The Most Overlooked Way to Connect with Your Child

The Most Overlooked Way to Connect with Your Child
How often have you seen a parent walking with a child and looking down at their mobile phone? Have you thought about how this may be a missed opportunity to connect?

When you are with a child, every moment is a chance to connect and our moments seem ever harder to find with parent and child occupied with school, work, play, social media, grabbing a snack, getting where we want to go in a hurry.

But with kids, there is no time like the present. Eye contact is what they crave. It only takes a moment to let a child know you care, by stopping whatever you may be focused on (except when driving!) and looking into their eyes.

This simple task is the most overlooked way to connect with a child. And yet it is the simplest and the quickest. And it has the added benefit of putting you the parent in touch with your parental love.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes we even avoid eye contact with a child because we know instinctively that it will change our focus and reset our priorities in an instant?

It is a lot easier to say no if we avoid eye contact, if we can tell ourselves the child is bothering us, being unreasonable, can wait a minute, or can take care of him or herself.

But what they want most in that moment is to know they are top priority. And a warm look into their eyes can empower them like nothing else to wait, or to find their own amusement, or to solve their own problems.

You may find this simple step can save you all kinds of time talking, consoling, making excuses, fixing problems, and so on. If a child knows they are tops with you, their confidence soars and they feel more capable, independent, and yes happy.

Randy's Take Home Tip: Next time you heave a sigh and wonder how you will ever get everything done if your child wants your attention one more time, give her or him the gift of your direct undivided attention, demonstrated by your warm glance into their eyes. Love doesn't wait. It is only now. I knew I had to write my first parenting book when its title came into my mind: "You Can Postpone Anything But Love."

Please visit my brand new website designed to connect you with the best tools on the planet for creating the life you want with your child. http://www,parenthoodtools.com.

And tell me what you think!  

Aiming at better life balance for 2013?

Family First | VoiceAmerica™

Have you resolved to find a better life balance in 2013? How often do we hear about the challenges modern families face with both parents working outside the home and still trying to maintain a close-knit and happy family life? Finding a balance between your roles as parent and active participant in the workplace is one of the greatest sources of everyday stress for families today. My guest this week is not only an expert on the subject but is a personal example of how to manage this balancing act. A health educator for over 30 years, Sharon Weinstein is an energetic, motivating and highly skilled nurse, nurse educator and consultant specializing in workplace wellness, corporate training programs and motivational speaking presentations. Among many other roles, she also was advisor to Central Clinical Hospital, Moscow, Russia for twelve years while raising her family and oversaw the building of a western-style International Patient Department. Among her many writings, Sharon’s book B Is for Balance is all about this issue. Listen in! Just click on the link above or this one to go direct to show, and listen online or download to any device!

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/54025/creative-tips-for-finding-life-balance

This is a recording of a previous live interview but deserves repeating! Life balance can often be a continuing challenge today.

Randy Rolfe Take Home Tips: The more parenting time and effort you dedicate in the early years of your child's life the less worry and effort it will take as the child matures. The bonding, modeling, communication, and attention to basic needs which happen in a close parent child relationship in the first months and years are irreplaceable. Simplify your child's life and your own by keeping parenting high priority in you life balance plan. Learn more in my book The Seven Secrets of Successful Parents, available everywhere.

Incorrigible to Incredible: Some Dog Lessons

Family First | VoiceAmerica™

Some relationships are more difficult than others. Sometimes a friend or even a child can be difficult to handle. They can try your patience and seem incorrigible. Can we learn some tricks from our four-footed friends? My guest this week on Family First says absolutely! Charmaine Hammond is an international transformational speaker, author, and radio host, helping people live inspired, resilient lives, and she is a leading trainer in corporate North America, helping transform workplaces.

Charmaine Hammond is the award winning and bestselling author of On Toby’s Terms and Toby The Pet Therapy Dog – and his hospital friends, and also Bounce Forward. She has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul - What I learned from the dog. She is now coauthoring a new book GPS Your Best Life. Her book On Toby’s Terms is currently in development to become a major motion picture! Get your whole family to listen in. Charmaine will be sharing Toby’s lessons!

To hear the program, simply click on the link above or on this link: http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1916/family-first Friday at 1 pm PT, 2 pm MT, 3 pm CT, 4 pm ET, or any time afterwards online, or on podcast or apps.

Charmaine Hammond, MA, BA, is an expert in Conflict Analysis and Management and opened Hammond International Inc. in 1997, a mediation and training company. For the past 8 years she has been speaking and consulting with business and community organizations. Prior to owning her own business Charmaine worked as a Contract Specialist for Government, was the Executive Director of several not for profit organizations, worked with municipal government in their contract management, and served as a Correctional Officer, Child & Youth Care Worker.

Charmaine’s passion for speaking led her to be the host of three radio shows: “Corporate Conversations with Charmaine,”  “PAWsitive Radio,” and “Your Book as a Business.” She has been featured on CBC, CTV, Global TV, 820 CHAM, Alberta Prime Time News, in many major newspapers including Metro News National Canada, US and New York, and in various magazines. She also supports many pet and children related charities and events as a result of her work with Toby.

To hear the program, simply click on the link above or on this link: http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1916/family-first Friday at 1 pm PT, 2 pm MT, 3 pm CT, 4 pm ET, or any time afterwards online, or on podcast or apps.

 

Randy Rolfe Take Home Tips: Our pets have personalities, stresses, and emotions just as we do. By watching our animal friends and paying attention to how to respond to their needs, we can learn to be more responsive to each other's! Having a pet is a great way for children to learn empathy for others when they have your good example to follow. So see that when you interact with your pets, you are modeling compassion and attention to their needs, not just for shelter and food, but also for attention, companionship, appreciation, and respect. 

Keep young Drivers Safe on the Road

Family First | VoiceAmerica™

As our kids go back to school excited about the new year, parents worry about seeing them get into cars. Traffic crashes are the #1 cause of death for all people in the world ages 10 – 24 and for all people in USA under the age of 35. America has lost more lives (over 2 million) in 110 years of driving than all the wars we fought during the last 234 years. My guest this week on Family First is John E. Langan, a highly respected expert on traffic safety and crashes. He has testified in criminal and civil proceedings as an expert in traffic crashes in state and federal courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

John Langan has been actively promoting traffic safety since 1969. He is founder and president of driveAWARE, a nonprofit traffic safety advocacy and victim support organization. In 1984, he founded and served as first president of the National Association of Traffic Accident Reconstructionists and Investigators. He has also testified before a Pennsylvania government committees on Teen Driver Safety.

Have your kids listen to this call! To hear the program, simply click on this link::http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1916/family-first Friday at 1 PM PT, 2 PM MT, 3 PM CT, 4 PM ET, or any time afterwards on podcast or apps.

Mr. Langan served for over 15 years as a police officer with the Warminster Police Department in suburban Philadelphia. His assignments included traffic safety engineering surveys, traffic safety educational articles and public speaking, and traffic safety enforcement. He was responsible for reconstruction of serious traffic crashes and assisting the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office in prosecutions, including Vehicular Homicide.

Langan left the police force after sustaining debilitating injuries assisting a fellow officer who was physically assaulted by a motorist stopped for reckless driving. He then earned a BA in Organizational Management from Eastern U. and an MBA. He is certified in traffic crash investigation from Northwestern U., U. of North Florida, and Texas A&M U. He is also certified by the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction. He is an active member of the Fraternal Order of Police and a volunteer driving safety instructor with the AARP.  

Ask your children to listen to this call! To hear the program, simply click on this link::http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1916/family-first Friday at 1 PM PT, 2 PM MT, 3 PM CT, 4 PM ET, or any time afterwards on podcast or apps.

Take Home Tips from Randy Rolfe: I recommend you drive with your child as many times as it takes for you to have faith in their caution, attention, and good sense. Don't assume because they have taken a driver's course that they know what to do!

Family First | VoiceAmerica™

Family First | VoiceAmerica™

Many of our cities are struggling with misdirected youth and increasing violence, whether over drugs, gangs, or simply explosive frustration. And smaller communities, suburbs, and rural areas are not immune. Many communities try to increase enforcement, keep kids in school, and find healthy activities for youth. My guest this week on Family First has found a whole new way of getting to youth which has proven amazingly effective and has been getting a lot of attention.

Orrin Checkmate Hudson says that the game of chess taught him that he was responsible for his own success or failure. His innovative programs help youth improve their focus and develop the analytical-thinking skills needed to make the winning move. A dynamic teacher, motivational speaker, and author, he has taught thousands better focus and decision-making skills through the game of chess. Hudson’s book “One Move at a Time” eloquently weaves chess strategy with 20 important life lessons into a great read for all ages.

 To hear the program, simply click on the link above or go to:http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1916/family-first Friday at 1 PM PT, 2 PM MT, 3 PM CT, 4 PM ET, or any time afterwards on podcast or apps.

Orrin Checkmate Hudson is founder of Be Someone, two-time World Open Speed Chess Champion, and author of “One Move at a Time.” The seventh of 13 children, Hudson grew up in public housing in Birmingham, Alabama, and found himself in and out of foster care. As a teenager, he was stealing tires and struggling in school, until James Edge, his high school English teacher, taught him the game of chess.

Says Hudson, "With his help, I began to understand life through a chessboard. He showed me that every move you make has consequences and in order to improve my game and my life, I had to make better choices.” Hudson won the Birmingham City Chess Championship in 1999 and 2000, despite being the lowest-ranking player in the tournament both times. Then in May 2000, news of a senseless and tragic robbery which killed five people inspired him to quit his job and use his life savings to found Be Someone. Hudson is married with seven children and is a member of Atlanta First Baptist Church.

Don't miss this dynamic interview!

To hear the program, simply click on the link above or go to:http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1916/family-first Friday at 1 PM PT, 2 PM MT, 3 PM CT, 4 PM ET, or any time afterwards on podcast or apps.

Randy Rolfe Take Home Tip: Spending time with a youngster is the best way to have a positive influence on them. Make it light and fun and consistent with your own values and philosophy. Kids learn by observation and imitation, especially of the adults closest to them. So give them good stuff to imitate and observe!

Family Stress - Can Meditation Help?

We hear every day about kids overwhelmed by school and sports schedules, by stress from cliques and bullies in school, by fears of failure or violence, by melodrama online, by pressures from family and friends, by self-image problems, by emotional eating, by poor sleep habits, and even by worry over the economy and the environment. Can something as simple as meditation practice make a difference? Is it something you can teach to kids? And will they take to it? My guest today, Dina Colada, is not only an accomplished teacher of meditation and a master in a number of other modalities for building a more amazing life, but she is also a mother who has found meditation very useful in her family. She will not only share with us how to introduce the practice and ways it can be beneficial and any cautionary tips, but she will also lead some short meditations for us during the show so that you can try them yourself right away. So do listen in!

Go to http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/55763/stressed-out-kids-can-meditation-help at 1 PM PT or 4 PM ET, or any time to listen on your PC or download the MP3 to your handheld.

Randy Rolfe's Take Home Tip: Take a minute or two every hour or two to center and relax. It's good for the moods, for the eyes, for the attention span, and for your sanity! Meditation is a more deliberate and highly developed version of this natural means of styaing in touch with your true self. Your listening skills improve, your responses are calm, and you will fee more in control of any situation in the home.
Check out the helpful scenarios described in the new edition of Randy Rolfe's book, The Seven Secrets of Successful Panrets. Go to www.sevensecretsofsuccessfulparents to find out more.