Tampa Bay for Big Kids

(NewsUSA) - Having a child who doesn't listen is one of the primary sources of frustration for most parents. It is not uncommon to see parents constantly asking their kids, "Can you hear me? Are you listening to what I'm saying?"

"I think the real question is not whether they listen, but do they retain the information that is thrown at them, and the answer to that is no," said Dr. Mary Manz Simon, an early childhood educator in Odenton, Md. "Kids today are immersed in many different messages, and it is causing selective listening to rapidly become a defining characteristic of our current generation."

So then, how can parents effectively communicate to this new generation of listeners? Simon has several suggestions you may want to add to your parental toolbox:

• Make eye contact with your child before you begin speaking. This will avoid an across-the-house yell that your child may simply tune out.
• Have developmentally appropriate expectations. If you say, "Make your bed," be sure your child knows how to make his bed.
• Talk to your kids with words they understand. If you don't think they understand, ask them to explain what you have just said. This is a great test to see how well you're getting your message across.
• Capture teachable moments. For example, when watching a new DVD with your kids, mention the way one of their favorite characters follows directions. Then compliment your children when they listen attentively.

Lisa Whelchel, former star of "The Facts of Life," best-selling author of the parenting book "Creative Correction" and mother of three, agrees with this approach.

"Some of the television shows or DVDs children watch have powerful messages in them," Whelchel said. "I feel it is important to include the senses, so capturing teachable moments through certain DVDs is certainly something I recommend."

Both Simon and Whelchel recommend the animated series "VeggieTales." The show can be seen on Saturday mornings on NBC and has a new DVD in stores now called "Moe and the Big Exit" that includes a lesson on following directions.

"I love 'VeggieTales,'" said Whelchel. "There is always such a positive lesson behind each episode."

"It's very easy to relate 'VeggieTales' back to actions you want your children to do, such as listening or following directions, which helps you when trying to capture those teachable moments," added Simon.

Is this among the thousands of questions you are asking yourself when it comes to your child? For many people this is a very important question since most of you would like to keep your child on a healthy schedule. Having a regular bedtime for your child is not only good for him/her but also very good for you as a parent.

Having a child running around the house all day can be very exhausting on a parent and it is only right that you as a parent are able to have some time to yourself after your child has gone to bed. A growing child needs a lot of sleep and there is no reason the kid should have the same bedtime as you. The evening should be your time to enjoy and recoup for the next day.

Many parents ask themselves what is a reasonable time for when their child should be in bed. When the child is no longer being bottle fed or breast fed but is eating like the rest of the family a good time for them to be in bed is somewhere around 8 o’clock. This will provide them with the 10-11 hours of sleep they need a night and they will wake up without being grumpy.

To begin with lots of parents will find it hard to get their child to bed at this time if they haven’t had this schedule before but as long as you are able to stick to it you will soon find that after a while the child will start getting tired around this time and the objection of going to bed will be less and less the longer you are able to enforce this without giving in to their protests.

How about you as a parent, would it not be wonderful to have a few hours a night all to yourself? Of course it would and by no means does this mean that you don’t love your child. You are showing a lot of love by taking charge and setting limits and rules as well as a set schedule, which every child needs. It gives them security, stability and they know what to expect and what is expected of them.

For no reason should you feel discouraged if you are not able to get your child on a set schedule within a few days because it will take some time to get them in the habit besides children are nosy little people who likes to know what is going on so naturally they are going to fight you all the way until they realize that you are in charge and this is the way it is.

Therefore, for the well being of both you and your child it may be a very good idea to start getting them on the way to a regular bed time schedule. The sooner you are able to enforce this, the less of a struggle you will have. The older they are before you start setting limits the harder of a time you will have and at times it can actually get quite ugly when it comes to “fighting” your child to prove who is in charge.

David Crowton is an established expert copywriter.
He is known for doing in-depth research before writing his articles.
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