How Parents Teach Children Assertiveness Skills

1. Encouraging children to speak-up. Kids who speak-up for themselves and others begin to understand that assertiveness can create the change they desire. They also empower other kids to learn to speak-up for themselves.
2. Encouraging children to try new things. Assertive kids are not fearful of change. They enjoy trying something new or doing something different. They don’t fear failing or embarrassing themselves because they understand mistakes are learning opportunities. Parents of assertive kids have shown them how to embrace the unknown and rise above life challenges to embrace new opportunities.

       Encourage Emma to try new foods. She is usually willing to take it.

1. Instructing children to protect their boundaries. Assertive kids respect boundaries. They understand the importance of knocking before entering another person’s room or asking to borrow their sister’s paints taking them. They also expect others to respect their boundaries and set up consequences when their boundaries are invaded. For example, if their little brother keeps sneaking in their room to take their favorite stuffed animal the assertive kid will refuse to play with his little brother until he respects his boundaries.
2. Teaching children to say “NO”. Assertive kids understand that they have a right to say “NO”. They also respect another person’s “NO”. Parents’ role model this level of assertiveness in many different ways. One way a parent can teach a child to respect “no” is during play. Billy and Gage are playing in the living room. Molly, Billy’s mom is nearby observing their play. Molly hears Billy tell Gage to stop tickling him but Gage still continues to tickle Billy. Molly interrupts the play and teaches Gage that when someone says “no” or “stop it” he must respect their words. Kids who have parents that respect their “NO” feel what they say matters which helps them to feel safe and protected.
3. Encouraging children to use “I” statements. Assertive kids don’t blame others but instead speak from their own point of view. They will say, “I felt mad when you said that to me” or “I felt hurt when you refused to play with me at recess”. They don’t use many “You” statements and take responsibility for their own actions. They do not feel a need to make excuses for things that go wrong or blame others for their bad choices. Instead they own their own decisions and then look for solutions to the problem.
4. Coaching children on how to ask for help. A key component in assertiveness training is knowing when and how to ask for help or clarity. Assertive children don’t worry about looking “dumb”, “confused”, or being “misunderstood” so they ask for help when they are unsure of a situation. Assertive kids have been taught to focus on finding a solution to the problem instead of focusing on the problem.

       Ask Emma if she goes to the toilet and run out of paper.

       Aiden in the classroom, having trouble to open his water bottle.

1. Allowing children to change their minds. Assertive children understand that they have a right to change their minds and to not feel bad about doing so. Bobby and Chris went to an amusement park for Bobby’s birthday. Bobby really wanted to ride the big wooded roller coaster. Chris and Bobby stood in line for 30 minutes but when they reached the front of the line Chris changed his mind and decided he no longer wanted to ride the coaster. When Bobby started to call him “Chicken” Chris didn’t feel bad because he knew he had a right to change his mind.
2. Teaching children how to recognize potential danger. Assertive kids don’t often get bullied because they recognize the hurtful behavior and address it quickly. Assertive kids do however stand up to kids who bully others. Parents of assertive kids teach their children that all human beings have value and should be treated with kindness and respect.

How to Train a Child for a 5K Run

A 5K run is an exciting athletic challenge for a child. The distance is great enough to have to train well in order to compete but not so far as to be impossible for most kids. Parents need to be prepared to help a child who expresses interest in running this distance. Map out a plan to train your child in terms of her technique and endurance. This is an opportunity to increase the parent-child bond as you work toward a satisfying goal.

Step 1

Write down your plan of action in a notebook. Involve your child in the planning process by having him share suggestions. List daily goals such as adding a fourth of a kilometer to your training runs. Leave room to record distances and times when you practice.

Step 2

Buy good shoes for your child for his training. According to Orange County Foot and Ankle Group, you should always outfit your child in shoes specifically constructed for running to guard against injury and help aid performance. Take him to a sporting goods or athletic shoe store to have his feet measured by a knowledgeable sales person who will take into account arch height and foot width when making purchase recommendations.

Step 3

Take your child to a local track for a base run. Tell your child to jog around the track at a comfortable pace. Note the distance she is able to run without stopping and the time it took her to complete that distance. These starting measures will allow you to decide how much distance you need to add overall and what completion time your child should aim for.

Step 4

Run with your child every other day. The day off in between needs to be taken for rest and recovery. Work on strength training during off days by performing crunches, squats, pushups and pullups. Do these exercises with your child to help keep him motivated.

Step 5

Work on your child's running technique. Observe his natural running stride and encourage him to maintain it during the entire run rather than just at the beginning. Teach him to keep his head up and still while he runs so his overall posture will be natural and correct. Mark Springer in an article for Kidsrunning.com, says kids need to lean forward very slightly and must never slouch their shoulders when completing a distance run.

Step 6

Take plenty of water with your for runs. Hydration is important for energy and endurance. Encourage your child to drink frequently before and during runs -- and even more after finishing practice.

Step 7

Enlist a few of your child's friends to run with her during some practices. This allows her to measure herself against peers. It also provides entertainment and camaraderie while working on training for the 5K run.

With a little planning and preparation, you can run—comfortably—every step of the way of a 5K. The slow buildup and easy pacing of this five-week plan will allow your body to adapt to running 3.1 miles continuously, and the three-mile dress rehearsal runs will give you the confidence that you can go the distance on race day, says Paul. (If you haven't been exercising at all, first spend several weeks running and walking until you can run for 10 minutes.) As you follow this schedule, avoid running on consecutive days and keep the pace easy enough to talk. Twice a week, cross-train by swimming, cycling, walking briskly, or taking a fitness class.

Week -- Weekday 1, Weekday 2, Weekday 3

1 -- 1.5 miles, 1.5 miles, 2 miles

2 -- 2 miles, 2 miles, 2.5 miles

3 -- 2 miles, 2.5 miles, 3 miles

4 -- 2.5 miles, 2.5 miles, 3 miles

5 -- 2.5 miles, 2 miles, Race 3.1 miles!

Great Stretches for Runners! 
A brief warm up and some stretches before and after each work out help reduce risk of injury. 
Never bounce in a stretch or hold your breath. Hold the position for at leaset 15-30 seconds, 
and warm up with a quick 5 minute walk before stretching. Here are some great ideas. 
Warm-Up Silly Walks: You can combine a warm-up with these stretches. 
 High Knee Walk: Lift knee to hip height while foot on ground raises it’s heel, so you are 
balancing on your toe. Drop knee down then switch feet. Repeat for 20-30 steps. 
 Lunge Walk: Step out, lunge down, bending the front knee, making sure knee does not 
extend over ankle, come up and then bring legs together, step out with other leg and repeat for 
20-30 steps. 
Shoulder roll: Roll shoulders five times going forward, five times backwards 
Neck roll: Drop chin to chest, roll neck slowly side to side. 
Quad stretch: Stand straight, lift your right foot up behind you, and grab your right foot with 
your right hand. Pull your heel gently toward your bottom, feeling a stretch in your quadricep 
(front thigh). Hold for 30-60 seconds—this is a big muscle, give it time to stretch! 
Hamstring Stretch: Stand with your legs crossed and the outsides of your feet together. Bend 
over with your rear knee straight. Reach toward your feet or bring your torso toward legs. Hold 
stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat with your opposite leg. 
Calf Stretch: Place both hands on a wall with arms extended. Lean against wall with one leg 
bent forward and the other leg extended back with knee straight and foot facing forward. Keep 
the heel of your rear foot on that floor. Feel the stretch in the calf of that leg, and hold 15 to 30 
seconds. Repeat with the opposite leg. 

Reading note of "What your kindergartner needs to know"

1. Read to your child daily

The single most important and helpful thing you can do is to set aside 20 minutes daily to read aloud to your child.

Your child's ability to follow and enjoy a story when read aloud far surpasses her ability to read independently.

As you read, stop and talk about the story with your child to engage her in the story and check for understanding. Make inferences, predictions, and connections.

(I can read to Aiden 2~ 3 grades level up books with varities (nonfiction ect) + Chinese book. He reads to himself his own level books he brought back from school, raz-kids and some library books)

2. Talk to your child.

Provide as many opportunities as possible for children to listen to and speak adult language. And don't feel compelled to simplify your vocabulary. Longer and more complex conversations with sophisticated words are a good way to expose your child to rich language.

The list of recommended works

Books that build character

Books to build on: A grade by grade resource guide for parents and teachers

The read-aloud handbook

The new york times parents' guide to the best book for Children

The world's best Dad

华盛顿摄影师Dave Engledow拍摄了一组标题为"世界上最好的爸爸"幽默系列。照片把他描绘成一个心烦意乱的，不称职的父亲，缺乏基本的生活技能，让他的女儿进入各种恶作剧。 这套作品将三岁大的女儿当作一个成人来看，有种相依为命的辛酸，他用这种调侃式的视角表达了带孩子的不容易，而在欢笑的同时，父爱也自然流露了出来。