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Teaching responsibility to your children might not be as familiar as teaching math or reading. However, parents can help children understand what it means to be responsible. Terri Khonsari, a speaker and author of Raising A Superstar: Simple Strategies to Bring Out the Brilliance in Every Child, provides four steps for raising a child who understands responsibility.
- Start giving your children small tasks and chores when they are young. Add to their responsibilities as they get older. Children have a natural desire to help, and you can take advantage of their willingness when they are little. Ask them to take care of certain duties and hold them accountable. Teach them to do things because it helps them and those around them, and not because they get something material from you. Chores can start with very simple things like having them empty trash cans or put their own plate away, and later on they can graduate to washing the dishes or making the salad for dinner.
- Model the responsible behavior you want your child to emulate. Children can see right through hypocrisy. If there is a discrepancy between your behavior and your teachings, they will copy your actions rather than follow your words. Be responsible in your own life; show care and dedication toward your job, your family, and the commitments that you make to your children and their school. Do you take care of your responsibilities with passion and show enthusiasm for doing what you need to do? Take care of your responsibilities and show your kids you can have fun at the same time.
- Communicate with your children about responsible behavior. Let them know when you see them being responsible. Point to specific behaviors that you notice them excelling in. Children don’t know what it looks like to be responsible until you tell them and show them. Help them understand what you expect and make them feel they are being rewarded for doing the right thing, even if it is just a pat on the back. This will encourage them to continue being responsible and even strive to improve in other areas. Make responsibility a strong value for your whole family and announce it during your family quality times.
- Believe in your children and show them that you believe they can be responsible. They will pick up on your belief and tend to fulfill expectations. Encourage your kids to do new things for themselves and for the family, and help them achieve their goals in the right way. Not only you will help them become responsible, you will boost their confidence as well.
It doesn’t hurt to have a chart to help remind everyone what their responsibilities are. That way there is no excuse to forget to do homework, feed the cat or take out the trash. As good habits are formed, you will be laying the foundation for your children to grow into dependable, responsible adults.
Terri Khonsari is the bestselling author of Raising A Superstar: Simple Strategies to Bring Out the Brilliance in Every Child. To learn more about Terri’s work visit http://www.raisingasuperstar.com/ and sign up for more free tips on raising happy, healthy and successful children.
All Pro Dad's "Play of the Day" newsletter printed this message from a subscriber, Brian.
"When my son was born 19 years ago, my goal was to have him grow up without his Dad ever having turned him down when he sought my interaction. I have not been perfect in attaining my goal, but for 19 years, I have spent my most rewarding moments with my son one-on-one, coaching, and spending family time, like road-trip vacations or family game night. I think my wife and I have been successful because he still wants to play cards on Friday night instead of going out and carousing. So much for the nest being empty, but I know I'll miss it more than ever when it does taper off."
Heed Brian's advice:
- Commit to a family mealtime each day.
- Write your children's activities into your schedule book—in ink!
- Identify one thing on your weekly schedule you can do without and replace it with kid time.
- Take one of your children along when you run errands.
- Volunteer to participate in a regularly scheduled child activity, such as coaching a softball team or helping with a school activity.
- Identify one children's show on TV that you secretly like to watch and make a point of watching it with your child.
- Develop an interest in a hobby you and your child can enjoy together.
- If your work requires that you travel, take one of your children along with you when your business trip can be extended into a long weekend.
- If your work schedule is flexible, start your work day earlier so you can get home earlier in the afternoon to be with your family.
- Leave your work phones, cell phones, and pagers at home when you go on family vacations and outings.
All Pro Dad is a founding member of PTA MORE (Men Organized to Raise Engagement). Find out about MORE and other father involvement tips at PTA.org/more.
Listen to the latest PTA Radio broadcast with J. Michael Hall, executive director of Strong Fathers-Strong Families. Hall talks about how to get fathers more involved in their child's school.
Turning Miles into Meals
Alpine Elementary in Alpine, Utah, is promoting health and wellness by adopting a sister school in Nairobi, Kenya. Through a partnership with Reach the Children, each mile an Alpine Elementary student walks or bikes on his or her commute to school or during recess will raise 40 cents—enough to provide a student at Nairobi's Candle Light School lunch for a week. For many students at Candle Light, that lunch is their only meal. Read more about the impact of the program.
As part of its year-long effort to give families opportunities to spend time together being active, Healthy Lifestyles Award winner Alpine Elementary PTA has also hosted a bike rodeo and family dance and planned family skate nights for later in the year.
Learn more about PTA Healthy Lifestyles.
"Our first ever Monster Mash Family Dance Night, aimed at emphasizing fun and movement for children rather than candy at Halloween, was a huge success, with over 500 students and family members attending," said Alpine Elementary PTA President Amy Lundquist.
This holiday season, make sure your family is spreading holiday cheer, and not the flu!
From family hugs to fingers in the candy bowls, we know that germs are one "gift" that no one likes to get. Help prevent your family from getting ill this season by giving them the gift of health—a flu vaccination. Find a local PTA in your area that is hosting a flu vaccination clinic and register your family today! Go to pta.org/FluShotClinics and search to find a clinic in your area. Can't find a clinic in your area? Encourage your PTA to host a flu vaccination clinic and direct them to pta.org/FluShotClinics!
How can parents and teachers work together to prepare today's young people for the challenges of an interconnected world? PTA and National Geographic, two of the 26 partner organizations in the My Wonderful World campaign, invite you to participate in Geography Awareness Week November 16-22, 2008.
Go to MyWonderfulWorld.org and take your kids on a whirlwind tour of the world with a range of fun geo-activities designed to engage students of all ages in global exploration.
Take virtual geo-tours of cultures and global hotspots, including polar regions, coral reefs, and growing world cities
Explore earth's marine ecosystems as you pilot an underwater vehicle
Hear stories from young people living and working around the world
Check out new geo-technologies, like GIS and Google Earth
See how geography is on the job as a part of career paths now and in the future
Find ideas for events and ways to internationalize your child's school
With so much emphasis on tested subjects such as math and reading, many schools today are putting too little time and resources into helping students build global knowledge and understanding. Research has shown that while 80 percent of parents agree that an understanding of geography is an important skill for our children in the 21st century, nearly half say their child's school does not focus enough on geography-related education.
Celebrate Geography Awareness Week, and then join more than 80,000 other supporters of global, geographic learning at MyWonderfulWorld.org, which provides tools and resources for students, parents, and educators. Sign up for the campaign and you'll receive a monthly newsletter featuring games, tools and ideas for expanding students' geographic learning at school and at home.
In recognition of the hard work PTAs do on behalf of children, the PTA national office will present the second annual Outstanding Advocacy Awards at the March 2009 National Legislative Conference. Apply now for an Outstanding Advocacy Award.
For more than a century, PTA members have been a powerful voice for the health and education of children. Advocacy efforts ensure that all children continue to thrive in safe and nurturing settings. In recognition of that hard work, the PTA national office will present the second annual Outstanding Advocacy Awards at the March 2009 National Legislative Conference. The 2009 Outstanding Advocacy Award will be presented to PTAs that strongly advocated for a policy, regulation, or piece of legislation in support of PTA's mission and goals.
Two awards will be presented: one to a state PTA and one to a unit, council, district or region PTA. The state PTA will receive $1,000 and the unit, council, district or region chosen will receive $500 to cover direct expenses for PTA advocacy work. In addition, recipients will each receive two all-expense paid trips to the 2009 National Legislative Conference and be recognized at an awards ceremony on Capitol Hill on March 12. Criteria and application materials are available at pta.org/AdvocacyAward. Deadline for nominations is December 1, 2008.
To learn how you can attend the 2009 National Legislative Conference, visit pta.org/LegislativeConference.
PTA joins more than 50 other organizations as a partner in Inclusive Schools Week – December 1-5, 2008. The theme for this year's activities is "Together We Learn Better: Inclusive Schools Benefit All Children."
Inclusive Schools Week is an annual event sponsored by the Inclusive Schools Network (ISN) at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). It is held each year during the first week in December. Since its inception in 2001, Inclusive Schools Week has celebrated the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference and other factors. The week also provides an opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what needs to be done to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.
Resources:
Learn more and get ideas to celebrate this week at inclusiveschools.org/week.
Review PTA's resources for improving diversity on PTA.org.
Before children learn to read, they learn the sounds of their language by listening and speaking. These skills provide the foundation for later literacy. A child with hearing impairment has trouble processing or expressing language, and is likely to have difficulty learning to read. An estimated 10-15 percent of all school-aged children have some type of hearing loss. Some of these children are born with a hearing problem, but healthy young children can develop hearing loss at any time as a result of:
- frequent ear infections,
- infectious diseases like measles, meningitis, or flu,
- head injury,
- exposure to loud noise or music.
Many children with acquired hearing loss are not diagnosed properly or early enough. Learn the signs that your child may have developed a hearing problem.
- You have to raise your voice consistently to get your child's attention.
- Your child complains of ear pain or is pulling on his ear.
- Your child watches your face carefully when you are talking and turns his head so that one ear is facing the direction of your voice.
- Your child frequently asks for things to be repeated.
- Your child talks in an unusually soft or loud voice.
- Your child turns up the television or CD player louder than usual.
- Your child confuses sounds that are alike, and is having problems with spelling and phonics.
- Your child seems inattentive at home or at school, and may say he doesn't like school.
If you or your child's teacher suspects that your child has a hearing problem, first visit your pediatrician for a check up. An ear infection requires immediate treatment.
Have your child's hearing evaluated by a certified audiologist, who will determine the severity of the hearing loss.
If your child acquires a long-term or permanent hearing loss, you should seek out a certified speech-language pathologist who will measure your child's speech and language skills and help develop special remedial programs, if needed.
More resources:
- To find a certified audiologist or speech-language pathologist, visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's online directory.
- ASHA also offers Listen to Your Buds, a website that teaches children to protect their hearing through safe use of portable audio players. http://www.listentoyourbuds.org/
- For more information on speech, language, and hearing, visit ReadingRockets.org/article/c522
There are many ways that you can help your child succeed! A few small activities each week will pay huge dividends over the course of the year. Here are a few that you can do this week:
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Understand and reinforce school rules and expectations at home.
Comprenda y refuerce las reglas y las expectativas de la escuela en su casa.
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Address concerns or questions honestly, openly, and early on.
Plantee sus inquietudes o dudas en forma honesta, abierta y oportuna.
Sponsor Message
Tired of arguing about how much time your child spends online and playing video games? PTA members are the first to get a sneak peek at a new resource for families—GetGameSmart.com. The site provides quick tips that put you in control, need-to-know information about the Internet and gaming safety, plus advice from experts to help you make the right decisions about media use in your home. The official site launches in December, but PTA members can check it out now. Don't miss out—visit GetGameSmart.com!
Sponsor Message
The AXA Foundation, a Proud National Sponsor of PTA, offers a signature program, AXA Achievementsm, which provides resources that help make college possible: access and advice.
- Access: more than $1.3 million a year in scholarships
- Advice: a comprehensive resource for information to help students and parents plan for college.
Two scholarship programs are currently underway:
AXA Achievementsm Scholarship in association with U.S. News & World Report
- 52 scholarships of $10,000 and $25,000 to students across the nation
- Application deadline is December 15, 2008.
AXA Achievementsm Community Scholarship
- More than 300 scholarships of $2,000 to students across the nation
- Application deadline is February 15, 2009.
The winners, known as AXA Achievers, are ethnically and economically diverse, but share these qualities:
- Ambition and drive
- Determination to set and reach goals
- Respect for self, family and community
- Ability to succeed in college
Encourage graduating high school seniors to apply. Direct students, parents, and educators to axa-achievement.com, where they can find more information and downloadable applications which can be filled out online.
As part of AXA's partnership with PTA, AXA offers free workshops to PTA units on topics such as planning for college and other financial issues facing families. Visit the AXA website designed exclusively for PTA leaders, axa-achievement.com/PTA, for more information about the wide range of workshops that can be presented to your PTA unit.
The AXA Foundation is also the exclusive awards sponsor of the PTA's Take Your Family to School Week program, a nationwide initiative designed to increase parent involvement and participation in the schools.
Check out PTA Topics for additional parent resources.
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