A Cool Movie I Want My Son To Watch

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The thing I love the most about being a stay-home mom is the fact that I can watch all the movies I want with my son. But of course, I spare him all the “princess and happily ever after” stories. Personally, I never really liked those fairy tale stories because there were no lessons learned from them. The most a kid can get from such stories was just an illusion of thinking there were such things as a prince charming and a princess living happily ever after. That’s the last thing I want my son to believe in.

There are so many movies I want my son to see. Luckily, I have been exposed to movies that were worth watching. I was pretty lucky to have seen great movies while growing up. The movies I have seen and have loved while growing up are timeless.

Movies such as The Lost Horizon and The Sound Of Music are unforgettable. I especially like the sound track of both movies. The songs, Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music and The World Is A Circle from Lost Horizon, have meaningful messages for everyone. But there’s this one particular movie I want my son to see and appreciate. It’s the movie called Cool Runnings.

Cool Movie

The movie Cool Runnings is a story about the Jamaican National Bobsled team. Amazingly, Jamaica actually has a bobsled team in spite of their tropical weather. How it came about is an inspiring story about four guys that had a dream and went for it.

I can’t say it’s a true story because there are a lot of write ups that say the first Jamaican National Bobsled team is not really composed of sprinters. Nonetheless, the story of the movie imparts a meaningful message for all.

The story of the movie starts out with Derice Bannock, Yul Brenner, and Junior Bevil trying out for the 1988 Summer Olympics only to end up tripping each other and getting disqualified. Focused on getting to the Olympics, Derice thought of the 1988 Winter Olympics and decided to create his own bobsled team composed of the same guys that had been disqualified from the Summer Olympics of the same year.

Derice got with Junior and Yul to form the first National Bobsled Team of Jamaica. He has also asked his friend Sanka, an experienced pushcart racer, to join the team.

Then Derice sought out Irving Blitzer (Coach Irv), a Bobsled Gold Medalist in the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, he ended up cheating in the 1972 Winter Olympics and was eventually disqualified. He ended up living in shame in Jamaica. Derice sought him out to become their coach.

The story goes on with these unique, crazy, and funny characters focused to get to the 1988 Winter Olympics.

There were so many challenges for the first Jamaican National Bobsled Team. One of the many challenges was that they knew nothing about bobsled. Second, they didn’t have a bobsled. It just seemed so impossible that they could ever get to the 1988 Winter Olympics. The only thing that kept them going was determination.

Two Memorable Scenes

There are two scenes that I love about this particular Disney movie. The first scene is a conversation between Derice and Coach Irv. Derice asks Coach Irv why he cheated in the in the 1972 Winter Olympics. What Coach Irv has to say left a very meaningful message.

According to Coach Irv, he had been so used to winning that he couldn’t see himself without a medal. He then shares with Derice his realization about winning. A real winner sees himself to be one with or without a medal. A medal doesn’t define a true winner. This is definitely a good lesson my son can get from the movie.

The second scene that’s also very meaningful for me is when their bobsled breaks down and the team carries it across the finish line. This leaves a very inspiring message to finish a race.

So at the end, they may not have been the champions but they won a lot of hearts because of their determination, patience, and perseverance. At the end, they may not have won the race to become champions but they were still able to cross the finish line in spite of everything. I find that to be a very important lesson life. No matter what the challenges are, we just need to finish the game. In real life, we all need to cross the finish line with integrity. That’s pretty much the mark of a true champion. I wouldn’t mind my son picking up this valuable lesson in life at a very young age.

The movie, Cool Runnings, is really worth watching. I wouldn’t mind my son watching it over and over again.

How To Help Kids Overcome The Fear Of Injection

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It’s every kid’s nightmare—the injection! I still remember the days when my daughter would cry out, “Mom, I don’t want injection!” She would freak out because she was so scared. As a mom, I felt so bad that I couldn’t do anything. She just had to get her injection, no matter what. But when she turned six, she slowly started to get over it. I remember she would really try to act brave even if her eyes showed fear.

It helps a lot that we have a good pediatrician. She’s very gentle with my daughter. She usually explains to my daughter the need for an injection and she gives her a little toy afterwards. But I guess after all the injections my daughter has gotten over the years, she has realized that injections don’t really hurt. Nowadays, she’s pretty brave. She just looks at the doctor while she gets an injection. At seven years old, she has finally gotten over the fear of injection.

Looking back, I can’t really say that I did anything fantastic to help my daughter overcome the fear of injection. As a matter of fact, I usually felt bad because there were times when I didn’t tell my daughter that she was getting an injection. Every time I’d tell her we had to go see her doctor, I would just say it was for a check up. I never told her anything about an injection. I guess it worked because she’s now very brave every time she goes for an injection.

Here are tips on how to help kids overcome their fear of injection. An article by Dr. Katherine Dahlsgaard, a licensed psychologist, shares some useful tips.

Explain The Importance Of An Injection

Looking back, I would spend a lot of time explaining the importance of the injection. It was quite tiring but I had. It was the least I could because I couldn’t take seeing my daughter cry.

According to Dr. Katherine Dahlsgaard, it’s important to educate our kids about injection. She recommends a video for kids to watch. It’s an animated, instructional video that explains the why shots are needed for the body.

Find Role Models

Finding a role model to show how painless an injection could be challenging most especially when we end up in a clinic where there’s just so much crying and fear.

So I tried to be the role model. There were times when I also needed some shots. So I made sure my daughter saw me getting an injection. I showed her how painless it was.

Tell Kids To Act Brave

I think this is a most basic thing to do, to tell our kids to be brave. I remember my own mom telling me the same thing when I was young. I did the same thing with my daughter.

But Dr. Dahlsgaard sheds a light on this concept. In telling our kids to be brave, it takes for us to let go a little. This means that we should let our child sit alone. In most cases, parents insist that their child sit on their lap to calm them down. I was guilty of this, at some point. But apparently, the child should sit alone while the parents say some words of encouragement.

Have Kids Write Out A Brave Phrase

Dr. Dahlsgaard recommends that kids write out a brave phrase on a small sheet of paper she refers to a coping card. The kids goes on to read this to divert the focus on the injection. This is a new concept for me. In my opinion, this takes a lot of work. Looking back, I couldn’t even talk to my daughter about her pediatrician. She would just freak out. It would have taken a lot of time and effort to get her to write out a brave phrase. But for new parents, this is certainly worth trying.

Plan It Out

The kind of planning I did every time my daughter needed a shot revolved around time. I planned her injections in such a way that she wasn’t going to be busy and she could just stay home. I should have planned better than that. If I had planned better, I would have spent some time writing out a coping card.

These are definitely great tips for parents. It’s hard seeing our precious little ones cry in fear of an injection. But it just has to be done. These tips will lessen the fear, on the part of the child, and the guilt, on the part of the parent.

Learning Shouldn’t Stop During The Summer Break

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child-learning-summerKids and parents are all looking forward to the summer break. It’s really a good time to take a break from the hectic school schedule. But while school is out, parents should still see to it that the kids are learning. Here are some ways to get the kids on a learning mode without them knowing it.

Enroll The Kids In The School’s Summer Program

Schools usually have their own summer program. Parents should look into the what the school is offering for the summer. Maybe the kids can get into some kind of sports program or some other learning activities such as robotics or programming. Whatever the kids sign up for, they will still keep on learning.

Have Kids Join Summer Camps

There are a lot of summer camps. Having the kids choose and join a summer camp is one good way for them to meet new friends. With all the activities in the summer camp, the kids will be busy learning something new.

Take The Kids To The City Library And Museum

The summer break is the best time to take the kids to the library and to the museum. Exposing them to books might even interest them to pick up one for the summer. Furthermore, the exposure they get from visiting the museum might even spark their interest in the arts. Getting them curious might just lead them to become even more creative.

Get A Tutor To Review The Kids

The kids might not be too crazy about this but hiring a tutor for the summer is also a good way to continue the learning process. But getting the kids to listen to their tutor can be very challenging. After all, they just want to play and have fun. But if there’s really a need to hire a tutor for the summer, it’s best to get with the tutor first. Parents should see to it that the tutor can make the learning fun for the kids.

Come Up With A Summer Project For The Kids

Summer is a good time to stretch the creativity of the kids. This is a good time for parents to encourage their kids come up with their own summer project. Kids can come up with some kind of science experiment or something. They can also come up with their own little invention or maybe even learn a computer language or two.

Kids nowadays are too smart. They can easily come up with something creative. Parents just need to lead them. The best way for parents to do this is by knowing what their kids love to do. From there, parents can slowly introduce learning activities and ideas that are related to what they love to do.

Summer is definitely one of the most exciting time of the year. It’s a time for frolicking under the sun and enjoying every minute of it. While summer is also a good time for parents to take a break, they should still make sure their kids are exposed to a learning environment. Learning should never stop. It’s an ongoing process that should go on even during the summer break.