Author: alka sharma

It is said that the “best way to make children good is to make them happy” Children are beautiful in their way and what makes them even more beautiful is happiness when their uniqueness is adored and not perceived as a flaw.

If your kid moves around a lot, enjoys problem-solving by doing things, and does not prefer reading chances are there that he or she is a kinesthetic child. But let me tell you one thing, you do not have to worry about it. Kinesthetic or hyperactive kids tend to have a lot more energy as compared to the other kids. The only thing you have to do is to help them channel it in the right direction.

Here is what you can do to make it easier for kids if they are showing kinesthetic behavior.

• Embracing their personality – First thing to do is to make them feel comfortable in the family and outside. Accept that their behavior is not aggressive but they have an extra amount of energy. Even in school, you can discuss this with their teachers about it. It makes them feel confident and eases things out for them. On the other hand, if you try to tame them, it is possible that they might start showing aggressive behavior because of the frustration of not being understood.

• Proper activity planning – It is obvious that if a child has more energy then he will try to find ways to use that energy. What parents can do is they can plan their activities to balance out things. For example- Try to build firm bedding and mattress for your kid. It makes sure that even if they are spending a lot of their energy doing things like jumping around and playing, they will not get hurt. Also using the energy with the help of props like a trampoline, or skidpad, and even installing pags on the wall is going to help them a lot. It also helps them to build muscle strength from an early stage. Try to plan activities that involve running and jumping like a sack race, these activities will help them to use their energy productively.

All this makes sense until kids reach a certain age. Once they reach the age of around 13-14, either they will choose outer activities or activities that require mental energy instead of physical energy. It is to be noted that it is not necessary that if your child is hyperactive he or she will choose physical activities. There are a lot of kids who excel in indoor games even after being kinesthetic. Kinesthetic kids are also attracted to games like chess and learning computer skills.

Hyperactive kids tend to be very sharp-minded, therefore some kids prefer using their mental energy. But not everyone can understand that this is their innate quality. Of, course it can be handled productively but not removed from their personality. Even teachers sometimes try to hold them back. When this happens kids tend to adopt depressive behavior as they do not feel accepted for who they are. You can not turn an apple into a banana. You can only improve its quality. So if your kid is hyperactive, you do not have to control his energy instead you can use his unique quality to nurture his talents.

We all know responsibility peaks when an individual becomes a parent. And with that awareness comes a concern to teach your kid the real meaning of responsibility. As defined by the law of nature animal babies become self-sufficient the moment they take birth. Also, it is a well-known fact that mother nature is the best teacher. Going by fact, parents can also start teaching their kids what responsibility actually means. If not immediately, after the age of 3 infants can easily adopt small habits that can make them responsible human beings.

Responsibility is not a magic trick that one can learn overnight, but a versatile concept that helps kids to become mature human beings. Likewise, if parents start early, it becomes easier for kids to grasp the essence of awareness and responsibility slowly and steadily.

Following are some ways that can help you to teach your kid how to become a responsible person.

• Household chores – Nowadays parents prefer to not bother kids with anything other than studies and extracurriculars. But the reality is that if you involve your kids while doing household chores, it is going to help them become aware of their responsibility as a part of the family. Serving snacks to guests makes them confident in front of other people. Similarly doing their dishes and sorting clothes makes them aware of the importance of team work while performing any task.

• Sorting and sequencing – Sorting clothes and utensils help kids to sharpen their minds and develop organizational skills. It is a great way to teach them Once they learn how to do sorting properly teach them the concept of organizers. To put everything in its pre-decided place. It might sound like a regular boring activity but these small habits go a long way. They become habitual in doing tasks properly and in sequence. It also helps them gain clarity about the importance of planning and execution in life.

• Bonding over evening walks – Conversations are a great way to start bonding with your kids. And once they become comfortable, it becomes very easy for parents to talk to them about important life lessons. Going for evening walks in public places and talking to them about life, in general, brings a lot of positive changes in their behavior. When they see people doing hard work to earn money, they automatically adopt the practice of being grateful for what they already have.

• Weekly thanksgiving – ‘Gratitude is the best attitude’, children follow what they see. Therefore if family members start being thankful to each other for their contribution towards building the family, kids start valuing the efforts of each family member. This works like magic in building long lasting relationships among family members.

Entrusting kids to complete small tasks individually is very important to make them feel responsible. Also acknowledging their efforts and appreciating them for completing tasks motivate them to perform better. This does not only apply when they do household chores but to all the other aspects of life too. With confidence and independence, they become better performers in life. It all adds up to the process of personality building while bringing good balance of Emotional Intellignece and Intelliogence Quotient in their lives.

Who is an extrovert or an introvert is a matter of perception. To put it into simple words, Extroverts are more likely to spend their time and energy with family and their social circle on the other hand introverts tend to spend more time and energy with their inner circle while enjoying their own company.

Every kid is unique in his or her way. The approach that parents should adopt is to first understand their kids with a holistic approach. Their habits, fears, preferences, joyful moments, and moments when they react out of frustration and irritation. Doing so is going to help them decide how they can work on their kid’s weaknesses and celebrate their strengths.

Both introversion and extroversion are the types of qualities that kids adopt according to their choice of habits and the influence of the external environment. But parents nowadays want their kids to be outgoing and gel up with their peers and social circle to become all-rounder personalities. One thing that they should keep in mind is that the level of introversion and extroversion in youngsters does not affect their ability to lead, communicate or be creative.

What can help parents is to try and work with kids to nourish their personalities. Teaching them important life lessons while respecting their individuality is a win-win situation for both parents and children.

Parents can adopt the following three-step approach for the same.

• Talking with love and respect – Accepting the personality preference of your kid is a very important aspect of a good parenting style. Embracing their life choices is going to give them the freedom of living life their way, this way they will even listen to you with more patience and respect. Encouraging them to make life choices and helping them to figure out healthy ways to express their thought process is the first step towards building confidence in your child. Social media is a good platform to help them express their thoughts without forcing them to become extroverted.

• Giving kids their time and space – It might be exciting for parents to see their kids become extroverts but it is often overwhelming for introverted kids to mold themselves into another personality type. Parents can plan trips and activities for their introverted kids that they enjoy doing. For example, if your kid has a fear of heights, instead of forcing them to win over it, work with them and encourage their efforts. It will give them the confidence to express their emotions with clarity. Even while dealing with family and friends, parents should give kids a chance to talk according to their comfort.

• Teaching them to take one step at a time- Spending time alone can sometimes bring in overwhelming and even depressing reactions. This can lead to low self-esteem, in such times taking charge and having conversations,to make them comfortable is going to strengthen their bond with you. Even enrolling them in social clubs and encouraging them to learn how to start simple conversations is a great start for them to learn the art of communication.

Like each flower has its beauty, every kid is beautiful and unique in his or her way. Understanding your kid and commenting on their habits while respecting their individuality is the best way to nurture their god-gifted talents. Do not force them to be your way but give them the liberty to find their way is an invaluable gift that you can give to your child.

It is a dream of every parent that their child becomes self-disciplined and values their upbringing with respect. But when it comes to the bigger picture, the foundation that parents build from early childhood makes all the difference.

If they do not pay attention to how they are molding the structure of life for their kids, later on, it becomes difficult to change their habits. So it is very important to teach them the value of inculcating certain qualities in life. Like healthy eating habits, punctuality, and setting a consistent daily routine.

Kids can easily adopt these qualities in their lives if they follow a proper morning routine every day with a positive attitude. It is rightly said that “what you do today can improve all your tomorrow”.

You can start by teaching your kids to follow a five-step routine right from the time when they wake up until they leave for school. It is as follows.

1. Reconnecting with the family – First things first it is very important to express gratitude for a new day. For that, you can teach them to wish good morning to the family members with a bright smile on their faces. Also to pray by looking in their hands and asking for blessings from God and from elders to start the day on a fresh note.
2. The morning ritual after waking up – Once they are up, you can tell them to organize their bed and to take blessings from mother earth to stay grounded in life. After that, they can have a glass of lukewarm water and can apply saliva to their eyes. It is said to have done miracles when it comes to health benefits.
3. Stretch-Stretch and Stretch- A Great way to start the day is always by doing some kind of stretching exercise. For the same, you can set a quick 10 minutes stretching routine for them. Doing asanas like tadasana, and walking on their heels for a few minutes is going to energize them for the whole day.
4. The bath time routine – Kids can start by using homemade toothbrushes. After that, you can teach them kriyas like (Gandusha kriya) to fill water in the mouth while cleaning the eyes and taking bath. It is very important to moisturize the body, and natural products like coconut oil are great for the skin. You can even tell them to apply coconut oil in naval, all this is said to have great health benefits for kids.
5. Breakfast – It is said to be the most important. Being thankful for the food on the plate and eating with gratitude provide nourishing effects to the body.

When they leave for school, you can give them food to feed stray animals and even some flour and sugar in a small container to feed ants. This makes them compassionate human beings.

We all know that small habits make a big difference in the long run. When you follow the same routine for yourself, your kids will learn the same thing. After all, you can only teach what you preach.

There are times when they don’t follow what you say but getting frustrated should never be the way for parents. It creates a strained relationship with your kids. Rather you can build a healthy environment for them by practicing these rituals together. It also acts as a solid foundation for a parent-child bond. When kids learn self-respect and discipline it increases their self-esteem and hence they start valuing themselves. They become aware of their self-worth. And this is a foundation step towards building a self-disciplined life for your kids.

In the modern and ever-changing world, parents can never have it all. It has now become even more important for parents to impart the skills that will help them with being responsible citizens of this connected world. And as is always said, the real teaching begins at home.

With the ongoing trends in parenting, there is a pool of information available on every aspect of parenting. Be it teaching, extra-curricular activities, or skill development, parents believe that they should provide the best of everything available to their kids. But these resources can turn out to be overwhelming at times. It has been proven again and again that no matter the number of expensive and interactive toys and games owned by the child, real-life lessons are always learned by throwing in some elbow grease. Thus, here is a list of some of the household chores for the kids to learn and a number of skills that are sure to help them sail through life.

• Lessons in Responsibility:– It is rightly said that cleanliness is next to godliness. And what better way to teach responsibility to a child other than cleaning up after playtime? Small tasks like cleaning up fruits and veggies or separating the colors from whites are likely to give the child a feeling sense of participation and responsibility.

• Lessons in Organisation:- It might sound like a difficult task but teaching your kids organizational skills from a very early stage in life is going to help them in the long run. Teaching them simple tasks such as sorting groceries, utensils and clothes can also help them sharpen their mental potential.

• Lessons in Planning:- The ability to plan things out is an underrated skill that no one seems to talk about. This is amongst the most important life skills that children can learn starting right at home. Creating meal plans alongside parents, and helping in planning for feasts, and occasional celebrations on can help them learn the importance of planning in life. Tasks like this can help them feel competent and responsible as they can actually be the little hero that the family “needs”.

• Lessons in Soft skills:– The importance of empathy and the power of compassion are other sets of skills that are very underrated and not generally paid attention to. After all, a human must possess humane qualities. But it is generally assumed that these are innate “skills” that can’t be learned which is a myth. Just like any other skills, these can be learned. Involving them in the daily errands at home is sure to help them understand what family is all about and turn them into caring and involved family members.

As Parenting expert Jim Fay, co-founder of the Love and Logic website, says we all need to feel needed and to know that we’re making a contribution — even kids. “But they can’t feel that way if they don’t have chores and make contributions to the family,” Fay says.

Children are what make family beautiful and it is the responsibility of the parents to help them get a sense of belonging involving them in chores is a great way way to raise responsible, compassionate, and confident adults which are sure to achieve new heights in their lives.

Sometimes meeting someone just clicks – you start being comfortable with them. They suddenly become one who knows your whole life as well as with whom you never have to pretend to be someone or something. You start sharing thoughts, confusions, joys, sorrows, laughter, cries, and moreover LIFE. That person undoubtedly is “A FRIEND”.
Friends support socially and emotionally, they help in removing our loneliness, also help us to feel happier and satisfy with life. But sometimes this person can be a one who is not correct for us. Sometimes some friendships might not have positive effects, friends may drain you mentally and can bring you down instead of bringing up. Such friends are TOXIC FRIENDS.
Wondering how to recognize a toxic friendship? Not sure about the ways of dealing with the situation or its effects? Lets lighten some of them.
Signs of toxic friendship that can be noticed in your child
As a parent when you will talk to your child you will feel some changes in him. A toxic friendship ultimately results in low self-esteem, high self-doubt and other high-risk behaviour. You will notice that your child will start isolating himself from social circles and may even like to live alone in their room when at home. This is how your child who don’t have healthy friendships could eventually suffer from cycle of depression and anxiety. Spending time with those who doesn’t bother about your child, who ultimately are affecting mental, emotional or physical health of your child is complete waste and unhealthy.
Sometimes your child will blame himself for his friend’s behavior, his self-esteem and self-confidence will hit, his grades will starts falling, on arrival of any particular friend his temperament will change suddenly, he will start lying or sometimes cry after fighting with that friend and then eventually will patche up.
Is this sounding familiar to you? If yes, surely then it is a clear indicator that your child is in a toxic friendship and immediate re-evaluation is needed. So here are some points that can help you save your child from such friendship.

Measures to be taken to deal with the toxic friendship
Now as you have monitored your child and understood about his friendship. Being a parent of a teenager you must understand the criticality of the situation. You can very well understand that he will try new things and you can’t control it as children of this age believe that they are old enough to deal with every situation in their life. Now as you have understood everything, before taking any action, monitor the deepness of the relation of your child and his friend from distance. If its deep, in such case you have to indirectly talk to your child, in a storytelling way or as sharing an incident of your life. “There were times when I was your age when I felt like this too”. Empathizing the child’s feelings this way allows them to feel understood and connected to you. You have to be very soft and polite in your approach and focus on your child instead of his friend, as talking about his friend may backfire you. This will help in an open communication instead of screaming.
Now you have to be most effective in your techniques of handling the situation. Here are some ways that may work according to the situation and behavior of your child.
Listen to them with open heart and without screaming understand them and make them understand what you want. Parent as a friend is a best relation for child. Try to be your child’s BFF.
Maintain trust of your child by assure him that you will not talk regarding this to his friends, relatives or anyone in the school.
Give an open-end to your child to speak. When the child opens up, again empathize with the feelings. “You have the right to be hurt. What happened with you is not worth. If I would have been at your place I would hurt too”. This way will catch his trust and child will open every aspect in front of you.
Be polite and patient with the child. As since some days, months or may be some years the child is seeing the toxicity, you have to be in contrast, very polite and patient while dealing with him and his situation.
Try to illuminate the toxic friend’s impact by making your child understand that he should not do such things with others as well in return.
Help your child to explore more friends with confidence in himself from other circles or approach former friendship that faded due to unhealthy boundaries.

You being a parent has to confront the situation without imposing restrictions, criticism, making straightforward comments about conduct. Be prudent and use various smart tacts(as you are smart enough parent, for sure. Talk to your child about goodness of virtues and values, what is right and what is wrong. Rightness has to be taught to children to make them decide about themselves. Explain that nobody can make them do what they don’t want to. This is the moment to shine as a parent, as you are sowing the seeds of what is right and saying ‘NO’ for wrong.
Moreover, mistakes are made to learn. Be firm and shower your love with the sense of being strict when required. Excessive pampering will ruin your job of shaping them. Physical and psychological punishments like shaming them in front of all will scare them and you will no longer possess them.
At the end I would quote
“A true friend would always love you—the imperfect you, the confused you, the wrong you—and accept who you are, but also help you become who you should be.”

Imagine a crying child because he is not able to watch his favorite cartoon on a phone. Now imagine him rolling on the floor in a store because you didn’t get him what he wanted. A kid shows aggressive behavior like banging his head against the wall because he could not get what he wanted. This is a very common sight for parents nowadays.

We are all born with certain temperaments and children having those tantrums is very common. It’s OK when they are kids but a parent’s approach towards the child has a significant impact on the kind of adult they become. It is important to understand that stubbornness may be a part of the personality of some kids. But it might as well be a way for them to express their will in a way they feel is right.

And it makes it even more important to know the difference between a stubborn child and a child who is assertive about his wants. So it becomes the duty of the parents to understand and teach their children about better ways to handle their stress. It helps them to understand that they are in a safe space and can express themselves without the need to be stubborn about it.

Stubborn characteristics can come out in a child at any stage of life, whether it be infancy, adolescence, or teenage. With time it becomes necessary for parents to teach their kids the importance of balanced behavior and self-expression.

Here are some tips to teach your kid about compassion and humility. which can help them become a better person and develop healthy habits which can help them throughout their life.

• Try to Listen: Listening to the child’s thoughts and demands is the very first step because communication is a two-way street and kids tend to learn what they see around them. Listening to the kids is a great way to avoid arguments and turn them into meaningful conversations. If the child feels that the parents are ready to listen to what they have to say it makes it easier for them to listen to the parents as well. The fussy eater might just have a tummy ache and not be able to clearly express what he is feeling.

• Planned visits to orphanages and schools for specially-abled: Planned visits to orphanages and special-ed schools are a great way to help the child develop a sense of gratitude and privilege towards their family. It can also act as a great stepping stone in developing a seasoned maturity in the child’s mind that can help him grow into a responsible person.

• Getting a pet: If possible, having a pet at home is a great way to nurture satisfaction and the role of caretaker in the child. Even if you can’t get a pet, alternative methods like having a daily schedule for feeding ants, street dogs, and birds outside the home can be used to bring the same effect.

Preaching or telling the kids what to do may seem like the right thing but what children need is a healing and compassionate touch because nurturing is as much a spiritual ordeal as it is physical. Tell the child stories of people around him, which he can look up to instead of fairy tale heroes because while fairy tales may inspire them to develop morals, inspirational figures from real life may change his heart to do the same things that they are doing or perhaps even greater things in life.

School Assemblies are a boon to one’s life. Not only for a student’s life but it works for you throughout your being. Children being children never realizes the merits of school assembly unless being told in a correct way. Just Like a breakfast, they are key start to a new child’s day that benefices them growing in a self-disciplined responsible adult with a sense of creating a well-developed community.

It’s about a day when I started the school in 1989 and for the very first day I went to the assembly ground. There were around 175 students from various schools. I after seeing them praying during assembly had a thought of weaving one that is perfect in all the senses. I begin the job of assembly designing and believe me, it was outside the normal range of duties for me. Nevertheless, within some days I got success in designing a perfect one. During this designing I realized one very important aspect of “belongingness”. Belongingness to God and most importantly to our soul. Our body is nothing but a dress or cover that our soul is wearing. So we all are souls and God is our Supreme Soul, our father. At the very start of day when leaving behind the whole negativity, we collectively bow to that supreme power and immerse in him, it generates a divine positive energy. The celestial aura created by all puts everyone in an incomparable feeling of divinity.

In addition to this, as days passed I experienced with my students and the staff members that the development of a child is like a flower of 8 petals that includes Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, Social, Habit, Mental, Language and One Skill. When during assembly a child devotes himself to the Supreme God, he opens up completely to accept the knowledge in all directions. When he prays and meditates his connection with the one supreme soul develops him in the direction of Spirituality, Mentally, and Emotionally. When the child assembles with all the members of his school family and celebrates all the social or religious functions or events including birthdays of students they develop themselves Socially.

When they see the way the teacher and the administration bless the child in a completely unique way and when they read spiritual news and thoughts they learn to communicate, they develop their language and IQ skills as well. When the students come to pray, meditate, exercise and yoga they strengthens themselves Physically. This overall development of a child is possible with a perfect assembly early in the morning that generates a habit of devotion to God. This brings the required protocol in life.

Another aspect that works and is very important part of our life that can be developed during assembly is the “Posture”. A posture is a very important part of our well being. The way we sit, walk, stand all matters a lot in our life. So while assembly the posture that works perfect is mudra. Yog mudra is one of the superior mudras that reflect very positive vibrations along with the connectivity with our self. To understand, sitting like a hermit results in the powerful and enlightened aura around us. Just like if you mimic like a rat you feel like a rat or if like a lion you start roaring like a lion. So I worked on the mudra while assembly which resulted in a great change.

Above all when we sit all together, the Human energy works collectively. Energy of human resource is a power light house that emits the light of positivity which works together so great during assembly that it feels like many halogens are lighting up all together.

When I delivered these information to all of my students they were immediately connected to me and understood the concept behind morning assembly. This made easy for me to correct many aspects which works great when done properly and resulted in overall majorly internal development of students.

Whether it’s children, adults, or the elderly stress is a very familiar feeling that everyone experiences differently. Especially when it comes to mothers, working professionals, or housewives it affects the family as a whole.

Upon asking the parents, especially mothers, we got to know common but rather surprising ways to counter stress in daily life, like dancing, cooking, gardening, or spending quality time talking to the kids about their day.

Apart from these, having consistency in daily life can help reduce stress. Taking out a little time for yourself every day can encourage your brain to get into a Zen-like balance thus helping to reduce the impact of stress in day-to-day life.

Here are some easy-to-follow techniques that you can easily adopt into your busy life schedule and fight stress like a pro.

• Physical Exercise – It is scientifically proven that physical exercises are very effective in increasing blood circulation thus resulting in an increase in the production of Endorphins or the “feel-good” hormones in your body. As a beginner getting into Zumba, Yoga, Running, or Aerobics for just 30 minutes a day is a very great way to start.

• Breathing Exercise – The core of our existence is breathing; if we pay attention to it even for 5 minutes and practice some conscious breathing exercises, it can do wonders for our health. Check out the benefits of breathing exercises here https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/advantages-of-deep-breathing-exercises/articleshow/19213960.cms

• Sound Exercise – Similar to breathing exercise it also has a great calming effect on our minds. Apart from the benefits of breathing exercises, sound therapy can help control overthinking and relax our minds and body. Try setting the alarm for 5 minutes and chanting “OM” or lighting a torch or a candle in a dark room and concentrating on the light to increase the impact of sound meditation.

• Recap Meditation – Going through all the activities of the day with a conscious mind is what recap meditation is all about. This technique includes deep breaths, positive affirmations, and going through the entire day trying to remember small details like the color of the bed sheet or the feeling when leaving home. Consciously remembering the positive as well as negative aspects of the day helps in calming the mind and letting go of stress effectively.

Note- If you are working, do not forget to practice Recap Mediation before going home.

• Gratitude – Keeping a pet pebble to talk things out with and reminding you of all the good things that happened in the day and being thankful for them is a great way to practice gratitude. Remind yourself “Gratitude is the best attitude”. Alternatively, writing things you are grateful for on a piece of paper to remind yourself of all blessings in your life is a great way to be thankful.

Whether we want it or not stress has become an inevitable part of our life. But if we want, we can manage stress in a very effective way by using the above techniques to improve the quality of our relationships and our lives.

Bhujangasana:
Bhujangasana or Cobra Pose is a reclining back-bending asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise. The stretch might promote a

• sturdy back
• abs
• strength

• Dhanurasana

Lie flat on your tummy with your arms alongside your body, your palms up. Bend your knees, flex your feet, take a deep inhale, lift your chest, and look forward. Then reach your arms back towards your toes and grab your ankles.   Ensure that your knees remain hip width apart while you are in the pose. 

Benefits:      

• Stretches the chest, shoulders, arms, abdomen, and thighs.
• Strengthens the back and leg muscles.
• Improves posture.
• Aids digestion.
• Helps to invigorate the body.

• Halasana

Lie down on the floor while hugging your knees into your chest. Bring your arms along your sides, with your palms pressing down into the floor. Exhale and reach your legs over your head, until your toes are close to the ground behind your head. You should look as though you are in a seated Forward Bend — only upside down.

BENEFITS Plow Pose is a fantastic stretch for the entire backside, including the hamstrings. Reminder: Never turn your head to the side in this pose — always look straight up.

• Ashvasanchalanasana

In yoga practice, the equestrian pose, or ashwa sanchalanasana, is a balancing posture that teaches the practitioner how to align opposing forces to create stability. The name comes from Sanskrit, and translates literally as horse (ashva) stepping movement (sanchalana) seat (asana). Western practitioners may also refer to it as the low lunge or horse-riding pose.

• Shirshasana

Shirshasana, also known as headstand, is the yoga pose where you stand inverted on the top of your head. This asana has the capacity to improve your physical and mental health and well-being immensely. Due to its many benefits, it is one of the main poses in Hatha Yoga and is also referred to as “The King of Asanas.” Its physiological impacts can be felt in the whole body.