Dreams and Babies

In Mondays' blog I talked about how important dreams are to our health and well- being. Babies also benefit from dreaming and studies have shown that babies spend 66% of their sleeping time in REM state and premature babies spend 80% of their sleep time in dream state. Researchers believe that there may be a correlation between the dream state and brain development.

Many new parents find out soon enough that their babies sleep cycles are much shorter than an adults and it takes time for those cycles to get longer and for your baby to learn how to fall back to sleep on his own if he wakes up in the middle of the night.

Happy Parenting

Monicka

Dream On

Cassie and I love to analyze each others dreams. We have a dream dictionary and we try and find out what our dreams are trying to tell us. Whether you believe dreams are significant or not research has shown that people who are deprived of the dream phase of sleep or (REM) will become irritable and feel anxious. In one study volunteers were woken up before they entered the dream state and then were allowed to fall back asleep. This was repeated through the night. All the volunteers were allowed to sleep the same amount of hours they normally did. The next day the volunteers were observed as being disoriented, depressed, crabby and quick tempered and some ate more than ususual. As the study continued the subjects became even more agitated and showed lack of concentration and even memory loss.


Dreams are necessary for our well- being and health but in order to dream we have to also get adequate sleep especially children and teens.

Happy Dreaming

Monicka

Goals and Dreams for Kids - The Importance of a Supportive Family

It's so important for kids to have a family environment that is supportive - especially when it comes to goal setting. Sometimes, those that are supposed to be our nearest and dearest are the ones that shoot our dreams down before they even have a chance to get started.



My friend told me yesterday about just such an example. When he was about 11 he wanted to be a ball boy for his favorite football team. Unfortunately when he told his Dad about the idea he immediately started telling him all the reasons it was a bad idea! Terrible idea - it'll be very boring, and imagine how horrid it will be when it rains!



It's important to try and step back when children confide in us about their dreams and goals. Might it have been possible for my friend's Dad to bite his tongue and at least find out a bit more before shooting the idea down in flames. Thinking back to how he wished his Dad had handled it, my friend said that what he really would have wanted back then as a child would have been:

1. For his Dad to show he cared by asking more about the idea and what it was about it that was getting his son excited

2. Then for his Dad to make some suggestions and ask some questions.

3. Finally, he would have liked some specific help - for his Dad to offer to talk to some friends and find out what would be involved, or some such action.



It really made me think about how carefully we should protect our children's self esteem by listening carefully and being supportive, especially when they surprise us with an idea that we might normally rubbish without even considering!



Happy parenting,



Cassie

Your Child's Goals and Dreams

Well here I am - writing my first blog in Canada at Monicka's house! Although exhausted from the trip, I wanted to share something that I thought you would enjoy.

One of the movies on the plane was "The Pursuit of Happyness" and there is a scene in the film where the Dad and his son (both called Chris) are playing basketball and little Chris says "I'm gonna go pro!" .... his Dad kinda laughs at him and puts him down, saying I was never much good at basketball and you probably won't be great either. Little Chris is so disappointed and disillusioned. Then his Dad realises what he is doing and tells his son to always pursue his dreams. "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something, son," he says, "not even me."

It's so important to support our children in all their endevors - even if they seem unrealistic, don't take their dreams away from them!

Happy Parenting,

Cassie

A Star is Born

Happy Monday Everyone

Just a very short blog but hopefully one that will really make you think. I just finished watching the Academy Awards and Jennifer Hudson pretty much a nobody a few years ago took home the Oscar for best supporting actress for Dream Girls. I saw an interview with her a few weeks ago and she said she owed it all to her family because they believed in her and had NO DOUBT she would accomplish great things.... kind of says it all doesn't it.

Happy Parenting

Monicka

Dream Big

Happy Friday Everyone

I was recently contacted by an old friend from past that I had not spoken to for 17 years (WOW!!!). He is now a full fledged airline pilot working for an airline in the Middle East and he is very happy. Since I was writing my article on "Possibilites" for the newsletter I started thinking about my friend and what he has become. When I met him he was flying a small transport plane, and now look at him. Makes me wonder what kind of an upbringing he had that would make him believe that he could accomplish such an amazing feat. Might make a great interview.

Remember you play a huge role in helping your child to discover his potential, but don't let that scare you. Just offer all the love and encouragement you can and here's the biggy!!! Let them follow their own dreams not what you dream for them.



Have a great weekend

Monicka