Children Can Learn Morals And Values From Books

There is yet no better medium than books to teach good morals and inculcate the right values in children. Little children love fairy tales and in their dreams they meet the characters they adore. They develop a strong bond with them and see them as role models. Their imagination is stirred when parents read fables and fairy tales at bedtime and they learn to emulate the ideal character portrayed by their favorite heroes' in day-to-day life.

Home and school libraries stock storybooks for children that have stories of adventurers, pirates, explorers and various other interesting topics and subjects. Boys find these stories very fascinating. Girls are more interested in stories that have dolls, ponies, flowers, or are about training as teachers/nurses, cooking food and bringing up a family etc. Each group finds interest in stories that involve characters of the same gender. Stories written for kids usually had either male or female characters specific to each story.

However, stories now combine leading characters of both sexes. A good example of this can be seen in the Harry Potter series that have the stories knitted around the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione. This recent trend in story writing is leading to a gradual change in the preference of both boys and girls who can now be observed being commonly interested in stories revolving around certain theme centric characters involving both genders.

Stories in the past depicted a safe and pleasant world in which little children could venture out in safety. Modern day stories put even girl characters like Hermione in dangerous situations. However, the charm of stories for little children are still retained making them thoroughly enjoyable and captivating, taking children on a journey into the realm of fairies, gnomes, witches, giants, speaking animals and cities having houses made of sweets, chocolates and cakes.

Illustrated books have their own charm and are loved by children. They help children to create a visual image of their favorite character(s) in their minds. The pictures of different animals and places like gardens and forests etc. keep them happy and occupied and provide them with knowledge about many things and places, which they may not have seen. For their young minds, books are like wells from which they constantly draw the water of knowledge.

Books are good friends to children and provide them with company at any time of the day or night. In comparison to movies, books provide a more powerful medium to teach strong values like comradeship, courage and loyalty to children. As a child gets engrossed in reading, he finds himself transported to the imaginary locale of the story with the characters moving around him. By bonding to the characters, children learn to respond to real life situations when they undergo similar experiences. They learn to express their desires, fears and aspirations. Good books cater to healthy mental and psychological development of children.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/987978

Boost Your Child's Brain Power

Brain is an amazing control center

The human brain has about 100 billion brain cells (neurons). Brain is a small yet amazing control center of thought processes, emotions, memory, learning and other bodily functions. In the early part of life, where intensive learning takes place, your child's brain undergoes massive fine-turning processes.However we often neglect the fact that the brain needs to be 'fed' with nutrients in order for it to function well.

Optimum Nutrients

The brain is made up of more than 60% of fats. The brain cell structure needs plenty of protein. Brain chemicals that regulate learning, perception, moods and behaviour are made from amino acids, vitamins and minerals such as B6 and iron. Hence, your child's diet plays a critical role in how well his brain functions.

Nuts, Seeds & Avocados

Fats are raw material for brain. Your child's brain needs good fats, not those from french fries, fried chiken wings, caked, donuts, chocolates, and potato chips. DHA, an omega 3 fatty acid, has the largest effect on brain fat composition. DHA is often found in fish oil. Other beneficial fat sources are nuts. (e.g. almond, macadamia), seeds (e.g.sesame, sunflower seeds) and avocados.

Fish, Beans, Nuts, Seeds and Lean Meat

Protein is building block for brain chemicals. Amino acids, which proteins are made of, are used to produce brain chemicals such as epinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. These brain chemicals affect your child's concentration and moods. Protein can be obtained from fish, lean meat, poultry, beans, nuts and seeds.

Grains

Carbohydrates are a source of energy for the brain. Steer clear of highly refined carbohydrates which will often disturb your child's blood sugar and causes drowsiness. Notice how your child's concentration declines after eating white flour products such as white bread, cakes, biscuits, donuts, or other high-sugar foods?

Even white rice, pasta or noodles can affect concentration levels. Good carbohydrates sources are wholegrain such as brown rice, buckwheat, oar, millet, and other such as pumpkin and sweet potatoes.

Fruits & Vegetables

Nutrients like vitamins and minerals transform the building blocks into useful material for the brain. Some of the important brain vitamins are vitamin C, vitamin B6, B12 and folate.

Deficiencies has been link to slower brain functions. Minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron are also important. Deficiencies may lead to reduced concentration and poor memory. These vitamins and minerals are found in fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds and wholegrain. Hence, your child's diet should include a wide array of fresh and wholesome natural foods.

Practical Tips

Eat in the morning. Breakfast provides your child with energy and nutrients for the morning, when learning in school takes place.

Make sure your child drinks enough water. A dehydrated mind is foggy mind.

Limit sweet foods- this will go a long way for good health.

Discuss and share with your child information about healthy food choices and nutrition. Convince rather than compel him to eat healthy foods.

Set good example by eating healthily.

Copyright (c) 2010 Kids IQ

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3698388

The Secret to Unleashing Your Child's Potential - Harnessing the Powers of the Right Brain

This is a popular song that mommies sing to their little girls. The song goes:

When I was just a little girl, 

I asked my mother, what will I be? 

Will I be pretty, will I be rich? 

Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera. 

Whatever will be, will be. 

The future's not ours to see. 

Que Sera, Sera. 

What will be, will be.

While parents are not able to predict the future of our children, parents certainly play a pivotal role in harnessing our children's potential from an early age. You might have heard advice from your friends on starting children early, typically at preschool-age of 3 to 6 years. The question often centres on which pre-school to choose - those that focus on learning through play; those that run academic boot camps; those that let children choose their own curriculum, to even those that focus on building self-esteem.

The Critical First 3 Years 

However, if you wait till pre-school age, that is probably too late! Research has long shown that early life experiences have a significant effect on whole brain development. In particular, developmental neurobiology has found that the critical period for learning is in the first 3 years of life. This is the time when the brain shows the most neural plasticity. What Professor Makoto Shichida, a leading expert in early learning, espoused appeals to the cognitivist in us - the purpose of education is not to cram students with knowledge, but to empower a child to tap into the innate mental powers (eg photographic memory, perfect pitch, rapid-calculation ability, speed processing, etc) that are already present in his brain, specifically his right 'genius' brain.

Why are the first 3 years so critical? The secret is in the way the brain develops. When your child is a baby or toddler, he will use the right side of his brain far more than the left. However, between 3 to 6 years, there is a gradual transition from right-brain dominance to left-brain dominance. By the time he is 6 years old, the transition to left-brain dominance is complete. This leaves us with the critical window of birth to 3 years - only 3 precious years to unleash the 'genius brain.' The rationale is that by stimulating the right brain before it gets overwhelmed by the left, the whole brain can be harnessed to its fullest potential.

Left Hemisphere 

The left brain is known for its mathematical and language abilities. Analytical thought, logical thinking, sequencing, categorising, planning, speech and spelling are linked to left-brain functioning. In our schools today, more emphasis is given to left-brain activities like mathematics and spelling, as compared to right-brain activities like creativity and music. This explains why school-going children tend to have more highly developed left brains than right brains.

Right Hemisphere 

The right hemisphere is responsible for emotions, creativity, music and rhythm. Experts have also accrued the 'softer' aspects of personality and behaviour to the right brain. The right hemisphere, often known as the "image" brain, works through visual stimulation. It can enable a child to learn subconsciously and process large amounts of information at high speed.

When I was shopping for a smart phone recently, the salesperson recommended those with dual-core and even quad-core functions, explaining, "The processor is the brain of the smartphone." Using this analogy, when you harness the powers of the right brain, you are not merely loading new data, but actually increasing processor speed from single core to dual-core or even quad-core! The right brain soaks up information like a sponge and is capable of processing data all at once. So much of formal education nowadays focuses on inputting information. All the more we need to grow our children's brain processors and their inherent capacities, in order to match the exponential demands of the 21st century.

Stimulating The Right Brain 

Some of you may be aware of the many merits of the right brain; but what most people do not know is how the right brain gets stimulated. It is best activated by visual images, high speeds and a stress-free mood. What does this mean for educators and parents? The answer is simple - we adapt our teaching processes to help our children get in touch with their 'genius brain'! It means that in the early years, we should be harnessing right-brain strategies to teach, even on subjects that are typically accessed by the left brain such as languages and mathematics.

A Right-brain Strategy: The Flashcard Method 

There are many activities that can help to develop children's right brains. One of the more common methods is using flashcards. The method of teaching babies with flash cards was pioneered by Glenn Doman, a child brain development specialist and founder of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential. It involves either physical or digital flash cards which you show rapidly to your child. Flashing cards (at a speed of less than one second per card) is an effective method of teaching babies for the simple fact that information presented at high speed is more easily apprehended by the right brain. Learning in this way occurs unconsciously and effortlessly.

Teach Reading With Flashcards 

If you are using flashcards to teach reading, start with words that are familiar and often used around the house; and progress from single words to couplets, phrases, sentences and finally books! When making your own cards, ensure that the words are big and clear. In order for a baby to understand language through his ears, spoken words have to be loud, clear and repeated. By the same token, in order for a baby to read a language, written words must be large, clear and repeated -- as explained by Glenn Doman. An interesting variation to Glenn Doman's method is to include pictures to reinforce the meaning of words, particularly words that are new to your child.

Teach Mathematics With Flashcards 

Flashcards with dots on them to represent numerical quantities can be used to teach mathematics. Utilising their right-brain function, very young children have the innate ability to "subitize' quantities, i.e. instantly perceive the number of items in a set, without counting or guessing. As a parent, you could start by flashing dot cards to your child regularly, before progressing to numerical recognition, equations and problem-solving.

Recipe For Success: Love & Consistency 

Of course, be it words, pictures or dots, a lively tone and an enthusiastic disposition when reading the cards will go a long way to sustain your baby's interest. It is also important to flash the cards regularly, at least once a day, as children learn best through consistency and repetition. Finally, it cannot be over-emphasised that right-brain education is only effective if your child has a close, loving relationship with you and learns in a relaxed state. Without positive emotions like feeling happy, loved and secure, learning is stifled in the right brain. Your baby should never feel coerced to learn. This will drive both you and baby into a state of stress, which is counter-productive for successful learning.

At the end of the day, you do not have a crystal ball to predict the future, or dictate what your child makes out of his life, but you are certainly putting him head and shoulders above others by endowing him with the unique gift of early learning! So when the day comes that your precious darling asks of you, "What will I be? Will I be handsome, will I be rich?", you can confidently answer "Que Sera, Sera. Whatever will be, will be."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8099319