As children mature, they’ll experience all kinds of emotions. Like all humans, they’ll also have reactions to those feelings. Because of their natural responses, they’ll find it helpful to learn to manage their emotions as early in life as possible. You can do a lot to help them with this!

These tips can help you teach your kids about their emotions:

1. Be open and honest about your feelings in your kids’ presence. It’s important for your children to see you as a healthy, active adult who appropriately expresses their feelings.

* How you manage your own feelings provides your young child’s first lesson in how to express his feelings.

* Modeling is one of the most powerful forms of teaching behaviors to children.

2. Show respect. Verbally express your feelings in ways that are helpful and that show respect for others. When you and your spouse appropriately talk about your emotions and share them with each other, kids learn how to do it just by observing.

* Use “I” statements followed by “feeling” words when you share your emotions in front of your children.

* For example, “I feel really annoyed when you play with your friends on the way home from school and get here 30 minutes late.”

3. Be mindful of your tone of voice. If you use appropriate tones of voice when expressing feelings, your kids will learn to use them as well. For example, instead of raising your voice when you’re upset, make an effort to keep your voice calm.

4. Identify your young children’s emotions with them. For very young children, two or three years old, it’s beneficial to label and clarify the children’s feelings in their presence. Especially at six years and under, children usually have little understanding of how their emotions function.

* For example, if a three-year-old gets angry and stamps his feet because he wants candy, get down to his eye level and say something like, “You’re angry at mommy right now because you can’t have candy.”

* Use names of feelings, like angry, mad, sad, happy, pleased, frustrated, and others. You convey a great deal of emotional learning when you teach a child about feelings by using the names of emotions.

* Sometimes, you may find it helpful to tell a youngster, “It’s okay if you’re mad.” Giving the child permission to feel and express his feelings can be very validating for them, even if they don’t respond that way at the time.

* On the other hand, if a young child gets frustrated or angry and throws a toy that could hurt someone, it’s advisable to state, “No, don’t throw your toys. It’s not okay to throw your toys.” Separate the actions from their emotions and from them as people.

* Remember, it’s futile for adults to get frustrated or angry with young children who have a lot to learn about their emotions. Your patience will show them, by modeling, how to keep their cool, even in a frustrating situation.

5. Reward them. When your child manages their feelings appropriately, providing immediate positive reinforcement makes a big difference in how a child learns to express emotions. Emotional management will often manifest in appropriate behavior.

* Smile and say something like, “Billy, I like the way you sat so still in the grocery cart. You did a great job!”

* When offering positive comments, state your child’s name and obtain eye contact with him. This will help reinforce the positive behavior.

As a parent, one of the most important lessons you’ll ever teach your children is how to identify and appropriately express their feelings. Apply the tips above to help ensure that your children grow into mature, healthy adults.

Keeping your kids entertained during the summer can be a challenge. Why not strengthen your family bond with activities that will satisfy your whole family at once? That way, you can enjoy quality family time and create a memorable summer together before it’s back to work and school.

These fun summer activities are sure to be a hit for both you and your kids:

1. Enjoy a family beach day. There’s really no better way to cool down on a hot summer day than with a trip to the beach. Instead of just “going to the beach,” why not make it an event? Make it memorable by attaching meaning to the fact that your whole family is there!


* Build a huge sandcastle together and take photos around it.


* Play games like volleyball, soccer, and catch together instead of just sitting around soaking up the sun.


* Take your family pet along and create a memorable first-time event that all of you can reminisce on years down the road.


2. Pack a picnic in the park. A quiet, relaxing picnic day at the park is the perfect way to spend quality time with your kids and absorb the beauty of nature at the same time. A few hours away from television and technology is just what you need for some summertime fun with the kids!


* Play Frisbee with your kids instead of watching them throw it to each other.

* Carry your camera and take family photos.

* Take along food that you can prepare together, like tacos or PB&J sandwiches.

* Play Pictionary and watch your kids really express themselves.


3. Take a camping trip. You’ll get to enjoy the company of your children in an unfamiliar environment and will even learn a few things about them and their abilities in the process! Camping also provides the opportunity for you and your kids to enjoy many out-of-the-ordinary activities together, like:


* Putting up the tent.

* Gathering wood and building a fire.

* Roasting marshmallows.

* Telling stories while sitting around the campfire.


4. Grow a garden. Completing a gardening project with your kids will definitely feel rewarding, especially if you can see the fruit of your labor for a long time to come. You and your kids can spend a few summer days planting flowers, fruits and vegetables that you’ll all remember and be proud of in the months and years to come!


* Go shopping for personalized gardening accessories like colored gloves, inscribed straw hats and patterned mud boots. If your children are small, you can even find kid-size garden tools like shovels and rakes to make it that much more fun.


* After you’ve planted a garden with your kids, place an inscribed stepping-stone or other garden ornament in the garden to commemorate the occasion.

Summertime is the perfect time to really get to know your kids and create memories that will last a lifetime! Start today to make the memories of this summer ones that all of you will go back to time and time again.

When you help your kids to love reading, you provide a gift that will enrich their personal and professional lives for years to come. Even though teachers play an important role, parents are a child’s first teachers. To nurture the love of books, parents should begin reading to their children as soon as possible.

Consider the following tips to help build literacy skills in your child at every stage of development.

How to Help Younger Children Love Reading

1. Start by reading to your baby. It’s never too soon to get started. Read to your baby for a few minutes at a time until their attention span grows. Point to the pictures. Use rhymes and songs to teach language skills.

2. Continue reading books aloud as your child grows older. Reading to your child is one of the most valuable ways to spend your time together. Make story time a regular routine before bed or anytime that works with your daily schedule.

3. Make reading fun and interactive. Train yourself to read in an animated fashion. Encourage your child to read some passages aloud to you or to their brothers and sisters. Share questions about what you read together or make up your own variations on the story.

4. Enlist your child’s teacher as an ally. Develop regular communications with your child’s teacher. Be open to feedback provided. Teachers may spot any areas of weakness in reading skills that you can work to correct before they become serious issues. They can also help recommend titles that your child might enjoy.

5. Visit your local library and bookstores. Take your child along to the library and to children’s events at local bookstores. Get them a library card of their own as soon as they’re old enough to do so.

6. Encourage your child to write. Giving your child opportunities to write will help reinforce their literacy skills. Leave each other notes on the refrigerator. Write emails and greeting cards together.

How to Help Older Children Love to Read

1. Set an example of reading for pleasure. You may need to set an example in your own home to counteract trends that show a general decline in the reading of books. Let your preteens see you reading. Help them develop their critical thinking skills by discussing books as part of everyday conversations.

2. Help your teen find time to read. The average teen spends a lot of time on social activities and electronic media. You can set reasonable limits, such as a nighttime curfew on using cell phones and watching TV. 


3. Build a home library. Keep reading material available around the house. Create a comfortable and inviting space for family members to read. If you don’t have an extra room, you can still set aside a corner of the living room or den.

4. Look for books that reflect your teen’s interests. Let your teen pick their own books as long as the titles are age appropriate. Stay up to date on zombies, werewolves, and other popular trends.

5. Integrate reading into fun family activities. If your teen is reading Hamlet in their English class, offer to take them to a live performance. If they enjoy a movie based on a Jane Austen novel, buy them the paperback. Take the opportunity to re-read it yourself so you can discuss it.

6. Be realistic. The teen years can be a busy and difficult time. Celebrate any progress you make without exerting so much pressure that your good intentions backfire.

Reading for pleasure broadens the mind and enriches our shared cultural and civic life. You can help your children get off to a good start by learning to love reading. It will help build basic comprehension skills and change their lives for the better.