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Advice from the experts

Barbie® Reveals its First Doll with Behind the Ear Hearing Aids and Ken doll with vitiligo

New dolls are part of the Barbie Fashionistas line where the Barbie brand delivers the most diversity and inclusion, where 175+ looks have been introduced Mattel, Inc. and its iconic Barbie® brand announced its first Barbie doll to be introduced with behind-the-ear hearing aids, as part of its latest offerings in the most diverse and inclusive line of Fashion dolls on the market. Continuing the brand’s journey to represent global diversity and inclusivity in the fashion doll aisle, and to allow kids to play out even more stories they see in the world around them, the new Fashionistas line-up includes Barbie with behind the ear hearing aids, Ken doll with vitiligo, new Fashionista doll with a prosthetic leg and Ken options with rooted short hair. The Barbie Fashionistas line is where the Barbie brand delivers the most diversity and inclusion, and since its inception, 175+ looks have been introduced, offering girls a variety of skin tones, eye colours, hair colours, and textures, body types, disabilities, and fashions to choose from. In 2021, eight of the top ten most popular dolls in the line globally were diverse, inspiring girls to tell more stories and find a doll that speaks to and represents them. Dr. Jen Richardson, a leading authority in educational audiology adds “I’m honored to have worked with Barbie to create an accurate reflection of a doll with behind-the-ear hearing aids. As an educational audiologist with over 18 years of experience working in hearing loss advocacy, it’s inspiring to see those who experience hearing loss reflected in a doll. I’m beyond thrilled for my young patients to see and play with a doll who looks like them.” “Barbie wholeheartedly believes in the power of representation, and as the most diverse doll line on the market, we are committed to continuing to introduce dolls featuring a range of skin tones, body types, and disabilities to reflect the diversity kids see in the world around them. It’s important for kids to see themselves reflected in product and to encourage play with dolls that don’t resemble them to help them understand and celebrate the importance of inclusion.” — Lisa McKnight, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls, Mattel. Barbie and Ken Fashionista assortment dolls will be sold in toy stores with SRP of R249.99 starting in June 2022 Barbie Fashionistas 2022 – NEW in the line… Barbie with behind-the-ear hearing aids: This is the first Barbie doll to be introduced with behind-the-ear hearing aids, further expanding the Fashionistas line to reflect people with disabilities, such as hearing loss. In addition to the doll with behind-the-ear hearing aids, this year’s Fashionistas lineup includes new dolls in a variety of body types including smaller bust, curvy and original, as well as a new Fashionista doll with a prosthetic leg. Ken doll with vitiligo: In 2020, we introduced Barbie with vitiligo into our Fashionistas line to allow kids to play out even more stories they see in the world around them. It was one of the top five Fashionistas’ best sellers in the U.S. that year. This year, we have expanded the offering to include a Ken doll with vitiligo to allow more storytelling. In addition to the new Ken doll with vitiligo, this year we are introducing new Ken options with rooted short hair and slender body type. See full details below on the new Fashionistas dolls and image assets of the 2022 line

May 16, 2022

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR BABY’S PORTION CONTROL

Managing a baby’s portion control can be tricky, especially if you are a new parent. However, this can be made easy if you have the right equipment in your feeding arsenal! Take a look at why portion control is important for your child, and how to get it right with the perfect plate. Developing Healthy Habits Through Baby Portion Control From an early age, your child is picking up on how to interact with the world. Therefore, instilling a healthy relationship with food is vital for your baby. Portion control can help your child avoid: Diabetes Obesity Anorexia Bulimia All of the above mentioned health problems can be linked to the practice of overeating – which is scary. The Do’s And Don’ts Of Baby Portion Control Below are a number of suggested habits to get yourself into to strengthen your baby’s portion control: Do Allow Self Feeding: This will help your baby develop not only a good relationship with food, but also the ability to determine when he or she is satisfied. Do Try Various Flavours: This will allow you to suss out which are your little one’s favourites, and will allow your baby to widen their pallet. Do Make Use Of A Divide Plate: If you don’t know the first thing about baby portion size, get something to guide you along the way. Don’t Encourage Plate Completion: This is a grave mistake made by many parents. Encouraging your child to finish a whole plate of food may give them a poor relationship with food, as they are being forced to continue eating even once they are full. Rather ask them if they are satisfied and have had enough. If they say yes, trust them on this. Don’t Use Food As A Rewards System: This will also deepen an unhealthy relationship with food. Rather than coaxing them into doing something with the promise of a sweetie, reward them in other ways.

May 12, 2022

NEW PARENTS AND YOUR BABY’S HEALTH

Becoming a parent is a joy but it can also be overwhelming and just a little daunting. There is no degree or diploma, you are simply propelled into it. It’s a steep learning curve. You instantly have a new life depending on you and, combined with sleep deprivation, the challenges of adjusting to being a parent and wanting to do the best for your child, you need all the help you can get.Becoming a parent is a joy but it can also be overwhelming and just a little daunting. There is no degree or diploma, you are simply propelled into it. It’s a steep learning curve. You instantly have a new life depending on you and, combined with sleep deprivation, the challenges of adjusting to being a parent and wanting to do the best for your child, you need all the help you can get.

May 11, 2022

How to help your adult kids to become financially independent

Many adult children in South Africa live with their parents, for both cultural and financial reasons. This can suit both parties for a time – but how do you encourage your grown-up kids to become self-sufficient when this is clearly needed? Are there ways to nudge them towards financial independence, both for their sake, and for yours? These are undoubtedly challenging times for young people. Many South Africans lack education, skills and basic means of support. Nearly two-thirds of young adults aged 15-24 years are unemployed, along with close to 43% of those aged 25-34 years. The pandemic and state of disaster have also affected those who were on the first rung of independence. Traditional students’ jobs such as waitering, bar-keeping and babysitting fell away, while young people already in the job market faced retrenchment. Home became a welcoming haven and helped many to cope. While keeping these difficulties in mind, how do you encourage your adult children to leave the family nest when the time comes? JustMoney.co.za gives some advice on how to put adult children on the path to financial independence. 1. Explain your motivation: Clarify that you are encouraging your kids to become self-sufficient because this will ultimately help them in life. You are doing so because you love and care for them. 2. Set a deadline: If your adult child has recently qualified, it helps to set a date for when you will no longer pay for their phone bill or provide a monthly allowance. This gives them time to prepare emotionally and practically and is preferable compared to abruptly cutting off their money supply. 3. Put their skills to work: If your child already has a skill, such as coding, they need to make an active effort to land a job, such as web development. They can build confidence and networks by contributing to open-source projects and joining hackathons, usually hosted by tech companies, to collaborate with other programmers over a short period on a project. 4. Teach budgeting: Involve your adult child in the household planning so that they are fully aware of what it costs to run a home. Young adults are often more technically adept than their parents. There are plenty of free budget calculators and other financial tools online. 5. Pass on basic savings and investment rules: Teach children about key concepts such as compounding, so that they understand how investment earnings are reinvested over time to generate more money. They can also create a mock investment account on an app. Read a JustMoney article about investing in unit trusts. 6. Cultivate positive values: Research shows that fostering an attitude of gratitude helps one to feel more positive and upbeat. Volunteering their time teaches children the benefits of helping other people, and reminds them of the many advantages they enjoy compared to those who are less fortunate. 7. Set goals: Encourage your children to think about their goals and what is important to them. What lifestyle do they aspire to and what practical steps do they need to take to get there? Discuss good role models and how these people have achieved their dreams. Find out more about saving for a deposit on a car. 8. Prepare for your own retirement: Actions speak louder than words. Discuss your own hopes for the future and how you are preparing for when you are no longer working. Ensure that you have an up-to-date will. Learn how inflation impacts retirement savings. “A parent’s duty to support a child does not stop when they reach a particular age. They may be older than 18 years but still studying and gaining a qualification. A parent is obliged, for example, to pay maintenance until a child is self-sufficient, and we are all aware of the rising cost of living.” says Shafeeka Anthony, Marketing Manager of JustMoney. “Nonetheless, becoming financially independent brings greater confidence and autonomy for the adult child. It also enables the parents to prepare for when they can no longer work. It is never too early to start educating a child about money matters and, in due course, setting boundaries. While it’s acceptable to help adult children occasionally or on a short-term basis, the bank of mom and dad cannot remain open forever.”

May 9, 2022

ABOUT BABY & I MELROSE

The inspiration for our children’s clothing shop began when I started my 1st job at one of the major SA Retail Head office in the late 90’s. I have experience in the setting of specifications on the technical requirements of the production of garments. And my experience includes the development of innovative standards and methods of solving and managing quality related problems. I have gathered extensive experience in Garment Technology. I was also involved in the effective planning and efficient execution of standards development projects. With such an experience in the clothing industry came the decision to venture into Retail. The decision was inspired by an ambition to deliver high quality clothing at a reasonable price. I have a passion and enthusiasm for the baby industry and want to bring innovation in the sector. In this space we only want to attract business partners (i.e manufactures, suppliers) with the same values, ethics, and will provide the best customer service to. Quality and comfort are paramount in decision making of what we want to offer to our customers. At Baby and I Melrose we want to create a shopping lifestyle to suit both parents and their little angels. We will focus on offering exceptional products with attention to detail and providing quality items. Our product selection and service excellence is motivated by passion to be the best and most valued choice for parents, babies, and toddlers when it comes to quality, price and service. We will work hard and build a team that will take the brand to reach its milestones of opening more stores into other provinces. Customer satisfaction is what we are all about. Our friendly staff is always at hand to help. They will find the perfect baby items for your needs. We will help guide you through all the product choices available, making sure you select the right products and brands for your lifestyle. We want to stock the latest ranges across all departments namely children swear, essentials, travel systems and accessories, nursery furniture and accessories, toys, and gifts. We have launched our website for our customers to be able to shop from the comfort of their own home and for an exclusive shopping experience. Our Vision To lead in the children’s industry and strengthen brand recognitionTo be accessible to parents based on trust, quality, and innovation To build a strong and loyal consumer base To maintain the highest customer service level standards You can shop for the following with us: Travel system i.e. Pram, strollers & car seat. Baby essentials i.e. shoes, clothes, baby food and nappies. Nursery décor, essentials and furniture.

May 9, 2022

Problem Based Learning, why do we need this in schools today?

Researchers have been hypothesizing and theorizing about Problem Based Learning (PBL) for decades. It came to life in the mid 60s when a group of scientists and physicians all had a similarly negative view of their undergraduate degrees and felt they could find a better way to present it. They developed the notion that students will understand their work better if their learning is driven by open-ended problems that challenge their way of thinking. Today, universities across the world implement Problem Based Learning in their courses to encourage students to critically engage with their subject content. Few schools have, however, implemented this learning method and the question begs to be asked, why? With the shift in education from Teacher-centeredness to Learner-centeredness, today’s educational landscape is the ideal place to implement PBL. What does Problem Based Learning entail? Problem Based Learning is a method of learning where learners are presented with an open-ended problem and they must acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to solve it. It is necessary for the learners to first identify what skills will be needed to solve the problem and thereafter they must learn and use these skills to solve it. They move through a set sequence of in-context problems by acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge. The learners are guided by their learning material and assisted by teachers throughout. They work in small groups and are constantly learning from each other. Group members teach each other, rather than a teacher teaching the content at the front of the class. Why implement Problem Based Learning in schools? Since many universities have started implementing Problem Based Learning, it may seem unnecessary for schools to implement it as well. That is the exact reason why this method of learning should be more commonly implemented in schools: to prepare learners for their tertiary studies and careers. Learners already face a seemingly insurmountable task of adjusting to university life without having to struggle to adjust to new learning methods as well. Equipping learners with the skills needed to complete a university degree makes the likelihood of learners succeeding in these degrees much larger. Equipping learners with the skills they need to succeed in University and in their careers one day should be paramount to high schools across the world and it should precede content recitation. Some of the skills acquired through the PBL approach include: Flexible knowledge base: Problem Based Learning teaches learners the subject content in a way that moves beyond merely learning the facts of the subject. They are required to integrate the knowledge gathered from different subjects as well as from their own experiences. They have to use these skills and build upon them to solve the problems they are faced with. These skills and knowledge are organized around the deep principles in a subject. Learners use previous knowledge to evaluate the problem they are faced with and build upon this knowledge when they attempt to solve it. This means that their knowledge is continuously restructured and adjusted. This knowledge is not centred around one single point of reference and this grants learners the chance to adapt and apply it to many different scenarios. Problem-solving skills: In Problem Based Learning, learners are presented with a scenario and they must evaluate and formulate the problem by studying the facts of the scenario. This helps learners understand the problem better and they can start hypothesising possible solutions. Learners must then identify where they have gaps in their knowledge to solve the problem and acquire these skills through research. These reasoning strategies are fundamental in any problem-solving scenarios learners may be faced within their lives and studies ahead. It builds the meta-cognitive skills that allow learners to executively plan their problems and evaluate their progress and whether their goals have been met. Self-directed learning skills: Learners are forced to identify the gaps in their knowledge in Problem Based Learning. They must identify where they lack the skills necessary to solve the problem they are faced with and must then research these skills. They are required to evaluate and direct their learning themselves, with only the occasional guidance from their teacher. This wakes the natural curiosity in learners to find the answers and skills they are requiring. These self-directed learning skills become an intrinsic part of a learner’s studies and will stay with that learner through his/her life, motivating them to become life-long learners. The curiosity they learn through these problems motivates them to explore and this in turn intrinsically motivates them to learn. This is a crucial skill for the Fourth Industrial Revolution as the learners are internally motivated to discover and this is not a skill that can be replaced by a robot. They do not have to be instructed to study certain things, they will be motivated to do so on their own. Teamwork: To implement PBL effectively, learners must work in teams to solve the problems they are faced with. Learners must learn how to function as part of a team by establishing shared goals, resolving conflict situations, deciding on the actions the group should take and coming to an agreement on the plan of action. These are essential skills for any well-rounded learner that they must acquire for the innumerable tasks that they will have to complete through teamwork. By learning these skills early in life, they have a head start on many colleagues. Conclusion Problem Based Learning prepares learners for their future by equipping them with a flexible knowledge base, life-long learning skills, teamwork skills and self-directed learning skills. They will be able to adapt to life after school much better when they learn these skills early in life as universities and most careers require them to apply the skills every day. These skills are, furthermore, essential for the Fourth Industrial Revolution where artificial intelligence will replace the majority of tasks in the workforce. The intrinsic curiosity to learn will distinguish learners from the competition in the workplace one day, both human and artificial

May 6, 2022

HAPPY TRAVELLING HACKS WITH PANADO® PAEDIATRIC SYRUP, PEPPERMINT 5 ML SACHETS

Even seasoned travellers may find car and plane trips with infants or toddlers daunting. How will you entertain your child while on the road? What if your child experiences earache or a fever during the plane flight? How can you ensure that your entire family arrives safely and in good spirits? Do not fear, fellow parents! These suggestions for travelling with a baby or toddler will ensure that everyone has a pleasant experience. Headaches Regrettably, airplane travel may be a headache generator, especially for pint-sized passengers. Airplane Headache (AH) is exclusively related to airplane travels, and although may occur at any time during a flight; there is a higher incidence during the take-off and landing phase.1 Motion Sickness Headaches arising due to motion sickness from riding in cars can also make your child miserable. Symptoms such as nausea, dizziness and headache are common to motion sickness.2 Encourage your child to look outside the window of the car rather than putting their head down and focusing on books, games or screens. If your child is prone to motion sickness, don’t forget to pack recently launched and conveniently packaged, Panado® Paediatric Syrup, Peppermint 5 ml Sachets, for the symptomatic treatment of pain and fever for kids on the move. Panado® Paediatric Syrup, Peppermint 5 ml Sachets contain paracetamol, which is included in the List of Essential Medicines for Children of the World Health Organization.3 Avoid Overdoing It Bear in mind that babies and toddlers lack the tolerance that you do for lengthy road trips. If your car trip will take several hours or days, break it up with pauses for playing, eating, and sleeping. Plan Trips Around Your Child’s Sleep Time Your infant or toddler may slumber during your road trip if you’re fortunate! Some experts encourage driving at night when travelling with toddlers or infants. However, arriving in the middle of the night may rouse your children and disrupt their circadian patterns as well. Provide Lots (and Lots) Of Snacks Pack some nutritious travel snacks for children. Consider whole-grain cereals, fruit chunks, and cheese cubes. To ensure food safety, keep refrigerated items in a cooler bag. If your child is prone to choking, serve snacks and meals at a rest stop, park, or restaurant. Ensure That Your Child Is Properly Secured Make sure children are properly buckled in a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt – whichever is appropriate for their age, height, and weight.4a The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention says that data shows the correct use of a car seat reduces the risk for injuries in crashes by 71% – 82% for children, when compared with seat belt use alone, while booster seats reduce the risk for serious injury by 45% for children aged 4-8, when compared to seat belt use alone.4b Other Panado® Products Suitable for Your Child In addition to Panado® Paediatric Syrup, Peppermint 5 ml Sachet, Panado’s range for children include Panado® Paediatric Syrup, Strawberry (50 ml | 100 ml),5 Panado® Paediatric Syrup, Peppermint Alcohol and Sugar-Free (50 ml | 100 ml),6 and Panado® Infant Drops 20 ml.7 Make pain and fever care easy by shopping for Panado products from independent pharmacies and selected Clicks, Dis-Chem, and Pick ‘n Pay stores. For more information, visit https://panado.co.za/and join the conversations on Facebook. #Panado #ADoseOfCare 2022040110194118 References: 1. Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS) (2013) The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version). Cephalalgia 33:629–808. [Cited 2022 March 29]; Available from https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10194-016-0628-7 2. Cuomo-Granston A, Drummond PD. Migraine and motion sickness: what is the link? Prog Neurobiol. 2010 Aug;91(4):300-12. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2010.04.001. Epub 2010 Apr 21. PMID: 20416353. [Cited 2022 March 29]; Available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20416353/ 3. de Martino M, Chiarugi A. Recent Advances in Pediatric Use of Oral Paracetamol in Fever and Pain Management. Pain Ther. 2015;4(2):149-168. doi:10.1007/s40122-015-0040-z. [Cited 2022 March 29]; Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4676765/ 4a,b. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. [Cited 2022 March 29]; Available from https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/child-passenger-safety/index.html 5. Panado® Paediatric Strawberry Approved package insert March 2002. 6. Panado® Paediatric Syrup Alcohol and Sugar-Free & Panado® Paediatric Syrup package insert. April 2010. 7. Panado® Infant Drops (Drops) approved professional information, August 1990.

May 5, 2022

Grace Matlhape’s SmartStart partners with Pampers to keep children learning

Access to early childhood learning has a lasting positive impact on educational and life outcomes for children With more than 1 million preschool children from disadvantaged communities in South Africa not having access to quality early childhood learning opportunities, Pampers has committed to supporting access to early learning through its partnership with SmartStart, following its recent R1million donation. “With our focus on children from disadvantaged homes, SmartStart, with the support of partners such as Pampers, aims to address inequality in education from an early age,” said SmartStart’s CEO, Grace Matlhape. Research has shown that the brain grows most rapidly during the first five years of childhood, together with other significant developmental changes. As a result, learning capabilities are primarily formed during these years, which are critical in laying the foundation for a child’s future. Like so many moms in South Africa, Mpho Zwane is currently an unemployed single mother, struggling to raise her three-year-old daughter, Mpilo, while job hunting and facing economic and social challenges. Being able to provide a good early-childhood education for her child with the help of a Pampers scholarship, means her child can have access to life-changing opportunities. “At a SmartStart centre, Mpilo is learning skills that are preparing her for future success at school,” said Mpho. “I’ve seen Mpilo develop so quickly since attending the lessons. She is curious and bubbly! At three-years-old she is already counting to 10, says her prayers confidently and knows the different colours. Not only is she learning, but she is in a safe and secure environment too and enjoys making new friends. There is not much support structurally for single mothers, so this Pampers scholarship has really been a godsend to us.” 40% of South African moms are single moms. The extent of the stringent lockdowns hit women badly as they saw an increase in roles and an extra burden of family care, but they fell disproportionately on single mothers, many of whom were already facing hidden challenges – such as unemployment or job stress. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), said parental stress and anxiety increased during the lockdown. The call volume of people seeking help doubled during the lockdown with up to 1 400 calls a day. About 85% of these calls came from women – single mothers making up the majority. This very real stress and unequal share of childcare responsibilities was a crisis that affected almost half of the moms in South Africa is coupled with social stigma and discrimination that only increases the anxiety. Pampers believed that they must play a strong role in alleviating this parental stress and champion the healthy and happy development of South African children through early learning initiatives that support both child and mother. “We are presented with a unique opportunity to come alongside parents to support the holistic development of children by creating greater access to the critical development resources they need to have a brighter future,” said Rajat Gupta, Pampers Senior Marketing Director. Statistics South Africa General Household Survey for 2019 revealed that the proportion of children up to four years old attending an early childhood development programme declined between 2018 and 2019 from 43.9% to 40.7%. Having supported some 5500 playgroups and disadvantaged communities in South Africa since it started in 2015, SmartStart has some skin in the game when it comes to championing childhood learning. The organisation has enabled more than 120 000 preschool children to enjoy the benefits of high-quality early learning programmes, which they would otherwise not have had access to. In addition, it has provided opportunities to unemployed women and men across the country. “Recognising this decline and the lack of access to ECDs, particularly among the poorest, expanding the availability of quality early learning is part of the South African Government’s National Development Plan Vision 2030. We, along with our partners, are keen and proud to be able to support the government in achieving this,” said Grace. SmartStart playgroups and ECD centres follow a structured programme based on South Africa’s National Early Learning Standards (NELDS), and take a holistic approach to child development, covering emotional, social, cognitive, physical and language skills. Emphasis is also placed on partnering with parents and caregivers, providing guidance and the resources, for example reading material, for them to continue their child’s learning experience at home. “We believe in providing a nurturing environment and playful learning opportunities to provide our pre-schoolers, not only with the skills, but also with the enthusiasm, for lifelong learning,” Grace concluded.

April 29, 2022

Positive Encouragement and Engagement for Your Baby

Being a parent is doing the most important job in the world – raising a human being. A life is entrusted to parents and it is expected that they raise a healthy, well-rounded adult. This is no small task! How can we make sure that our precious baby will grow up to be a successful, confident adult? Positive encouragement and engagement are two very important tools that should be in every parenting toolkit. What does positive encouragement entail? The sense of hearing is the most important source of input in your baby’s development. Therefore, whatever parents say to their baby will have a profound impact on their little one. There is a saying that the way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice. Babies already know their parents’ voices while in the womb and from a very young age babies want to please their parents. Research shows that already before birth, we can positively shape our baby’s emotional development by speaking loving and nurturing words to our unborn. Even saying something like: “I hope it is a girl” can make an unborn baby boy feel very unwanted and vice versa. Parents are ultimately responsible for the development of their baby’s sense of self-worth. How do I build my baby’s sense of self-worth? This is where positive encouragement is key. I am talking of going beyond parenting where you respond immediately to your baby’s needs, Responsive parenting is the basis of feelings of love and self-worth in your baby and the pattern of responding on cue hundreds of times, makes your baby feel valued. I have often mentioned the importance of repetition for forming networks in your baby’s brain. A pattern of responsive parenting will store mental images in baby’s brain of what to expect in a certain situation. But… and here is the big BUT, tending to baby’s needs on cue is not enough! Every responsive action needs positive verbal encouragement to build the emotional bond and to develop baby’s EQ. Actions without words to sooth and comfort, to encourage and praise, are like bricks stacked on top of each other without cement. Talk to baby in a loving positive way using every opportunity and situation. Skin-to-skin touching, singing and whispering comforting words are essential for baby. Encourage baby to try something new. Praise baby for every effort and little miracle he masters, A baby who receives encouragement and praise feels loved, appreciated and valuable. These feelings are established and integrated into your baby’s sense of self and your baby is able to draw on these feelings of “I am a worthy, valuable person” in times of challenge, your baby is able to and will always want to apply that which he has learned during his early life, to relationships and situations. Make sure it is positive! Allow your baby to express all emotions – even anger. Babies usually seem angry when they are frustrated, which is caused by something that is upsetting them. Babies cannot verbalise that which is upsetting them and this leads to frustration and perceived anger. If this frustration is met with a negative response from a parent, such as frowning, scolding, shushing or ignoring, a baby may suppress the feeling of anger in order to please the parents. If this happens often, the suppressed feelings may later manifest in some other negative way, it can even make your child physically ill. Always use positive words, such as: “It’s OK, my baby. Mommy/Daddy is here.” Try to avoid “no” as much as possible and replace it with a positive statement. How do I engage with my baby? It is very important that both parents engage with baby. Everything listed below can be done by both Mom and Dad. Talk lovingly or sing to baby in all situations and at every opportunity Read to baby and dramatise all the voices and sounds of the characters Play games with baby, such as peek-a-boo Use puppets and put on a show for baby with different voices and songs Babble with baby and mimic baby’s cooing and gurgles Laugh and giggle with and tickle baby Hold baby skin-to-skin while singing a lullaby Take baby’s hands and encourage baby to explore your face, telling baby what he is touching Encourage baby to do things over and over. Remember, repetition builds networks Explore everyday situations like eating and bath time, by talking about what is happening and make it fun Encourage baby to explore situations and objects and create similar situations or give baby similar objects if baby is very interested in something. You are nurturing a natural interest which may lead to a passion, e.g.: If baby loves to finger paint provide opportunities to do this. Add sponges and brushes as baby gets older Encourage baby to try to do something by himself. As parents we have a natural inclination to help, but encouraging baby to do it all by himself, gives baby a sense of achievement and teaches baby problem-solving, like fitting a puzzle piece into its slot. This builds self-confidence Praise baby when he has put in effort, not only when he has succeeded. This will teach baby that trying is important and not to give up The first 1000 days are the most important in a child’s development. Make it count. Get down to your baby’s level and really engage with your baby. It is so worth it!

April 28, 2022

Future-Proof Education

As adults we often find ourselves asking children, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. We are usually quite pleased to hear answers like “a vet, a doctor or a teacher”. Years of conditioning and upbringing have led us to believe that these careers are aspirational and that our kids will be “successful” if they finish school, get a degree and work in a respected profession. What we sometimes forget is that the job landscape in 10 years’ time is going to look quite different to the one that we are used to. As new industries emerge and existing industries start to dwindle there is an entire new pool of occupations that our kids can explore. In this article, we will take a detailed look at the job landscape of the future in an attempt to understand how parents can better prepare their children for a technology-driven career. Back to the future From self-driving public transport to customer service chatbots, the world as we know it is developing at a rapid pace. Robots, artificial intelligence and other technologies are poised to radically change the future of work and improve our lives through automation. Staying abreast of these technologies will be of great value for future employability. A 2017 McKinsey & Company report estimates that AI and robotics could eliminate about 30 percent of the world’s workforce by 2030. The truth is whilst technology could displace 75 million jobs, it will also create 133 million new ones. According to a Dell Technologies report, 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet. It is worth noting that occupations have been coming and going for centuries. We no longer have milkmen or switchboard operators. Around 85% of the job roles from 1900 were obsolete by the year 2000, and the number one cause for these jobs becoming obsolete is technology. The jobs of the future Let’s take a look at some of the popular jobs of today that didn’t exist 20 years ago. From Digital Marketing Managers to Social Media Content Creators and App Developers, these have fast become highly sort after and well-respected professions, and we can assume that new professions will continue to emerge as society continues to evolve and advance. Many respected professions will continue to exist but they will morph into new versions of the roles as we know them. For example, we will always need doctors, but instead of these physicians spending days, weeks or months running tests in an attempt to accurately diagnose a patient, a supercomputer can process patient data and provide a diagnosis in seconds. When it comes to prescribing medications, doctors won’t need to stay abreast of new drugs and advances in medicine, instead, AI will cross-check a patient’s medical records with a pharmaceutical database to come up with a personalised treatment plan. Preparing your child for an unpredictable future The key to future success is ensuring that our children are equipped with the innovative skills necessary to navigate a disruptive job space. Understanding that the world is constantly changing, evolving and innovating will help our children become adaptable to the unpredictable industries of the future. More than ever, parents need to be thinking about how and what their kids are being taught and whether schools are adequately preparing children for the future. Schools systems and curricula are very often outdated and the subject matter and course content are no longer relevant. Robotics, Coding and Artificial Intelligence Courses Courses like Robotics, Coding and Artificial Intelligence are fundamental to a child’s education. Not only do these courses teach children technological foundations and principles, they also teach children important problem-solving skills in a more meaningful and interactive way. CambriLearn offers a range of supplementary learning courses designed to complement a traditional education to provide a child with the necessary skills to better understand these key learning areas. The benefits of enrolling a child in a Robotics, Coding or Artificial Intelligence course include: Improved creativity and problem-solving abilities: Robotics and Coding promote an environment for children to think freely and creatively. Whilst brainstorming programming concepts children will be faced with obstacles in their creation process that will encourage them to come up with solutions to overcome these challenges. Robotics and coding teach children to work through complex problems, to see things analytically and improve problem-solving abilities. Technological career development: The demand for STEM-related jobs will remain strong in the future. Programmers are required in almost every field and coding is a valuable skill set to introduce children to a digital career pathway. Being computer literate is now mandatory in many job roles and it has become a necessity for children to learn essential computer skills. Science and math concepts: Coding takes a different approach to teaching children science and math concepts that would otherwise be difficult for them to understand. These concepts give children practical examples of lessons that were previously learnt from a textbook and help promote a more hands-on learning environment. Promotes a love of learning: Children learn better when they have an active interest in the subject matter. Coding is FUN and therefore assists in promoting an environment where children want to learn. This helps destigmatise science and math education concepts. Coding isn’t only about the app, software, robot or digital solutions, coding is a multidisciplinary field where students will gain knowledge and tools that go way beyond the pure line of code. Enrolling your child in a robotics or coding course teaches them to become more comfortable and confident in a field of technology. This helps promote critical thinking skills, boosts self-confidence and sets them up to explore a career in technology Social and emotional skills Building a robot is a complex task that takes patience and courage. Coding provides an ideal environment for a child to work through complex puzzles and teaches them how to handle making mistakes. In Coding, mistakes are welcomed as they usually reveal crucial information that is needed to

April 25, 2022

Which learning environment best suits your child?

A child’s learning environment has a direct and lasting impact on the way in which they absorb and retain information. Children learn better when they want to learn… when they have an active interest in the subject matter and when they are self-motivated. Parents need to consider which learning environment best suits their child’s unique needs in order to harness their love for learning. This liberates them to pursue their own interests and teaches them how to manage themselves throughout their education journey. We have created this short online quiz to help parents and guardians better understand the different learning environments and to try to shed some light on which environment is better suited to your unique needs. Knowledge Retention One of the most important factors to consider when deciding on your child’s learning environment is, how does your child best absorb and retain information? And, if they struggle with a particular topic, what is the best way to guide them through these difficulties? Is the child more susceptible to learning in a large classroom environment or are they better able to comprehend difficult topics through one-on-one tutoring and interactive online resources? Socialisation Many parents opt to send their children to a traditional school as they fear homeschooling may lead them to miss out on key peer interaction. In this instance, parents should consider what kind of social interaction is most valuable to their child. Does your child thrive in a large group setting with children of the same age or are they better suited to a smaller class environment with students of all ages? Whilst traditional schooling does offer great benefits to socialisation, many homeschooling parents feel that the freedom and flexibility of a homeschooling schedule allows their children more time to pursue their passions and extramural activities where they can socialise with children with similar interests. Key motivators Another important factor to consider is what are your child’s key motivators? Do they thrive in a nurturing one-on-one environment or are they motivated through praise and recognition. The best approach to education is one that teaches a child to be self-motivated through goal setting and goal smashing. By achieving clearly defined objectives, children learn to love the feeling of accomplishment rather than to wait for someone to give them a pat on the back. Flexible schedules Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic flung us into lounge-wear and at-home working environments, it also opened our eyes to the possibilities of interacting and learning through online resources. Online learning and homeschooling allow families the freedom to structure their schedules according to their unique needs. For families who want to travel or for children who excel in a particular sport or cultural activity, homeschooling provides the ability to structure your day around your unique needs with the opportunity to learn from anywhere in the world. The different types of learning environments The three main learning environments to consider are; traditional schooling, hybrid learning and homeschooling or online schooling. Traditional Schooling The traditional schooling environment has been around for centuries and it is the most common schooling environment. Many parents opt to send their child to a traditional school for the mere fact that this is how everyone else does it. A traditional schooling environment involves sending your child to a brick and mortar school where they will be placed in a classroom environment with allocated teachers. In this environment students generally follow a structured lesson timetable and work through the course content according to the planned schedule and school calendar. A traditional schooling environment is great for students who learn best in a large group setting. In this environment, children are motivated through the recognition of awards and badges. This learning environment is best suited for families who prefer a more disciplined and structured approach to their studies and schedule and who would prefer their child to socialise with peers of the same age group in a traditional classroom environment. Homeschooling or Online Learning Homeschooling or online learning involves educating a child at home, usually through the assistance of an online learning platform, like CambriLearn. In this environment, parents are usually responsible for ensuring the child completes the necessary coursework. Students have teachers, virtual live lessons and an on-demand lesson library. This approach to learning has become a popular alternative for parents who are looking for a more flexible and self-paced education solution. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic saw many families in a homeschooling/online learning environment. Whilst pandemic parenting and online learning isn’t necessarily a true reflection of what homeschooling entails, many parents have seen firsthand the benefits of allowing their children the freedom to navigate their coursework at their own pace through the use of online resources. A homeschooling or online learning environment is great for students who learn best through online resources that they can work through at their own pace. This environment is best suited for families who want to follow a flexible schedule. Homeschooled students generally have more time to pursue their passions and are able to socialise through planned events and extra-curriculum activities like soccer and horse riding. Students who are homeschooled tend to be self-motivated through goal setting and achievement. Hybrid Learning Hybrid learning involves making use of a tutor or educator to assist in guiding a child’s education, usually with the assistance of an online learning platform. In this instance, students enrol with a particular online learning provider whilst also being able to get one-on-one assistance on their coursework through a tutor. When making use of a local tutor, students are able to gather for in-person support or meet up with other students for events and extramural activities. Hybrid learning combines the freedom and flexibility of online learning with the support and social interactions of studying alongside a group of peers. A hybrid learning environment is best suited to children who like to get on with their work independently whilst asking for help from a dedicated tutor when required. Students who study through a tutor

April 18, 2022

The impact of poorly developed visual perception skills on reading and learning

Many educators would agree that there is a close connection between vision and learning. Much of what a child learns is through the visual system, as this is our most influential sense. If we consider that reading and writing, along with using computers and problem solving are all visual tasks that children perform daily, one could agree that much learning takes place through our eyes. Coupled with letter recognition and retention and handwriting, it becomes clear how a poorly developed vision system can impact on what and how a child learns. Visual processing issues present with life-long challenges; however, it is not considered a “learning disability”. It not only affects what a child learns, but also the capability to execute commonplace tasks such as sorting a variety of objects or playing a soccer game. This may lead to socialisation problems or frustration and withdrawal. Most children are very excited about learning to read. Visual processing is one of the most important cognitive skills and it includes the ability to discriminate between foreground and background, position in space and size, shape and colour. Children who have visual processing issues find it difficult to see the difference between letters. These letters may also appear in the wrong sequence. Research has found that between 2 and 20 percent of U.S. school going children have some type of reading disorder. This has been linked to an immature visual system. When a child is learning to read letters, numbers and words, these are seen through the eyes, but processed through the brain. So, the visual system does not only refer to the eyes, but includes the brain too. The vestibular system, which is like an internal GPS system, works hand-in-hand with the visual system. If the vestibular system is underdeveloped, letters and numbers may appear to dance around on the page or even appear backwards. This may hamper reading progress and may, initially, be interpreted as a ‘reading problem’. It could also be confused with an eye sight problem, yet the child has perfect 20/20 vision. The real problem is one of visual processing. In order to support information recall and retention, visual processing needs to be strengthened. This would be done by including movement into a child’s daily routine. Movement builds eye-hand co-ordination, core muscles and gross motor, which in turn supports the vestibular system. This in turn strengthens their visual memory and visual motor skills. Because a child uses visual processing daily for reading, writing and mathematics, experiencing difficulties may result in poor attention in class or a lack of self-confidence. So what can we as teachers and parents do to help children who have a poorly developed visual system? Torch Tag can be played at home just before bedtime. In the dark bedroom, shine a torch light on the wall, moving in haphazard patterns. The child must follow this pattern, using their own torch. This activity is fun and will strengthen eye tracking as well as visual motor skills. Swing Toss is a game played while the child is swinging. While holding a hula hoop, stand in front of the child a short distance away. As the child is swinging, they throw a fluffy toy, bean bag or such like toy into the hoop. This will boost balance, core strength, sensory integration and visual motor skills. By Michelle Rowland (Grade 1 Teacher at The Bridge Assisted Learning School in Lonehill)

April 18, 2022

Social and Emotional Development

The term ‘Social and Emotional Development’ has become a hot parenting topic over the last few years… and quite rightly so! Since the onset of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, we have become more attuned to the emotional well-being of not only ourselves but also, and more importantly so, the emotional well-being of our children. If there is one thing that we can thank the pandemic for, it is being more aware of the need to provide our children, and ourselves, with an increased focus on social and emotional development, self-care, listening with empathy, being empathetic to those around us and having perspective. What is social and emotional development? Social and emotional development is a broad umbrella term that encompasses many facets of our general well-being and development areas such as: peer pressure, how children form friendships and relationships and how they maintain them, how we interact with one another, how we express and show emotions. Children growing up today are bombarded with so many messages, some of them conflicting, on how one should behave, speak or dress. Children are exposed to so much information that it is often difficult for them to manage the big emotions and behaviours that accompany society’s expectations. Social and emotional learning at home Social and emotional development starts in the home, where a child’s first and most important role models, their parents, are modelling the behaviours that they want to see in their children. In the home environment, parents should focus on teaching their children sharing, caring, affection and nurture. Children should be encouraged to say how they feel, be respectful, listen for understanding and empathy, caring not only for themselves but for the world around us. Young children look to their family members as role models. How we speak, how we interact, how we support and listen to our children has an incredible impact on their development, particularly in the key stages of early childhood development (ECD). Underpinning this is helping our children to eventually become independent, solution-driven, thinking adolescents and adults. Social and emotional development is providing children with a safe, non-confrontational space to express their emotions and unpack the overwhelming feelings they are trying to process. To gently guide and provide opportunities for them to develop positive behaviour and a positive image of themselves so that they grow into well-adjusted, socially conscious human beings. EQ vs. IQ You may have heard the saying, ‘EQ is equally as important as IQ’, if not more so. An unhappy child will struggle to learn. So it is equally as important to attend to the emotional well-being of a learner, as to their academic needs. Social-emotional learning should be integrated into every subject area as it is an integral part of us as human beings – developing self-awareness, self-control and interpersonal skills that are not only important for learning but also vital to succeed as adults in a workplace environment. Online social emotional learning course CambriLearn offers an in-depth social emotional learning course to help children navigate these key developmental areas. The course is completed online through interactive lessons and group projects to help learners discover constructive ways to process their emotions and interact with others in a respectful way. In this course, students learn to: Recognise and practice character strengths, like curiosity, persistence, and collaboration. Understand and manage their emotions, like fear and anger. Work in a team, listen and appreciate each other. Understand the consequences of their actions to others. Students who have completed the social emotional learning course with CambriLearn have shown improved: self-esteem and self-awareness attitude and relationships ability to cope with social and peer pressures learning outcomes 16 Habits of Mind The 16 Habits of Mind, originally developed by Art Costa and Bena Kallick, are “thinking dispositions that are committed to growing individuals who are more thoughtful, responsive, and innovative”. These 16 habits encourage students (and adults!) to have a positive growth mindset; to be persistent when faced with challenges; to respond with wonderment and awe to the world around them. When this framework is applied consistently and children are provided with opportunities to link the 16 habits to their everyday life, the habits will soon become second nature. These 16 habits or thinking dispositions essentially, lay the foundation for all social, emotional and cognitive behaviour. Developing social-emotional skills is a crucial task that every person will face at some point in their life. By focusing on these skills as early as possible and systematically continuing learning through the school years, we provide our children with a critical toolset to navigate life successfully, happily, and healthily.

April 13, 2022

Dissecting Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia is a disability that is believed to affect 2 – 10% of the population. This disability can be defined as “a development disability of organisation of movement. It is caused by an immaturity of the brain resulting in messages not being properly transmitted to the body.” [1] In laymen’s terms, dyspraxia affects motor planning. Before looking further at how this happens, let’s first look at what motor planning is. ‘Motor planning is the ability to conceive, plan and carry out a skilled, non-habitual motor act in the correct sequence from beginning to end…. The child with motor planning difficulties may be slow in carrying out verbal instructions and often appears clumsy in new tasks.” [2] For motor planning to be effective, all sensory systems of the body need to be working correctly. With dyspraxia, the messages that are being sent from the brain are not being reliably transmitted to the rest of the body. Dyspraxia does not change intelligence, but it does change how the child learns. Children with dyspraxia are seen to be clumsy, accident prone and extremely messy. They will take time and repetition to master a new skill. Dyspraxia can hinder thought processes and these children will often experience difficulty with planning and personal organisation. Time management concerns arise, as well as difficulties in memory, perception and processing. Some other issues that arise are poor co-ordination, immature speech, poor attention and social and emotional difficulties. Self-belief and confidence are affected, and the child often experiences anxiety and stress. In order to help a child with dyspraxia, it is imperative that the teacher, school and parents work together in order to best facilitate the child to reach his or her full potential. Regular meetings must be held between teacher and parents in order to ensure that the child is receiving all the support needed and achieving the goals that he / she is capable of. As a teacher and in order to obtain optimal performance, it is imperative that the child’s confidence is developed. Always motivate the child and focus on what they can do. Goals must be within the child’s reach. The following steps can be taken in order to further benefit the child: Verbal instructions are to be given slowly and are to be kept short and simple. Ideally, only one instruction should be given at a time. Minimalise distractions for the child. The child should be placed close to the front of the class. When setting work, this child requires work of a shorter length, that he / she will be able to complete in the allocated time, thus feeling the success of completing a task. This can be done by creating worksheets for the child which require minimal handwriting (e.g. fill in the missing word) Work that needs to be written can be printed out for the learner beforehand, giving the child time to focus on the actual work, rather than the pressure of copying it down. In order to help with handwriting, it is suggested that the child is given books with larger lines to accommodate for writing, as well as larger quad paper, to facilitate in mathematics. During examinations, this child will require certain concessions, such as additional time, rest periods, a reader and perhaps amanuensis. Homework can be scribed by parents in order to take pressure off of the child. The optimal learning environment for a child with dyspraxia would be a one on one learning environment, but with the correct support and intervention, will thrive in a small, nurturing environment where he / she can reach his / her potential, as well as helping him / her with social skills and development. By Linda Langefeld, Grade 4 Teacher at The Bridge Assisted Learning School

April 12, 2022

From “below average” to CEO

Meet Claudia Swartzberg, co-founder and CEO of CambriLearn and Top Dog Education. We sat down with Claudia to hear about how she went from “a below average” learner in primary school to graduating top of her class with a degree in actuarial science. Not every child fits the mould of traditional schooling, and Claudia explains why… Traditional schooling looks at achievement in terms of test scores, in a very limited number of academic areas. The problem with this approach is it doesn’t take into account problem-solving ability, motivation levels, perception or social intelligence. A child who couldn’t cut straight When I was five years old, the school that I was at didn’t want to progress me to grade one because I couldn’t cut straight. Coming from a family of rocket scientists, my father wouldn’t hear any of it and put me straight into grade one – despite the advice of my teachers. I wasn’t a great performer in primary school and this led me to become very anxious. I began doubting my academic abilities and started to dislike school. My father recognised this and started to spend his evenings taking me through my coursework, creating practice material in a way that felt relevant to me. Soon my grades began to pick up and that feeling of success became addictive. My goals grew not only to wanting to perform but wanting to be the best. I had a new sense of confidence and purpose. In high school, I graduated top of my class I went on to study actuarial science specialising in data science. Breaking the mould of average One of the first things we teach people in stats is how to eliminate the outliers so that we can find the average. This is fantastic if I’m trying to find out the average amount of sugar a person consumes, but when I am looking at a child’s true potential then this approach falls short. If I asked the question, how fast can a child learn to read in a classroom? Scientists would change this question to how fast does the average child learn to read in a classroom? If we study what’s merely average, we are going to remain merely average. So instead of trying to fit all students into the mould of average, at CambriLearn, we try to deeply understand what makes each student perform and we nurture that. In a typical classroom environment, with a 1:25 teacher to learner ratio, a teacher isn’t able to tailor-make each lesson to suit each individual child. Most teachers will pitch the coursework to the average student. This approach can lead to many children feeling left behind as they struggle to keep up with the coursework. It can also lead to many students feeling bored and disinterested as they may comprehend the lesson quickly and feel frustrated at the pace of average. At CambriLearn, we provide an intelligent learning system that makes it possible for an educator or parent to teach individuals and not classes. This approach not only moves students above average but moves the entire average up. It’s about perspective It is not reality that shapes learning, but the lens through which your brain views information that shapes your reality. In other words, it’s about perspective. We optimise a child’s perspective by promoting social and emotional intelligence in every class that we teach. Most people think that the more gifted you are academically, the more successful you’ll be in life. Studies have shown that only 25% of your success is determined by IQ, whereas 75% of your success is determined by your perception, your optimism levels, your social support and your ability to see stress as a challenge rather than as a threat. This is why we put a lot of focus on social and emotional intelligence. The absence of failing is not success If your child is getting good grades, it’s not a guarantee they will be successful. If they have the right perception, not only will their performance improve, but they will harness an essential lifelong tool – resilience. At CambriLearn, we focus on driving positive perception, self-regulation, and confidence in our students. I often hear from parents, “I’m sending my kids to the best schools in the country with the best teachers, how can they still not be doing well emotionally or academically?” Embedded in that question is the key to understanding the science of learning. What the question assumes is that our external learning environment is predictive of our academic success. When in reality 15% of your long term academic success is determined by your external environment. 85% is determined by the way your brain processes information. According to the World Economic Forum, some of the skills a child needs in order to be successful in the future include; judgement and decision making, active learning, evaluation, deductive reasoning and complex problem-solving. The fear of isolation The number one concern that we hear from parents who wish to move away from a physical school is the fear of less social interaction. They worry that their child will be at home all day with no outdoor activities or group interaction. What they struggle to realise is that our students actually have more time and energy to participate in a schedule that is flexible and more effective. We have top athletes studying with us and the very reason why they study with CambriLearn is so that they can optimise their day. Also, not one of our sports stars did sports at school as the schools were simply not specialised enough and they needed more specialised training and support. Another contributing factor to success is your network and your support system. Our students form part of a powerful global network, they are able to connect and interact with students from across the world through our online forums or through face to face interactions at one of the planned events. CambriLearn has students in over 50 countries and almost all

April 8, 2022

Party Time! How to plan a successful kids party

Many of us go to great lengths to plan the ‘perfect party’ for our children. Whether you enjoy planning a lavish complicated affair or a small simple one there are a few pointers you can keep in mind to ensure that it’s a huge success. Firstly remember the party is for the children!!! Don’t go over the top on the food, décor and drinks to impress the adults at the party – its not about them. Get creative! You don’t need to stick to themed character plates and napkins or available party décor in the shops. There are many ways in which you can throw a great party for your child without breaking the bank. Chat to your child and find out what type of theme they want.Your son loves Dr Seuss but there is no themed decor available. Work on the decor and food using the colours instead. Plastic or tin buckets, paper plates and napkins come in loads of different plain colours. Look for images and ideas according to your theme on the internet that you can printout and include in your decor. Make the birthday child feel special Thinking of my own children, they live for their birthday and start counting down the days till the next one from the time their last birthday finishes. Let them wear a special birthday badge or birthday crown or a special outfit which they have picked out for their day to make them feel that extra bit special. Keep them entertained Children will remember a birthday party in which they had fun – not how clean your house was. (Refer to my first point about the party being about the children). The way to ensure this is to make sure there is plenty to do and keep them entertained. Again, no need to break the bank. Bring out the old school party games like pass the parcel, musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey. Children still loves these games and its a great way to keep the kids entertained and an opportunity for them to win their own little gifts as well. Snack attack There is no need to go crazy on the food. Keep it small and simple. It is a much better idea to spend more time and money on the entertainment than the snacks. Offer some healthy snacks such as fruit, small muffins and sandwiches. I would advise a party for children three years and younger, keep the snack table a bit higher so parents can control what their little one eats. Don’t forget the manners Your child’s birthday party is a great time to remind them to say their please and thank you’s and waiting their turn. Discuss this with your child before the party starts and they get caught up in the excitement of the day. A good idea is to discuss the matter of gifts with your child before guests start arriving. If you would prefer gifts not to be opened during the party, you and your child should arrange a safe spot where gifts can be kept.

April 4, 2022

Cognitive Development Activities for Primary School Kids

A child’s primary school years are some of the most important in terms of their cognitive development. If developmental foundations are not established at this crucial age, then it will become very difficult to harness these skill sets later on in life. A child’s physical, social and emotional development has a direct impact on the adult they will become. In order to maximise a child’s future well-being, it is vitally important to practice developmental activities at a primary school age. Whilst an effective primary education will give a child a significant developmental boost, children will further benefit from a home environment that also focuses on stimulating these essential skills. In this article, we will look at the different stages of cognitive development and provide practical ideas to help harness essential skills at each stage. Cognitive Development When we refer to development areas we aren’t just talking about academics. Cognitive development refers to how a child thinks, how they understand concepts and their problem-solving abilities. John Piaget’s theory of cognitive development highlights four key stages that a child progresses through in their developmental years. As a child develops and engages with the world around them, they continually build their knowledge base and adapt these learned concepts to accommodate new information. Piaget defined the four stages of cognitive development as: Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7 Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11 Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up The Sensorimotor Stage From birth until around the age of two a child undergoes dramatic physical and sensory developmental changes. As infants and toddlers interact with the world around them, they continuously learn new skills and begin to understand how the world works. Most of a child’s experience at this early stage occurs through basic reflexes, their senses and motor responses. From crawling to walking to learning to talk and expressing their emotions, the cognitive development that occurs during the infant to toddler years involves a great deal of noticeable growth. There are many activities that parents can engage their children in at this early age based on their developmental progress. A six-month-old baby will enjoy different activities to an 18-month-old so it is important to engage in age-appropriate activities that are stimulating to the child. The Preoperational Stage Piaget refers to the age of two until around seven as the preoperational stage. In these years, children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words or visuals to represent objects. At this age, a child has not fully developed empathy and they often struggle to see things from the perspective of others. Whilst they are beginning to communicate and comprehend concepts more effectively they still tend to think about things as very “black and white” and struggle to find exceptions to situations. The most notable and important developmental milestones that occur in this stage are language and imagination. Whilst they may be able to communicate and understand basic concepts at this stage, children between the ages of two and seven may still struggle with basic logic and understanding the idea of constancy. Parents who want to stimulate their child’s preoperational development can engage in activities that encourage language development, listening skills and creativity. The Concrete Operational Stage Piaget referred to the age between seven and eleven years as the concrete operational stage. During this stage, a child’s thinking becomes more logical and organised. While children are still very concrete and literal in their thinking at this point in their development, they do begin to use logic in their decision making and they begin to develop empathy and consideration for others. Whilst IQ was previously considered as a benchmark in a child’s educational success, studies in recent years have shown that developing a child’s EQ can have a direct correlation to academics and long term success. Children at this stage of development would benefit from enrolling in activities and courses that stimulate social-emotional learning. The Formal Operational Stage From the age of around twelve, a child begins to think more abstractly and is able to apply reason to hypothetical problems. At this age, children also begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning. They start seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around them. This abstract thinking ability allows a child to systematically plan for the future and hypothesise potential outcomes. Online courses that teach principles of robotics and coding will be beneficial as they teach children how to solve complex problems through trial and error. Children at the operational stage will also benefit from developmental activities like playing board games, baking and volunteering activities. It’s a qualitative process… Piaget did not believe that each stage of a child’s development was a quantitative process. In other words, he did not believe that each stage simply added more information to their existing knowledge base. Instead, he believed that the process was qualitative and that there are fundamental changes in how a child thinks. It is not simply a process of adding more information but rather the changing of thought processing patterns and abilities to comprehend the world around them. How can parents aid in their child’s development? Many parents might be daunted by the idea of adequately equipping their child during the early development years. It is important to note that whilst most children will develop these essential life skills in a natural progression, there is a direct correlation between education and cognitive development. Ensuring that your child’s education provides a platform for them to learn according to their unique personality and strengths will further aid their cognitive development.

March 30, 2022

The Basic Guide to Meal Prep for Busy Moms

Every busy mom has had this moment at some point in their lives – the fantasy that plays out in their head where the picture perfect world exists and all they have to do on a busy weekday night is to open the freezer, pull out a pre-packed meal, heat and eat. This isn’t the perfect world, though and reality tends to be a LOT different. For the majority of us, the real world looks like unwashed dishes, hangry kids and half the ingredients for tonight’s dinner still sitting on shelves at the nearest supermarket. The stress truly is enough to warrant popping open a bottle before Wine O’Clock (which according to a recent survey is 6:59pm, by the way). But there are options! You could: Hire a full-time live-in chef Order takeout every night. Learn how to Meal Prep. Now before you throw in the proverbial towel and start looking through your options on UberEats, take a minute to read through this guide to make dinner time a whole lot easier for next time. Let’s start with the basics… What is meal prep? Meal prep is the process of preparing food ahead of time so that it’s readily available at mealtime and can be easily assembled to create full meals. Meal prep differs from meal planning in that one requires making a decision about what meals will be served versus the other, that requires the actual preparation of ingredients for the meal. Either way, both processes are required steps in this guide. What are the benefits? For busy moms, it can be a real juggling act to get good, healthy food on the table. By planning your meals out and prepping them beforehand, you can help ease your ‘mental load’ while preparing more nourishing meals, freeing up more time and saving money in the process. How to begin meal prepping Let’s face it – efficient meal prepping can be overwhelming and won’t happen overnight. It’s a process that takes a lot of work but this is what I’ve found works for me: 1.Meal Plan Use an app, a piece of paper or a printable template to outline what meals you want to prepare for the week. Top tip: Don’t feel the need to have a different meal at every interval. Oats three times a week for breakfast is perfectly okay. In fact, it’s encouraged, seeing as oatmeal can be prepared and covered with a dish cover overnight until it is ready for serving the next day. 2.Go through your pantry / cupboards Once you’ve laid out your meals, you may be tempted to hit the grocery store right away. PAUSE. First take a look at what you have in your kitchen. You might find that you already have all the items needed for a full meal. In that case, simply adjust your meal plan accordingly. This also presents a perfect time to clean out your fridge 😉 3.Head to the grocery store I highly recommend making use of a list here! Ensure that you’ve listed down everything needed to create the meals on your meal plan and get to shopping. Top tip: If possible, try to shop during off-peak hours to avoid long lines and hoards of humans. 4.Prep your storage containers If you plan on meal prepping consistently, you’ll want to invest in reliable containers that are durable and easy to clean. I prefer glass to plastic. You’ll also want to invest in some reusable homeware, such as cotton dish covers, in order to keep food protected as it cools and also keep condensation at bay. These dish covers come highly recommended. Top tip: Pull these out shortly after grocery shopping to remind you to begin your meal prep as soon as possible. Chop veggies, prepare grains and prep your food for the week Now it’s time to get into the real work! This can look different each week but the basic premise is to make sure that all the chopping, dicing and boiling is done. Top tip: Don’t be reluctant to use frozen fruits and veggies as these can go a long way. Soak grains overnight and cover with a dish cover to allow for easy cooking the following day. Avoid preparing grains more than four days from the time you plan on serving them as they tend to degrade pretty quickly. If you are preparing potatoes ahead of time, plan to eat them within the first few days of cooking. 5.Bake, cool, store If you are baking and roasting food, make sure that these items have cooled completely before putting them in the fridge. This is where dish covers really come in handy, as they allow food to cool without condensation and eliminate harmful toxins that may be absorbed into your food from plastic wrap. 6.Place your meal plan on the fridge and enjoy your week Having a meal plan and food prepped can truly be life changing. And guess what? You won’t have to answer the question of what’s for dinner? anytime soon, because it’s posted on the fridge! Everyone wins! Being a mom can mean a lot of things but being a magician when it comes to food doesn’t have to be one of them. By putting in the necessary effort and planning ahead, you can save time, money and be a lot less overwhelmed.

March 18, 2022

Is your child’s education future-proof?

As the online world and technology advance, parents need to consider that the career pathways that their children will explore may look very different to what they knew growing up. One can assume that the demand for coding related jobs will remain strong in the future. Programmers are required in almost every field and enrolling your child in a Robotics or Coding course will introduce them to a wide variety of career opportunities. Just as our children’s potential career pathways change, so the approach and content that is taught to them at school needs to be updated to adapt to the ever-changing industries of the future. Many schools do not offer subjects like Robotics and Coding and in these instances, it would be wise to enrol your child in an online learning platform, like CambriLearn, which offers supplementary courses that children can complete in addition to their current schooling curriculum. Children who complete Robotics, Coding or Programming courses have shown improved: creativity and problem-solving abilities social and emotional skills career development language learning and communication skills understanding of science and math concepts willingness to learn In this article, we will take a look at the long term benefits of enrolling your child in a Robotics or Coding course. Creativity and problem-solving abilities It is a common misconception that in order to develop creative skills, a student needs to be affluent in drawing, painting or artistic practices. By promoting an environment for children to think freely and creatively, robotics teaches children how to be creative in their thought processes and problem-solving strategies. The traditional classroom model focuses on lectures and worksheets. Instead of parrot learning theorems, robotics teaches children how to find new ways to solve the same equations. Whilst brainstorming robotic concepts children will be faced with obstacles in their creation process that will encourage them to come up with solutions to overcome these challenges. Robotics teaches children to work through complex problems, to see things analytically and it improves their problem-solving abilities. Social and emotional skills Building a robot is a complex task that takes patience and courage. Robotics provides an ideal environment for a child to work through complex puzzles and teaches them how to handle making mistakes. In Robotics, mistakes are welcomed as they usually reveal crucial information that is needed to solve the problem at hand. This teaches children to keep going, even when they fail, and allows them to experience the rewards associated with perseverance. Coding isn’t only about the app, software, robot or digital solutions. Coding is a multidisciplinary field where students will gain knowledge and tools that go way beyond the pure line of code. Career development In education, the acronym STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths. It is estimated that the number of STEM-related occupations will grow 8% by 2029, compared with 3.9% in other occupations. One can assume that the demand for STEM-related qualifications and experience will remain strong in the future. Programmers are required in almost every field and robotics is a valuable skill to introduce children to a digital career pathway. Being computer literate is now mandatory in many job roles and it has become a necessity for a child to learn essential computer skills. A robotics course teaches children to become more comfortable and confident in a field of technology. This helps promote critical thinking skills, boosts self-confidence and sets them up to explore a career in technology. Language learning and communication skills Teaching a child coding and robotics can have the same associated benefits as language learning. When students learn to code, they learn how to communicate with a computer and practice a new language. This improves their language learning abilities and communication skills. Robotics offers children the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas, which is a fundamental component of communication. With practice, the child becomes more comfortable in these skills of self-expression. Robotics also teaches children how to interact and work together in a group. It highlights the importance of getting input from all members of the team in order to achieve a common goal. This promotes important listening skills and teaches children to show respect for their peers. Science and math concepts Robotics takes a different approach to teaching children science and math concepts that would otherwise be difficult for them to understand. These concepts give children practical examples of lessons that were previously learnt from a textbook and help promote a more hands-on learning environment. It comes as no surprise that children who enrol in a robotics or coding course will develop stronger maths skills as they learn to apply coding concepts in a real-world context. Robotics and coding teach computational thinking such as logic, analysing data, and breaking down problems into more manageable parts. This style of thinking is also required when solving maths and science equations. Promotes a love of learning Decades of research link creativity and problem-solving with learner motivation. When a child is goal-focused and experiences the feeling of achieving a defined objective, they become more motivated in their learning and become inspired to continue on the path of acquiring new skills and knowledge. Children learn better when they have an active interest in the subject matter. Robotics is FUN and therefore assists in promoting an environment where children want to learn. This helps de-stigmatise science and math education concepts and helps instil a love for learning – throughout their schooling career. Parents, it’s time to ask yourself the question, is your child’s education future-proof?

March 16, 2022

When I grow up, I want to be… happy

Subject and Career Choice Assessments are specifically designed, using scientific tools, to help understand a child’s unique personality and interests in order to navigate their ideal subject and career choices. These assessments are conducted by a professional education psychologist and enable learners to better understand their personal interests and strengths and encourage them to use this self-awareness to make informed subject and career choices. A Subject Choice Assessment is ideal for Grade 9 students who are deciding on which subjects to pursue in Grade 10, and for IGCSE students deciding to pursue A levels. An educational psychologist will use scientific tools and tests to identify and navigate a student’s core competencies and key motivators to help select their ideal subject package. A Career Choice Assessment is perfect for students in their final two years of school (Grade 11 and Grade 12; IGCSE, AS and A level) who want to understand and map out their best potential career pathway. A Career Choice Assessment is a vital tool to assist students in choosing a career (and lifestyle) where they will thrive (and not just survive). Some of the benefits of completing a professional assessment include: increased self-awareness defined learning goals and targets enhanced motivation lower varsity dropout rate increased employability increased job satisfaction In this article, we will look into these benefits in more detail. Increased Self-Awareness When a teenager has increased self-awareness, they are able to better understand what motivates and inspires them. This ability to objectively understand themselves will play a vital role in building a life(style) that promotes happiness, open communication and good health. A student who is able to identify and deeply understand their strengths, weaknesses, interests and motivators will be able to define a study and career pathway that highlights and compliments their unique personality traits. Define Learning Goals By identifying their long-term goals, a student is able to create a targeted learning approach to achieve these clearly defined goals. When selecting subjects at high school level, a student should consider what career path they want to explore in order to ensure that they are equipped with the right skills and qualifications to enable them to pursue that career. Some career paths may require that the child has completed certain subjects at school level in order to meet the minimum entry requirements to enrol in the course at tertiary level. For example, if a child decides that they want to pursue a career in medicine, then it would be essential that they choose Biology as a subject in high school. Enhanced Student Motivation It is no surprise that a streamlined, goal-orientated approach will aid in a child’s motivation, especially when it comes to their education. Having a goal (or light at the end of the tunnel) helps students to visualise what they are working towards and enables them to focus on these goals. This means that they are less likely to get distracted and despondent with activities and tasks that don’t aid them in achieving their objectives. Achievement, goal-smashing and the feeling of success are key motivators when it comes to learning. Understanding the benefits and rewards associated with their efforts will greatly aid their abilities to tackle each new day. Lower Varsity Dropout Rate Through increased motivation and goal definition, students who complete subject and career assessments have shown a lower varsity dropout rate. This is largely due to the fact that the child (and parents) have taken the time and energy to evaluate and define appropriate learning pathways instead of just picking a career based on what will result in the greatest financial reward. Students who have clearly defined long-term goals are able to stay motivated in their studies at varsity level. Increased Employability “Employability” refers to the likelihood of a person obtaining employment. Students who complete subject or career choice assessments tend to have an increased employability potential. This is due to their specific, targeted education approach. Learners who are subject-specialised and focused on a specific career have a higher chance of employability based on course subject matter and experience. Students who have spent the latter half of their high school career building their skillsets towards a career pathway that highlights their unique strengths are more likely to be able to build a resumé that attracts job offers that meet their areas of interest. Increased Job Satisfaction By identifying a student’s strengths and passions, we are able to advise on career pathways where they will be their happiest. Learners who pursue their career passions tend to have higher job satisfaction through their adult lives. Most people will change careers at least five times on average during a lifetime. As technology and industries advance so new career opportunities that require new skills and attitudes will emerge. A career assessment is, therefore, more important than ever and it is not so much aimed at choosing a specific job, but rather on making sure the child ends up in the right career, field or industry. Online learning platforms, like CambriLearn, offer access to a professional education psychologist who can assist with conducting a virtual subject and career assessment. These assessments will help understand a child’s strengths and weaknesses and enable them to make subject and career choices that will be sustainable and enjoyable throughout their lives.

March 9, 2022

Which learning style best describes your child?

Different people with different personalities will tackle the same project with different strategies. No two children are the same and therefore they will not learn in the same way or at the same pace. In a traditional classroom setting the teacher to learner ratio is usually around 1:25. It is simply not possible for a teacher to create personalised lessons for each student. For this reason, when the teacher creates her lesson plan for a particular subject, she chooses an approach that will cater for the class average. Understanding your child’s preferred style of learning is vital to ensure that they feel motivated in their studies. Once you understand what style of learning is best suited to your child, you can tailor their studies to fit their needs. This is what we like to call personalised learning. Over the last few years, more and more parents and guardians are choosing a personalised, self-paced and tailored approach to their child’s education. CambriLearn is an online learning platform that doesn’t just recognise the importance of personalised learning, they prioritise it. Every child is unique and there is no “one-size fits all” approach to education. Parents and guardians should ask themselves; is my child’s education provider harnessing and nurturing my child’s individual personality? Understanding your child’s learning style – the VARK system It is important to note that no one learning style is better than another. As a parent, you might prefer to read a manual whilst your child might prefer to see instructions in a diagram format. This is totally ok! We should celebrate and strategically approach each student’s preferred learning style in order to promote optimal learning and knowledge retention. According to the VARK system, there are four types of learning styles – visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinaesthetic. This short fun quiz can help you better understand your child’s preferred learning style*, and the below article will explain each of these learning styles in more detail. Types of Learning Styles VISUAL Visual learners understand and remember things by sight. They retain information better when it’s presented to them in a graphic depiction, such as arrows, charts, diagrams, patterns, shapes and symbols. The best way to explain concepts to visual learners is by explaining ideas visually. For instance, when explaining a scientific process, it can be done by using a diagram. Visual learners are usually quite neat in their work. They often close their eyes to visualize or remember something. They tend to have difficulty with spoken directions and may be easily distracted by sounds. Here are a few practical examples of how to approach visual learners; Have their eyesight checked on a regular basis. Use flashcards to teach new concepts. Draw pictures to help explain new concepts and then explain the pictures. Colour code things. Avoid distractions during study times. AUDITORY Auditory learners prefer listening to information that is presented to them orally and they retain information better when it is heard. These learners work well in interactive group settings where open communication is present and may enjoy reading aloud to themselves. Saying things out loud helps them better understand the concept at hand. Auditory learners retain information best when it is presented to them via strategies that involve talking, such as online lectures and group discussions. They can benefit from repeating back the lessons, having recordings of the lectures, and group activities. Auditory learners may hum or talk to themselves (or others), which leads people to think that they are not paying attention, when in fact they are. Here are a few practical examples of how to approach auditory learners; Ensure that they can hear what the teacher is saying. Have their hearing checked on a regular basis. Read stories, assignments, or directions out loud. Record yourself spelling words and then listen to the recording. Read test questions out loud. READING & WRITING Reading and writing learners consume information best when it’s in words, whether that’s by writing it down or reading it. These learners succeed with written information on worksheets, presentations, and other text-heavy resources. These learners are note-takers and perform strongly when they can reference written text. These individuals usually perform very well on written assignments. To connect with a Reading and Writing learner it is best to have them describe charts and diagrams by written statements, take written quizzes on the topics, or give them written assignments. Here are a few practical examples of how to approach reading and writing learners; Encourage them to take notes during class. Equip them with books and reading materials to help them work through concepts. Encourage them to make lists. Promote activities such as essays, creative writing and writing projects. KINAESTHETIC Kinaesthetic learners (also known as tactile learners) enjoy hands-on, practical lessons and thrive when engaging all of their senses during coursework. They learn by touching and doing. Kinaesthetic learners tend to learn better when there is some type of physical activity is involved. They need to be active and take frequent breaks. These types of learners often use their hands when they talk and may have difficulty sitting still. These learners are usually very in touch with their reality, which is why they require using tactile experience to understand something better. These learners tend to work well in scientific studies due to the hands-on lab component of the lessons. The best way to present new information to a kinaesthetic learner is through personal experience, practice and examples. These learners often communicate by touching and appreciate physically expressed forms of encouragement, such as a pat on the back. Here are a few practical examples of how to approach auditory learners; Encourage lessons that involve touching, building, or drawing. Do lots of hands-on activities like experiments, art projects, nature walks, or role-plays. Don’t reprimand them if they tap their foot, walk around, or rock their chair while reading or studying. Trace words with your finger to learn to spell. Take frequent breaks during reading or studying periods (frequent, but not long).

March 3, 2022

THREE THINGS TO DO WHEN YOUR KID GETS BENCHED

I remember the day my son lost first chair on the school marching band. He came home and declared that he hated the trumpet and he never wanted to play it again. When I asked him what happened, he did not want to talk about it. My initial parental impulse was to go down to the school, find out what happened and defend my son in whatever the incident was. But I knew that racing in to potentially rescue my son was not the right thing to do. If I wanted to raise a resilient young man, I had to do two things; trust in the “law of allowing” by giving him room to deal with the situation on his own, and to stand back just far enough to be available to coach him through the issue, if he needed me. He obviously didn’t want to talk about what happened so I had to wait until he was ready to share. Some parents don’t wait it out. They allow the protective momma or papa bear in them to quickly race down to the school or confront the coach to protect their child. We’ve seen all the cell phone video footage of the dads who end up physically attacking the coach or worse, another child. Yes, we must protect our child from danger and harm, but responsible parents must assess each situation to determine how much they should really get involved. Getting benched from a team is a very valuable life lesson for a child or teen. It could offer a wakeup call that will keep the ego in check and also remind our children that rules, boundaries and procedures are in place to be followed. I’m sure that some coaches put children on the sidelines unfairly, but I would be willing to bet that most do it responsibly and for good reason. Here are three things to keep in mind If your child is ever benched while a part of a team. Avoid complaining to the coach to rescue your child, even if the coach wasn’t fair. Life itself isn’t always fair so sheltering your children from real-world situations robs them of the opportunity to learn and grow. Bad mouthing the coach, dance instructor or team manager behind their back also teaches children that back biting is acceptable. If you want your child to become a young person of integrity, the training begins with modeling appropriate behavior for them to witness first hand. Don’t argue with your child if she begins to unfairly blame her predicament on others. It may just be an automatic defensiveness to protect her feelings and suppressing them could cause her to move deeper into a false sense of denial. Let her express her feelings about it without judgment and be ready to listen. There will be plenty of time later on to help her understand what really happened. Creating emotional space by encouraging her to talk about it is likely to lead her to draw her own realistic conclusions, when she’s ready. Finally, make it mandatory that he is to attend every game and practice, regardless of whether he is able to play or not. Being there to support his teammates is paramount to teaching teamwork, and having him in attendance on the sideline may lead to a quicker resolution of the problem. This could also move the coach to bring him back on the playing field or court. Once the wounds heal, then it’s time for deeper parental discussion with your child on what happened and what he or she can do the next time.

February 28, 2022

DON’T KILL YOUR CHILD’S CREATIVITY FOR PERFECTION

Have you or anyone you know ever created something strange? As reported by weirdunivers.net, Dutch artist Olaf Mooij created a vehicle called the Braincar. This strange looking car has what looks like a giant brain on top of it and sports a video camera that captures video as he travels around during the day. Olaf apparently uses the inside of the brain as a movie screen and projects the video captured during the day on the inside of the brain. While this might all sound weird and have no purpose for many, I’m guessing that Olaf is a very creative person and may have been allowed to develop that creativity during his childhood. Parents have the power to make or break a child’s ability to be creative. It requires remaining calm and relaxed when the child comes up with preposterous ideas and to avoid attempting to keep her grounded out of fear. It also requires minimizing entertainment electronics and creating plenty of time and space to dream and create. When I was a child, I would spend hours writing ghost stories on an old yard sale typewriter that I bought with money I earned on my newspaper delivery route. When I first started creating these stories of fantasy, I remember being so excited to show my creations to my mother, grandparents, and my teachers. But immediately, they would give me the “that’s nice BUT…” phrase and then follow it with all the things that were wrong with my story, such as the grammar, spelling, story structure, or even whether it could really happen or not. With that continuous discouragement, I eventually stopped writing. My adult caregivers meant well, but were so concerned about making sure I did it all just right, that they ended up killing my motivation to create. I have a video that I sometimes show in my training classes that depicts a Dad reading a newspaper. His young son approaches him to show him a drawing he created with crayons. As the boy hands the picture to his father, his beaming pride is quickly destroyed when the father gives him the “that’s nice David, but…” parental statement. Dad quickly points out to this son that the wheels on an airplane belong on the bottom and not on the roof. Discouragement instantly appears on the boys face and he slowly walks away. Why did the Dad in the video correct his son’s drawing? Perhaps he was motivated by the fear that his son will get laughed at by his peers for not knowing how to draw airplanes. Let your kids be creative. Don’t worry about how it will turn out; stop controlling the outcome all the time. I can’t help but wonder what might have become of my ghost story writing when I was 10 if the adults in my life knew how to relax and just let me create. Perhaps I could I have become the next Stephen King? What will you do today to foster creativity in your child? Start by letting him draw wheels on the roof so he can create his braincar?

February 28, 2022

HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD BE A GREAT TEAM PLAYER

Team sports start pretty early these days, with children as young as four and five enrolling in soccer leagues. For most children, that’s just the beginning. They’ll go on to participate in team sports throughout their school years and sometimes into their college ones. Besides sports, being part of a team will also be a requirement in the classroom and on the playground, and the same skills your child needs on the field can help him throughout life. Here are some key things to teach your child about being a great team player. Teach him that there is no I in TEAM. This saying is still popular among coaches because it’s so true. Children, by nature, are self-focused. It’s natural, especially at a young age, for them to think about themselves more than their teammates. They want to be the one to kick the ball in for a goal or hit the home run and win the game. Teach your child that no matter how great he is, he’s part of a team, and everyone on that team is a valuable player. Talk about how each person has something to contribute and should be given the chance to play. These ideas can be especially hard to get across to your child if he’s skilled and is considered a star of the team. When others set him apart because of his talent, it’s easy for him to fall into the trap of feeling like he can get things done all by himself. But he can’t. Even the star needs the support and help of his teammates to shine. Let him know mistakes are a part of everything in life. No one is perfect, and mistakes are just part of the game in sports. That’s easy to say, but often children don’t take mistakes with a great attitude. A missed ball or an out of bounds throw can cause anything from a few minutes of pouting to a full-blown meltdown. Take those opportunities to talk with your child about his feelings about the mistake. Remind him that no one on the team, not even the star player, gets it right every time. Help him remember a time when other team members made mistakes and it turned out OK. Helping him realize that his mistake isn’t fatal will help put things in perspective. Off the field or court, give your child lots of opportunities to try new things. Learning how to bounce back from mistakes in everyday life will help him do the same in the game. Show her how to win. One of the hardest things to teach your child is the lesson of humility. It’s her natural instinct to enthusiastically celebrate her team’s wins, and there’s nothing wrong with that. She and her teammates worked hard and they deserve to celebrate! They should be proud of themselves and enjoy the payoff of all their hard work and dedication. The key is to show kindness and respect to the other team while enjoying the win. That balance is hard to achieve, even for some adults. Remind your child what’s it’s like to be on the losing team. How would she like the winning team to treat her in those situations? What could they do or say that would make the loss easier to handle? By helping her see things from the losing team’s perspective, she’ll be much better prepared to show humility when she wins. Show him how to lose. The old adage “there’s nothing worse than a sore loser” still rings true today. Teaching your child to show humility when he wins is hard. Teaching him to show grace when he loses is even harder. His natural reaction is more likely to be anger and resentment towards the other team. Use these opportunities to talk about the importance of being proud of his efforts, even when they don’t result in a win. Books and films are filled with examples of good sportsmanship and can be discussion starters for you. Give her practice in being part of a team outside of sports. There are lots of opportunities in your child’s everyday life for her to learn and practice good team skills. Anytime she has to work with another person to accomplish a task will help her build up the skill set she needs to be a great team player. This can happen in free play with neighborhood kids when they come together to build a backyard fort or develop a new game. It can happen when she’s working with her siblings to get the Saturday chores done. Allow your child to learn from those situations and she’ll reap the rewards both on and off the field.

February 25, 2022

WHAT TO DO WITH KIDS WHO ALWAYS WANT, PLEAD, BEG OR DEMAND

I was shopping for a child relative’s gift and was looking at items in the toy section of a large department store. Near me were a mother and her son who appeared to be about seven. He was pleading with her to buy him a toy he really wanted and the begging began to escalate in intensity. In response to each request, her responses also increased in intensity as she would reply NO and the offer a reason. Some of this mother’s reasons included: “we have no money,” “your father is on a business trip and he needed to take our extra money with him,” “you already have that kind of toy laying on your bedroom floor,” “you don’t play with what you have,” “I’m tired of buying you toys,” “you don’t appreciate what you have,” “your birthday is coming,” “stop asking for things,” and on and on and on. Standing next to this drama and hearing it all play out was excruciating. But deep inside of me was the natural urge to want to stop his pleading by doing exactly what this mother did next… she bought him the toy! When kids keep demanding something and the parent is already stressed and tired, the natural urge is to yell and get angry, or give in to the child’s demands to stop the noise. Here are two things you can do to curb the “I want that” demands. SET UP A MONEY MANAGEMENT PROCESS. Taking a look at this problem from the child’s perspective; they have little or no control over spending money and you have given in to their requests in the past. The solution is to set up a money saving/spending plan that they can control. See how to do this by typing the following link into your Internet browser window and watching a short video http://bit.ly/teachingaboutmoney. Whenever you take your child shopping with you, allow him/her to take whatever they have in the ‘spending’ envelope to buy something. Your responsibilities are to help them set up this system, ensure that it is maintained (supervise it in the beginning) and to approve what they spend it on. HELP YOUR CHILD CREATE A DREAM BOOK. Buy your child a composition book (black and white cover and what we used in school) that you can find in the office supply isle of most department or convenience stores. Tell your child that this is going to be his/her ‘dream book’ where he/she can record all of the things he/she desires. Encourage your child to draw pictures of what they want or cut out pictures from magazines and fliers to paste into the new dream book. When your child sees something a friend has or in a television commercial, you simply say “put it in your dream book.” You are not responsible for fulfilling their dreams, your job is to teach them HOW to dream. With the holidays upon us, now is a good time to implement some changes to keep the “I WANT IT” demands from overwhelming you. Finally, avoid arguing with your child and certainly don’t give in. Doing so reinforces the behaviour (demanding) that drives you crazy. When they ask for something you’re not willing to provide, tell them that and don’t use the word NO. Simply say one time, “I’m not willing to buy that today,” and nothing more. Avoid giving excuses if you know they aren’t going to accept them. Saying NO seems to move them to demand even more.

February 24, 2022

How to teach your child to take care of the things they love

A common reaction to seeing your child behave in a manner you do not agree with is to reprimand them. It often ends up leading to a more-than-once conversation. However, there is a much more successful solution. Kindness…. When you react in a calm manner, you are leaving room to teach and have a conversation of understanding. I would suggest explaining to them, not just that what they are doing is not okay, but to create an environment where you take the opportunity to teach them why it’s not acceptable. Once you have explained this to them, demonstrate what you would like them to do instead. Children grow up mimicking their parents, so if you’re able to show them how to take care of something and why it was wrong in the first place, you should have a positive outcome. Another solution is to teach them to treat their things like their friends. If they would not hit and hurt their friends or the people they love, they should not do it to the things they love. Whether it is dishes, toys, or clothes. They should be taught to treat them like they would a person, with respect and kindness. This will continue on and develop by teaching them to take care of people. Although, I would not encourage a mix up in teaching them to treat people like objects. And again, I would recommend showing them how to take care of their things. I would also advise to speak about the toy or object as if it had human emotions. For a child, a big part of learning is through actions. Opening more opportunities for them to interact with their things or even your things helps develop a sense of responsibility. Allow your children to help you with whatever you have decided to take care of. Not only when they are teens, but I suggest starting all these steps from a young age. Allowing them to do something by themselves is an excellent and small way to encourage their growth in responsibility. I would not suggest enforcing this, but more so encouraging their them to take this step. Not only does teaching your child to be kind to their things is a good way to achieve this responsibility, but teaching them how to clean up or even clean their things is a great skill to achieve this goal, too. After an activity is completed, encouraging tidying up helps teach the children that once things are put away, it is then ready for when they decide to play with it again. This can be achieved by creating and organised routine. For example, establishing a toy policy is a helpful way to create an organised environment or space to put their toys. To practice daily consistency can aid in this routine. I would encourage not to use labels. Labels or name calling such as; lazy, forgetful, irresponsible — discourages your child to be responsible and in turn, creates a negative environment. Instead, take a view steps back to kindness and creating understanding for them to grow in a positive environment. When your child is acting out kindness on their own, acknowledge what they are doing. Acknowledgement and praise will encourage them to continue what they were doing and to repeat their kindness in the future. I’d like to point out that praise and acknowledgement should not involve rewards or be based off of them. This concept will teach children to act out of kindness in turn for something. Many children lose understanding when rewards are given, in turn, creating fuss and bad behaviour. Teaching your child this will also include them feeling entitled or owed something, leaving them to forget the bigger picture behind your life lesson. Without reprimanding or creating a discouraging space, if your child is not responding well to what you have explained to them, create consequences for when your child does not take care of things within the home. Some children need a little more help than others when it comes to taking care of things. I suggest to continue with the kindness, the acknowledgement, the honest explanations of why things are to be done in a certain way. Consequences discourages them from their bad behaviour, but your behaviour will encourage them to better how things are to be treated. Now, if you think a potential issue will occur, speak to them about their consequences. Have another honest conversation as to why you would be giving them these consequences. Once you have had this conversation, and it still continues then only proceed with the consequences that you had discussed with them. Keep in mind to be patient because with everything good, comes practice. Another very important thing to discuss is the importance of self-love and how it works hand-in-hand with treating their things and people with kindness. When children practice this, they are able to learn and understand their physical and personal needs, leading them to be able to give and take care of all things and people around them. This too will take time, however, if you are open to self love from early on in their lives, they are able to develop everything I have previously mentioned, respect for themselves and their things, and many more benefits going further.

February 24, 2022

ARE YOU RAISING A PRAISE JUNKIE?

Extensive research has been done to show the amazing results of praise. It can motivate both adults and children to perform exceedingly well, but to do it for the goal of obtaining the praise, not for the joy of achieving or the pleasure of the activity. I first learned of the term ‘praise junkie’ when I read Nurture Shock (2009; Twelve), a book that offers new research-based thinking about children. The authors state that the use of praise is becoming the solution for modern-day parenting that caregivers offer to their children as a way of soothing the anxieties the children experience throughout their day. More and more parents seem to strive to “make things all better,” so that their children experience less stress. And over-praised children don’t grow up to be ‘unmotivated softies’ as some have claimed, but instead, researchers have found that they actually become more competitive and overly focused on tearing others down. So if praising our children is discouraged, what are we supposed to do? The answer lies in our response to our child’s accomplishment. Instead of making sure that every child receives a trophy, the key is in how we respond to our child individually. Instead of saying “I’m proud of you,” the most effective parental response is “What did YOU think of the game,“ or “Tell me all about the picture you drew.” But there is more to this story; allow me to explain. I’m often asked if praise is bad for children and my response has been that it has a time, a place and a season. I see certain types of praise being necessary in three specific situations: in teaching young, egocentric children learn new social skills (hygiene, chores, etc.), when working with some children with disorders (such as those on the Autism spectrum) and in situations for turning around unhealthy family relationships. In most of these types of situations however, there is a season. Eventually, the awarding of smiley faces on behaviour charts or rewards for accomplishing new tasks should stop. Eventually, many autistic children can move past the daily rewards for better cooperation at home and in the classroom as their development progresses. And if the work is done, unhealthy family relationships can be restored, leading to less praise and rewards. When praise is not or no longer needed, encouragement (as you indicated) is needed instead. Praise is one person’s judgment of another. Even the words “Good Job” or “Attaboy” are someone’s evaluation of another person’s creation or performance. Encouragement is the technique of having that creating or performing person to say “Good Job” with their own voice. It coaches them to step back and assess what they did, and make internal decisions such as: “Am I happy with what I created?” “Will I do it again?” “Do I love doing this” “Does it fulfil me?” “What will I do with what I created?” When my children were young, I made the switch to stop the praise and instead, use encouragement. I tried it, sort of as an experiment to see what would happen. When my children came up to me with a picture they had drawn or a castle they built and said to me, “Look Dad, look at my picture.” Instead of saying to them “Good Job,” I said “Wow, tell me all about it.” In that moment, they would describe what they had created and I would avoid providing my opinion. My job was to be there in that moment and listen. In the beginning, using this new response to whatever they wanted to show me, they would sometimes ask me, “What do you think Dad?” My response would always be, “I like it, but what do YOU think about it.” To wean them off the praise society and my parents taught me, I would always pass it back to them. Because what they thought of their own creation was more important than mine. Eventually, my children stopped asking me and stopped hanging their pictures on the refrigerator and instead, started hanging them on their bedroom walls or putting them in albums for them to enjoy. They stopped placing them in public places in hopes of obtaining good words from others. When report cards came home, instead of taking it and reading it, I would hand it back to them and say, “Read it to me.” They would then read off their grades and I would listen. Encouragement requires lots of eye contact, much facial expression and few words. After they had read their grades, I would ask them specific questions to bring out more about the report card, never once applying my opinion. I would ask questions like what grade were they most proud of and which grade might they change and why. If they expressed a desire to bring up one grade or another, I would coach them into coming up with ideas and in many cases, I would offer to help in some capacity, still never applying my opinion of them or their grades. Today I’m watching my three children live their lives according to what they enjoy and according to their own opinions of their accomplishments. They are not performing or creating for other people, they are doing what they love to do for the love of doing the act, not doing it to please others. I urge all parents to use more encouragement and less praise, every day!

February 23, 2022

THE SINGLE MOM’S SURVIVAL GUIDE ON DISCIPLINE

Other than parents of multiples, I’m not sure there is anyone with a tougher parenting job than a single mother, and there are plenty of them. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 13.6 million single parents in 2007 raising 21.2 million children. To provide perspective, that is nearly 26% of children under 21 in the U.S. today. And the Web site, About.com reports that 84% of custodial parents are mothers. Single moms fill my parenting classes looking for help and I’ve spent many hours discussing their frustrations with them about their role as the sole caretaker. One particularly huge mistake they make that leads to discipline problems is using their children to fill their relationship needs. For example, labelling the oldest male child to be “the man of the house” or being in great need of friendships and treating the female children more as girlfriends rather than children. Being a single parent requires the courage to be firm and in control without creating more chaos for the kids. Here are 8 tips on discipline for the single mom. Hold Family Meetings. Children need to feel a part of the team and when they do, they are more likely to cooperate and will misbehave less often. Schedule a consistent day and time each week to sit down with the children to connect with them. The activities that work best for these sessions are any that encourage dialogue and sharing. You may also use this time to go over family rules but don’t make this the highlight of the meeting. Once you have demonstrated what the role of the facilitator looks like, allow the kids to take turns being the facilitator themselves, determining the discussion topics and agendas. Create Structure, Routines, and Boundaries. Children need sameness and routine in daily life, especially at a time when the structure of the family has suddenly changed due to death, separation, or divorce. The more structure they have in their world, the more secure they feel and again, the less likely they are to feel compelled to misbehave. Some single moms are afraid to step up and create order and limits because they fear hearing their children say the dreaded words, “I want to live with Daddy, he doesn’t have so many rules.” But it is these rules that will help them become the young adults you want them to be. Establish New Traditions. Take the opportunity to create new traditions and rituals as a family to create special moments and new closeness with the children. Doing so will allow for new bonding but will also help past and hurtful memories fade away. If the children’s’ other parent is in the picture and visitation is a new norm around the holidays, see the complex scheduling as something positive and not stressful, and an opportunity to create new activities or routines. Boyfriends Should Not Discipline. Children sometimes see the new boyfriend as a threat and experience jealousy. They don’t like sharing their mother with other siblings, let alone a stranger. The boyfriend is there for mom and not for the children, so I encourage dating single moms to set up rules from the start that the boyfriends should not have any role in administering discipline. It is perfectly fine for him to find special ways to connect with the kids with fun, play, and games, but the discipline should be left to mom. Engage Male Family Members For Boys. It is a fact that boys who have male role models in their lives mature in healthy emotional ways. Boys need men to learn from and have as mentors. If there is not an active and present father in a boy’s life, I suggest that single moms find ways of setting up extra time for him using her father, brothers, uncles, and other male relatives. Reach out to them and let them know how valuable they are and encourage them to spend time with her boys to help them grow into young men. Speak Respectfully About Their Father. Regardless of mom’s feeling toward her ex-husband, to the children he is still their father and still someone they may look up to. The children may not truly understand what the breakup was all about and certainly don’t see the world the way their mother does. It is important that mom always speaks respectfully about him to the children. If she doesn’t, they may feel angry toward her for doing it and become more sympathetic toward their father as an act of defence. This kind of inappropriate behaviour on mom’s part also models backbiting and sabotage for the children. Mom should keep her negative emotions about the children’s father to herself and not confide in the kids. Close friends and therapists are best for this. Take Care of Yourself. One parent raising the children alone may feel drained and pass it on to the kids emotionally. Even if mom doesn’t pass it on in obvious ways by yelling and snapping at them, the children will feel it and sense it. When the flight attendant on a passenger aircraft demonstrates the oxygen mask, she always instructs us to put it on us first and then to put it on our children. This illustration demonstrates that we must first take the measures to take care of ourselves so that we can effectively take care of our children. With an already over extended schedule, it may seem impossible for a single mom to take time out to take care of herself. But if she truly wants to be the best single mom for her kids, she must find a way to make it happen. Bill Corbett is a syndicated writer for numerous parenting publications nationwide and is the author of several books. Liz and Bill Corbett own the parent/teacher education organization, Cooperative Kids. They have six children between them and two grandchildren. Get free parenting advice at their Web site www.CooperativeKids.com.

February 18, 2022

WHAT MOMS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT RAISING BOYS

Discipline for both boys and girls is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are innate differences that must be addressed to help each gender develop appropriately. Since moms do a lot of the discipline, here are 7 suggestions for raising boys. Allow Appropriate Rough-Housing I raised two girls and one boy and it was common to see my girls sitting contently, playing together with their tea set or dolls for long periods of time. This is how girls engage in learning development. My son however, would be banging his trucks together or setting up lines of army men to shoot at each other, all while making loud explosion noises and occasionally flipping upside down as a way of physically acting out the violence he seemed to be creating with his toys. Communicate with Them Directly Two little girls can sit side by side, talking away and hear every word the other is saying without making eye contact. Because this style of communication is innate in mothers, they get frustrated when they issue a command to their son while washing dishes or shout an order from the next room and don’t get the results they are looking for. Successful communication with boys requires getting to their eye level, speaking in a calm tone, and even placing your hands on their arms or shoulders to make a physical connection. Teach Them to Express Their Emotions Boys who are able to feel their own emotions and know how to react to them with appropriate behaviour are more likely to be understanding and respectful of others and their feelings. These boys develop a higher level of emotional intelligence and are less likely to be driven by their anger when things don’t go their way or when someone makes them mad. They also turn out to be great husbands and fathers. Helping your son feel his emotion requires him to feel comfortable expressing what he feels and avoid telling him that “big boys don’t cry.” Provide Them with Positive Male Role Models Boys learn a great deal through what psychologists call observational learning. My grandmother use to call it monkey see, monkey do. A boy learns how to act like a man through the examples set by other men around him. A single mother raising sons needs to find positive role models for them to watch and emulate from, such as her father, brothers, or uncles. Women are nurturers by nature. Once a boy reaches the age of 8, it is not nurturing he needs more, but examples to learn from as he grows into his adolescent years.

February 16, 2022

How to raise a problem solver

Are you as worried as I am about the children of the new generations and their ability to solve problems? With the increase in the number of helicopter parents (parents who “swoop” in to make everything all better) and a generation of highly sensitive kids, how well are our children going to be able to identify and solve their own problems? This isn’t actually a new problem but it seems to be getting worse. Many years ago I taught college courses part time and it was back then that I noticed an increase in the number of parents coming to see me during my office hours, complaining about the grade I gave their young adult child. Instructors today tell me it’s gotten even worse, with some parents even popping in to see the class for themselves. Making the commitment to raising your children to become problem solvers first requires that you accept the fact that every problem can only have one owner. That person must be held responsible for solving the problem but can certainly seek out and incorporate help from others around him or her to solve the problem. If your teenager puts a dent in the family car, she owns that dent. She may obviously need help in getting it fixed, but she still owns it. To begin with, every time your child or teen comes to you with a problem, you must first determine yourself whether your child owns the problem or you own the problem. If you own the problem, take immediate measures to solve it quickly. If your child owns the problem, be ready to help him or her solve the problem. The following incident is an example to learn by. My son came running into the house one Saturday, holding his arm and complaining about a small abrasion from a fall he took out in the yard. A quick examination of the boo-boo and a few questions left me feeling confident that there was no internal damage and there really wasn’t any blood that I could see. Because I did not feel that there was anything I needed to do that my child couldn’t do for himself, it became his problem to fix. I first acknowledged that the minor scrape was a problem for him by saying to him, “It looks like your arm might hurt.” He nodded. I then helped him begin problem solving by saying to him, “What do you think you could do to make that arm feel better?” My coaching him to solve the problem felt uncomfortable to him so he said, “You’re my Dad, YOU do something.” I replied with, “You’re right, I am your Dad and I’ve always done things in the past, but this time, I want to know what YOU think you can do to make that arm stop hurting.” Instantly, my son said to me, “Can we wash it off and put a bandage on it?” I replied with a smile, “What a great idea! I could help by getting the box of bandages down from the cabinet for you.” Within a matter of minutes and of course, with some “Ouches!” he washed the boo-boo and applied the bandage, and off he ran to continue his play outside. Today that young man is in his early 20s and solving problems every day as a much sought after restaurant manager! Let your children and teens solve their own problems with your guidance and coaching, while you’re nearby to help them do it. What problems will YOU begin letting your child solve on his or her own today?

February 10, 2022

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