Month: February 2023

Holi is the most exciting time of the year in India. The vibe is full of positivity as markets get flooded with vibrant colors. It also embarks the start of the beautiful spring. The excitement is even more as there is finally ease in the restrictions in the post-pandemic era.

However, celebrating Holi is not just limited to colors and balloons. There is a lot more significance to this festival. It helps kids gain self-confidence, learn about the vibrant culture of India and, learn soft skills like empathy and understanding for others.

So if you are looking forward to making the most of this year’s Holi celebration, here are some unique ways to celebrate Holi with your kids. 

Holi Powder – It is not just about using organic colors, of course, that is undebatable but teaching your kids the importance of consent. You can tell your kids to be careful while playing with colors. Always be gentle and ask for permission to apply colors. Even if they are using organic colors, teach them not to target anyone’s face in the spirit of fun.

You can also teach your little ones to differentiate between colors and their meaning. As each color hold a different meaning;

Red: Passion, Love, Anger.

Orange: Energy, Happiness, Vitality.

Yellow: Happiness, Hope, Deceit.

Green: New Beginnings, Abundance, Nature.

Blue: Calm, Responsible, Sadness.

Purple: Creativity, Royalty, Wealth.

Black: Mystery, Elegance, Evil.

Gray: Moody, Conservative, Formality

Storytelling – We all know the tale of celebrating Holi in India. But there are also a lot of other folk tales in different regions of Indian and even in Nepal to mark the celebration of winning Good over Evil. You can buy story books on Holi to read with your kids. Start a week before Holi and discuss those stories with them. This way kids will learn the art of storytelling and gain knowledge from the morals of the stories.

Prepare DIY ( Do it yourself ) –  Prepare crafts and games to enjoy with your kids. You can even plan a painting activity with them. It will encourage them to learn something new while enjoying the holidays.

Have a cooking session with your kids – Kids love to explore new things. It is a great way to teach them how important it is to value food. When they help you with household chores, they learn humility and respect for you. You can prepare their favorite snacks and ask them to present the dish in their style. It is one of the best ways to teach kids creativity.

You can also plant seeds with your kids as it is the start of the spring season. The whole year your kids can learn to take care of the sapling as it will be a memory for them to cherish for their entire life. Rituals like these make festivals special for kids. It reminds them of the importance of spending time with family.

Why parents are called the first teacher of their kids?

Because whatever kids learn in the initial years of life, becomes the foundation of their learning phase throughout life.

Among all the responsibilities parents have towards kids, Mentoring is the most important one. It decides what kind of value system kids will choose, according to what they learn from their parents.

Talking about learning, fundamentally there are two aspects of learning: Literacy and Education.

The first aspect focuses on imparting worldly knowledge while the second focuses on learning holistically about LIFE.

In the words of Bred Hnery

“Education is not solely about earning a great living. It means living a great life.”

As an academician, I interact with parents daily. And one thing I found is that most parents think that teaching means imparting worldly knowledge.

But is that so? Imagine what value it is going to have if your child has vast worldly knowledge but lacks behavioral understanding. To understand the real concept of teaching, here are important tips to keep in mind.

Communication – How you talk and respond has a direct impact on how your kids perceive communication. You can not teach them to be patient and soft-spoken if you are behaving oppositely. Actions speak louder than words. Remember, if you want to teach them the importance of communication, preach it first.

There are two things you need to keep in mind.

1. How you talk to them – Listen to them first and then respond. Listening with patience is an important skill one should learn while dealing with kids. Do not try to force any kind of behavior on them. Let them express what they feel. Listen to their side of the story first before reaching any conclusion.

2. How you talk about others- It is equally important to speak of others respectfully in front of your kids. Kids pay attention to everything parents do. More than words, actions influence them. So the second thing you need to consider is to talk with utmost care in front of your kids.

Involvement – Parents think that once their kids start going to school, their role as teachers declines. But that is not the case. Parents are real teachers for their kids who stand with them in every situation of life. And to increase the impact of teaching, parents must involve themselves in the activities that they plan for their kids.

So if you enroll your child in a drawing class, pottery lessons, music, or dance, try to be present with them in every small and big win they experience. It makes learning substantial.

Another thing to consider is preaching everything you are teaching them.

For example – If you want them to become caring by nature, show them how you care for your friends and family. Create a loving environment in your family.

Do not mock them or taunt them in front of friends and family. Even if your child is not behaving, do not pinpoint their mistakes immediately. If you allow them to understand their mistakes, it will become easier for them to accept and work on them.

In a Nutshell, Parents play a crucial role in a child’s life. Be it the role of teacher, mentor, friend, or guide, a parent needs to ace every role if they want their kids to explore various opportunities in life. It can only happen when parents participate with their kids to encourage them. It will not only prove beneficial for their personality development but also prepare them to face various challenges in life.

As an academic, one of the most common inquiries from parents is, “How to improve a child’s performance in exams.” And it’s so obvious. Parents need to put in more effort to encourage their children to reach their full potential in today’s competitive world.

The “Result” is one of the things that parents worry about the most. Why? Because it depicts a child’s overall development. Parents feel a sense of accomplishment whenever they see their children rise through the class ranks.

However, with expectation comes the obligation for parents to provide for their children. There are numerous ways to assist your children with exam preparation.

Teaching them at the last minute can be frustrating if you don’t plan. So, let’s talk about the best advice for teaching your kids to do better in school and putting it into action.

Attention for Retention – Parents must induce positivity in their kids before they start preparing for their exams. The first that can help you to do this is by preparing yourself. It means having patience when kids are not listening to you.

When we talk about kids of 3-10 years, we know their distraction will always overpower their concentration. At that point, you should not force them to focus without giving them time to adjust.

To handle this situation, you can prepare a schedule for their study time. Discuss with them at what time they are most comfortable studying. Set an alarm clock to remind them about their commitment. During the process, if they need a break, give them a break for a few minutes. Do learning exercises to see how much they have learned in one session. Make the learning process fun and do not force anything on them.

One thing to keep in mind is not to get irritated. At the end of the day, how you handle the situation is going to decide, your child’s attitude toward studying. If you make it forceful, they will perceive learning as a forceful process and if you make it fun, they will perceive it as a fun process.

Absorption – kids have a knack for learning things in different ways. So the next thing to keep in mind is preparing lessons for them in advance. For kids studying in Nursery to Primary classes, it is important to make learning a fun process as their attention span is very short. Try visualization, storytelling, Presentation, and Animated videos for their preparation. It increases their involvement and also increases their retention. Further, it is a great way to include creativity in their personality.

Conversation –  This is an extension of the point we discussed above. It simply means to be a parent first and a teacher later. Kids learn from teachers in school according to the pedagogy of the school. At home, they expect extra freedom to ask questions and clear their doubts. The solution to this is simple. Talk, Talk, and talk. Talk about their fears, insecurities, and doubts, and listen to them. Do not try to provide a solution immediately. Take them out on a walk, exam time is already very stressful for children. Do not worsen their fears. Try to ease the situation for them. Once this fear is out of their system, they can pass the examination with flying colors.

Lastly, you need to know that your expectations should not become a burden for your child. Do not criticize them if they are not performing according to your expectation. Try to analyze the areas where your child is lagging and work with them to improve their performance. Because it is not about success in one exam but being successful in all areas of life.

Birthdays hold a special place in our lives. We all get excited about our birthdays. And for kids, it is always extra special. Their happy faces are a treat to watch on their birthdays.

The first few birthdays are full of grand celebrations. Kids get very excited days before birthday and parents do the best of their capacity to make it extra special for their children. But as they grow up the excitement starts declining. And the main reason is a decline in your involvement in their birthday celebration as they grow up.

So to keep your kid’s spirit alive, what you can do is follow these steps to make every birthday  an unforgettable happy experience for your child.

The idea behind celebrating a birthday is to celebrate the person. Irrespective of how they are doing in their life. And that is probably a reason why kids are euphoric when it comes to their birthday, they know they will get a lot of love and attention for just being themselves.

And our first step includes the idea of doing the same -To make your child the center of attention on his birthday.

Start their day setting good intentions for their upcoming year. And what better than taking the blessings of GOD! Make it a ritual for them to celebrate every birthday morning with a prayer. Reflect on the past year and visualize good things to happen for the coming year. If you set up this ritual for the first few birthdays they will follow it for their entire life.

You can also dress them according to your tradition to keep them grounded. With this particular ritual, they will feel connected to their roots.

After the prayer, all the family members can gather and make a circle. Keep a chair in between and let your child sit in the center. Now give them gifts and blessings by singing songs and cheering for them. It makes them feel very important and loved. 

We all know the importance of giving. Serving the needy people gives everyone satisfaction and inner peace. So you can plan a visit to distribute gifts to unprivileged children on your child’s birthday. This way they can also learn the importance of sharing and caring. They will develop a sense of gratitude for what they have by watching others who are in need.

And when it is the time for celebration, make it all about them. For kids, it is the most exciting part of a birthday. Make them feel special by including their favorite games and activities as it is their party. Include small messages from family and friends and tell them in front of everybody at the party. It makes them feel confident and encourages them to do better in life.

Whatever you decide to do, one thing to remember is that it is about your efforts. Be it a small party or a big celebration, make it special by adding your love and attention to it. And do not forget to capture all the memories as they will cherish these moments for their entire life.