Monthly Archives: June 2016

How Important is a High IQ?

Raising kids, ,

Train up a child…

How Important is a High IQ?

 

It is wonderful to see so many young parents work so hard at making their children “smart”. There are many really great educational toys on the market that undoubtedly help to improve a child’s reasoning ability. When parents and grandparents meet with other parents and grandparents, the conversation often turns to what the child can do and say. It is often spoken with a sense of pride and just a little touch of “My child is better than your child.”

It is good that parents work with their children. It is great that Baby Einstein materials and other education aids are available, and they really seem to work. However, I must say that in my years of teaching and working with children, I have found nothing more important than the attitude of a child. Over and over I have seen children with less ability out-perform those with more ability. Often, those children with higher IQ’s have not learned good study habits because they catch on so quickly in some areas. Then when it comes to something new or difficult, they find it hard to “buckle down” and do the work. Let’s face it. There is a top percentage of people who are geniuses, a bottom percentage of people who are retarded, and the rest of us fall in between. If a child has the right attitude, he or she will apply self and learn what needs to be learned.

When a person applies for a job as an adult, the employer will most often look for a person who has an attitude of eagerness to learn rather than a person who thinks he or she already knows everything. Most jobs have unique requirements that must be mastered. If the person applying for the job has the right attitude, that person will soon learn those requirements.          Working with children when they are small may make it easier for the child in school, but no one really chooses the “know-it-all” for a friend or job.

How many times have I heard a parent say, “I’m afraid he will be bored when he goes to school”? In my opinion, if a child has a good attitude, that child will never be bored. Children should have an attitude of curiosity to continue to learn and to do better and better. The world is a big place! No one ever knows it all. Most teachers have been trained to challenge children to go beyond where they have already achieved. In addition, many textbooks are designed with challenges for those who need them. Parents need to spend time developing an attitude of curiosity, patience, ability to help others, etc. This does not mean we should stop the developing of brain power, but it would be nice if we were just as concerned with attitude.

 

P.S. Have you told your children that you love them today?

 

 

Children and Violence in the News

Raising kids, ,

Train up a child…
Children and Violence in the News

What do we tell our children about all the violence that is happening in our world? Can we shield them from it? Should we just ignore it?
Since the beginning of time, there has been a struggle between good and evil. Children need to be told that God wants good for everyone. Satan is the author of evil. All people have to choose which they will follow. No choice means that people just do what they feel like doing and that is usually bad. It is the condition of the heart that determines our actions. No law can make people be good on the inside. Love cannot be legislated. We hope our children will choose good, but as parents, we must teach them what is good and what is bad.
It is impossible to completely shield children from all bad news. We may succeed in keeping part of it away from them, but as they grow older, they will hear more and more. It takes wisdom to know the amount of information to give children. Some children are able to handle more than others at certain ages. The parent is in the best position to know what a child can process. It is better to help a child with understanding rather than just leave it for the child to have to face alone in the future. To ignore the bad news completely leaves a child wondering and often confused.
There is no doubt that our children have a great challenge in their future. We need to do all we can to prepare them. Nothing is better to prepare them than to give them a foundation of Scripture. Parents can never go wrong in helping children memorize Scripture. Taking them to church can go a long way in giving support for spiritual development. Listening to their concerns and answering to the best of our ability is also important. It is okay to say, “I don’t know. Maybe we can figure it out together.”
It is natural for children to ask why God lets bad people hurt others. The answer is that God can do everything but one thing. He created us so that we have the right to choose. He cannot choose for us. If He could, we would be like puppets. He wants us to choose the good and not the bad. He sees everything and it makes Him sad when people choose wrongly. He gave us the Bible to tell us how to choose the right way. He wants us to choose to love Him, not be forced to love Him. He wants us to choose to love others. If others were forced to love us, it would not seem like real love. It is the same with God. It is important to have a choice and to choose wisely.

The Value of Physical Activity

Raising kids, ,

Train up a child…

 

The Value of Physical Activity

 

Children need to develop in four areas. Those four areas are mental, social, spiritual, and physical. Quite often one or more of these areas may be neglected, but each area is important.

Physical development does not come automatically. Even though a child is growing bigger, he may not be growing healthier. An old expression says, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Children get most of their physical activity from play, but they can also get it from work.

What are the benefits of physical activity? Physical activity strengthens the body. A child who is physically active is usually a happier child. Children involved in team sports learn teamwork and what it means to give one’s best.

The blood in our bodies bathes every muscle and organ bringing nourishment to every part. When we exercise, the heart pumps harder ensuring that each part is reached with the nutrients needed. When a person sits around all the time, the blood doesn’t move as fast and nutrients are not carried throughout the body as needed. Body parts do not work at their maximum without the stimulation of exercise. The brain needs to be bathed by the blood just as does all of the body. We do not think as clearly and as well without exercise.

We’ve heard of those who have been unfortunate and had to spend a lengthy amount of time in the hospital and then they have to learn to walk again. The muscles become very weak without usage. The heart is a muscle. When we exercise and it beats more rapidly, it is getting strengthened, too.

Exercise creates endorphin. Endorphin is a substance that fights pain and depression. We often forget that children can be depressed as much or more than adults. People who don’t exercise often start feeling sorry for themselves and become depressed. Physical exercise helps to prevent this from happening. It is best to keep busy. Teenagers often like to stay in their rooms for long periods of time. This is an emotional time in their lives and at this time they especially need to exercise.

Team sports at school provide a fun way to get exercise. While getting the physical activity, they also learn to put themselves in background positions for the overall good of others. The cheering they hear while playing builds self esteem and motivates them to go beyond what they have accomplished and reach for more. They often discover that they can do more than they ever thought they could. This transfers to other areas of their lives as well and they get the attitude that they can do better. This becomes a motivation to be the best they can be.

Sometimes it seems that there is not enough time to do everything a child needs. Exercise can be worked into the schedule in subtle ways. Parents can ask children to run a race to the mailbox. When shopping, the car can be parked at the back of the parking lot to require more walking. The TV, phone, and computer can be limited, and children should have chores to do. Even when dad is wrestling or “rough-housing” the kids on the floor, they are getting some exercise. I remember when I taught second grade the children in our class planned their own obstacle course. They climbed a 4 ft. wall, leapfrogged over a rock, crawled through a barrel, skipped, hopped, and scissor-stepped back to the starting place. They did this at recess, but a similar course could be made at home.

The key is to keep the children moving and not let them sit around too much. Family picnics at holiday times provide a wonderful opportunity for the entire family to be involved in games that provide exercise.