Let your child learn to face failure

Parenting Tips

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Written by: Director of Curriculum and Training, Financial Education Association       Mr. Kwan Hin Bun

In many cases, the biggest blow to a child is not the failure itself, but his or her understanding of the failure. For example, if a child is not selected to represent the school in an inter-school competition, the usual reason they think of is that they are not as good as their classmates. But there may be other reasons behind it. Maybe the teacher is worried that if he gets hurt, he won’t be able to represent the school in other more important competitions. This is not to teach children to avoid responsibility, but sometimes we need to make them understand that it is indeed their own factors that lead to failure.

Parents need to remind their children that anyone who starts something will always have difficulty. Parents should encourage their children to persevere to the end, without taking the requirement of perfection too seriously. Don’t be impatient to provide help to your child; let them try to meet the challenge in a different way. For example, if your child has difficulty learning to write Chinese characters, let him or her copy them first.

As children, their attitudes toward people and things around them are often unstable and easily influenced by emotions and other factors. When faced with difficulties and failures, they tend to develop negative emotions and fail to deal with failures with the right attitude, thus creating resilience. At this time, parents should tell their children in time, failure is not terrible, as long as a little brave can do a good job, learn from the failure to see how to do next time. Parents should consciously use their children’s failures as educational opportunities to guide their children to regain their courage and try again with boldness and confidence. At the same time, educate your child to face difficulties and setbacks, to improve the ability to overcome difficulties and resilience.

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In life, no one can remain unbeaten for a long time, like China’s “hurdle king” Liu Xiang who also lost in the London Olympics. Only those who are brave enough to face failure will have the chance to show their smiles of success again.

Parents should know how to teach their children to be brave in the face of failure, because no one is always successful in life. We understand from childhood that “failure is the mother of success”, so there is nothing to be afraid of when we face up to failure. However, if we look at our understanding of this statement, we should focus on “success” rather than “failure”, so that our recognition of failure is still conditional. When failure is no guarantee of future success, Failure, is still a shame and a sin. Therefore, parents must be clear about whether they are teaching their children to face failure or to avoid it!

讓孩子學習面對失敗

家長錦囊

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撰文:財商教育協會課程及培訓總監 關顯彬先生

很多情況下,給孩子帶來最大的打擊往往不是失敗本身,而是他對挫敗的理解。例如孩子沒被選上代表學校參加校際比賽,他們一般想到的原因可能是能力不及同學。但其實背後或許還有其他原因,可能老師擔心他弄傷了,就不能代表學校參加其他更重要的比賽。這樣做不是教孩子逃避責任,而是有時候我們需要讓孩子明白,導致失敗的確實是他們自身的因素。

作為孩子,對周圍的人和事物的態度常常是不穩定的,易受情緒等因素的影響,在面對困難和失敗時,他們往往會產生消極情緒,不能以正確的態度對待失敗,從而產生抗逆力。這時,父母要及時告訴孩子,失敗並不可怕,只要勇敢一點就能做好的,從失敗中吸取教訓,看一看下次怎樣做。父母要有意識地將孩子的失敗作為教育的契機,引導孩子重新鼓起勇氣,大膽自信地再次嘗試。同時,教育孩子敢於面對困難和挫折,提高克服困難和抗逆力。

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人生中,沒有人可以長久不敗,像中國「欄王」劉翔亦曾經在倫敦奧運會中失手,只有勇於面對失敗的人,才有機會再次展現成功的笑容。

父母都要懂得教育孩子勇敢面對失敗,因為沒有人一生都是平步青雲的。我們從小明白「失敗為成功之母」的道理,所以正視失敗沒甚麼可怕。但如果細察我們對這句話的認識,重點應該放在「成功」,而非「失敗」,以致於我們對失敗的認同還是有條件的。當失敗不能保證未來的成功時,失敗恐怕還是一種羞恥與罪惡。因此,父母必須好好弄清楚,自己究竟在教導孩子面對失敗,還是逃避失敗呢!

醒腦提神 增強記憶力 可以吃甚麼?

家長錦囊

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撰文: 註冊營養師(澳洲) 鍾蓉文

又來到考試季節,莘莘學子正開始努力溫習備試。不少家長都會問:「有甚麼食物可幫助子女提神醒腦,保持良好記憶力呢?」

碳水化合物

碳水化合物經消化後轉化成葡萄糖,為腦部提供充足能量,故筆者建議每餐進食適量碳水化合物,以維持腦部有效運作。食物來源包括:五穀類如飯、麵、麵包、燕麥等,以及高澱粉質的蔬菜如馬鈴薯、粟米、蕃薯、栗子和芋頭。選擇高纖的五穀類如全穀物早餐、燕麥、全麥包和紅米等,可令血糖更穩定,保持集中力。

奧米加3脂肪酸

奧米加3脂肪酸如EPA和DHA,是構成大腦細胞膜及神經組織主要元素,維持神經系統訊息的正常傳遞,有助保持良好記憶力。奧米加3脂肪酸可從進食深海魚如三文魚、吞拿魚、鯖魚等攝取,筆者建議一星期進食 2 至 3 餐,每餐約2至 3 安士(即手掌心的大小)。另外,杏仁、合桃、牛油果等亦含豐富奧米加3脂肪酸。

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卵磷脂

卵磷脂是組成神經傳導物質「乙醯膽鹼」的重要元素之一,因此攝取充足則有助活化腦細胞,令思考更敏銳及增強記憶力。雞蛋、黃豆及其製品如豆腐、豆漿和茄汁焗豆等都含豐富卵磷脂。

鐵質

鐵質是製造紅血球的主要元素,為腦運送足夠氧氣及營養,幫助保持頭腦清醒。紅肉類如牛肉、羊肉和駝鳥肉含豐富鐵質,筆者建議一星期可進食 2 至 3 餐,每餐約 2 至 3 安士。鐵質亦可從深綠色蔬菜如菠菜和紅腰豆等攝取,但由於植物性鐵質較難被人體吸收,因此同一餐可進食含豐富維他命C的食物,如橙、奇異果和蕃茄等,以增加吸收。

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抗氧化營養素

壓力及不良飲食會增加體內自由基,破壞身體細胞及加速退化,或會令記憶力受損。維他命A、C及E 均有抗氧化功能,可保護腦細胞免受自由基破壞,防止記憶力衰退。含豐富維他命A食物包括紅蘿蔔、南瓜和菠菜等;維他命E 亦可從果仁、雞蛋和乾豆中攝取。

以上營養素可促進腦部健康,但大家不應只側重於單一營養素的攝取。筆者鼓勵大家飲食盡量多元化,全面攝取足夠營養,令腦部維持最佳運作。

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Having breakfast makes you smarter. What breakfast can “wake up our brain and morning “?

Parenting Tips

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Written By: Founder of Kat-Spirit Nutrition Centre 

          Senior Nutritionist Ng Yiu Fun

 

The school year has started, did the children have breakfast before school? Many children have different reasons for not eating breakfast, but parents should pay attention to the fact that breakfast has a great impact on the growth of children!

 

Earlier, a study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong showed that breakfast has a significant impact on the academic performance of students. Students who have the habit of eating breakfast every day, test scores are more than 5 points higher than the average student who did not eat breakfast. Why does breakfast make us smarter?

 

Because the brain needs blood sugar for nutrient absorption and consumption, but when our body sleeps all night without food, the body has consumed our blood sugar for the whole day. Therefore, we need to eat breakfast to replenish blood sugar, so that our response becomes faster. Parents may ask, “What is the best breakfast for children?

 

What breakfast can “wake up our brain and morning”?

1.Starchy food

This includes porridge, flour, noodles, rice, bread and biscuits, so we can eat a sandwich, a bowl of macaroni or rice flour as well; even drinking milk, eating oatmeal or corn flakes is fine.

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2. Protein supplement
Since protein itself can make us react faster, for example, shredded chicken is rich in protein, so for breakfast, you can choose a bowl of rice noodles in shredded chicken soup or macaroni in shredded chicken soup, or have an egg sandwich with cheese, which can also help us replenish our needs for the day. So all parents remember to remind children to eat breakfast before going to school!

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食早餐較聰明 甚麼早餐可以「醒腦醒晨」?

家長錦囊

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撰文:家營營養中心創辦人  資深營養師 吳耀芬

開學了,小朋友上學前有沒有吃早餐呢?很多小朋友有不同的原因,養成了不吃早餐的習慣,但是各位家長要留意,原來早餐對小朋友的成長有很大的影響呢!

早前中文大學的研究顯示,原來早餐對學生的學業成績有重大影響。有每天吃早餐習慣的學生,考試成績較一般沒有吃早餐的學生高出5分之多。為甚麼吃早餐會令我們更聰明呢?

由於腦部需要血糖作為營養的吸收和消耗,但當我們的身體整晚處於沒有食物的狀態下入睡,身體已消耗了我們一整天的血糖。所以,我們更需要進食早餐以補充血糖,令我們的反應變得較快。家長可能會問,有甚麼早餐比較適合小朋友?

甚麼早餐可以醒腦醒晨

1.澱粉質的食物

包括粥、粉、麵、飯、麵包和餅乾等,所以我們可以吃一件三文治、一碗通粉或米粉也可以;甚至飲牛奶、吃燕麥片或粟米片也沒有問題。

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2.補充蛋白質

由於蛋白質本身也可以讓我們的反應會快一點,例如雞絲含豐富的蛋白質,所以早餐可以選擇一碗雞絲湯米粉或雞絲湯通粉,或吃一份芝士蛋三文治,也可以幫助我們補充一天的需要。所以各位家長記得提醒小朋友,要吃了早餐才上學了!

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Become a secure attachment for your child.Parent-child interaction is
especially important

Parenting Tips

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Young,Beautiful,Asian,Mother,Lifting,And,Playing,With,Her,Baby.

Written By: Ms. Lui Shuk Jing, Family Dynamics Personal, Marriage and Family Therapist

 

There is a Chinese saying “the age of three determines 80” and the West has another saying “The future is now”.It is clear that both Chinese and foreign parents have relevant parenting experience and believe that the early years are the golden age for shaping the healthy growth of their children. Many parents understand that they are the key influencers of their children’s growth, and that their children will learn by example, so they have to set an example and start to discipline them at a young age. I believe that parents focus on disciplining their children’s behavior, but recent studies in medicine, science, psychology, and early childhood development all point to the interaction and relationship between parents and children as the foundation for their children’s development.

 

“Attachment Theory research clearly shows that as early as 0-18 months of age, a parent or primary caregiver forms a lifelong relationship pattern with the child that will be passed on for the rest of the child’s life. Once a secure attachment relationship is

established, it is like a secure base that can be effective in dealing with future turbulent situations and in building the ability to have a successful family relationship. Conversely, once an insecure relationship pattern is established, it can have a negative impact on an infant’s future growth, emotional processing, and family relationships.

A,Little,Boy,Sitting,At,The,Corner,Of,The,Room

Secure Attachment

 The key to establishing a secure attachment pattern is for parents to establish a secure attachment when their child is 0-18 months old. Parents can build secure attachments based on the following suggestions

  • Be close to your child often, especially when they need it, such as when they cry and see their parents comforting them so that they know you are always there for them.
  • Invest emotionally in the parent-child relationship so that your child knows thatyou enjoy spending time with them and are interested in them, rather than being preoccupied with your own work. So parents need to play with their children from time to time to increase parent-child interaction and communication.
  • Parents are sensitive to their children’s emotional needs because children need you not only to meet their physical needs but also to care about their emotions and help them express and respond to them, especially negative emotions. When your child is dancing or smiling, you will help them say, “My baby is so happy! I’m so excited!” When your child is upset or crying, you will pick them up and offer protection and comfort. As they grow older, they will have more complex emotions, such as worry, fear, anger, frustration, and shame, and parents need to encourage and help their children express them, even though their negative emotions may have something to do with them.

 

Insecure Attachment

 

I have handled many cases in which the children are smart and well-behaved and have excellent academic performance, but they are very disturbed emotionally. Their parents think they are leading by example, loving their children and working hard, but they do not understand how their children can have emotional problems. If they look closely at the “attachment pattern” between themselves and their children to see if they are always close to their children, if they are emotionally involved, and if they can meet their children’s  emotional needs, it will be easy to find the core of the problem and help parents rebuild a secure attachment relationship with their children so that they can rely on them and build a foundation for growth.

成為孩子安全的依附對象 親子互動尤其重要

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Young,Beautiful,Asian,Mother,Lifting,And,Playing,With,Her,Baby.

撰文:家庭動力個人、婚姻及家庭治療師呂淑晶女士

 

俗語有云「三歲定八十」,西方亦有 “The future is now” 的說法,可見中外父母都有相關的育兒經驗,認為幼年時期是塑造孩子健康成長的黃金階段。很多父母都明白自己是影響孩子成長的關鍵人物,孩子會耳濡目染,所以自己要以身作則,從少開始管教他們。筆者認為父母都把焦點放在管教子女的行為上,而近代醫學、科學、心理學和幼兒發展的研究之中,均指出父母與子女的互動和關係才是影響子女成長的基礎。

 

「依附理論」研究清楚告訴我們,早於孩子在 0 – 18 個月,父母或主要照料者,已跟孩子形成一個影響一生的關係模式,將會承傳一生。安穩的依附關係一旦建立,就好像建立了一個安全基地,可以有效面對日後動盪不安的處境和建立美滿家庭關係的能力。相反,一旦建立不安全的關係模式,對嬰兒日後的成長,情緒處理和家庭關係都會帶來負面影響。

A,Little,Boy,Sitting,At,The,Corner,Of,The,Room

安全的依附關係 

 

能否建立安穩的依附關係模式,關鍵在於孩子在 0 – 18 個月時,家長們可以根據以下建議建立安全的依附關係︰

 

  • 可經常親近孩子,特別是在孩子有需要的時候,例如哭泣時會見到父母在安慰自己,讓孩子知道您常在他們身邊。


在親子關係投入情感,令孩子知道您喜歡跟他們在一起,對他們有興趣,而不會老是專注自己的工作。所以父母需要不時與子女玩耍,增加親子互動和交流。

  • 父母能夠敏銳回應孩子的情感需要,因為孩子不單只是需要您滿足他們身體温飽的需要,而是更加需要您去關心他們的情緒,幫助他們表達和回應,尤其是負面情緒。當子女手舞足蹈或笑嘻嘻時,您會幫他們說︰「BB好開心!好興奮啊!」當孩子不安或哭泣時,您會抱起他們,並給予保護和安慰;當他們長大些的時候,會有更複雜的情緒,例如擔心、害怕、憤怒、挫敗和羞愧,家長更需要鼓勵和幫助孩子表達,縱使他們的負面情緒可能跟您們有關,亦要給予一定程度的肯定和疏導。

 

不安全的依附關係

 

筆者處理不少家庭個案,孩子們都是聰明乖巧和成績優異,卻在情緒上受到很大的困擾,他們的父母認為自己以身作則,愛惜孩子和踏實工作,不明白孩子怎麼會有情緒問題?倘若他們細心觀察自己與子女的「依附關係模式」,看看自己和子女是否經常親近、情感是否投入,以及能否滿足孩子的情感需要,就會不難找到問題的核心所在,從而幫助父母與子女重建安全的依附關係,讓孩子得到依賴,建立成長的基礎。

Failure to adequately address anxiety in young children may exacerbate separation anxiety

Parenting Tips

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Written by: New Horizons Development Centre, Certified Educational Psychologist Pang Chi Wah

As the school year begins again, many children cry when they first go to kindergarten. However, there are also children who can go to school without any adjustment period because their parents can prepare them mentally and practice simulations. For children, entering kindergarten may be their first major challenge because some children are separated from their families for the first time when they enter kindergarten, but once they have enough time to become familiar with the school environment, they will feel safe in kindergarten life and will not cry.

What bothers parents and teachers the most is that after a few weeks of enrollment, children continue to cry or expressly resist going back to school. In better cases, they may not like to participate in extracurricular activities, and in more severe cases, they may refuse to go to school, and in some extreme cases, they may not allow their parents to leave their sight. These are all separation anxiety problems.

In fact, there may be deeper reasons why children do not adapt to being separated from their families that need to be understood in depth. For example, some children are admitted to the intensive care unit when they are newborn because they are underweight or have physical problems, or they need to be hospitalized or undergo surgery because they are sick. Although such medical support is necessary for them, it may also lead to traumatic psychological experiences for them, and since then they may be afraid of strangers or unfamiliar places and easily develop separation anxiety, and their sense of security is lower than other children.

In some even worse cases, parents are not allowed to work, or that the child needs to be left with a babysitter, but the children do not want to be left behind, so the parents consider the reality of their needs and have to forcibly separate from them or lie to them. As a result of parents’ misuse of inappropriate methods, their feelings of insecurity during infancy and early childhood are reinforced. The so-called traumatic experiences are actually events that cause them to be psychologically afraid.

The main reason for the lack of security in young children is the separation from their families and the failure of parents to handle the situation properly. Ironically, some caregivers do not provide a safe and adequate living environment in their daily lives, and more importantly, there are frequent changes in caregivers or places, and there are strong contrasts in caregiving practices, causing them to go through psychological adjustment tests before they start school.

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未適當處理幼兒不安感 或加劇分離焦慮

家長錦囊

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撰文:新領域潛能發展中心 註冊教育心理學家彭智華

即將又踏入開學月,有很多幼兒在第一次到幼稚園上學時,都會哭泣不斷。但也有幼兒不需要任何適應期,便可開心上學去,因為家長能讓他們有足夠的心理準備及模擬的練習。對幼兒來說,入讀幼稚園可能是他們第一個重大挑戰,因為有些幼兒是在入讀幼稚園時才第一次真正與家人分離,但只要讓他們有足夠時間,漸漸熟悉了學校環境之後,就對幼稚園的生活産生了安全感,自然不會哭泣了。

而最困擾家長及教師的,大概是入讀數周後,幼兒還在上學時持續哭泣或明言抗拒回校。情況好一點的,可能會不喜歡參加課外活動,再嚴重一點的可能會拒絶上學,有些極端的例子甚至會不允許父母離開自已的視線範圍,這些都是分離焦慮的問題。

其實,幼兒不適應與家人分離,可能還有深層次的原因需要跟大家深入理解。例如有些幼兒在初生時因體重不足,或身體有毛病而要入住嬰兒深切治療部,或因生病而需要住院或做手術,雖然這些醫學支援對他們而言是必須的,但也可能會導致他們在心理上經歷了一些心理創傷經驗,自此可能害怕陌生人或陌生地方,容易產生分離焦慮,他們的安全感比別的幼兒低。

有些可能是雪上加霜的情況,就是遇上幼兒不容許家長上班,或因需要將幼兒交托給褓母照顧,但幼兒不願意被留下,家長考慮了現實的需要,在情急下必須與他們強行分離,或是說謊欺騙他們,由於家長誤用了不適當的方法,結果加強了他們在嬰幼兒時期的不安全感覺。所謂心理創傷經驗,其實是一些造成他們心理上害怕的事件。

小時候一些與家人分離,而且家長沒有好好處理的事件,是造成幼兒缺乏安全感的主要原因。諷刺的是,有些只是照顧者在他們的日常生活裡,沒有提供足夠安全及溫飽的生活環境,更重要的是經常更換照顧者或地方,而且照顧的手法有很強烈的對比,令他們在上學前已經歷心理適應上的考驗。

How to choose the right multimedia e-learning product?

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Written by: Director of Program Development, Carmen Leung

There is a wide range of teaching animations or online children’s programs for parents to choose from, but many parents ask: “Are these animations and applications good or bad for children’s learning? There are some points to note when using multimedia electronic products for children’s learning, including the age of children and remembering not to rely solely on electronic learning modes. Now let me go on to explain the other points that should be noted.

How to choose the right multimedia electronic learning product?

  • It is best if the product does not have non-learning components that children can download or open on their own. For example, if a child is learning on an iPhone or iPad, parents should never let the child open other programs to ensure that the child is learning and not having fun.
  • Learning products with segments or sections can be used. Many parents say that their children have a tendency to react badly when they are asked to stop using electronic products. Therefore, I suggest that products should have an interactive element and require children to respond in different ways.
  • Products should have an interactive element and require children to respond in different ways. A multimedia product is not a good product if it only provides a one-way teaching model. For example, a product that only allows children to sit and listen to information, or to watch and not respond to it, is called “one-way learning” and should be avoided. Products that allow children to sing together, do actions together, string words together, and read aloud and answer questions are the products to choose.
  • For example, there are some products that allow children to respond, but the answers are of the same nature every time, for example, they have to press a button to answer each time, so children’s responses will be slower and they will become “robotic” learners, which will affect their motivation to learn and their ability to think from multiple perspectives in the future.
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Time to use electronic devices

 

Children should not use electronic devices for too long period of time for learning, and parents should set a daily or weekly time limit for their children to use electronic devices. For example, children can only use the computer for a maximum of half an hour after homework each day. If the half hour is up, the child must keep the promise and stop using the product. Parents can also work with their children to set a daily schedule, allocating time for homework, fun, hobby classes and electronic devices, so that children understand that everything needs to be planned and restrained. This not only can train children’s self-management skills (Self Management), but also can effectively limit the use of electronic products time.

 

Reward the use of electronic devices

 

If a child enjoys learning with electronics (and often does), parents can consider rewarding them with the use of the product, for example, by promising them 30 minutes of electronics each time they finish a meal within half an hour, or each time they finish a lesson with quality.