The ABCs of Raising a Thinking Child: U through Z
January 11, 2013 in ABCs of Raising A Thinking Child, All Posts, Play, Preschool
Well, here we are on the final day of the ABC’s of How to Raise a Thinking Child series with tips from U through Z today.
Thank you thank you for reading along and hanging in every day with a post on the same topic. We’ll be back to regular posting after today!
In case you missed it, here are all the ABC Guides besides ours that we’ve shared this week: Monday we shared 20+ ABC Guides to Mom Tips & Tricks, Tuesday we linked to 10+ A through Z guides in the ABC’s of Learning Through Play category, Wednesday we highlighted 15+ ABC Guides to Learning through Play, Thursday we featured 10 A-Z Guides on Literacy, and today you can find 10 Arts N’ Crafts A through Z guides at the end of this post.
Here are some things - starting from U through Z - that I try to be conscious of in order to Raise A Thinking Child.
Phew! Can’t believe we got through the whole alphabet!
The ABCs of Raising A Thinking Child
U is for Understanding.
If you’ve had or worked with more than one child it’s really easy to see that every child is different. Every. Single. One. Take the time to get to know your child’s learning style and personality quirks to better communicate an idea to her. Even if your child has a completely different way of going about things or comes at things from a different angle than you do, understanding that fact will make it easier for you to get through to her.
V is for Variation.
Although children thrive on routines, sometimes it’s useful to shake things up a bit so your child gets out of her comfort zone and understands that she has to be flexible under changed circumstances. If you change up your daily routine - just by a little - it keeps your child from going through life on auto-pilot. Do things as simple as drive a different route on the way home from school, switch up the order of your daily routine, or start a toy/activity rotation schedule.
W is for Wean.
As in weaning your child from depending solely on you to make decisions or from blindly following her peers. Even though we want our children to do as we say, it’s more important that they think how we think. If your child asks permission to do something, for example, ask her what she thinks about the activity or choice first. Then talk through why it might or not might not be a good idea and let our child come to the “final” decision. Even though you will be the ultimate decision maker, your child will have had a hand in the process and over time will learn how to engage in the decision making process on her own (based on the values you have taught her).
X is for Xenophobia.
Meaning: DISCOURAGE xenophobia, or the fear or foreign or strange people or things. (It was hard to find a positive “X” word for this exercise!). You don’t need to love all things, ideas, or people - and neither does your child - but modeling that you are open to learning about something new is helpful in raising a child who can think creatively and inclusively. As I’ve said before in this series, the more exposure your child has to other cultures, philosophies, activities, and so on, the greater her bank of thought to draw on in making everyday decisions or developing her own philosophies on a given subject.
Y is for “Yes Day”.
If you’ve fallen into the rut of saying “no” to many of your child’s requests, let your child have a “Yes Day,” when she gets to make all the decisions. She’ll feel empowered to make choices and have control over her decisions. Plus, she’ll learn that every decision she makes has a consequence (like experiencing firsthand that it’s not always a great idea to insist on jumping straight into an unheated pool in the middle of winter even though her mother has advised it probably isn’t the best idea). Everyone needs a Yes Day, including you!
This post is part of a 5-day series from the Kid Blogger Network, a group of fabulous parents who blog about children’s activities, learning, and play ideas.
Every day this week, I’ve shared the ABC’s of a different group of topics at the end of my ABC post.
For the ABC’s of Arts N’ Crafts, please check out the ABC posts from these uber-awesome moms in the Arts N’ Crafts category:
- Art History for Kids from B-Inspired Mama
- Cardboard Box Creations from Here Come The Girls
- Children’s Music With Art from Rainbows within Reach
- Crafts and Art from Red Ted Art
- Crafting on a budget from Housing a Forest
- Creativity from Little Artists
- Paper Plates from Domestic Goddessque
- Toddler Crafts from Rainy Day Mum
- Upcycled and Recycled Crafts from Craft to Art
- Valentine Crafts and Recipes from Local Fun For Kids
Other A-Z Guides
Monday - The ABC’s of Mom Tips & Tricks (Posts from 20+ other bloggers on everything from birthday parties to being a hands on mom to teaching kids about money, including our post on How to Raise a Thinking Child from A through E)
Tuesday - The ABCs of School Activities (Posts from 10+ other bloggers on subjects like how to homeschool and afterschool enrichment ideas, plus our post on How to Raise a Thinking Child from F through J)
Wednesday - The ABCs of Learning Through Play (Posts from 15+ other bloggers on fun ways to get your children learning through play, plus our post on How to Raise a Thinking Child from K through O)
Thursday - The ABCs of Literacy (Posts from 10 other bloggers on the ins and outs of building early reading skills, plus our post on How to Raise a Thinking Child from P through T)
Friday - The ABCs of Arts N’ Crafts (see the list above!)
Parents and friends: for more ideas, activities, and inspiration for #RaisingThinkingKids, click on an icon below to join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.
Fellow bloggers: join me at Bloggy Law, where you’ll find Simple Tips for Bulletproofing Your Brand and Blog and I’ll help you navigate the social media legal landscape a little more smoothly.
Chrissy – who has written 426 posts on The Outlaw Mom® Blog - Creative Living in a Conventional World.
