Question of the day

Today like every other day l went to my wardrobe in search of a cloth to put on and I discovered many clothes l have hardly worn for a while,some l have aquired in a haste that does not fit and some l have outgrown. So l set to discard them one after the other. ..As l set to discard them one after the other it made me realised l could actually discard some unwanted characters in me as I discard the clothes and retain some characters in my life as l return the fitting clothes back to the wardrobe. And so l set too... 1... 2... 3... And many more. Question of the day What are those unwanted clothes you intend to discard and the ones you intend to retain? Read more insipiring articles on my blog Nafi's Random Musings @www.nafisustain.com

Food for thought

The importance of play for kids

              The Importance Of Play

Before They Even Go To School, Kids Learn a Lot of Skills from the World of play.

For children, play is naturally enjoyable. And since it is their active engagement in things that interest them, play should be child-led, or at least child-inspired, for it to remain relevant and meaningful to them. Children at play are happily lost in themselves; they are in their own realm of wonder, exploration, and adventure, pulling parents in at times with a frequent "Let's play, mom!" as an open invitation into that world.

As early as infancy, children immerse themselves in play activities with the purpose of making sense of the world around them. Play gives children the opportunity to learn and experience things themselves, which is vital for their development. Although peek-a-boo games seem pointless to adults, tots are awed by the surprise that awaits them as they see the suddenly emerging faces of people they love.

Stages of Play

During toddlerhood, children experience a motor-growth spurt that equips them to solitarily fiddle with anything they can get their hands on -be it a construction toy or the box from where it came. Toddlers also love breaking into song, wiggling and jiggling to tunes, and imitating finger plays they are commonly exposed to.

Preschoolers begin extending their play to involve others, whether they bring others in at any stage of their game or they plan their game and its players' way ahead. Their physical and motor skills allow them to widen their lay arena, from dramatic play to table games to outdoor pursuits.

School-age children start appreciating organized play -such as innovated songs and rhymes, games with rules, relays and other physical activities, sports and projects that they can accomplish over a certain time frame.

Play Perks

Why the big fuss about playing? Play benefits the child in ways that might be a tad difficult for adults to imagine.

1. Play brings pure and utter joy.

A toddler who jumps into an empty box and runs around the house "driving a car"shows the sheer happiness that play brings him or her. When children are asked what they did in school and they answer 'play,' it is a clear sign that these kids remember a feeling of genuine joy that is captured in this four-letter word.

2. Play fosters socio-emotional learning.

What does a ten-month-old baby who shrieks at the sight of her stuffed toy have in common with a ten-year-old boy who plays basketball with his friends? They both deal with their confidence as they choose to embark on their play activities. At the same time, they are displaying their independence in the decisions that they make. These two children are also internalizing social rules in their respective play situations: the baby waits patiently for her stuffed toy to appear, while the school-age child has to contend with an impending loss in a ball game.

3. Play hones physical and motor development.

Play often involves the use of the senses, the body, and the extremities. When children play, they exercise their bodies for physical strength, fluidity of movement, balance and coordination.

Perceptual-motor ability, or the capacity to coordinate what you perceive with how you move, is an essential skill that preschoolers need to develop. A three-year-old who is engrossed in digging, scooping, and pouring sand into a container must match his or her perception of the space in front of him or her with actual hand movements, so that he or she can successfully fulfill the motor activity.

4. Play facilitates cognitive learning.

Play is vital to the intellectual development of a child. We live in a symbolic world in which people need to decode words, actions, and numbers.

For young children, symbols do not naturally mean anything because they are just arbitrary representations of actual objects. The role of play is for the child to understand better cognitive concepts in ways that are enjoyable, real, concrete, and meaningful to them. For instance, through play, a child is able to comprehend that the equation 3 + 2 = 5 means 'putting together' his toy cars by lining them up in his makeshift parking lot. When he combines 2 triangles to make a square during block play, or writes down his score is a bowling game, the child is displaying what he knows about shapes and numbers.

Through play, the child is constructing his or her worldview by constantly working and reworking his understanding of concepts.

5. Play enhances language development.

Toddlers who are still grappling with words need to be immersed in oral language so they can imitate what they hear. They benefit from songs and rhymes that provide the basis for understanding how language works.

When these tots are playing with toys, adults model to them how language is used to label objects or describe an event. At play, preschoolers use language to interact, communicate ideas, and likewise learn from dialogues with more mature members of society.

6. Play encourages creativity.

Barney the dinosaur was right about using imagination to make things happen. A lump of Play-Doh suddenly turns into spaghetti with meat sauce and cheese; a small towel transforms into a cape that completes a superhero's wardrobe; and a tin can serves as a drum that accompanies an aspiring rock artist. Play opens an entire avenue for children to express themselves, show what they know and how they feel, and to create their own masterpieces.

7. Play provides bonding opportunities.

Play is an important factor in child development. It provides for interaction, experimentation, and moral development. Here are some ways by which parents can encourage and support their children's playtime.

- Let your child be the player-leader. Let children initiate their activity, set their own theme, choose the parameters where the play will take place. Play becomes a venue for children to express their feelings and be in control.

- Help them help themselves. When your 5-year-old asks for help, say, figuring out how to piece a puzzle together, stop yourself from coming to her rescue and first ask your child questions that allow him or her to help himself or herself. Say, "Where do you think this piece should go?" Afterward, commend his or her success.

- Play attention. Once you make a commitment to play with your child, watch for the following signals: Does he or she want you to actively play a part in the activity? Does he or she need encouragement? Is he or she tired or hungry? Does he or she need to take a break?

- Have a play plan. If you seem to have little time for playing with your child, consider using self-care chores to have fun with him or her. Also, get support from other people in your household, like older siblings, household help, or the child's grandparents, so that they understand why play is important and how they should continue to encourage it.

Source:Smart Parenting

Leadership Skills

Why Leadership Is So Important To Your Business Success

In our competitive world today, leadership skills are crucial to any successful business. What is leadership? Leadership is commonly used to refer to activities such as conducting, guiding, or directing people; initiating activity. However, leadership is also used to refer to someone who is a leader. How can leadership be applied in so many ways and what constitutes a leader in all of these situations? The answer is contained in the realization that perhaps the most fundamental characteristic of leadership, and therefore of leaders, is personal leadership.

Some individuals are born leaders while others have to procure the skill and talent to successfully make their mark as a leader. It is obvious that some individuals have the confidence and the charisma to make themselves role models for others to follow. These individuals do not require much guidance in nurturing their inherent talent.

But there are scores of others for whom developing leadership qualities is key to their success. Leadership skill training is of immense significance in the present day corporate world. Leadership skill training is imparted to concerned individuals to help them derive the maximum benefit as far as acquiring leadership skill is concerned.

At times it is not very easy for new leaders to change their role from a contributor to a leader. Leadership skill training empowers an individual to have faith in others and also assists him in utilizing his time fruitfully with others by grooming people with the aid of guidance, help, and training.

These skills may be tough to acquire, so the switchover to the status of leadership can be very demanding and at times unthinkable in the absence of effective guidance and help.

What is personal leadership? It is the ability to lead others and yourself in the direction you want your life to take. The ability to define what you want out of life and how you are going to get there is the first step in developing leadership. It is only the beginning because personal leadership means, leading, directing, and taking action. It means living each day to the fullest. It means developing goals that you want so badly that you live each day with enthusiastic ardor for your goals, yourself, and all who are close to you. Knowing what you want out of life; knowing what success is to you; knowing what your goals are; knowing that you are going to achieve those goals regardless of what other people think, say, or do, is the essence of personal leadership.

Personal leadership also means accountability;. It means that you have decided to use the talents that are unique to you and will develop them further to reach your goals. It means that you realize that you have the potential to develop further. It means that you have determined the course of your destiny & you are the master of your life.

Leadership training also helps leaders who have the inherent talent in them to advance their ability and sense of judgment to transform themselves into leaders of great repute.

Personal Development :Stop the blaming attitude and accept the consequences of your actions.

"Responsibility finds a way . Irresponsibility makes excuses" Gene Bedley National Education of the Year One of the things every individual should have under personal development is accounting for one's responsibilities and accepting consequences of ones actions. DENIAL No one wants to be in a tight-corner and be spoken to on his/her misdeeds.Everyone wants to shift issues to another person or situations.And never accept responsibilities in order to move on. A friend once told me about her neighbor who never accepts responbilities for her actions but will always push her misdeeds to someone or the situation.She always blames people at any consequences of her actions.(some even blame people for the fail in network service when browsing*winks*).Such people start from a younger age by blaming their siblings when things don't go the way they want.It is our responsibility as parents to curb such attitude before it becomes an attitude like that of the lady described above. Personal Development Accepting consequences of ones actions means that one is ready to acknowledge responbilities of ones life,one is honest to self,stop blaming people for ones actions and ready to accept ones faults. Ways of accepting personal responsibilities of ones actions. *Accept consquences of ones actions *Reflect on issues *Rate situations *Plan on moving on *Keep away negative thoughts *Stop making excuses. Nafi's Random Musings @www.nafisustain.com

Contribution of the day

Tip of day

Contribution of the day

Tip of the day.

Keeping it real.

Contribution of the day.

Keep working.

Beauty tips for radiant look.

     Beauty Tips for a radiant look..

          The face,lips and eyes

       Care if the lips.

*Minimize sun exposure.
*Use lip products with SPF/UV protectors
*Apply sheabutter & olive oil often.
*Scrub regularly with a mixture of olive oil  and sugar.
*Exfoliate your lips by using old toothbrush to brush away dead cells and dry skin from your lips and improve circulation.
*Always use lip balm regularly.
*Drink lots of water.

     Care of the Eyes

*Use cucumber on your eyelids to prevent puffiness.
*Use squeeze out green tea bag to reduce redness of the eyes.
*Wear sunglasses to protect the eyes from  sunlight.
*Drink lots of water.

          Care of the face
*Steam the face at least once in a week.
*Drop a few drops of lime/lemon into the   hot water for steaming.
*Pure honey,olive and black seed oil does the skin on the face lots of good.

Photo credit:Google

Negative Office Gossip

      Negative Office Gossips....

"Who gossips with you will gossip of you"

          Unknown quotes

There is a huge difference between a friendly work discussion between  co-workers and negative gossiping.A normal discussion is not usually centered on a particular staff or bringing out the negative aspects of a particular staff or the organization.Office gossips occurs mostly when some staffs feels cheated by the organization,when there is a distrust,staffs feels unwanted,when some staffs have issues with co-workers or the management or some individuals who just enjoy spreading negative gossips around.

Experts in office dynamics usually say that the happiest work places are those in which employees keep overheard conversations or confidential admissions of other workers private and stay out of conversations where others are gossiping.

To become more productive and have focus on ones job descriptions,one must endeavor to avoid negative gossips and unprofessional attitudes.

Ask yourself what is the essence of negative gossips in office?
And you get no significant answer...

Ways of avoiding negative gossiping in the office.

*Don't participate in negative office gossip.

*Change the subject when discussions start heading towards negative gossips.

*Always have vital facts to counter negative gossips.

*Keep your personal and professional lives separate.

*Have positive reasoning to avoid change of mindset from negative gossips.

*Stay focus and disengage from co-workers that likes spreading negative gossips.

*Next time challenge the person that spreads negative gossips to stop.

Nafi's Random Musings
@
www.nafisustain.com

Contribution of the day.

Step towards achieving  your visions and missions in your organization.

All staff from the highest level to the lowest level should be aware of these three ingredients towards achieving your visions and missions in your business.

Food for thought

Food for thought.

Sustaining your dream business.

Sustaining that dream business -Use not only your brain but all that you can borrow. In my article dreams can come true.we all learnt about having that special dream,recognizing the dream by jotting it down,asking questions on how to make these beautiful dreams come true and steps to follow in turning our dreams into a well established and money making enterprise. I set out to visit a great friend and mentor and l was blabbing about how l will make my enterprise grow without the need of anyone or a network to grow my business. He asked. "Do you know about Networking"? "Ooh No ,l dont need to network in my kind of business".l replied He shook his head and jot down an address for a business seminar which made compulsory l attend. He said."After the business seminar we can talk".I truly attended and had an eye opener on what networking does to your brand and business. Sometimes,we have excellent ideas,plans and established enterprise.But the secret to make you and your enterprise grow with a difference pace are: *How Network-able are you? *Do you understand the tricks of networking? *How to network? Networking is all about the four special flavours. WHERE,WHO,WHEN,and HOW. Networking means meeting mentors,investors and key executives to sustain your enterprise.Networking is a very important ingredient needed for our business because money or fund is not a sure measure to a successful enterprise. As an entrepreneur,we need to understand it doesn't matter how small our business is it.The way we interact and maintain our source of network is a great plus to the business.And that is why it is relevant we understand how to sell our market and self within 30seconds when we meet with potential investors or customers and dont get them bored. Selling ourselves and what we do within 30seconds(sales pitch)is all about : *Your Name *Company *What you do *lnvestment *Closing remarks. These major tips are very essential in selling out yourself,business and sustaining our source of networks. STEPS TO FOLLOW IN NETWORKING FOR YOUR DREAM ENTERPRISE. *Create an identity or branding. *Get introductions from existing contacts. *Drag yourself into the new media space.examples:Facebook,Twitter,lnstagram,LinkedIn etc. *Attend training to build your competence. *Join and participate in local and international networking groups. *Search for investors group. *Attend investment conference and summits. *Volunteer to help with an entrepreneur activity at an educational insitution. -It is not about your resources,its about your resourcefulness. www.nafisustain.com

Benefits of Constructive Criticism.

"As much as we thirst for approval,we dread condemnation"
           -Hans Selye

Constructive criticism is the process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others,usually involving both positive & negative comments,in a friendly manner rather than an oppositional one.

The purpose of constructive criticism is to improve the outcome.

The manner in which we deliver criticism matters a lot.When both the giver and receiver approaches issues with a level of professionalism it saves a lot of unwanted resentment at the behavior of the giver and the acceptance on the part the receiver.

The truth is criticism doesn't have to be a dirty word.

Benefits of Constructive Criticism.....

*Achieve greater personal development.

*Help uncover blind spot.

*An assessment or review of one's work.

*Gives new perspective&valuable insight.

*Shows that one who offer the constructive criticism values our work and wants improvement in our work.

Photo credit:Google

Adornments....Do toddlers need it?

Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be – David Bly

One of the duties of a mother to her children is to keep them safe from household injuries.Household injuries such as touching hot water,a fall in the bathroom during baths,touching candles,touching electric appliances,drowning in water,slipping on tiles,falling into toilet seat,locking themselves in and lots more.Most especially during the toddlers stage when children needs 100% attention of their parents especially the mother.They are curious and excited to see themselves walk, play and many other characters they come up with during this stage. As mothers we need to pay attention to not only household injuries such as touching hot things but also the one we tend to cause ourselves to these children.Such as the assessories we wear for our children which can cause serious harm to children. Last week ,l went to check a friend who was placed on admissions in the hospital and l was sad at the scene l witnessed at the emergency ward.A woman was crying her eyes out for her child to be attended to.I moved closer to her to ask what was the problem,when l noticed her daughter's finger l felt so angry.The little girl was less than two years old,she had a ring on one of her fingers and the it had eaten deep into her skin.The little girl was in serious pains because she kept on pulling the little finger just to relieve her of the pains she going through. People around rebuke the woman at her careless attitude all in the name of adorning the child.The doctor's were able to remove the embedded ring after long hours on the little girl.The little girl had a deep cut on the finger and the mother was seriously scolded because she claimed it never occurred to her to remove the ring. Am sure the woman learnt her lesson in the hard way. It's okay to be fashion conscious and look good.But as mother's we must consider the kind of accessories we put on for our kids.For example neck chain is not advisable for toddlers because of their nature.They just want to play with everything.When we shop for children we should always put into considerations the hazards it can cause for our children. A friend further enlightened me on things she put in consideration during the toddler's stage of her kids. She said"l try to be very careful with things that they can reach and easily put in their nose,ears or even swallow.Things such as tissues papers,chalks,buttons,beads,leaving kids in the bathroom unattended to,the kitchen is a no go area for them" She further recommended wearing of elastic band trousers or skirts when toddlers are learning to use the potty or start pre-schools in order not to wet their clothes. Educating them on dangers of touching hot cups,candles,electric appliances and lots more. In conclusion she said "Supervision is the best way in preventing toddlers from getting injured. Promoting healthy children by supervising what they do. Nafi's Random Musings @www.nafisustain.com