Empowering Children

"Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first. - Mathew L Jacobson"

"Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. -Catherine M. Wallace"

"Every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be. - Rita Pierson"

Viewing Children Holistically

When viewing children holistically there should be many things assessed when doing so and I would like to name a few that I believe in:

1. Age range. The age is important when viewing children because you would need to know if a child is acting, learning or understanding as they should for their specific age. For example, you can't expect a six year old to be performing on a 20 year old level.
2. Disabilities. When you are viewing children you will need to make sure that there are not any disabilities that can go unseen and the parents have no idea that their child has a disability whether it may be physical or learning.
3. Strengths and Weaknesses. I believe that everyone strengths and weaknesses were assessed as young children
4. Physical Development. We need to make sure that children are eating the correct and nutritional food to make sure they are healthy and we need to also make sure that children get enough physical education and physical activity to ensure that they do not become obese. 
5. Emotional Development. We should want to make sure that children are not suffering from any neglect or abuse that is affecting their emotional behavior. If a child is suffering from abuse then we would want to seek appropriate help for the child and parent.
6. Relational Development.Children should learn how to work and play together while discovering new things and ideas (learn together). We should make sure that children know how to build strong and lasting relationships with others as they will need this skill later on in life.
7. Intellectual Development. Everyone deserves an education and everyone has the opportunity to further their education after high school. A great education develops minds and provides opportunities for employment that will benefit the children throughout their lives.

The best child development imaginable happens when children grow in the context of a loving, healthy and empowered family. Parents' participation in the development of children is very important. We should encourage all parents to be active in their child's life encouraging them to be the best that they can be and to shoot for the stars.

References

Holistic Approach. (n.d.). Retrieved from Nazarene Compassionate Ministries: http://ncm.org/learn/childdevelopment/approach/