Blog | Round Rock Taekwondo
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Back to School Tips for Parents
Summertime is coming to an end, and with that comes all of the back to school anxiety and jitters that are common amongst children. Your child may experience common physical effects of anxiety associated with back to school time including symptoms from stomachaches to sleeping problems. They will also experience emotional stress from the fear of making new friends, meeting new teachers, fears of being bullied, the pressure of making good grades, and worries of being unpopular. With that said, it important for parents to first remember that these physical and emotional feelings are very common, and even the most well-adjusted kids are bound to feel some sort of pressure when they return to ....
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5 Key Ways to Reduce Your Child's Back to School Anxiety
Kids Martial Arts Helps With Anxiety Signs your child may be experiencing stress or anxiety about going back to school Unfortunately, kids may not be able to recognize and articulate what they are feeling. Alternatively, as they get older, they may not be willing to share what they are feeling with us as their parents. Your child may be experiencing stress and anxiety that you don't even know about. Physical anomalies. Have their sleep patterns or eating habits changed? Do they say they are feeling sick or are behaving in atypical ways? Loss of independence. As the school year approaches, are they getting more "clingy"; are they asking you to stay with them when they would otherwise ....
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Fostering a Positive Growth Mindset
We all love to see our kids excel in everything they do. There is no doubt that when kids finally nail their form, or fly across the mat and break a board; everyone involved shares a sense of accomplishment. BUT it is only a matter of time before our children come across something that challenges them. Before we go any further, let’s agree that challenges are good things! If you are never challenged then either you aren’t working hard enough, or you’re not growing. Both of those are opposite concepts in relation to martial arts. From rank to rank, everything gets harder because being a Martial Artist is about growth and being better than you were the day before. ....
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5 Tips Your Child’s Instructor Uses to Put Negative Behavior Into Perspective
As seasoned Martial Arts Instructors, we have witnessed just about every sort of behavior and outburst from working with hundreds of kids over the years. We have seen it all from playful name calling to angry tantrums. Some things are hard to not take personally, but our experience allows us to put things into perspective so that we may have the opportunity to use this as a moment of learning. If you ever thought: “You are making me so mad!” “Can’t he/she see this hurts my feelings?” “I can’t believe he/she is so ungrateful!” Don’t feel too bad because everyone does at some point. But with a little perspective you may be able to ....
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Developing a "Stick-to-it" Attitude
Hey Round Rock TaeKwonDo Parents! Today I’d like to talk about tough situations, struggles, failures, and the importance of following through in a manner that promotes growth in children. When things get tough for our kids the two most common ways parents handle these situations is to either swoop in and be the hero or to leave them to “figure” it out. This could mean doing their homework for them, not pushing them to get back up on that bicycle, or allowing them to quit a sport/activity that they love simply because they have hit a roadblock. The issue is that in most cases both of these choices rob our kids of the chance to learn, overcome, and become a stronger ....
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Benefits to Your Child Taking Martial Arts
Hey Round Rock TaeKwonDo Parents, Have you ever had that friend that asked “Why is your son/daughter in martial arts?” I am sure you have. I am also sure that you were able to provide a great answer to that question. I was recently asked that question as well! Before I replied, I knew I really wanted to get to the heart of what we do at Round Rock TaeKwonDo, beyond the typical responses. So instead, I remembered a few hidden benefits that I hear most often from our parents! Here are 4 of the hidden benefits to having a child in Martial Arts: “Structured” Physical Activity
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Notice we didn’t just say “physical activity”! It is easy for .... -
At Home Training
Greetings Round Rock TaeKwonDo Parents! Today I would like to talk about how to use things from around the house to benefit your child's "At Home" training! Every child has gotten carried away sweeping the floor while pretending the broom was a Bo! I even heard of some of my friend’s children up north shoveling snow and thinking of it as "endurance" training! Now I am not telling you to strap a cloth to your child's tummy and have them practice army crawls across the tile floor and call it "training". Let's face it, that's just how a young martial artist does their normal chores! Sometimes we think that we are unable or ill-equipped to practice at home because we lack the same ....
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Mindful Tips to Use When Kids Don’t Want to Attend Class
Kids are not naturally self-motivated. When your child’s mindset is not in the right place, even the most fun activities can be a struggle to get to. With that said, here are some strategies to help you work around lack of motivation when trying to get your kid to class. 1. Be attentive to what your child is doing in the moment he/sheis supposed to get ready for class. If he/ she is playing or having fun with a friend, then be ready for a battle. With that said, have your child participate in a chore or task that’s not as much fun around 10 to 15-minutes prior to getting ready for class. 2. Be attentive to your own projection of emotions as you get your child ready for ....
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Good Behavior: Discipline vs. Punishment
Good behavior is a learning process for children, and we are their roadmap. Children usually behave per their own emotions and impulses. At the same time, being a parent is also a learning process and sometimes we rely on our own emotions and impulses to teach. Usually, that means we divert directly to punishments when a child misbehaves, missing a crucial opportunity to teach them. With that said, I am going to breakdown how to teach good behavior through discipline vs. punishment. Let’s compare the two words and what they really mean: • Punishment – means to inflict pain or suffering as a penalty. • Discipline – means to teach. It’s understandable ....
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ENDORPHINS: The Key to Effort and Focus in Children and Teens
ENDORPHINS The Key to Effort and Focus in Children and Teens Endorphins are natural chemicals produced in the body to reduce pain and boost happiness. They are most often associated with exercise since the release of these “feel-good” chemicals cause a state of euphoria and is usually known as a “runner’s high.” However, most any exercise will cause this state of happiness and it is also boosted through laughter and excitement. In recent years, studies involving endorphins have begun to focus on how this chemical contributes to learning. Physical activity is essential to brain development. Basically, when we feel good, we learn better. Intellectually ....
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