Deadlines Propel Us to Success

Setting deadlines is an integral part of success. Successful people in all walks of life and businesses set deadlines to accomplish tasks.

An important part of setting and achieving any goal is to set deadlines. I read somewhere that a goal is just a dream unless there is a deadline affixed to it. We must put a time limit on when we should accomplish our goals otherwise we may have the same unconquered goals forever. I know people who have had the same seemingly simple goals for years (coming up on decades). Now this is not to say that once you affix a deadline to a particular goal that you will automatically reach it--sometimes you will fall short. Neither is it to say that having long term goals is somehow undesirable. What it means is that although you can accomplish goals without deadlines, you are more likely to accomplish those goals if you have set a prescribed timeline to do so.

After you've set your goals to help your child with math (or in any other endeavor), make sure that you attach a deadline. For example, if the goal is relatively easy, like learn the 2's timetables or memorize the Pythagorean Theorem, then you can set a deadline of 2 to 3 days to accomplish the task. If you've set a seemingly insurmountable goal, then break it down into smaller, achieveable chunks. For example, say you child's goal is learn fractions. Well, that encompasses learning vocabulary, parts of a whole, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions with the same and different denominators, mixed fractions, etc. Break this up by focusing on particular facet of the whole thing like learning fraction vocabulary. This is relatively easy and an achieveable deadline can be up to 2 days by working only 10 minutes per day. Once your child has accomplished that task, then set another mini-goal and deadline for learning fractions.

By setting deadlines and checking that the deadlines have been met, you are now able to set new goals and deadlines and get more accomplished than you'd previously thought possible. The key here is to set realistic deadlines though. Make sure that you look at your and your child's schedule to determine how much time you can allot to meeting the deadlines and if needed, delete some time from other activities. Commit to spending at least 10 minutes per day on meeting the particular deadline and you will be well on your way to math and life success.

"How to Help Your Kids Achieve In Math," a 38 page guidebook, is available at http://HelpYourChildAchieveInMath.com

Set Goals To Achieve Success

Many people make resolutions for the new year, although its efficacy is questioned. Resolutions can be summed up in another way: goals. If you have studied any successful people, you have found how they relate the importance of goals in their lives. So if it is important for successful people to make and keep resolutions, or goals, then it should be important for your child (and you).

For the sake of performing better in a particular school subject, say math, have your child set 2 goals that she will achieve for the month of January. The goals can be simple or difficult. Make sure that she sets goals short, monthly goals and long term, yearly or semester, goals. However, if she is just starting out, it is easier to set and achieve short term success on the way to the long term success. This is the method that many weight loss programs use. They want people to see results fast so that they stick with the program. And you want your child to see results quickly too, so that she will continue to set goals and achieve success.

As for you, the parent. You should also set 2 goals for the month of January related to how you will help your child succeed. These, like hers, can be small or gargantuan. Just set your goals and work on achieving them.

I recently heard a statistic that captured my attention. If you write down your goals, you are 80% more likely to achieve them than if you just think about them. Wow! Something as simple as writing down a goal can help you fulfil it. So make sure that as you are setting these goals, you are writing them down. It also helps if you can see the goals on a daily basis. So have both you and your child post your monthly goals in a highly visible area like the refrigerator or near a bathroom mirror or door. Read them and be reminded everyday of what you want to achieve. Then do it!

To purchase a 38 page book of strategies on how to help your child achieve in math, visit http://HelpYourChildAchieveInMath.com

Importance of Nutrition In School Performance

I read in a Prevention article earlier this year that there was a study done that said iron deficiency in girls can cause them to do 2x as poorly as their peers in math. While we are urged to give our children the important nutrients they need for optimal health, this research suggests that nutrients are key to perform well in school, too.

The findings of this study prove that food is essential to a successfully functioning brain. What this means is that as parents we can't just sit back and allow our children to stuff whatever they feel like into their mouths. We must be proactive in getting them to ingest the vital nutrients that run their bodies optimally.

To get my kids to eat food that they may not find appeasing at first, I offer a smaller amount of it than foods I know they like and I tell them so. I tell them to eat what they don't like first because it is so good for their bodies. I have not only employed this tactic with my children, but I continue to use it on myself. It is the method I used to get the kids to eat beets, brussel sprouts, and brocolli, which they now love. I have learned to like yogurt and cottage chees and tolerate beets.

So much of getting our kids to eat different dishes is about exposing the dishes to them. How will a child eat what she hasn't seen?

But more than just exposing the children to the dishes is nudging them to actually taste them. If this means bribing your child, at least at first, I say OK. For every bite of something I want him to eat, he gets two bites of something he chooses. Let's be realistic. He's probably having what he chooses anyway. This way, he's also having something nutritious.

School aged children need anywhere from 8 to 15 milligrams of iron per day in their diets FROM FOOD, not supplements. Foods that contain iron are beef liver, spinach, lima beans, lentils, potatoes with skin, organic beef and chicken, and avocado. Incorporate these foods whenever possible with other foods such as salads and casseroles to get your children to secretly eat them.

Getting enough iron in their diets is just one way to help your child achieve in math. To view a 38 page book of strategies on how to help your child achieve in math, go to http://HelpYourChildAchieveInMath.com.

Learn While Exercising

A few days till Christmas. While it's easy to veg out in front of the TV and eat big, hearty meals, it's equally satisfying to get in a little bit of exercise.

If you don't see where you'll be able to get in a full fledged workout, that's OK. Do some situps during the commercials or some squats during a not-so-exciting part of the movie. As you exercise, ask your child to exercise with you. Then encourage her to share with you something that she's learned (or would like to learn) in math as she is exercising.

Some people learn best while being active, and even these relatively small tidbits of time can improve your child's math ability. Try to practice/exercise for 1-3 minutes at a time and work up to 10 minutes. As you and your child move some muscles, a bigger muscle will also be at work--the brain!

For a 38 page book of strategies to help your child improve in math, visit http://HelpYourChildAchieveInMath.com.