Positive Parenting With Olu

Happy Tuesday my beautiful parents. Last week I shared part 1 of the topic – How to raise your sons to be an honurable men. Today I’m going to share the concluding part.

As a mom of four, (one woman and three men), the one thing I’ve learned about parenting is that boys are very different. Boys (at least most boys I know) are tougher to teach, tougher to communicate with, and they’re tougher to get through to than girls. And, the challenges boys face in life are oftentimes far different than the challenges girls face.

So if you’re raising a boy then today’s post is for you.

PLEASE REMEMBER YOU ARE RAISING SOMEONE’S FUTURE HUSBAND.

Please let’s try our best to instil todays values in them. The best way to teach kids is by example! (DON’T ASSUME THEY KNOW, TEACH THEM!)

MAY GOD HELP US ALL

So here are some values you can instil in your children

MANNERS

Teaching your son manners might be one of the most important things you as a parent can do for him. Manners are, after all, about respect—respect for oneself and respect for others. Manners teach a boy that there are other people in the world that he needs to be aware of besides himself, and those other people are just as important as he is. (And he can learn to treat them as though they are more important than he is).

✅ POSITIVE MALE ROLE MODEL

Another thing you can do is to introduce a positive Role Model to your son at an early age.

Please make sure you choose someone who exemplifies qualities such as kindness, respect and integrity.

These people can either be their dad or grandad, or uncles, or a coach.

✅ HONESTY: We all know the adage ‘Honesty is the best policy’. An honest individual is not only considered righteous but also trustworthy. So, appreciate your son whenever he displays honesty. Explain to your child that although a lie may save him from getting into trouble at the moment it is always the truth that prevails.

✅ RESPECTING OTHERS:

Show respect for others: Showing respect for others is a virtue every individual must possess. From a young age, help your child learn how to be respectful of others. If he ever asks you why that is so important, remind him of the golden rule ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. Your son must see you model respectful behavior towards everyone, irrespective of their gender, age, social status, race, or sexual orientation.

✅ MAKING GOOD CHOICES:

Let your son know that he must always make a good choice because for every action there are consequences and it is very important to think about those possible consequences before making decisions.

Tell him that he has the potential to influence lives for hundreds of years by the way he lives.

Let him know that he  has great power to make a positive difference.

My final thoughts: 

Dear parents, the best way to teach your sons (and daughters) all these values  is to model it in your home and then hold your sons and daughters to a high standard in his/her behavior and treatment of others. 

Happy parenting, please leave a comment below 👇 

WHEN WE KNOW BETTER WE MUST DO BETTER! 

Olu 🥰❤️

Raising Your Sons to be Honourable Men

Raising boys to become honourable men is not an easy job. My youngest son will be 21 in a few months. And he has been going on dates. So I want him to be an honorable man. Someone who has integrity, someone who keeps his word. someone who treats women with respect, someone who is reliable, kind, honest and respectful and a good citizen of the world. And above all someone that loves God! 

So how do we raise our young boys to become honourable men in the future, I’m glad you ask because that’s what our post for today is all about. 

As a mom of four, (one woman and three men), the one thing I’ve learned about parenting is that boys are very different. Boys (at least most boys I know) are tougher to teach, tougher to communicate with, and they’re tougher to get through to than girls. And, the challenges boys face in life are oftentimes far different than the challenges girls face.

I also realise that society expects boys (to act strong, tough and unbreakable even when they’re not),

My son thinks he knows everything but as his mom I still  need to keep empowering him with a few valuable skills and some good old  wisdom that hold the power to make him far more content and ready to manage  life in workplace and beyond.

Dear parents, the values that your little boy learns in his childhood will shape his personality and determine the man he grows up to be.

As a parent, it is your responsibility to instill in your son these  values that would help in raising your son to be a good man.

Here are a few things I’m still teaching my son (lessons I feel every boy should learn) before he leaves my care

1. EXPRESS EMOTIONS:

We need to teach our boys that it’s okay to express their feelings and that doing so is a strength not a weakness.

Let him show his sensitive side. Let him shed a tear if life gets the best of him. 

Crying is only for girls”, “Take it like a man”, “Big boys don’t cry”, are some of the phrases boys often hear while growing up. As a result, most men never feel comfortable expressing their emotions. Withholding emotions can lead to serious problems later, such as the inability to build and sustain meaningful personal and work relationships. Therefore, develop emotional literacy in your boy and teach him that a man’s real strength comes from accepting and expressing his emotions, not from repressing them.

2. How to Live with Honor

The beauty of living with honor isn’t necessarily in how others will view your son, but how he will view himself as he journeys into adulthood. Set him on a positive, honorable path by developing a core set of family beliefs he can live his life by.

Dear parents, let’s be a positive role model for them and strive to instill values of integrity, morality, loyalty, reliability and responsibility.

Being honorable yourself, surrounding your son with honorable men and women.  

3. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS:: A good man is quick to admit when he is wrong and face the consequences of his actions. So, teach your son to think before he acts. And if things go wrong, to accept the responsibility and try to set the situation right. Also, make him understand that blaming others for his mishaps isn’t the right thing to do.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS  

Raising honorable men should be our goal as parents. Please dear parents remember children are not born with these values they need to be taught to them. 

Let’s stop assuming that our children should know what to do, especially teens. I have come to realize that none of us are born with any of these skills and it’s not necessarily a skill you’ll pick up along the way in life. All these skills needs to be taught.

That’s it for now, I will be sharing the concluding part next time.

Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below 👇

Are you looking for an art club for your children? At Brighter Bee learning centre we teach children aged 3-12 in our Centre.

As a teacher we pride ourselves in treating every child individually and creating an inspirational, creative classroom where ideas become reality!

Our classes: Our weekly classes run during term time – before and after school on weekdays, and during school holidays. 

For more information: Send DM

I AM GRATEFUL FOR LUCY-

Did you watch the king’s coronation concert ? 

I did! And it was great. I love all the artists that performed that night. 

 Tiwa’s Savage performance was spectacular! She  represents my country Nigeria very well  and she even sang a Yoruba song which was 🔥 

I love Lionel Richie’s performance too, his song –  All Night Long…  gives me goosebumps and he knows how to get people dancing. Even King Charles, George and Charlotte were dancing lol. 😆 

I also Love when James Nesbitt mentioned my favorite food – Jollof rice in his poem Poem.

However the performance I loved most that night was that of a girl called Lucy. She played the piano. She’s fabulous.

Lucy is a 13-year-old blind and autistic, but she did not let her blindness stop her and that she performed on the biggest stage ever. This was a big deal! 

She brought tears to my eyes because she’s truly an inspiration. 

Seeing her perform at the concert with a smile makes me smile too. Because I love children, especially those with autism. 

I know that raising an autistic child can be very hard and stressful. However they’re a blessing and they’re unique and so special. 

I have worked with them and I have friends that have autistic children. 

I know for sure that all children have talents. 

All you need to do is pay attention to them and then encourage them.

As parents we must stop focusing on what our children cannot do instead let’s focus on what THEY CAN DO! 

So dear parents, what does your child like to do? 

Once you know this you can encourage them and get them a tutor to teach them how to do this better. 

You never know they may be singing on a big stage in front of queens and kings in the future just like Lucy. I’m sure Lucy’s parents are proud of her. 

I know an autistic child that’s a talented artist. This boy’s drawing is amazing. The boy’s parents have enrolled him in an art school where he is excelling.

DEAR YOUNG PEOPLE – YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE IF ONLY YOU BELIEVE.  

#coronationconcert #lucy #autismismysuperpower #yesyoucan #autisticawareness #workingwithspecialneedskids #austicchild #special

#yesyoucan

The other day I was having a conversation with my youngest son Tolu. And during our conversation he told me about some of the things he had to learn on his own because he wasn’t taught in school.

So if you have a teenager or a young adult this post is for them.

In this write up, Tolu shared some important information about MONEY MANAGEMENT and other stuffs he learned the hard way.

Although he is a 19 years old man, this young man has a lot of knowledge about investing and other money matters. I’ll be the first to confess that I know nothing about investing.

One of the things that helped him was because he is willing to learn from others and he is disciplined and determined to succeed. I am so proud of the man he is becoming.

This article will bless other teenagers and help them to prepare for adulthood.

He write this so that young people like himself can learn from his mistakes.

Happy reading. Please can you let me know your thoughts on this topic.

What would you like to add or any advice for the young man.

So here we go.

So what do you think about his first blog?

Pleased I would like to here your thoughts on this matter 👇

Thanks for reading through.

As most of you know, I work with children and lately I have been meeting lots of parents who have special needs children and I realize some of them don’t even have a clue about the kind of help they can get to support their child.

 I used to work with autistic children and I know it’s very challenging. 

So I understand the struggles of raising an autistic child. Your life is not your own anymore. You are devoted to them 24/7. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a blessing. However it’s hard work raising an autistic child. So it will be a lot of relief if you can get funding to help you with their day today activities.  To be able to employ someone else to look after them while you attend to something else or just take a break.  I’m sure you would like that. 

So if you are a parent of a special needs child and you want help or support them send me a DM today and I will put you through on how to go about it!

Check the images for more details

Happy parenting

#autismawareness #directpayments #specialneedschildren

READING IS A SKILL

If you want your toddler to know how to read you must teach them. Reading is just like swimming. You can’t just put your child in water and expect them to swim, they are going to drown.

So I don’t get it when some parents tell me that their toddlers can’t read. Have you taught them how?

Bob book set is one of the best books to help your toddler learn how to read. I use it with my 4 year olds students that are just learning to read.

If you’re serious about teaching your toddler to read, get this book today. 

So dear parents, if you want to teach your child to read, first expose them to phonics sounds and then, teach them how to blend. If you’re not sure how to you can check out my previous post on – “How to teach toddlers how to read”

Thanks for reading I hope this helps

Happy parenting

Olu

When people ask me what is the NUMBER 1 thing my child should be doing in order to pass the 11 plus exam, I will always tell them: READING. 

READING EVERY SINGLE DAY! 

Reading will help develop your child’s Vocabulary, grammar, spellings, their comprehension skills, their writing , etc, etc…

It’s also important that they practice and revise the other subjects like; VERBAL AND NON VERBAL REASONING AND MATH. 

Encouraging a love of reading in your child will help them develop literacy skills and broaden their perspective. 

Here are some tips to encourage your child to read: 

1. Start early; introduce books to your child as early as possible . Even if they can’t read yet. Reading to them will instill the love of stories to them. (Remember – you get what you put in when it comes to children’s learning, if you want your child to do well in school you must help them at home regularly)  
2. Make Reading fun: Get them books that are engaging and age appropriate. Take them to the library and let them choose their own books. If you have a space in your house, you can create a small reading corner (put 2 or more soft cushions on the floor or on the carpets with a basket full of books, you get the gist)
3. Be a role model. Children often emulate their parents behavior, so if they see you reading they are more likely to do the same.
4. Limit screen time
5. Create a reading routine. Set a specific time each day for  reading. This can be before bedtime or anytime that suits your family schedules. 

I hope this helps – Please remember the key to encouraging your child to read is to make it fun. 

 By doing so, you can help your child develop a love for reading that will last for a lifetime. 

Best of luck to all the children sitting for the 11 plus exam in September !

Here is a poem I wrote about strong willed children.

(I have few parents that are not sure how to raise a child that’s society label “stubborn child”

So today I want to share a poem that I wrote about this beautiful future leaders. I hope as you read this you will find a space in your heart to be more patient with them and stop taking things personally

Thanks for reading

Olu