What Kids Need to Succeed

 by Esther Jantzen, guest poster

Children love to hear stories about what they did as babies or young children. It helps them know how they are unique. It helps them to see that their own lives are interesting and noteworthy. They learn that not all of the good stories come from books; many stories can come from their own experiences. This easy activity can be done any time, anywhere.

Here are some ways to do it:

1) Recall something specific about your child – something he or she did when quite young – and tell him or her about it. For example, tell them about when they learned to walk, or something funny that they said, or what they liked to eat or not eat, or their favorite toy or pet, or about the time they rode a tricycle or two-wheeler for the first time. Start with, “I remember when you…” 

2) Tell your children about times when they got through problems successfully or mastered something — like when they stopped sucking their thumb or using a pacifier, healed from an injury, or helped care for a new brother or sister in a kind way. (If you have a hard time recalling such things, looking at photographs may help jog your memory.) 

3) Ask your child, “Do you remember when you did such-and-such?” If they do have a memory of that, say, “Tell me about it.” If they don’t have a memory, then you tell them the story. 

4) Ask your children if they’d like their stories written down. Write them in simple language. Don’t be surprised if they want to read those stories over and over again!

5) As you recall more childhood stories, tell them to the children. Do it often. It’s a great car game. It’s an easy way to share love with your child. Feel free to tell stories of your own childhood, too.

Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com

 by Esther Jantzen, guest poster 

Kids have lots of different reasons for asking questions. Sometimes they want attention or they want to argue with the family rules. Sometimes they are seeking new information and understanding, and those are excellent questions to encourage.

The trick is to notice thoughtful questions when they are asked, and praise children for them with a response like, “That’s a great question!” If you can answer those questions right away, do that. But sometimes you don’t know the answer or the timing is not appropriate. Be sure to remember those questions and answer them later. Here is a way to do this:

1. One of the best ways to get your child to ask good questions is to ask thoughtful questions yourself.

Here are some examples.

Ask “I wonder” questions:

• How does it work?
• What came before this? Why?  
• Ask “Do I believe it?” questions:
• Where did this information come from?
• Is it based on facts?

Ask values questions:

• Is this honest?
• Is this helpful?
• Does this hurt anyone?
• Is it fair?

Ask questions that encourage creativity:

• What can we do with this information?
• How could we solve that problem?

2. When your children ask thoughtful questions like these above, praise them with a comment like, “That is an interesting thing to wonder about!”

3. This activity can be done any time, anywhere. The more often you do it, the more comfortable both you and the children will become, and the better questions you will each ask.

Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com