START A CHILD

HOW WILL I GIVE MY CHILD A GOOD START IN LIFE?

The birth of a child, brings both joy and anxieties, like how to give the child a good start in life. Follow through on some suggestions. Television can be a wonderful learning tool, says a report in the NEW YORK TIMES. However, sitting passively in front of the tube for hours is taking its toll on the bodies and minds of children’s, robbing them of opportunities that can foster creative, learning, and social interaction.

After studying the viewing habits of 2,500 children, researchers at children hospital in Seattle Washington, U.S.A., Found that the more TV viewed by toddlers aged 1-3, the greater the risk of attention problem at age 7, says the news paper. Such children are increasingly aggressive and impatient and had a decreased attention span. According to educational psychologist Dr. Jane M. Healy, many parents of children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder found the difficulty markedly improved after they took away TV viewing privileges. What can parents do to reduce the time spent by their children watching TV? The report offered the following suggestions:

- Set limits on when and how long your child can watch TV each day.

-Avoid using the TV as a babysitter. Instead, involve your child in doing household chores as much as possible.

- Select the shows your child can watch, and turn off the TV when the shows are over.

- Whenever possible, watch the selected programs with your child and talk about what you see.

 Finally, limit your own TV viewing.

 Nurturing creativity and social skills in children takes time, determination, and self discipline. The positive results are worth the effort. This is attested to in an ancient proverb that says: Train up a boy according to the way for him, even when he grow old, he will not depart from it.(proverbs 22:6). An integral part of such training involves instructing children in proper MORAL VALUES. (Awake).