socialemotionalintelligence

Why does a bad diet impact the child’s growth?

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According to an UNICEF 2019 research, one in three children is not growing appropriately because of malnutrition.

“In many countries, and even within households, these three forms of malnutrition – undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight – co-exist. This means that a single country may face the challenge of addressing high rates of stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity. Or a family may have an overweight mother and a stunted child. These trends reflect what is known as the triple burden of malnutrition, a burden that threatens the survival, growth and development of children, economies and societies.”

“This burden is only expected to grow. Strikingly, not a single country has made progress in decreasing levels of overweight and obesity in the past 20 years.”

Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Urbanization caused a rapid change in diet and lifestyle, with more ultra-processed foods and less physical activity.

The question remains: “why are so many children eating too little of what they need, while an increasing number of children are eating too much of what they don’t need?”

Reference and full article on the link:
https://features.unicef.org/state-of-the-worlds-children-2019-nutrition/

The importance of parents taking time from themselves without their children

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Before taking up this role, parents are individual beings with desires, dreams and needs. In addition to fulfilling the role of caregivers, educators, friends of their children, they also need time without their children to be with themselves, especially to live the relationship of husband and wife. If this time is waived, the relationship between the parents weakens, consequently making the relationship at home more fragile, more impatient, more stressful and less loving in everyday exchanges.

Setting aside time for yourself, without kids, will only strengthen the connection between the couple, the children and make the family even stronger. Everyone wins.

How is your relationship with your partner at home? Are you giving time to get along without your kids?

How’s your listening?

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Have you ever stopped to observe the way you listen? It can be either listening to yourself, your child or your partner? And how are you heard by others?

When we try to listen, we find it extremely difficult as we are always projecting our opinions and ideas. When these factors dominate, we hardly hear what the other is saying to us.

In the book “You’re not listening: what you’re missing and why it matters” the author of the book Kate Murphy says that her research has led to the conclusion that “Listening goes beyond simply hearing what people say. It also involves paying attention to how they say it and what they do while they are saying it, in what context, and how what they say resonates within you.” It continues: “Good listeners ask good questions. One of the most valuable lessons I learned as a journalist is that anyone can be interesting if you ask the right questions. That is, if you ask really curious questions that do not have the hidden agenda to correct, save, advise, convince or correct.”

Active listening is the way we work our listening to enhance the way we act with more awareness using the maximum of our emotional intelligence. Do you believe that this is a skill that needs to be developed by many of us these days?

Source: NY Times

How can I ensure that my child’s screen time is healthy and educational?

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In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended no more than two hours of screen time per day for children and adolescents, one hour only for children between 2 and 3 years of age and absolutely no screen time for children under 2 years.

However, they have updated their guidelines to reflect the realities of today’s digital world. Due to the moment we are living, children need to access computers and tablets to take classes, do their homework and also be entertained. With that in mind, we have gathered up a few tips to help parents!

1. Use screen time as a chance to interact with your child and teach lessons about the life.

2. Take steps to make your child’s media usage a positive experience. Read books, practice physical activities and spend time outdoors.

3. Establish rules about the sites your child visits, the games he/she plays, and the movies he/she watches.

4. Interact and engage in your child’s digital world. Learn to play the games he/she likes, ask questions about the content he/she watches and explore the Internet together.

5. Set aside time without technology. Even a short digital detox can improve your child’s behavior and emotional well-being.

Based on what we have brought here, do tell us: “What content have you been encouraging your child to watch?”

What are emotions?

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The word “emotion” comes from the Latin emovere, which means “energy in motion” (e = energy and movere = movement). All emotion, even the ones seen as a bad feeling, exists to make us move, that is, move on and change what is out of balance.

Have you ever stopped to think that in our society it is more common to show our happiness rather than our sadness ? When a feeling of sadness comes, we tend to avoid and hide it from ourselves, as if it were wrong to feel that way. We avoid talking about it.

Girls are predisposed to express their emotions more often because they belong to a more “sensitive”, “emotional” gender. Boys grow up without knowing what emotions are, judging what they feel only as bad feelings, as they are educated to always be strong. No wonder we hear the expression “boys don’t cry”. –

The truth is that emotions, whether good or bad, must always be expressed. “When we don’t let our emotions flow, it’s as if we are filling ourselves with cement. We are so filled with sadness, anger, guilt, fear and shame that there is no room for anything else. The heavier we get, the lower our vibrational level becomes – the connection with others, with life and joy. Dealing better with all the emotions within us, the lighter we become, and that reflects in the ability to attract more abundance, health, love and depth into our lives.” –

Excerpt from the book “The identity of the soul” by author Panache Desai. In this book all emotions talk to you. The dialogue is worthwhile.

Image source: freepik

What is social distance teaching us about relationships?

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Social isolation made us stop to rethink our relationships. In this time when all relationships in life have changed, whether it’s work, with children, family, friends, we understand how important the relationship with others is in order for us to construct, deconstruct and reconstruct ourselves. This relationship of teaching and learning, of exchanging experiences. These relationships become the fuel of life. That’s why we have such a need to share. In the film “Into the Wild” the great lesson transmitted is that happiness is only real when shared. Would you agree with that too?

Since the way we relate to others will not be the same anytime soon, this is a good time to take a closer look into the relationship with ourselves. This way, we begin to understand how the universe of others work. Because the relation you have with yourself, usually reflects your relation with the whole. And how is that relationship with yourself? Has it been with self-care, self-love, self-responsibility? Or has it been filled with guilt, fear, victimization and sadness?

As we saw on a previous post, our emotions can become feelings, when we keep thinking about them and let them absorb. So, are we going to start noticing our emotions and what they are causing us? When we understand that emotions matter, then we will be able to live a healthier, and more respectful relationship with, not only ourselves, but others too.

The Wheel of Peace

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Change places or change THE place?

The Wheel of Peace, created by Pierre Weil, is the tool we use to improve ourselves, each other and the Whole. It is part of the essence of Lightouch.

When we are in balance with ourselves, with nature, and with society, that is the moment we find the Art of Living in Peace.

We believe that everything is interconnected, and what exists today is a false illusion of separativeness. We separate the relations of the self, with the other and with the whole. This separation only brought imbalance and destruction to humanity. Our actions impact the microorganism (us and our nature) and the macro-organism (nature and society). We are now being invited to slow down, to live in the present. It turns out that now, we cannot change places, but we can change the place and how we relate to it. How are we building this place? How are we understanding the message that nature is giving us right now? How is the relationship with myself? Care, love and forgiveness? Or guilt, fear and sadness? How am I relating to the others? “The man is made of material (body), life (emotions) and mind (information). These components are inseparable from everything in the universe. “

We wish you have the opportunity to experience peace in your body, mind, heart and spirit. Only then, you will be able to transform the place you are in.

Source: 
Quote from the book “The art of living in peace” author Pierre Weil.

Self Care in time of Coronavirus

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How can parents take care of themselves, benefiting the whole family?

The Coronavirus pandemic has totally changed the way we relate. With social isolation, our home has become our workplace, our children’s classroom and remains the place where we relax and have fun with our family. When you are a parent, self-care is usually not the number one priority on your list, but your children.

If you’ve ever traveled by plane, remember the famous instructions that flight attendants demonstrate before takeoff. One of these main instructions is the parable of the oxygen masks. “In the case of depressurization of the cabin, the oxygen masks fall off automatically. Pull one of the masks, place it over the nose and mouth, adjusting the elastic around the head and breathe normally, only then help the child at your side ”. This orientation, in the first instance, goes against the maternal and paternal instinct for protection. But if the adult is saved first, there is still more hope of saving the child than the other way around.

If we think in a more logical way, we will understand that we can only give what we have. It’s that simple.

In the next post we will come back with practical tips on how to self-care now and always.