Alistair McAlistair has been crazy about his “Free the Whales” T-shirt since his mother got it for him. He has been wearing it all day and everyday until it has started to smell. Alistair’s mother had asked him repeatedly to take off his t-shirt to wash but he was adamant to keep it on.
The T-shirt grew more grimy and dirty as Alistair wore is everyday without taking it off to wash. He was afraid of losing his three best friends, the whales, which he gave names to.
After a lot of persuasion and having the Queen send in the army to his house, his mother managed to get him to remove his t-shirt to wash. What a surprise they had after the clean t-shirt came out of the wash. The three whales were missing!! In it’s place were the words “The whales are free”.
I found this story very entertaining and my boys loved doing the follow up aactivities. The topic on the importance of personal hygiene is also touched upon in this storybook. It can be used as a example read when focusing on keeping clean and hygienic.
A little gesture, a warm smile or a tight hug? What do you do to strike a conversation with your kids?
Do your kids see you are welcoming or do they shudder and give you the about turn saying- “No Mummy.. Go Away!!”
Communicating with your child is the first step to get to know him better.
In this busy world of us we get so caught up with the multiple gadgets around us that we tend to ignore the little things which are all so much more important to us.
Make Time
Try to make it a habit to spend some time daily to talk to your child. If it is not possible to be physically present you could send him an e-mail or a text message to let him know that you are interested to know how his day was and willing to share how your day was with him.
Listen Attentively
Every child deserves your full attention. When my boys come to me I will turn and focus on them as they share their highlights of the day.
For my own students in class I will try to give individual attention to them if they do require after I have completed teaching the tasks on hand.
If I am not able to attend to them immediately I will let them know that now is not a convenient time to talk and that they should come back in 5 or 10 minutes time whereby I can give them my full attention without interrupting them when they speak.
Have an Open Mind
Do not be quick to criticize , judge your child or compare your child to others when they speak to you.
Fault finding is the greatest turn off. I personally scoff at having to endure complains and being constantly compared against others.
To put down your child without guiding him on how to improve on his situation/behaviour is really a No-No.
It will really turn them off and they
The constant comparison about how good/clever so and so child is compared to your child does little to motivate him/her. Instead they may turn the other way and just give up trying.
Know your Child
Every child is unique. To really know your child is to be able to focus on his strengths and corresponding weaknesses. To be able to give encouragement and help when they need. To know when to assist and when to withdraw help so they will be able to grow both spiritually and mentally.
If your child knows that you acknowledge his individuality and am willing to link up to him so that both of you are able to understand each other well I’m sure that it will prevent them from keeping secrets from you in future.