How to Encourage Your Child from a Teacher

Kindergarten teacher and author, LeAnn Miller believes the process of encouraging children begins with newborns and is the most important part of parenting.
 
“From the moment a child is born, they begin learning. Encouragement begins with every new challenge your infant faces.”  She challenges parents to realize the importance of the impact of each situation and encounter with your baby.  “You teach a baby security when you pick them up when they cry.  You teach them about love by kissing and hugging them.  Reading books to your babies teaches them vocabulary without even knowing it.”

She can tell the quality of input parents have in a child’s life the FIRST time she meets them during Kindergarten Round-Up and believes wholeheartedly the first five years are especially crucial in the home.  

“Research shows that the brain develops synopses (these allow a child to learn more and more information-make connections, etc…) at an astonishing rate in the first three years of life.  By age six they should have twice as many synopses as an adult!  (That is why adults begin to forget things.)  My point is that children are primarily in the home for the first 5 years of their life.  Parents are KEY to a child’s success.” 

LeAnn Keller grew up fifth in a family of six, in a small town in northern Indiana, with a large heart for children. She became an aunt at ten and grew up helping and playing with her nieces and nephews. She couldn’t wait to begin babysitting and at the age of 12, she became one of my children’s favorite babysitters. “I think God created this desire in me to help prepare me for teaching. I learned a lot about child development through these experiences, more than any textbook I read.” 

LeAnn feels she can learn also from the kids she teaches. “Children make me laugh. I love their innocence and joy in such simple things. They can make you forget about your worries and problems when you are surrounded by them. They aren’t afraid to be silly, dig in the mud, or play in the rain.”

But what she sees in her students has her worried and to help kids cope she wrote Hooray for Hildy, a story about accepting and loving yourself for who you are. “I know that when I was a child, I worried about my nose being too big.”  Someone also told her that she had ugly feet and she would not wear sandals for years after. She feels society has gotten even worse and more unforgiving if you don’t look a certain way and have all the right stuff. She deals with these effects in students as young as five years old.

One little girl liked to play with Star Wars action figures in her class, but endured much teasing because of it. After talking with the parents in conference, LeAnn encouraged them to let her use the Star Wars backpack and figurines, and not let others change her into a gender correct mold. She needed the encouragement that it is ok to be different and not blend in with everyone else.
She believes the Matthew 5:5 verse, “you’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more and no less,” but realizes encouragement is needed to live that out.

The #1 thing kids need to grow to be successful is not more stuff in the closet. “Many children grow up in homes with no encouragement, love or praise. All it takes is for ONE person to show them love.”

 An encouraged child can do amazing things is the ad campaign for the Festival of Children Foundation. Research and real life prove when a child has confidence in his or her abilities there’s no end to the amount of things they can accomplish. Confidence and determination should be strengthened by God, parents, teachers and friends, but no matter how much others encourage a child, LeAnn suggests the child himself has to want to succeed. An alert parent will know when to help and when to back off and let the child do it on his own. It is hard work to study and know your child, but the results are worth it.    

LeAnn feels God blessed her with excellent parents. “They encouraged me to try new things and they praised me for doing my best. My mother took us to the library each week. I saw her reading every day. She was an excellent role model for all six of us!” 

The author and teacher is also a mother of two, and uses her research and experiences to aid in her most important job. She firmly believes and practices what she preaches, that time spent spells success and translates into love to your child. “Recite nursery rhymes, sing songs, read books, play with playdough, go to the park, zoo library. Talk with your child every day about everything, but especially talk about good morals and character.  Teach your child to see the positives each day and be thankful for them.” Children want to have role models and parents provide the best at a young age.  Time spent with a child does make a difference, as LeAnn says, “my two children are my greatest accomplishment.  I am very proud of how smart, loving, sensitive and caring they are.”  

Read more about LeAnn Miller and her books at http://www.leannmiller.com