kids learn what we teach them. As a result, we need to be socially active to learn some of the basic yet essential social skills. Strong social sense and skills lead to social acceptance. Moreover, the more kids are socially active, the more they’ll grasp and learn. Besides, kids with such skills can reap immediate benefits.
If you weren’t aware of this, one of the studies indicated that explorative social skills could reduce stress in children bound in daycare settings. These skills are a specific set that needs refinement when kids grow older. They are not something that a child can learn or unlearn. Instead, they tend to pick these skills and strengthen them with practice, exposure, and effort. So, as a parent, consider implementing teachable sessions where you help your child do better while interacting. Well, the argument stands – some social skills are relatively complicated and tricky to master.
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You need to teach your child to be assertive when their friend is getting bullied. This is one such benefit of understanding social skills. Let’s check out its benefits.
Benefits
Social skills provide kids with an array of benefits. Not only are they linked to better relationships with peers, but they also experience tremendous success in schools.
1.Better career and educational outcomes
Children who are better at listening, sharing, following the rules, and cooperating at age five are more likely to enter college.
2.Better success in life
Seamless social skills can also help children adhere to a bright future. It has also been studied that if a child has good emotional and social skills in kindergarten, they can reap success in adulthood.
3.Stronger friendships
Children with robust social skills can get along seamlessly with peers and will have friends easily. In addition, friendships tend to provide kids with more opportunities to bond and develop conflict and problem-solving resolution.
On the other hand, what are the consequences of poor social interaction and skills? Some studies also point out that kids with poor emotional skills can have
- Legal trouble
- Dependence on public assistance
- Relationship issues
- Substance abuse issues
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Remember, not having social skills can compound stress and promote various ailments like depression and multiple disorders. It is as simple as this – when kids fail to communicate effectively, it only gets worse. Meanwhile, social skills can be easily taught. Well, it is never too late to show these kids that they can get along with each other and sharpen their respective sets over a period. Yet another piece of research states that kids with new social skills experienced decreased cortisol, which is a stress hormone.
Sharing
Yet another skill that can save the day for young children is sharing. The willingness to share a toy or snack helps keep and make friends and companions. One of the studies by Psychological Sciences shows that kids as young as age three can demonstrate a desire to share. However, kids between the ages of 3-6 are often selfish when sharing is involved. Children without any social interaction might be skeptical about sharing half of their cookies. But, when it comes to kids seven to eight years old, they show more fairness and are more concerned about sharing their toys with others. Such a gesture helps them feel good about themselves.
How to Practice
You don’t need to teach your child everything about sharing. But, try teaching them sharing ethics whenever you see it. If they feel good about sharing toys or snacks with siblings, they might just love the entire feeling.
Cooperating
This simply implies working in a combination for one common goal. Children who tend to cooperate are relatively more respectful when others land their requests. In addition, this allows them to participate, contribute, and help out. Good cooperation skills are quintessential to get along amid a shared community.
How to Practice
You need to talk about teamwork and how a task gets better with everyone’s involvement. As a result, create specific opportunities for the entire family to work together.
Listening
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Listening does not require a child to be quiet. It refers to absorbing what the other individual has to say. Listening is yet another component of healthy and seamless communication. After all, if you are a good listener, you can be a good educator and teacher in adult life. Absorbing the subject, taking material, and thinking about the speech becomes essential as a child advances academically. Providing a kid with opportunities to absorb can help strengthen such a skill.
How to Practice
While reading a book to your kid, halt periodically and ask them about what they perceived or understood.
Featured Image Credits: Pixabay
