Concentration is essential for kids to excel in academics and even sports. To improve your kid’s concentration, you can enroll him in yoga and meditation classes, as these are proven methods to improve concentration. In, this article we give you useful tips on how to teach and improve

concentration for kids

.

Tips to Improve Concentration for Kids

• Ensure he gathers around all the essential things to study, before he sits down to study. This will prevent unnecessary distraction in the middle of the session.
• Set them easy targets and encourage your kids to achieve them.
• If the subject is dull, browse the Internet and add some interesting facts to liven up the topic.
• Make the study session interesting and deviate from rote learning by including quizzes, rapid-fire rounds etc.
• Ensure your kid is not hungry or sleepy while studying.
• Encourage them to take responsibility for their studies. They should know that they are learning for their own sake and not for their parents.
• If your kid does not do well in any exam, ensure they do not feel humiliated or shamed. Encourage them to do better the next time by improving their concentration.
• You can also choose a study buddy from among their better-performing friends. This will foster healthy competition and also motivate your kid to do better and be the best in the class.
• Be patient and do not get discourage nor disparage your kid if initial results are disappointing.
• Have faith and confidence in your kid. Motivate them every day by assuring they will definitely succeed if they work hard and smart.
• Never scold or humiliate your child as this will affect their self-esteem.
• Teach your kid to think positively at all times.
• Recognition is a great motivator. Praise them generously if they do well in the class or gym.
• Also teach them to appreciate themselves for a task well done. This would boost their self-esteem and motivate them to do even better.
• As mentioned earlier, meditation can greatly improve concentration. If they become overwhelmed with books, ask them to take a meditation break and relax themselves for some time.
• Honest and sincere effort can definitely improve
  

  concentration for kids

  and make them excellent all-round performers.

• Do not distract your kid by playing the TV or radio while they are studying. Also, keep younger kids and infants away from your studying child.
• To improve
  

  concentration for kids

  you can involve them in brain-racking games like chess, crosswords, puzzles and memory games.

• Ensure your kid gets adequate sleep and also good exercise to stay healthy and fresh for studies.
• You can read a story to your kid and ask them questions about it afterwards. This will help them become keen and active listeners which will improve their concentration.

Summary

Implement the above method to improve

concentration for kids

. The best tip is to enjoy what you are doing, be it learning or playing sports. When you derive joy from any activity, you will automatically focus on it 100% and give your best to the lesson or sport.

This is exactly a moment where most of the parents can lose their control. It is difficult to be patient when your child freaks you out but since violence in parenting in any form can destroy the trust and confidence of a child, it is important to never lose the control and to stay calm. So what can you do to stay calm in difficult situations?

Here are the

tips for parenting

without any violence even in difficult situations:

• Instead of exploding, go to a room where you can be alone. Take a deeeep breath, count to twenty or gasp some air on the balcony – Just do something that gives you distance!
• You should put away things which your child shouldn’t touch to a place where they can’t reach it to eliminate unnecessary stress.
• If you are about to be overwhelmed by your child’s urge to explore, put it in a cot or playpen for a short term.
• If you need to grumble with your child, go into a crouched position and see the child in the eye to achieve a better effect than if you grumble from the top. But it is important not to force your child to have eye contact with you as well.
• An important
  

  tip for parenting

  is to avoid physical proximity or contact when feeling too upset. Prefer to step back or to leave the room briefly to calm down.

• If your child keeps asking you to do something, forget about the time pressure to finish all you have to do and focus for some minutes on your offspring. It will make it easier for you to finish your to-do-list afterwards.
• When you are already annoyed, don’t start with topics like cleaning the rooms. Instead, take a break to calm down or make a phone call with a friend. It will help you!
• If your nerves are on edge, let off steam by pounding on the table. This signals to the child that your patience is at the end.
• When grumbling is necessary, be careful of your word choice and tone. Don’t say to your child things like “You are bad!” but “What you have done is bad.” And don’t scream, a stern voice is more efficient!
• The most important
  

  tip for parenting

  is to be absolutely honest and to apologize when your parental tantrum has become bigger than adequate. Explain to your child why you were so angry.

]]> http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/20/tips-for-parenting-how-to-stay-calm-when-your-child-freaks-you-out/feed/ 0 http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/17/behavior-problem-of-children-%e2%80%93-is-swearing-really-so-bad/ http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/17/behavior-problem-of-children-%e2%80%93-is-swearing-really-so-bad/#comments Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:37:13 +0000 admin http://www.drgranny.com/?p=3683 Cursing is a way to get rid of the anger. If you don’t do so, you risk to get aggressive. Therefore, it should be allowed for children to curse. But how and which words are allowed so that cursing doesn’t become a


behavior problem

?

The referee is an “asshole”! The teacher is ”stupid”! And the new neighbor is just a “big meanie”!
These are moments where the parents are embarrassed for their kids and ask themselves where this vulgar vocabulary comes from. Is it from school, from the street, from the TV or even from home?

Is he a chip off the old block?

Does this idiot really snatch away my parking spot? It is normal to curse in such situations, whether the kids are in the car or not. And what do you say when the olive oil bottle shatters on the freshly cleaned kitchen floor? ‘Crap’ is probably the most harmless word.

It is impossible to have your vocabulary always under control. But on the other hand, most parents feel guilty when they swear in the presence of their children since parents are always and everywhere a role model.

No matter how silent you were cursing, the offspring internalizes it immediately especially when it comes from the mother and there we go, the young one takes it to his repertoire. Therefore, parents shouldn’t be surprised when their children use bad vocabulary since it is not always the school or the TV!

Do only “bad” parents curse?

Definitely no!! Researches of linguists showed that swearing is present even in the best families and that there is no culture without curse or swear words. It doesn’t matter where and when, the language used always bad words since cursing relieves one from anger and aggression. Growing up in a family where nobody said a bad or a loud word would be too oppressive. Child psychologists also share the opinion that expecting constant self-control is not the desired way to raise a child.

Is There Really No Limit?

Would you really feel relieved if you call a traffic fool an “asshole”? Psychologists say that the motives of cursing are crucial. Channeling negative emotions about the language is not just okay, it also prevents you from getting angry. So using bad words sometimes doesn’t have to be a behavior problem! So, when the LEGO tower breaks together, the child should be allowed to swear at the ruin.

Nevertheless, each family has to define for themselves what curse and swear words are allowed at home. And if any mishap follows with a verbal cannon fire, the parents should definitely set limits for swearing.

What is with the school?

Parents should be aware that even if they get rid of their anger on a socially totally acceptable way, they cannot protect their children from really rough printouts. Then vulgar vocabulary is everywhere: on the street, in the kindergarten, school or in the sport club. But still, parents can do a lot to ensure that cursing and swearing doesn’t become a behavior problem:

• Monitor your own vocabulary and stop using some bad words.
• When arguing with your partner, make sure you don’t use gross insults à la “asshole”.
• Start making a list on which you always make a check when your child is cursing. For example, set a rule like “more than 3 times cursing a day results in no TV in the evening”.
• Explain your children why some expressions really hurt and why they shouldn’t use them (racist, sexist, etc.).
• Make sure they don’t see TV shows with a lot of swear and curse words.
• Explain to them that even though some people may use a bad vocabulary, you don’t accept it from them.
• If your child swears at somebody, ensure that your child says sorry to this person.
• Insist on proper expressions at home.
• Do not tolerate vile insults under any circumstances.
• Explain to them that cursing and swearing is not accepted by the society.
• The most important thing is to praise them if your offspring stayed calm in a difficult situation.
]]> http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/17/behavior-problem-of-children-%e2%80%93-is-swearing-really-so-bad/feed/ 0 http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/16/safety-for-children-is-too-much-protection-harmful/ http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/16/safety-for-children-is-too-much-protection-harmful/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:29:00 +0000 admin http://www.drgranny.com/?p=3680 Many boys and girls are always guarded, protected and observed by overanxious parents. But is growing up without any adventure and risk good for the development of your child? Can too much


safety for children

have fatal consequences? Here are the answers!

What is Childhood?

Childhood is when both knees are covered with Band-Aids in the summer, if you collect earth worms and put them in bottles, if you drive your bicycle down a hill, if your mom has to wash your clothes after you ate an ice cream, when you play hide and seek in the forest ….

Or was that childhood some years ago? Because this description sounds like a surreal story from the TV or a dream of such adventures for many children nowadays.
And some parents get goose bumps when they imagine their child running around in the forest by themselves or racing with bikes on the street.

Life is dangerous!

Yes, it is dangerous to handle with Swiss army knives, to make somersaults in the living room or to go somewhere without the parent’s knowledge. And therefore many kids are not able to do these activities. They are completely secured and always observed.

Is the world really more dangerous?

Parents protect and observe their children nowadays so much with the argument that the world is now so much more dangerous than at the time when they grew up. But the facts speak at least another language. According to Wikipedia, in 2009, America’s crime rate was as low as 1968. Even though the U.S. crime rate has increased a lot since 1964 and had its peak in the early 1990s, the rate is steadily decreasing since then. And the year 2009 was the safest year in almost forty years.

Furthermore, the statistics of Administration for Children and Families (http://www.acf.hhs.gov) show a similar picture. The child maltreatment rate was 1.35% in 1990 while the rate sunk to 1.08% until 2007.

But not only this! Also, diseases like polio and smallpox are nowadays almost extinct, and kidnapping, sexual offense and violent crimes were 30 years ago the same when not even higher. Also the dangerous strange man is not strange at all in more than 90 percent of the cases, but comes from the family or close circle.

So a child’s life today is not more dangerous than when you grew up. Nevertheless, most parents still think that the daily lives of children are more risky than in their youth and overdo it with the


safety for children

.

But why do Parents think like That?

Frank Furedi, a professor of Sociology at the University of Kent in Cantebury and author of the book “Paranoid Parenting”, calls the mistrust of today’s generation of parents to other adults “Stranger-Danger”. For sure, articles about dangerous playgrounds, teachers who abuse students, pedophile priests or abusive babysitters are reasons for the mistrust of parents. But many overdo it and forget that children need some risks and adventures to grow up and are afraid that something could happen to their child even though their offspring seems to be well cared.

Furthermore, Furedi also sees the society today as a reason in which individualism banishes solidarity between adults. This was exactly different when you grew up. Then twenty years ago, parents assumed that other adults – often strangers – would help their children if they got into trouble.

What are the consequences?

But today, other adults are not supposed to interfere in raising kids or to speak with some which they don’t know, with the consequences that a stranger doesn’t grab a child immediately anymore when it wants to cross a dangerous street. And since most of the children get picked up from school, get chauffeured to the soccer training or are not allowed to walk to their playmates by themselves, they don’t get the experiences with barking neighbor dogs, balancing on garden walls or getting in trouble because of ringing neighbor’s doorbells.

Don’t these experiences matter?

“So what?”, one may argue. Children don’t learn anything when they ring the neighbor’s doorbells. They can balance on the balance beam at school during physical education and a barking dog is nothing else than dangerous. Exactly not, then children need to build strong personalities with their own will and responsibility and unstructured spaces where they can gain their own experiences. Then according to Neurobiologists, it is important for the brain development to make physical experiences which are linked with emotions. Therefore, young people have to make their own experiences with the risk to hurt themselves or to get in trouble with neighbors to adapt to challenges in the future.

But I can’t endanger my child!

It is not even so difficult to give your child the possibility to make these experiences without the risk that it gets seriously injured – still some bruises and wounds are a part of growing up. Letting your child spend time with peers, to go hiking or on a bike ride with your child instead of going to the mall will give him or her challenges and adventures he or she needs.

Tips for parents:

• A little pain never hurts! If your child runs down the stairs the whole time you are not next to him, if she always wants to nibble from the hot frying pan when she gets a chance or when he never binds the laces, your kids maybe need to hurt themselves a little to learn not to do it. And these won’t be serious injuries. Your child will learn through a burned tongue or bruises on the knees that you should walk down stairs slowly, that food directly out of the pan is too hot and that you should tie your laces.
• It is not possible in the whole United States to let your children go to school or to the playground by themselves. That is true! But next time you are going to the playground, don’t stay the whole time next to them. You can observe them also from a little distance to make them feel independent and free.
• When you see your children arguing with other kids, don’t interfere immediately, since your offspring will learn a lot for life by fighting. Only when it comes to scuffles you should go to settle the dispute.
• Let your child do sports. Even though the risk of injury is high in most sports, kids can obtain many experiences. Especially in team sports, they learn additionally how to act in groups, develop team spirit and learn how to control aggressiveness.
• Girls and boy scouts are also a great after school program for your children when you don’t have time to do activities with your kids such as going to the zoo, going biking or for a walk in the nature. In this group, kids do many different activities which will help to learn a lot for life.
• In case your child gets hurt because of doing some silly things, don’t punish it. Instead give a hug and let it choose his or her favorite Band Aid. But let your child think about why it happened. Due to reflexing silly behavior, the learning process is much more efficient and the chance that it will do it again is smaller.

Following these tips will make you feel indeed more relaxed with


safety for children

, and you give your offspring the opportunity to gain his or her own experiences. And just think back to your childhood. Who wasn’t proud of the scars because of skateboarding accidents?

]]> http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/16/safety-for-children-is-too-much-protection-harmful/feed/ 0 http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/11/farewell-to-breastfeeding-how-to-wean-from-breastfeeding/ http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/11/farewell-to-breastfeeding-how-to-wean-from-breastfeeding/#comments Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:22:43 +0000 admin http://www.drgranny.com/?p=3629 If it were up to the will of the children, they would usually get nursed for years. But very few mothers can do that. Here are some tips


how to wean from breastfeeding

– a not always easy transition from the breast to the bottle.

Am I the Only Mum with Problems?

Definitely not, but the World Health Organization and many others recommend, because of the numerous benefits of breast milk, to breastfeed babies for at least six months. Due to this, many mothers with problems force themselves to breast feeding even though they have problems like mastitis. But there are also other ways to give your baby what it needs.

Do I need medicines for weaning?

There are very different and often very individual solutions for


‘how to wean from breastfeeding’

and the appropriate variant is often only in a detailed conversation between mother and counselor. But if the child is already six months old and eats already, women usually don’t need any medicines.

Certainly an advantage is there since drugs have often unwanted side effects, such as circulatory problems, nausea, vomiting or headache.

If you breastfeed the baby only irregularly you can also stop the flow of the milk with home remedies.
Sometimes a tight-fitting bra or a cold pack wrapped in a shawl helps. If you feel very tense on the breast, the milk should be bottled out to there is no engorgement.

Take it slowly

If you wean gradually, you don’t have to do anything. This way is less stressful for the female body compared to the abrupt cessation of breastfeeding with the pill, but also for the baby since its stomach can slowly get used to the milk bottles. Experts recommend to leave out the breastfeeding every fourth day at a daytime that is the least important for the child. Babies younger than six months get their meal replaced by a feeding bottle. For older children you can maybe even start with real food. If the father or another close caregiver does this step with the child, it will be even easier.

The only disadvantage of this method is the time you need for it because, until the child is weaned, it takes several weeks. When babies are under six months they usually get the breast up to ten times a day, so this process of weaning off can drag on for a whole month.

There is no answer about the perfect way of


how to wean from breastfeeding

, but when the circumstances allow it, take it slowly then the last method would be for sure the best solution for mother and child.

]]> http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/11/farewell-to-breastfeeding-how-to-wean-from-breastfeeding/feed/ 0 http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/09/baby-formula-feeding-when-is-the-right-time-to-stop/ http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/09/baby-formula-feeding-when-is-the-right-time-to-stop/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:09:21 +0000 admin http://www.drgranny.com/?p=3622 Most of the kids love their feeding bottles and won’t go to sleep without snuggling in the warm bed and drinking their milk formula. At the same time, most of the parents hope that their kids are no longer interested in the bottle at some point. But what if a child already counts to 30, goes to the kindergarten, eats normally and still wants his formula? Many parents don’t know the right time to stop with


baby formula feeding

and are helpless when the child keeps asking for it even though it could already eat and drink normally.

So, when is the timing to wean a child and how can you do it? Here are the answers:

When is the right time?

As soon as a child eats normally it actually doesn’t require the formula milk anymore, because a healthy child gets all the needed nutrients and energy with three main meals and two snacks. Nevertheless, there is no official age limit for the end of the formula feeding-bottle age. But it is highly recommended to replace the formula milk with normal milk or tea when the child has too much fat on the ribs.

Do you think the formula is better than milk?

Even though there is not a right age to stop with the milk formula, researches showed that special children’s milk is unnecessary or even harmful. Experts say that industrial products do not offer benefits when compared to normal cow milk. Baby milk consists also mainly water, whey powder and sugar. The high sugar content is not just bad for the teeth but also for the health of your child.

Whole or reduced-fat milk?

Normal cow milk provides your child with all the needed nutrients, so it is definitely sufficient. So parents shouldn’t feel guilty when they decide to stop with


baby formula feeding

even when their child keeps asking for it.

But which milk should it be? Normal-weight children can drink whole milk without any problems. Only kids who are overweight should consume reduced-fat milk because it contains less fat than whole milk. But in general, the rule is that natural food is always better for kids.

Experts recommend giving children 3 portions of dairy products a day – one portion is around 0.5 fl. oz., because milk containes calcium which is essential for building a healthy bone structure. If your child doesn’t like cow milk, you can try it with yogurt or cheese. If your child suffers with lactose intolerance, there are many lactose-free products nowadays, so don’t skip the milk supply.

No chance with normal milk?

Don’t worry if your child doesn’t show any interest in normal milk after stopping with


baby formula feeding

. Then children need time to get used to this change. It is important to give the child some time to adapt to normal milk and not to despair as a parent if it doesn’t work right away.

What if it doesn’t eat anything else?

In general, it is sufficient when you offer a child different types of solid food slowly to wean from the bottle and at the same time to reduce the milk formula. If the child still asks for the feeding bottle, tell him/her that he/she is a “big boy or a big girl” now and doesn’t need the bottle anymore. If the child does try out some solid food, praise him. And make him throw the bottle away then he should do this step.

But if your child doesn’t want anything else other than the formula even though it could eat normally and you tried already for some time, you should contact a pediatrician in this case. There may be several medical or nutritional reasons why your child doesn’t want to take solid food.

]]> http://www.drgranny.com/2011/09/09/baby-formula-feeding-when-is-the-right-time-to-stop/feed/ 0 http://www.drgranny.com/2009/06/11/what-is-chicken-pox/ http://www.drgranny.com/2009/06/11/what-is-chicken-pox/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:21:40 +0000 admin http://www.drgranny.com/?p=1140 Chicken pox is a common disease seen mostly in children less than 12 years of age. It is highly contagious. Chicken pox is rarely fatal, even though it causes severe discomfort.

Chicken pox usually affects a person once in his lifetime. The body develops resistance to chicken pox after the first incidence. But sometimes, chicken pox flares up late in adulthood in the form of shingles.

Cause of chicken pox

Chicken pox is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV).  This virus spreads by direct contact with an infected person or by breathing air contaminated with the virus.

The symptoms of chicken pox start showing up 10 to 21 days after the virus is contacted. The infected person can spread the virus to others from about 1-2 days prior to appearance of symptoms. The infected person remains a potential virus spreader until all the symptoms disappear.

After the symptoms disappear, the virus remains in the body in an inactive state. In about 20% of cases, it becomes active again in adulthood causing shingles.

Symptoms of chicken pox

Chicken pox is characterized by the appearance of blisters. These blisters start out as small, red bumps. These get filled with a clear white liquid, which after a period of time becomes cloudy. Finally, the blister bursts turning into open sores. The sores finally dry out leaving behind brown scabs. All this happens over a period of 5 days.

Other probable symptoms include flu-like discomfort, fever, weakness, head ache, abdominal pain, and sore throat.

Dealing with chicken pox

Chicken pox cures by itself after about a week. So no treatment is needed. But some measures need to be taken to decrease discomfort and to avoid complications.

• Discourage the child from scratching the sores.
• Give baths with cold or lukewarm water every 3-4 hours.
• Pat dry with a towel. Do not rub dry.
• Put calamine lotion on itchy areas. Do not apply on face.
• Give foods that are cold, soft and bland. Avoid acidic foods.
• Ask your doctor or pharmacist about pain-relieving creams to apply to sores in the genital area.
• Give acetaminophen regularly to help relieve pain if your child has mouth blisters.
• Do not use aspirin.
• Do not let the child mingle with other children, as this may result in spreading of the disease.

If your child is experiencing any kind of extreme discomfort, contact the doctor immediately.

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