14 POSITIVE PARENTING STRATEGIES TO RAISE A HAPPY CHILD

Parenting is one of the most fulfilling jobs imaginable. Yet, it can also be one of the most difficult - mainly because you are tasked with raising a tiny person who is helpless, dependent on your guidance, and will be fully formed by the time they can decide on their own. But there is hope! Significantly improved parenting styles have been created in recent years to make this process easier for both parents and children.

Positive parenting is a unique style of parenting that provides a relaxing, nurturing environment where children can feel secure and develop as individuals. Children need both structure and freedom in their lives but can be exposed to unconditional love (i.e., not being disciplined by varying degrees of anxiety, anger, or frustration) - which is the heart of positive parenting.

Children may not have words to express their feelings. They are more likely to act out their anxiety and stress through their behavior. As parents, you must teach your children discipline in a positive manner to strengthen your bond with your kids. So here are the best positive parenting strategies you can use.

Positive Parenting Strategies to Raise a Happy Child

1. The Early Years Matter

The early years are crucial for children, especially in the first five years of their lives. During this time, children can store and learn the basic information that enables them to carry out certain tasks. During this period, parents must ensure that they instill confidence and trust in their child, which will facilitate child cooperation, healthy interaction, and social skills.

2. Follow a Routine

Babies and small children love routine because it makes everyday activities easier. Schedule a time each day where your child will have fun with a routine like feeding and rocking the baby to sleep, reading bedtime books together, or playing a game. These simple activities will teach your child confidence and happiness, which will help your child thrive mentally, socially, and physically. In addition, regular meals encourage the healthy growth of children by keeping them full of energy throughout the day.

3. Learn the Basics

It is essential to understand that kids grow every minute of the day and that particular tasks like crawling, sitting, and standing are age-specific. Provide your kid time and space to be ready to cross a certain milestone. There's no need to rush! Each small child is unique and grows at different paces. What's ideal is not to compare your small child with other kids, and that can be one of the best parenting strategies parents can learn.

4. Be Good Role Models

Children love to imitate their parents, so provide a role model by demonstrating good behavior and being a dependable leader for your child to follow. Practice what you preach by being generous around the house, for instance, offering to pick up toys as well as helping your kids with their homework. Or, If you want your kid to wash their hands after playing outside, you should wash your hands too after getting back from your work.

5. Concentrate on Daily Chores

It is important to include your child in the day-to-day activities you do at home. Getting your kid involved can help them get used to daily routines that involve chores. Let them play with your keys, let them clean up their toys, and sit on the toilet seat! It will help them understand how to control themselves and develop confidence in doing household chores for later life.

6. Bond Over Fitness

Exercise as a family can be an enjoyable experience for you and your small children. Take up activities that you all like, for instance, swimming, playing basketball, or attending dance classes. Spending at least an hour every day on exercise and physical activity can make a world of difference to children's overall development and growth. 

7. Family Meal Time

Eating a meal together can help to strengthen the bonds between parents and children. All the important features of positive parenting strategies can be encapsulated into that family meal, building a positive impression on your kid's future. It is an ideal time to engage in conversations and discuss each member's day and how it went. Mealtimes are excellent for meaningful conversations and laughter. Family mealtime is also an excellent opportunity to foster early healthy eating habits in your child.

8. Invest in Yourself

You are the most important parent as you are bound to shape your child's future. So make sure that you get enough sleep and manage your stress levels. If you are out of balance, then it will be hard for you to create a healthy and secure environment for your small child to live in. It is important to regularly shower, keep yourself fit with exercise and eat well because these things will help your child regulate their moods. 

9. Work as a Partner with Your Child

Children are more likely to be more cooperative with their parents when they feel as though they are a part of the family. When spending time with your child, talk and interact naturally. Children can't tell you how they feel, but it is important to listen and respond according to how they are feeling. Often, children don't know what needs to be repaired or what is broken or damaged but only know that their world has shifted from under them, and the way forward is unclear.

10. Let Your Parenthood Define You

Another parenting strategy you can follow is to manage your own time accordingly. Let your coworkers or colleagues know that you have a young child waiting for you at home. So instead of expecting your coworkers to understand that you need to leave on time, set your boundaries yourself, right from the start. Be a wise worker and use your time wisely to finish your work and have adequate time for your family.

11. Grandparents Are Blessings

A grandparent can be a great support system for a young couple with small children. They can help babysit, allow you to go out for dinner or a date night, help you with laundry, housecleaning, and cooking meals when you are too tired. Above all, grandparents have years of experience, so they offer their wisdom and help guide parents through the maze of parenting strategies. The more interaction with the extended family, the better your kid's overall development. 

12. Kids Need Kids

Another parenting strategy is to allow your children to be around other children. You can arrange playdates with your kid's friends so that they can share experiences, get to know each other better, and learn to become socially conscious. They develop language skills and learn new activities from each other. They also learn how to be a friend, share things with friends and get along well with others.

13. Understand and Acknowledge the Disappointments of Your Kids

Good parenting strategies involve understanding and acknowledging the disappointments of your kids. Ask them what is bothering them and why they are sad because that will give you an insight into their world. It will help you to understand your kid's minds better, increase their confidence and make them feel more secure. It is important to listen to your kid's stories, show appreciation for their efforts, assure them that they did a good job, and be proud of it.

14. Self-Control for Screen Time

There is no denying that video games and television can play a major role in child development. But the parents must monitor how much time the kids spend on screen and their emotional reactions after playing such addictive games. The screen time should be minimal, as too much screen time during childhood can have a negative impact on children's well-being as adults. You should also communicate to your children what you think is alright for them to watch or play and which activities are okay to avoid altogether.

Parenting is indeed tough, but it is priceless when you see how your kid grows up to become a responsible and thoughtful human being. While raising your kids, you may consider following these strategies to make their childhood more enjoyable and help them become responsible adults.

Guest Author Bio

Andrea is currently the head of content management at SpringHive Web Design Company, a digital agency that provides creative web design, social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization services to small businesses and entrepreneurs. She is also a blog contributor at Baby Steps Preschool where she writes story time themes, parenting tips, and seasonal activities to entertain children.

15 WAYS TO FOSTER COMPASSION IN YOUR CHILD

According to Psychology Today, the ideal age for kids to learn about compassion 

is between five and seven years old. To ensure that your children can develop the necessary 

empathy, they must begin learning about kindness at a young age.

 

 

 

 

There are many ways you can teach your kids how to be compassionate, including guiding them  

with useful phrases like "I am sorry" and "I care." Children also need physical activities to develop 

their sense of empathy. 

 

These activities need to be interactive and have the child constantly contributing to 

the task.

 

 

Activities to Help Foster Compassion in Your Child

1. Art Projects

Many art activities can be created for kids during the learning process of empathy. 

One of these art projects is a finger painting picture called "The Circle of Compassion."

The circle generally has the child grouping together all the rainbow colors in one place--

that way, when you're coloring in, you're bringing the colors together. Bring a child into 

this project with you, help you color in the group of colors, and then tell them what the 

project is about.

This visual art project is a fun way to get children thinking about compassion. Showing 

this sort of imagery to children and explaining it is an excellent start toward developing 

understanding. The more they can connect with empathy, the more likely they will exhibit 

it in their daily actions.

 

 

2. Color By Numbers

Another productive way to teach children about compassion is to use a color-by-number 

book. It can be fun and encourage the child to think about what colors go well together. 

Some colors you may want the child to notice are blue, yellow, red, and orange. You can 

also find books showing how all the colors go together, which will help in encouraging 

your children to show compassion by using other colors.

3. Sculpting

Sculpting is another excellent art activity that can help teach kids about compassion. 

For example, you can use clay and let the child shape a picture of something that he or 

she knows or sees, like a bunch of people sitting together in peaceful harmony. It will 

give your child away to show compassion when he or she sees something similar.

4. Finger Painting

Another great way to encourage children to exhibit compassion is to get the whole family 

involved in finger painting together. It can be done with any homemade picture and is a 

great way to teach empathy to children.

 

 

5. Writing Letters

Another way to teach children about compassion is to have them write letters on how they 

feel for others. Explain that the letter should be from them but written for someone who 

needs someone to listen or help them out. It helps children see life from someone else's 

point of view, which allows them to understand what it means to be compassionate toward 

another person.

6. Singing

Singing is a great way to encourage your children to feel empathy for others. You can 

allow them to choose songs they want to sing and then help them understand what the 

song is about. If they're singing "I care," for example, discuss with them that they are 

showing compassion through the music. It will allow children to learn empathy in a fun 

and engaging way.

7. Games

Another effective way of teaching children about compassion is by playing games with 

them that teach them about it in an educational way. You can ask them to color a match 

or make up a new game that teaches compassion. To make sure that children learn the 

lesson about kindness, you'll need to explain it after playing the game.

 

 

8. Make A Movie or Book

To help your child learn what compassion is, you can have them read or watch a movie 

about it. It will allow children to connect with empathy in a fun way while also teaching 

them about how they can contribute to their community to help out those around them.

9. Writing Poetry

Another great way to teach children about compassion is through a poem. You can ask 

the child to write a short poem that leads him or her about compassion for others. They 

can also write a book of poetry that they enjoy while showing the child how it is similar 

to how they would feel if it were their brother or sister who was in trouble.

10. Talk To Children About Compassion

To help your children understand compassion, talk to them about it in everyday 

conversations. You can explain to them the concept of empathy and learn about it in a 

fun way. You can also teach them points of reference for compassion, such as their feelings 

for others and the times they have helped someone out. It helps children understand what 

compassion is and what they can do to be compassionate.

 

 

11. Tell Stories

Another effective way to teach empathy is by telling stories. You can use it to teach 

compassion and how people can help each other out. You can also encourage your 

children to write stories for you that they feel similar to charity. For example, children 

can write their version of "The Three Little Pigs" while showing them what the story 

is about. They can then explain to the child what they did to help the wolves in the story, 

which will make their reading lesson about compassion more enjoyable and valuable.

12. Talk About Needy People

Another powerful way to teach kids about compassion is to talk about different people 

who could use it. You can talk about children at school who may be feeling sad or lonely, 

or even talk about older people in the community who do not have many friends. When 

you speak to your child, ensure that you are always cheerful and kind in the conversation 

to show your child how they can treat others with compassion as well.

13. Have Children Write What They've Done For Others

Another effective way to teach children about compassion is to have them write down 

what they've done for others. For example, you can tell your child that they should write 

down what they did for a friend who felt sad or even asked them to mention what they 

did for a teacher when they felt angry. It will help children understand another person's 

point of view and how it could relate to their own, which will help them become more 

empathetic in the future as well.

14. Make Kindness Bracelets

Another great way to help teach children about compassion is by making them kindness 

bracelets. You can have your children make up a list of all the things they like to do for 

others and then tie them together with a bracelet. It will allow children to wear their kindness 

around their wrist in a fun way while also teaching them what being empathetic is all about. 

15. Make an Empathy Jar

Another powerful tool for teaching compassion to kids is by making an empathy jar. 

You can take a clear glass jar and write down a variety of different emotions on sticky 

notes. Then you place each letter on the inside of the jar representing how that person is 

feeling, which will help teach kids about different emotions. You can then explain to them 

why people feel those ways and teach them how they can be empathetic towards those 

feelings.

 

One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to help your child become 

more empathetic. It will allow your child to understand better what being empathetic is all about, 

which will enable them to be more kind and compassionate in the future. With that being said, 

the above methods are just some of the many ways that you can teach your children about 

compassion. 

 

 

 

 

 

 *Guest Blog

 

                                                       

 

 

GREAT TOOL/BOOKS TO TEACH KIDS: