9 Ways to Assist You and Your Child with Coping in a Confusing and Often Overwhelming World by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

9 Ways to Assist You and Your Child with Coping in a Confusing and Often Overwhelming World

by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Although life is a challenge, challenging and comprised of series of tests, one’s life should not be an unceasing contest, competition or battle” (Mrs. Dorothy Barron).

We live in a world that can be confusing and often overwhelming, fast pace, ever-changing, unstable, crisiatic, violent and scary; competition and undue pressure to be first and best rules our society. If the world appears at times confusing and overwhelming to adults, what must children think and how do they cope?

Parents, I encourage you to take time to stop often; look closely and engage your child/ren in conversation about the world at large and impact on his/her world, specifically. We have for your consideration listed 9 ways to assist you and your child with coping in a confusing and often overwhelming world:

·         Listen to your child regardless of the issue and which side or position he/she takes on the issue.

·         Talk with your child- discuss the pros and cons of an issue or situation

·         View the issue from  both you and your child/ren’s perspective

·         Offer and be supportive, but realize that there are some issues/situations a child must work through his/herself; keep the lines of communication open and monitor as applicable

·         It may be necessary to spend a little time in a different environment or provide a different experience – take time not only to “stop and smell the roses,” but pick a few

·         Try and retain balance and harmony of both you and your child/ren’s mental and physical being

·         Tell your child/ren often that you love him/her

·         At the conclusion, try and leave a positive thought(s) for consideration

·         Encourage  and help your child make the world a better place for all; it will soon be theirs to manage  

The world can be a confusing and often overwhelming place; however, children look to and depend on Parents to protect and provide them with a stable and safe haven. Thanks Parents for all you do!

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Founder

Parents Taking Charge in Education   http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PTCnEducation

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrsDBarronPTCnEd

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

Who is molding your Child? By Mrs. Dorothy Barron

                                     Who is molding your Child? By Mrs. Dorothy Barron   

                                                                                                               

Most of us at one time or another have handled or played with clay or play dough.   While pliable, one can shape it into various molds, but once it hardens, the changes are irreversible; should one try and change the mold after it has set, one generally succeeds only in breaking it.

Children can be likened to clay or play dough. When very young, they are impressionable; they often mimic exactly what they see and/or the person(s) with whom they spend the most time. According to some child psychologists, a child’s formative years are between birth and age six and by the age of six, the child’s character has been formed. Some children specialists have determined that such can begin while the child is within the mother’s womb. Women who are enceinte are encouraged to think positive thoughts; read; sing and talk to their unborn children.

Parents invest much time and money in planning the future of their children- jockeying for enrollment in what some view as the best schools often years in advance of the child beginning school and/or saving for the child’s college education at or before the birth of the child. Although each Parent has the prerogative to decide what he/she thinks is best for his/her child, let us not focus so far into the future that we overlook those things that are important in the here and now; today.  Parents, who is molding your child?

I viewed two television drama series for the last two seasons. One drama’s plots delve into the actions and motives of individuals and the other examines criminals’ deviant actions and mental behaviors and often link such back to the individual’s early childhood. The two-fold recurring theme is 1) the extent to which an adult’s thought process and actions mimic his/her early childhood and 2) the extent to which a child’s experiences or lack of shape and become his/her character in adulthood.

Thoughts do shape character and often the actions of an individual. Assist your child in this area by noting what they view; who and what they listen to and the amount of time they spend doing either and/or all. Remember, most do not live in the same era in which we grew up.

It would be catastrophic to invest in your child’s future only to see him/her denied such because of failure to mold and shape during his/her earlier or formative years or having allowed someone else to adversely mold your child who did not have his/her best interest at heart or in mind.  

Most, if not all want a better world, especially for our children. If, the molding and shaping of a child’s characters begin at such an early age, does it not seem logical to begin where the greatest impact can be made in an effort to obtain a better world?  We leave you with the question, who is molding your child/ren?

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Founder

Parents Taking Charge in Education   http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PTCnEducation

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrsDBarronPTCnEd

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

The Jailing of Parents because they Seek Quality Education for their Children by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

The Jailing of Parents because they Seek Quality Education for their Children by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

I have written on the subject of jailing Parents before as it relates to matters in Education. The jailing of Parents in this instance and due to the fact that some Parents have faced prosecution and/or jailed because they enrolled their children in schools other than the assigned school within or outside their own school district in an effort to seek quality Education for their child/ren is ludicrous and it will continue. Such tells us two things- 1)Promulgation that most Parents do not care about their child/ren’s education are false and incorrect; Parents who do not care about their children’s education do not go to such extents. In fact many situations of this type occur; they simply do not make the news and 2) Choices of this nature or similar ones will be made by many Parents, because they have worked too hard in an effort to provide for their child/ren’s needs to watch their efforts and their children’s deferred dreams and goals for a quality education go down the drain; some will willingly accept the risk of jail.  

Parents, prior to making a decision that may lead to or land you in jail, let me offer eight (8) suggestions that you may want to consider, first.

1.       Document and keep a record of your concerns; actions or lack of, taken by all involved; those with whom you correspond and all responses.

2.       Should you desire to enroll your child in a different school, discuss your concerns and request for a school transfer with your child/ren’s School Principal; he/she may be instrumental in assisting and/or pulling some strings to get your child in a school better equipped for his/her needs.

3.       Should the school Principal not be able to assist, discuss your concerns and request for a school transfer with Administrators at the School System/District Level.

4.       It helps to be an involved Parent with the school and/or PTA/PTO.

5.        Depending on the involvement and knowledge of your school’s PTA/PTO President, you may want to discuss and garner assistance from this individual or body.

6.       Inquire and obtain a copy of policy or law as well as the rights and alternatives for Parents and their children when your child’s assigned school does not meet education proficiency standards.

7.       Should you be told that to allow your child to transfer or enroll into another school would induce other Parents requesting the same; inquire as to the specific number that have made the request? If, the Administrator cannot provide information to support his/her argument; it is not a bona fide argument at this point. Should there be a substantial number, then one could conclude that real problems exist with the school.

8.       As for the argument that Parents are stealing services and/or an Education when Parents enroll their children outside their assigned schools and/or districts; perhaps someone should inquire and collect data as to

a.       Whether monies collected from taxpayers are limited to paying only for services within the community of which they live?

b.      What particular school district and/or community does one belong when without a home or homeless?

 Parents are busy, struggling often to juggle a plethora of responsibilities in an effort to care for their families; fighting to obtain a quality education for one’s child/ren should not be a struggle.

We need to provide Educators with all that are necessary to operate, maintain, and advance education as they provide a quality education for all children at all schools; or give Parents Choice and funding to place their children where they can best be educated; and certainly as aforementioned, without Parents landing in jail for doing so.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Founder

Parents Taking Charge in Education   http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PTCnEducation

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrsDBarronPTCnEd

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

Waiting for the Child to Fail by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Waiting for the Child to Fail by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Parents and Educators, sometimes even the best of us fail to see that which is directly in front of us and can be guilty of setting our child/ren up for failure.  We can become so focused on the child accomplishing or achieving a task and/or goal in education we instead succeed at causing or bringing about the opposite effect(s).

Too often, we expect the child/ren to fail and we simply wait for failure to occur. To make things worse, we repeat the same actions that lead to the same results – failure; let me illustrate this point.

It has always been important to me to set a beautiful and proper table for the family; it was also important that our children be taught proper table etiquette when they were small. The youngest managed to knock over his glass during meals and no amount of instructions to our son helped. Knocking over his glass became a habit; a habit perceived as a failure that we came to expect.  We then became accustomed each meal for this perceived failure to occur.

In this particular situation, the problem was not with our child; the problem was with the adults. It took a while, but suddenly I realized I was so focused on the table setting and etiquette, that I overlooked the capability of a very young child trying to handle a glass that was too large for his little hand(s).  It took a matter of seconds to remedy the problem and you should have seen the expression on our son’s face- smiles and confidence that “I can do it!”

Parents and Educators, we want children to succeed, but sometimes have come to expect and await failure, instead and thereby, making the situation worse for all, especially the child (resulting in lack of self-esteem, confidence and will), and then some wonder and question, “what is wrong with the child/ren?”

The lesson learned – It was not that our child was not able to accomplish the task; he simply was not provided the proper tools to enable him to succeed. He had to and did grow and mature to the point of utilizing adult-size utensil(s), but such took and takes time.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Founder

Parents Taking Charge in Education   http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PTCnEducation

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrsDBarronPTCnEd

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

Go fly a Kite by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

                          Go fly a Kite by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

                                                 

“Go fly a kite” are both figurative and literal expressions. Figuratively speaking, if annoyed by a person, one might say “go fly a kite” as a way of telling the person to get lost. Today, we want to use the expression in the literal sense.

We want you and your child/ren to really go fly a kite. Kite flying used to be a common and popular activity during the Spring Season; one could view kites soaring in all shapes and colors. Not only can kite flying be a wonderful family activity, but with First Lady; Mrs. Michelle Obama’s, Let’s Move Initiative, which has been established to assist us with curbing/eliminating obesity; eating healthier and becoming more active; kite flying will get us up and moving.   

As a means to assist Parents and children who would like to engage in the activity of flying a Kite, Parents Taking Charge in Education has done some research for you.  We searched on and offline for places that sell Kites; we suggest you search your favorite retail site(s) online and/or call your favorite local neighborhood retail store(s). The local stores that were called did not have them in stock. We performed an Internet search for those who may find it more feasible, fun and interesting to make a kite(s); we discovered that the Search Engine, Bing, listed or provided a wider variety and broader selection of information on making and flying kites than other popular search engines.

We also contacted our local television news stations Meteorologists (Nashville, TN) and others and asked, if they could provide us with the best dates during the Spring Season (March-May) for flying kites, as well as the best wind speeds?                    

According to the Meteorologists and because of varied weather patterns which affect wind speeds, it would be difficult to make long range predictions for the best days for flying kites over the Spring Season from March to May (L. Patton- WKRN); the best wind speed for flying kites range between 5 -25 mph depending on the type of kite (L. Patton and L. Spencer). For a more comprehensive forecast about the weather, the local National Weather Service Office was suggested as a source (L. Spencer- WSMV).

You can obtain the latest seven (7) day weather forecast and current conditions inclusive of wind speed by visiting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website at http://noaa.gov, and typing in your city and state. Weather warnings and forecasts can be found at http://www.weather.gov.                                              

National Kite Month.org at http://www.nationalkitemonth.org/main/, is a Website dedicated to and offers a host of information on Kiting, inclusive of teacher and parent resource information. The site’s Co-founders and Co-sponsors; The American Kite Association and The Kite Trade Association International confirmed and/or provided the following:                                   

¨      March 31^st through May 6, 2012 has been designated as Kite Season; however, Executive Directors from both associations informed us that Kite Season varies by countries and regions.

¨      April is National Kite Month.

In addition, there are Kite Festivals here and abroad. Do you know where the Kite originated? Do a quick search!

Finally Parents, we want to offer some Kite Flying precautions:

¨      Accompany you child or make sure he/she has adult supervision.

¨      Be aware of weather conditions- do not fly kites during storms or bad weather.

¨      Keep kites away from power lines, trees or any objects of which the kite may become entangled.

¨      Walk the terrain prior to flying the kite(s) to ensure that the ground and boundaries are level and safe; eyes will be upward once the launching of the kite takes place and airborne.

Spring is right around the corner; how about it Dad and Mom? Come on Granddad, Grandma, Uncles and Aunts; make or purchase a kite and show us how to fly it!

You most likely will be at kite flying for some hours; why not take a nutritious picnic and some blankets along and make it a day? We are getting a kite; how about you?

                        *******************************************

Parents Taking Charge in Education would like to thank the following for assisting with resource information, educating us and/or making a difference:

First Lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama and those at Let’s Move

Bing Search Engine

Channel 2 WKRN –Weathercaster; Lisa Patton (Nashville, TN News Channel Station)

Channel 4 WSMV-Chief Meteorologist; Lisa Spencer (Nashville, TN News Channel Stations)

NOAA Nashville Weather Service:  http://noaa.gov and Weather.gov: http://www.weather.gov  

National Kite Month.Org at http://www.nationalkitemonth.org/main/and site Co-founders and Co-sponsors; The American Kite Association and The Kite Trade Association International.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Founder

Parents Taking Charge in Education   http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PTCnEducation

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MrsDBarronPTCnEd

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com