How Can We Connect?

April 3, 2018 By Diane Constantine

I have been reminded this month of the importance of connecting with your children. Modern living fills our ears and eyes with so much information and uses up our energy getting from one place to another. Children who do not have time to spend with their parents miss out on the wisdom and values that are caught better than taught. Others can take care of our children, but they will imprint them with their own values and behavior. So, the big question is, “How can we connect?”

Consider your work situation

Here are some things to think about.

How important is it that both parents work outside the home? Could you manage on only one income or is it possible for one parent to work from home? It may mean quite a severe cut of income, but could this be made up in savings from cooking more at home and having the leisure to shop for bargains?
If both must work outside the home, is it possible for one to work nearby so that they could eat lunch with the child or be able to cut the number of hours that a caregiver must be hired?
If both must work outside the home, it is vital that the caregiver is well chosen. That person or persons must have similar values and philosophy of parenting as you. They must have the strength and energy to care well for a very mobile youngster. The place where they care for your child must be safe and clean.

Ideas for Connecting

With the care-giving in place, here are some suggestions for ways to connect with your child.

Spend as much time with your child as possible. This does not mean time with your child AND your hand phone or computer. This means time you are playing with your child, or cuddling, or reading, or listening. (Quality does NOT make up for quantity. Both quantity and quality time are important!)
Let them share as much of your life as possible. Take them with you when you run errands. Find ways they can play in the same room where you are doing chores. Teach them how to help you with chores so you can work side-by-side as soon as possible. (Begin before the age of 2. This is when they still think it is FUN to help you.)
Read with your child every day. If you want your child to do well in school, begin with pre-reading skills by reading books together. Have them turn the pages and point to things you mention on the page. Ask them questions about what you read. Make noises and actions to explain anything they don’t understand from the story. Their vocabulary will grow along with their love of reading because this is connected with time and cuddling with you.
Each parent should take care of the children to allow the other to have some “Me Time.” It doesn’t need to be a long time, but should be often enough and for long enough to do something that is rejuvenating.
Plan enough time in the morning and again in the evening to make getting dressed fun time with you (both parents if at all possible) and your child. Don’t make it a chore you have to endure and get finished.
Find time every week what the whole family can do something together that everyone can enjoy. These activities change as baby becomes toddler and then preschooler. Also, the addition of another child changes the mix. But “Family Fun” is important for everyone. Don’t miss it!

There are so many other good ways to connect with your child! Please share your ideas by email Diane. I will compile your ideas and share them in a future post.

Read Aloud Every Day

July 23, 2014 By Diane Constantine

Huffinton Post reported: On June 24, 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first-ever policy statement focused on literacy promotion, calling for pediatricians to advise all parents about the many benefits of reading aloud, which promotes literacy and social-emotional skills.

“Reading with young children is a joyful way to build strong and healthy parent-child relationships and stimulate early language development,” Dr. Pamela High, a pediatrician and professor at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School, told The Huffington Post.

“Even in higher-income families, many children do not experience the enhanced engagement and language-rich parent-child interactions, including book handling, print exposure and other early literacy experiences afforded by daily shared reading,” the authors write. “All families face issues of limited time, limited parental understanding of the key role of reading aloud and competition for the child’s interest and attention from other sources of entertainment, such as electronic media.”

“As for parents, High said they should remember the so-called ‘5 Rs‘ of early education: reading with their children daily as part of a set routine; rhyming, singing and cuddling with them throughout the day; establishing routines and regular times for meals and sleep; rewarding them for their efforts and successes to boost self-esteem; and developing relationships that are reciprocal and nurturing. Parents should make daily reading a part of their regular, set routine.”

So, Moms and Dads, take the time, make the effort to include reading books together as part of your daily routine with your babies and young children.

Reading

September 26, 2012 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

This is one of the most important and difficult skills your young child will undertake. You begin the process early with helping him learn to speak and reading out loud to him. Here are some good resources for helping your child learn to read.

Reading Aloud Everyday from Birth Onwards

The American Academy of Pediatricians has issued a policy statement encouraging pediatricians to promote literacy by encouraging parents to read aloud to their children from birth onwards. Read the post: Read Aloud Everyday

Also read the original article by the Huffington Press.

Why reading to your baby is so important, gives lots of reasons and ways to read to your baby and growing child.

Teaching Sight Words

Sight Word Flash Cards from Parents.com are a free download of printable flashcards. These are the 200 most frequent words that cannot be sounded out with phonics. When children learn these words, they can read much more fluently.

Be sure to stop by the Mr. Printable page for many more options. You must sign into the site, but no personal information is required.

Teaching Toddlers to Read

The mom of a 22 month old asked me recently what she should be doing to teach her child to read. Her daughter reads words that she has never been taught. She was saying, “Moot,” while pointing to an apple juice bottle. Her mom had never referred to it as anything other than apple juice, but the brand name was Mott. Is she reading and what should this mom do to teach her daughter?

Recently an infomercial aired in the US for Your Baby Can Read. It sounds like a great idea, but is it worth the money and time?

Researchers are agreed that the neural pathways necessary for decoding letters then mentally combining them to form words are not ready until around 5 years of age?

So, who is right and what is a parent to do?

The Role of Memory in Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension involves a variety of neuro-developmental functions, including attention, memory, language, and higher order cognition. In this post, we’re going to focus on the role of memory.

Memory:

While reading, we must hold important information and concepts in our minds. We must process words, sentences and paragraphs together in order to gain full meaning of what we’re reading. In addition, we must call up relevant information we already know. Memory is essential in helping us comprehend as we read, make associations between prior knowledge and new information, and remember that same information at a later time, such as during a test.

Here are some possible signs that a student is succeeding with the memory demands of reading:

How to Read with a Beginning Reader

Most beginning readers are inconsistent. Learn more about the characteristics of a beginning reader and simple techniques and tips to nurture your child’s skills and joy in reading.

Sometimes parents of beginning readers wonder if their child is on track with reading. They don’t understand why their child can’t read a word today they were able to read yesterday. They think their child reads too slowly. They grumble that their child only wants to read the same book over and over again.

Most beginning readers are inconsistent. They may know a word one day but not the next. They may read a particular word correctly on one page, but they have to stop and sound it out again on the next page. When you listen to a beginning reader, you hear short, choppy words with little attention to punctuation. Sometimes a new reader can tell you very little about what they just read.

At the beginning stage of reading, all of these reading behaviors are to be expected. Beginning readers are building their fluency. This means they’re working to make several skills, like matching a letter to a sound and decoding, more smooth, accurate and automatic. Without fluency, each word must be decoded, and that takes time and energy. This means that other reading behaviors like reading with expression and comprehension have less of a focus.

Learn more from: Reading Rockets

Teaching Toddlers to Read

September 30, 2009 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Recently an infomercial aired in the US for Your Baby Can Read. It sounds like a great idea, but is it worth the money and time?

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20 Months Girl

August 14, 2009 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Key Thought

This is a time of increasing curiosity. She wants to know how things work, what things do in relation to other things, and loves surprise endings. When things don’t go as she expected, she will laugh and try again. Provide her lots of opportunities to explore safely.

[Read more…]