You Were Warned

By Lynn Stuter
Mar. 1, 2010

There has been a growing controversy — in Rhode Island and across the nation — about the firing of the teachers at Central Falls High School.

Teachers are in an uproar, the union is “outraged,” the parents are “outraged,” the students are surely “going to be traumatized” (But then, that seems easy to accomplish these days.

To listen to the talking heads, one definitely comes to the conclusion that children are just not as resilient as they used to be when adults had common sense.)

To understand why these teachers were fired, one needs to understand the system.

Back in 1994, Goals 2000, the educate America Act was passed by Congress. This was under the Clinton Administration but Goals 2000 was the end product of America 2000 which went back to the George Herbert Walker Bush Administration.

Prior to America 2000, there were all the meetings of head honchos across the country, like the National Governors’ Association (NGA) meeting, called by Bush in September 1989 that brought about America 2000.

The meeting occurred at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and resulted in the establishment of the Governors’ Task Force on Education with Governor Booth Gardner of Washington state, head of the NGA, appointing himself, Governor Roy Romer of Colorado (appointed chair of the Task Force), Governor Carroll Campbell of South Carolina, Governor Evan Bayh of Indiana, Governor Terry Branstead of Iowa, and Governor John Ashcroft of Missouri to the committee.

And before that, there were the Schools for the 21st Century pilot project in states across the nation, including Washington State that commenced ca 1988-1989.

These schools were the precursor to education transformation nation-wide; they were the foundation of Goals 2000.

The pilot project in Washington State never met the requirements of the laws governing it, yet it was heralded as a roaring success by those running the program, not based on quantifiable evidence but rather on anecdotal “evidence.”

The whole sham that was the Schools for the 21st Century pilot project in Washington State was finally brought before the Senate Education Committee, through the hard work of many people, me included, in February 1998.

One would think that the Washington State Legislature would not want to subject children to a failed education system. One would think that the Washington State Legislature would not want to waste taxpayer dollars on a colossal failure.

The reaction of the Washington State Legislature? For the most part, legislators boycotted the hearing.

The Superintendent of Public Instruction tried to disrupt the hearing.

The Democrat co-chair of the Senate Education Committee tried to disrupt and sidetrack the hearing.

TVW, the organization that videos hearings held by Senate and House committees, suddenly decided they couldn’t video the hearing. Although slated to do so, they cancelled at the last minute, obviously the game plan being that the last-minute cancellation would ensure that there would not be enough time to bring in and set up video equipment of the type needed to provide quality video of the hearing.

TVW’s excuse for canceling was that the Superintendent of Public Instruction wasn’t invited to be center stage at the hearing.

For his role in setting up the hearing, the Republican co-chair of the Senate Education Committee was castigated by his own party. When he ran for Governor, his own party undermined his campaign.

The message was clear: the Washington State Legislature, Democrats and Republicans alike, did not want hear that the program they had implemented in the schools in the state, under Goals 2000, was a colossal failure if educating children for intelligence was the goal.

Systems education, what was implemented in every school nation-wide under Goals 2000, is a system intended specifically to coalesce the sustainable global environment agenda.

Under systems education, “education” becomes life-role or life-related with knowledge only incorporated as it is used and applied in teaching unit themes or thematic units centered around four main issues: world economy, world ecology, world security, and world population growth, in no particular order.

This is why parents are finding their children exposed, in schools, to the rabid, extremist environmental propaganda intended to end private ownership of land “in the interests of saving mother earth.” This is why parents are finding their children exposed, in schools, to “life-role” situations far beyond their ability, experience-wise and maturity-wise, to comprehend the ramifications of.

This is why parents are finding that their children have been exposed, in schools, to books like The Giver and asked to decide who should be thrown out of the overloaded lifeboat of passengers from a sinking ship. More recently, parents in California discovered their children had been given a survey, in schools, asking them to disclose when they lost their virginity.

And parents in Pennsylvania discovered their children had been given laptops with cameras that could be used by school administrators to watch children on and off school campus; the continual assessment of the child by observation being a focus of systems education which depends on the accumulation and analysis of information obtained from behavioral assessment.

While school administrators denied such was their purpose, how the cameras were discovered was when school administrators decided that the conduct of a student, while off campus, needed addressed.

The dearth of knowledge, imparted to students under systems education, insures that which is stated in a well-known publication entitled America’s Choice: high skills or low wages! put out in June 1990 by the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) subcommittee, Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce (CSAW),

“But in a broad survey of employment needs across America, we found little evidence of a far-reaching desire for a more educated workforce.” (Page 25)

In other documents, it is made very clear that America is to become a “service economy.” With manufacturing jobs being outsourced to foreign countries left and right, the majority of the jobs remaining would be in the service sector, such as cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors, changing beds, washing laundry, flipping burgers, repairing cars, stocking shelves, running a cash register, repairing appliances and equipment.

Under such a system, innovation is not an imperative, nor is the goal of education, in public schools, to discipline the mind of the child such that the child has a vast knowledge base on which to draw in articulating a reasoned conclusion as an individual (classical education).

Under systems education, it is no longer important that children be able to think and reason; only that they respond appropriately to the given behaviorally oriented prompt or trigger—the Skinnerian operant conditioning technique of punishment and reward used to train animals.

Children are expected to demonstrate mastery of behaviorally-oriented exit outcomes (known in some states as essential academic learning requirements), established at the state level, that coalesce, and are benchmarked to, the eight goals of Goals 2000.

Goals 2000, in turn, directly reflects the National Skills Standards Board competencies as written by the Secretaries Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) established under Elizabeth Dole, Secretary of Labor under GHW Bush.

The SCANS competencies, in turn, were the direct result of the work of the NCEE CSAW publication America’s Choice: high skills or low wages!; many of the people sitting on CSAW also sitting on the SCANS commission.

As made very clear by the Schools for the 21st Century pilot program in Washington Stated, under systems education …

• content is defined as excellence in terms of the change agenda;
• process is the product; the destination; what learning is about;
• emotionality and affectivity are the means by which content and process will be achieved;
• feelings are paramount (Washington State Board of Education, 1995).

The measure of whether the child is demonstrating mastery of the behaviorally-oriented exit outcomes is the assessment. An assessment is not an objective measure of knowledge, it is not a test, nor is it a standardized test; an assessment is a subjective measure of behavior based on a rubric that gives points depending on the level of behavior demonstrated.

Usually using a scale of four points possible, the more points given, the more closely the child is said to demonstrate the wanted behavior. This is why getting the right answer on an assessment is not a priority. The assessment is looking to see if the child is demonstrating the wanted behaviors.

Points are then added together and a pass/fail line is determined. The pass/fail line can be changed, year to year, to augment a political agenda or political climate.

For instance, if the legislature says “no more money until results are shown”, the pass/fail bar can be lowered so more children are considered to pass. Beyond the behavioral aspect, this is why assessments are not considered to be a reliable instrument or valid measurement.

What happens if the child doesn’t demonstrate the wanted behaviors? In all cases, the child is remediating. If enough children in a classroom are not demonstrating the wanted behaviors, benchmarked to grade level, the teacher is also remediate.

This can come in several forms, including mentoring, further education, decrease in salary, and probation. If enough children in the school are not demonstrating the wanted behaviors, the teachers and/or administrators are also remediate or fired.

In Rhode Island, it was the teachers. In Longview, Washington, it was the principal.

When parents in Washington State tried to tell teachers and administrators this would happen, parents were scoffed at, ridiculed, called names, made the subject of derision — the teacher unions would never allow that to happen!

But it was very apparent that the teacher unions were very much involved in promoting systems education, nation-wide. Maybe the teachers didn’t know what was coming, but can the same be said for teacher unions?

Teachers were warned but they were so enamored with systems education holding children accountable for the demonstration of the wanted subjective behaviors that they refused to listen. So, is it really anyone’s fault but their own when children fail to demonstrate the wanted behaviors?

Is it anyone’s fault but their own that they jumped on the education transformation (a.k.a., systems education) band-wagon when they had no clue what it was really all about beyond what they were told to believe, and did believe?

When people ask me about sending their children to public (i.e., government) schools, I tell them two things,

1. do not put your child in harm’s way; no child is capable of withstanding the brainwashing going on in government schools under systems education; either home school your child or put your child in a private school that does not accept public money;

2. Get involved because all really does mean all, and the government fully intends that all children be subjected to systems education; thus the advent of charter schools and public schools in homes (like K-12™) to suck parents into the system.

Systems education has cost the taxpayers billions (if not trillions) of dollars to implement and sustain. In the top-heavy school administrations, full of counselors, psychologists, play-ground monitors, and aides, all seeking to pry into the minds of children, billions more are being wasted.

States are now in financial trouble. When Washington State legislators were asked what they intended to do when systems education became a financial burden on the taxpayers, as it was bound to do, not one legislator had an answer.

And not one of them, beyond the Republican Senator who was castigated by his own party for letting the truth be told, has had the courage to do anything to avoid the inevitable.

Parents who tried to tell teachers, administrators and legislators certainly have the right to say “we told you so” but that does not change the bottom-line fact that children are paying the ultimate price, as is our nation and our society as a whole, for the failure to properly educate children for intelligence.

Editor’s Note: Activist and researcher, Stuter has spent the last fifteen years researching systems theory and systems philosophy with a particular emphasis on education as it pertains to achieving the sustainable global environment.

She home schooled two daughters. She has worked with legislators, both state and federal, on issues pertaining to systems governance, the sustainable global environment and education reform.

She networks nationwide with other researchers and a growing body of citizens concerned about the transformation of our nation from a Constitutional Republic to a participatory democracy. She has traveled the United States and lived overseas. You can contact her at lmstuter@learn-usa.com

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Source: Learn USA      RJ

Six Year Old to Jail

By Dr. Laura
Feb. 22,  2010

In Port St. Lucie, Florida recently, a six year old was handcuffed (actually, one handcuff was put over both hands – she was a little girl), and hauled off to a mental facility. 

The parents were all hysterical and angry that their “little baby” was treated this way.

The mother, who works in day care, said “There is absolutely nothing wrong with my child.”  Her father said that what happened to his daughter was “just wrong.”
 
The school contacted this little girl’s parents several times about setting up a meeting to discuss her violent behavior in the classroom, but they never showed up.  Hmmmm.
 
Here’s what happened on that particular day:
 
The kid had yet another tantrum in the classroom after the teacher simply asked her to do something, and the girl was taken to the principal’s office. 

The principal, 8 months pregnant, endured the kid yelling, throwing things, kicking the wall, throwing a calculator, electric pencil sharpener, telephone, container of writing utensils and everything else on the desk. 

The kid then physically attacked the pregnant principal, who called the police.
 
In my opinion, the police and the principal did exactly the right thing.  Leave it up to the medical authorities to determine whether this girl is being extremely poorly parented or in need of mental health treatment.
 
There are those who cry over how little this girl is and wring their hands and say that there must have been some other way. 

No, there wasn’t.  The parents did not take responsibility, and their shame was delivered as arrogance as they sought sympathy (and probably a lawsuit).
 
The school is supposed to be a safe place.  This girl was, and is, a threat to other students, the faculty, and herself.  I stand behind the school, the teacher, and the principal. 

I wish we could arrest the parents for negligence in letting their daughter’s behavior get this far.

 

Source: Dr. Laura

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Sign Language

by Lexi Walters
Feb. 8, 2010

Why teach children sign language? It helps babies learn to communicate before they can talk, and teaches kids to appreciate a language used by some of the deaf community. Start with these easy signs for words about food and eating.

 

 

 

Drink

1. Hold your hand up to your mouth as if you were drinking from a glass.

2. Tilt head back, as if taking a sip.

carolinaemay says:

what happens when babies get so used to signs that they don’t want to talk?

 

 

 

Eat

1. Squeeze the tips of your fingers together to form a point, and place that hand in front of pursed lips.

2. Bring your hand away from your mouth, then back to it.

 

 

 

 

Cheese

1. Place your hands, palms touching, in front of you.

2. With heels of palms touching, rotate your hands back and forth.

 

 

 

 

Cookie

1. Put one hand in front of you, palm facing up.

2. Cup your other hand and place your fingertips on top of the other palm.

3. Rotate your hand back and forth.

 

 

 

 

Spoon

1. Cup one hand, palm facing up, in front of you.

2. Using the pointer and middle fingers of your other hand, pretend to scoop out of your cupped hand.

 

 

 

 

Apple

1. Make your hand into a fist, keeping the knuckle of your pointer finger extended a little farther than the other fingers.

2. Place that hand on your cheek near your mouth and rotate that hand back and forth.

 

 

 

Source: Parents

 

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com.  Photos by Dean Schoeppner

One in Five at Risk

by Dr. Mercola
Feb.10, 2010     

A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that over 20 percent of teenagers in the U.S. have elevated cholesterol levels.

The national study covered more than 3,000 teens whose blood test results were collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

High levels of LDL or triglycerides, and low HDL levels were associated with weight, and the heavier the teenagers were, the more likely they were to have abnormal levels (nearly 43% if they were obese), but even among those with normal body weight over 14% had unhealthy levels.

High cholesterol levels were at first associated with the middle-aged and elderly, but are increasingly beginning to appear in late childhood and the teenage years.

This finding already has researchers urging cholesterol screening for about one-third of teens who are overweight or obese, which will put many of these kids right in the line of fire to be prescribed a dangerous statin drug.

In 2007, the American Heart Association first recommended the use of statin drugs for children with high cholesteron.

Then in 2008 the American Academy of Pediatrics followed suit, recommending cholesterol-lowering drugs for children as young as 8!

There is such overwhelming evidence — nearly 900 studies compiled in this link — showing the damage statins inflict, that this recommendation should qualify as criminal malpractice.

Some of the possible consequences of taking statins for a lengthy period of time, which many of these kids undoubtedly would do, include:

 

Cognitive lose

Neuropathy

Anemia

Acidosis

Frequent fever

 Cataracts

Sexual dysfunction

 

Then there is the serious risk of potentially permanent muscle damage, and the depletion of Co-Q10, which can harm your heart and muscles alike.

Statin drugs used to lower cholesterol are the best-selling drugs in the United States. In 2008 alone they brought in $14.5 billion in sales!

The odds are very high, greater than 100 to 1, that anyone taking statin drugs does not need them. 

The ONLY subgroup that MAY benefit are those born with a genetic defect called familial hypercholesterolemia, as this makes them resistant to traditional measures to normalize cholesterol.

And the first step to understanding why lies in understanding the role of cholesterol in your health, not in disease.

 

Why Cholesterol is Not “Evil”

 Cholesterol has been traditionally vilified, when in reality it is essential and crucial for a wide variety of vital functions in your body.

It’s an integral part of your cell membranes, and it’s also the precursor (the raw material) your body uses to make your steroid hormones – one of which is vitamin D.

Your skin contains cholesterol, and when UVB rays from the sun hit your skin, it converts that form of cholesterol to vitamin D3, which is then transported to your blood.

Your body then further converts it into the active form of vitamin D.

It’s important to realize that there’s a big difference between “average” and “healthy” cholesterol levels. It’s very similar to what we’re now seeing with vitamin D levels. 

Please understand that you have not been told the whole truth about cholesterol. Rather, what you’re getting from most conventional health practitioners is little more than cleverly distorted marketing.

Before 2004, a 130 LDL cholesterol level was considered healthy. The updated guidelines, however, recommended levels of less than 100, or even less than 70 for patients at very high risk.

In order to achieve these outrageous and dangerously low targets, you typically need to take multiple cholesterol-lowering drugs.

So the guidelines instantly increased the market for these dangerous drugs. Now, with testing children’s cholesterol levels, they’re increasing their market even more.

Total Cholesterol Level is a Virtually Useless Test

 If your doctor is urging your child to get a total cholesterol level check, you should know that this test will tell you virtually nothing about his or her risk of heart disease — unless it is 330 or higher.

And, perhaps more importantly, you need to be aware that cholesterol is not the CAUSE of heart disease. 

If you become overly concerned with trying to lower your child’s cholesterol level to some set number, you will be completely missing the real problem.

In fact, I have seen a number of people with levels over 250 who actually were at low heart disease risk due to their elevated HDL levels.

Conversely, I have seen even more who had cholesterol levels under 200 that were at a very high risk of heart disease based on the following additional tests:

 

Your HDL/Cholesterol ratio

Your Triglyceride/HDL ratios

HDL percentage is a very potent heart disease risk factor. Just divide your HDL level by your cholesterol.

That percentage should ideally be above 24 percent. Below 10 percent, it’s a significant indicator of risk for heart disease.

You can also do the same thing with your triglycerides and HDL ratio. That percentage should be below 2.

 

Finally, please do make sure your, and your child’s, vitamin D levels are where they need to be. Vitamin D is not “just a vitamin,” but rather the only known substrate for a potent, pleiotropic (meaning it produces multiple effects), repair and maintenance seco-steroid hormone that serves multiple gene-regulatory functions in your body.

Low levels of vitamin D are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, which is what parents of teens with “high” cholesterol are most concerned about.

About 70 percent of U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, so this should be one of the first issues you address to keep your teen’s heart healthy.

 

 

 

 

 Source: Dr. Mercola

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchrobnicle.com

Issues for 11-year-Old Mom

By Fox News
Feb. 5, 2010

For many 10 and 11-year-old girls, life is all about talking to their friends, learning the lyrics to the latest Taylor Swift song and making plans to go to the mall. But, what happens when a child that young goes down the road of an adult?

It’s happened in the Northeast where an 11-year-old girl just became a mother. She gave birth to a baby boy this week, becoming one of the youngest mothers in the history of the United States.

And now that she is a mother – does that mean she’s technically an adult who can make adult decisions?

Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News’ senior judicial analyst answered a few legal questions for FoxNewsHealth.com.

 

Q: What is the law when a minor gets pregnant?

A: A mother who is a minor has the same rights of motherhood — the right to make unfettered decisions about the raising of the child — as an adult mother, depending upon her age and level of maturity.

The courts have several rules of thumb that they follow. If the minor is 12-years-old or younger, she is presumed to lack the maturity to make unfettered child-rearing decisions; and the place where the baby was delivered is obliged to deliver the minor and the baby into the hands of a competent adult who agrees in writing to be a guardian and to advise the minor that she must live with and make child-rearing decisions in conjunction with the guardian.

 

Q: What if the child is between the ages of 12 and 16?

A: If the mother is 16 or older, she is presumed to be mature enough to raise the child unimpeded by a guardian or any court and the place that delivers the baby is free to hand the baby to the minor alone.

If the mother is between 12 and 16, it is the duty of the physicians who delivered the baby to involve the mother with a guardian who will live with her, or to petition a court of competent jurisdiction to address the matter, depending upon the physicians’ objective opinion of the minor’s level of maturity and access to material resources.

 

Q: Are there exceptions?

A: Note that the scenario above presents merely guidelines and presumptions, not hard and fast rules of law. Thus, for example, it is theoretically possible that a 10- year-old could possess the maturity to raise a child unimpeded by a guardian (though, I know of no case that has found this to be so); and it is theoretically possible that a 16-year-old may require a full-time guardian (I know of many cases that stand for this).

There are many other lawful obligations imposed upon physicians who deliver babies from minors, but they do not involve the emancipation of the mother.

 

Q. What exactly does emancipation mean?

A: The paragraph above provides guidelines for the ages of emancipation for minor mothers. “Emancipation” in this context means that a child is no longer subject to her parents and is free to live and to raise her children as she wishes.

 

Source: Fox News

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Kids and Money

By Francesca Sidoti
Jan. 23, 2010

Everyone wants the best for their kids. They want their kids to be able to have good relationships with their peers, be reasonably human throughout the teenage years and end up on the other side as a responsible adult.

Teaching your kids about money is one of the most important ways to ensure your kids get through life in the best way possible.

 

Here are some of the best strategies:

 

An allowance

From an early age, it is important that kids understand how to use money and the best way to instill that is for them to have an independent source of income. The actual level of allowance is less important.

I functioned off 50 cents a week for most of my youth, as well as a bit of money every birthday and Christmas.

People tend to differ as to how a child receives an allowance; is it dependant on chores or independent of their contributions to the household?

That’s up to you, but it is crucial to introduce ideas of budgeting and discipline with money whenever you set up an allowance.

 

Big dreams? Big savings plan

Help your kids to develop good saving habits from the start by setting out budgets for big purchases. Kids may spend their money on lollies from the local store at first, but once they realise that long-term saving can result in something like a new lego set or doll, they’ll be able to put their (financial) nose to the grindstone.

If Christmas is coming up, offer to contribute a portion should they reach their financial goals.

 

Help them to invest

My Dolomites account was a stalwart of my childhood, and a big reason why I have any skills in saving now. I loved the glittery ruler that came with it but, most of all, I loved the feeling of affirmation every time I could deposit a bit of money. Dollarmites by CBA is a good start.

Take your kids through the benefits of each account, and each investment idea. If your kids are a bit older, talk to them about term deposits or saving accounts.

 

Talk about it

If talking about money makes you uncomfortable, get over it now. The more communication around money issues with your kids, the better they’ll be prepared. Debt is something every household should know about, and kids (especially adolescents) need to understand what can happen when it gets out of control.

Encourage your kids to steer clear of credit cards for as long as possible.

It sounds extreme, but show your kids how it’s done when you pay a bill or do your tax. These are essential life-skills that get no attention in education. Show them how to write a shopping list, and stick to it.

It’s a harsh reality but a child’s way of saving and spending money will be largely derived from the example of his or her parents. Demonstrate restraint in how you use money, and they are likely to learn from that.

It’s not enough to talk about the starving children in Africa at dinnertime; instilling a sense of the real value of money in your children is essential. So they tell me (childless as I am).

Piggy banks, budget  plans and saving goals are all important parts of growing up, and becoming an adult who can function financially.

It’ll help you financially as well if your kids have a sense of money matters, as it’ll decrease the likelihood you have to bail them out of a $300 phone bill any time soon.

What tips do you give your children in money matters?

 

Source: Savings guide

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Kids Anxious and Depressed

By Dr. Laura
Jan. 18, 2010

There’s a new study out from San Diego State University saying that children and young adults today are the most anxious and depressed of the last seventy years.

I’m not surprised at all.  Having too many choices is chaos.  Morals and values have been sacrificed in favor of infamy and fortune. 

When sports heroes are infamous and rich because they took drugs to increase their performance, that is demoralizing to kids who work hard to aspire to athletic greatness simply by practicing a lot. 

When other young people get famous for flaunting drugs and anti-social behavior, it makes it difficult for the kids who simply work hard.

When you have a major Hollywood producer/director putting together a movie to excuse and explain Hitler (in context, he says), you have a generation that has no clear understanding of evil.

When you have military dying in the fields of foreign countries because we are at war with a religious ideology that wants to terminate western civilization, and one of their combatants is caught and tried only as a common criminal, you have a generation that is confused.

When you have a culture that does not support the basic building block of education – the family – we have children turning to equally confused peers and pop culture.

When the people in positions of power, authority and fame turn out to be of little character, you have a generation that doesn’t know what to respect or whom to emulate.

It all matters.

Our kids pay the price.

 

Source: Dr Laura

Editor’s Note: we would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

More Than Time-Out

By: Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D.
Jan. 9, 2010

 

Catch Your Child Being Good

Frankly, this is probably the simplest and most powerful thing you can do to improve your child’s behavior.

Yet many parents spend most of their time and energy focusing on the behaviors they don’t want in their child instead of what they do want.

Children love extra attention. A verbal compliment, a quick hug, or a pat on the back can work wonders in only a second or two.

Praise your child when she uses a fork at the dinner table; don’t just become upset when she spatters spaghetti sauce all over her shirt. Be enthusiastic without going overboard. (Even young children can tell when you’re insincere.)

This type of positive reinforcement is especially helpful when a child is feeling stressed since it relieves tension instead of adding to it. Nonverbal gestures are as good as verbal ones.

If your daughter is playing quietly by herself, go over and gently stroke her hair once or twice (if that’s something she likes). At first she may stop when you do this. But after a few days she’ll keep on playing quietly as she basks in the extra attention.

If you reward a child’s appropriate behavior (”I love it when you say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’!”), she’s likely to repeat it.

In fact, if you ignore a child’s good behavior, she’s more likely to act inappropriately next time, because she knows that will get her some extra attention from you. So try to focus on the good stuff, not the bad.

Reinforce the Positive

Remember that positive reinforcement (adding good things) is more powerful than either negative reinforcement (removing good things) or punishment (adding bad things).

Paradoxically, small rewards, such as a bit of extra attention or a special meal, can be more powerful than big rewards, such as a promise of a bicycle. Children will often stop trying if they feel they cannot earn the big reward that’s been offered.

Pay careful attention to the words you use when you praise your preschooler. Some researchers have found that the parents of boys tend to talk about the child’s specific accomplishment when they offer praise (”Wow, what a tall tower you’ve built out of those blocks!”).

The parents of girls, however, are likely to offer more general praise (”You’re such a smart girl!”).

Specific praise enables a child to evaluate his own achievements (”That’s a tall tower. I’m proud.”). General praise, on the other hand, leaves a child dependent upon others to evaluate her behavior (”Am I still smart?”).

So try to make your praise specific and focused on behaviors.

Use Natural Consequences When Safe and Appropriate

Ideally, a logical connection should exist between an act and the reward or punishment that follows.

For example, a preschooler who teases a cat will most likely get scratched—a good reminder not to do it again.

The punishment is small, immediate, and strongly associated with the cat, which makes the lesson easier to remember.

Similarly, if your 5-year-old can’t find a toy that he’s supposed to keep in his toy chest, don’t rush out to buy a replacement. If you do, the lesson you’re teaching is that forgetfulness doesn’t have consequences.

Better to let him live without the toy for a while. (No matter what, you can expect preschoolers and early school-age children to lose things and to be forgetful. That’s a matter of brain development. But the lesson is still important.)

 

Don’t Expect Perfection

It’s unrealistic to expect a child to be perfectly behaved. In fact, if you do, it will make a child feel so much stress that she’ll probably misbehave simply to break the tension.

Set realistic goals so that both you and your child can succeed. For example, don’t expect your preschooler to share all of her toys when a friend comes to visit.

Arrange with her to set the most precious toys aside before the friend arrives. That will help her feel more comfortable sharing her other toys.

Present Alternatives

Show your child alternative behaviors to the ones you want to change. For example, if she’s yelling and you want her to stop, demonstrate to your child how she can speak quietly and still get people’s attention.

One of the reasons spanking a child is ineffective as a punishment over the long term is that it doesn’t teach the child what she should be doing.

Set Specific, Limited Goals

Decide what’s really important to you. Safety, of course, should be your first concern. But how important is politeness at this age? What about cleanliness? Friendliness? Paying attention?

Don’t try to focus on too many things at once or you’ll constantly be correcting your child and you’ll both be miserable.

Remember that you have plenty of time to help your child master new social skills.

Let’s say you want your 4-year-old to go to bed without kicking up a fuss. If you define your goals in terms as general and absolute as that, compliance will be difficult to measure and difficult to achieve. Instead, make your goal more specific and realistic.

You should be satisfied, for example, if five days out of the week she gets under the covers in less than 15 minutes after you tell her it’s bedtime. Don’t expect perfection, either from her or from yourself.

When you do correct your child, keep your words simple so that they’re understood. Sarcasm and mockery don’t work with young children; kids this age simply don’t get it.

Instead, focus on one thing at a time (”Please don’t talk with your mouth full of food. First swallow, then talk.”).

Remember That Discipline Is Not the Same As Punishment

Sometimes it’s hard not to equate the two, but try to keep in mind that they’re different. Discipline has to do with teaching.

Ask yourself if your own behaviors are teaching your child the types of things you want her to learn. Setting a good example is one of the most effective discipline techniques of all.

 

Source: Pampers

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Help Kids Raise Money

By MV Parents
Jan. 5, 2009

In addition to discussing financial matters with your children, it’s also important to teach them by example. Kids are very observant, and pick up on what their parents do and say, so be sure to set a good example when you’re dealing with money.

Make it a point to teach your child not only by what you say, but also by what you do.

 

Make a budget, and stick to it. If you have to cut back on some things, let your kids know that it’s because those things don’t fit in your plan for the month (or week, or year, depending on your budget).

 

Practice good spending habits, such as comparing prices before you make a significant purchase. Stop at several stores to see where you can get the best price, check out store ads in the newspaper, and use any coupons or discounts you have available.

Ask your kids to help you make the best decisions, and help them understand your spending practices.

 

Set aside money from your own earnings for savings and donation. Kids may think they should keep all of their money for themselves, and showing that you care about helping others sets a powerful example.

Decide on a percentage you will give each month to a nonprofit organization, school, or other charitable cause.

 

Don’t use your credit card to purchase things you can’t afford—this can be especially appealing (and dangerous) to teens.

Exceptions to this rule can be made in cases of emergency; if you don’t have the money for an emergency purchase, be sure to have a plan to pay off your bill in a timely manner to avoid interest charges.

 

Give your kids small loans. Although it’s helpful to teach kids that they cannot spend more than they have, it’s also helpful once in a while for your kids to borrow money from you and then pay it back on a regular basis.

For example, if your child wants to buy a bicycle, have her save up a certain amount for a deposit and then figure out a payment plan (and stick to that plan every step of the way) until it is completely paid off.

 

Encourage your kids to save both in the short term—for things like a new bike or a concert ticket—and in the long term, for expenses like college tuition or a car.

Having a savings goal makes the budgeting process more real and tangible.

 

Remember that your children learn from all members of your family. Make sure everyone is practicing good saving and spending habits to reinforce the messages you’re sending to your kids.

 

Keep your kids learning, no matter their age. Go to the Summary and Next Steps page to find relevant resources for young children, tweens, and older teenagers.

Like anything else, financial literacy is best taught by intentionally setting a good example around your children.

If your kids see you and other members of your family making well-informed, well thought-out, and responsible decisions about money throughout their childhood, they’ll be much more likely to make good decisions themselves.

Make it a point to set a good example around your kids—and don’t forget to talk to them about it to reinforce these ideas!

 

Source: MV Parents

 

Editor’s Note: we would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Deadly Choking Game

By Healthy Kids
Jan. 3, 2010

Media reports have brought increased attention to a deadly game children are playing, often resulting in death or near-death.

In the choking game, participants attempt to get “high” or experience a euphoric feeling by temporarily depriving the brain of oxygen by applying pressure to the neck until they pass out.

In the study, “The Choking Game: Physician Perspectives,” published in the January issue of Pediatrics (appearing online December 14), 163 pediatricians and family practitioners were asked about their awareness of the choking game and its warning signs.

Survey results indicate that close to one-third of physicians were unaware of the choking game or the warning signs, which can include bruising around the neck, headaches, bloodshot eyes, ties, belts or cords found in unusual places or tied in strange knots, or wear marks on furniture.

The study authors and majority of all respondents agreed that reliable and accurate information should be provided so physicians can discuss the risks associated with the choking game with patients and their parents to help prevent children from playing the game.

Source: Healthy Children

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

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