Back to School Countdown #19: Problem Solving

This is my first blog, and it’s a story about one of our Help Me grow mothers.  She had her first baby as a single mom.  She had many questions and doubts, not only about the baby, but about her economic  situation, her living arrangements, co-parenting and health insurance for her baby.  She was carrying a heavy load when she first heard about Help Me Grow but agreed to send in the Ages and Stages questionnaires every two months.  Her baby is a quiet, sweet tempered child with a way of looking at strangers out of the side of her eyes.  In fact she puts so much meaning into her expressions and gestures that it gives “body language” a new meaning.  Mom spoke to her provider about her lack of words; Mom spoke to Help Me Grow about why her daughter's speech was a little low on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire.  Her doctor said “Wait a bit” and Help Me Grow sent her communication exercises and a speech evaluation referral.  It was decided to watch and wait for a month.

Yesterday  Mom called me to say she had figured out what to do about her daughter’s speech!  This was her idea:  Every time her daughter pointed or directed her mom to something she wanted, her mom would get face to face and say the words she wanted her daughter to repeat.  Only then would she give her the juice or toy, then clap for her success.

There was more to her idea:  The adults in her household would speak to her daughter in regular sentences, and to each other in regular sentences. Last, they would read books with conversations in them instead of reading “point-to” books.

The point of the story is not that each technique mentioned by the mom has been used successfully before.  The joyful point is that Mom called and said “I have figured out what to do for my daughter!"  Our Help Me Grow family record includes several outcomes for the situations Help Me Grow encounters.  My favorite one, and I think our families’ favorite one, is called “Solved Own Problem”.

If you've got a story about solving a problem in your own way, please post it!

Back to School Countdown #20: Ready! Set! School!

Parents can be their children's first and best teachers!

  Utah Parents as Teachers created a FREE website based program titled 

Ready! Set! School! to empower parents to teach.

On the website you can...

1. Learn what your child needs to be ready for kindergarten.

2. Get a set of activities designed to help your child learn and develop new skills. 

3. Find ways to give your child additional opportunities to learn.

Start using the program today for FREE by visiting www.readysetschool.org! 

You can also follow the Ready! Set! School! program on Facebook!

Back to School Countdown # 21: Family Dinners

As a child I can remember so many wonderful discussions around the dinner table.  We would discuss the events of the day, our disappointments, and then listen to the stories of our parents’ lives. 

Every night was different.  Some nights there was fighting among siblings and sometimes there was discussing how to help each other, but either way we were together and we were talking.  When you are trying to decide the rituals most important in your life remember family dinners are a great way to implement a good ritual that has multiple benefits:

·         More meal time at home was the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores and few behavioral problems

·         Family meals generate the largest amount of family talk and sophisticated word usage

·         There is a strong correlation between child vocabulary development and mealtime conversations

Research on Family Meals and Children’s Well Being- 2006, William J. Doherty, PHD

It is so difficult to make the transition of summer to school.  As a parent you are ready for the structure, but not the stress.  Implementing small rituals in your family’s routine will help you and your children adjust to the schedule of school.

Back to School Countdown #22 - H is for Hand

In preparing your kids for kindergarten make sure to READ TO THEM! Its fun and so important in preparing them for school. A great blog called Walking By the Way has a section dedicated to reading to your child and learning the ABCs. For each letter there is a book and activities that you can do with your child to learn about that letter. 


My favorite example was H is for Hand. They suggest the book to read and then there are activities to decorate the letter H, or to use your hand to make an octopus, or a tree. The pictures below are cute examples. Check out the website to learn more and find ideas!


Don't forget that crafts allow children to use scissors and glue in an appropriate setting which can improve their fine motor skills. Have fun!

Back to School Countdown #23: Steps to Table Manners

People judge others sometimes by the way they behave over the dinner table, whether it’s dinner at a friend’s house, business meeting with lunch or a date. So how can you teach your children to have good table manner and not burp, slurp and gross people out during dinner? Well, here are nine steps to begin the road to properness and etiquette:

1.      Point out the good things instead of all the wrong things your child does. Be specific too. Say, "I was so proud of you when you served yourself when the platter passed by."

2. Don't make dinner an unpleasant "lecture time." That will turn kids off to manners, dinner and you.
3. Be an example. Don't do things you don’t want your children to do. Check yourself.
4. Don't label your child as a slob. Instead, point out the behavior in a neutral, practical way. For example: "It's a good idea to unfold your napkin so if food falls you won't stain your clothes."
5. Approach manners as a game. One night a week, have a somewhat more formal dinner. Dress up, serve a special meal and expect more formal manners. That will help improve your kids' social graces.
6. Teach your kids that manners don’t offend if there's nobody there. If you eat mashed potatoes with your fingers, and you're alone, or with a friend who has agreed to suspend that manner, it's not a violation.
7. Make kids part of the tradition. Invite guests over and let kids help serve hors d'oeuvres. This helps them indirectly learn about the manners that surround eating.
8. If you hear a burp….explain that in some cultures burping is a way of showing your appreciation, but here in America it's considered rude. If you were to do that in someone else's house, he might think you're a slob and may not want you to come back.
9. Dine out once in a while. Fast food restaurants don't count. Try a nice restaurant and allow kids to order their own food, and assist in paying the bill and figuring out the tip.

Once again, please share your experiences, advice and success stories. Tell us what happened when you tried these steps with your children.

Source: Dr. Alex Packer, a psychologist and FamilyEducation.com