Going Back to School--Allergies

Here in Georgia Thursday is the first day of school for many children.Going back to school is often nerve wracking for kids and makes young kids heyper and a littler distracted. This is why it is important for parents to give the adults at the school good information about your child's allergies. KIds who have allergies, asthma, and especially food allergies need the adult responsible for their care to have all the infomation needed to care for them properly. As always I suggest you visit the school a day or two before school starts especially if your child is starting Kindergarten. This will give them a familiarity with the school. This is the time to take your child's food and other allergic information to the school nurse, cafetreria ladies, the office and your child's teaceher. Include a photo of your child with the information. So, here are the thingts Dr. Erin Gardner of Atlanta Allergy recommended on the Atlanta Checkup Radio Program Sunday July 28, 2019. If you do not have an allergy doctor for your child check out Atlanta Allergy and Asthma.

1. Schedule an paoointment with your allergist and talk about retesting and creating a school plan to share with school personnel.
2. Get refills and updates on medication. Take meds to school and find out school policy on whre the medicine is kept and who admisters the meds if the nurse is not in the shool daily. Ifr your school has a health clinic check in with them and discuss your child;s allergy. 
3. If your child has a food allergy; create a food allergy plan with your chil;s doctor and be sure all relevant personnel have a copy. (Teacher, Nurse, Cafeteria Head, and Ofrfice.)

As an educational advocate I suugest you check in with the teacher at least monthly and ask questionms about what you are noticing your child having issues with in homework ask for suggestson you can help with at home. Review the allergy information with them and always find something positive to say to the teacher about their work with your child. You are the only one who has known you child since birht you know their stregnths and weaknesses. Be prepared to help the teacher who is in this most likely because she loves children. You can make her life easier by thinking through solutions rather than looking for issues. This person is an ally in getting your child to succeed treat themlike ome.

Believe in Parenting

Effective Parenting: Focus on the End not the Beginning

I call parenting the toughest job you wll ever love and hate! This is the most uniqye job in the world because it asks you to help someone who is new to the world or someone who has benn bruised and battered by the world and give to them everything they will need to grow into an authentic and productive menber of the city, country, and global world to which we all belong. It feel daughning and it is exacting. But, this person is cute, loving, kind, funny, sometimes angry , scared, scarred, and overwhelmingly vulnerable. So, how do you do this job with love, support, discipline and even sterness, expectations, and support all at once?


Start with You

Over the years I have learned that being a great parent begins with knowing yourself, what you believe, what is important to you and why it is important. This is the foundation of authenticity. This is the number one thing that adults need to parent effectively. Why? The answer to this question lies in the fact that children especially ypung childen are keen observers. They spend endless hours observing the world around them, looking at what parents say and do consistently. As an early childhood teacher, I would tell parents I knew what was going on in their home by watching their children.

Once when I was observing in the three year old class room a little girl named Lin was in the hous keeping area. She put on a fether boa, a larg floppy hat and high heel she told her friend she would be back. She went to the art area and drew a picture, she went and got her snack, she asked the teacher a quetion, and then headed back to the housekeeping area and yelled; "Honey, I'm home". I have to tell you to this day it is the cutest thing I have everseen aloth that young lady is now probably 25. When her mom came to get her later that day I just had to ask. When you go out and come home do you usually say, "honey, I'm home?" she looked a bit startled and said yes, then I told her the story. She laughed and said they will give you away won't they, I smiled and nooded.

Later, when I was a center director at a military installation. I had a four year old David who everytime he made a mistake a certain four letter word would come out of his mouth. When I called Dad into my office to discuss he issue, he turned beet red, told me his wife warned him about his mouth, and  said he would talk to him. Several weeks later I was giving the classroom teacher a break when David made a mistake on his coloring page. Ge said, the four letter word and then said "oh I mean fiddle sticks". Then looked at me I smiled at him and winked.

The point I am illustrating with these stories is that your children will mirror who you are. The will highlight to you both the things you love and hate about who you are; so by working on yourself first you are changing that model for your children. One thing most people do not know about kids is that they will take a full 80% of what they see from their parents into their adulthood and only 20% of what they hear. This means your actions carry a heavier weight in your parenting than what you say. Thus, the saying actions speak louder than words is key to the process of effective parenting.

Adults not Children

It is difficult for most new parents to look at their child and realize in just a few short years they will be groown and off to college. When you have this little bundle of joy it is hard to remember the bulk of your relationship with then wil be as adult to adult. I realized earlier this week that the great anxiety we all had over the issue of Y2K was twenty years ago. Time really does fly. If you had a child in 1999 tget wukk tyrb 20 this year that is how fast time flies. Babies born during the time of 9-11 turn 18 this year.What I am saying is many times we worry about our kids and what is happening in their lives today. But, the best thing for us to do is to be concerned primarily with who they will be as they leave your home to begin creating homes of their own.

I think this is extreamely important because it will take the pressure off you wanting your child to be perfect. No one is perfet. All we can expect is for our children to do their best. If what we do is help them to think before they act. Get them to know the rules and understand how those rules apply to thhem.  Then teach them to use the rules to govern their behavior, attitudes, and how they relate to others. Then hold them accountable according to their age and understanding, only then can we begin to expect them to create the person they will grow into as an adult. Until then they are going to make the same mistakes we did and many times still do. Give your kids room to be human.

Parenting with the Future in Mind

The ultimate goal of parenting is to send your child into the world ready to take it on and win. This means preping them to be successful. There are five things to focus on here.

1. Be a great example.
2. Be authentic. While teaching them to be authentic.
3. Live your own dreams, Hopes, and goals.
4. Help them to explore who they are ant ehir own hope and dreams.
5. Focus on helping them to live up to who they are meant to be and not who you want them to be

One of the reasons this is the toughest job you will ever love and hate boils down to one of my favorite sayings: "Your children are not yours, they are on loan from God". What I take this to mean is God sent your kids here wit ha purpose and that purpose is to serve Him. They serve Him by doing what He has sent them here to do. If you make that your focus; them you will become one of the most effective parents on the planet.

Believe in Parenting

Train Them Up; PT&A's New Project--A Brand Story

When I was 22 years old  I sought God for my purpose. Meeting Dr. Myles Monroe in the lobby of Metropolitan Christian Worship Center and having him tell me. “Connect with God the manufacture and find out why He sent you here to Earth and you will never founder.” It changed my life. I have always worked with children it started in the church nursery when I was 13. So, after graduating from college and working at Kiwanis Camp Wyman where I learned first-hand the devastation f children who were wards of the state. I met two little girls ages 10 and 12 whose mothers put them into care rather than give up the boyfriends who were molesting their daughters. It was the first time I met with children who were not in connected relationships with their parents.  It broke my heart and sent me to God not just to find why, but how I could become the solution. This started me on the journey to understanding how broken adults in turn break their kids. It was a few years late that I realized 100% of adults are broken and need help to heal so they can effectively connect with their children

In 1995 I graduated from Oral Roberts University with a master’s degree in early childhood education with an emphasis in parenting. It was ll years later when I along with three friends formulated Parents, Teachers, and Advocates a parent development group whose mission is to coach adults to inspire, motivate and empower their children to become exceptional adults. Since then we have worked with over 10,000 adults in conjunction with nonprofits, churches, childcare centers and others coaching parents to overcome their brokenness and begin to build stronger relationships with their children.

Train Them Up is our new project. This show is designed to create a safe place where adults can be authentic sharing joys, hurts, frustrations, and anger with God, each other, and experts. It is the goal that through this authenticity we will develop strong connections with ourselves, God, our community, and our children. Allowing us to use the authenticity and connectedness to become more effective parents. I often say parenting is the toughest job you will ever love and hate. Train Them Up is a talk show dedicated to coaching parents into Authentic, Connected, and Effective parenting from pre-birth through college graduation. Come and join our community watch the show, join our FB page, join our 30, 60, and 90-day challenges, attend our conferences, and travel with us on our cruises. You can be an effective parent you just need authenticity and connection to bring your child from birth through college graduation.

Believe in Parenting

Want more information ptanda.org 

Book by Barb Harvey--
Work-Life Balance 
Multiple Intelligence: Building You and Your Team Choosing High-quality Child Care

Are You Ready for the Summer?

Here in Georgia we have two weeks of school left and parents are working on plans for their children going into Summer. Some kids will go see family for the Summer holiday. Some kids will go off to a long camping session. Some will sit at home and play, games, watch TV, and just crash. Still others will spend half the tinme in Summer School and then move on to other activities. Summer is not like it was for me when I was off in the late 70's and early 80's where I left home on my bike came home for lunch, left and did not get back until dinner. I then was gone again until dark. "Be hme before the street lights come on" was the the rule in our house. Now, kids do not have that much freedom so it falls to parents to help kids create great Summer vacays.

So here's where I suggest you start. Have you children take a multiple intelligence inventory there is a wonderful one by Scholastic here is the link to it. (By the way Scholastic has some great learning tools, I suggest you go online and do a parent registration!) Multiple intelligence is the use of what causes the brain to rev up and become activated in a way that exudes positive energy and allows people to thrive. I like to call it brain sparking.

I firmly believe that understanding your multiple intelligence allowed you to find out not only what you're good at doing and what excites your learning and life enjoyment. Having your children participate in activities, camps, and programs that allow them to feel the power of their brain at full engaement not only makes them happy.  It  gives them the tools needed to make their brains work better, faster, and more efficiently.

This Summer it is possible to give your children a lifelong gift. The gift of knowing what causes their brain to engage on all cylinders and thus enable them to think more clearly in both school and life. Understanding thier multiple intelligence is something they can carry forward into their future and be all the better for it.

Here are my thoughts for great ideas for multiple intelligences activities.

Logical/Mathematical-Space /Robotics/Coding 

Linguistic-Blogger/Spoken Word/Magazine Creation

Spacil-Photography/Moviemaking/Sculpture

Musical Band/Composition-music/Songwriting-lyrics

Bodily/Kinthestetic Soccer/Gynastiscs/Swimming

Nature-Gardening/Meterology/Conservation

Interpersonal Cooperative porjects/Lego Bulding/Debate

Intrapaersonal Knitting/Cooking/Crochet

Existejtial Problem-Solving/Mystery/Religion

Believe in Parenting

Want more information on Parenting? ptanda.org

Want more information on Multiple Intelligences check out my paper on it here: Multiple Intelligences: Build You and Your Team

Same Stage, Different Age!

In childhood there are two stages that are similar yet different in the way they need to be handled. The ages are those of two year olds and those of teenagers.  These two ages have very different abilities in self-care, yet share a common goal: Independence.

I can do it myself.  Many parents will remember this statement coming from the two year old who wanted to put on their own shoes. During the teen years it shows up by wanting to do more adult like behaviors.  It is important to recognize that wanting to do something versus being at a developmentally appropriate level to do it are two different things.  Teens especially young teens need to earn the privilege to do more adult-like activities. A child who can not take out the trash and clean-u up their room without nagging is not ready to spend unsupervised time with their friends.

Supervision, Supervision Parental supervision is the most important job when discussing a two year old, quiet in the house means trouble.  Most parents think that teens need less supervision. They need more. Teens are looking into the adult world with all the curiosity of a two year old.  They are looking into drinking, driving, smoking, sex, and other adult activities. These children are not more able to accept this responsibility that the two year old is ready to tie their own shoes. Parents do need to know who their teen’s friends are, who their parents are, where they are going and what they are doing.

Undivided Attention Children at both stages need time with their parents. Two year olds need this time to be held, read to, and reassured. Teens need this time to be mentored, comforted, and supported.  Parents who practice active listening really ensure teens have what they need. Active listening requires listening and not judging. Asking your teen,”Are you seeking advice or do you just need me to listen?” This question sets the stage for how you will listen. Teens also sometimes talk more in the midst of an activity. Go for cooking dinner, playing a board or card game, hiking, or walking.

Although, the age changes the temperament and personality do not change. Keep this in mind as you spend time with your teens. Treat them accordingly and you and your teen will come through the teen years with flying colors.

Believe in Parenting

Want more information? ptanda.org

You look out for the welfarae of your children! Are You Willing to Look out for oOther Children too?

Monday morning I was speaking to the Trainer of Volunteers for Fulton County CASA. She stated to me the serious nature of lack of support for her agency. There are approximately 13,000 children in custody in the state of Georgia; 1300 of them are in Fulton County. This means ten perscent of all the children in Georgia who need someone looking out for their best interest are her in Metro Atlanta. Currently, there are approximately 850 children who do not have a CASA volunteer looking out for their best interest.

WE NEED YOU!

I am attaching the link to the Fulon County CASA website here. Though there is a donate button and CASA is always glad to have your monetary donations. What the children of Fulton County need is for someone to be trained in how to help them and ensuare their best ibnterests are being emphasised before the court. They need an independant and well trined adult to speak for them in court.

There is a 40-hour training to be a volunteer. They are through in how they train people to serve the children in this capacity. This crisis can only be solved by adults who are willing to at least committ their time to be trained. Having gone through the training a person could then decide whether or not they would have the time and inclination to help. Please consider at the very least  going through the training.

Believe in Training

Brining Using Multiple Intelligence in Children’s Ministry Classrooms

Parents, Teachers and Advocates has seen and need over the last few years a need for churches to begin using educational strategies to help children grow and develop in children's ministry. We know that there are churches of less than a thousand members who cannot afford to bring in a speaker to train their children Ministry volunteers. So, we are partnering with Rabbi Kevin Solomon and Congregation Beth Hallel to bring this class to any smaller Church in the Atlanta area who would like to have their volunteers trained. The class entails the following:

Using Learning Styles in the Children’s Ministry Classroom

Curriculum

(2-hour/4-hour)

• Learning Style Defined- Ice breaker students will begin the class by learning the basics of what learning styles are.

(15/20 minutes)

• Definition of Multiple Intelligence In a mini-lecture students will learn about the eight forms of intelligences defined by Dr. Howard Gardner. (15/25 min)

• Using Multiple Intelligence using a hand-on exercise studwents will discuss the eight forms of intelligence and how they have seen them used in their lives. (35/50 min)

• Basics of Classroom Use students will discuss and develop ways for them to use learning styles in practical and ongoing manner. (35/50 min)

• Using Curriculum to Plan Basic Use Each ministry uses a different curriculum. Looking at the format specific to the ministry. Students will use a lesson plan to create a multiple learning environment. (20/30 min)

• Practice Classroom Environment and Use of Learning Styles Using the created plan students will then set up, create open ended questions and present to other classmate their plan for a multiple learning style classroom. (Only 4 hr. 1.5 hrs)