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In this article I will introduce my personal definition of play, but acknowledge that play is basically indefinable because it is so vast and variable. I examine free flow play and the obstacles to play, and the purpose and value of play. I examine one small group of students working definition of play as a developmental tool that helps children develop holistically and other aspects of our definition, ie a developmental journey, play being accessible to all, and the aspect of fun and enjoyment in play. Alongside this, this article examines structured and unstructured play, including theorists views and I include some of my own observations and examine the play content in them.

Before I extend on group’s definition of play, I would like to state my own theory about play, and explain what I mean stressing again, that play is basically indefinable because of its flexible and vast nature.

My theory is that play is fluid. It can take many forms, have many meanings, express itself in many ways, but it cannot be contained in a box or shape and labelled as ‘play’. If play is taken out of one context and into another it changes its shape and purpose, and the way it moves and performs. All of it is play in its many facets, and all of it is of equal value, because it meets the differing needs of the child at the time it is being played.

Play is fluid so therefore cannot be defined purely as one aspect or another, and as water is fluid, so is play – it changes its shape to its environment, circumstances and players, taking on different forms, expressions and meanings to the players concerned. It has intrinsic meaning to the children and may change direction at any moment, according to the children’s needs and personality etc. Bruce verifies that play is like fluid and free-flowing,

She stated: “the whole point about play is that it cannot be pinned down. It flows. It is on the move.” (Bruce 2004:154)

Free-flowing play can be limited by obstacles such as time, adults, relationships, routines, outcomes, interferences, circumstances, environment, or disability, and may not flow in the natural direction a child may wish to take it if limited by any of the above obstacles. However, because play is fluid, it can continue where it was left, or be restarted and flow in entirely different direction if obstacles do not restrict play.

Props may be used during free flow play which then takes on a symbolic characteristic, and children may engage in role play or socio-dramatic, plus rough and tumble, all rolled up into one, making it difficult to untangle and define! Children do not need adults to direct free-flow or fluid play, only to keep them safe from harming themselves or harming others. This may be viewed as an obstacle by children (and so it is) but as long as adults are not being ‘over-protective’ or ‘over-restrictive’ and children understand the need for safety rules (they tend to like rules in play anyway!) then the

obstacle or interruption is only a temporary obstacle, that children can overcome and move one, because their play is flexible and fluid.

The purpose or value of play, as mentioned is intrinsic to the child and players and appears to be part of children’s developmental journey. Bruce (2004:149) describes play as a process with no productive end. Play helps children develop in a holistic way, developing their social interactions, language skills, co-operation, understanding of how the world works, and personal, social and emotional development. Play is a tool that brings knowledge and experiences together. Vygotsky viewed play as a vehicle (or tool) for social interaction. Bruner believed roleplay was a vehicle (or tool) for learning about society’s rules and conventions. Piaget believed play unifies children’s experiences, knowledge and experience. Frobel, Steiner, and Issacs were the biggest advocates of holistic development. Frobel believed learning and development is holistic, involving the child, other adults and the environment, and that childhood is a stage in it’s own right. Steiner based his principles on Frobels and developed a programme involving

play. Issacs believed play was central to the overall development of the child.

Play is as an important of children’s developmental journey – it becomes a tool by which children learn to develop in a holistic manner, it enables them to understand themselves, other people, their community and the world around them. Play also enables children to act out experiences, past and present, and enter into fantasy worlds. Bruner believed that play is process-led rather than task orientated, but also believed it prepares children for adulthood. (Fisher 1996:97) We are all on a lifelong journey and the journey, and the journey for me may be different to your journey. We may start at the same place, but go in different directions, and we may meet again but be different people, because life (and play, as part of that process) shapes the people and character we become. The journey of developing and learning is a long, slow, and ongoing process throughout life – a developmental journey which starts at birth and finishes at death, and play in its many fluid forms, becomes part of the process.

If play is structured, directed or initiated by adults, play takes on a different role. If play has a goal, target or outcome for a child to achieve, often children do not view this type of play as play, but as work…. they view

work as teacher-directed and play as choice, sitting down as working, and being active as playing (Wood & Attfield, 2005:17). However, a divide between play and work cannot easily be made. Children learn in and through play, whether it is teacher initiated or child initiated. Frobel, Steiner, Issacs, Piaget believed play should not be directed. Miss Boyce believed in a mixed approach, including free flow play and a more structured timetable for teacher-directed sessions. Montessori, demonstrated skills to children and did not believe in freeplay. Brunner saw play as a process but also believed adults need to scaffold children’s experiences in order to help them progress to the next stage, as did Vygotsky, who advocated adults working alongside children to build on / scaffold their understanding to move them onto the next stage. McMillian also believed in a structured environment that was planned to support children’s needs, and which integrated subjects such as maths, science and literacy.

Whether play is adult led or child led, children will learn many skills through play such as; co-operation, negotiation, other people’s views, social skills, language skills, fine and gross motor skills may improve and other skills may

be mastered, thinking and cognitive skills are used and improved, so therefore children will learn through play whether there is an intended outcome or not! My own observations of children’s play confirmed this. Children learned through many different types of play, structured and unstructured. Structured play helped children develop more in the cognitive realm whereas unstructured play helped children develop more in the creative, language, physical and personal/social realm.

If they do meet the outcomes (which they should do if the resources, processes and intensions are aimed at the right level…) then this is an added bonus! If planned and resourced correctly by practitioners, play can help children meet targets within the Foundation Stage or Key stage 1, covering all aspects of the curriculum from Personal, social and emotional development through to creative development.

Adults can improve the quality of children’s play by providing a rich variety of resources, and well planned structured play, indoors and out, needs sensitive scaffolding for children to progress or learn new skills and knowledge. Adults also need to provide plenty of free flow play, and time

to complete tasks. If adults aim to intervene as little as possible in free play, this will provide a better outcome for children.

In structured play the teacher/adult has used play as a ‘tool’ (others call it a vehicle or medium) but may not be viewed as play in its purest form. Play cannot be categorized into ‘play’ or ‘not play’ (because play is fluid and takes many forms) but may be better defined as ‘more pure play’ or ‘less pure play” (Wood & Attfield 2005:4-5) Wood and Attfield further define pure play as unstructured, active, fun, a process, pretend, child invented and child-choosen. Linden states, “Circumstances can prevent or restrict play. Constraints may be placed by adults or the environment limits children’s experiences. Alternatively, developmental problems, disability or illness can shape the possibilities for children.” Play may be hampered (children may have obstacles to play) if they have any form of disability or cultural, language, social or economic differences. Children (like adults) tend to be exclusive, uncertain about things or people they don’t understand or are not like them, unless they are informed/educated that all children have an equal right to play and should be granted access and opportunities to play.

Children need adults to be good role models demonstrating equality by provision and adaptability to children’s needs. Children need adults to provide different types of play or different ways of playing, so that children can access it. Some children may need more adult support to access play, especially if there is some form of disability or complex needs. These children may access play differently, but all children have the same right to develop in a holistic way that all children do. All children need the ‘tool’ of play for their own development; because play is fluid, the way the tool is used may be different.

I observed a young boy (of about 8 years old) and other children aged between 6-10 years in a social club setting. All the children, except the little boy of 8, were engaged in locomotive play. They were chasing, tickling, rolling, dancing etc throughout the night, mainly in small groups of children. The play looked chaotic but was not out of place in the setting. The adults observed this play and did not intervene. The children appeared

to have no purpose or intension but to enjoy themselves, and the value to them was in participating in the fun, making up games and dances, enjoying social activities together and passing time in an enjoyable way.

The other little boy of 8 however, did not join in any of the play, he merely acknowledged the other children. Instead of playing with the other children, this little boy stood in front of the band that was performing, and appeared to be conducting them (using a toy), virtually all night. He was engrossed in his play/work. Later on when the band had a break, he circled around the

hall floor, (walking on his toes) making ‘car-like’ movements. At this point the boy may have been involved in role play. However, his first play was very difficult to understand (possibly role play or practice play?) This little boy appeared to have special needs along the line of Asperger’s syndrome (noted from previous study and personal experience) I suspected Asperger’s syndrome because he did not communicate with the other children, contact them, play alongside them, or join in their play. When they came near him once during locomotive play, he visible repelled / moved himself clearly out of their way. He couldn’t or didn’t access any type of social, co-operative or

parallel play, but preferred his own solitary activity and the type of play he engaged in was repetitive. Although his play didn’t make sense to me, it was meaningful to him. He appeared to believe he was truly directing the band (though they ignored him and continued their performance) however he was engrossed in roleplay or practice play and appeared to enjoy what he was doing. His play was intrinsically valuable to him and he had as much right to play in this way as the other children had to play in their way. Linden Stated “Play stems from children’s own perception of the world and how it works… play is a very personal, creative activity… within children’s understanding, their play is meaningful in it connection to non-play reality. (2000:43).

I also observed other types of play in other settings with younger children. The type of play I observed included socio-dramatic (2-3 year olds involved in playing with dolls, prams and accessories, going shopping etc); exploratory play (2-3 year olds exploring playdough and cutters, moulding, shaping, cutting etc); creative play – free painting, mixing paints, making patterns and pictures and epistemic play (2-6 year olds involved in table top games,

including sounds game, snakes & ladders and alphabet jigsaw). The learning processes during these observations was vast, from social skills, co-operation and concentration to language skills, physical skills, fine motor skills, mathematic skills, creative skills to cognitive skills, being used, extended and enhanced in play to the benefit of the child/ren concerned.

Play however, is not just a tool that enables development, play in itself is fun and has value in itself. Play is as valuable to the child as work is to adults. Fisher (96:103) stated “Play has its own intrinsic rewards, it is done spontaneously and voluntary and it is thoroughly enjoyable.” If play is self-chosen, self-motivated and directed, then it can only be enjoyable. Theorists such as Lazarus and Garvey hold this view; indeed children would not engage in play so readily if it were not so! Linden (2001:44) stated, “children play for play’s sake. The activity is an end in itself and is not undertaken for an end product.”

Conclusion

In this article I have stated my theory of play as being fluid, and other aspects or definitions of play and its value in children’s development. Included in this are some theorist’s views of play, and observations of children’s play and what they are gaining from it, noting however, that defining play in all its elements, is very difficult! Play has many facets and functions it is impossible for one or two statements to adequately state what play is or does and many theorists hold differing views, reflecting this difficulty.

Play has become a tool in the Early Years sector and education and it is key to understanding how children think and feel. It has become clearer to me that play is crucial to children’s social and emotional development, and other aspects such as language skills, cognitive skills and understanding the world in which they live. It has also become clearer to me that the least amount of time adults intervene in children’s play, the better! (Though of course there is a time when structured play is appropriate). Play is enjoyable and motivating and a tool that develops children holistically and plays is fluid in that it fulfils many different roles that aids children in their developmental journey.

http://childsworld.info

Ruth Grigg

Fly fishing the large and small “drive-in” high lakes of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest is an art in itself and good fly-fishing information about a lake is of prime importance to the success of the high lake fly fisher. You need a good understanding of the lake bottom, the insect life and the feeding habits and characteristics of the resident trout.

Use a depth finder in waters of 12 to 15 feet to look for old river or creek channels, drop offs, and uneven bottom contours that tend to hold fish. It is easy to keep track of those special locations in a logbook with the help of a GPS system or simple triangulations using shoreline landmarks as reference points. Also, look for shallow waters (4 to 8 feet) with patches of weed beads and silt covered muddy bottoms. You can easily fly fish these types of waters in depths of no more than 10 feet, using a slow sinking clear fly line and a count down method. The areas with these types of bottoms can support a wide variety of insect life including: May flies, caddis flies, damselflies, dragonflies, scuds, chironomid (midges), and leeches. Where you have insect life, you should find fish.

When I am fly fishing the high lakes, I carry three rods in my boat strung up ready to fish. One rod is a 9 footer with a WF #5 dry line for fishing emergers and dry flies. The 2nd rod is also a 9 footer but with a WF #6 dry fly line rigged with a 10-foot leader, a small adjustable indicator, a small nymph or chironomid. The 3rd rod, also a 9 footer which is matched with a WF #7 slow sinking clear fly line with an 8 foot leader for fishing a wooly bugger, leech pattern or a dragon fly nymph.

If you are fishing a clear mountain lake from a small anchored boat, keep the sun at your back and stay in the blind spot of the fish and maintain a low profile so you won’t need to make a long fly cast. Don’t cast your fly in the same place more than once. In this case consider casting in a 90-degree arc from you position. Start casting 45 degrees out to the left, After working your fly back to your pick-up point, make the next cast 5 degrees to the right of the first cast etc, until you are casting straight ahead. The next cast is 45 degrees out to the right. Continue decreasing the arc by 5 degrees until you are casting straight ahead. I call this cutting the pie and in this situation you are casting 5 degrees toward center on each cast so the shadow of the fly line does not alarm the fish before they see your fly. Always cut the pie to cover as much water as you can while at the same time, casting so that the shadow of the fly line does not alarm any fish that are in the area. For more information refer to my article on Ezine Articles.com “A nymph fishing tutorial”. After changing your fly pattern, repeat “cutting the pie”. After you have thoroughly covered the water with a new fly, quietly pull your anchor and move to another area and change flies again until you find the right fly pattern and or the right lake bottom and feeding fish.

Many high lakes are also exposed to seasonal hatches of black carpenter ants and termites that are blown onto the lake from lakeside fir trees. Black ants usually come out in the middle of June or when the air temperature around the lake first gets into the mid 70 degree- range for a few days. If you see one black ant on the water start fishing a black ant because when the fish start hitting the ants, the fly fishing can be fast and furious.

Fly fishing a small high lake of 1/2 mile across is not much of a problem for a small boat or even a float tube. However, larger lakes need to be fished with care because of possible afternoon prevailing winds can create rough and choppy water conditions that can pose a danger to a small boat. Float tubers always need to wear a life vest and small boaters should always wear them when underway or during rough water conditions.

I hope these fly-fishing tips will help you to better enjoy the outdoor experience. Remember to check the state fishing regulations for the waters that you are going to fish.

Be careful, and good luck fishing the High Lakes of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

Stanley Stanton: Oregon Fly Fishing Guide and McKenzie River fishing guide,
Visit: http://www.oregon-fly-fishing-with-stan.com
For trout fly fishing tips, “how to” fly fishing information, plus guided Rainbow Trout Fly Fishing, Steelhead Fly Fishing, classes for beginners, smallmouth bass and Oregon salmon fishing.

Cats: the mere word conjures up images of mystery and beauty, of ancient Egyptian goddesses, of Halloween night and witches on broomsticks. What other animals are so associated with occult imagery, while also being commonplace companions in our daily lives ? Wolves may share a spine-tingling association with ancient legends, from the werewolf to the big bad wolf of fairy tale fame. Dogs may share our lives and can be found in most suburban backyards. Yet only cats move silently and comfortably between the two worlds of the mystic and the mundane. Why do cats fascinate us and why do we love cats so ?

Cats are beautiful. Cat lovers and non-cat lovers alike must admit to the beauty of their large, soulful eyes and lovely faces, their elegant silhouettes, their dainty noses and paws, and their metronomic tails. Cats may have shimmering green eyes, cool blue eyes or surprising yellow eyes. Their fur may be long or short, smooth or bushy, uniformly colored or patterned like tigers or calicos, and come in many shades of orange, yellow, brown, grey, black, and white, or some combination of the above.

Cats are fascinating to watch. We’re amused by the comical antics of lively kittens playing, leaping, bounding, and rolling about the floor, sometimes reacting to things that we mere humans can’t even perceive. We’re entranced by the graceful movements of adult cats, their ability to move silently and stealthily, the ease with which they can leap and climb and walk along sloped surfaces or narrow ledges that only a trained human acrobat would attempt.

Some people admire cats for their mysterious ways and associations with the night and with past ages when magic seemed more possible. Some respect them for their reputation of being aloof loners. Dog people claim that cats, being too independent, view humans with disdain. Cat lovers say that being loved by your cat means much more than being loved by your dog because, while a dog is a social animal who needs a master or pack leader to slavishly follow, the cat is by nature solitary. If a cat craves your companionship it is because she has chosen you and because you have earned her love, trust, respect and affection.

In my own experience, cats are wonderfully loving and affectionate friends. True, they may not be waiting by the door, wagging their tails, when you come home. On the other hand, one of my cats does wait by the door when we come home and our other cat is constantly seeking eye contact with us. As soon as we look at her, she meows to solicit our attention. They both show affection and they love to receive it and few activities are more relaxing than sitting on a sofa stroking a cat for hours on end. Cats are so soft and warm to the touch, and they love to curl up on your lap to be patted and given chin and belly rubs.

In addition to the emotional reasons that so many people love cats, there are also many practical reasons that cats share so many of our lives and homes. They are a very practical choice of house pet, especially for city dwellers. They are small and thus easily adapt to life in a small urban apartment. They don’t need to be taken outdoors for daily walks, making them easier to care for than dogs, especially for people who are at work all day or who lack a big yard or who hate to walk in the rain. Cats are also very clean and quiet and they don’t track mud onto your carpets, chase cars or bark at passers-by, which could attract the wrath of your neighbors.

Cats are smart and kittens are easily trained to use litter boxes, making them far neater and far easier to assimilate into a household than are puppies. Because of their small size, cats don’t eat the quantities of food required by large dogs, making cats more practical than dogs for families with smaller budgets. It’s also feasible to share a home with several cats at one time.

Cats were first welcomed into human homes for their ability to kill mice, for their usefulness to humans, but for me this is a negative point. First of all, I see companion animals as independent beings of another species who share our homes. It’s an honor to be accepted and trusted by fellow creatures, and my goal is to deserve that trust, to give them a safe and happy home with proper care and plenty of love and affection. They’re not here to serve me in some way. Also, as an animal lover, I don’t want to see mice killed, and so my cats don’t have access to smaller creatures.

Cats fill a special place in our hearts and in our homes and I can’t even imagine my life without them. They give me so much pleasure every day. They are individuals and quite varied in their personality traits. Our two cats, although they are sisters, are different from each other in everything except their black and white coloring. Becky is large, while Polly is small. Becky is well-mannered and demure, perfectly fitting the image of the elegant queen-like cat. Polly is playful and comical and relentless when she wants something from us. Becky obediently jumps onto the table when she knows it’s time for her daily brushing. Polly makes a game of it, running away like a scamp and dodging us until she is ready to be caught. Becky is always receptive to a good patting or belly rub and frequently solicits our affection. Polly is more of a loner who consciously selects the times when she wants to cuddle up and be patted. They are so different from each other, yet both are so lovable and necessary to our lives.

Cats give us so much and, in return, we must always give them our best, from the best of care to an abundance of love and affection. If you welcome cats into your world be sure to give them everything they need to lead happy and contented lives. Critical elements include healthy balanced diets, constant access to clean fresh water and litter pans, and daily brushings to keep fur glossy and healthy. Regular veterinary visits for shots and prompt veterinary attention in case of illness are both a must, as is a safe environment.

Indoor cats need enough space to feel comfortable, including furniture of varying heights, because vertical space is important for cats just as floor space is. Cats also require cozy corners where they can get away from people. Before adding cats to your household, walk around and examine your home as if you were trying to make it childsafe and watch out for drawers and cabinets that can be opened too easily. Because cats can climb, you must take more precautions than with children or dogs to prevent access to household cleaning products, potentially poisonous houseplants, and electrical wires.

Remove heavy objects that could fall and injure cats and don’t carry heavy objects or pass hot cups of coffee (lest they slip out of your hands) directly over your sleeping cats. Be aware that (despite the cliche of kittens playing with balls of yarn) long strand-like objects such as yarn and tinsel are very dangerous. Playful cats may get tangled in them and choke and, if swallowed, they can obstruct the intestines. Outdoor cats also need protection from cars, busy roads, dogs, extremes of heat and cold, and other dangers. Be aware that on cold winter mornings cats may climb up under the hoods of parked cars, seeking warmth. Look under the hood before you start your engine.

As you check out your environment, making it cat-safe, remember that cats are clever and can sometimes learn to open doors. They also love to sleep in warm cozy spaces, so be careful not to inadvertently shut them into drawers or closets. Be sure that they haven’t climbed into open washing machines or other appliances before you turn them on. Children need to learn the importance of handling cats gently and you need to be almost as agile as your cats in order to not step on any little cats’ feet or tails. As cats love to shoot out of nowhere at the last second and get under foot, I tend to glide around my apartment rather than lift my feet and risk stepping on someone.

A few extra precautions, that will soon become second nature to you, can go a long way towards keeping your cats healthy and safe for many years to come. Good care, plus lots of love and plenty of play and affection will enrich your cats’ lives. In return, your cats will enrich your life in so many ways that are impossible to count. It’s not hard to see why the ancients revered cats, but it’s more important to love them and to share our lives and homes with them. Cat lovers of the world can unite in saying that they’re cat people and proud of it !

Barbara Freedman-De Vito is a professional storyteller and artist. Visit Kids T-Shirts, children’s clothing, and adult’s clothes decorated with pictures and words

Every adult who has children knows it is a challenging experience and extremely rewarding, especially when the children grow to be responsible, independent, caring, productive adults and parents in their own right. After helping raise my own children, being a professional martial arts instructor since 1979, teaching thousands of children and helping other parents raise their children (so they tell me), here are 10 keys I feel are important to raising children successfully.

1. Leadership

Kids need a leader, someone who is strong, responsible, caring and committed to their highest and best good. What children do not need is to be the parent to their parents. Children do not need to be buddies, pals or best friends with their parents until they, the children, are adults. Children are children. They need leaders to lead, guide and direct them through their early life. Those leaders are the parents who need to take a front row in raising their kids. For children to be successful in life, they need a strong parental foundation, one that puts them before their parent’s careers, activities, relationships and jobs. Children should never be thought of as appendages to a parent’s life. Until the children are of legal age, the children are the parent’s life. When this commitment is given to children, it is a boon to their early development and later success as responsible and independent adults.

2. Structure

Children need structure. They need foundational guidelines. They need to know what they can do and what they cannot do. They need to know that if they go outside the boundaries of the structure set for them there will be consequences. If they stay within the boundaries, everything is copacetic.

Life and society run by laws and rules-ethical, moral, social, familial, national and spiritual. This is the way life is. When laws and rules are not established early on, children learn not to respect them because they were never taught to respect or live by them in the first place. They therefore run the risk of becoming lawless, defiant and, potentially, trouble-strewn adults. Therefore, the home, and the karate studio in my personal case, should exhibit definite rules to create the order needed for a foundational structure in which everyone thrives, succeeds and learns how to manage the boundaries of life in all its aspects.

3. Cause and Consequence

Keeping with the structural aspects of children’s lives, they must be made to understand that every cause has a consequence (effect), that every action has a reaction, and that a wise person always looks to the consequences of his actions before he commits them. Cause and effect is a law of life. It’s not just a nice thought. No one escapes the law of cause and effect, and when children are not raised with an understanding of this very basic and critical law of life they are headed into a brick wall at high speed. Nothing good will ever come about in a person’s life if, as children, they are not taught that every cause has a consequence. Good actions create good consequences; bad actions create bad consequences. A life of causes without consequences is an illusion and harbinger of hardships and problems to come.

4. Discipline

Discipline is the crux of success. A garden that is not regularly tended to, weeded, watered, fertilized, trimmed and cut grows into an unruly and out of control mess of weeds, vines, bushes, trees and grass. There can be life without discipline but it will not be a good life any more than a garden left unattended will remain beautiful. When babies are born they represent life in its purest, most beautiful and innocent form. To keep it that way, children must be taught to be disciplined, to think before they act, to exercise self-control and judgment. An undisciplined horse, for example, is a dangerous animal, but when trained to be calm, disciplined and controlled it can be an excellent help, resource, companion and friend. Undisciplined children run the risk of growing to be not just like unruly gardens but also like wild horses-out of control and extremely dangerous to themselves and others. A simple glance at the lives of many celebrities reveals the human wreckage thrown upon the rocks of an undisciplined life.

5. Ownership

One of the most fundamental principles of a successful life is this: Our life; our responsibility. By the same token, as children are being raised it is important that parents continue to reinforce the following phrase in their young minds so that by the time they are adults it will become manifest: It’s your life; it’s your responsibility.

My children will forever be welcome in my home, as I’m sure your children will be in yours. This is how loving families operate. This said, in order to insure the children have successful lives they must be functionally aware that their life is their responsibility and they need to grow into that concept. What happens when the parents are no longer around? What happens when they die? If children are void on their responsibility for their own life, what then? It is parental love that engenders self-responsibility in children. To test this, simply ask yourself as a parent, “What if my children were stranded on a desert island by themselves? Could they survive? Would they be strong enough? Resilient enough? Resourceful enough? Balanced enough? If the children were raised with the understanding that It’s your life; it’s your responsibility, they would at least have a fighting chance of survival. However, if they were looking to someone or something else to take care of them, the prospect of their survival would be dubious at best.

Too many children are not being taught this basic life principle of taking personal responsibility. This is obvious because there are too many adults who do not understand it or live by it. Regardless of what anyone wants to believe, no one is responsible for us but us. It is not the government’s responsibility to take care of us. It is not the responsibility of our friends, neighbors, associates, even family once we become of age to take care of us. It is solely our responsibility. Raising children to live by this principle is critical to their well-being and success in life.

6. High Marks

For children to have a sound sense of themselves they must be made to strive for high marks, not mediocre or low marks. Therefore, parents should set the bar high for their kids. Give them something to strive for and attain. In the process they will develop habits, principles and a mindset that will serve them well throughout their entire life. In martial arts, we teach, The process is the product. Reaching a Black Belt level is noteworthy, but just because a person does not reach such an esteemed level does not mean the lessons learned along the way were wasted or of no use. Therefore, parents need to set the bar high so their children can learn to aim high and accomplish their goals and in the process generate a sense of confidence gained through competence.

7. Sense of Values

What has happened to individuals having a sense of values in their lives? It seems our society is more concerned with its indulgences, pleasures and gratifications than its set of values. To me as a father, grandfather, teacher and citizen, this is extremely sad. To live only to indulge, play and gratify oneself can only result in an empty, non-substantive life. Great people throughout history have lived by a sense of values not gratifications. As the great Dr. Albert Einstein admonished: The goal is to raise the spiritual values of society, and Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.

Values include but are not limited to: humility, discipline, self-control, patience, kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness, consideration, respect, balance, honesty, integrity, a strong work ethic and doing the right thing rather than the profitable thing. As American intellectual, writer, reporter, political commentator and Harvard graduate Walter Lippman stated in his Preface to Morals (1929): He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so. Where is this value today? Something to think about and certainly important for children to know about.

8. Right Rewards

Giving right rewards at the right time for the right reason is important in raising children. My message to my own children and students was and is this: We do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because there is a reward attached to it. Doing the right thing is its own reward. When children learn this simple lesson of life, they do things out of principle not out of expectation of some material reward. The constant giving of only material rewards such as money, candy, clothes or cars does nothing to further our children’s character, which is the foundation of their lives. Occasionally, external rewards are effective, but doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do is the right thing to do when raising children.

9. Appropriate Praise

Praise is a necessary act when raising children. However, praise should be given when appropriate and that means when the child performs well, meets a high mark, displays excellent character, etc. Praising a child “just because” gives him a false sense of himself. Telling a child he or she is great when they’ve behaved badly is doing them a great disservice. Certainly, the word “great” is overused in today’s society. Telling someone he’s great when he’s not lowers the bar and keeps lowering it until there is no bar to reach up to, only to stoop to. The result is that children and society keep degrading and descending, not upgrading and ascending.

10. Respect

Having respect for oneself and others is critical to a well-functioning life. Yet, it is sorely lacking today. For example, adults should never allow children to address them as “dude” or “buddy” or “hey you.” How will such a child fair in the real world when he applies for a job and addresses the boss as “dude?” What has happened to children referring to an adult woman as Mrs., Ms., Miss, Ma’am or an adult male as Mr. or Sir? I personally find it interesting that many young people today simply don’t know how to address an adult.

By virtue of the fact that adults have preceded children in age and experience, they need to be given respect by children, not vice-versa. The flow of respect goes from child to adult first, not the other way around. For example, in the military it is not incumbent upon an officer to salute a non-commissioned soldier. It is always the lower ranking soldier’s responsibility to pay respect to higher ranking soldiers. This is life. Who in their right mind would order God to do something or call him “dude?” The same process applies to students and teachers, players and coaches, children and parents. There is a hierarchy to life and it needs to be recognized and respected.

Summary

Raising children is demanding. As parents, we all have our ways and means. This article has simply offered some of my personal child-raising and student-raising principles that have worked for me in my tenure as a father, teacher and grandfather. I do not proclaim to have all the right answers but the ones I have offered have been successful. I share them only as a means of doing my part to insure a class of children who become responsible, respectful, independent, whole and healthy adults.

Richard Andrew King, as well as being a professional martial arts instructor and author of The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master, is also a father and grandfather. His personal website is http://richardking.net. King’s martial arts website is http://KingsKarate.net. A complete listing of King’s works including his books, DVDs and CDs is available on his website and at Amazon.com. Follow Richard Andrew King on Twitter: @1richking and on YouTube at: arichking99.

Hiking clubs are quite popular among fitness buffs and it is likely you have heard about them before. In the unlikely event that you have not, here are a few words of introduction for you. Hiking clubs can mean many things, but mostly they refer to groups of persons who share a common interest in hiking. They are hikers. They hike on a regular basis, say twice or thrice a week. Hikers who belong to a hiking club often hike together as a group.

Hiking together as a group has many advantages. First, having as company the one who shares the passion of hiking with you makes the hike doubly exciting and satisfying. Second, hiking in groups, especially with experienced hikers, means added security. The combined knowledge and experience of the group can be useful to prevent accidents from happening, or for the group to avoid harmful situations.

There is also the so-called long-distance hiking adventure. These hiking trips take you farther from your usual hiking parks or trails. These trips often entail camping or even checking in at hotels. Due to the relative complexity of ensuring that hiking trips of this kind will become rewarding, organizing them are best undertaken by hiking clubs. This also helps lessen the cost by spreading them equitably among those who wish to make it to these trips. In this sense joining hiking clubs becomes important, if not necessary. You can also draw fraternal support from fellow hiking club members in case any of your family members or friends are unable to join you in these trips.

And when you get to the point of weighing the benefits of membership in hiking clubs, keep in mind that hiking clubs are not of exactly the same makeup. For example, they may differ in terms of how they intend to attain their objectives. There are hiking clubs whose members come together only for hiking trips or adventures. There are also hiking clubs that go beyond these activities, like holding meetings as frequently as once a week or once a month. Their agenda in these meetings ranges from exchanging ideas on hiking equipment or accessories, to planning for hiking trips, to fundraising, and many other things. Enterprising hiking clubs have, for instance, went into car washing and vending chicken barbeques to generate funds for their hiking trips. What all this means is that the benefits you may want to derive from joining a hiking club will depend on what mold of hiking clubs attracts you.

There are other considerations you need to remember when you do decide to join a hiking club. Hiking clubs charge membership fees at rates that vary from one club to the other. Be prudent enough to pick the one that suits your budget. Another point is the structure of your daily activities. For example, is it possible for you to make yourself available for weekly or monthly meetings? If this is not, it might work better for you if you join hiking clubs that demand less of your time for activities like meetings. It will not be good for your reputation if you join a hiking club that requires regular meetings among members only to shun them later on. The point of all this is that hiking club members need to develop trust and camaraderie among themselves, so that when they eventually go out hiking, all of them will find the activity fulfilling.

Once you decide to become a hiking club member, it will often be to your advantage if you first consider joining hiking clubs located near your place before you search for them farther afield. It is likely that there are a number of them to choose from in your area. You can access information on hiking clubs near you from the internet, or from people you know who are familiar with hiking. Offices of local hiking parks are likewise good sources of information on existing hiking clubs in your area.

People who may share with your ardor for hiking converge in hiking clubs. It is just natural for you to associate with them through membership in the hiking club of your choice. If by chance no hiking club exist in your area, it may help fill your passion for hiking if you start organizing one yourself.

Hermilando Aberia is an expert in social development work with at least 22 years of professional experience as either consultant or key staff member of health, community development, education and local governance projects. He has a master’s degree in development management from the Asian Institute of Management. Contact Information: B21 L59 Kassel Kristina Heights, Tacloban City, Philippines. Mobile: (+63) 9058664106; Website: http://www.freewebs.com/iaberia

It can be quite a daunting experience trying to purchase car insurance, and with the myriad of products and sales channels available today, it is often difficult to know where to start the process. It can be even more complicated when you start to look to reduce your premiums without sacrificing either your levels of cover or increasing your risk.

As most motor insurance is basically rated by your birth date and age, and your postcode or zip code, short of moving property or growing older, it often appears that reducing your vehicle insurance premiums is an impossible task.

This is not necessarily so! Whichever method or distribution outlet you use to purchase car insurance, if you consider these twelve money saving tips, implementation of any one will virtually guarantee a reduction to your premiums at both onset of a policy or at renewal. By simply making changes to any one of these premium rating factors that go to make up the quotes you are given, will result in an alternative quote which should be to your favour.

The money saving tips explained

Before we start remember – Don’t automatically renew your policy with the same company. It is virtually guaranteed that you could get like for like cover cheaper with another insurance company if you shop around and compare covers and prices from different providers.

1. Investigate on the Internet – Visit different suppliers

If you were getting paid at least £150 or $200 for two hours work, you should be pleased. That is the minimum you should look to save on your annual premiums by spending a couple of hours shopping around for quotes on the Internet.

Visit a car insurance supermarket comparison site. If the premiums are too expensive but you like the cover offered by a particular insurance company then, visit the supplier direct and cut out the expense of the middleman.

The large motor insurance comparison sites you see advertised all the time on television will send you off to the suppliers site themselves to complete ‘the deal’, so its best to close down the application, clear the cookies from your browsers memory to ensure that you are not charged their commission inclusive rates, and visit the insurance company direct.

Additionally you should visit a specialist auto insurance scheme provider. These were once only available on the High Street but are now springing up everywhere online. No matter what your particular individual needs, be it lady driver cover or perhaps classic car cover, specialist car insurance providers by their very nature usually offer cheaper quotes as they benefit from the economies of scale allowed by group buying of cover.

2. Do your research

Who is offering deals on television at the moment? Everybody who seeks motor insurance is an individual with a different car and individual cover needs dependant upon their circumstances. Write down what you think your exact cover needs are and think about where you might find providers for your individual needs. For example, if are you a senior citizen, you should search on the Internet for specialist car insurance schemes for over fifties.

3. Go for a no frills policy

If you are not worried about quality of cover and only require basic road risks, go for one of the many policies now being offered by insurance supermarkets as ‘value car insurance’. These policies usually only offer the very basics of cover required under the Road Traffic Act, however may be very suitable for low mileage, cheap cars and younger drivers.

4. Only get cover for what you need

Why pay for car breakdown insurance or other sometimes hidden extras such as the cost of including a replacement vehicle should you have an accident, when you already have AA breakdown cover and another car sitting on the driveway at home that you could use. Check your existing policy cover details carefully and exclude all unnecessary or duplicate covers.

5. Take on the risk yourself

With Car Insurance you have two basic options for taking more of the risk on yourself. These being, one by choosing how much cover you require in the first place, that is, either comprehensive or third party, perhaps with the fire and theft options included. Secondly you are given the option on most systems to choose how much of the cost of damages of an accident you are prepared to take on board yourself, before you call on the insurance company to make a claim. This is known as the voluntary excess and is the amount that will always be deducted first from any amount you claim. If the cost of repairs of an accident are not much more than the voluntary excess amount you have chosen then it would be prudent to pay for the repair costs yourself, rather than lose your no claims bonus.

6. Reduce the cars risk with improved car and location security

If you park your car off road or garage it at night you will receive further discounts. If you own a classic car which does not have them fitted as standard, fitting security devices, for example car alarms, immobilizers and GPS trackers to your car will substantially reduce your premium

7. Improve your driving or change your lifestyle

If you need to make a claim because of the way you drive, or if you have more than one SP30 for speeding, your premiums are going to be heavily loaded at renewal. You can reduce your insurance costs therefore by improving the way you use your car or changing your lifestyle.

8. Cut down on your Car’s Usage

By thinking about how you use your car and reducing unnecessary journeys you will be cutting down on your cars usage and by implication the risk you present to an underwriter. Check how many miles you run up each year and make sure that this is what you are paying for! Do not make a false mileage declaration in an attempt to save money because in the event of a claim, your mileage and MOT if applicable will be noted by a claims assessor. If there is significant difference between the declared mileage and the actual amount you have driven, you risk having the claim refused or seriously reduced in value.

9. Pay the full premium amount upfront

Most UK insurance companies charge additional costs for handling monthly direct debit payments. There is often a five to ten percent effective discount if you pay immediately online or over the phone by debit card.

10. Investigate Specialist insurance and Car Insurance Schemes

Investigate insurance specialists that target specific groups of people of car type, for example performance motor insurance or cover for young drivers. These schemes offer with unique policy options and cover modified for the particular specialist driver group. They are often far cheaper than standardised covers offered by comparison sites as they have group bulk buying economies of scale regarding underwriting and claims and a known risk pool of similar types of people and car.

11. Join a Car club

Many car owners clubs and specialist marques clubs have special affinity group rates for specialist car insurance schemes. The cost of getting membership of these clubs can often be less than the five to ten percent savings you can make on your premiums by joining such a scheme.

12. Take an Advanced Driving Course

You can save a further large percentage with most online insurance companies if you have taken an advanced driving skills course or ADC. The courses are run nationally and the cost of the course is outweighed by the annual savings you will make on your insurance premiums. The savings are greater for young drivers and this is one of the few positive actions that a young driver can make to reduce his or her annual vehicle insurance costs.

And Finally – Haggle!

And here’s an extra tip which we often find works when all else fails. Complete a quote on the Internet for the policy you desire with the company you like. Do not complete the quote beyond the screen where the premium prices are displayed, merely save the quote reference number. Quotes are usually legally binding for thirty days.

Leave it a while then pick up the phone and call the insurance company. Tell them that you’ve had problems completing the quote online. They will ask you the quote reference number and then have all you details in front of them. When they tell you the quote amount (which you should know already), tell them that you’ve got a quote that is, say a hundred cheaper at so and so company, and ask if that’s the best they can do. Just by haggling you will be surprised just how much you could save on your car insurance costs!

Dave Healey is a specialist car insurance expert whose field of expertise extends from underwriting Classic Car Insurance polices at Lloyds , to designing car insurance supermarkets online.

The ability to speak in public in many cases goes ignored by individuals to be trivial or even they might believe that they’ll in no way end up being known as being able to talk in public places, this is exactly why they don’t trouble themselves to become familiar with any kind of speaking in public abilities. The fact is, more often than not, it’s these folks that usually obtain language blocks as well as becoming associated with complete crisis when dealing with the chance that they’ll be requested to speak on a subject in public places, even a subject they are fully knowledgeable of.

With many individuals, they don’t place higher significance or even relation in order to the significance of getting great public speaking abilities simply because they come with an impact so good. Some think that public speaking abilities are just for individuals within product sales or even advertising. This really is false. Great speaking in public abilities will also be the characteristic of excellent conversation abilities and is important for just about any profession. For instance, if you’re becoming a member of a brand new working team, any kind of work whatsoever, you will likely require to choose a job interview. Throughout the job interview, the actual job interviewer doesn’t simply assess a person depending only on your skills, the way you communicate, both with words and also body language, play a major part of the decision making process of whether you will be hired or not. If you’re the college student attending college, what you can do to provide a great speaking in public program may also be examined upon normal schedule. A good example of this is the different course delivering presentations you’ll want to perform during the period of the actual term and also the certifying requirements will likely come with a component of “clarity associated with delivery” inside it. Through being unsure of how you can provide an obvious as well as efficient demonstration utilizing great public speaking abilities is only going to drawback your self because if you cannot obviously connect with your target audience, it’s because you have in no way learned the topic of discussion.

This particularly is among the factors and possibly the reason why lots of suggestions made by the smartest individuals in the world are just found several years following their own passing away. Among the feasible factors is the fact that whilst they tend to be extremely smart and also have created very helpful info, they simply can’t get across to individuals what they’re considering because of their failure to speak in front of a sizable group utilizing public speaking methods.

Speaking in public abilities are not only seen utilized in scenarios exactly where you need to tackle a sizable group. Conversation abilities as well as speaking in public abilities tend to be inter-related, therefore, should you enhance your speaking in public abilities, additionally you almost always enhance your social conversation abilities together with your friends as well as loved ones.

Consequently, if you’re actually given a chance to exercise speaking in public or even discover public speaking abilities, do not be put off by this. Regardless if you are within course, at work or perhaps in any type of environment that needs you to definitely provide a note for a target audience, get rid of the butterflies and do it now. Speaking in public is really an ability and also the much more you utilize this and exercise this, the greater you’ll turn out to be. To enhance your own speaking in public abilities or even if you’re a newbie, there are plenty audio books associated with speaking in public or even manual publications to help you. Through obtaining a great speaking in public ability, you’ll have an advantage more than other people who do not.

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