Every parent wants their child to walk with their head held high, feeling that they can take on any challenge, but that level of confidence doesn’t always come naturally. For most children, self-esteem and confidence are developed over time through experience, achievement, and support from their parents and peers. As they grow, children will be faced will all kinds of influencing factors and events that will negatively affect their confidence. Some may be minor, like earning

"The best way to make children good is to make them happy," said Oscar Wilde. But, we're not only talking about the joyful moments and experiences here. It's much more than this. We're talking about developing healthy positive habits so children can go on to live their best possible lives. So, what tools can parents use to create happy youth and set them up for the future? USA's Happiness Ambassador and mother, Maura Sweeney shares her insights. 1. What happiness habits can p

When children lash out in anger after not getting their way, parents typically respond with a stern reprimand and treat their child’s outburst as “wrong” or negative. Or, a parent might succumb to his child’s bad behavior by letting her do as she pleases. According to Dr. Fran Walfish, the leading Beverly Hills child and family psychotherapist whose caring approach and innovative strategies have placed her at the forefront of her profession, “Most children lose their connecti

Parents want their children to have the best start possible on that first day of school. For most parents, giving children a good start means that at least some back-to-school shopping is in order. Children may need new shoes, clothes, and backpacks along with at least some new supplies. But how can parents on a budget draw the line between wants and needs? Especially when a child is begging for a fancy new backpack when the one from last year is perfectly fine? Will it affec

It's back to school time again, and no matter what grade your child is transitioning into, it’s normal for your family to experience some level of back to school anxiety. "According to a recent Brainly study, only 22% of U.S. parents said they currently feel organized for the start of the new school year, and a mere 10% of parents said they remain organized throughout the entire school year," advises Brainly's Chief Business Officer, Eric Oldfield. In order to best prepare fo

“About 40 percent of kids aren’t ready for kindergarten, and of those 40 percent, 70 percent will never catch up.” WINTER HAVEN — A well-known Winter Haven nonprofit is working to let the public know that education begins well before kindergarten. The Winter Haven Public Education Partnership is an organization of volunteers that seeks to improve education in the community through programs, partnerships, advocacy and engagement. Among the notable strategies is making sure par

A great article on supporting the parents of this transition... If you're a parent of a Year 7 student, who is just starting out on their secondary school journey you might be feeling an array of emotions: apprehensive for your child, wistful about them growing up, wondering where on earth the last six years of primary school have gone. All of which is perfectly natural. As the parent of a Year 8 student, I thought I'd share some of the wisdom I have learned over the last yea

Kindness starts at home. That's why, as America heads into the 2018-2019 school year, we turned to real moms to find out how they teach their kids kindness. Because the truth is: Your kid can be the most popular, the smartest or the fastest but in the end, none of it matters if they aren't kind. From all-inclusive birthday parties to asking how they could have been more kind during the day, this is what real moms are doing to raise great kids. "I make sure my kids are extra k

This week I chatted with the Wellness Daily HQ about the issues faced by our children, how to navigate these, and what support parents and families can offer on this front. A common argument is that we should get into healthy habits right from the get-go, so as to avoid having to change ingrained habits later. So, should kids also be imbibed with this proactive wellness approach? Wellness Daily spoke with Amba Brown, the author of the Finding Your Path book series, which list

Tales of people pursuing particular careers they are not passionate about are endless. But how much influence should a parent wield in their child’s career decisions? Raymond, a Fashion and Design student at Management Training Advisory Centre, has always dreamed of becoming an interior designer. But his dream was far different from the dream his father had for him. “Being an engineer himself, my father wanted me to follow his footsteps,” he says. In fact after Senior Four, h

It was passed down to her by her own parents. Michelle Obama has opened up about the influence her parents have had on how she has raised her two daughters, Sasha and Malia. The former US First Lady said that her mother and father, Fraser and Marian Robinson, always encouraged her to have opinions and took the time to listen to them. They also nurtured a solution-based mentality - the idea that they could moan about anything so long as she and her brother came up with a way o

Can you find happiness in the palm of your hands? This article suggests the opposite. If you have teenagers in your life and they seem to not be the happiest campers in the world, the problem is probably clutched in their hands. In a study co-authored by psychologists from San Diego University and the University of Georgia (talk about two schools with differing views of the world) it was found that teenagers had been increasing their happiness every year, by small doses, thro

A child with anger issues needs your support, says this primary teacher. He offers his tips on how to find the cause of the issues and how to offer help. I am a primary school teacher and I have a pupil whose behaviour can become aggressive and out of control, and the cause is tricky to determine. Is there much advice out there for teachers in this situation? There is a bit. According to the NHS, there can be many triggers that make a child feel angrier than is usual for chil

Failure is a part of life... we all learn this sooner or later. Here is a helpful article for what and why we should be teaching our children about failure... The most important leadership role we can undertake is that of parent-hood. It comes with a lot of responsibility, primarily because parents need to set boundaries for themselves. An over-emphasis on success at a young age can scar a child for life. Hence, it is equally important that parents teach their children to th

Children ask questions—lots of questions. But you can turn the tables! Here are 50 fun suggestions to get a conversation started. Kids ask a lot of questions. Sometimes the questions repeat themselves. Most of the time we've answered them over and over. And let's be honest, we've been known to ignore one or two here and there or do an internal eye-roll over the constant barrage of why's and how's. To be fair, studies have shown that young children ask over 300 questions each