FEBRUARY 2010 NEWSLETTER

Greetings Parents/Guardians,

We would like to thank all parents for helping your child to adapt to the school learning environment for the past two months. Please note that the school will be closed on 26th February 2010, Friday for Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday celebration. We are looking forward to an exciting year in working with parents and your children.

It is always our desire to help young children building a strong foundation for learning in their early childhood years. Such strong foundation should include good character building. As many researches have shown that children whom have better control of their behaviours tend to have more self-confidence, do better in school. However, it takes great efforts and understanding from both teachers and parents to achieve the goal.

Managing family life with young children is a challenging duty. I am sure parents will agree with me that parenting is a hard work and it takes patience and skills. Children are often hard to understand. They seems impossible to control. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it seems that everything we do is wrong. By learning more about children and their needs, it can help us to be more effective as parents. We hope that you will find some tips and suggestions in the articles below to help making parenting to be more effective and enjoyable.

Happy reading!

Confronting Unrealistic Myths About Parenting

-by Child Care Resources Inc.

Unrealistic ideas about parenting can contribute to unnecessary anxiety. Establish reasonable expectations regarding family life.

Compare the myths to reality:

• Parenting comes naturally.

Parenting is hard work for which there is little preparation. Parents deserve support and encouragement. It is the most important job on earth.

• Good children never misbehave.

NOT TRUE! All children test limits, exhibit challenging behaviours, and make mistakes. That is how they learn. The parent’s job is to set clear and fair limits, redirect inappropriate behaviours, and help children learn from their experiences.

• Children owe their parents respect.

Respect cannot be demanded - it is earned over time. The keys to gaining a child’s respect are fairness, consideration, honesty, and responsiveness.

• You can stop siblings from fighting.

The family is the training ground for learning how to get along with others. Children test out their developing ideas on each other. We can reduce sibling conflict, but we can’t eliminate it altogether.

• Adults must always have the right answer.

There is not always a right answer! Family unity is strengthened by solving problems together. All family members can learn from their own and each other’s mistakes.

The key to confronting unrealistic myths is to maintain reasonable expectations for you and your family, and to congratulate yourself on the hard work you do.

Identifying and Coping With Your Child’s Unique Temperament

Good parenting involves matching your style to that of each child.  Here’s how:

• Identify and work with your child’s unique personality. Observe her activity levels, distractibility, and adaptability; her response to new situations, and the intensity of those reactions; the regularity of her eating and sleeping patterns; her reaction to sensory stimulation; and her overall basic mood.

• Every child has his own style, pace, and interests. Take time to learn your child’s rhythms and skills. Then you can encourage his strengths, and provide structure for those areas which need support.

• Be careful about labelling your child. Saying “he’s always shy” can be self-fulfilling. Instead, “he’ll come play when he’s ready, he likes to watch a while first” acknowledges and accepts the child’s personality and preferences.

• Remember that “normal” spans a wide continuum of behaviours. Many children labelled “hyperactive” may be well within the range of normal behaviour.

• Don’t fall prey to the idea that “my child is doing this to me on purpose.” For some children, constant motion, active physical exploration, and loudly enthusiastic involvement are biological imperatives, not behaviours they choose.

The key to coping with your child’s unique temperament is understanding all you can about his style; work as his ally and supporter, rather than making demands which he simply cannot meet.

Creating Evening Routines that Work

It’s really important for working parents to have some time to relax and unwind. A consistent routine helps make sure you and your child get the rest you need. Here’s how:

• Remember that children who have been active for long hours in child care/school need their rest even more than you do!

• Establish a consistent and reasonable bedtime, based on your child’s individual sleeping needs.

• Save exciting or physical play for earlier in the day. Don’t rev children up when you want them to settle down.

• Allow children to make some choices. “Do you want to brush your teeth before or after we read a book?”

• Don’t ask your child when you mean to tell her! For instance, don’t ask, “Do you want to go to bed now?” Tell her instead: “It’s bedtime!” Use a chart or a list to help the child organize getting ready for bed and for the next day (i.e., put toys away, lay out tomorrow’s clothes).

• Give an early warning so the child knows that bedtime is coming up soon.

• After you’ve put your child to bed, congratulate yourself and enjoy a few quiet moments!

The key to creating evening routines that work is to find special ways for you and your child to feel close after a day apart.

JANUARY 2010 NEWSLETTER

Greetings Parents / Guardians,

I take great pleasure to welcome all parents, especially our first year parents to Tadika Seri Rhema, a family of fun and learning. Most children have settled down by now and parents are reminded to be punctual as school starts at 8.00 a.m. Please keep the school inform should there be any changes to your addresses and contact numbers to enable the school to contact you during emergencies.

Please take time to read these monthly newsletters as they are mooted to share some ideas or knowledge on familiar or common issues which I believe will inspire or enable you to be more effective parents. If you require any help with regards to your child’s learning and development, please feel free to contact me. I will be more than willing to arrange a time with you if you would prefer a private session.

Healthy self-esteem is a child's armor against the challenges of the world. Kids who feel good about themselves seem to have an easier time handling conflicts and resisting negative pressures. They tend to smile more readily and enjoy life. These kids are realistic and generally optimistic.

In contrast, kids with low self-esteem can find challenges to be sources of major anxiety and frustration. Those who think poorly of themselves have a hard time finding solutions to problems. If given to self-critical thoughts such as "I'm no good" or "I can't do anything right," they may become passive, withdrawn, or depressed. Faced with a new challenge, their immediate response is "I can't."

Self-esteem is the collection of beliefs or feelings we have about ourselves, our "self-perceptions." How we define ourselves influences our motivations, attitudes, and behaviors and affects our emotional adjustment.

Here are some ideas how parents can play important role in promoting healthy self-esteem in your child.
a

Happy reading!

a

I'm Glad I'm Me : Developing Self-Esteem In Young Children

By Public Broadcasting Services (PBS)

Every parent hopes that their children are developing a positive sense of self-worth. How your children feel about themselves is one of your greatest responsibilities and biggest challenges. People who have a positive sense of self feel like they have something worthwhile to contribute and a sense of internal worth. They are able to venture out into the world, work toward attaining their goals, and welcome life with anticipation and pleasure.

This self-concept develops very early in life. From the very beginning, a baby learns from how people respond to her and how people see her. By about 18 months of age, a child has a clear notion that she has a separate and specific identity. You can assist your baby in feeling good about herself by recognizing the unique qualities that she possesses. It's important to pay attention to your baby's temperamental pattern so that your expectations fit her personality.

Children who have self-confidence have a feeling of internal worth that enables them to welcome challenges and work cooperatively with others. When children don't develop self-confidence, they tend to focus on failure instead of success, problems instead of challenges, and difficulties instead of possibilities. There is no single way to enhance self-esteem, but one way is to show children "unconditional positive regard." Let your children know that you care about them, accept them, and approve of them, no matter what. Your challenge is to accept your child as a person, even when you do not accept his behavior.

Honest Recognition and Praise
a

Honest recognition and sincere praise come from the heart and draw attention to something specific the child has done. Sometimes we spend so much time exclaiming, "Good job!" that it comes to have little meaning for children. Better to be more specific with remarks like "You worked so hard building that block tower!" or "Thank you for helping Raul pick up the paints."
a

Self-worth is such a private, internal feeling, your comments will have the most impact when they deal with who your child is and how she sees herself from the inside. When you praise your children, try to do it in a way that heightens their sense of inner satisfaction. Praise is an external source of esteem, which is helpful but not nearly as valuable and effective as internal sources that come from a sense of competence.
a

Respect
a

Respect is another key component in reinforcing your child's self-worth. There are several ways you can show respect for your children. You can offer them choices when appropriate, then respect and abide by their decisions. Showing confidence in your child's ability to make decisions helps build his self-esteem. Another way to show respect towards children is to explain the reasons behind the rules or adult decisions. Avoid talking about children in front of them unless they are included in the conversation.
a

Competence
a

The most effective thing you can do to help your children feel a sense of self-worth is to help them achieve competence or an internal feeling of mastery or control. Every time your child does something well, she feels competent because of what she did, not because of what someone said. Here are six practical ways to help your children gain competence:

a
• Encourage your children to make their own choices and be as independent as possible.
• Provide many different experiences and activities for your children to experience success.
• Provide opportunities that are challenging but not too difficult or frustrating. When developing new skills, children need to practice and try things out over and over again.
• Encourage a diverse range of skills for both girls and boys. Avoid reinforcing stereotypical ideas of what is appropriate play. Pay attention to allowing and encouraging equal access to activities and skills.
• Offer many creative activities where your children can explore the process of creation and the expression of their ideas and feelings.
• Offer your children as many opportunities as possible for interacting and playing with other children and help them to figure out strategies for getting along with them.