Child - Parenting Hub

Advice from the experts

Let your child fail – it’s okay

Facing challenges and making mistakes can help your child grow. By Danielle Barfoot As parents, we want to protect our children – from danger, from upset, from things not turning out how they had hoped, and especially from failure. But we need to realise that it’s not just okay, but essential, for our children to fail and make mistakes. As difficult as it may be to accept, we cannot shield our children from defeat, sadness, anxiety, or regret. But we can help them experience it safely. Providing opportunities for children to make mistakes and face the subsequent consequences is vital to raising adults who can meet life’s challenges with confidence. In fact, research has shown that children who don’t have opportunities to struggle and recover have lower self-confidence and a less developed self-concept. They tend to be more fearful of failure and less willing to try new things. Here are four benefits of allowing your child to make mistakes: Develop self-confidence: When children are allowed to make decisions on their own, they develop self-confidence. This self-confidence helps them to not be so afraid of failure that they are unwilling to try new things. Build life skills: Children develop important life skills when they are allowed to go through challenging situations. They learn how to bounce back, handle negative emotions, develop self-control, and how to apologise. Take responsibility: Allowing children to make their own decisions creates an opportunity for them to also deal with the consequences. Sometimes they will make poor decisions, which will teach them to take responsibility for their actions. They will learn from the natural consequences and will (hopefully) make wiser decisions in the future. Solve their own problems: Too often, either because it’s easier or because we hate to see them struggle, we rush in to help our children figure something out. But letting your child try and try again – and eventually get it right on her own – will teach her more about herself and her abilities than when you rush in to save the day. Life doesn’t always go as expected From getting a low grade or fighting with a friend to losing an important game, life can be riddled with disappointments and failures. But instead of focusing on a fixed marker of success, consider what your child has learned. Instead of the mistake or perceived failure, the focus should be on personal growth and development. So, when things go wrong – and they will – show your acceptance and support. Let her know that it’s okay to make mistakes and that failure isn’t fatal… even if she feels as if she might die of embarrassment. This article was contributed by Impaq Education (previously known as Impak Onderwysdiens). At Impaq we know that personal growth and development is an important part of any child’s educational journey. We provide innovative and accessible education solutions to help learners prepare for life in a modern society.

August 2, 2018

Chasing academic A’s limits possibilities

Education, as we have known it for the past 100 years, is fixated on academic prowess. The percentage on the report card has always been the benchmark by which we believe we can determine if a child will become a successful adult, or not. Cindy Glass, Director and Co-founder of Step Up Education Centres says “Self-worth is too often determined by academic assessments. Emotional walls are built, intelligence is defined, negative behaviours are acted upon, anxieties and depression are pandemic in young people – all because of society’s fixation on that percentage on the report.”

July 25, 2018

Help! My child is writing exams for the first time

The idea of writing exams rarely brings about emotions of excitement and happy anticipation! In fact, feelings of anxiety, panic and outright fear are what most parents and learners experience when exam time comes knocking at their door! Cindy Glass, Director and Co-founder of Step Up Education Centres says “Generation after generation, people have passed on the baton of fear, anxiety and dread when it comes to exams. The stories are familiar to us all:

July 25, 2018

6 Simple Practices to Keep Your Child Active and Healthy

No one said that parenting would be easy, but it doesn’t have to be a struggle. Although it’s normal to worry about your kids when they’re heading off to school, you can lower those anxiety levels by preparing for the transition. You also need to accept that your child is growing, and you can’t keep him or her in a protective bubble. In fact, over protective parenting can have far worse consequences for your child, persisting into adulthood. If you’re worried about frequent infections, fatigue or low energy, learning problems, and so on, there are steps that you can take to better prepare your child for the demands and stress of schooling. Before you try to impart good habits and practices to your child, just remember that kids can be quick to call you out on your hypocrisy and double standards, so be a good role model, or learn to cheat smart and not get caught!

July 24, 2018

Making Sense of the World Around Us

There is no denying the importance of the sense of sight. Using our sight, we are able to learn through visually exploring objects and the world in which we live, and thereby gain an understanding of the relationships between people and objects. It is for this reason that parents should invest as much time as possible helping their children develop their visual sense. Visual skills are divided in to two main areas; first is our eye’s ability to see; Visual Acuity and second is the brains ability to process, integrate and interpret what the eyes are seeing; Visual Perception. A problem with either of these systems may result in your child having problems related to their visual sense. Visual acuity can be assessed by an Optometrist. Assessed difficulties may be as a result of underlying weakness of the muscles which control eye movements, resulting in jerky or restricted movements of the eye. As a result, these children often have difficulty manipulating objects in their hands and experience fine motor difficulties in tasks such as cutting and writing or may have a slow rate of work as they require additional time to gain the necessary visual information in order to complete a task. Visual Perceptual skills can be assessed by an Occupational Therapist. Visual Perception is a broad term, used to describe a number of different skills which include: Visual Discrimination Is the ability to identify differences and similarities between shapes, objects and patterns based on their individual characteristics and features. For example a square has four sides and four corners, while a triangle has three sides and three corners. Form constancy The ability to recognize and interpret the fact that a shape remains a shape, despite changes in the presentation of the shape. For example, a square is still a square based on a specific set of properties, irrelevant of the size, direction, orientation, colour or texture of the square. Figure Ground Perception The ability to screen out irrelevant visual material in order to concentrate on an important stimulus. This is necessary for a child at the back of the class who has to look across the whole classroom and concentrate only on what is being written on the board. Position in Space The ability to perceive an objects position in our environment in relation to our own bodies. Following instructions related to objects, such as standing next to an object, requires an understanding of how that object is orientated in space in relation to ourselves and requires good position in space skills. Spatial Relations The ability to perceive the position of two or more objects in relation to our own bodies and in relation to the objects. During gross motor activities a child will need to plan movements taking in to consideration the location of other objects in their environment. Visual Closure The ability to recognise and identify a shape or object without having to see the whole shape or object. This requires the child to visually ‘fill in the gaps’. Good visual closure skills will assist a child with reading and comprehending what is being read. Visual Memory The ability to remember what has been seen and to recall it immediately. This skill enables a child to remember what they have read, as it moves from short-term memory in to long-term memory. Visual Sequencing The ability to remember shapes and characters in a specific order. This is a vitally important skill for learning to spell. “It is clear that the development of Visual Perceptual skills is closely linked to cognitive development,” says Kelly Westerman, Occupational Therapist and Clamber Club Franchisee. “In younger children it is important that a child experiences visual perception through the movement of their bodies before they progress to 3D activities like blocks, shape sorters and puzzles and then on to pen and paper tasks which include writing, cutting and pasting.” Due to the fact that vision is so integrated in to everything that a child does, symptoms and impairments may be broad and varied. In younger children, problems associated with the visual sense may result in delayed milestones and can experience a delay in language development as they struggle to grasp relationships and associations between people and objects. There is no doubt that good visual acuity and visual perceptual skills are vital for the acquisition of skills and knowledge that are needed for academic success. It is therefore important that parents create opportunities for the development of these skills in the everyday lives of their little ones. If parents have any concern they should consult with their Doctors or Paediatricians. Occupational Therapist and founder of Clamber Club, Liz Senior, has put together a list of activities and games that can help your child develop their visual sense: Playing ‘I spy’ e.g.: something round, something smaller than the table or my book Ask your child to locate specific items on a page in a book Arranging objects from largest to smallest, and vice versus Draw simple shapes on paper and ask your child to redraw the shapes Covering half a picture of an object and asking your child what the object is Hide the peanut – Place the nut (or raisin) under one of three cups and move them around slowly. Have the child try pick the cup the peanut is under. If he picks the right cup, he gets to eat the prize underneath. Add more cups to make this more challenging (up to five cups) Object games – Place some everyday objects on a tray. Start with 4 objects and show them to the child for 5 seconds. Cover them and see how many he can recall. Add more objects as the child becomes more proficient with this. Try work up to 10 objects in total

July 13, 2018

Help! My child does not want to go to school

The academic year can be a challenging time for families. It becomes even more so when a child resists or tries to avoid going to school. Cindy Glass, Director and Co-founder of Step Up Education Centres explains “Emotions tend to run high, panic may set in and too often, parents feel quite helpless in these stressful situations. Children may feign illness, throw temper tantrums or act out in other negative ways in order to force their parents to let them stay at home. The reasons why are varied. Children who are being bullied, are constantly being yelled at, who battle with the academic programme or who feel lonely or depressed may insist on staying home instead of attending the regular school day. Exhaustion, fear of an upcoming test or assignment or fears of a wrongdoing may also contribute to school avoidance. Dealing with these situations is never easy and, as with all challenges in bringing up our children, there is no one-size-fits-all solutions.” Cindy suggests the following helpful tips if you have a child who no longer wants to go to school: Don’t panic and let fear-filled emotions (such as anger and critical judgement) cloud your vision in finding positive, helpful solutions. Remember that all negative behavioural choices are based on some sort of fear. Make it your mission to find out what it is that your child is afraid of and then decide on how best to give your child the tools needed to face and overcome those fears. Don’t allow staying at home to become a ‘fun’ alternative to going to school. Be firm in not allowing activities such as watching TV or playing computer games when a child stays home on a school day. There need to be consequences to not going to school-be it catching up on missed work, learning for the missed test or just being bored! Teach your children not to avoid their fears, but to face them and to find solutions that work for them. Keep the lines of communication between yourself and your children and yourself and your children’s teachers, wide open! Honest, non-judgemental communication can lead to many valuable life lessons being learned. Choose to be supportive, but firm in your resolve to ensure that your child attends school. It is essential to allow your child to tell you (without fear) why he/she is avoiding school. If any abuse (from peers or teachers) is the cause of school avoidance, it is essential that you take the matter up with the appropriate authorities within a school. No child should be staying at home for fear of abuse of any kind. Cindy concludes by saying “There are no easy, one-stop solutions to dealing with the challenges of a child who refuses to go to school. Remember that, as a parent, how you choose to handle the situation will set the tone for how your child will handle challenges in his life. Be consistently loving and firm while you aim at finding positive, sustainable solutions.”

July 6, 2018

Children can burn out too!

Gone are the days when children went to school, came home, made a peanut butter sandwich and went to play with the neighbourhood kids! Cindy Glass, Director and Co-founder of Step Up Education Centres explains “Children are naturally high-energy beings and very little thought is given to the extreme pressures and overloading of activities that our children face in the world that we find ourselves living in today! As adults, we are familiar with the challenges of physical and emotional burn-out, but we do not consider that children are prone to burn out as well. In fact, burn out in children, if left unchecked, can lead to depression, complete apathy and a myriad of health issues.” Cindy goes on to explain that many children are being subjected to competitive and pressured activities all day, every day and at a pace that most adults would find challenging to keep up! “Academic expectations, sports (school and clubs), cultural and religious studies, extra lessons, music, art, drama, dance…. the list goes on and on… when packed, back-to-back into the daily schedule of children can lead to overloaded children becoming exhausted and this may lead to burn out!” Parents who notice that their children are showing a combination of the following signs may want to consider that their children may be heading towards burn out-or worse-have already burned out! A loss of motivation or desire for activities that they once enjoyed or looked forward to. Anxiety, fearfulness and panic attacks Fatigue and tearfulness, withdrawn, uncharacteristic tantrums Feelings of dejection, making excuses or simply refusing to attend activities that they may have enjoyed before Physical illnesses, loss of appetite, nail biting Falling behind in academics or other activities Burn out is not something to be taken lightly. Cindy gives the following tips to consider when dealing with burn out in children: Choose to be a mindful parent. Watch, communicate, listen-with-understanding, acknowledge that something needs to change and act to help and support your child! Honestly assess the activities and stress causers in your child’s life. Work with your child to reduce or stop the activities that cause the greatest stress. Allow time for your children to just BE. Allow time for rest and reflection, for childish games and laughter. Teach your children the importance of listening to their bodies and making healthy choices for themselves—choices that are uplifting, enjoyable and less pressured. Be realistic in terms of how many activities your child is doing every day and every week. Watch for signs of exhaustion. Engender a relationship of non-judgemental communication with your child. Guide, support and teach them positive coping skills (which may or may not involve a change in schedule). Choose to create balance in yours and your children’s lives. There is no advantage or positive learning that can take place from overloading a child! It is important for children to learn a variety of skills as they grow, but be aware of how much is expected of them—too much can be counter-productive! Cindy concludes by saying “Burn out in children is more prevalent that we may have allowed ourselves to consider before! It can lead to serious consequences. As parents, it is essential that we acknowledge that children, although naturally high energy beings, can and will burn out if their lives are out of balance and the signs are left unchecked!”

July 6, 2018

10 Tips for Cultivating Green Munchkins

Home is where the ‘hearth’ is Global temperatures are on the rise and when it comes to raising nature-loving children, the home is always the best place to start. The first and most important step in cultivating ‘greener’ habits at home is to practise what you preach. Luckily you don’t have to be an experienced ‘greenie’ to this. Yes, being kind on nature can be as simple as being mindful of the products that you buy and showing your children how to appreciate the natural world around them. Replacing existing habits with healthier ones require time and patience so here are a few simple family activities to get you started during the holidays. And if going green seems like a daunting task, you’ll be happy to know that these activities are kind on nature and kind on parents. #1 De-clutter and donate: The winter holidays are the perfect time to de-clutter and reorganise clothing cupboards so why not involve the whole family? Create a pile of unwanted clothing items and donate it to some local charities. Certain clothing items can take hundreds of years to biodegrade and by donating them you are teaching your children how to give back to the planet and to those who are less fortunate. #2 Upcycle and get crafting: During the winter months, children spend more time indoors. Crafting with upcycled items is a fun and creative activity that teaches your children about sustainability. If you are not already in the habit of recycling, simply add additional bins to your refuse area and label them accordingly. Here are three easy upcycle crafting ideas: 1) Egg containers. Empty egg containers can be used as disposable painting pallets in water-restricted areas. By using them as pallets you are saving water and giving them an additional purpose before they go in the recycle bin. 2) Toilet and paper towel rolls. Toilet rolls are great items to use for making home-made rain sticks. Simply cover the bottom, insert some dry rice, cover the top and paint fun patterns on it. 3) Bottle-tops. These can be used as fantasy food items and/or in craft projects. Why not use them to make a necklace or combine it with a toilet roll to make a motorcar? #4 Get outdoors: The simple activity of being outside have both physical and emotional benefits for your children so make the most of those sunny winter days. By interacting with the outside world your children are getting a first-hand experience of what it is that they are protecting. Make your children aware of their natural surroundings by pointing out bird nests or give them a looking glass through which they can observe bugs. #5 Grow a herb garden: Growing a small herb garden will give your child a sense of ownership and responsibility while teaching them about food production and the natural resources that it requires. Herbs are often packaged in plastic containers and growing your own herb garden will save you money while saving the planet. 6# Eat more greens: One way of being kind to the earth is by getting your kids to eat healthier foods. Here is a great article to get you started! 7# Collect shells and plastic: If you are spending some time near a beach this holiday a simple beach stroll can be a great opportunity to have fun as a family while collecting plastic and shells. 8# Visit educational centres: If you want to get out of the house this holiday try visiting some local environmental centres, or parks. Plan a family trip to the Two Oceans Aquarium, Monkey World or Reptile Park. These centres often have interactive exhibitions on display, providing a fun opportunity for children to learn about the environment. 9# Plant a tree: Tree planting will never go out of fashion and it is a great way to teach your children how to leave a ‘greener’ legacy for future generations. 10# Empower and encourage: When it comes to discussing climate change with your children, it’s best to introduce the topic in a way that is positive, solution-driven and age-appropriate. Children need to feel empowered in the area of environmental protection and it is important that they believe that they’re efforts can make a difference. One small step – one giant leap! The simplest way to introduce new habits is to start small and it’s best to avoid those lofty ideals of transforming your home into an eco-friendly oasis overnight. If every family were to make a few ‘greener’ lifestyle changes, we will be one step closer to helping our planet.

July 6, 2018

Cursive writing – Is it still necessary?

Hilda Erasmus: Foundation Phase Specialist We live in an age of computers and technology. Why is it still necessary for our children to learn how to write in cursive? It’s so old-fashioned. Is it not time to move these old habits aside? Year in and year out teachers and parents are frustrated when they have to teach children how to write in cursive, but if it’s still in the curriculum it must be worthwhile. According to a study done by Graham and Santangelo1 learning to write in cursive can be a valuable skill. We list the five reasons why below: It is good for your brain Writing in print only activates one part of the brain, while writing in cursive activates different parts of your brain. It stimulates fine motor skills that help add letters together. So, instead of seeing letters as single sounds, they begin to form groups in the brain that sees and recognises words as a whole. You’ll have to sign your own name one day It might not sound like a worthy reason, but cursive writing gives each person a unique style. A signature that is made in your unique cursive writing is much more difficult to forge than a signature made in print or block letters. To sign your own name in cursive is like a small unique artwork that you can use over and over again without anyone making a perfect copy of it. You’ll be able to read old documents There are many old documents and manuscripts or even old family letters that are written in cursive. If we do not learn how to write in cursive, these documents will become hieroglyphs that no one will be able to read. It helps learners with a learning problem Learners with learning difficulties (especially dyslexia) often experience problems when learning numbers and sounds, especially the b and d sounds. In cursive writing, however, these letters are shaped in such a way that they look visually different. The learner can compare the letters in print and cursive and in this way many of the problems that these learners experience with confusing one letter with another can be solved. It is an art form To be able to write well is an art form. It is something most learners can easily master if they concentrate hard enough. For those learners who may not be top performers in other subjects, it is possible to do well in cursive writing. It can motivate these learners to work harder in other subjects too. Although cursive writing is not yet extinct, we still need to see its value. It is a skill that can be useful in the future. Source: 1. http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/556F572F-4CDC-4BAC-9EC0-6990AD1AFB0E/0/CIPLteachingcursivewriting_WEB.pdf

July 6, 2018

Child drowning – a leading cause of childhood death that is entirely preventable

Drowning remains one of the top causes of unnatural childhood death in South Africa and for every child that dies from drowning, five are left with permanent brain damage from the lack of oxygen that occurs in a near-drowning. Manufacturer of the leading child safety pool cover in SA, PowerPlastics Pool Covers, is on a drive to remind parents that drownings are entirely preventable with multiple layers of safety applied to the pool. The PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover and adult supervision at all times should be included in these layers of safety at all times. The PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover offers parental peace of mind as it completely seals off the entire pool. The PVC cover is drawn over strong aluminium batons that rest on the coping, and a tamperproof ratchet fastening system makes it impossible for a small child to access the water. Small drainage holes prevent rain or sprinkler water from collecting on the cover as just a few millimetres of water can be fatal to a curious child. The cover withstands up to 220kg and is easily deployed by two people, or it can be semi-automated for single person usage. “For years we have been educators in pool safety for children and, with our solid safety cover, parents not only get peace of mind, the cover also allows significant savings on water, power and chemicals, unlike alternatives such as nets and fences which still leave the water exposed,” says Carolyn Idas of PowerPlastics Pool Covers. “But a cover only saves lives if it is actually on the pool. Being lazy about re-securing a pool after use is surprisingly common. For this reason, we developed our safety cover so that it is hassle-free and does not require brute force. Next time you ‘can’t be bothered’, consider the alternative which could be a drowning due to negligence.” The PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover is available in a range of colours, allowing it to blend into the outdoor area, or it can be custom printed with photos and graphics for a unique 3D effect. Thermal pool covers or ‘bubble’ covers that lie directly on the water should never be considered as child safety pool covers as they do not bear weight. These covers heat the pool and save water by stopping evaporation but their purpose does not include child safety. “As part of our education in the community, we launched TopStep, the home of pool safety, an educational website with tips and advice on preventing drownings. Aside from covering the pool, every adult in the home needs to know what a drowning in progress actually looks like as TV has created wide misconceptions around this. There is no noise or splashing nor calls for help. Drowning is quick and silent. Visit www.topstep.co.za to learn more about this.” Even if one doesn’t have children, it is still necessary to consider safety for visitors. Families living in residential complexes with a communal pool should insist that their body corporate install a safety pool cover. “The bottom line is that children need to be supervised around pools, and as long as the pool is covered by us and other layers of safety are in place, the likelihood of a tragedy occurring in your pool is greatly reduced.” Learn about the PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover here or email [email protected] Practical tips for pool safety Don’t let your pool’s water levels drop. Keeping the pool topped up allows for small arms to easily grab the edge if needed. For every two children in the pool, have one adult supervising. The more children, the more supervisors needed. Be aware that children’s pool parties are high risk events. For larger groups, give the designated supervisor a bright hat to wear so the children know who to call for help. Turn off fountains and water features. Not only do they waste water and power, they can cause ripples and splashing, making it harder to see when a child has encountered difficulty in the pool or has sunk to the bottom. Ensure that every adult in the home knows CPR, including domestic workers. Never hire a baby sitter or au pair who can’t swim. Don’t let anyone who has been drinking or on sedative medication supervise children in a pool. Don’t leave toys in or near an open pool as children will be tempted to retrieve them. Teach your child to swim fully clothed and with shoes on. If your child develops a fear of water, don’t ignore this – a child who panics is at greater risk of drowning. Never allow swimming after dark. Discourage your dogs from swimming. Children and pets in a pool are not a good mix. Never leave the pool without securing it with your PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover. Never design / build a pool that cannot be secured for child safety. Drowning myths Television has a lot to answer for when it comes to how drowning is portrayed and there are many myths out there. Be aware of the signs and remember that the appearance of a drowning can vary widely. Myth #1: Drowning children will shout for help Drowning children are physiologically unable to call out. The respiratory system is designed for breathing – speech is the secondary function. Drowning children’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface but while their mouth is above the surface, they need to exhale and inhale before they sink again. There is not enough time to cry out. Myth #2: Drowning children wave their arms to attract attention or will thrash in the water Drowning children cannot wave for help. A person who is drowning cannot perform voluntary movements such as waving or moving towards a rescuer. Envisage the surface of the water as a platform. Someone who is drowning often presses down on the surface and tries to use it as leverage to get their mouth above the water’s surface to breathe. So what the onlooker sees are arm movements that can appear

July 6, 2018

Chastising Your Child: Parents Take Note

By Shereen Volks, Head of Divorce & Family Law, STBB | Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes The question of whether parents should be allowed to chastise their children has been a heavily debated topic over the past couple of years. In terms of South African common law, parents were allowed to chastise their children, provided that such chastisement was reasonable. Parents could then raise a special defence of reasonable chastisement against assault charges arising therefrom. This principle was confirmed in the judgment of R v Janke and Janke 1913 TPD 382 and in numerous judgments thereafter. To date, no legislation has been promulgated to either regulate what constitutes reasonable chastisement or to prohibit it completely. It has, however, been argued (after the promulgation of the interim Constitution and later the 1996 Constitution, which focusses on human rights) that chastisement constitutes an infringement on these very rights. In line with this reasoning, the promulgation of the Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996, prohibits chastisement at schools. The recent judgment in the Gauteng High Court, YG v S 2018 (1) SACR 64 (GJ), took a stance against the defence of reasonable chastisement when it was tasked with determining whether this defence is unconstitutional. The father in this matter (the accused) was charged with assault with intention to do grievous bodily harm after he repeatedly smacked his 13-year-old son. The accused’s defence was that he was merely exercising his parental right of reasonable chastisement. The court found that even if parents’ actions fall within the scope of reasonable chastisement, there is still an element of physical violence involved and it therefore infringes on the child’s right to bodily integrity and dignity. Furthermore, allowing the defence of reasonable chastisement takes away children’s right to equal protection under the law and undermines the state’s obligation to protect children from violence. The infringement on children’s rights could not be reasonably justified and therefore the court held that the defence of reasonable chastisement is unconstitutional. According to the court, doing away with the defence of reasonable chastisement would not result in harsh criminal sanctions being imposed on all parents found guilty of assault, as these parents should rather be sent for prevention and intervention services with the aim of promoting positive parenting. Until this matter is dealt with in the Constitutional Court, this judgment does not have a binding effect on any court outside the jurisdiction of the Gauteng High Court. However, it will be considered when any other court is faced with answering the same question. Contact: [email protected]

July 5, 2018

Sherpa Kids International now in Western Cape

Sherpa Kids – an internationally respected and trusted aftercare organisation that focuses on putting the ‘care’ back into aftercare – has successfully launched in the Western Cape. Janine Hammond, Regional Managing Director of Sherpa Kids in the Western Cape, says, “As a working mom, I know what a huge deciding factor it is when looking for schools to find a preschool or primary school that offers a good aftercare system. We saw the great work that Sherpa Kids is doing in schools in Gauteng, and around the world in places like New Zealand, the UK, and Australia, and we knew absolutely that preschools and primary schools in the Western Cape will benefit from this programme.” Sherpa Kids officially launched their before-school care, aftercare, and holiday care in South Africa in 2013. The name “Sherpa” is an homage to the mountain tribes who carefully guide climbers through difficult conditions by using their skills and knowledge in order for them to successfully reach their summit. Outsourcing aftercare is the way forward “Aftercare is often just an afterthought for SGB’s and principals who are dealing with other bigger issues. It is also often a burden to an already-exhausted, over-tasked teaching base,” says Janine. “However, just like most business owners in Cape Town know, outsourcing is fast becoming the best way to make everyone happy; protect the health and wellbeing of your staff compliment, and still keep a great brand reputation for your school by outsourcing your before-school, aftercare, and holiday care needs to the experts. This gives the teachers some breathing space, gives the parents peace of mind, and makes the children happy.” “Leaning on someone else’s expertise for aftercare allows Principals and teachers to focus on their core business,” says Janine, “while still giving children the stimulation and supervision they need. The Sherpa Kids facilitators are the ‘fresh legs’ so desperately needed after teachers have already worked a full day.” The answer to unregulated aftercare Preschool and school are tightly regulated by government, however aftercare is completely unregulated. That means, anything can happen in aftercare, and anyone can run an aftercare. “We approach aftercare differently,” says Janine. “Our people are thoroughly trained, regularly assessed, and kept accountable to international aftercare standards. This is why schools love us. Above all, they love children and want to see them thrive.” Western Cape Private and Public Schools approve In the short time since Sherpa Kids arrived in the Western Cape, both public and private schools have recruited Sherpa Kids to run their aftercare. El Shaddai Christian School and Somerset College were the first to sign up, with Hout Bay International, Elkanah House in Table View, Forres Preparatory, and Shelanti Private School quickly following. Says Kobus Stofberg, Director of Extra-Curricular Programme for Hout Bay International School, “The (holiday) programme was a great success and reports from students and parents was very positive. They offer a good, interactive programme with enough variation to keep everyone entertained and stimulated.” Not only are Principals thoroughly pleased, but parents are seeing the difference in their children too. Says Dave from the Southern Suburbs about a recent Sherpa Kids Holiday Club, “Sherpa was fantastic for our sons; and super helpful at that time of year for us.” Says Janine with a smile, “We know we’re doing something right when parents tell us their kids don’t want to leave aftercare when it’s hometime.” Going forward, Sherpa Kids Western Cape hopes to give schools a stimulating, reliable alternative to their current aftercare situation. To Contact Janine Hammond Email: [email protected] Phone:+27 72 190 2995 Web: www.sherpakids.co.za

July 4, 2018

Why a good holiday camp is worth the cost

You want your children to be productive during their school holidays, so you browse around for a good holiday program. However, the cost of a good sleepover holiday camp seems exorbitant. You wonder how the majority of American parents can afford to send their kids to summer camp for the entire school holiday, every year. You did find much cheaper camps – but are they any good? Why are some camps R200 per night, and others up to R900 per night? The price of a camp is often an indication of it’s quality. Although cheaper camps may keep your child busy during the school holidays, there are more pressing concerns you should settle before entrusting your child into the care of others. There are reasons why some camp prices are a little upscale. Here are four reasons that a pricey camp may be worth investing in: Safety You cannot expect a cheap camp to have high-end security measures, because high-end security doesn’t come cheap. Whether it is equipment or general safety measures, if a camp is too cost-conscious you may not be sending your child to the safest camp. For example, Sugar Bay holiday camp is protected by full perimeter electric fences, twenty-five closed-circuit televisions (CCTV), 24-hour armed response, patrolling night watchmen, access control at their point of entry and exit and panic buttons in every cabin. The camp has its own 24-hour Health Care Center for minor health issues, and always has a doctor on call. All equipment and gear is of the best quality to ensure the safest possible camp experience. Staff Cheaper camps may not spend money on providing professional staff training, and costs may also be cut by employing as few staff as possible. On the other hand, each staff member at Sugar Bay Camp is trained in Emergency First Response and CPR. They are also required to provide a police clearance certificate before employment. During their two week training program, all staff receive instruction in child psychology, theory and practice of teaching, leadership and activity instruction. Thereafter, only the best performing staff are selected for employment. Sugar Bay camp also has a strict 1:3 staff to child ratio, which is the highest in South Africa, to ensure that each child receives full-time supervision and individual attention. Activities and Facilities Camps that are easy on the pocket usually have limited and often compulsory activities, as well as inflexible schedules. Most children don’t like the idea of having to participate in activities that they don’t enjoy. Whereas, higher-priced camps are able to offer a wider range of activities and more flexible programs. For instance, Sugar Bay holiday camp offers over 100 activities, none of which are compulsory. Children may decide what they would like to participate in – and when. There are always multiple activities running at any given time, and kids may participate in whichever activity they prefer. This freedom of choice allows kids to make their own independent decisions and encourages them to try new things – like learning how to surf or skateboard. Meals Children require healthy meals and energizing snacks to fully enjoy their camp experience. The most affordable camps often compromise on the quality of food by offering the cheapest meals they can afford at bulk – food that most kids do not enjoy. These camps may also not be in a position to cater for special dietary needs like gluten intolerant, halaal, vegetarian or lactose intolerant children etc. Sugar Bay, on the other hand, offers fresh and tasty meals every day, with different meals served each day. Fresh fruits and veggies are available at every meal time. A balanced meal plan is offered with the right proportions of protein, carbohydrates, dairy and vegetables. All of the baked goods – like bread rolls and croissants – are made fresh on the premises. Individual dietary needs are also catered for. Some examples of breakfasts include: cheese croissants, bacon and eggs, quiche, french toast etc. There is always yoghurt, fresh fruit and cereals available in addition to these main meals. Lunches may be: fish and chips, chicken schnitzel, beef strips with rice etc. There is always a salad bar and fresh fruit available at lunch time. Dinner may be: lasange, cottage pie, curry, grilled chicken and rice, beef stew etc. There is always a salad bar and fresh vegetables available at dinner time. Dessert always follows, some examples of which include: peppermint crisp tart, ice-cream and chocolate sauce, chocolate brownies, malva pudding etc. Despite the exceptional safety protocols, professional staff, variety of activities and healthy and delicious meals, Sugar Bay also imparts life skills that you cannot put a price tag on. Every cent that you spend on a holiday camp at Sugar Bay is a worthwhile investment that accompanies your peace of mind as a parent. If you are interested in booking a camp for your child, or have further questions, contact Sugar Bay via their website, email [email protected] call (032) 485 3778.

June 26, 2018

10 things you need to ask about your child’s after-school care

Because aftercare shouldn’t be an afterthought. While pre-primary and primary schools are regulated in South Africa, after-school care is not. This has led to everyone and anyone running after-school care programmes, which can often result in an unstructured, unsafe and an unhappy environment for your child. In response to this, Janine Hammond, mother and entrepreneur, has brought the much-loved Sherpa Kids South Africa to the Western Cape. Sherpa Kids is an international program that is trusted by thousands of parents all over the world to take care of their childrens’ before-school, aftercare, and holiday care needs. Says Janine, “Our focus in the Western Cape is to put the ‘care’ back into ‘aftercare’. Our program removes the aftercare burden from schools, gives parents peace of mind, and lets children have so much fun at aftercare that they don’t want to leave.” But not all aftercare programs are like this. Here she shares her insight into what parents need to ask about their children’s after-school care programme. 1. What happens at the after-care? Ideal after-school care should be centred around the holistic development of a child, with a combination of free and structured play. Well-run after-school care programmes will include supervise homework (if required); engaging activities such as arts and crafts, sports and games, music, drama, experiments and technology experiments; and well-supervised free play. 2. Are children actively engaged and stimulated? If so, how? Theme-based activities, specifically designed to be age and stage appropriate, are critical to a comprehensive educational programme. Ensure there’s time for active play and extra-mural activities, but you also want the children to be in an environment where they can use their own imagination and curiosity to play freely under supervision. If the school programme is endorsed by a local or international education authority, such as the The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), even better. 3. Is there a structure to the afternoon? Exactly what is it? The afternoon needs to start with a formal roll call system. If a child is not there, it is important to know why. This will be followed by lunch, when appropriate, and then homework supervision. The duration of homework supervision needs to be flexible, depending on the age and stage of the child. There also needs to be time for structured activities and free play. It’s very important that after-care is not experienced as an afternoon of extra lessons. It is not a double-up of the school day, it is about learning through play. This generation of children have incredibly structured days, which can lead to stress. Children need time to relax and play in their own time. 4. How many staff members are there and what type of experience/backgrounds do they have? International best practice for aftercare requires a staff-to-child ratio of between 1 to 10 and 1 to 15. Qualified graduates and retired childcare professionals make the ideal after school care providers. You want people who are passionate about childcare and filled with energy and enthusiasm to engage with the children in a positive way. It is important that the aftercare staff’s working day starts in the afternoon, so they are not tired after a work-day or just see the after-school programme as a ‘bolt on’ to their other work, rather than their core responsibility. Parents are paying for this service. 5. Are the staff trained in first aid? This is a critical area that parents should investigate and many current providers at schools fall short here. International best practice requires at least one staff member trained in first aid be on site at all times. It is also imperative that the staff are trained in paediatric first aid, rather than a general first aid course. The most frequent causes of death in children under the age of 12 are anaphylactic shock (allergic reactions) and choking… paediatric first aid ensures that staff members will know how to deal with these. Also, first aid qualifications expire after two years, so you need to ask whether their paediatric first aid training is up to date. 6. What type of training do staff have in behaviour management and incident reporting? Why it’s important is because staff members need to be able to know how to manage children in a variety of different circumstances. Scenario-based training is ideal for this. The staff also needs to know how to appropriately communicate with the parents. Transparency is vital and parents need to be informed. 7. Do you implement sun smart principles (no hat, no play) during playtime? If sun smart isn’t being implemented as a school rule, it is almost impossible for it to be implemented effectively at after-school care. Most schools do institute a sun smart programme in and school hours and aftercare, but it’s still a good idea to make certain. 8. Do you offer a full holiday care service (are all days in holidays covered for the full day)? You may be very happy with your after-school care provider, only to find out that there isn’t a holiday programme in place. You ideally want a comprehensive care provider, so that you are getting the full-service solution and are not being left stranded over the holiday periods. 9. What are the collection and sign out procedures? Many after-school care service providers allow children to sign out for themselves or go and wait by the gate after receiving a WhatsApp message. This is not an acceptable sign-out procedure. This makes children very vulnerable. Active sign out procedures are vital to ensure that your children are safe; only those authorised are allowed to collect the children. 10. How do you manage dispensing of medication? We dispense medication in line with legal regulations; we can only give the child medication when a parent has handed in a consent form, along with the medication. These forms should be issued at the beginning of the year, for parents to use when the need arises. To contact Janine Hammond from Sherpa Kids Western Cape: Email:

June 21, 2018

4 Important personal hygiene habits to teach your children

Personal hygiene is something that can be taught to children when they are very young. While some may argue it is not worth it to teach a child who may not clearly understand you to wash their hands, once they hear it over and over again, it will begin to sink in. Eventually it will become second nature to them. The 4 most important personal hygiene habits to teach your children at an early age include washing their hands, covering their nose and mouth, bathingdaily, and having good dental health by brushingwith electric toothbrushesand flossing on a daily basis. Hand washing is one of the most important things you can teach your child. This is the biggest way to safeguard your child from sickness. Teach your children to wash their hands before and after eating, after using the restroom, after coughing/sneezing, after playing with pets, after coming home from school or daycare, and after playing outside. To wash hands, a child should first wet their hands with warm water, then lather up with soap. The hands should be scrubbed while singing “Happy Birthday” twice, then rinsed well with warm water before drying off with a towel. Covering noses and mouths when sneezing or coughing will prevent many germs from being spread. It is best to teach children to cough and sneeze into their upper arm or shoulder to prevent more germs from being spread. However, if your child can not master this, you will need to make sure that they wash their hands as described in number one after they have covered their coughs and sneezes. Taking a bath is essential for good health. Once children are old enough, they may wish to shower. If bath time is not something that your child looks forward to, consider a fun bubble bath or a neat bath toy. Make sure you teach your child that it is essential to wash all parts of the body with soap to stay clean and healthy. Hair should be washed three per week to keep it free from dirt and oils. Hair should be brushed daily to avoid any tangles. While teaching hair care, let it be known to your child that they should avoid sharing combs and brushes with others to prevent the spread of lice. Good dental health is essential for any child. Many argue that it does not really matter if they brush or floss their teeth as they will eventually get their permanent teeth sooner or later. But teaching them now will ensure that they have good dental health for life. Many children prefer to be independent when they are young, so after they have brushed their teeth, you can quickly go over the teeth again to make sure that they are not missing spots. If they do not like brushing their teeth, you can add some excitement to their routine by purchasing an electric toothbrush. Electric toothbrushescan make brushing the teeth more exciting which could lead to less of a battle on your part. As an added benefit, electric toothbrushes can help clean the teeth better, which will lead to fewer cavities and less plaque and tartar accumulation.

June 20, 2018

Why play should be a priority in children’s development

Play is not just fun but also significant for a child’s development. It is fundamental for healthy brain development and is the way that children learn about their world. Play provides the opportunity to explore the world, learn cause and effect and derive meaning form experiences. There are many forms of play which fall within the structured or free play categories. There are 4 general types of play that we will explore, namely: physical, object, rules, and pretend play. Physical play uses the entire body. It develops and strengthens both gross and fine motor skills and keeps children active. This is often explored as free play. Climbing trees, running, pushing and pulling. It also offers social and emotional benefits as children learn to engage with others. Object play refers to the use of toys or any objects that can be used to engage play. This is great for the senses as well as creativity and problem solving. As a child learns to manipulate objects to cause a specific reaction. For instance tying a rope to a bucket and having to pull it. Games with rules such as, board games or team sports, help develop social skills as well as, language and communication skills. This is because they need to learn and communicate turn taking, sharing and empathy. Pretend play aids in a child’s understanding of the world around them. It gives them a chance to let their imagination run free. This could be in the form of acting out real-life situations or by making something up that is weird and wonderful. This is a necessary tool to use in regulation of emotions. This helps children to learn empathy as they get to play a different role than themselves. All these types of play work together to ensure that children learn and develop the physical, social and emotional skills needed for grown up life. Skidz includes all these types of play in each Clever Activity Box. The aim is to give parents the tools and resources needed to spend quality time with their kids. This time spent together is pivotal in teaching them how the world works. It helps their physical development as well as their social and emotional development. Everything a child learns is taught through play and this is what we focus on. Each Clever Activity Box comes with over 100 activities in to do at home. It also includes a fun filled curriculum for each day of the week. The ages range from birth up to 5 years. To get your Clever Activity Box and to spend quality time with your child is as easy as visiting our website www.skidz.co.za. For some more awesome and fun ideas you can also like our facebook page at www.facebook.com/skidzsa

June 18, 2018

The problem with labelling children in primary school

Labelling children, positively or negatively, in any phase of their lives, has a very direct effect on how they view themselves, as well as how they experience the world around them. A useful tool for exploring the effects of social labels on children is, “Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development”. Approximate Age Psycho Social Crises Infant – 18 months Trust vs Mistrust 18 months – 3 years Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt 3 – 5 years Initiative vs Guilt 5 – 13 years Industry vs Inferiority 13 – 21 years Identity vs Role Confusion 21 – 39 years Intimacy vs Isolation 40 – 65 years Ego Integrity vs Despair Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development The developmental phases where children are most affected by social labels would be their schooling years, when they have high frequency interactions with not only their parents, but also other children, teachers, coaches and the like. These would, therefore, be the phases of 5 – 13 years and of 13 – 21 years in age, where their psycho social development hinges on being industrious versus feeling inferior, and establishing identity versus role confusion respectively. This article focuses on the 5 to 13-year-old phase, which is the contemporary Primary School years of a child. The main and desirable outcome of development in this phase is industriousness. The positive and helpful labels would, therefore, relate to promoting a sense of confidence within children, that they are capable to do “real” things, and do them well if they are prepared to put some effort into it. Helpful areas to work towards would be establishing healthy work ethic habits at home and at school, and then attaching positive social labels to this. For example, assisting a child with a realistic study roster for exams and then positively reinforcing their commitment, dedication and work ethic related to this. I.e. “I love your commitment to your school work”, or “You seem very dedicated to doing well this term”, etc. It is, however, important to note that the initiative to create opportunities for this kind of “industry” in this age group lies mostly with teachers and parents. My wife, for example, recently tasked our 11-year-old daughter to cook for the family once a week. She was very excited at the opportunity to engage this challenging task, and with some “industriousness” and support from my wife, she now successfully “cooks” for the family once a week. This initiative, taken by my wife, then creates the context for excellent verbal and experiential positive affirmations, related to a very “real” thing. We, as parents and teachers, would therefore do well to create these types of opportunities, and then follow the experiences through with positive affirmations. The negative labels to avoid in this phase, has to do with verbal affirmations or experiences that may lead to feelings of inferiority. Children in this age group are literally, in body and mind, changing daily as they grow and develop. These kids are well aware of the fact that they are changing, learning and growing. To them, there are very few absolute truths with regards to what they can and can’t do, because after all, they are still learning. Parents and teachers will, therefore, do well to steer away from labels aimed at pointing out areas of inferiority, such as, “You are pathetic”, “You are lazy”, “You are all over the place”, etc. These kind of comments will stifle growth and could become self – fulfilling prophesies if internalised by the child. We need to learn how to put some spin the negative, and find ways to address areas of concern in a manner that honours the developmental aspirations of the child, even if it sometimes feels like an exercise in diplomacy. For example, instead of saying, “You are pathetic”, maybe spin it a bit to something like, “This is not the way I know you, you can do much better”. That will potentially reset the child and allows them a chance to redeem themselves as someone more “industrious”, and possibly even successful in the end. Authentic parenting, and truthful feedback to our children about their behaviour and the consequences thereof, are critical in raising well-balanced, successful adults. We, as parents and teachers, will however, do well to sharpen our pencils from time-to-time, to ensure that the labels we impress upon our youngsters are geared towards empowering them towards success. This may take a bit of thinking, and a lot of restraint, but they are certainly worth it in the end.

June 15, 2018

ADHD vs Bipolar: Know the difference

Inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, sleeping problems, racing thoughts and moodiness. These are all typical symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They are also common symptoms of bipolar disorder – a mental illness known for severe mood swings and depression. But how do you tell the difference? Studies estimate that 20% of people with ADHD will develop bipolar disorder. Conversely, 70% of people with bipolar disorder also have ADHD. The high comorbidity rate and overlap in symptoms make these two conditions difficult to distinguish and diagnose. ADHD is ten times more common and more likely to be recognised while bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed. It is critical to know the difference and get an independent but coordinated treatment plan for both. Untreated ADHD can be challenging but living with a misdiagnosed ADHD and bipolar combination can be dangerous. However, with an accurate diagnosis, the ADHD and bipolar combination can be treated successfully. This will help patients feel more stable in mood and in their ability to live fulfilling lives in their roles as spouses, parents and employees. One fundamental difference is that ADHD mainly affects attention and behaviour while bipolar symptoms mainly affect mood. Distinctions can be drawn between the two based on mood shift triggers, the speed and duration of mood shifts, the onset and consistency of symptoms, and the individual’s sense of reality. The importance of an accurate diagnosis can’t be overstated. With a holistic and dual treatment plan, therapy and life management, individuals with both ADHD and bipolar disorder can live healthy and fulfilling lives. If you suspect that you or a loved one might have ADHD, set the record straight with this self-assessment. If you are unsure about the symptoms or suspect that bipolar disorder might be present, speak to a medical professional. For more information around the symptoms, impact and treatment of ADHD, visit MyADHD.co.za or My ADHD on Facebook.

June 14, 2018

Schools must adapts approach for education and engaging generation Alpha

The traditional approach to education must be revolutionised in order to ensure the best outcomes for the current generation of school children, who are increasingly being called Generation Alpha, and whose world differs materially from the world in which their Millennial parents grew up, an education expert says. “Generation Alpha represents those children who were born after 2010, who are now at the beginning stages of their school careers,” says Jenny Coetzee, career educator and founding member of the ADvTECH Group’s prestigious Crawford School La Lucia. Coetzee, currently MD of the soon to be opened Crawford International School in Kenya, has in the course of her decades-long career forged an exceptional reputation as a visionary pioneer and leader in the education space. She says each generation – whether they be Generation X, Y or Z – grew up in a world different to that of their parents and the generations before them. Just as each of these generations were exposed to unique circumstances, challenges and opportunities, so are the newest generation, whose labelling as Generation Alpha is fast gaining traction. “These children are the most connected, educated and sophisticated generation ever, so when educating, a school should provide an environment that enhances learning for these digital integrators,” she says. “These children live in an open-book environment – just a few clicks away from any information, they connect in a borderless world – across countries and cultures, and they communicate in a post-literate community where texts and tweets are brief, and where visuals and videos have the greatest impact.” She says schools should be putting special emphasis on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, so that students are equipped to see problems from different angles and formulate their own solutions. “Regardless of the field they choose to enter for their careers, the ability to think, be creative and act quickly is an indispensable tool for the future, particularly in view of increasing automation and the expectation of the workplace of the future, as identified by the World Economic Forum. “It goes without saying that technology must be embraced in today’s schools, but what is of crucial importance, is that it is effectively used to enhance pedagogy and improve learning. In order to achieve this, schools must be equipped with high speed internet and embrace the value of social platforms.” Students must also be exposed to new technologies, such as 3D printing, drones and robotics, and schools should articulate the possibilities these new technologies create. They must also expose students to new fields such as user experience design, and the latest schools of thinking such as design thinking modelsas a scaffold for project work. “Just like Generation Z before them, schools looking after Generation Alpha must cultivate the spirit of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial thinking and leadership are imperative and entrepreneurship courses must form part of the curriculum where collaboration between subject disciplines is encouraged.” Coetzee says it is imperative that schools nurture a global outlook, and that students are able to benefit from strong networks formed with international education bodies. And teachers must be trained in the latest strategies and teaching techniques. “Children come to us naturally curious about their world and wanting to explore it. Their imaginations are vast and untamed, creating endless amounts of practical and impractical things. As teachers we need to continue to nurture them to develop their curiosity and imagination, as well as teach them how to apply them creatively and purposefully using technology as a tool. “We may not know exactly what lies ahead for our students in the future, but we know what skills and tools they will need once they get there: to think critically, to work as a team, but most of all to be curious and excited about learning in this world that is so different from the world in which we were raised.”

June 6, 2018

Practically speaking, home education is easy

Some home-education learners shy away from subjects such as Dramatic Arts, Agricultural Sciences, Hospitality Studies, etc. because they are worried that they will not be able to complete the practical components at home. But that should not be the case. Impaq(a curriculum provider) caught up with twins, Armand and Juan Potgieter, who successfully completed Hospitality Studies through home education. They spoke to us about their passion for baking and starting their own business. Armand and Juan have been home educated since Grade 4 and completed their matric in 2017. They made use of Impaq’s products and services, and visited a tutor centre to help them with their studies. They thoroughly enjoyed the freedom home education afforded them. “We could work ahead and that’s the reason we could get time to bake and follow our passion.” They also found it easy to complete their practical assessment tasks (PATs) for Hospitality Studies as they could bake in the comfort of their own home. In Grade 10, the twins participated in a chef competition at Pro Arte Alphen Park to test their skills. “This was the first time we cooked in a commercial kitchen and we also got to make friends during the competition, which was very nice.” Armand and Juan started their own business, Bakery Co., in Polokwane earlier this year, serving unique cakes, cupcakes and macaroons. They get inspiration for their one-of-a-kind creations from Pinterest and Instagram but they always add their own special touch to an idea. “Most of our cakes and cupcakes are decorated in-the-moment when Juan decides that the cake needs nuts or caramel or chocolate.” Gravity Defying Paintbrush Cake Starting their own business did, however, come with some challenges. The twins explained that they once had to bake a cake and 180 doughnuts for a wedding. Only on their way to the venue did they realise that they had the date wrong; the wedding was still a week away. They decided to give the specially made doughnuts that included Nutella hazelnut, blueberry cheesecake, chocolate and orange, to an orphanage. “Thinking about it now, it is quite a funny story that we will definitely be telling again.” Their plans for the future include finding the winning recipe for their coffee shop in order to open more shops across the country. “We want everyone to be able to eat the best cakes of their lives (and don’t worry about getting fat we also have a banting-friendly series).” Their advice to other young entrepreneurs is to work hard and follow their dreams. “With hard work, lots of coffee and the right attitude you can overcome anything that’s in your way.” Bakery Co. Armand and Juan serve as a great example that practical subjects cannot only be successful through home education but that it can also create job opportunities for learners.

June 1, 2018

Barbie™ Dreamtopia Flying Wings fairy doll lets playtime take off with wings that really fly!

It’s a magical moment that inspires all kinds of storytelling when kids play with the Barbie Dreamtopia Flying Wings fairy doll. Simply attach one of the two sets of included flying wings to the butterfly wings on Barbie® fairy doll’s back. They snap right in to create a gorgeous double set of wings. Then pull the purple bow at Barbie® doll’s waist four times. When you’re ready to see the wings fly, press the butterfly button hidden on her bodice — the flying wings launch and soar into the air! Their beautiful fluttering motion and colourful designs make the soaring wings look like magical butterflies! It’s so much fun to repeat over and over, especially with two sets of wings. Kids will love sending their stories into the sky. Barbie® fairy doll is ready to help their dreams take flight wearing an outfit inspired by Dreamtopia Rainbow Cove™. The pink bodice has rainbow stripes and stars, and the fairy skirt has a shimmery print of clouds and rainbows. A pink tiara adds a royal touch for fancy fairy occasions. Fans of the animated series can recreate scenes, fairytale lovers can play out favourite moments and creative minds can tell fantastical stories because when you enter Dreamtopia with sisters Barbie™ and Chelsea™, you wake up to a world where dreams become reality! Includes Barbie® Flying Wings fairy doll wearing a tiara with two pairs of flying wings. Doll cannot stand alone. Colours and decorations may vary. Key features: The Barbie™ Dreamtopia Flying Wings fairy doll lets playtime take off with wings that really fly! Barbie® fairy doll comes with two sets of flying wings that can be attached to the butterfly wings on her back — snap the wings on, pull the purple bow at her waist four times and press the butterfly button hidden on her bodice to see the wings fly off into the air! The two sets of flying wings have colourful rainbow decorations, solid bodies and a fluttering motion that mimics butterflies! Barbie® fairy doll inspires colourful stories with looks from Rainbow Cove™: a pink one-shoulder bodice is decorated with colourful stripes and stars, a fairy rainbow skirt shimmers with a rainbow and cloud print and a pink tiara adds a final fairytale touch. Collect all the Barbie™ Dreamtopia dolls and accessories and let your stories take flight (each sold separately, subject to availability). Little girls are little for such a short time in their lives. Let them play. Let them dream. Set their imaginations free with Barbie Dreamtopia #YouCanBeAnything.

May 30, 2018

What role should parents play in academic achievement?

Hilda Erasmus – Specialist: Foundation Phase Nowadays, parents have a lot more control over their children’s lives and they want to be constantly informed about their children’s movements. Social media also allows parents to belong to groups so that they can be informed about every aspect of their children’s lives. With this, they also take responsibility for what their children should, in reality, be learning by themselves. Have you ever heard of the term “helicopter parenting”? Well, if you have not heard of it, you have definitely seen it. These parents are constantly carrying everything behind their children to ensure that the child has everything that their heart desires. The children become so dependent on the parent that they do not get the opportunity to grow into independent adults. So now the big question, how involved should you, as a parent, be in your child’s academic career? There are a few simple rules that parents can apply: The younger the child, the more time you, as a parent, should spend helping the learner with tasks and homework, guide the child to academic maturity so that they can tackle tasks by themselves later on. Make sure that your child has enough playing time, to master basic skills such as tying shoelaces, riding a bike and cutting things out. These important skills will help them to concentrate when they need to learn. Limit them to minimal screen time. It’s very easy to put a child in front of the television so that you can get things done. Children, however, need to learn to think for themselves, to keep themselves busy. This is the basis of problem solving. If you give your children all the answers, they will never learn to think for themselves. Learners must be restricted in their extra-curricular activities. Use the money you would have spent on these activities to buy books for your children. Foundation Phase learners’ schedules do not need to be more packed than their parents’ schedules and it is important that they should relax. Make sure that your child has a place to do their homework. The kitchen table is not necessarily the best place. Do not do your child’s homework but also do not leave your child to struggle on their own. A learner that lies down on their book dejected often does not know what to do, sometimes they are just too shy to ask again after it has been explained to them as they are worried that they will get a scolding. At the end of the day, it all comes down to maintaining a healthy balance. Children should think for themselves, with the vigilant eye of a parent making sure that their children learn from their mistakes without burning their fingers.

May 1, 2018

Why outdoor play is vitally important for children

Children are spending an increasing amount of time indoors due to all the technology that can be easily accessed at home. Indoor technology has replaced traditional outdoor playtime. Yet, outdoor play offers social, mental and physical benefits that many children are missing out on. Here are five reasons why parents should encourage outdoor play: 1. Combat Obesity Technology is turning more of our kids into couch potatoes, and the lack of exercise is the main reason why kids are becoming obese. Children should be active for at least an hour a day, which means they should be running, climbing and jumping outdoors. 2. Improve Mental Health Spending time outdoors has been found to increase lifespan, reduce symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety, decrease smoking rates and reduce the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Spending time outdoors is also beneficial for immunity development, due to our bodies being able to create important vitamin D after sunlight exposure. 3. Connect with Nature Being outdoors helps kids value the importance of the natural environment. When they learn about climate change, extinction of species and other biological affects at school, they are more likely to care about their own impact on the planet if they have experienced nature for themselves. For example, if a child plays in the garden and curiously observes bees pollinating the flowers, and then they hear about the endangerment of bees at school, they will care that one day they may not see bees in their garden anymore. Being disconnected from nature fosters an indifference to environmental causes. 4. Life skill development Through experiential and physical education children are able to learn various important life skills such as problem-solving, social skills, negotiation, and creativity. Playing outdoors with a sibling or friend will teach them self-control and how to abide by rules. Building a fort teaches them about the physical properties of various materials – how to balance things on top of one another, what material is best to use as a roof that will keep out the sun and rain etc. 5. Cultivate Creativity Playing outdoors encourages creativity because having no access to technology will force them to be innovative and use of their imagination. Just like how it was generations ago, children will be able to integrate pieces of nature into their games by using their imagination. Think of when toys were too expensive and we made use of sticks as magic wands and stones were the substitutes to marbles. Similarly, experiencing beautiful scenery may inspire them to write, draw or paint what they observe outside. One way to break these indoor technology habits is to send your children to a holiday camp where outdoor play is made exciting again. One such camp is Sugar Bay Resort, a popular holiday camp for kids that has the perfect formula for outdoor play and freedom of choice. Children check-in their cellphones when they arrive and the kids have so much fun outdoors, that they never complain or ask for their phones back. When they return home, they often return with a renewed desire and the self-discipline to disconnect.

April 30, 2018

Which building blocks in the Foundation Phase can ensure my child’s future?

Every parent dreams that their child will have a good job in the future. The engineer dreams that her child will be good at mathematics in order to start a successful career, while the author hopes that his child will also publish books one day, but their dreams are shattered when their child does not know how to solve a simple math problem or how to read fluently. As a last resort, the child is sent for extra classes and more pressure is put on the child in an attempt to get him/her to perform. At the end of the day, the child is burned out and the parents abandon their dreams for their child’s future. There are two basic principles that must be properly embedded in the Foundation Phase. Learners nowadays are bombarded with worksheets and computer programs that promise to teach them everything they need to know, but when further investigation is done about what is really needed to embed these principles, no worksheet or computer program can teach it to the learner. Languages In languages, a learner must be able to read comprehensively. This skill will enable the learner to read questions in tests or examinations. If we want to achieve this, the learner should at least be able to read without getting stuck or using his/her fingers. In order to read fluently, the learner must know all his sounds very well and practise regularly. When learning sounds, it must be done as practically as possible. The learner must build the sounds out of clay, practice it out loud, write it in the sand, etc. The learner must associate the letter with the explosive sound and practice it on a daily basis. If the sounds are shown to the learner, they must be able to say it out loud as quickly as possible. As soon as the learner has learned enough sounds, words and sentences can be built. Give the learner enough time and enough easy-to-read material. A learner who knows his/her sounds will read very quickly. Make sure that the learner has enough books that suit their reading ability. Books that are too difficult will demotivate the learner, but easy-to-read books will nurture a love for reading. Mathematics In mathematics, everything comes down to numerical comprehension. This means that the learner can play with a number in his head, e.g. the number 5, we can break it up into a 2 and a 3, if we double it, it’s a 10, it’s an even number and we can halve it without a remainder. The learner can immediately show 5 fingers without counting it. A learner who can count does not necessarily have numerical comprehension, counting is nothing but a rhyme learned early on. The basic principle of mathematics is to embed numerical comprehension in a learner. Numerical comprehension also leads to mental calculations that enable a learner to work faster and develop a better logical understanding of numbers. If a learner in Grade 3 still counts on his/her fingers or find ways to get answers by drawing pictures, it means that numerical comprehension is not embedded. Numeracy is learned by representing numbers visually. Collect 5 pebbles, break them up into different groups and help the learner to visualise the amounts in their head. If the building blocks for these two basic principles are well-established, the learner will have a head start in learning more difficult concepts in languages and mathematics.

April 26, 2018

Is decision making an art or a science? Is it crafted or learnt?

By Jenny Platford Crawford College La Lucia School Counsellor “You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” (Dr Seuss) As Dr. Seuss so clearly emphasizes, much of how we go about making our decisions is based on a personal sense of self, shaped by our personality, life experiences, knowledge, sense of self- awareness and confidence, values both personal and societal. He implies that we have a sense of purpose and control over our decisions irrespective of the external factors impacting on us. There are definite steps that can be followed when making an informed decision-these include identifying and clarifying the decision that is to be made, seeking information to provide adequate knowledge and understanding, weighing up pros and cons and then making a decision based on all known entities. This may be the science of decision-making- a clear process, a plan of action. There can, however, be no definite known outcome, no matter the preparation that goes beforehand. Rather all decisions inherently offer more than one outcome and hence many involve an element of risk. In the society in which we live, this perceived potential for risk and uncertainty, can add stress and anxiety to the larger life decisions we face. Added to this, our society is in a constant state of flux – Politically (as populist movements increase), economically (challenges from crypto currencies) and socially (with the advent of social media platforms- challenging the essence of our relationships with one another). Many young people face uncertain futures as they watch the challenge to our tertiary system. Online courses are on the increase and careers are constantly evolving. Uncertainty can foster a sense of indecision and self-doubt. The media constantly floods our cognitive space, setting definitive guidelines as to what would be construed as socially acceptable and cyber communication brings an immediate communication of all world events clouded by the advent of fake news. There is an overwhelming amount of information available to us and often, young people feel incapable of making sense of it all. How then do young people learn to take control over their lives through effective decision-making? Those students who appear adept in this skill are those who often have a clear sense of self, which has been developed as a result of authentic life experiences, rather than those based on contrived digital experiences. They are familiar with the wonderful potential of both their intellectual and their physical capacity and have developed a sense of resilience, having faced failure in a supportive environment. Parents who allow their children to celebrate the learning that occurs when mistake are made, teach resilience. Thereby overcoming the fear of failure that often paralyses young people when they face life decisions. Young people who are allowed to be curious and independent in their thinking, find decision making another opportunity to explore the unknown, chart a different course, flex themselves. This becomes the art of decision-making. Those who travel, read, explore their faith, live in the physical, and not the digital world, get to build a wealth of insight into their capabilities, and their limitations. They have authentic knowledge as to challenges they have faced, skills they have relied on and support that they can draw on. This frees them, to try new things, trust their judgment and act out their choices. Interaction with a variety of people, exposure to diversity in terms of ideas, faith and culture is empowering and builds understanding, insight, compassion and empathy – all necessary when making informed decisions as very rarely does a decision just impact one person -inevitably, ethical considerations are often required and so a true sense of one’s personal values is of paramount importance. The world we live in requires that individuals are innovative, creative and solutions driven. All these factors require young people to be able to make decisions, act on them and then reflect on the decision made and the outcomes presented. Parents, who make all the decisions for their children, stunt their curiosity and buffer the learning process thereby preventing independence of thought and the development of self-confidence. Decision-making therefore in my mind is crafted over time, built alongside character and identity and bolstered by lessons learnt through life experiences and teachable moments.14324

April 24, 2018

HOW DOES PLAY PROMOTE HEALTHY SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Play is a child’s language, his work, his relaxation and the way he builds relationships. Forming a healthy relationship with parents help children to feel secure. This sets the stage for a child’s social and emotional development for the rest of his life. Social development is how we interact with others, the ability to form secure relationships. Emotional development is the ability to regulate and express our emotions. Strong social-emotional development is the basis for all later social, emotional and academic success. According to the National Academy of Sciences there are three qualities children need to have to be ready for school. Intellectual skills, motivation to learn and strong social and emotional capacity. How do we as parents create the opportunities needed to develop these skills? It is simple, children need to play. Children use play to release emotions, work through feelings and understand their world better by play-acting in situations they can control. The give and take patterns of play allow children the opportunity to practice the skills necessary for healthy emotional development. Here are some practical ways to help: Suggest ways for children to interact and play together. If you see a child struggling to build a tower, suggest that one helps by holding it while other one builds. Help children learn to take turns, or share what they have. “Ethan wants to play too but he has no play-dough. Let’s give him some of ours so we can all play together.” Help your child build empathy and sympathy for others. If someone got hurt let him give a hug or a special toy to help him feel better. Teach him to help someone up if they fell. Build your child’s vocabulary regarding feelings. Being able to express his feelings adequately will result in less frustration and aggression. For example, disappointment, nervous, frustrated, curious, amazed and astonished. Acknowledge your child’s feelings. Help him to talk about how he is feeling. Comfort and hold him and speak to him softly and calmly. Love your child and show affection towards him. Give him lots of hugs and cuddles. Tell him that you are proud of him. Role play and pretend play are lovely ways to teach children about feelings. Tell a story about how the bear got hurt, or how someone said something ugly to him. Explain how he is feeling and give your child a chance to explain what feelings the bear could be having because of what has happened. Let him help the bear with suggestions of how he can make him feel better.

April 19, 2018

Help! My child is being bullied at school

Navigating a world of people can be more challenging that climbing the most treacherous of mountains! Cindy Glass, Director and Co-founder of Step Up Education Centres says “As people, we are governed by emotions, and, unless kept in check, negative emotions can lead to negative behaviours that are detrimental to others as well as to ourselves. Bullying is a national epidemic and the harmful effects on a bullied child can last a lifetime. If you can remember that we can only give to others how we feel about ourselves, we will understand that someone who has a need to hurt another is hurting himself!” Cindy goes onto say “As people, we are also like magnets. We unconsciously attract into our lives, people who reinforce how we feel about ourselves! Bullies, who have low self-esteem, tend to target children who have low self-esteem! Both parties deal with a lack of self-esteem or self-worth in their own way and both need assistance in changing this! And, herein, lies the first and most important key to stamping out bullying- improving confidence and self- value!” Cindy’s top tips for dealing with bullying: Help your child by becoming his safe-place. Ensure that you always have a non-judgemental ear to listen and a supportive shoulder to lean on! Help your child to reclaim his/her power. Within each of us is the power to make positive choices. We can choose to internalise the words or actions of a bully or we can choose to stay detached and not allow these negative behaviours to determine who we are! Teach your child that it is not ok to be treated badly by others. Do not ignore incidents of bullying in the hope that it will just go away. The lower your child’s sense of self becomes, the more intensely he/she is likely to be bullied! Remember that we cannot control the behavioural choices of others but we can control how we react to them. Consider enrolling your child into activities which build confidence. A confident child is less likely to be preyed upon by a bully. Try drama, sports, scouts, dancing, art, debating etc. If your child shows signs of being physically hurt by bullies, you will need to ask the teacher or even principal for help. Do not confront the bully yourself. This will most likely fuel the bully into expanding his attack on your child. Confronting the parents of the bully can lead to negative outcomes because of the intense emotions that both parties are likely to feel. Schools need to focus on teaching children emotional intelligence skills. Remember, it is the bullied child as well as the bully who need support in developing positive self-worth. Cindy concludes by stating “Bullying is never ok. There are no one-stop-shop solutions to the problem. We cannot ignore these destructive behaviours. Building self-worth is the key to long-term success!”

April 16, 2018

How The Way You Feel About Yourself is Interpreted to How Your Child Feels About Themselves 

(attend one of our free EQ talks – click here for details) Emotions are energy and movements within our bodies based on how we interpret life and events. When we fall in love, our bodies feel wonderful, warm, tingly, cosy and excited as endorphins are released by the brain into our bodies. However, when we feel scared or threatened, our bodies feel constricted and tight which comes from the adrenalin and cortisol released to activate the fight or flight response. We experience hundreds of different feelings but interestingly enough all of these feelings are produced from two core feelings; love and fear which all starts with whether we feel accepted or not. Acceptance is a Primal Need Acceptance is our most primal human need. Every one of us strives for acceptance; who we are, what we stand for, what we believe and what we look like. ALL of this combined is what creates the way we feel about ourselves and how we respond and express ourselves. When we accept and love ourselves, we feel emotionally safe and are able to express ourselves from a place of love. But when we believe that we are unacceptable, we become defensive and express ourselves from a place of fear, which can come across as anger, frustration, irritation, impatience, judgement or by being dismissive. Rose-Tinted Glasses I’m sure you have heard the saying ‘seeing life through rose tinted glasses’. Well here’s the thing, we all have our own pair of tinted glasses that we view life through. When someone close to you – a partner, child or friend expresses their feelings of discontent to you, we immediately tend to assume it’s about us. We ‘view’ their words through our ‘glasses of non-acceptance’ and fear kicks in. We interpret whatever they are saying as criticism or believe that we did something wrong and feel responsible for their feelings and in the process become defensive. Putting our Parents On Pedestals So where does all this non-acceptance or acceptance of ourselves start? It starts in childhood and with our parents. If our parents like themselves and they feel good about themselves, those feelings are transmitted to us verbally and non-verbally. But if our parents are not okay with who they are, then this too gets transmitted to us verbally and non-verbally. Children tend to make everything about themselves, they put their parents on pedestals, and whenever something doesn’t feel right, they think that it’s because of them. My mom loved to turn simple events into adventures. She always tried to look on the bright side. I recall one evening sitting at the kitchen table watching her make pancakes. I adored my mother, we were extremely close and as I watched her, I picked up her distress. I realised that her act of excitedly making pancakes was to mask the fact that all we had in the form of groceries was milk, water, eggs and sugar; the very same ingredients needed to make pancakes. I felt my mother’s distress of not knowing where the next meal was going to come from and in my ‘adoration for my mother,’ I came to the conclusion that if I wasn’t there, then her burden would be less. From that moment on, I grew up not wanting to be a burden to anyone and took on a stance of ‘I can do without’ and therefore I did go without so much for so many years until I uncovered this crazy belief and got rid of it. As you can see from that example, I made my mother’s feelings all about me, it changed me as a person, it changed the way I felt about myself and it changed the way I expressed myself. Not for one instance did my mother tell me I was a burden, I concluded that all on my own. You see, the only way you can change the tint on your glasses is by changing your internal view, which basically means to change the way you view yourself. How Acceptance helps your child Acceptance is a choice, to accept yourself, means being totally open and honest about who you are, and then giving yourself permission to be that person. The minute you do this, you change the tint of your glasses and not only are you able to see all the good stuff about you and your life, but you are able to do the same with others. Your defensiveness of yourself and your judgement of others disappears. Once you accept yourself, you are able to accept others for who they are too. And, more importantly you will role-model this to your children, they too will feel acceptable just as they are. I am not saying that this includes accepting bad behaviour. what I am saying is that your children need to know that who they are is acceptable, that they are enough and worthy of your love and respect, that it’s not dependant on their good behaviour. Click here to attend one of our free EQ talks in April and May

April 10, 2018

How to teach your child to overcome their fear of water

Before your child can begin learning how to swim, it’s critical to build their water confidence and remove any mental barriers they may have developed. If your child exhibits fear of the swimming pool, you’re not alone. Many children experience water anxiety that can impede progress during swimming lessons. Fortunately, this mental block can be overcome. In this article, I’ll discuss how best to deal with children who are nervous around water to help your child on the path toward proficient swimming. For new parents, I’ll also cover some common mistakes to avoid that can help prevent problems when it’s time to teach your child how to swim. Born to Swim You might be surprised to learn that babies are natural born swimmers. Just like adults, children’s bodies are naturally resistant to water. The same reflex that prevents infants from inhaling milk while breastfeeding protects them from choking on water while swimming or in the bath. If you’ve ever blown sharply in your baby’s face, you may have observed a natural mammalian diving response; a baby will automatically close their eyes and hold their breath. This is known as the bradycardic reflex and is present in infants up to one year old. Also remember that your child spent the first nine months of their lives in a veritable lap pool. They understand buoyancy and most infants don’t fuss at all about being taken into the water as long as it’s not too cold. Since fear of the water is a learned behavior, children who are apprehensive about swimming have typically had a childhood experience that caused that apprehension. Many of my swim students who started class with an existing fear of the pool had doubts simply because a parent instilled those doubts in their child, or the parents were overly cautious about getting water on their baby’s head and face when bathing. Most of these parents are well-meaning and did what they thought was best for the child at the time. Unfortunately, this teaches the child to be nervous around water and can lead to resistance when it’s time to start swimming. Take It Slow If your child has already started showing signs of water aversion, such as resistance, crying or refusing to go in or near the pool, it’s important to take it slow and proceed with caution. Don’t try to force the issue before she is ready to tackle the challenge on her own terms. Otherwise, you could end up facing an uphill battle with strong emotions like panic, crying, and sometimes, deepened fear. Start With Bath Time As the adult, you have the divine knowledge that water is completely harmless for your child. When it’s bath time, your job is to be a calm and confident parent. Use a cup to scoop water from the tub and pour it over baby’s body and head. Don’t be hesitant or express worry. Don’t make a big deal out of it by telling your child to hold her breath and count to three. And, most importantly, don’t shield your child’s eyes and face from the water. If you’re concerned about soap getting into her eyes, do an initial rinse with her head tilted back and a second and third rinse straight over the head. Let the water flow over her eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Remember that children learn to react like their parents and peers do. The same way that we inadvertently teach children to scream at the sight of a cockroach, we often teach them to be afraid of water too, sometimes just by showing outward nervousness when our children’s faces get wet. Capitalize on Interpersonal Relationships I’ve found that a role model can be tremendously encouraging for a child. If your kid has an older sibling, cousin or friend who can swim, take everyone to the pool together so your younger kid can see how exciting it is to swim independently. Often, this is enough to stimulate a non-swimmer to want to start lessons. In fact, I often teach dual-level lessons to allow for a more advanced child and a beginner to share pool-time. When the novice student sees their older brother or best friend excelling, they’re more likely to try skills they wouldn’t have attempted had they been on their own. Or, if you have two children at the same level, you can try them in a class together as well. Though some siblings have a harder time concentrating when their counterpart is around, others are encouraged by natural sibling rivalry. Make Pool Time Play Time If you have your own pool or you take regular trips to a community aquatics facility, you’re already on your way to helping your child overcome their water anxiety. If you plan to sign up for lessons, there’s no need to work on any specific skills in advance. Just allow your child to get used to the water’s feel and buoyancy. Bring some pool toys along to make the experience a positive one. When shopping for pool toys, let your kids help you decide. After all, they’ll be using them more than you and you want them to be excited about a new game before they get to play it. There’s really no wrong toys. Any toy that floats can be tossed out into the water and “rescued” with your help; anything that sinks can be placed on a step and reached down to while you encourage them to blow bubbles into the water. Even toys that aren’t meant for the pool will often work as long as they don’t have holes that water can get trapped inside and grow mold. Among the odder things in my toy bag, I have a water-tight baby doll, ping-pong balls and artificial flowers with fishing weights attached to them so kids can “pick the flowers” off the bottom. It’s important to keep pool toys separate from the regular stash so that kids don’t lose interest in them before you make it into

April 9, 2018

10 Reasons why colouring pages are healthy for your child’s development

Coloring pages is an awesome and fun activity for children, as well as for adults. Coloring in may seem like it is all fun and games but the truth is that coloring pages provides many benefits for healthy development for kids. This makes coloring pages an important part of your child’s development and education. If you are looking for some reasons to encourage your child to spend some time coloring pages look no further. **Disclosure – this post is sponsored by Top Coloring Pages. However the opinions expressed in this post are all my own.** Here are 10 reasons why coloring pages are vital for your child’s healthy development: Improves Hand Eye Coordination Hand eye coordination refers to your child’s ability to guide his or her hand guided by vision. It is so important for a child to develop good hand eye coordination skills and what better way to go about it than coloring pages? Your child will need to learn how to hold the pencil, how to sharpen the pencil and how to color in the lines. Improves Concentration Now I don’t know what your children are like but mine are like Gummi Bears… on speed. My daughter is all over the place – except when she is absorbed with coloring pages and drawing. She can sit for hours at a time with her pencils. Coloring pages teaches children to focus and concentrate on the task at hand which is going to be a very important skill needed for their years at school! Improves Handwriting Skills Long before your child starts writing or even drawing your child will start coloring in. The skills they need for coloring in are going to be the start of your child writing. Your child will need hand strength to start writing and to be able to hold the pencil correctly, as well as the hand eye coordination mentioned above. Improves Fine Motor Skills Fine motor skills are the small movements that your child makes such as picking small things up between his fingers and holding a spoon. Coloring pages will help your child to develop good fine motor skills which will help your child in other areas of his or life such as mastering a knife and fork or tying shoe laces. Improves Confidence and Self Esteem Coloring pages is an excellent activity to boost your child’s confidence and self esteem. Your child will quickly improve at coloring in and every project that is completed will give your child a sense of accomplishment. Boosts Creativity Your child will use his or her imagination when choosing colors and how to go about making their coloring pages vibrant. Your child will have to think about different color combinations and play around with what they enjoy. Coloring pages gives your child an amazing way to express himself. You will find your child’s personality shining through in his coloring pages making them uniquely his. Stress Relief and Relaxation Coloring pages are incredible for stress relief for children as well as for adults. Coloring in is very meditative and calming on the mind while at the same time keeping the mind busy in a creative way. Coloring pages are just plain fun, they bring enjoyment and increase happiness. Many people, including children, can develop negative habits and coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety. Coloring pages are a great, healthy alternative to help with relieving stress and worries. Increased Knowledge Coloring pages are a fun and easy way for your child to learn new things. Your child can learn about colors, different shapes, animals, patterns and much more. You can find educational coloring pages to help your child learn about numbers, writing and many more things. You can get bible story coloring pages to help your child in bible studies and any other topic of interest that your child is learning about at the time. Boundaries and Structure Learning about boundaries is part of child development and coloring pages teaches youngsters structure with having to follow he rules of coloring in. A child must learn to color in the lines and to keep coloring in the same direction to create a neat and beautiful piece of art. School Preparation Coloring pages involves pencils and paper, just like school does. Children will be doing written work, essays and tests. Coloring pages lays down a good foundation for your child being familiar with and comfortable putting a pen to paper. The boundaries and structure that coloring provides will also help them to adjust easier to the structured work that can be expected in school. So as you can see there are loads of great reasons to get your kids coloring pages. You can even get yourself an adult coloring book and join in the fun with your kids. It will be a great for your own stress relief as well as provide a fun activity for you to bond with your children and spent some quality time with them. Let your kids have fun when they star coloring in, help them to choose coloring pages that inspire them like their favorite characters, famous people or animals they love. You can buy coloring books, or you can easily print coloring pages from the internet. Check out Top Coloring Pages for a wide variety of free coloring pages!

April 9, 2018

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