Thought Of The
Day:
"Learning 'how'
is more important than learning 'what'."

Experts Urge Parents To Nurture, Discipline Kids

Effective parents know how to reach a balance between disciplining
their children while nurturing their development, pediatric behavior
specialists say.
Dr. Richard Solomon, chief of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at
the University of Michigan, says parents face three types of childhood
behaviors: good, bad (rule-breaking) and ugly (annoying but not
rule-bending). Parents should give much attention to good behaviors,
ignore the ugly ones and discipline those that break rules.
"The reason disciplining children is difficult is because they are so
wonderfully defiant, which is a part of human nature," Solomon said.
"And if you deal with it well, you'll channel that energy into a
wonderful human being who can cope with his or her own difficulties
and impulses to become a very compassionate and well-behaved adult."
Otherwise, other behavior problems, including aggression, can ensue.
Toddlers under age 2 typically require guidance rather than
discipline, Solomon advises. Temper tantrums are natural, and best
ignored -- unless they threaten the youngster's safety. "Over time,
the child will learn that there are certain things around the house he
can't do," Solomon said.
To effectively discipline a child, parents must set rules and have
reasons to back them up. Solomon recommends that parents sit down as a
family and write down a basic set of rules, the reasons for them and
the positive and negative consequences for following or not following
the rules.
Copyright 2003 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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Aerobic Fitness Means Fewer Sick Days
Physical activity actually may help boost kids' immunity to the
barrage of bacterial infections and viruses they are exposed to at
school.
Canadian scientists find children who spend more time playing sports
and who have better aerobic fitness tend to have fewer sick days than
children who have more than 25 percent body fat. The study --
conducted among 10- and 11-year old children at Brock University in
Ontario -- also finds more sedentary children and those with higher
body fat are more likely to contract upper respiratory infections.
The study authors suggest: "Don't go outside with your hair wet -- but
do go out!"
Copyright 2003 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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Art of Being Flexible
Carol Halsey
Business Organizing Solutions
There is the misconception among many that each day, every minute must
be scheduled for some task, meeting or appointment in order for it to
be a productive day. Nothing could be further from the truth.
This only leads to stress and frustration. How many times have you
planned a full day only to discover that not nearly half your tasks
were completed. I'd guess that your next reaction would be, "I didn't
get anything done today!"
You can usually count on the fact that on most days, some unexpected
crises or event will occur that will disrupt your well planned
schedule.
Or some tasks will take more time to complete than you anticipated.
Or an appointment or meeting runs longer than scheduled.
This is why it is important to leave some flex time, or unplanned time
in your schedule each day.
If an unexpected event presents itself, you have the ability to juggle
your planned tasks to take care of it.
If a day goes smoothly without the intrusion of the unexpected, there
is time to accomplish more than you had planned. There are usually
more tasks on a master list that can be tackled.
By allowing this free time in your schedule, you will feel good at the
end of the day because you will have accomplished your planned goals.
And possibly something unexpected as well. And of course, you will be
less stressed.
How much flex time to allow each day will be different for everyone,
depending upon the scope of your responsibilities and position. You
may want to start with a half hour in the morning and another half
hour in the afternoon. See how it works, and go from there.