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.