Babycenter posted an excellent article on “Ten ways to build your child’s self-esteem” in which it detailed simple strategies that each of us can use to boost our child’s confidence. 

The suggestions ranged from giving unconditional love to supporting healthy risks.  What I found most noteworthy, however, was how the writeup distinguished between “Praise” and “Encouragement”:

Provide encouragement. Every child needs the kind of support from loved ones that signals, “I believe in you. I see your effort. Keep going!” Encouragement means acknowledging progress - not just rewarding achievement. So if your child is struggling with a math problem, say: “You’re trying very hard and you almost have it!” instead of “Not like that. Let me do it.”

There’s a difference between praise and encouragement. One rewards the task while the other rewards the person (”You did it!” rather than “I’m proud of you!”). Praise can make a child feel that he’s only “good” if he does something perfectly. Encouragement, on the other hand, acknowledges the effort. “Tell me about the game. I saw you really hustling out there” is more helpful than saying, “You’re the best player on the team.” Too much praise can sap self-esteem because it can create pressure to perform and set up a continual need for approval from others. So dole out the praise judiciously and offer encouragement liberally; it will help your child grow up to feel good about himself.

Don’t give this one a miss.  It has long term implications for your child’s Life.

This one is about how to be a good partner to your stay-at-home spouse.  Steve at BripBlap has posted an excellent writeup on the subject that covers his ten tips on what you can do.  It not only includes a simple explanation of what each suggestion refers to, but also deals with the problems that ensue and offers solutions to them. 

What more can you ask for, really?  All that’s left to do is implement.  Here’s the list in brief:

1. Don’t ‘decompress’ for an hour after you get home.
2. Take care of chores without ‘dividing them up.’
3. Give the gift of break time.
4. Don’t be selfish with your own ‘me time.’
5. Remember you are less expert in your child’s moods and needs.
6. Back off.
7. Don’t bring work home.
8. Try not to undermine ‘wind-down’ time.
9. Turn it off.
10. Remember that this is a team effort.

Read the entire piece; it’s well worth the time.  In the end, you’ll surely be happier if you have a relaxed spouse and happy kid(s)…

A series of links led me to an excellent writeup on Komando.com listing the 10 Commandments for Kids Online.  Here are just a few…

I will not try to win free things or buy things on the Internet without my parents’ permission. If I get a message that I won something, I will show it to my parents. If I get an e-mail asking for passwords or other secret stuff, I will ask my parents.

I will never tell anyone online or post online that I am home alone. I won’t give out my last name, my home address or telephone number, the name of my school or teachers, where my parents work or their telephone numbers without getting my parents’ permission. I will never give out my friends’ screen names, e-mail addresses, names, addresses and telephone numbers, and I will remind them to keep mine a secret.

I WILL NEVER, EVER MEET WITH ANYONE I’VE TALKED TO ONLINE WITHOUT FIRST TALKING WITH MY PARENTS.

This is just an excerpt, of course.  And, depending on the age of your child, you may or may not subscribe to some of these.  But it’s a great concept, and one that deserves implementation on some level.

It also got me thinking about other things you can do as a parent, to keep your loved ones safe.

Here’s a link to another excellent writeup from Komando on Limiting your children’s Screen Time.  It features many useful tips on parenting controls and how to use available Technology to make your job a bit easier.

And, here’s a link to OpenDNS – a (free) service that helps you keep your online environment safe through phishing protection and other forms of security, without the hassle of complicated software installation and configuration.

Safe surfing…