However, this summer need not be like any other. We have put together some tips and ideas on how you can engage your child in some learning this summer season while keeping his/her fun quotient intact.

Enrolling in a summer camp/activity: This one’s a must do for all children no matter what age group they belong to. There are plenty of options in each city to choose from depending on the child’s interest and energy levels. For older children it can be a good idea to participate in an overnight summer camp/activity class that hones their skill/hobby. Be it a sports camp, where your child can dabble in different sports that catch his/her interest or an art and craft activity class where he/she can polish up his/her creative side. You could even consider some offbeat activity classes, if exposure is what you have in mind. You can pick from a range of classes that lay emphasis on aspects as varied as environmental awareness to astronomy to practical science. The important thing to remember is to let your child make the choice, since he/she needs to enjoy it.

Learning at home: While you will certainly find many ways to keep your child engaged during the summer in the form of outdoor activities and summer classes, don’t forget to make the time spent at home productive too. Being at home can be as much of a learning experience for your child as the outdoors is. What’s more, your child can be a helping hand allowing you more free time to spend with him/her. You can enlist their help in grocery shopping, cooking, running chores at the marketplace and even spring-cleaning. The time spent can be both fun and productive, and a way to ensure they are far away from the dreaded screen.

Use your imagination: While your child will go through the daily routine of playing outdoors with friends, riding bikes and going for a swim, it may be a good idea for you to spruce things up every once in a while with a planned fun activity. This could be anything – from organizing an indoor treasure hunt for your child and his/her friends at home on a particularly warm day to a movie hall experience at home on an occasional night with his/her favorite flick of the season to a nature walk during the evening in the city park with the aim of finding unique collectibles. You can even organize a trip to some of the city monuments on a weekend, and make it a family’s day out!

Initiate at least one long-term activity: Having something to build or create over a long period of time can be an extremely exciting experience for any child and a great opportunity to learn important values like patience, perseverance and consistency. You could encourage your child to maintain a summer scrap book complete with pictures clicked by him/her or you could encourage him/her to start a collection of some sort – be it coins, stamps, pebbles or anything that catches his/her fancy. If time and space permits, you could even encourage your child to work towards building a small bird house by himself/herself or engage in a gardening activity wherein he/she can look after a plant and help it grow during the summer months. Not only will a long term activity give him/her a sense of achievement but will also help your child keep a special time aside everyday for it.

Free play is a learning ground too: Summer time is usually unstructured when schedules are less encumbered and hence, ripe for discovery. It can be a good starting point for you to help your child expand his/her thinking. Some of this happens with your help, and some happens when you leave your children alone (and unplug the enemy screens). Remember, children need time to play, with and without friends. In those unstructured, unscripted, unplanned times, they are growing ideas in their mind and that’s the best learning of all. So, let them build racetracks, and have a tea party with imaginary friends, it’s all a learning process!

So, you know what to do with your child this summer to make it an eventful one. But that’s just one part, the next step is to recognize what activities will work best for your child. The trick is simple – observe your child! When choosing summer activities, these are some important considerations to keep in mind:

1. Remember this is for your child, not you. Be careful not to project what you loved as a child or what you want your child to experience. This is not about you.
2. Do not sign your child up for something you think she will like and then inform him/her. That’s a sure way to break a heart or give rise to a rebellion
3. You can certainly make suggestions but keep them suggestions only.
4. Go over general categories—day or sleep over camp, sports programs, theater programs, horse camps, art or music programs, etc. Make sure that whatever you share with your child has been checked and approved by you before you get your child enthused.
5. Find out what his/her friends are doing. Chances are he/she will want to do some of the same things
6. Narrow categories and include your child (if old enough) in doing some research while making the final choice. The more your child is involved, the more engaged he/she will be and the less resistance you will face.

With the ideas for activities at hand and the tips for choosing the right ones under your belt, you can be as ready to welcome the summer holidays as your child. So what is your top pick this summer? Write in, we would love to know!

Romika Wadehra Please explain that without creating any pressure on the child, how can we make the child understand the importance of the loss of marks due to sheer carelessness in exams?

• Carelessness in exams can become a habit and children do not grow out of it unless a conscious effort is made towards correcting them. There is no use knowing the concept and not scoring marks because the child makes careless mistakes. We refer to these as common mistakes children make or misconceptions and enough practice worksheets have to be done before the exam with pointed emphasis on the common mistakes the child makes. Where the child makes mistakes has to be reinforced so that when attempting the test, he remembers that he is prone to make that mistake and avoids it.

Question 2:

Rabia Thekedar CBSE student should follow text book or refer to other book in Tenth board?

• CBSE exams papers are set totally from NCERT Textbooks and these have to be studied cover to cover. Previous years’ board papers (Shiv Das publishers) can be practiced to get familiarity with the language of the questions asked.

Question 3:

Reena Vador My son is in 9^th standard, but he gets scared writing at examinations. How can we handle this?

• The only way of getting rid of nervousness and anxiety before exams is to practice writing answers. Break the syllabus into small capsules and let the child’s study be guided by questions. Learning becomes complete and consolidated only when the child is comfortable with the questions that can be asked on the topic. As a parent help him answer as many questions as he can after he has studied a topic.

Question 4:

Nelson Almeida Why are CBSE norms not adhered to strictly by all the affiliated schools? While last year CBSE made it mandatory that there should not be sale of books or uniforms in the school premises, but this is still being practiced at few schools I know.

• Though CBSE has such norms laid down in order to prevent commercial exploitation by schools, some parents and schools consider this facility as a convenience offered to parents. It is not mandatory to buy these from the school.

Question 5:

Nelson Almeida Cant the WHOLE education system in India follow a common scale of rating a student. For ICSE & State boards have marks and its only CBSE following the grading system. Can’t there be a uniform code?

• Education being a state subject, the centre cannot force states to follow CBSE policy. They can only advise them.

Question 6:

Neelakshi Varma The current CBSE syllabus is vast, and additional extracurricular activities stress kids a lot. They are left with no time to play and socialize. Can something be done on this 2 reduce the burden on our kids?

• The policy with regard to CCE is meant to even out pressure through the year. It will take parents some time to realize that this system actually spreads the work responsibilities evenly through the year and not just towards the end. Children have to learn to take all activities in their stride. That is the ideal learning environment, not just for final exams in the end. And education is about scholastic and co-scholastic development…holistic education.

Question 7:

Meenakshi Munjal The whole CCE system has messed up the whole education system, Can’t we get back the same system of boards and marks for class 10th?

• The response to CCE across the country has been very positive. You will have to open your minds to the winds of change. Across the globe, this is where education is heading. And as parents we have to orient ourselves to changing trends.

Question 8:

Ishah Sha Why do we consider only age in accordance with marks and grades kids study, we have seen examples of young kids excelling well in higher level of education, so why the barrier of passing every grade?

• While more and more progressive schools are encouraging students to study at their own pace and time, and in their own style, it is important that the child goes through every level/grade as these are formative years and cannot be rushed. Concept clarity and maturity will come only if every stage of learning is fully internalized.

Question 9:

Sandhi Sharma Sandhir My question is based on the whole idea of evaluating someone in just one exam, as against the summative system? What’s your opinion and how much importance school exams should have in the selection exam for IIT and PMTs

• A single exam is never a good idea of evaluating a child for his ability and that is why the CBSE is moving towards the CCE system of evaluation. With regard to IIT and PMT, and whether school exams are important or not, my view is that every exam that a child writes must be given justice as each of them is a stepping stone for the future. School exams cannot be ignored because in the long run these marks stay with you for life. Having said that, in my many years of experience I have found a very high correlation between school exams and competitive exams. It will be a rare case that a child gets into IIT or PMT and does not do well in school exams. The underlying principle is mastering a concept regardless of which exam the child is preparing for.

Question 1:

Romika Wadehra Please explain that without creating any pressure on the child, how can we make the child understand the importance of the loss of marks due to sheer carelessness in exams?

• Carelessness in exams can become a habit and children do not grow out of it unless a conscious effort is made towards correcting them. There is no use knowing the concept and not scoring marks because the child makes careless mistakes. We refer to these as common mistakes children make or misconceptions and enough practice worksheets have to be done before the exam with pointed emphasis on the common mistakes the child makes. Where the child makes mistakes has to be reinforced so that when attempting the test, he remembers that he is prone to make that mistake and avoids it.

Question 2:

Rabia Thekedar CBSE student should follow text book or refer to other book in Tenth board?

• CBSE exams papers are set totally from NCERT Textbooks and these have to be studied cover to cover. Previous years’ board papers (Shiv Das publishers) can be practiced to get familiarity with the language of the questions asked.

Question 3:

Reena Vador My son is in 9^th standard, but he gets scared writing at examinations. How can we handle this?

• The only way of getting rid of nervousness and anxiety before exams is to practice writing answers. Break the syllabus into small capsules and let the child’s study be guided by questions. Learning becomes complete and consolidated only when the child is comfortable with the questions that can be asked on the topic. As a parent help him answer as many questions as he can after he has studied a topic.

Question 4:

Nelson Almeida Why are CBSE norms not adhered to strictly by all the affiliated schools? While last year CBSE made it mandatory that there should not be sale of books or uniforms in the school premises, but this is still being practiced at few schools I know.

• Though CBSE has such norms laid down in order to prevent commercial exploitation by schools, some parents and schools consider this facility as a convenience offered to parents. It is not mandatory to buy these from the school.

Question 5:

Nelson Almeida Cant the WHOLE education system in India follow a common scale of rating a student. For ICSE & State boards have marks and its only CBSE following the grading system. Can’t there be a uniform code?

• Education being a state subject, the centre cannot force states to follow CBSE policy. They can only advise them.

Question 6:

Neelakshi Varma The current CBSE syllabus is vast, and additional extracurricular activities stress kids a lot. They are left with no time to play and socialize. Can something be done on this 2 reduce the burden on our kids?

• The policy with regard to CCE is meant to even out pressure through the year. It will take parents some time to realize that this system actually spreads the work responsibilities evenly through the year and not just towards the end. Children have to learn to take all activities in their stride. That is the ideal learning environment, not just for final exams in the end. And education is about scholastic and co-scholastic development…holistic education.

Question 7:

Meenakshi Munjal The whole CCE system has messed up the whole education system, Can’t we get back the same system of boards and marks for class 10th?

• The response to CCE across the country has been very positive. You will have to open your minds to the winds of change. Across the globe, this is where education is heading. And as parents we have to orient ourselves to changing trends.

Question 8:

Ishah Sha Why do we consider only age in accordance with marks and grades kids study, we have seen examples of young kids excelling well in higher level of education, so why the barrier of passing every grade?

• While more and more progressive schools are encouraging students to study at their own pace and time, and in their own style, it is important that the child goes through every level/grade as these are formative years and cannot be rushed. Concept clarity and maturity will come only if every stage of learning is fully internalized.

Question 9:

Sandhi Sharma Sandhir My question is based on the whole idea of evaluating someone in just one exam, as against the summative system? What’s your opinion and how much importance school exams should have in the selection exam for IIT and PMTs

• A single exam is never a good idea of evaluating a child for his ability and that is why the CBSE is moving towards the CCE system of evaluation. With regard to IIT and PMT, and whether school exams are important or not, my view is that every exam that a child writes must be given justice as each of them is a stepping stone for the future. School exams cannot be ignored because in the long run these marks stay with you for life. Having said that, in my many years of experience I have found a very high correlation between school exams and competitive exams. It will be a rare case that a child gets into IIT or PMT and does not do well in school exams. The underlying principle is mastering a concept regardless of which exam the child is preparing for.

While examinations maybe meant for the sake of the children only, they more often than not, heavily involve the parents as well. How you ask? It is because of the important role that parents can play in deciding how a child ultimately treats examinations through out his/her academic life. Parents can either coach and prepare their children to do their best or they can become over-anxious and contribute to their child being overstressed which could eventually lead to the child having a mental block on exam day. Even though that maybe the last thing you want for your child!

So, in order to help you ease your own stress, and play the role of a good coach for your children, during this important time, we have rounded up some all important preparation tips for all you parents. Following some of these simple rules can help you give your child’s exam preparations a shot in the arm, and in a good way!

Guidelines for helping your children prepare for exams:

• Enjoy the process: For many of us, studying was a boring chore, which we wouldn’t want our children to experience. Choose to discard those old ideas that didn’t work for you, and make studying an enjoyable, memorable experience for your children. For example, adopt role-play while teaching English, or resort to practical experiences with a math problem or a science experiment.
• Ignite curiosity: Be creative and strive to make learning an exciting stimulating experience for your children, by asking thought provoking questions which lead to debate, and telling them stories of your experiences. Another tip is to stick important facts around the house and in the car so they see it everyday.
• Get involved: Identify key topics in each subject, and set questions for your child around them. Set these questions as the benchmark for your child, and make it an exciting contest for him/her to win. It may also be a good idea to make up silly rhymes and jokes to help them remember important facts.
• Focus on their health: Make sure you are giving your child ample of fuel to keep him/her energetic through out the day. Keep your home stocked with snacks, which you can give him/her from time to time during the revision hours. It will help him/her feel upbeat, and less stressed, if he/she is studying on a full stomach
• Set a timetable: Make sure you chalk out the day to-day timetable, before the examination frenzy begins. It is important that this timetable clearly indicates free time, play time, sleep time and study time of course, going as far as which subject and which topic specifically.  This chart can be put up on the refrigerator or some other prominent place in the house, so both you and your child can refer to it on a daily basis to see the progress made. And don’t forget to reward a job well done!
• Stay Positive: Help your child to adopt a positive mindset, by encouraging him/her to enjoy what he/she is studying. This will slowly build up his confidence to study independently as he grows older.
• Train your mind: This requires far more effort than all the other tips. It is important that you as parents do not add to your child’s stress levels by focusing on outcome (eg., you must score 95 out of 100 marks). Instead, focus on helping your child get the study process right, and help him/her to break it down into more manageable parts, thereby actually understanding what he/she is studying.

We are sure all you parents would agree, that there are many roads to excellence, and each child chooses his/her own course. It is important only for the parents to breathe and relax, so that they can help their child enjoy the process, and feel happy about achieving knowledge, while preparing for his/her exams.

A child will feel happier and confident, if he/she sees a more confident you! So, follow these few tips, relax, and help your child to relax too, and believe us, your child will thank you by coming out with flying colors, not just in academics but in life as well!

As always, we would love to hear from you so do share what methods you follow to help your child prepare for his/her examinations that can help our igenius parents too. Good luck!

Teenage is a term not very well understood by most of us. We do think we know a lot but when it comes to real handling as a parent (or may be a teacher) then all our prior knowledge goes out of the window. The most important thing that we lack while dealing with them is “Empathy”. We become so preachy that we forget that we were also not so mature and perfect when we were their age. We are shocked when they show interest in fashion, fads, opposite sex etc and we feel as if we failed as parents and were not able to instill good values in them. But we forget that all this and a lot more defines this phase of development and we simply over react to things which we could have handled if we would have simply put ourselves into their shoes.

Teenagers are not rebellious as we all believe them to be; they are simply trying to break away from their parents and other adults and are sub consciously trying to find their own identity and also trying to fit in with their peer group. They start to have their own individual opinions which may not match with their parents’. This again shocks the parents and they again see it as rebellion or even disrespect. All this ends up in parents being over controlling using wrong tactics, whether emotional blackmail, scolding, shouting etc.

Teenage is therefore a time when you as a parent will have to undertake the role of a mature individual who understands this stage of development completely so that you help your child to be better able to find his “identity” and make a smooth transition into a mature and a responsible adult.

So remember the motto of many parents with teens: We’re going through this together, and we’ll come out of it — together!

As the researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development quote, “A child’s mind is like a blank sheet of paper. It is a challenge for the parents to refine and mould it through value added interactions, discussions that instill love for the nation and its people and encourage small but tender actions that make a difference. These are things which enhance the feeling of patriotism in our little ones”.

Well, most of my efforts in putting this article together were directed at interviewing a number of mothers, teachers, and children. What I hoped to arrive at through this research was a consensus on what it means to be a patriot and how do kids express it. The common answer was that no one is born knowing what patriotism means. Children pick this sentiment up as they grow and sometimes it helps when there’s someone to guide them. Parents and responsible adults should teach this to children since they learn by example. Love for country does not and cannot develop on its own. Only through instruction and demonstration, parents and educators can instill a sense of pride in the children who will one day play spectacular roles to make their country proud.

We often hear about kids of this generation being extra smart and gadget freaks. Let’s use these gadgets to entertain and also teach them. They love to sing songs and like to act like they know-it-all, therefore, it’s very inspiring when you hum patriotic numbers like “nanaha munna rahi hoon, Sare jahan se achcha, aao bachcho tumhe dikhaye Jhansi Hindustan ki, etc……” with them. Some of these songs are catchy and inspire our little ones too. As a mother when I sit back and watch the black and white classics like Jagriti, Boot polish and Gharana, it brings back a lot of memories of my childhood days. Movies like Chak De, Gandhi, and Swadesh not only entertain the children but also boost the spirit in them.

Stories too have an incredible educative value due to their influence in memory and also because children love them. When we narrate the inspiring childhood stories of our martyrs and real-life heroes like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi, I am sure you’ll be surprised to see the spark of appreciation in their dreamy eyes. The stories are so full of valor, heroism and are so real.

Family trips and tours to national monuments also instill in children the spirit of patriotism. A visit to a national monument can be fun and memorable too. India Gate in Delhi, Vidhan Soudha in Bangalore, Gandhi Samadhi in Delhi, Gateway of India in Mumbai, Netaji’s house in Kolkata, Jorashanko Thakur bari, Rabindranath Tagore’s house and the Red Road, etc. Most of these monuments also have special lighting at night for special occasions. Go for a post dinner drive to see these lights and watch your little ones eyes fill with wonder and awe.

Patriotic craft projects or scrapbooks help teach youngsters about Indian history. Working with children on craft projects that involve iconic Indian symbols such as the national flag, the national flower or the great heroes gives us an opportunity to talk to them and explain the historical significance of the symbols.

We can also encourage and involve our children in civic and charitable activities. Lessons in good citizenship, empathy, oneness, sharing and value for what they have, right from the beginning. Let’s start by donating surplus toys and clothes. They will love it too.

Let’s add some fun and color to our national festivals by making it special for our kids. Give it your own personal twist by watching the day parade or organizing a fancy dress party for them. Let them have small contests with patriotic badges and mementoes. It will make our kids relate to them more and make them even more memorable. And of course it will boost their pride and patriotism.

Every country has slogans and words of pledge. Let’s recite the Indian patriotic slogan along with our kids to rebuild India. Jai Hind.

We at Max New York Life igenius understand this and therefore have continually strived to further wholesome development as a concept for young minds. In this quest, we have had many interactions, conversations and even forums for you from time to time. But what we consider as one of biggest achievements is an initiative that recognizes and rewards the all round talent in children. It is our ‘IGENIUS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM!’

On Tuesday, December 20^th, 2011, igenius saw its second successful edition come to a close at a spectacular show, which celebrated talent. While some attendees participated to showcase their talent, there was well-known talent to judge them as well. Aastha Agarawal and Vaania Kapoor Achuthan walked away with a big smile and a handsome scholarship of INR 10, 00,000 each in Senior and Junior category respectively for igenius Scholarships 2011.

The esteemed judges Derek O’Brien (renowned quiz master), Ruskin Bond (renowned author), Murali Kartik, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas (cricketers), Rajit Mehta (Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Max New York Life) were also joined by special guests Mr. Rajesh Sud, CEO and Managing Director, Max New York Life Insurance Company Limited.

The grand finale, as expected was a gripping one, and besides the two scholars, we also had some other proud moments with the senior and junior runners-up Paroma Roy Chowdhury and Jasreet Kaur respectively, and of course rest eighteen other talented children who participated in the event, who all made this event a grand success.

A special prize category has been introduced this year to encourage budding talent against all odds namely the “Talent Encouragement Award”. This year this award was given to 10 years old Aman Kumar, a fourth grade student hailing from the Buxar district in Bihar.

What’s more these budding talents got a chance to get inspired by the true stories of Indian cricketers who have become achievers in their own right. So, while Murali Karthik, Indian cricketer for the Indian Premier League, talked about how his parents always emphasized on excellence no matter what he does, Mithun Manhas spoke about the value of perseverance and practice, recalling his early days in Jammu where his passion for the sport began.  A golden opportunity for children to understand that hard work truly pays!

The Grand Finale witnessed some dazzling performances by students from different parts of the country. The participants also got words of encouragement from Derek O’ Brien, Quiz Master, Jury Member of igenius Scholarships, asking children to focus on that one core talent and honing it to achieve their fullest potential.

Max New York Life igenius scholarship is a unique programme to recognize and reward children who excel not just in academics but also in extracurricular activities. This scholarship programme provides a platform to bring out the hidden genius from within your child. The vision of this scholarship programme is to contribute towards a better future for our children. With no registration fees, the programme offers your children an opportunity to win scholarships of total 1 Crore INR each year. Having successfully concluded two editions of this unique scholarship program, we now look forward to honing many more geniuses in the years to come!

A child tends to follow various role models as he/she grows up, in various aspects of his or  her life. These role models inspire children to learn, overcome obstacles, and understand that positive values can be lived each day. After all whether you are a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, a teacher, a sports coach, a social worker, or a person who engages with a child’s life, the fact remains that every individual has the ability to inspire and influence!

So, how do we ensure our children have strong role models?

Model yourself: The first thing to remember about positive role models for your child is that you, as parents, are the most important role model in your child’s life. So, you need to show your child by setting up your own examples on how that you actively work on having a positive attitude, and how you work towards becoming a better human being each day.  Also, an added influence can be made by sharing who your own role models in life have been with your children.

Exposure is necessary: Introducing your children to eminent personalities who have made a difference for to the community, or in their respective fields of work, is a good starting point. For example, showing them the work done by Mother Teresa or narrating stories on how Mahatma Gandhi fought for freedom can teach your children values of generosity, integrity and kindness.

Clear set of values to imbibe: Expose your children to people whose values you’d like them to imbibe, even in real life. Various research studies have suggested a correlation between role models and higher levels of civic engagement in amongst young generation. Positive role models are also linked to self-efficacy. Therefore it is important that you, as parents first identify these people, whether they are friends, family, grandparents, and then showcase some values in each of these people, your child can learn from.

Choosing the right educators: The kind of school your child goes to plays an important role in determining the kind of attitude he/she will develop. The school, where  your child spends majority of his/her day can also be a big influencing factor in choosing his/her role models. The kind of values learnt at school, the conduct of teachers, the kind of projects the school places an emphasis on, are all significant contributing factors towards your child’s choice of role model.

Acknowledge and praise: Encourage your child to day-dream and strive to emulate his/her role model’s behavior. For example, if your son wants to be a great cricketer, when you take him to a cricket field for practice session, suggest that he pretend that he is Sachin Tendulkar for the afternoon. Also, when you see your child act in a  manner which he/she associates with a particular positive role model, make sure that you recognise and appreciate the effort!

Highlight human nature: While it is certainly a good idea to talk about the positive attributes of your child’s role model, you must also make your child understand that every person has good and bad qualities and that anyone can make a mistake. Explain to them that at times of making mistakes; it is important to not only apologize but also to learn from our mistakes. This will help you prepare them for the real world and also ensure that their ideals are not shattered when their role model fails in some way or does not stands up to their expectations. Make your child believe that it is not important for them to do everything that their role model does. In this manner your child can follow a role model and at the same time learn to be themselves.

Put it into practice: Once you have identified certain people whom you would want your child to emulate, you can engage your child in such  conversations which will  set his/her mind ticking. For example, ask him/her on how he/she would have handled a particular situation, or what he/she thinks about a particular person’s behavior in a given situation. Also you can make a small start by encouraging your child to get involved in activities that reflect your values, such as athletics, after school programs, student clubs and volunteering in community programmes.

Much of this can happen informally, without specifically referring to personalities or people in your child’s life as “role models”. However, much attention and purview is required on a parent’s part. And that is your most important responsibility as a parent….

Who do you think makes a great role model for your child? And who stays as your favorite for your child?

That was enough motivation for me to set a New Year’s resolution that I would actually keep this time around. My resolution is to help my son decide on his, and help him keep it, so that he can experience the euphoria of actually setting a goal and seeing it to the finish line.

In order to get us started, I thought; why not resort to the mecca of information (the Internet) to better understand how I can go about actually helping my son, and also enjoying the process! Here’s what I found:

Resolution Mission: To begin with, you must understand that children at their age have a very limited attention span, therefore the resolution that you help them identify must also be one that does not require a long period of time to fulfill. That means not having too many goals, and not having too many long-term goals. Talk with your children about what is most important and focus on those. Then maybe take your own advice and set few for yourself, too.

Be Precise: I came across a website that had had ten suggestions for kids’ resolutions. A couple of suggestions were “I will be kind to everyone” and “I will do my best in school.” These seem like very broad based for your child to actually feel like he/she has achieved something. It is likely that he/she will give up, if the resolution is so generic, so you would do well, to instead set a goal like, “I will make 3 people smile every week, by doing something nice.” Now that’s a resolution, which can have a tangible result.

Make it fun: Setting a resolution does not have to be a serious affair. The idea is to have fun in the process. You can turn it into a mini craft project, by taking a giant chart paper, and make it your child’s resolution chart, which he/she can write into and decorate, and then stick it up in his/her room.

Buddy program: If you want your child to fulfill his/her resolution, the chances of him/her succeeding rely largely on you. If he/she sees you too are setting your resolution with as much seriousness, he/she is likely to be more excited as well. So make sure you set down some achievable goals for yourself too and share one of them with your children. Compare resolution notes with your children from time to time. This will not only encourage them, but also help you to keep yours.

Keep track: Once the excitement of the New Year has settled down, and daily life sets in, ask your children how their resolutions are coming along. Suggest ways that they can stick to their resolutions. If they fall out of line along the way, encourage them to try again. Let them know that January 1st is not the only day for resolutions. They can start them, or re-start them, whenever they want.

With all these pointers under my belt, I am all set to start the New Year on a fresh note, with a resolve to help my son succeed, among other things of course! Who knows? By helping our children learn to make and keep New Year’s resolutions, we may just break the cycle of unfulfilled resolutions and actually start to keep them! My resolutions have been put up rather glamorously in my son’s bedroom, alongside his own, and we are both excited to meet the finish line, and find yet another reason to celebrate together. So what is your New Year’s resolution this year? And more importantly, what is your child’s?

Here are some neat ways to kick-start your Christmas celebrations:

• Christmas Crafting: A good starting point would be to indulge one evening in helping your child in creating Christmas cards that he/she wants to give to special people in his life. This can be a fun way to start him/her off on her Christmas celebration, as it will give you an opportunity to show him/her the elements that make Christmas a fun occasion – cards with pictures of Christmas trees, stocking and even Santa are the order of the day. Not only will it provide an outlet to your young one’s imagination, but also it will help you spend quality time with him/her.
• Learning is fun: Make this occasion an opportunity to convey the real spirit of the occasion. You can do this in several ways, by buying a book that recites the story of how Christmas came about and who Santa Claus is, a great bedtime story for any tiny tot. Download some Christmas carols or even buy a CD from the market, which both you and your child can listen to, and sing along with on your way to and from school
• Make a wish list: This will perhaps be the part that your child will look forward to the most. Help him/her draft a letter to Santa, telling him all the good things that he/she has done through the year, and what he/she wants for Christmas from him. He/she can then post this letter to Santa (you can even stamp it for effect). It’s a nice way to find out what present your child wishes for Christmas. While at this, you can also impart to your child the all important value of giving. Get them to participate in our Letter to Santa contest by writing a letter wishing something not for themselves but for others.
• Have a movie marathon: On the Christmas weekend you can turn your home into a Christmas movie hall, by picking up a few Christmas movies and watching them with your children, with popcorn et al! Not only will this make for fun family time, but will help impart the true spirit of the festival in a fun and exciting way.
• Baking time: Bake Christmas cookies, or cakes, sweets, pastries—anything your children enjoy eating. Make it a day activity, and don’t worry about the kitchen mess. Play Christmas music as you bake together, and turn it into an unforgettable family day together
• Don’t forget the tree: A Christmas celebration without a Christmas tree is incomplete to say the least. Make sure you go shopping for the perfect tree with the little one, helping him/her pick out decorations of his/her choice, and stocking that he/she can put up next to the tree for Santa to leave the gifts in! The excitement for children will be palpable knowing that Santa will be visiting their house on Christmas eve to give them gifts
• Gifts are for giving: Go Christmas gift shopping along with your child, and help him pick out gifts that he/she wants to exchange this Christmas with his/her friends, and for celebrations in his/her school. You can pick out the toys that he/she no longer wants, and visit an orphanage with him/her to make Christmas more enjoyable for the lesser privileged children.
• Midnight mass: For older children the midnight Christmas mass is an absolute must do. The experience will be magical with the caroling and the lights in the church. At the stroke of midnight scores of people will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with you and your child, it will be something that you’ll can cherish as a family for a long time to come

With all of these choices, you’re sure to find something you love. We’d love to know what you have planned for your children, so do share some of your ideas! We wish all our igenius parents a Merry Christmas. And remember to “Jingle all the away!”

You see, my husband and I have made it a habit of sorts to keep a bagful of biscuits in the car, which we hand out on our way to and from work, whenever we see someone in need.  We think of it as our little way of making a difference.  And that day, I got a glimpse of how powerful teaching by example can be. For some time now, sharing had been an issue with my son; he hated parting with his things, but ever since he went with my husband for a jaunt where he saw his dad giving away a few packets of biscuits to needy people on the street, he had got his cue!

We were thrilled about this lesson learnt, but we wanted to nurture this spirit of giving further, and ensure that it becomes a part of his value system as he grows up. So with a little bit of Google search (which is the answer for every question these days) and our own imagination, we came up with a little game plan to make giving and selflessness a part of his day-to-day life.

In fact in order to encourage this habit, on Children’s day, we went for a drive together to give children on the street, a big bar of chocolate and wish them a “Happy Children’s Day”. I have to say my son was super excited, and would check with me after we gave the chocolate to each child, “Mama now he/she’s happy?” It was a great day for us, and for him!

So, with Christmas just around the corner, a festival that celebrates the spirit of giving, I thought it only apt to share some of things that we have tried with our son, and hope that you too can kindle this spirit of selflessness and giving in your children, to make this year’s celebration, that much more special!

• Starting small: With young children, it is difficult to communicate the many disadvantages that lesser fortunate people have, therefore its best to start small. So, for example, we decided to clean up my son’s room one weekend, and asked him to choose all the old toys that he no longer wanted to play with. We then packed these toys and told him these could be gifts for the children of our help at home. He happily obliged!
• Charitable fun: The one thumb rule if you want to get your child to learn something new is – MAKE IT FUN! So, instead of dragging him to a community center to donate clothes, we decided on a fun activity that he would enjoy. We have decided to bake Christmas cookies at home, wherein he can help with the cookie making and decoration, and then while he can enjoy one batch at home, the rest go out to a small orphanage on Christmas day in our neighborhood. He is super kicked about the idea, and we are already down two batches of cookies, and will be touching four by the Christmas weekend!
• Applaud any act of kindness: It is not necessary for your child make big gestures all the time, but even little things like remembering to thank the help at home and saying please when we wants something, should be recognized as acts of kindness. Knowing that you are watching this positive behavior and acknowledging it with praise, will only egg him on further to be kind to each person he/she meets.
• Lead by example: There is no way that a child will learn unless the lesson is backed with a strong example, and what better role models to follow than his/her own parents. Sure, teachers play an important part in imparting values of kindness and giving, but a child spends a majority of his/her time at home, thereby making you his/her primary teacher. I saw this in the way our child has learnt not only how to behave well, but also in how he argues, he learns from us, even the language is telling! Therefore it becomes that much more important to not only communicate the right values, but also to show why you want him/her to follow them, with your own example!

To wrap up this blog, I can’t help but think of the famous kid’s movie Home Alone 2, where the little Kevin, takes on two thugs so he can help the children in a hospital in New York have a joyful Christmas. I recommend, all parents show their kids this movie to convey the message of giving to their child in a subtle yet fun way, explaining to them along the way, that how Kevin despite being mischievous, had the right spirit of the festival! I plan to show my son the movie this weekend before we go off to celebrate Christmas morning with the children at the orphanage, so how do you plan to celebrate the spirit of giving this Christmas?