Mommy Blog, Tips & Ideas
Tips For Choosing A Daycare Provider
Mar 4th
As a working parent, it becomes necessary for you to enroll your child in a daycare center. While you may be understandably leery, here are some tips for choosing a daycare provider which will help in allaying any fears you may have.
* Check out the daycare centers in your area, either on line or by calling.
* Find out if there are any vacant spots so you can enroll your child.
* Ask where they are located and their hours of operation.
* What is the cost?
* Ensure the daycare provider is licensed.
* Ask how many children are currently enrolled in the center, and their ages.
* Ask if they supply meals to the children.
The next series of steps you take are very important. Visit the daycare center and check on the following:
* Is it clean and safe? Is the ratio of caregiver to child appropriate?
* Are the children actively engaged in activities?
* Do the children seem happy and are being taken care of individually.
* Are there enough toys and materials with which the caregiver is able to engage the children in activities?
* How do the caregivers talk to the children? Are they warm and friendly?
* Ask the administrator to give you background information on the staff. Are they licensed in this particular area?
* Ensure these caregivers have been trained and have the proper credentials.
* Does the center have exits which are readily available to use in case of emergency egress.
The final step is first hand inspections. Visit several daycare providers during the early morning hours. Determine which center provides the best care and treatment of your child, and has plenty of activities and materials to keep your child active and focused. Then choose accordingly.
The other alternative is to choose a daycare provider to come to your home. This may produce another set of problems, especially if you bring in a family member. You need to weight your options carefully, and decide which is more affordable and better choice for you and your child. Research, talk to other moms, and network.
Talk To Your Kids About Strangers
Mar 4th
There has never been a time, at least in recent memory, when our children were more vulnerable to the threat of strangers. Whether online or in rural areas and big cities, we are facing a pandemic of kidnappings; online pedophiles, and what appears to be an attack on our children. It is vital, then, that you talk to your kids about strangers.
Some pre-K schools have already begun the practice of teaching children what to do when confronted by strangers. This has to be reinforced at home as well. Because children are so trusting, it is all the more important to explain to them what to do in case they are approached by someone they do not know. Here are some of the things you can tell them:
* Never talk to a stranger.
* Never accept anything from a stranger.
* Never get into a car with someone you don’t know.
* If a stranger looks nice, it doesn’t mean they are.
* When walking home from school, pair up with one or two friends.
* Go straight home; do not delay by stopping somewhere with friends.
* If a stranger comes up to you, run and scream.
* Tell a teacher if anyone tried to bother you on your way to school.
* Don’t stray from the playground.
* If a stranger says “Your mommy told me to pick you up from school,” don’t believe the person. Run away, find a teacher, and report it.
* Walk home from school using the same route every day.
* If mommy is picking you up, wait for her inside the school’s main office.
For children who use the internet; there are parental controls which can be used to block out certain sites. Check on your kids’ internet use; what sites they’ve visited; chat rooms or other areas online. Every child needs to be aware of the dangers of the internet. While most kids are using computers in schools and at home, it is important they know there are bad people in this world; that strangers go online specifically to find young girls and boys. Alert them to the fact that while they may think they are talking to a person of a similar age, the person could really be an adult.
In addition, every state affords your child the ability to receive an identification card. The identification card includes the child’s age, sex, height, weight, birthday, hair/eye color, current address, phone, parental information, and a picture and fingerprints of your child. This is vital in finding children who are abducted.
There was a time when trust was a tenet we all lived by. Today, unfortunately, we have the sad duty to tell our kids they can’t trust everyone, sometimes adults in their own families. How do you tell a child, without frightening them, there are people in this world whose sole aim is to harm them? It’s a delicate balance, and as difficult as it may be, every parent should talk to their child about the dangers out there.
Talk To Your Kids About Smoking
Mar 4th
Working in the public education system, specifically in middle school, can be an eye-opener. At the tender age of 11 or 12, it becomes quite clear they are more sophisticated than we were at that age. In addition, some are prone to engage in behavior we would have thought unheard of at that age. Yet, among other things, it’s a fact that some of these 6th graders smoke. While hard to fathom, the question facing parents is: “How to you talk to your kids about smoking?”
While it is recommended that parents discuss smoking with their kids at age five or six, it is nonetheless hard to broach the subject. Certainly, if you are a parent who smokes, it will be harder to convince a child that it is unwise and dangerous for them to do so. After all, to them it may seem harmless. Moreover, children tend to mimic parents at an early age. So what do you say to these children? How do you convince them the very thing you want them to avoid is a habit they constantly witness on a daily basis? It is quite a conundrum.
If you do smoke, the first thing you need to do is quit. If you do not engage in this habit, you can sit your children down and explain to them the dangers of smoking. But it goes beyond just telling them, doesn’t it? As they mature, they will be immersed in a culture where peer pressure and acceptance become the catalyst which may override your efforts to keep them safe and out of harm’s way.
So what do you say? That smoking can kill; that it’s very habit forming; that it doesn’t matter what their friends do or say to provoke them, they should say no and walk away; that smoking is not a hip thing to do. Will they understand what you are trying to convey? Perhaps the answer is in repeatedly pointing out the dangers of smoking; that it is not a popular thing to do; point out people who smoke and make reference to how they look and smell.
While you cannot shield your child from all potential bad habits they will come across in their young lives, you can offer positive reinforcement on a daily basis by not engaging in any activity they may mimic, and being consistent in your efforts to dissuade them by any means you can. Books, videos and other tools can be used to teach children the hazards of smoking and other harmful toxins. Teach them to say no to their friends or peers. Tell them by saying no they are exhibiting strength of character, and how proud you are they have acted so grown up.
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