QuiverX Newsletter - Cabin Fever

Parenting

This is the final installment in our discussion about personalities and learning styles. This one focuses on intelligence. Every parent wants their child to be smart and successful, but sometimes we forget that intelligence is not as simple as a person's IQ. There are many areas where a person can have a natural ability, and each person has their own combination that is their own unique pattern of intelligence.

Dr. Howard Gardner is a researcher into various aspects of intelligence. He has identified seven different types of intelligence. They are Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal. Here is a brief description of each.

Linguistic - Obviously, this relates to a person's use of language in reading, writing, and speaking.
Logical/Mathematical - This relates to a person's abilities with math, logic, reasoning, and patterns.

Spatial - A person strong in spatial intelligence can visualize things before they exist. This is helpful in many areas including engineering, drafting, and design.

Musical - This is expressed through a natural rhythm and musical ability. You don't have to have "perfect pitch" to be musically gifted, but you would probably have a rhythm to your movements and hear more of the nuances of music than other people.

Bodily/Kinsethetic - This relates to a person's ability to use their body. This can include people who are skilled with their hands as well as athletes.

Interpersonal - A person gifted with interpersonal intelligence is good at dealing with other people. They have an instinct for working with others, especially in groups.

Intrapersonal - A person gifted with intrapersonal intelligence knows themself. They are often loners who prefer solitude over a group activity. They are often considered shy, but they often have great inner strength and insight.

I'm sure you can see many of these intelligences in yourself and other people in your life. Your children will have different combinations of these various intelligences. The important thing is to keep these strengths and weaknesses in mind when you are dealing with your children. For instance, the choice of an extra-curricular activity will be very different for a child with strong intrapersonal intelligence than for one with a strong kinesthetic intelligence or a strong musical intelligence. One may prefer yoga or martial arts, which includes meditation and self examination, while another prefers a more athletic sport and still another prefers to learn a musical instrument.

Another area where I keep these kinds of variations in mind is when my children try to compare themselves to each other. I try to remind them that they aren't all good at the same things. It's never easy to have your sister or brother better than you at something, but that is the way it works sometimes. Our children need our help to keep perspective and to help build on their strengths while shoring up their weaknesses.


Health

As we are approaching the last few weeks of winter weather, our children will get more and more restless to get outside. I know my little boys especially are getting "cabin fever". Our weather has been better than most, so they have gotten outside a bit here and there in the last week. They can't wait till they can go out and run around! This seems to be the hardest time of the year because they can sense that spring is just around the corner, but it's not here yet.

I've been watching for the opportunity to let them go outside and play, just to get some fresh air and burn a bit of energy. This isn't going to be enough, though, and if I want them to be able to settle down at all for the next few weeks or so, I'm going to have to find more opportunity for them to run and play.

I'm thankful that our local mall has a play area for children (though it's not very big) so that will help. I'll take them up there next weekend and let them have a change of scenery. But there are other things you can do indoors that will burn off that energy and help them wait until spring. One thing we do is play Simon Says. The kids love it, and it's not very complicated. Even my 2 year old plays, though he doesn't understand the concept of when to do or not do the moves. We also run relay races in the house. We have a long hallway, so we line the kids up at the end and take turns running down and back. We make a big deal of it with our cheering and encouragement. There isn't really a winner to these races, since they are all on one relay team, but they all enjoy the game anyway.

Also, we just bought the Wii Fit and my kids are loving it! If you are inclined to have video games in the house and your budget allows, look into this one. It's good for the kids and their parents.


Quick Tip

KISS - Keep It Super Simple

Today's quick tip is about discipline. Well, it's more of a reminder than a tip. I realized that I've been a bit slack in my expectations of my children lately. I haven't been as diligent to enforce that they obey the first time they are told. I realized how much of my time and energy were being sucked away by having to repeat myself and go back to make sure things were done like I instructed. So, I've been focusing on reminding my children what is expected of them and enforcing those expectations.

So this is my tip - if you find that you are stressed or short tempered with your children, it's probably because you have slacked off in your discipline in some way. Examine what your children are doing compared with what they should be doing, and you'll see where you source of irritation is. Then focus on addressing this area for a few days or weeks. You'll be amazed at how quickly your children will fall back into line and how much more relaxed you will feel.


Bible Verse

Proverbs 23:24 (NKJV) "The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him."