Program to Prevent Teen Pregnancy with Virtual Babies Backfires
By Lisa Pecos It may seem like something out of an 80s sitcom, but giving teen girls lifelike baby dolls to care for as a way to dissuade them from getting pregnant is something that has been going on for years. A recent study out of Australia, however, has found that this may actually have the opposite effect on teen girls. Virtual Babies
5 Fun Ways to Help Enhance Your Child’s Learning Potential
As parents, you are your child’s first teacher. While you may already be actively involved in their education, there are still things you should be doing at home to help them evolve academically. You’ll need to be the motivator and support system that helps your child to not only retain the information they’re learning now but creates new experiences that will help them succeed in the future – both personally and academically. Learning Can be Fun Teaching your child new experiences does not have to be about sitting them down and going over math problems or having them write in their journal. It can actually be “disguised” in fun and creative ways that make them forget that they’re learning in the first place. Below are some great ideas or activities you might try to help boost your child’s “brainpower”:
Delaying School Start for Summer-Born and Premature Children
Delaying Start of School for Summer-Born or Premature Children Lowers Academic Performance, Says Study; Some Parents Disagree Children who start school a year later due to summer birthdays or premature births may do worse academically later on, according to a British study published recently in the Journal of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology.
Helping Your Child Prepare for Tests
12 Tips to Help Your Child Do Well on Tests Other than making sure your child gets plenty of study time to prepare for a test, are there specific things that you and he or she can do, to insure they do their best on a test?
Seven Ways to Encourage and Improve Your Child’s Academic Success
So, you think you may have the next Einstein or medicine Nobel prize recipient in your home … or perhaps you simply want to ensure that you give your child the best chance to succeed in life by helping them get a great education. Whatever your motivation, many parents are interested in finding ways to help their children succeed academically. Educators say that there are specific things that parents can do to enhance their child’s chances of success. Here are six ways to help you help your child do well in school:
What Are Good Foods to Eat for a Child Who Plays Sports?
When it comes to food, the great thing about it is that we all have very similar nutritional needs: for the most part, what’s good for one person is good for everyone, and what’s bad for one person is bad for all. Some people, including a lot of the experts, would have us believe that we need to go on special diets to suit our individual needs; but while that approach might make a lot of people in the diet and nutrition business wealthy, the truth is that our personal physiologies are much more similar to everyone else’s than they are different.
Important Steps to Prevent Sports-Related Injuries
The following is a break-down of what parents need to know, to help their children remain free from sports-related injuries. Education Doctors treat around one million sports-related injuries in American school-age children every year. For parents, it is important to learn basic ways to avoid injury when their children practice sports, whether it’s at school or around the neighborhood.
The Advantages of Homeschooling
Once upon a time in the United States, all children were taught either at home, or through apprenticeships, where they learned a trade with which they would later earn a livelihood. But in the mid 1800’s, public schools began proliferating throughout the country, and most children subsequently started attending public schools. In recent decades, however, more and more American parents have begun looking to homeschooling again as an option for educating their children. In 2012, three percent of all school-age children — about 1.5 million — were being homeschooled in the U.S. The top three professions for the fathers in these households were: accountant/engineer (17.3%), professor/doctor/lawyer (16.9%), and small-business owner (10.7%).
Keep Your Kids Learning Through the Summer
No student remembers every single thing she learns in school. Even over the course of a school day, many things will go in a child’s ear and out the other. And as any parent who is active in the educational process knows, kids are wildly inconsistent with their learning. They learn some things with little effort, while other things require endless repetition and instruction. In any case, it is only natural for some of the things a child learns during the school year to be lost during those three to four summer months. Much that is lost will be
Parenting Tactics That Damage Your Child’s Self Esteem
Be aware that even though you feel you are doing your very best raising your child, sometimes your parenting strategies can be damaging to your child’s self-esteem and the parent-child relationship. Your child needs to grow up with a healthy level of self-esteem to be more resilient to the lessons learnt and the knocks taken in life. A good self-esteem enables your child in decision making, having confidence in the judgements she makes, knowing what is right and wrong and having an ability to ‘bounce back’ after a knock. Healthy self-esteem is especially important during your child’s adolescent years when the chances are she will experience peer pressure to experiment with cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.
Does My Child Have OCD?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder and is characterised by repetitive and unwanted thoughts. These obsessions create actions made by the sufferer as they try to eradicate the anxious thoughts which are compulsions. OCD cases vary from mild to severe and manifest in different ways. With children suffering from OCD their obsessive thoughts can cause high levels of distress and anxiety often dominating their time and ability to focus and hold their attention on things. Research carried out estimates that 1.9% to 3% of children have OCD so out of 1000 children in a school 19 to 30 of them will probably have this disorder. OCD does not discriminate between ethnicities or social groups.
Is My Child A Bully?
In the UK alone approximately sixteen children a year commit suicide because of the trauma they endure due to bullying. The offending children who have tirelessly bullied their victims know exactly what they are doing but it seems that sometimes, the people in authority such as school teachers claim they did not know the bullying was taking place. Friends of the bullies also probably knew what was happening. Before a child has to have medical treatment or dies, people need to speak up if they suspect such bullying.
Are You Worried About Your Child’s Speech?
You may be concerned that your child is having difficulty with his speech. There are common problems that are often diagnosed and this is a guide to how you can detect them, how to help your child and also how you can seek professional help.
Developing Your Child’s Handwriting Skills
By Lisa Pecos With the rise of computers and electronic gadgets as tools for all types of school-related activities, kids spend far less time writing by hand than they used to. As a result, many people fear that the ancient art of handwriting is bound to become a thing of the past. While this is true to some extent-writing by hand is certainly less important than it used to be-it is still important to have good handwriting for the times when it is called for.
Tips for Helping Your Child with Homework
By Lisa Pecos All parents want to see their children succeed in school, and studies have shown that kids whose parents are more involved in their educations are more likely to do well. Thus, helping your child with his or her homework should be a no-brainer, but it is not always so simple. In the early years, things are relatively easy because young kids have very little homework and what homework they have is simple. But as children get older, the homework becomes more time-consuming, and they eventually cover subjects with which we, as parents, may not be confident. Confronted with calculus, for instance, most parents cannot be blamed for being a little intimidated.
Kids and Homework: What Can Parents Do?
By Jamell Williams When sending our kids to school, we expect the majority of their education to take place during the six or so hours per day when they are actually in the classroom. But for parents, it is important to realize that education needs to be reinforced in the home. This means not only helping kids with their studies, but also imposing homework times and engaging them in conversation about the things they are learning at school. It is easy to fall into a pattern of over reliance on our children’s teachers—but we must remember that teachers have dozens of kids to worry about. Our kids need us to make their education deeper and more personalized.
Spread Your Wings and Fly…
In the early evening I would sit outside under the tree near our house and watch the birds. One day I saw a Blue Jay come and chase the other birds away if they got to close. I noticed that every time she did that, 2 little Blue Jays would fly up and eat the seeds in the feeder that was hanging in the tree. Then I noticed that she would hop from branch to branch and the little birds would follow her. This went on for a few weeks. She would look down from the branch where she was perched to check on them.
It’s OK to be Different
Our son Michael was potty trained at nine months and spoke in sentences at 12 months old. At age two, he would listen to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite over and over. When a friend gave my husband and I tickets to see the Nutcracker one holiday season, I cringed! Mike did stand up comedy at the age of three, and we thought it was necessary to put him into Pre-School to learn to read and write his own first name.
How to Encourage Kids to Love Reading
With the rise of television, video games, and now the internet and digital devices, many are worried that the old habit of sitting down and reading a good book is on its way out with the coming generation. But while the act of reading is certainly undergoing change, reading is still a fundamental component of education, and it is as fun as it ever was. For 21st-century parents, fostering the reading habit comes with some unique challenges, but there are a few things you can do to ensure that your kids grow up loving to read books.
How To Keep The Internet Safe For Your Kids And Home
By Liz Krause When it comes to the internet, gone are the days when parents know more than the kids – or so it seems. The fact of the matter is, although a child may know how to use the internet faster and quicker, it is the parents’ responsibility to protect them from the dark side of the web.
First Day of School
To overcome the fear of the first day at nursery, playgroup or school is a big step for your child. Talking to your child about it can help them prepare and alleviate some of their fears. They will naturally be anxious of the unknown so explain and describe where they will be going and for how long they will be there. Also create some excitement about the activities they will be involved with. Ask them what they are expecting school to be like and discuss any fears they are holding on to. Reassure that they will be collected by you or another carer at the end of the day. Do not dismiss any fears that seem silly to you. Listen and talk about whatever they might be worrying about.
7 Ways to Improve Your Child’s School Performance
By Lisa Pecos School is where kids acquire the bulk of their learning, but it is hard to have success at school without a solid foundation of education in the home, starting at a very early age and continuing through the teen years. Most parents are aware of the things they can do to prepare their young children for the school years, but too many parents neglect to continue their early efforts, assuming that the teachers will take care of the rest. If you want your child to have the best chances of success later in life, it is important to continue your educational efforts. Here are just a few ways that you can help.
Our Nations Most Powerful Educators; The Parents
By Tiffany Chappelle ‘Oh, I wish I had the time!’ are the words most often uttered from other parents when I mention I read to my two sons, ages six and eight every single night for a minimum of thirty minutes. I am torn between insult by this comment, which suggests that I am not as busy as they are, and pity they and their children are being denied such an amazing experience. I see this time as essential not only for reconnecting with my boys after a day apart, as a chance to snuggle and be affectionate, or to create a magical, bonding moment that will be treasured for a lifetime, but also as a chance to practice our listening, comprehension, and vocabulary skills. No, I don’t have a degree in education, and I am not striving for one. But the day a person becomes a parent they are given the honor and responsibility of being the primary and most influential educators in their child’s life. A mother or father is the first educators a child encounters, the ones that know their children best, and the ones who should have the highest interest in their children’s success in school. It’s a tragedy that we as parents in this country are not living up to this important role in our children’s lives.
Signs of Depression in Children and Teens
By Marc Courtiol While childhood depression can be triggered by events such as changing schools, divorce, moving, or a death in the family, there is a genetic component to depressive mood disorders, and some children are more predisposed to these feelings than others. In past generations childhood depression was often dismissed as normal growing pains, but now that we know more about the causes, symptoms and long-term effects of depression, early detection and treatment of depression have become important concerns.
Children and Illness: The Main Reasons that Kids Miss School
By Cyndra Neal Many parents can probably relate to having a child who seems to be sick all the time. Often times, parents find themselves wondering why their kids get sick so often. They may even feel like their kids are sick more often than other people’s children. The reality, however, is that most kids get sick several times a year, particularly when they are younger.
Being Bilingual — Is it Right for Your Child?
When I was going through elementary school, my mom would always have me in a bilingual classroom. She’s bilingual (English and Spanish), and when I was a preschooler, so was I. (We lived in Chile then, and when we moved back to California, she wanted me to be able to maintain my Spanish). At the time, there were classes where the majority of students were English learners (ESL) with a handful of students, (such as me) that were Spanish learners (SSL). These days, more and more parents want to have their child learn a second language and as a result, we’re seeing the popularity of bilingual programs rise. Learning to speak a second language is a wonderful experience, but how can you tell if it’s right for your child? Breezy Mama turns to Corie De Anda, M.S., Bilingual Program Specialist for Carlsbad Unified, for the answers. –Alex Part 1: Learning a second language before kindergarten (For Part 2: Learning a second language in elementary school — click here) What is the best age for beginning to teach my child a second language?
KidPort Educational Service
We really like the internet learning resource developed by Bryan Knysh. Kidport is an educational service that helps kids hone their fundamental learning skills in math, language and science by self-reflection on the learning process itself. The course is composed of multiple learning modules that include cognitive, curriculum and experience based components.
5 Parenting Tips for Communicating with Children & Teens
There is nothing that adequately prepares us for the most important job there is—parenting. Children and teens do not come with an owner’s manual, and most of our training is on the job. With our own parents as our most prominent role models, we tend to repeat what we have learned about parenting from them. We do our best, learn as we go, and make our own mistakes along the way; but we don’t have to leave our parenting to chance. We can become more effective parents. We can parent with more confidence instead of frustration. Parenting can be enjoyable and rewarding instead of stressful.
Jane Eyre – How to Raise a Kid with Good Self-Esteem
By David Bain Jesse Jackson once said, “Your children need your presence more than your presents”. When stated it seems obvious that a child’s early years can determine the rest of their life. What seems so obvious, however, is often ignored. Parents often forget that offering support and companionship is as important as a good home and material possessions. It is important for parents to understand that a child’s self-esteem is determined, in large part, by how they are raised. Creating self-esteem is one of the most important aspects of parenting.
How to Find the Right Preschool
Finding the right preschool for your child can be a challenge. With a variety of different options to choose from, parents can easily become overwhelmed when trying to decide which type of program would be the most suitable for their child.
Preparing for Your Child Becoming a Teenager
As adolescents, children are attempting to acquire the skills they will need in order to achieve independence as adults. This is the time that they become their own person and create their own group of friends, and this period of transition is typically quite difficult. While some children seem to breeze through their teenage years without a care or problem in the world, the majority of them struggle daily with a variety of different issues.
Math Anxiety: Are You Passing Yours On To Your Child?
by Donna Verry Dee Karen Greenburg of Mesa Arizona hated math as a child and she sees history repeating itself with her daughter, Angela. “She’s very frustrated with math,” says Greenburg of the second-grader. “She mostly dislikes doing drills and timed tests. I think I may have passed that on to her through my poor attitude about it. I have been known to say, ‘I don’t understand why they have to memorize math facts and take timed tests.’ I think she has picked up on that and uses it to her advantage.”
21 Days To Back-To-School Bliss
By Susan Kruger Tips for getting your school-year off to a relaxed and productive start.
Help Your Child Get Organized For School!
By Susan Kruger Disorganization is the greatest complaint made by teachers and ranks as a very close second complaint from parents (rivaling fights and arguments over homework). Every teacher can tell stories about bright and intelligent students who are failing classes because they lack the organizational skills to keep track of their assignments. School counselors and psychologists talk about the huge caseloads of students that are referred to them for suspected learning disabilities, only to discover that a large percentage of these students simply lack organizational skills. It is a growing epidemic.
Parents as Teachers Program Once Again Shown to Improve School
By C. Dixon School readiness predicts later school achievement, and possibly life success, study says….
When College Isn’t a Choice
Recently I was having dinner with several girl friends. After the frantic winter holidays, it was nice to just relax. Mary (not her real name) shared some family news that was a bit astounding for a p…
College Acceptance and Rejection Considerations
I am an attorney and life coach who helps parents with young adults still living at home as well helping young adults achieve independence. With two sons in college, I remember quite well the frantic…
Hidden Gifts: What To Know So Your Gifted Child Isn’t Overlooked
By David Palmer, Ph.D. School’s in session; and although most of their parents don’t realize it, millions of early elementary age kids are being screened, tested, and sorted in an attempt to find those who need gifted education support services to flourish. While it may seem that gifted kids should be able to do well in any setting, parents, researchers, and specialists who advocate for this sometimes overlooked group point out that many of our brightest child minds become bored, frustrated, and tuned out – both socially and academically – without placement in a gifted program that allows them to move through the curriculum at their own pace and connect with “mental mates” who may hold similar interests.
The Beliefs We Teach Our Children: The Next Step
By Julie Redstone “A new study in the scientific journal Child Development, Nov./Dec., 2006, shows that if you teach students that their intelligence can grow and increase, they do better in school. About 100 seventh graders, all doing poorly in math, were randomly assigned to workshops on good study skills. One workshop gave lessons on how to study well. The other group was taught about the expanding nature of intelligence and the brain. The students in the latter group learned that the brain actually forms new connections every time you learn something new, and that over time, this makes you smarter. The group of kids who had been taught that the brain can grow smarter, had significantly better math grades than the other group.” Michelle Trudeau, NPR-Morning Edition, Feb. 15, 2007. In the progressive unfoldment of the idea that “you are what you believe,” many of us have learned to apply this teaching to help create a positive outlook in our children concerning what they are capable of intellectually, and what they can aspire to in any area they choose to pursue later on. We know how to encourage our children in the ways of worldly success.
Why Plan an After Prom Party
by Lori Heatherington From the time I enrolled my daughter in elementary school it seemed that the world was out to ruin her innocence. Her know-it-all six year old friends with older brothers and sis…