Parenting with Love Logical Consequences and Play

1. The ability to delight in the unique character of our
   child and accept both her negative and positive traits.
   
   
2. Unconditional love for our child is love in action. It
   is the act of demonstrating we care through genuine respect
   and interest in our child that is reflected in our elevated
   expression, speech, feelings and other actions.
   
   
3. One result of unconditional love is our child feels
   known, valued and important.
   
   
4. Another result is our child feels comfortable in our
   presence to be herself.
   
   
5. Through unconditional love, our child learns to love and
   value himself.
   
   
6. Verbal I love yous are okay, if they are genuine, but
   they cannot replace love in demonstrated action as described
   in number one above.
   
   
7. Unconditional love is not letting the child do what ever
   he wants to do. That is neglect.
   
   
8. Unconditional love helps engender self-confidence,
   independence, and happiness.
   
   
9. Unconditional love can be a tall order for parents. Just
   realizing what it is, and its importance to our children can
   help us all, slowly, improve in the way we see and treat
   them.
   
   
   

1. Make sure your child clearly understands how you expect
   him to behave.
   
   
2. Discuss the consequences of misbehavior and get his
   input on what those consequences might be.
   
   
3. Remember children are more likely to comply with
   consequences they helped create.
   
   
4. Have your child explain to you and role play what
   behaviors you expect of him.
   
   
5. Consequences for misbehavior should not emphasize
   punishment but learning to do the right thing by thinking
   about the problem and discussing it.
   
   
6. Have him explain the consequences so you can be sure he
   understands them clearly.
   
   
7. Don't forget to praise and point out positive behavior
   and the consequences of good behavior!
   
   
8. Catch your child behaving positively and praise him.
   Try to see there are three praise statements to every
   negative statement.
   
   
9. Be sure the child understands that the consequences, both
   negative and positive, are for his own betterment.
   
   
10. Be sure all behavioral expectations and consequences are
    age appropriate and child appropriate. Remember kids are
    different. Tailor consequences to suit your children.
    
    
    

• The opposite of depression is play.
  
  
• It aids learning more to feel, touch and manipulate an
  object, like squeezing a rubber ball or putting marbles in a
  can, than to see it through a computer screen.
  
  
• TV, video and computer games destroy play.
  
  
• The intense physical activity, which characterizes
  childhood, builds muscle, increases dexterity, improves
  mood, and uses up the excess energy of childhood, helping
  children relax.
  
  
• The intense mental activity and learning of childhood is
  generated by the fun of play. This form of learning through
  play is highly varied and unstructured, unlike formal, education.
  
  
• Play often gets children outside where they can enjoy
  nature and receive sunlight that influences hormones,
  vitamins and mood positively.
  
  
• Play allows children to act out and vent their feelings
  which improves their mood and gives parents the opportunity
  to determine how they are feeling. Furthermore, by learning
  through play and acting out their feelings, children learn
  to cope with feelings.
  
  
• If human brains are created to learn by associating
  learning with fun, play in other words, should not good
  parenting strive to make learning fun too?
  
  
  Some recommendations for child play development that beat
  depression and stimulate learning are:
  
  
  
  1. Child proof your house so your child can be free to play.
     
     
  2. Create low lying play areas with household objects in
     each area of the house since young children follow parents.
     The kitchen area could have bowls, pots, pans, wooden
     spoons, etc. Don't forget the sandbox.
     
     
  3. Find or make old fashioned toys that allow for
     imagination. For example, dolls and other figures without
     faces, stand-up dolls made of felt or wool, etc.
     
     
  4. Take your child outdoors and collect objects from nature
     for play, like branches, pieces of bark (among other things,
     these can be used as blocks), etc.
     
     
  5. Encourage your child to play in nature by buying
     raincoats and other gear. There is nothing more fun than
     kids playing in the rain.
     
     
  6. Turn off the TV for it interferes with the imagination
     and family cohesiveness. Try reading stories, star gazing,
     or going for short walks after dinner. Use your
     imagination to discover things to do and they will use
     theirs.
     
     
  7. Invite other children over to play.
     
     
  8. Look for schools that don't push structured academic
     learning. Interest in learning to read increases at around
     five for children who have not been taught to read earlier.
     
     
  9. Value play over early academic programs that force kids
     out of the natural world of play before they are ready.
     
     
     
  Besides providing the zest for learning, play promotes health
  and happiness. This is why it is vital to parenting with
  love logical consequences and play.
  
  For types of child play, click here.