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Top 20+ Reasons to Pay your Kid an Allowance 1. They can make mistakes under your guidance ?I?M OVERWHELMED? -- 5 Tips On How Parents Can Take Control Of Their Lives Are you feeling overwhelmed being a parent? Do you want to feel more relaxed and empowered raising your child? Working parents, stay-at-home parents, visiting parents ? it doesn't matter which one you are because these days almost every parent feels overwhelmed by their daily day. Parents every day experience anxiety, stress and despondency because they feel as if they are losing control of their natural balance. The natural balance that once allowed them to walk, talk and chew gum slowly - all at one time! Now you are running to work, picking up children, grocery shopping, doing laundry, paying bills, taking your child to some lesson, etc. Those days when you had control over your life, can be re-lived again by knowing how to create a structured life that incorporates extra time, a swing to your step and the ability to believe that you can accomplish what needs to be done, in addition to being a fun and caring parent. Below are five tips that can start you on the path of feeling a positive glow about yourself. Mom vs. Dad: Navigating Parenting Differences With All Good Intentions Let's face it: raising children can be quite the adventure. Rewarding at one turn, challenging at the next ? it's the ultimate roller-coaster for the parenting thrill seeker. In the Game of Life, you rolled the dice and accepted the role of co-parent. While the rules seem deceptively simple, (raise child into healthy adult), the game is often complicated by differences in parenting styles between partners. It's these differences, if unresolved, that can abandon you in the land of defeat and leave you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged, with "game over" flashing on your internal video screen. Selecting A Quality Day Care Center Many working families choose a commercial or individual day care center to care for their child during the workday. We've listed important aspects of a daycare center's environment to evaluate when making your choice:Staff to Child Ratio. This is the number of children each staff member is responsible for. Most states regulate the minimum number of staff to child ratio. This will vary based on your state and the ages of the children. An average guideline follows, but check with your state department for what to expect in your area. An infant room will have one to four or six staff to child ratioA young toddler room will have a one to six or eight staff to child ratioFor 2s and 3s room, an eight to ten staff to child ratio is averageChildren 4 and 5 years old average a one to ten staff to child ratioDiaper Changing. There should be a dedicated area for diaper changing, equipped with sanitary diaper pad covering, disposable gloves, wipes and diapers and a dedicated waste receptacle for waste that is emptied on a regular schedule.Sick Policy. Most daycare centers will require that a child sent home with a fever or after a bout of nausea or diarrhea be kept home for 24 hours. While it inconvenient for working parents, it is the safest practice to prevent contagious illnesses from spreading within a classroom. Some centers may have a separate infirmary and onsite nurse or share the operating costs with other centers in the area.Discipline, Biting and Dismissal Policies. Find out how the center handles discipline and what the process is for misbehavior that affects other children, such as biting or hitting. As if there is an escalation process, what the coaching and dismissal policies are. You will want to know both sides in the event your child is the aggressor or the victim.Feeding. Some centers serve prepared food and some have families bring lunches and provide morning and afternoon snacks. Find out if the daycare providers will heat up food in your child's lunches, if there is a refrigerator available, if they provide milk and filtered water for drinking and what kinds of snacks are served. Supervised Lunch and Snacktime. The center you choose should support your nutrition preferences and provide healthy options served in a clean, supervised environment. Staff should use the opportunity to teach manners and model good eating habits. Ask about the center's policy on sharing food at the lunch table if your child has allergies.Toilet Training. Some centers will help potty train your child, others require that the child be fully potty trained by a specific age. Your center should reinforce good bathroom habits, including wiping, flushing and thoroughly washing hands. Some centers also add brushing teeth to the regular routine.Napping. Most young children benefit from regularly scheduled nap times during the day. Most centers will have young toddlers take a nap in the morning and one in the afternoon. Older toddlers and preschool age children may have one name in the afternoon after lunch. Ask whether you are responsible for bringing bedding or if it is provided. In the latter case, your child should have his own dedicated linens that are laundered each week.Parent Visits. Parent visits should be welcomed throughout the day, whether announced or unannounced. There should be observation windows available for you to observe your child's day or you should be welcomed into your child's classroom.Schedule. Hours of operation often play a key role in whether a center is acceptable simply by default of being available when you need them to be. Some centers have two tuition schedules, one for standard daycare (i.e. 9am ? 4pm) and extended daycare (i.e. 7am ? 6pm). Ask what the late policy is, whether you will have to pay on pick-up, if that payment must be in cash, etc.Safety and Peace of Mind. Does the center have controlled access, with locked doors after the usual drop-off times? There should be a sign-in/sign-out process to account for each child. When you register, you should be asked to supply emergency contact information for yourself and partner, two people who can be contacted and take your child if either of you are not available. Some centers will also ask for an out-of-state emergency contact in the event of a regional emergency, like an earthquake.Emergency Plan. If your area is prone to natural disasters like flooding or earthquakes, ask about your center's emergency plan ? how they will notify parents, where their evacuation location is, if there is a lockdown procedure.Daily Status Reports. A daily status report will give you detailed information about your child's day, including feeding times, diaper changing information and activities during the day. This is especially important for infants and young toddlers.Classrooms. Children love rooms that are bright, cheerful and full of visual stimulation created by creative artwork, children's projects and family pictures.Classroom curriculum. Each classroom should be equipped with age appropriate activities, equipment and toys to stimulate your child's development in fine/gross motor activities, sensory and cognitive skills, language development, number concepts, music and art.Bonuses and Special TouchesEmailed Progress Reports and Photos. Many daycare centers are now emailing daily progress reports with information about activities and care routines like eating, napping and diapering to parents. Some centers also take photos of your child during the day and post them to an intranet you can access securely with a username and password.Extra Curricular Activities. On-site enrichment classes are usually an additional charge to the monthly tuition and can take place during regular school time or after school so parents can partake in the experiences with the child. Activities can include dance, gymnastics, martial arts, Spanish, basketball and computers. Americas Public School System --- Brutal and Spartan The public school system in America has become a dismal failure. But education in many other times and cultures has been quite successful. The ancient Greeks, whose civilization was at its height around 500 B.C., founded Western civilization as we know it. The Athenian Greeks invented or perfected logic, drama, science, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, literature, and much more. Yet ancient Greece had no compulsory schools. How To Foster An Environment For Successful Communications With Your Child As parents, we strive to address all of the questions asked by our children. If we don't have the answer, or don't like the question, we would never think of ignoring the child. We do not accept improper communication as acceptable behavior. Most parents, however, are quick to excuse or overlook the behavior of their child when he / she reacts the same way and are often left wondering when the lines of communication broke. How Do You Find the Best Car Seat to Protect Your Child Choosing a good car seat for your child's protection is a prime consideration for any new parent. To give your child the best chance of escaping injury in the event of a collision, you'll need to a car seat suited to your child's age and weight. Bullies Bullies are an ugly but very real part of childhood. There's not much we can do to protect our children from these cruel and brutal kids except teach them how to defend themselves from an otherwise unprovoked attack of the bullying kind. ?Gimme? Proof Your Kids: How To Keep Your Child?s Materialism In Check It's the first day of the summer holiday. Five year-old Stephanie is shopping with you at Wal-Mart and picks out three stuffed animals that she saw in the movie Madagascar. "Oh Mom please! I want to bring Alex and Gloria and Melman to Kinder Gym with me!" she says and stomps off in disgust when you tell her she has to choose only one. Small Children, Languages and Myths Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part of Canada ? Québec. "That's fine", says everyone. "Even though they'll probably start speaking later because they're learning two languages at once, they'll catch up." Advocating for Your Child with LD Advocate: you've probably heard the term before. But what does it mean to you? Tips for Parents of Teenagers: Dont Just Survive - Thrive! What makes parenting so challenging at times? One widespread research study reports that feeling "unprepared" tops the list for many parents' causes of dissatisfaction. And parents of teenagers, in particular, may feel this acutely as so many changes converge at once: adolescents are changing in every conceivable way while they often push parents away in their search for individuality. That this often happens during parents' own mid-life changes only adds to the poignancy of this period in a family's life. Why Me? Why Me? Does Your Child Need A Bedtime Routine? - Yes! Do you struggle to get your child to bed at night? We sure did with our daughter. She would refuse to go to sleep in her bed and wanted to hang out with us until we were ready for bed and of course then she would want to sleep in Mama's and Daddy's bed. Single Parents: Give Yourselves Credit Single parents are not often thought of as good parents. Parents: You Can Do Something About Professional Sports Ethics Most of us can agree that there is a lack of ethics standards within professional sports today. The fact that many of today's sports heroes are ethical is a stroke of luck. The fact is - many sports superstars are good people, but what about the "bad apples" that shame their sport, teammates, communities, fans, and team owners? The ADHD Parents Guide: Questions for the School Here is something that you might want to keep if you are thinking about changing your child's school next fall or if you are planning to have your child tested by the school in the near future. Let me say this, if you are planning to have your child tested by your district, do not put off doing the paperwork. Sign them up today! Typically districts have 10 weeks in which to do assessments, but the clock doesn't start until you fill out the paperwork. This can be a long process, and if you delay at doing the paperwork you may not be able to get the assessment done until next year! ADHD: A Dialogue With a Non-Believer, part two Dear Sir, Sibling Fighting - Reduce Sibling Rivalry by NOT Keeping Score Recently, a much-anticipated game of mini-golf with my children soon turned into a disaster. There were smiles all round as we hit off from the first tee but the enjoyment factor was reduced to zero as my children's smiles were replaced by tears, put downs and whining. Building Teen Character: Part-Time Employment The teenage years are a crucial time in a child's life. They arenot children anymore, but they are also not adults. During thistime the choices they make may have an effect on them for therest of their lives. It is the parents' responsibility to guidetheir teenagers in the right direction by helping them makeresponsible choices and building their character to the pointthat when their teenagers move out of the house they are on theroad to being responsible adults and have the tools they need tosucceed in life. |
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