7 tips for parents of tweens and preteens

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Raising kids in their initial years is quite different from when kids touch the double-digit figure. You can experience the change in their behavior, moods, choices, and gradual physical changes. Kids expect more independence and privacy. They think and react differently. They don't want to be treated like kids either.

                                                 

Parenting the tweens and preteens

                                 

This transition phase from kid to tween and then to preteen needs more attention. As the age progresses of your child, the parenting approach needs to be adjusted too accordingly.

So, what can be done so that your tween/ preteen remains connected to you closely? How to handle this transition period and maintain a strong relationship?

Parenting tips for Tweens and Preteens

Here we have a few tips for parents of tweens and preteens for a smoother transition period:

                                              

One-to-one time with your tween

Spend some personal time with your son or daughter. Go for an evening walk, play, shop, or just chat about anything. It can work like daily 15 minutes with Mom, weekly quality time with Dad, or any other way which allows kids to open up with both parents individually. The more you listen and the less you preach keeps your communication channel open with your tween.

Participate in activities with them

Their interests are changing- more time on video games, action movies, or sports channels. Be with them and participate. Play that video game with them, and know what attracts them. Discuss the latest issues that interest them. In those ways, you will remain updated about their views and feelings.

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Let them enjoy their 'me-time'

                                                    

Let the tween enjoy some private time.

There was a time when your cute daughter would run up to you and share her every little thing with you. However, in her tweens or preteens, she may respond differently at times, demanding private time for herself. Accept that, let her be with herself. Avoid interpreting each situation and feeling offended when your child keeps things to herself.

Understand- It is their hormones to blame

Your tween may not be able to express himself in calm ways. There can be mood swings, tantrums, and impulsive reactions that even they can't understand or explain. Distractions, attraction towards the opposite sex and preoccupation are just so natural in this age, all of us have gone through this phase, isn't it? 

Give them time and space. Talk about the issues they are concerned about. Let them vent out their emotions, whether it's anger, irritation, stress, frustration, or helplessness, which is extremely important. Listen to everything. Assure them you understand their situation and your love is unconditional despite their unpredictable behavior. In those ways, you can have a great connection with your kids in the tween or preteen age.

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Act, not over-react

Your son picked up a fight with kids in the neighborhood and blame them for the mess. You instantly call the parents to keep a check on their kids.

Can you see something missing in this situation? Instead of understanding what was the situation all about, you quickly jumped to a conclusion and reacted accordingly. Such a response to the situations does not help kids in tweens to learn to respond in a better way.

Discuss age-appropriate issues with your tween

Soon the kids will experience physical changes in them. They will be curious about such changes and maybe embarrassed at times. It's high time to talk about puberty. Explain to your daughter about the change in her body shape and first periods. Similarly, your son in tween has some queries. Discuss with him honestly so that he is prepared for the changes beforehand.

Consider your response toward older kids

                                                 

Parenting the elder kid and tween

The way you handle the matters related to your older kid sets the way for siblings as well. Too much liberty or excessive supervision, in both cases, tweens get a clue what to expect from parents. Setting a good example of dealing with elder children certainly helps in raising the tween/ preteen in the right direction.

With these parenting tips for preteens and tweens, we hope your parenting journey will be smoother and happier!

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Empower your bond with your growing kids in easy steps

           

How can you empower your bond with growing kids?

                                                   

Do you feel you and your kids are living in different zones? Do you realize that you are short of time to connect with your growing kids like you used to? And you seriously want to do something about it to strengthen the magical bond between you and your kids despite all those hectic schedules, household chores, hobby classes, extracurricular activities of kids, social obligations, and so on.

Easy steps to EMPOWER your bond with your growing kids

Five-minute wonder: 

Even five minutes of one-to-one talking with your kid daily can be so refreshing for both of you and it's not that difficult to trace those moments. You can have a light conversation with your child when you drop or pick her up from school. 

Else if she is going for a hobby class or for a regular doctor visit, simply inquire about her progress or about her day, which will allow her to open up with you. To make it more special, give her a nice hug when you meet her after school and you can see the renewed connection.

Leave notes for kids: 

Whenever you feel you won't be able to find time to connect with them, ensure that your absence does not sadden them. Make notes with cute messages, and inspiring words that will warm their hearts and place them on their study table, bed, or on door. In case, your growing child has a mobile phone then you can share messages and stay in touch.

                                                   

Share your wishes with each other to stay connected.

Wish list:  

Ask your kids to prepare a list of what they want to do with you which probably, they have missed doing with you lately. Prepare your own list as well and compare. Most probably, you will find a couple of things common between their and your' lists. It can be playing a board game with you, reading out a story, or even making a dish together in the kitchen.

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Timer, please: 

Now this one is interesting to quickly steal some moments. You have a couple of tasks to complete and your daughter wants to play with you. What you can do is set a timer of say 15 minutes in which you would complete a set of tasks and your kid will finish her tasks as well. 

Play some good music, set the timer, and start executing your tasks. It will be a great way to encourage kids to finish their work and enjoy it together.

                             

Share your thoughts: 

Make it a point to share any incident or funny thoughts with your kid daily. Crack a joke, narrate your childhood memories or maybe discuss things happening around you- that's an interesting way to connect with your kid and understand what's going on in his mind and his life. This one is a super easy way to empower your bond with your growing kids.

Simple things can strengthen your bond with your children

Lend your ears patiently: 

No matter how important is your email or how boring the incident is for you, listen out to him as whatever he is sharing is important for him, and even more important is the person to whom he is sharing.  Your patience of a few moments can earn you the bond of a lifetime!

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Practice gratitude at home:  

Take a moment to thank your children for keeping things back at their place, for making their beds, or anything else even if it is very little. It makes a lot of difference for them as you acknowledge their contribution and their efforts. In addition, you can see the same habit being infused in them naturally.

Monthly affair:  

Frequent outings with kids may be a difficult thing to plan but you can ensure once a month fun-filled day in any form. It can be watching a movie together, camping in the backyard, traveling, playing under the sun, shopping together, or anything else that gives a chance to have exclusive time with kids.

In case, going out is not an option then switch to virtual meetings with friends, virtual tours, or weekend movie plans at home.


                               

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Diet tips to ease anxiety in kids

                                                               

 Anxiety and stress are no longer restricted to adults. These seem to be prevalent among young children and teenagers. The reasons for the increase in everyday anxiety in kids and teenagers can be several such as parental control, family atmosphere, peer pressure, exam stress, school performance, health issues, some kind of phobia/ fears, etc. However, simple changes in diet can defuse anxiety in kids.

Essential diet tips to ease anxiety in kids

                                                             
Omega 3 Fatty acids: Foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acid eases anxiety as they activate the production of serotonin levels. Examples of omega 3 fatty acid foods are flax seeds, tofu, and fish. Include these foods in the daily diet of your child and help him calm down.

                                             

                                 

Vitamin B foods: Deficiency of Vitamin B can lead to irritable behavior, confusion, and anxiety. Foods rich in Vitamin B are ideal to counter such issues. Therefore, go for eggs, whole-grain foods, citrus fruits, and almonds to fulfill the requirements of Vitamin B in kids.

Foods rich in Tryptophan: Tryptophan naturally relaxes the mind by producing neurotransmitters such as serotonin. It is helpful in regulating sleep and mood. Foods such as turkey, oats, soy, and sesame seeds should be given to anxious kids to relax them.

                                     
                                                                   
Water: Nothing can beat the power of water to de-stress and relax the mind as well as the body. So, encourage your kids to drink plenty of water on a regular basis as it will keep dehydration-induced anxiety at bay.

Probiotics: Probiotics such as yogurt restricts harmful bacteria growth and promotes the healthy immune system as well as the gut. This ensures reduced stress and anxiety levels.

Avoid fried foods, caffeine, and too sugary foods especially when the child is feeling anxiety. Instead, focus on fruits and vegetables that nourish kids with ample nutrients.

Besides, kids may tend to overeat when stressed out. Keep healthy foods/ recipes ready so that they reach out to only nutrient-rich foods. Simultaneously, engaging them in indoor or outdoor activities will also help to reduce their stress levels.

Everyday stress can happen but now, you know the above diet tips to ease anxiety in kids.


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Warning signals your child is low on confidence

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Teenager with low confidence stays aloof.

Low confidence in your teenager can restrict him/her to a shell. He may not be able to lead a healthy social life or tap his inner talent which he can otherwise do if he has faith in himself.

If you want to expand the horizon of your teenage child and desire to help him lead a happy life then check the probable signs of low confidence in your teenage boy or girl. Only if you are able to identify these warning signals, you can give the right direction to your child and make him more confident for anything and everything that comes his way.

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Warning Signals Your Child has Low Confidence

• He avoids meeting/ communicating with his friends and class fellows; tries to stay aloof.
• He avoids participating in challenges and competitions due to fear of failure.
• The child gives in to the demands of his peer group and is not able to say "no".
• He looks for approval for his decisions and actions every time because he is not confident.
• He does not finish a task as soon as he feels difficulty and quits without trying enough.
• He does not take the initiative and tries to hide when the situation arises to take responsibility.
• He/ she blames people or situations for his own incompetency.
• The kid has mood swings ranging from irritable behavior, anxiety, hopelessness, aloofness, and sadness.
• He is self-critical and uses negative words for himself such as loser, fool, etc
• He either rebels without a reason or is overly helpful to seek approval.
• He tries to seek the attention of people around him through unreasonable actions.
• He tries to control the people around him. 
• He gets into drinking, drugs, tobacco, etc.
• Some kids also go to denial mode that they are stressed out or have any fears.

                                       

                                       

The teenager may have some of the above symptoms which clearly indicate low self-esteem in him. Once it is established, parents can look for possible reasons and ways to deal with the low self-esteem in their child. In fact, parents need to check if their words or actions leading to the low self-esteem of their child. To know more on this, check out this well-explained post-

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It will immensely help you to adapt to new ways of dealing with your kid and support him to gain confidence in himself.

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Are you hurting self-esteem of your growing kid?

                                                                      

While it's okay to feel low sometimes but feeling low about oneself continuously is not a good sign, especially among growing kids. Sometimes, even as parents, we can't estimate the causes of low self-esteem in kids. Several reasons make a child less confident and sadly, at times, parents contribute to low self-confidence in their own child.

A kid with low self-esteem feels lonely and left out.

Now when a kid has deficient self-esteem then it needs to be rectified before it has a severe effect on the psyche and life of the kid. The first step to handling low self-esteem in your growing kid is to ascertain probable reasons for the same. Find out if you as a parent have done or undone something that is hurting the confidence of your child.

Reasons that hurt the self-esteem of growing kid

Let us check out probable causes of low self-esteem and make sure your tween/ teen is not going through the same:

When a kid feels neglected:

The absence of personal attention and support from parents may lead to low self-esteem in the kid. Whether parents are occupied with work or over-engaged on social media, providing quality time to kids is mandatory to make them feel secure. However, if you can’t keep your hands off your laptop or mobile while your kid is eager to share his story then he may feel neglected to cause a dip in confidence.

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When you over-interfere:

                                              

                                                   

Being over-caring can adversely affect the confidence of a child.

If you are one of those who make sure to instruct their tween now and then or check what they are doing all the time, then the child may feel you don’t trust his abilities. Your overindulgence in his every decision and action may erode his confidence to work and achieve independently. So better, keep a check on your over-caring attitude!

When you forget to appreciate enough:

You remember to pinpoint their mistakes but often forget to appreciate their small achievements or endeavors. Instead of showing the right path, if you become overly critical of his actions or use harsh words for the child, the result is your teen feels he is not good enough.

This is not what you want to happen, right?

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When you compare with peers:

To boost the confidence of your child, you compare her to siblings or peers, but it backfired! Constant comparison of the performance or behavior of your child with others or pushing your kid to become like others will definitely cause serious damage to her self-esteem. Check this habit before it destroys the self-esteem of your child!

                                                            

When you do not respect:

Mocking their behavior in front of your friends or spelling out their weaknesses with other adults disgust your child. When you try to prove that your child is silly, not good enough or bad at something, he assumes that he is not worthy of his parents.

When you give up on your child:

        

When you give up the hope that your teenager can improve, he also gives up his hope, you know. Your discouraging attitude and words have a deep negative effect on him that may not be reversible.

So, before you expect your child to be responsible, sensible, or anything else, check if you have any of the above habits that can damage his self-esteem. I hope these parenting tips for preteens and tweens will go a long to building healthy relationships with your growing child.

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Proactive ways to avoid tantrums of kids in public

                                                   

Have you seen kids throwing tantrums in full public view, in the middle of the marketplace, in the park, or maybe at the clinic? You thought your kids will not behave like that, until one day your kid actually embarrasses you with an unstoppable tantrum. It is natural whether you like it or not.
However, it can be avoided, diverted, or managed with some proactive ways How? Let's read now!

Proactive ways to avoid tantrums of kids in public

Share your list of work to be done or shopping list 

                                                       
Start planning for a smooth shopping experience with your child from home itself. Share the purpose of your visit, the necessary things you need to buy/ do. Let him know how he will benefit if this task is done smoothly. Interestingly, the child will look forward to the shopping experience with you.

Let the child make his own shopping list to avoid tantrums in public.

Allot specific tasks to your child while grocery shopping

Show your kid the items you need to buy such as corn flakes, biscuits, etc. Ask him to look out for these cartons/ packets while in the store so that he focuses on your purchases and not his own. This would prompt his participation in your work without getting diverted to other things that may lead to tantrums.

Ask your child to make his own list

 Ask your child at home to share what he/ she wants from the store and discuss whether you can fulfill that requirement or not. If the thing is worthy then note it down in your list in front of him so that he is assured that his demand will be met. So chances of the kid being happy and not cranky are higher!

Never move out of the house on an empty stomach

Before you step out with your kid especially for shopping, always have a good meal/ snack time with him. That will ensure your toddler/ kid will not throw tantrum to buy a snack or drink for him as soon as you reach the store. Though it's a bit difficult that your toddler does not cry for anything at all yet you can take this proactive action.

                                           

Also, you can allow him to carry his own small bag with his favorite snack, biscuit, book, and toy which may help him to stay engaged for a longer duration.

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Make rules and stay consistent

Tell your child clearly how to voice his demands when outside. Also, make clear he can have his way only if he is polite enough and tantrums will only lead to loss of rewards. In addition, you can inform him that you are going for a definite time to complete certain tasks and need to return on time.

You can give him options for enjoying his toy or listening to music or reading a book if he feels bored. All the while, you need to repeat the rules of staying calm and polite when you go out so that the child remembers them before throwing a tantrum.

Keeping engaged is the mantra

        

Discover your own unique way to engage your kid.

Keep talking to your child or make stories so that your kid remains entertained. Remember the problem generally starts the moment he has nothing to do or think about. On your trip, sing a song,  show him different colors, and teach him different shapes to keep his mind occupied.

For an older child, you can explore a whole lot of conversation which allows him to think more and stay occupied. If all this does not suffice then you have your phone to offer him a quick diversion from public meltdown to staying calm!

Try these parenting tips to avoid the tantrums of kids while outside for a great experience!

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Top 5 Summer Diet tips for your kids

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Long school hours, outdoor physical activity, and scorching sun can leave your kids drained out. Let not the hot temperature mess with the health of your child. Check out these quick Summer Diet tips for your kids and enjoy the season happily.

Interesting Summer diet tips for your kids

                                          

Light meals              

                                       

                                                                                     

Light meals digest easily and can provide ample energy. So include healthy meals such as rice flakes, corn flakes, cold sandwiches, porridge, salads, and dal-rice combo to fill little stomachs, yet feel happy and light. It's best to avoid fried and spicy foods, which may cause stomach problems.

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Fluids intake

                       
Besides drinking plenty of water, make sure your kids run for different drinks such as homemade fruit juices, fruit-flavored squashes, smoothies, and fruit milkshakes. In addition, buttermilk, lemonade, and flavored glucose should be given from time to time to replenish the lost electrolytes and stay away from DEHYDRATION.

These fluids not only keep the body hydrated but also provide ample nutrients.                                                                                            

 Fruit break

                                               

Keep summer fruits, such as watermelon, melon, berries, mangoes, and bananas, well within reach of kids. Prepare a colorful fruit salad and serve kids with a dash of lemon juice and rock salt. Cut them into interesting shapes before you serve or squeeze any fruit, and add a couple of ice cubes to attract your kid.

Even better, make popsicles out of fresh fruit juice and see the kids asking for more! You can have 3-4 servings of fruit in different forms throughout the day.                                            
 

Mealtime can be interesting

Summer veggies must form part of the daily diet of your kids, but it need not be boring. Prepare a mix veggie raita ( curd with veggies) wherein you can add cucumber, onion, and tomato to well-stirred curd. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Else, prepare fruit raita using bananas, mangoes, and pomegranates. Kids would love to create and eat a colorful dish meal.


                                     the         

Another easy tip is to spread pizza sauce or any favorite sauce of child on roti (or tortilla) and add cooked veggies or dry chicken recipe to it. Now, roll the roti to get the ready-to-eat recipe for school hours or at home.

With this recipe, you will be relieved that your fussy kid is getting nutrients from whole foods and veggies at the same time without any hassle!

Sweet dishes 

                                   

Now, how can we ignore the daily dose of sweets to kids, but of course, in proportion? Instead of ordering pastries, cakes, and ice creams from outside every time, try these at home.

Kids would love a visually delightful dish coming from your kitchen, which can be as simple as vanilla ice cream with toppings of fresh fruits, dry fruits, or chocolate sauce dressing.

                                
Mango ice cream, triple sundae, fruit cream, custard, and cheesecake are some of the recipes that are easy to make but provide ample taste and energy, too!

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