The following is a widely known positive problem solving approach. Everyone must first cool off. A few days after the event and after everyone has calmed down, the family can brainstorm positively and then choose solutions. After a period of time, the family checks back…
What should be considered in determining whether a preschool is the best one for your child? There are no national standards, and there is wide variation among state standards. ~ Fortunately, the Texas Education Agency has established excellent standards for preschool programs in the state…
Play is a natural promoter of intellectual growth, literacy, creativity, imagination, and social/emotional development. Play promotes intellectual growth. Children, while playing, develop the ability to learn to think symbolically and abstractly. The development of symbolic and abstract thought is the ability to represent thoughts, feelings…
The definition of intelligence depends on the time and culture you live in. During Socrates’ day, intelligent people were those who could memorize extensive passages and then recite them. There were hardly any written texts in 500 BC so this ability to memorize was valued.…
The process a child undergoes to learn to speak, read, and write is interesting to consider in light of how oral and written language have evolved throughout history. Our little kids will master the basics of written language in three or so years. Yet it…
Your Aunt Maria says that all you have to do is set boundaries. Your uncle says that it doesn’t matter what you do, kids will just turn out the way they are going to. People are often bombarded with a wide range of parenting suggestions…
You ask your child to clean his room, and the result is tears, frustration, or tantrums. There are many things you can do to prevent this response. It is essential that you understand that children have cognitive limitations in organizing and to work within those…
The holidays are often the times when you and your child are with relatives you don’t see very often. Of course, you want your child to be on their best behavior. So, then why does she sometimes act her worst? Think about the whole thing from…
ROLE MODELS Children need role models to show them how to behave in specific situations. They also absorb the behavior they see from others in every day life or in videos. Very young children need direct guidance to know how to behave in…
It is very important that you talk to your child as much as possible for both academic and behavior reasons. According to research by Betty Hart and Todd Risley(2003), children from higher social and economic status families have heard thirty million more words than children from underprivileged…
MRI studies, longitudinal observational studies and input from tens of thousands of educators of young children have changed the way most view how one should appropriately interact with and guide very young children. Historical discipline has given way to strong guidance. Some historical discipline approaches…
If you want your child to have a high sense of self-esteem, don’t go out of your way to praise her; go out of your way to make sure she experiences mastery in many different ways. We want to be teaching life skills, not providing…