6 Habits of Highly Effective Parents  

 

Children’s emotional/social/intellectual skills are like a muscle.
Parents can exercise or atrophy them.
 

Talk to Your Kids:
 

Average conversation length strongly correlates with children’s IQ’s and reading ability.
 

Note: 88-98% of words children use by the age of 3 is from their parents’ vocabularies. The more you talk to your children, the higher their functional vocabulary. 

Read to Your Kids:
 

Studies show that children whose parents read to them for at least 20 minutes a day are as much as a grade level ahead of other kids by age 15.
 

Note: Reading levels by third grade predict high school success. Start early! 

Let Your Kids Play:
 

Play fosters ｅxecutive function skills.
 

Executive function is the ability to self-regulate, enhanced working memory, reasoning, task flexibility, reasoning and problem solving.
 

Note: In Finland, one of the top ranked education systems in the world, kids take 15 minute unstructured breaks after 45 minutes of instruction. 

Limit TV Time:

1+ hours of TV a day
= trouble concentrating and succeeding at school.
 

Children under 2 should not watch television.
 

Do you want your kids exposed to health risks?
 

The Average child watches 20,000 advertisements yearly. 34% of ads are for sugary cereals.
 

Overloads visual portion of brain, destroys creativity.
 

Foster the Little Artists:
You’ve probably seen it:
When asked who’s an artist–
Kindergarten: all kids raise their hands. “Me, me me me!”
1st Grade: Everyone raises a timid hand
5th Grade: 3 or 4 kids in a class raise hands, unsure.
 

Creativity is as much the confidence to create as the skills to be a creator. 

Snuggle up!
 

Touching, rocking, talking, smiling, and singing function as nourishment for young children, laying the foundation of a healthy and well developed brain. 

Article Source: http://www.early-childhood-education-degrees.com/habits-highly-effective-parents/
Image Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NpDwt3ov9Ds/TaiDtcAA1QI/AAAAAAAABdg/LJWeRbiCHFw/s1600/NotesOnParenting_Banner2011.png 

VOCABULARY WORDS:

1. Atrophy (v) - Gradually decline in effectiveness or vigour due to underuse or neglect:
Example: The imagination can atrophy from lack of use.

2. Correlate (v)- Have a mutual relationship or connection, in which one thing affects or depends on another
Example: The study found that success in the educational system correlates highly with class.

3. Foster (v)- Encourage the development of (something, especially something desirable)
Example: The teacher's task is to foster learning.

4. Unstructured (adj)- Without formal organization or structure
Example: Interviews can either be structured or unstructured.

5. Functional (adj)- Relating to the way in which something works or operates.
Example: The first is to turn learning into an entirely functional activity geared towards the perceived needs of the workplace.

6. Creator (n)- A person or thing that brings something into existence
Example: Artists and creators need to look back in their roots and past, and then create the future.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1. In your own opinion, how do you raise a child properly?
2. How do you bond with your child/ children?
3. How often do you talk to your kids?
4. Do your kid/ kids have play time? What kind of activities do you encourage them to do at this time?
5. Do you agree that parents should limit the TV time of their children? Why do you say so?
6. From the 6 habits mentioned above, which are the things that you are doing to your children?