Tuesday, September 28, 2010

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Six Basic Needs - Article by Linda Milo

Six Basic Needs of Children, Adolescents and Adults
by Linda Milo


It doesn't matter what stage of life you are in, everyone has
the same basic needs. These needs are physical, emotional,
social, intellectual, spiritual, and creative. When all of these
needs are satisfied, you'll discover that your life is brimming
with joy and good feelings. You'll find your self-esteem at its
highest peak whenever you are fulfilled within your daily life
and activities.

Physical Needs: These needs are the basics. The need for air,
water, sleep, exercise, and sex.

Emotional Needs: This is the need for praise, love, trust,
security, feeling OK inside, and self-fulfilled.

Social Needs: This is the need for companionship and
friendship. This is usually gained from a peer group.

Intellectual Needs: This is the need for challenging thoughts,
reading, learning something new, and mind stimulation.

Spiritual Needs: This is the quiet need inside that wants to
know and believe in a higher spiritual power than ourselves.
This need increases our awareness and sensitivity to the greater
aspects of life.

Creative Needs: This is the need to express yourself in any
manner you desire. This can include the arts, dancing, acting,
and writing - almost anything that allows you to feel
imaginative and inspired.

All of the above needs are usually a part of every human's
life. All of us want to have these needs met in life. Having
these needs met increases our enjoyment of living and creates a
healthy body and soul. So how do parents fulfil these needs in
their growing children? The first way is to become aware that
the needs of a child are the same as yours. Being empathetic to
your child at all times creates a bond that nurtures the needs
of your child. For example, whenever your child wants to create
or make something, allow your attention to center on your child
and give him whatever you think will help to inspire your
child's creativity.

My children loved to create drawings on large pieces of paper. I
helped them do this by supplying them with the all the paper,
crayons, paint, brushes, etc. necessary to stimulate their
minds. Then I let them go to it! It was exciting to watch my
child create a masterpiece of their imagination. Their artwork
was sweet, beautiful and full of ingenuity. I then posted the
artwork all around the house to show to their siblings and
guests. As a parent, it was my goal to communicate with my child
that I truly understood and valued his desires and feelings to
be creative. I empowered my child to become all that he can be
at that moment. This process immediately shows your child that
his opinions and thoughts are valued.

By empowering your child, you are allowing your child to take
ownership of their feelings, take responsibility for their
behavior, make decisions that help them grow, follow through
with commitments and most importantly, to become aware of the
needs and feelings of others. You are giving your child the
chance to experience success and understand his own uniqueness.
It's rewarding for a child, adolescent and adult to have
recognition and respect. By empowering yourself, as well as your
child, you are fostering basic needs that truly make you glow
inside and out.

At different times in our lives, we are capable of doing
certain things. Stay tuned to where your child's capabilities
are during his childhood and supply the above needs according to
his stage in life. In fact, developmental stages continue right
into old age. When a child's needs are met, his discomforts and
fears are quickly removed and he finds that his life is truly a
safe and fun place to be. This feeling leads to a child that
learns to trust his environment and each successive stage of
development.

Know that meeting these six needs in your child's life is not
hard to do at any stage. Getting involved in your child's
exploration of his life doesn't take money, but it does take
thoughtfulness and time. Providing these needs throughout your
child's lifetime allows your child to go through his stages of
life with a healthy regard for himself and for society. It
encourages your child's autonomy and capacity to do more with is
his lifetime. Who can ask for more?

Copyright © 2006 by Linda Milo and Empowering Parents Now. All
rights reserved.






Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article41299.html

Misdiagnosis

http://www.thewmparentingconnection.com/2010/09/misdiagnosis.html

This is my latest post on The WM Parenting Connection  It's about getting a second opinion when it comes to your family's health.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Instructions not included

Yet again, I have been looking back at old photos of my little boy and marvelling at how quickly he is growing.  From this little six pound (6lb) scrap of life to the  three stone (42lb) of toddler that he is today.  Even though I was three months shy of my forty second (42nd) birthday when I had him, I really hadn't a clue what to do. That's why I just love this photo as it was exactly how I felt at the time.  No real instructions apart from well meaning advice and books on this and that, none of which I could take in anyway.

I think that people assumed that because I was older and had nieces and nephews and friends with kids, that I should know about motherhood.  In actual fact, because I had put off motherhood so long and then got a shock when it actually happened, I really was clueless. I hadn't been as attentive to my nieces and nephews as an aunt should be, for various reasons. One, was that I loved animals and spent most of my time with them, running a dogwalking and petsitting business and another, was that the older I got and the more I thought it wouldn't happen for me, I wanted to avoid children and their parents who would ask awkward questions.  Not surprising then that everyone assumed I preferred animals to children!

Now I look at him and I marvel at how healthy and robust he is.  I am amazed that we have managed to get him this far already.  He is almost three years old now and I am forty four!  I  revel in the fact that motherhood came to me a lot more naturally than I ever would have thought. Of course, it has it's challenges especially on my energy levels but I wouldn't change anything about my situation for anything else in this world.