Each year according to the CDC 750 children will lose their life to drowning. It is important that children and adults be aware of what they should be looking for and know what they can do to assist.
Teaching our children that they can be a hero and help themselves and others in an emergency situation builds their knowledge and confidence. Fire Safety is one area of safety that every child should learn about.
Clement Stone, one of the greatest business people in the world, once said, “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” I found this quote interesting because when you ask a child, would you take a cookie if you were told not too, they would say NO! When asked why not the answer is almost always, “Because you will get in trouble.”
One of our favorite sayings in our classes that all of our students know is, “Do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do! Not because you will get in trouble” In fact we tell the students – “Do not worry about getting in trouble or not. The most important thing is do the right thing.”
While some will say that children know in their gut what is right and wrong and what are good choices and bad choices, I would disagree. As parents we have the responsibility to teach our children morals, values and ethics. When they see us practice those same things they begin to understand the meaning and importance of integrity. Our display of truth and honesty in our lives as adults, is how our children “learn to feel in their gut”, what it means to do the right thing.
This month we will talk about honesty, promises, being authentic to ourselves, and how integrity influences leadership and stress in our lives. Keep checking back in with us here, or visit our school and let your child take classes with us as we practice the martial arts and build character, confidence and contribution to the community.
As a parent we can be frustrated by the child who never wants to try anything new or is determined that they will not like it, whether it is a vegetable or an activity. Usually what has happened is they have a voice in their head telling them that they are going to fail, or they won’t be good at something, or someone is going to laugh at them. The first thing we must do as a parent is ask ourselves if this is the example that we are setting for our children? Do they see us reject things without trying or talking to ourselves or out loud in a way that is putting ourselves down. If we put ourselves down, or put others down as not being able to do something, our children will pick up on that and apply that to themselves.
Being kind to ourselves, no matter what our age is, encouraging ourselves to step out of our comfort zone, and allow our mistakes to be seen by our children, Continue reading “Life Skills: Optimism – Can be Gained with Practice and Kindness to Ourselves”
Each month we define and discuss a word of character development and life skill with all of our students.
This month the word is Integrity and will be defined this way.
Young students: Integrity means: I mean what I say and I say what I mean!
Older students: Integrity means: Being true to yourself, your values, and your word.
This is the second in a series of emergencies every child can learn to handle. Every child can learn to save the life of a person who is choking.
