
Raising happy children doesn’t happen automatically.
It takes effort, persistence and determination, as kids do not raise themselves.
Raising children also requires consistency, every step of the way… explaining boundaries and expectations, but all the while being fair and reasonable, maintaining flexibility in different situations.

BUILDING SELF CONFIDENCE IN KIDS
Self-esteem flows from a child developing self-confidence.
WHY DOES CONFIDENCE BUILDING IN KIDS MATTER SO MUCH?
Kids are more likely to try new things when they feel good about themselves. They are building self-confidence with every new achievement they accomplish. Self-esteem in kids helps them to cope with any mistakes and try again to overcome difficulties and a child’s self-esteem will grow with every new skill gained. Even if they fail now and then, they are still building self-confidence, leading to good self-esteem, each and every time.
Developing self confidence in your child is important because they have a need to feel liked and appreciated. They also need to feel a strong sense of pride in their achievements. Children will feel proud and good about themselves when then overcome obstacles. Children’s self-esteem is given a huge lift when they have overcome previous difficulties.
Developing positive self-esteem is a process that is accelerated by a “positive reinforcement through praise” approach. Self-esteem in children grows rapidly when parents help with praise and encouragement. When children are developing self-confidence, they believe more in themselves, and think more positively about themselves.
How to define self esteem
What actually is self-esteem for kids?
Self-esteem is an attribute that comes from building confidence and leads to their own independence. With high self-esteem, they develop a strong sense of self-awareness about their abilities and their achievements. For children to develop self-esteem they need to have a strong desire and an inner ability to try new things and face new challenges. This leads to confidence building and teaches them how to develop self-confidence as a person, all the while learning new skills.
Read more about building self-confidence in kids…

Designing a Child’s PLAY ROOM
Creating a Play Environment for Children
DESIGN THE PERFECT PLAY ROOM your kids will love
A kids playroom needs to be a play place your kids will love!
A special kids’ play area with lots of different indoor children’s activities, educational toys, plus a soft play area for resting and reading, will occupy children for hours. This fun indoor playground will become a favourite play space your kids will love.
Children love to play and imagine, creating, building and learning, while discovering new possibilities.
You may like to set aside part of a room for your child to play… one section of their bedroom, or a completely separate room.
When selecting toys for children, consider selecting things that they can climb on, manipulate, build and construct or pull apart. Include toys and activities that they get a lot of pleasure and enjoyment from. Often the best toys are those that can be used in a variety of ways.
A child’s play room needs to be a safe place for them to explore, construct, imagine and most of all, enjoy playing in. It needs to be light and airy, colorful with places to sit, draw, paint or simply explore their creative skills.

Boosting Child Self Esteem

Developing positive self esteem is very important for a child’s overall health and psychological development. A child’s self esteem is directly related to how much they value themselves and how relevant and important they feel.
Children with low self esteem tend to struggle more with their concept of self worth, putting them at a disadvantage to others when it comes to concentration and learning new skills, especially at school. A child’s self respect and sense of self worth are closely linked, and both can be significantly damaged when negative influences impact their lives. Self respect and self worth are also closely linked to self confidence.
Therefore, it’s very important that children who suffer from low self esteem participate regularly in confidence building activities that strengthen their resilience, along with their sense of self worth and self respect.

7 ESSENTIAL QUALITIES THAT PARENTS NEED TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN
How to have well behaved and well-mannered children
We all want our children to grow up to be happy and well adjusted.
Raising happy children takes effort, patience and clear, consistent communication skills. We need to have a very positive parenting style that incorporates good communication, lots of laughter and happiness… that sets examples by words and actions and gives clear signals.

Children, right from birth, always look to their parents for guidance and instruction on how to do things, while trying to understand the immediate world around them. They learn from those around them and by mimicking what others do. Therefore, good parenting is key to raising happy and confident children.
Read more about 7 ESSENTIAL QUALITIES THAT PARENTS NEED TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN ….

HOW TO DEVELOP GOOD MANNERS IN YOUR CHILD

Developing good manners in children is essential to helping them grow into responsible teenagers and adults. Good manners are taught firstly at home, then reinforced at school.
Good manners and good behaviour are an essential part of growing up in society and can stand children in good stead for the future. It makes people more aware of accepted social behaviours and expectations of politeness. Having good manners demonstrates thoughtfulness and empathy for others.

Parenting Styles
Parenting Experts have concluded that there are at least three different parenting styles.

The three main parenting styles are authoritarian parenting, authoritative parenting and the permissive parenting style. These parenting styles are all very different in their parenting approach.
Parents come from varying social and economic environments and their life experiences, along with their own upbringing, all play an important role in the parenting style they may prefer to follow in raising children.
It is important to agree early with your partner on your own parenting style but, regardless of what your parenting style might be, the main thing to understand in raising children is that your role as a parent is to provide your child with a circle of security and this can best be achieved by understanding the different child development stages.


Effective Parenting
As parents, you need to give your children the best opportunity to become well balanced teenagers and adults. To do this you need to provide the right environment and atmosphere for them to develop into self-confident, caring and happy people.
We need to teach our children, from a very early age, the importance of sharing with other children when playing games, by taking turns and considering others’ feelings. This will be a first step in them developing what is known as self-discipline.
Developing self-discipline involves understanding the need for them to behave with good manners. To learn more about the importance of teaching good manners to your child CLICK HERE

Read more about Being an Effective Parent

When a New Baby comes home
When you become a parent for the first time it can be so overwhelming. When first the new baby comes home you have all the intentions of becoming the best parents ever and want to do things differently from your parents. But, when this delightful baby arrives home, it seems to have a mind of its own, especially about when to sleep and when not to sleep. As a result, you can become sleep-deprived and struggle to stay awake at work.

Learn how to cope with a New Baby in the home

How to get your child to sleep
Sleep is important to a developing child and from a very early age your child needs adequate sleep. We know as adults we can get grumpy, irritable, stressed and become over tired if we are lacking in sleep. This applies to babies, young children and teenagers also. Your capacity to focus, absorb information, facts and figures and complete tasks properly are decreased greatly if you deprive yourself of the proper amount of sleep. You develop your own body clock when your bedtime routine is more regular and waking times are consistent. When children are rested properly, they are generally happier children.
Sleep pays a vital role in the health and well-being of our children

Taking Your Child Out
Are you ready to take your child out into the big wide world?
What to do when taking your children out to a restaurant or coffee morning, or a playground with other children.
To ensure that your children are well behaved when taken out, it is essential that the proper preparation is done ahead of time.
With proper preparation, your child can be a model of perfect behaviour!

Read more to find out how you can be well prepared for an outing with your child…
Parenting Tips Nobody Tells You