All the signs of the halfway point of summer are here – you’ve taken the kids to the library at least a couple of times, you’ve almost fulfilled your promise to limit video game play time, the fireflies light the evening sky, and the sound of siblings bickering and arguing rises over everything else. Are they doing it because they’re bored? Are they dehydrated? A more likely explanation is that the arguing and bickering in your home has multiple causes and triggers. Certainly there is more face-to-face time when school is out during the summer, but more likely, the underlying tension that starts the flare-ups has been present all year. Maybe instead of looking at the situation as a recipe for premature hair loss, we can seize the opportunity with the extra summer hours available to actually do something more substantial about kids’ fighting at home.
Raising a baby, especially for the first time, is both exciting and challenging. This is a time for developing the bonds that will last a lifetime providing the child with the inner resources to develop self-esteem and the ability to relate positively with others. It is also the time for parents to begin to discover who this new person really is. Each child is unique and it is imperative that parents learn to understand, respect, support and encourage the unique characteristics and abilities of each child.
Raising school age children can be awesome. Watching them try new activities, cheering them on at athletic events and applauding their accomplishments at recitals are usually some of the high points for most parents. However, achieving success is often preceded with frustration and sometimes learning to accept one’s weaknesses as will as celebrating and building on strengths. When will equipped parents can be excellent coaches for their child no matter what the endeavor.
Choosing a Prekindergarten Program
Good provider: Your child’s teacher should be warm, caring, sensitive to your child’s needs, and accepting of different ethnic backgrounds and customs. She should know how to speak to young children to elicit response and how to use positive discipline. Watching how teachers speak to students and how students respond is one of the most powerful indicators of quality. Children should be engaged and eager to communicate with their teacher.
Commitment to safety: Teachers must be alert in their supervision of children. They should have plans for what to do in an emergency situation and know how to reach parents quickly. They should practice good hand-washing techniques and comply with sanitation measures required by the state.
Interaction with parents: The staff members at your child’s school should welcome involvement from parents and be eager to form relationships with their students’ family members.
Provide Concrete Experiences vs. Abstract Ones
While conversation is good, parents can really step up the game of instilling a love of learning in their children by providing concrete experiences. Parents, in particular, have more time and resources to do this than regular classroom teachers do. “Start wherever possible with a direct experience as opposed to having kids just read about something or hear a lecture about it,” Connolly says. If your child is learning about the forest and has never seen one up close, consider taking a weekend trip to a nearby wooded area to explore the flora and fauna. Turn an otherwise mundane trip to the grocery store into a real-life application of what your child happens to be learning in math class. For example: Have her guesstimate what five apples will weigh before placing them on the scale.
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