Go ahead dad, it is time to pitch in

The first day of school is coming up, if it already hasn’t. Summer is drawing to an end. This usually means an end to the frequent play days, late family movie nights and other fun activities. Typically these are dad led, or highly involved activities.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

To My Loved OnesL Living With Alzheimers

My friend and colleague, Lindsay C., wrote this poem about living with Alzheimer's.

To my loved ones;

I have experienced many things in my life,
which I cherish and hold deep within me.
I wouldn’t trade them for the world,
because I am able to re-live them in my memory.

I have noticed slight changes in myself,
from wrinkles, energy, mood and mind.
But I don’t let it bother me,
because a long happy life is hard to find.

At times I am forgetful,
and my memory isn’t as sharp as it was in the past.
But forgetting things is normal with age,
so I am not concerned that it will last.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

Substance Use In Adolescents

I recently had the chance to chat with and listen to a seminar delivered by Dean Nicholson around substance use and sexual abuse.  Nicholson is the administrator of East Kootenay Addiction Services in Cranbrook BC. He recently conducted award winning research surrounding substance use and sexual abuse in youth.

Before diving too deep into his results, it is important to outline that drug and alcohol use occur on a spectrum. To start, there are none users. Next isexperimental users, this is 1-3 uses of a particular substance. Moving along there is social/recreational users. This means that usage occurs less than once a week, and the reasons for using are for socializing with peers. These levels are completely normal for adolescents to use. It should be noted that in these categories use typically occurs on weekends.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

Establishing Trust With Your Infant

According to Barbara and Philip Newman infants (birth to two years old) experience the psychsocial crisis of Trust vs Mistrust. A psychosocial crisis is a predictable life tension during a certain stage in life. Psychosical in this sense draws to the point that the crisis is due to societal and cultural influences as well as psychological. Crisis in this sense refers to a normal stressor instead of an extraordinary event.

It is a crisis, in that an infant will either develop trust like attributes or will develop attributes of mistrust. It is amazing that it is at this young age that this is when trust is first developed.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting

Is Spanking An Effective Way Of Disciplining?

Does spanking your child work? Or does it not work?  Is it an effective tool for disciplining your child and teaching them to be obedient?  According to a University of Manitoba Professor, Joan Durrant, the answer to the question is: spanking does not work.

Answering questions from Stockholm Sweden, she said that spanking, and other types of physical punishment, displays an aggressive conflict resolution model; which is a very ineffective model for resolving conflict because of its negative outcomes. It erodes trust in the child. It creates hostility and resentment towards the parent.  Also, physical punishment may create the environment for lying, as a child may begin lie in order to avoid being punished.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

2011 in Review: Top 10 Posts (Most Read)

I must, first and foremost, say thank you to all of my readers for making my blog such a success.  For the past six months, I have been averaging 75-100 views per day! That's  remarkable!  Thank you so very very much!!

The most viewed posts of this year are:

10. I Recommend: Julia Sheer, Jodi King, Sierra Noble, and Stephanie Mabey
9. Helpful Financial Websites
8. Differences Between Social Work & Family Social Sciences
7. Top 100 Graduates from the Faculty of Human Ecology/Home Economics
6. Understanding Why Your Child May Be Impatient
5. Essential Fathers, First Post (I should mention this project is now defunct and a part of www.parentsareimportant.com)
4. PowerSmart - "Two Chickens to Paralyze" - Without Electricity There Would Be No Internet
3. Transition to Fatherhood Course Post-Test Results
2. Lindsey Stirling has released an Album!

and..... The number one post for 2011 is....

1. Autism and the Family

How Birth Order Can Influence Childhood Development

Have you ever wondered if the order you were born in impacted your development?  Do you think the birth order of your children impacts them?  What do you think would have happened if you were the oldest or youngest in your family instead of your current position?

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Read the rest on Notes on Parenting.

Teaching that there is more than appearance

There was an article on the Huffington Post called How To Talk To Little Girls.  Having a little girl, I was naturally interested in this article.  Read it.
From the start it had me realize how often I point out my daughters appearance more than other qualities.  With statements like:
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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

It's Your Life... Own It!

Jessie Clark, now Jessie Funk has turned from releasing music to writing motivational books, specifically for youth.

I got my, surprisingly, autographed copy from Jessie Funk telling me to remember the power I have.

This book includes personal stories from Funk, activities, and motivational quotes. Her book is broken into 10 parts, with an intro activity called Frisbee Face.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

Dealing with a Peanut Allergy

Finding out that your child has a severe peanut allergy can be a very stressful concern.  From worries about what kids are bringing to school in their lunches to trade with your child to what is in the food you just ordered in.

Discovering that your child has a reaction to peanuts may happen intentionally or accidentally.  For my family, we learned my daughter was allergic when she got her hands on a delicious peanut butter cookie.  Her lips began to swell and she got spots.  Mom took her to the doctor immediately.

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Read the rest of the post at Notes on Parenting.

Have age appropriate media at home when children are around

With my daughter getting older, she frequently has play dates with the neighbourhood kids.  Of course when the neighbours kids come over we let the parents know.  We also have a little talk to with the friend setting ground rules, such as clean up one mess before going to another room and making another mess.  Most recently we have had to add a rule of no-swearing in an attempt to keep our daughters language as clean as possible.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

What to do when the power goes out

You are home watching a movie with your family when they power suddenly goes out.  You scramble to check to see if you blew a fuse. They are fine.  You wonder how long it will take to restore the power.  Your children are getting frustrated because they don’t understand that the TV isn’t working because the power is gone, repeatedly asking for you to turn the TV back on so you can finish watching your Netflix movie.

You scramble and find your 3G, 3GS or 4G device.  You huddle around your gadget and attempt to watch the rest of your show while waiting for the power to return.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

Schools Out For The Summer; Now What?

Exams are completed, graduations are coming to an end, and your children are now piling home for the summer. For nine months the home was yours, now your offspring and co. are invading your premises. It is a transition that comes every year, some parents dread it and are like the father in the Staples back-to-school commercial from years ago: ‘It is the most wonderful time of the year!’ Also, your children, who are used to having their planners filled from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., now have eight hours at their disposal and they aren’t 100 per cent sure of how to invest that time. School is out, now what do we do? All of us: children, students and parents need ideas.


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Read the rest on Notes on Parenting.

Fathers Day Gift Giving Ideas

I usually don’t write about gift giving ideas for Mother’s Day, because most people are aware of how to make this day work, and know what to give for gifts.  However, when it comes to Father’s Day, there is mass confusion, and a distortion in the media for gift giving ideas.

We are told to get dad the latest set of tools, a new computer, a car wash, socks, or the latest movie.  While these may be great gifts, it doesn’t provide the best gifts for Father’s Day.

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Read the rest of this column at the Battleford's News Optimist or at Notes on Parenting.

Finding Toys that Our Kids Will Play With

I sat down recently and watched the documentary “Babies” with my wife for an at home date night.  A mistake in selection for my wife, because I sat down to critique the movie. Now let me first say that documentaries usually contain bias, inaccurate conclusions, and paradigm shift materials. Keep that in mind when you watch the film, or any documentary.

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Read the rest of the post at Notes on Parenting.

The Importance of Relationships to our Children

I was recently exposed to Gordon Neufeld, PhD, a developmental psychologist from the University of British Columbia.  I was watching his Relationships Matter DVD with a colleague.  I am just going to touch on one of the many points Neufeld touched on.

Neufeld brought up a study where kids, who were sitting on their moms lap, had “hot spots” in their brain while learning math.  However, when these kids were learning math and sitting a lab assistants lap, there were no “hot spots”.  It was determined that these kids developed their “hot spots”, a spike in the spot of the brain showing an interest in the subject of math, because they were sitting with their mom, someone they trusted.  Someone they had a relationship with.  The conclusion was made that kids learn better when they are learning from someone they trust.

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Read the rest of the post on Notes on Parenting.

How to curb the downward trend in our children’s academics

A National study was released in Canada about 15 year-olds and their academic achievement.  It used results from the national tests in math, reading, and science.  The results of 2009 were paired up against results from the previous national test in that subject.  The finding is that on a national average, and in each province, there was a decrease in the average scores in math, science, and reading.  With the biggest struggles coming in math and reading, and a little in science.

What was interesting, was looking a school preparedness, children seemed adequately prepared for grade-school in the early years, but left lacking as they got older.  So here are a few recommendations to keep your kids up to pace with receiving good grades at school, and fair better in math, reading, and science.

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Read the rest on Notes on Parenting.

Autism and the Family

April is Autism Awareness month. April 2 was World Autism Awareness day.  I was not made aware of this until a friend of mine wrote about autism and her family on her blog.  One thing she was grateful for was that it was one of her youngest children who had autism, since there were more societal supports, than had it been one of her oldest children.

There was a study done in 2006, about marriages and autism.  It is estimated that the divorce rate is 80 per cent among couples with autistic children.  The main stressor being that the couple does not reach out for support.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

Grocery Shopping & Food Preparation

Basic skills for living is something that all of us need.  I have a friend and colleague, Carly Ducheminsky, who recently became a part of a organization that helps provide online resources for basic skills to live, particularly in healthy food choices and financial management.  Such skills influence our abilities to provide to our children and to ourselves.

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Read the rest at Notes on Parenting.

Remember to have Daddy-Daughter Dates

Spending time with your daughter enhances your relationship with her. As I mentioned in a previous post, it is not just about quality time, it is about quantity time. To make your daughter feel loved, and wanted, you need to spend time together. I, therefore, recommend daddy-daughter dates.

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Read the rest of the column here at the Battleford's News Optimist.  This was originally written on Notes on Parenting.