What is Children's Talent Search?

Children of all ages nationwide are earning millions of rupees each year by showing their talents in their respective fields. If your child is talented in a particular field like dancing, singing, or acting and is interested in becoming a star then he or she can participate in the children's talent search program's. They can participate by registering themselves on the web sites. There are many talent search agents available on these web sites that will help them out, in case a problem occurs.

Through these children's talent search programs, your child can get a chance to prove himself and achieve his dreams and can get a chance to make their future better and bright. These search programs act as a platform for the aspiring children. They get to learn many things and gain a lot of experience by performing on stage in front of a crowd. With the help of these contests they can make their parents proud and prove it to the world that they are worth it.

These Talent Searches help gifted contestants and their families find out how advanced the participant's abilities truly are. There are many web sites that hold these searches for free of cost so that many children can participate in these programs. Talent Searches access and recognize contestants with exceptional abilities in their fields and give awards to some outstanding contestants. These awards include cash stipends and scholarships.

So, let your child come out with their hidden spark and participate in these talent search program's.

Hair Style for Children

Salon visits can be scary experiences for small children: They are boring, full of strangers and strange smelling products, you are being ordered to sit still for ages, whilst some idiot is doing terrible things to your hair which you didn't want to happen in the first place. Life is so unfair!

So how do you as a parent, avoid, annoying the stylist, upsetting your child and getting yourself stressed? Well this is where your best child psychology skills come into play! Sometimes your child will have unwarranted fears and you have to help to overcome them. Creating trust by taking their concerns seriously is the first and most important step. Promising a treat can also help. Best of all is to check in your local area to see if there is one of the growing numbers of new specialized children's salons available. Salon chains like Cartoon Cuts are designed to make the hair cut experience more positive and entertaining for small children: toys, video games, specially shaped chairs and specially-trained stylists, all help to ensure the experience is more like going to a theme park rather than a visit to the doctor.

Home Sweet Home

However, if your child is afraid of the hairdresser's, then try to cut their hair at home. They will feel safe and comfortable and you will save time and money. You can do it yourself if you have the skills - or the bravery. Cutting hair for a child is basically the same for an adult, except that a child's hair is usually thin and baby soft. Keep the bangs approx. 1/2" from the eyebrows. If the child's hair is thin, avoid short cuts for now until their hair comes in thicker. Shape around the face if you're trying to grow it long. If you don't have any haircutting experience, you might want to seek out a step by step guide on children's hair cutting, or get someone to do it for you.

Putting on the Style

Whatever you do, remember that today's media-savvy, celebrity-crazy kids want to look good. Children start to take an interest in their own hair style from an early age; even the kindergarten set want to be in-style. They want their hair to be like their best friend or even a television character. Boys that used to be seen only in ball caps are now having their hair bleached and highlighted.

Finding the right hair style for child is usually about finding a cool, fun, and easy-to-manage child hair style that suits your youngster's active lifestyle. But you may experience resistance - as children get older they start to have very definite opinions of how they want to wear their hair. This hairstyle preference will surface in early childhood and continue throughout the teen years and into adulthood. Many a growing child will argue with their parents over how they want to wear their hair to school. At this stage of development the hair becomes a major identity factor.

Hair Care 101

The key is to be encouraging; as children start to take an interest in their own hair and how they style it, this is the time to encourage them to follow an entire regime of good hair hygiene practices. It is important to show a child (when they are willing), how to properly shampoo and rinse their own hair. You can also teach them about towel blotting, detangling, combing and brushing their hair. Help them build a good hair hygiene schedule so that they learn the importance of keeping their hair clean and neat. Try also to get them to develop good eating habits because healthy hair is very dependent on high quality carbohydrates and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Good nutrition will promote shine and condition at any age.

Tips for Tip-Top Hair

Washing - use a mild shampoo, preferably in the child's favorite color or scent. Sometimes children are more willing to wash their hair with a fun shampoo, especially if it doesn't sting their eyes.

Combing/brushing - try to create trust and reassurance by allowing them to comb and brush their own hair on their own terms. Do not brush your child's hair 100 strokes before bedtime in the traditional manner - this will over stimulate the sebaceous glands and make the hair greasy and heavy. Doing a quick brush to get the tangles out should be sufficient. Combing the hair will promote shine and condition. Remember to use a comb on wet hair rather than a brush or you risk creating static electricity, which leads to breakage.

Accessories - give your child high quality combs and brushes and teach them the proper way to care for their hair to instill good grooming habits that will last a lifetime. Purchase some "hair friendly" clips and hair ties to help a child keep their hair off their face, and reduce the chance of tangling or matting. Stay away from any hairclips with sharp teeth, because they can cut into the hair and cause potential hair damage.

Tangles - all parents know that dealing with tangles is a nightmare for both parent and child. Here's how to reduce the trauma of removing tangles:

1. Hold the section of hair you're trying to comb out.
2. Hold it taut so the child won't feel you ripping through the ends. 3. Spray a good leave-in detangler on the knot.
3. You can also comb conditioner in while the child's hair is still wet. Children need conditioner too (avoid heavy types and stick with conditioners that are specifically called "light" conditioners).

How to Choose the Suitable Toys for Children

Do you remember how it was when you where a child? What was your main activity? Was it working? Of course not. Your main activity was playing. You had no concerns. You needed toys and your parents were supposed to provide you with them. They had to find toys you wouldn’t throw away and believe me, it wasn’t easy for them.

Now you are a parent and you are in the same situation as your parents years ago. You’re looking for toys that your child will like. That’s why you must know how to choose the right toys. My parents made one common mistake: they would buy me toys that they considered wonderful. But usually, when they would give me the toy, I would either consider it too girlish or too boring. It wasn’t fun for them to see how a toy they bought for me to play with would stay forgotten in my closet.

How to find out what’s the right toy for your child?

Just watch your child closely to determine his preferred activities, skills level, preferred band(s) and movie(s), and so on. Based on these observations you can get a clue on what types of toys your child would prefer.

Here are the factors you must consider when choosing toys for your child:

• Child’s age – This is very important. If you buy toys too advanced for your child’s age, chances are that he might get injured. Toy manufacturers struggle to make their products as safe as possible, but if you don’t follow their recommendations, your child may suffer. On the other hand, if you buy toys made for children with age under that of your child, he will consider them too boring. The best thing is to choose toys designed precisely for your child’s age.
• Child’s gender – This is exactly what I said above that my parents bought me toys that I considered to be girlish. I’m a boy, but the same is with girls too. Any detail that may make the toy look as for the other gender than that of your child will make the toy undesired.
• Toys your child’s friends play with – When your child is playing with his friends, watch to find out if he manifests interest in any of his playmate’s toys. If he does, then it’s very likely that he would like to have a toy similar the one his friend has.
• Sometimes, a child tells his parents what toy he likes or wants, thus saving them from a lot of hard work. But don’t count on this. Some children aren’t very keen to talk with parents unless they really want a certain toy.
• Safety – This is the most important factor you must consider whenever you need to decide what toy you should buy for your child. Unfortunately, this is also the most overlooked one. Usually, parents forget to check if the toy they choose for their children are safe.
• Is the toy educational? – It’s a good thing if the toys you choose for your child can help him develop new skills.

And please remember that the age difference between you and your child is of at least 20 years. The fact that you liked a toy when you were a child does not mean that your child will love it too. Children from different generations like different types of toys

Make sure you offer the toy to your child in the appropriate manner!

When you offer the toy to your child, don’t do it in a “Here’s your toy. Now go and play with it” manner. If you do it this way, that toy won’t mean a thing to your child. Rather, try to make a game. Hide the toy somewhere where the child can easily find it, and encourage him to look for it. Laugh with your child, search for it together… And when the he finds the toy, don’t just let him play by himself. Get involved in your child’s play. Make that the fun of a lifetime. A parent is a child’s first and best friend.

Bedroom Decorating for Boys and Girls

There are many different types of kids bedding that is gender neutral, from everything such as a color scheme to characters, to animal themes. At the same time, though, there are many that are very gender specific.

Girls have many different choices for what types of kids bedding they may want. A good theme for girls that can start at an early age is princesses, and girls will usually like this one for a long time. The same goes with flowers and pastel or pinks and purples.

Boys have the equivalent in sports themes and things like camouflage. In this area, it can be one specific sport, such as football, or a more generalized theme that involves all sports. This works well, because they may change their minds on their favorite sport within a matter of months, or even weeks, and feel very adamantly about their favorite sport. Colors tend to be darker and brighter most of the time in boys’ rooms, so it is usually the same, or similar, when it comes to the kids bedding choices for them.

The many gender neutral types can be such things as cartoon themes, certain animals, etc. especially when they are younger, as in babies or toddlers, it can be a lot easier to find gender neutral themes as opposed to gender specific. One of the reasons for this is that small children tend to not care quite as much about colors being a certain way and care more about characters or animals, and these all tend to be the same. This is especially true with nurseries, because so many times a person doesn’t find out what the sex of the baby will be before it’s born, or they do, but the sonogram is wrong, or they are concerned with it possibly being wrong. Many parents tend to go with neutral bedding so that they won’t have to worry about this if it happens to them. Luckily, with babies, no one cares that a little boy’s room is done in light greens and yellows, but when they get older their friends might tend to make fun of them if this were still the case.

Girls have an option that boys don’t have as they get older, and this is to have a canopy bed, with the curtains hanging on the rods above. For a girl, this would seem like they have the bed of a princess, but for a boy, they would feel like they were a girl in a bed like this. There are daybeds, as well, which are typically not a boy’s favorite type of bed. There are many different types of toddler beds as well, such as racecar beds, and for girls there are princess beds and more. Toddler beds are always made slightly differently than regular beds, so you will want to make sure the kids bedding is specifically made for that type of bed, as well as pick bedding to match it.

There are bunk beds of many different types that a child may have, as well. This includes the kind with a twin bed on bottom, or it could be a full size, or even a futon. Each of these bed options leads to more options in bedding for them, because there are different types of sheets, and other bedding items that are specifically made for most types of bunk beds, so that they fit better than a regular sheet would.

So, there are many things about boy kids bedding that is similar to girl kids bedding, but there are also many differences, and these are always a good thing to keep in mind when purchasing bedding for a child.

How to Handle Your Kids’ Homework

Homework causes more headaches for parents than it does for children. Some parents worry because their children don’t seem to do enough while others are concerned because they do too much.

But for many parents homework is that time of the day when they routinely harass, hassle and harangue their child to JUST DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Okay, what to do?

The first step is to know the homework policy of your children’s school and understand what is expected of you as a parent. Most school’s have parent interviews and information sessions at the start of the new year so make sure next year you get a good handle on how your children’s teacher expects you to assist your child.

It is also useful to find out what your children’s teacher will do if your child doesn’t complete set tasks. Homework is basically an agreement between a teacher and a child so it should be up to the teacher to ensure the homework is completed. That means the teacher becomes ‘the bad guy’ and puts some consequence in place if the homework is not completed. Your role as a parent is to support the school if a consequence is put in place, such as missing some recess to complete or whatever.

Parents need to be mindful that it is hard for teachers these days as they don’t have too many options available to ensure children complete homework.

Here are 10 tips to help you handle homework in a relatively safe way:

1. Establish homework time and stick to it each day. If children tell you that they don’t have any formal homework then they can read, revise or organize their work. My feedback tells me that sticking to a routine despite the fact that no formal homework is set extremely useful and helps avoid battles.
2. Put the onus back on your children to take responsibility for their work. Ask children at the start of a homework session to state how much homework they will do. At the end of the session check it to see if it matches with their intentions as well as yours. If you are more concerned about homework than them then it is you not your children who is responsible for homework.
3. Homework is as much a time management issue as anything else. Encourage students to work reasonably quickly and efficiently. Have a set time limit, which they should stick to. There is generally little point slogging away once they become frustrated or tired. Give them an egg-timer or use a clock and get them to work hard for small chunks of time. A little work each night is more productive than packing it into one weekly session.
4. Help children decide the best time to do homework and then encourage them to stick to those times. Maybe on some days homework is tackled after dinner for any number of reasons. If having homework done straight after school is important to you then consider feeding children ONLY after homework is completed. Food can be a huge motivator for some children!!! (As mentioned in point 1 it is important that there is a homework routine, but the timing can vary.)
5. Establish a good working environment for students. Make sure they have a quiet area away from distractions that is well lit and with good ventilation. A table or desk makes a good workspace, although don’t be surprised if they spread work out all over the kitchen table. Some kids hate to be stuck away in their rooms and prefer to work at the kitchen table and can do so productively. Others are easily distracted and work in short bursts. Work out what is best for YOUR child.
6. Use the motivating research tool of the 21st Century - the Internet. It is quick, convenient and gives access to huge amounts of information. Nevertheless, children should still know how to access information from more traditional means such as books. Check with your child’s teacher as to their specific recommendations and preferences.
7. Encourage children to get organized by thinking ahead and planning their homework around their extra-curricular activities. A weekly planner or diary will help older students get organized. Assisting children to become organized is perhaps the best way parents can help at home.
8. If you are helping a child with a particular task, keep your explanation as simple and practical as you can. If you become upset or frustrated and the atmosphere becomes tense then stop helping.
9. Be realistic and don’t expect to solve all homework difficulties. When in doubt send a note to your child’s teacher letting him or her know the problem. The teacher will appreciate this good communication.
10. If you have concerns about the how much homework your child is set or the level of difficulty of homework contact the teacher and arrange a time to discuss your worries. Such discussion is the basis of true partnership between you and your child’s teacher.

Homework hassles have always been around and always will be. The place of homework is routinely questioned by education authorities (now is currently one of those times in Australia) but my gut reaction is that children will always have homework. The name may change and the activities may vary but it will always be homework.

Kids Activities in the Kitchen

1 Year Olds

• Grab the rolling pin and let your toddler roll it across the floor
• Wooden spoons are great for increasing your 1 year olds hand coordination (and they make great sounds too!)
• Let your toddler play with the lids from your pots. It's like they have started their own little band!

2 Year Olds

• Help mom wash fruits and vegetables.
• Take a plastic juice container or pop container and fill it with rice or dried pasta, or even coins. Tape the top so your curious one is unable to get the lid off, and let them shake the container to make the loudest sounds. You can do several of these with varying amounts of rice, pasta, or coins and let them hear the difference.
• Pretend mixing - get a small wire whisk and a plastic measuring cup and let your munchkin mix just like mommy or daddy.
• Wipe the table - it's never to early to get help cleaning up. Have your little one wipe off the table. It may not be perfect, but it will make you both feel good knowing your child wants to help you.

3 Year Olds

• Help you mix batter.
• Pour measuring cup contents into a bowl.
• Knead bread dough.
• Practice shapes and colors - help your little one identify the shapes and colors of the ingredients you are using in your meal. This will make them feel completely involved in the meal preparation and more likely to eat the end product.
  

4 Year Olds

• Choose a food at the store - take your child when you go grocery shopping. Let them pick one food each week (one they haven't tried before) and help them experiment with that food, using it a few times during the week in different meals. Start with fruits and veggies first since those seem to disappear from a child's diet at an early age.
• Play the number game - make one meal a week with different numbers of foods. For example, make a lunch with a salami sandwich, carrots, and strawberries. Play a game and count...2 carrot sticks, 4 strawberries, 2 pieces of salami, 2 pieces of bread, and 1 slice of cheese.
• Measure - let your child help you measure the amount you need for a recipe and start explaining fractions and let them see the different size measuring cups. It's never too early to start math skills.
• Reading - read the recipe out loud to your child and walk through the step by step process. This really enforces the concept that in many life activities there are a series of steps to get to the end product.

5-6 Year Olds

• Let them prepare simple snacks by themselves - they will love to eat the fruits of their labor!
• Plan a snack schedule - get a calendar or a dry erase board and sit down with your child at the beginning of the week. Let him or her plan a daily healthy snack that he or she can make.
• Set the table - it doesn't have to look like Martha Stewart's house, but it gives your child a sense of responsibility.

7-10 Year Olds

• Read recipes - let your child read the entire recipe to you.
• Plan meals - sit down with your child and let him or her help you set the menu for the week, look through the recipes and help you make a grocery shopping list.
• Make meals - at this age, most children can make at least 1 dish to go with dinner. If you are making an easy meal, have him or her help you with the entire meal. They will be so pleased and will no doubt eat it up, knowing they helped make it.
• Do dishes - ah yes, this one might be a struggle because at this age your children know that doing dishes is a chore. However, if your child has been involved with the meal planning process and making the meal, he or she may clean up the dishes without a problem.

How to Become an Effective Teenager

ABC's of Becoming an Effective Teen

A: Acquire a Strong and Positive Attitude

B: Break Out of Your Shell

C: Characterize Your Hero

D: Demand Respect For Your Standards, Yourself and Your Beliefs

E: Energize Yourself Everyday With a Goal of Making a Difference

F: Failure to Plan, is Planning for Failure

G: Go Big or Go Home

H: Humility is Power

I: Itemize Your Qualities and Seek your Strengths Not Your Weaknesses

J: Jealousy Will Always End in Negative Not Positive

K: Keep your Momentum, Never Stop, Keep Moving!

L: Live Your Life

M: Magnify Your Opportunities

N: Nothing is Better Than the Truth

O: Okay, You’ve Failed, Now Get Back Up!

P: Position Yourself in Positive Environments

Q: Quality Over Quantity

R: Realize Problems and Quickly Fix Them

S: Stick to the Purpose

T: Treasure All Your Friends, For They’re Your Most Prized Treasures

U: Understand That All Things Have a Purpose

V: Visualize Success and Don’t Be Afraid to Fail. You Miss 100% of The Shots You Don’t Take.

W: Work Hard If You Expect Success

X: X It Out! You’re Better Than That

Y: Yes, is Not Always the Answer. Learn to Say No!

Z: Zoom into Reality, and Zip the Fluff

Understanding Teaching Character

In general character is taught, not embedded within us. Yes, one might be naturally compassionate, but true character is taught. Teaching character is done successfully when taught by the most influential people in a child's life. When teaching character, it is vital to start as early as possible. It has been noted by adopted and foster parents that if a child has already learned poor character traits it is close to impossible to turn in a full 180 degrees.

Parents have a huge responsibility and by their actions can help or damage a child. Teaching character by example is the most effective way to teach properly. For example, a child witnesses his/her parent stealing, that child will think that stealing is no big deal. Children are sponges from a very early age and will do what they see being done. If mom lies a lot, the child will most likely do the same. If good character traits are not taught at a very young age, they will not likely learn them as a young adult. Parents must make teaching character to their children a priority. If a child ditches school, or disrespects an authority figure, this must be dealt with promptly.

Teachers and coaches undertake this task as well. Every good teacher or coach will have their own unique way of teaching character to their students or players. Coaches teach good sportsmanship and teachers teach responsibility, among many other things of course.

Anyone who possesses character can influence young people. Those who have good traits will often do well in life and are looked up to. They can inspire a young child without even knowing it. One must have character to teach character. You cannot teach something that you yourself do not possess. For example, how is a parent going to teach a child to read if they cannot read themselves?

All too often in today's society, it is so much easier to take the easy way out of situations, rather than to stay and face the heat, so to speak. Character takes strength and discipline. Opinions what determines character vary, but for the most part appreciation, compassion, consideration, dependability, honesty, responsibility, and truthfulness are among those that are widely agreed upon. This is but a short list of what determines character.

The actual definition of character varies greatly, depending on the country, the religion, and the times.

One really good organization that teaches character is the military. This is one of the rare times that young adults can be taught character, even if it was not a priority during their childhood. The military teaches honor, responsibility, dependability, self-esteem, and so many other things.

It's never too late to work on improving your character. There are ways to self evaluate and determine what you would like to work on. If you feel that you have some character traits that you could improve upon then you can work on them. If you do have children, you will be able to be a stronger role model for them if you improve weak character traits within yourself.

Help Your Kids Dealing With Stress

Adults are used to dealing with a variety of different types of stress each day. While you learn how to adjust and handle your stress levels, teens aren't as lucky as you are. Teen's can easily experience high stress levels caused from schoolwork, friends, and other activities. As parents, it is our responsibility to help our teens learn how to understand stress and learn how to properly cope with it. Here are five ways to help your kids with stress:

Communication

One of the best ways to find out that your child is dealing with stress is to play the guessing game with them. Notice when something is bothering them and say it to them, for example you can say, "You seem upset, are you have a hard time with your math homework?" Try to be sympathetic to their emotions and show your teen that you honestly want to help them. If anything, you need to just sit back and let your teen vent. Sometimes they don't want your advice; they just need you to listen to them while they get all the stress off their chest.

Listen to your teen. This is the best way to find out if they are struggling with stress. Don't blame them for anything and try your best not to lecture them or cut them down by the way you talk to them. All you need to do is have patience, caring, and understanding. You need to be a nonjudgmental party for your teen so they know you love and care about them.

Exercise

There is no question that high levels of stress are bad for you. As teens, their bodies are still growing and they are not physically able to deal with high stress levels. Daily exercise is one of the best ways to reduce stress. To help your teen, head out for a daily bike ride with them or go for a short run together. As they start to get bigger, you should start working on lifting weights as this will give their muscles a different challenge and it can help them focus on a different activity.

Stay Active

One of the best ways to help your teens with stress is to get them interested in other things. This is why you often see teens involved in different after school activities like sports, music lessons, etc. Try to get your children involved in some extra-curricular activities. This will give them something else to focus on so they won't worry about stress. However, you need to learn the balance of after school activities and too much stress. Sometimes parents push their kids too much so they get stressed out about all the extra curricular activities they are involved in.

Schedule

A great way to help your teens deal with stress is to get them on a schedule. You need to create schedules so they can keep their lives balanced. Be sure to sit down with them and help them with their homework, even if they are 17. This simple gesture will show your teens that you are always going to be there to help them out no matter how old they are. If their schedule is crammed, look for some things that you can cut out of it.

Carefree Time

Practice daily carefree time with your kids. Do some of the fun things they like to do. Try to add in some relaxing activities when you notice your teen seems a bit overwhelmed. Head to a movie or go to a spa for massages. Try to spend some relaxing time with your kids, this will help you grow closer together and it will reduce their stress level.