Parenthood HQ

Do you remember how you first learned the alphabet? I am quite sure that the majority of us learnt it by singing the ABC Song: ‘ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRS-TUV-WXY-and-Z…’

There is no doubt that music and songs are one of the best means to teach children new information and knowledge. And over the last 25 years, many researches and studies have been done to find out how music influences our brain and how we can use music to help us learn faster and more effectively. And it has been found that our brain is most open and receptive to incoming information when it is in a special state of relaxation.

According to the American Sleep Association 70% of all babies and infants at one time or another suffer from sleeping difficulties. So if bed time is a difficult time for you and your baby you are in good company. Rest assured that there is probably nothing wrong but of course when you are in doubt seek professional care. Jodi Mindell, a researcher and sleep expert at the Institute, has 3 tips for worried parents.

Math Help Has Never Been This Entertaining
 by: Katie Robbins

Do you have trouble with math? Do you feel anxious when taking math tests? Do you want to improve your math skills, but don’t know where to do this? If any of these problems plague you then look to the Internet for extra help. There are several websites that provide information, lessons, tutors, and even games.

Q. How do I overcome the 16-year-old who does things only on his time frame. For instance, when I ask him to do something, he intentionally takes his time just to upset me. I’m not sure what to do.

A. This is a great question for at least two reasons: It provides an opportunity to share some basic principles for parenting adolescents and lets me deliver some solutions.

Basic Principles

The average 16-year-old is 16 going on 26 and 16 going on 6 all at the same time.

As mothers, we play so many different roles and most of us do not take the time off that we deserve. Just think about it, we play doctor, cook, chauffeur, teacher, lawyer, and the occasional referee as well.

I bet you can remember the last time you did a load of laundry, the last time one of your little ones gave you a hug or perhaps the last time one of your little ones created a little artwork on the wall (smile) but when was the last time you took time out for you?

Baby Shower Favors should be at every baby shower for its guests. Cute little items, items that are easily available, are perfect for your baby shower. You have a great variety of party favors, such as gift certificates to choose from for your baby shower. Your party favors need not be expensive to be appreciated.

You will have fun giving out party favors, and your party guests will enjoy getting those party favors. Baby Shower Favors will also be a reminder of being at the baby shower. Plus, they will serve as a small thank you letting them know you appreciate their attendance at the baby shower. After all, the shower guests had a helping hand in celebrating the coming arrival of the new baby to be.

(Isaiah 11:6 KJV) The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

If ever there was a time for youth leadership development for our future, then that time is now. Homeschooling our children to give them a better education is the goal of every homeschooling parent and an additional goal should also underly your convictions - that your child be trained to lead others to follow in the right way.

I am sure that this list can be jogged and added and taken away or all of the above, after being in the presence of several true leaders these are the ones that stuck out in my mind. Our home schooled children can be given a greater chance to make a diference in the world if the are leaders in mind, instead of following others blindly. I made it simple on purpose to give home school parents a chance to incorporate some of these attributes in their curriculum and then we can all live in a better world. - each one teach one -

You send your child to school and the teachers teach them. If that is what you think, you could be way wrong !

While most teachers are good at presenting information to a class, learning happens ONLY if kids actually want to learn. Teachers may have little time for individual work, and you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. And in many schoolrooms today a majority of the class see learning as not cool, with kids trying hard to not learn !

You may think that the school will tell you if your child is not learning, but you will probably be way wrong there. School funding generally depends on the school saying how good they are at teaching children, so often they will say that all kids are doing fine even when many are learning nothing. You may think that school inspectors will ensure that kids are learning well, but NO their job is only to ensure that teachers are teaching well.

So is your child learning nothing ? Well many parents today find out by setting their children their own school tests - as by using Math Sheets that come with the answers. It can be made an easy fun 5-minute daily game “let’s play our ‘my school test’ game”.

Not only will you then know that your child is learning, but you should find that you showing a little regular interest in their learning will increase their learning motivation strongly. You can stick to maths sheets only, or can vary your mini-school-test to science or other subjects using questions from their schoolbooks. Just keep it brief so it does not become a chore for them.

If you show a little regular interest in your child’s learning then they will want to learn, and will not follow anti-learning classmates.

Then when the school says that your child is doing fine, it will happen to actually be the truth!

I look out of the window as I am writing this. It is home time and mums are collecting their children from the local primary school. I see and hear harassed mums shouting "come here" (no response); "get down from there" (no response); "if you do that again you’ll get a slap" (no response; no slap). And what am I writing about? Discipline!

What does that word discipline conjure up in your mind? For many of us it provokes a picture of punishments and the control of others through the threat of punishments.