Zhang makes Chinese national live broadcast on effective parenting
East Carolina University College of Education’s Dr. Guili Zhang was invited by China Education Daily as a guest speaker on its live Chinese national broadcast on Nov. 29.
Zhang, COE Department of Special Education, Foundations and Research chair and professor, spoke about how to cultivate self-control in children.
Dr. Guili Zhang speaks during the live broadcast at China Education Daily. (Contributed photo)
“Self-control is a key factor in determining whether one can achieve his or her goals, and self-control is essential for children’s learning success and overall healthy development,” Zhang said. “Therefore, this national public lesson on family education received widespread attention from parents and educators across China and abroad.”
She pointed out that the process of developing self-control begins in a baby’s earliest months and continues across the first three years and beyond.
“Parents should start cultivating children’s self-control as early as possible, and begin with helping their babies soothe themselves, keep calm, and manage their feelings and actions, then help them learn to wait, and gradually teach them acceptable behaviors,” Zhang said.
During the broadcast she also recommended several strategies that children can use to better control themselves, such as the “10-minute delay” strategy and “out of sight, out of mind” strategy.
“In the face of temptation, make a mandatory 10-minute waiting time. During the 10 minutes, the child should think about long-term rewards and try to resist temptation. This will make rejection easier and help the child control themself successfully,” Zhang said. “With the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ strategy, children are advised to create physical distances to make rejection easier. Keeping candy bars in drawers rather than directly on the table will make them eat less than a third of the sugar. Putting things that attract children, like mobile phones or chips, out of direct sight or reach will reduce their stimulation of children’s desire.”
She was joined on the broadcast by Yongmei Yang, editor-in-chief of the China Education Daily Family Education Weekly, and Zhiguo Ma, the National Online Parent School mental health expert.
During this visit, Zhang also recorded 10 family education mini-lectures for China Education Daily to broadcast nationally that focus on “How to Raise Outstanding Children” and provide guidance on important parenting issues.
A few of the topics were when to start family education, harmful parenting styles, self-motivation, parent-child relationships, self-control, and advice for studying abroad.
Zhang is a nationally-recognized expert in China for her decades of leadership in education along with her recent national bestseller, “Dragon Mom Eagle Mom – Raising Great Children with American and Chinese Integrated Education.” She plays an active role in bridging education between China and the United States and serves as an advisor, consultant and guest professor for several organizations and schools in China.
-by Kristen Martin, University Communications