|
|
|
Advocating for Your Child with LD
Advocate: you've probably heard the term before. But what does it mean to you? Advocating happens when you speak on behalf of someone else. You say for them what they can't say for themselves. When you have a child who has been diagnosed with a...
Landlord's Right to Enter
When you move in to a rental property, you agree to let your landlord handle many of the repair and maintenance problems. You also agree to lose some of your privacy rights. Unless your landlord is incredibly talented, he, or one of the people...
Stans’ Legacy - My Fathers Impact on his 13 Children
I will always have a clear picture of his face etched in my mind. As clear as a bright spring day in Geelong, the city in south eastern Australia where may father (Stan) and mother (Elsie) raised myself and my twelve brothers and sisters. Our...
Surprising Health Benefits for Pet Owners
Did you know that there are key health benefits that can result from owning a pet? Having one can enhance your physical, mental and social wellbeing.
1. How can a pet help your physical health?
Owning a dog, for instance, will encourage you to...
The Top 10 Reasons to Own a Pet
Americans love their pets, but do they ever think about "why?" 1. A pet teaches you responsibility. 2. You can get lots of exercise by walking your pet. 3. If you get lonely, you have a friend to play with. 4. You can save a pet's life by...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parents, Teach Thought-Stopping! Fix Crooked Thinking Caps
Does your child pout, blame and brood? Does he gripe, groan, and grumble? Do you worry about your child’s attitude? If so, maybe your child’s thinking cap is crooked. If it is, you can help. First, understand what’s going haywire under that cap. Second, learn how too many crooked thoughts create crummy thinking habits. Third, teach your child how to straighten his thinking cap and grow into a person of character.
Does your child look, talk, and, feel sad? Perhaps you said “No” to watching TV, or didn’t buy a toy she wanted, or you had to cancel a fun event. It’s perfectly OK for your child to feel sad. It’s not OK when your child broods and feels deeply depressed over every hurt and disappointment. It’s time to help her adjust her thinking cap.
Perhaps your child looks, talks, and feels angry. Maybe you restricted him because of fighting, or told him to quit sassing, or caught him bullying his little brother. It’s natural for a child to feel frustrated when things don’t go his way but it is not all right for him to fuel his frustrations with grudges and hateful thoughts. It’s time to help him adjust his thinking cap.
Let’s say your child looks, talks, and feels worthless for making mistakes. Maybe your child tries to be too perfect and feels regretful when she is not. Maybe she thinks you’ll be disappointed if her report card isn’t excellent, or if she breaks a dish or spills her milk. It’s OK if she feels regret but expanding her regrets into crushing guilt is not. It’s time to help her adjust her thinking cap.
Does your child look, talk, and feel worried? Does he play it safe and avoid challenges? Is he unwilling to try new things? Does he care too much how others think of him? It’s OK for him to feel concern about taking tests, speaking before his class, or when trying to make new friends but inflating his concerns into a habit of worry and fear is not. It’s time to help him adjust his thinking cap.
Occasionally your child may slip into depression, anger, guilt or fear. To stay depressed, angry, guilty or fearful, your child will have to think a lot of negative thoughts. Lots of negative thoughts create a crooked thinking cap.
Perhaps you know adults with “bad” attitudes. Maybe they pity themselves and blame others. Perhaps they look for insults and exaggerate hurts. Maybe they belittle themselves and apologize for every tiny mistake. These adults definitely have crooked thinking caps. To avoid this kind of future for your child and all the pain such thinking causes, let’s find out two ways to adjust your child’s thinking cap.
First, use your good judgment and know there are times when you need to go to your child’s feelings. When your child seems too sad, too angry, too guilty, or
too fearful, put your arm around your child and ask, “What’s really wrong?” Listen. Don’t try to change, correct, or put down your child’s thoughts. Just listen. Let your child pour out her heart and listen. When your child is almost done, ask, “Is there more?” Then listen. Congratulations! You’ve probably relieved your child of painful emotion and cleared the air for a new beginning.
The second way to help your child straighten his thinking cap is called THOUGHT-STOPPING. It’s best to teach this technique when your child is not upset and is in a mood to talk with you. The first step is to encourage your child to notice his negative self-talk, like “Everybody hates me.” “It’s not my fault.” “I can’t do it.” The second step is to help your child recall three powerful images of him having done something good that felt great. Here are a few examples of images that may be powerful for your child:
Playing with her pet
Catching his first fish
Learning how to swim
Laughing so hard her sides ached
Doing a great job on his homework
Make sure your child is the one who chooses the positive images. Tell your child that each image must be more powerful than the negative thought.
Teach and practice the following several times when your child is in a good mood. That way your child will know how to use THOUGHT-STOPPING when she needs it.
When your child catches herself brooding on negative thoughts tell her to switch them to one of the positive images by yelling, “Stop!” inside her head to the negative thoughts. Tell your child to stay with the positive image for 30 seconds. (This prevents her from switching back to her negative thinking.) Time the 30 seconds so she’ll know how long it is. Then have your child say, “I am in control.” Your child will be too. She’ll be in control of her thinking cap.
You have just explored what goes on under crooked thinking caps. You have learned how crooked thinkers grow into unhappy adults. You have also discovered two techniques to help your child straighten his/her thinking cap. Now it’s time to teach these techniques to your child so that your child grows into a positive person of character.
Jean Tracy has created Thought-Stopping Charts for your convenience.
About the Author
Jean Tracy,MSS, former teacher, probation officer and child/family counselor, now author and speaker, is an award winning Distinguished Toastmaster. Jean helps parents and teachers raise awesome kids with solid characters. You will find her book, Character Building on BackTalk Street, her Thought-Stopping Charts,parenting products, and FREE bonding activities, parenting tips, and parenting articles at, http://www.KidsDiscuss.com.
|
|
|
|
|
| PetSmart - Pet supplies and pet products for healthier, happier pets |
| Offering food, treats, collars, leashes, health products, shampoos, medication, toys, carriers, housing and other supplies for all pets. |
| www.petsmart.com |
|
| Pets 4 You.com - Dogs | Cats |
| A large resource for animal enthusiasts with a directory of breeders and links to sources offering pet supplies and products, and to rescues and shelters. |
| www.pets4you.com |
|
| Yahoo! Pets |
| Learn how to care for a new pet. Find information about breeds or adopt a dog. ... What questions on pets or pet nutrition do you have today? ... |
| pets.yahoo.com |
|
| Welcome to Healthypet.com! |
| Pet care resources by the American Animal Hospital Association to find a veterinarian, veterinary clinic or animal hospital for pets and provide pet care ... |
| www.healthypet.com |
|
| Dogs & Puppies - Next Day Pets |
| Directory of breeders and shelters with dogs and puppies for sale and pets for adoption. Search dogs and puppies by breed with information on 150+ dog ... |
| www.nextdaypets.com |
|
| Petfinder.com: Adopt a pet and help an animal shelter rescue a ... |
| Adopt a pet dog or cat from animal welfare organizations across the country. |
| www.petfinder.com |
|
| Welcome to Neopets! |
| A virtual pet website where visitors may adopt and care for pets, as well as play games and participate in contests, communities, and combat simulations. |
| www.neopets.com |
|
| Chicago Tribune | Pets |
| Click one of the buttons to show pets within that category. Click here to show all pets for sale. Search Tips. (e.g., Beagle, Persian) ... |
| www.legacy.com |
|
| Pet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment, as opposed to ... Some horse-like animals are suitable for human companionship as pets or as work ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Pets - Pet Breeders Pet Information Pet Classifieds |
| Pets - Pet, Hobby and Show Animals Pets Online Has Puppies For Sale, Pet Products, Pet Shops. |
| www.mypets.net.au |
|
| Defra, UK - Animal health and welfare - Bringing pets to Britain |
| Travel guide and information on qualifications, requirements, and fees for bringing a pet into the UK. |
| www.defra.gov.uk |
|
| Defra, UK - Animal health and welfare - Pet Travel Scheme |
| The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) is the system that allows pet dogs, ... For travel to France, the passport also replaces the PETS 5 certificate. ... |
| www.defra.gov.uk |
|
| Indiatimes - Pets |
| /photo.cms?msid=968871. You can post him queries and problems about your pets. ... Other beautiful animals: pets, wild cats & butterflies. PET ZODIACS ... |
| pets.indiatimes.com |
|
| AVMA Care for Pets Home Page |
| Articles that tell how to select a pet, how to care for various types of pets, and how to cope with the death of a pet. Includes a section just for kids. |
| www.avma.org |
|
| Dog and Pet T-Shirts and Gifts at CafePress.com : Shop Over 35 ... |
| Pet Gifts. Pet Gifts. Pet owners unite with fun t-shirts, hats and more. See all results... Categories within Pet Gifts ... |
| www.cafepress.com |
|
| Pet Lover Gifts : Find & Buy Gifts at CafePress.com |
| Shop millions of unique and custom pet designs - such as dog, cat, bunny, horse and other animals - available on t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, posters, ... |
| www.cafepress.com |
|
| PETS 911 pet adoptions thru local animal shelters |
| Offers hotline for lost and found pets, adoption, veterinarians, and animal shelters. |
| www.pets911.com |
|
| Pets |
| Most of us think of adopting pets for all the wrong reasons.. as a ... Pets has a way of listening without judging and loving its owner unconditionally. ... |
| www.webindia123.com |
|
| Mara Pets Games - Play Free Flash Games, Dress Up Games and ... |
| Mara Pets Games is a free virtual pet site with fun flash games and character dress up games. Three new games weekly! |
| www.marapets.com |
|
| Canada's pet information center for dogs cats and humans |
| Canadian pet information centre, featuring articles, bulletin board, dog breed profiles, cat breeds, and ask the vet sections. |
| www.pets.ca |
|
|