These are some general ideas that might help you and your family in setting your child up for a successful and happy life. 

Contrary to what is often assumed, a successful life is not just to be literate and numerate. To be successful, children and adults need effective communication and self expression, good problem solving skills and resilience.  We all need to be able to form meaningful and positive relationships and to feel good about ourselves with a strong sense of positive self esteem. We need to be as healthy and fit as possible in body and mind and we need to be able to initiate ideas and make decisions.

These ideas are only a guide and need to fit within your own family values and circumstances. These are relevant for children in their early childhood and primary years.

1.  Sitting together regularly at a meal table without any electronic entertainment in the same room.

This promotes

• Language and conversation skills
• Relationship building
• Sharing and reflecting at the end of the day

2.  Playing together as a family in the backyard and local parks

This promotes

• Physical skills and physical health
• Relationship building
• Reliance, initiative, creativity

3.  Ensure lots of 'down time' for children to create and self initiate play at home

This promotes

• Language and conversation skills
• Relationship building
• Sharing and reflecting
• Creativity, initiative and self concept

4.  Ensure that there is one television (and other electronic entertainment) in a common family area rather than in each bedroom

This promotes

• Relationship building
• Resilience
• Turn-taking
• Negotiation skills

5.  Ensure computer use is in a common family area rather than a bedroom

This promotes

• Relationship building
• Sharing and reflecting

6.  Ensure that extracurricular activities are limited to only 1 or 2 per week

This promotes

• Children not being overscheduled
• Children having the energy to enjoy their day
• The opportunity for children to have 'down time' and to initiate creative play.

7.  Provide opportunities for children to sort through their own battles with their siblings (avoid being the referee who constantly adjudicates for the children - put the whistle away!).

This promotes

• Language and conversation skills
• Relationship building
• Negotiation skills
• Resilience

8.  Ensuring regular and predictable routines at home including an earlier than later bedtime

This promotes

• Children feeling safe and comfortable
• Children having energy to enjoy their day

9.  Read regularly to your children and encourage a love of books

This promotes

• Language and conversation skills
• Relationship building
• Literacy skills

10.  Try to acknowledge children's feelings rather than dismissing or simply diverting the feelings

This promotes

• Language and conversation skills
• Relationship building
• Children to identify and acknowledge their feelings
• Self expression

11.  Ensure that the parents and children have 'down time' together where the parents and children can relax together.

This promotes

• Language and conversation skills
• Relationship building
• Sharing and reflecting at end of day
• Sets patterns of family communication for later in life (adolescence)

12.  Encourage children in basic self help skills and levels of independence

This promotes

• Self sufficiency
• Competence and resilience
• Self responsibility and autonomy when appropriate

13.  Ensure the electronic and print entertainment your children are exposed to is appropriate for their level of development and is limited each day or week.

This promotes

• Children not being 'rushed' through childhood by allowing them to enjoy entertainment that is developmentally appropriate for their level of maturity
• Language and conversation skills
• Relationship building
• Sharing and reflecting at end of day
• Minimizes isolated play and fixations with electronic media

 14.  Exercise in informal ways every day

This promotes

• Healthy bodies and helps with mental health
• Provides early habits of exercise and activity for later in life

15.  Try to eat a well balanced diet that is healthy and avoids junk foods