As our kids get older their friends' opinions begin to mean more to them. This shift in perspective can make feeling left out or being excluded by their peers a crushing experience. What can parents do to help guide their preteen through the emotional ups and downs that are part of this phase of growing up? TweenParent.com has some strategies for parents to guide their children through this tricky social phase.
The good news is that fitting in is a fairly common issue for middle school kids and one that we're all familiar with (at every age). As parents, one of the challenges we face is understanding that we can't fix everything for our children (in fact, if we were even able to, we'd be sending the message to our children that we don't think they're capable—a whole new issue). But, we can be prepared to help our children cope as they work things out for themselves. And, yes, maybe we can work a little magic behind the scenes!
As Halloween approaches, parents should get ready too. The stores are chock full of costumes for wee trick-or-treaters including some that could be a safety threat. Here are some tips from Consumer Reports for buying or making safe Halloween costumes:
More than 120 students and families from Palm Lane Elementary School PTA in Anaheim, CA, helped launch a new holiday called School Year's Eve, created by National PTA and Conde Nast Publishing. Everyone got to spend the day at Disneyland to celebrate the back-to-school season. For details visit http://www.schoolyearseve.com/ and tell National PTA how you celebrated!
The PTA Great Idea Bank just passed 1,000 members. See what people are talking about and what ideas are being shared at PTAgreatideabank.org.
Go to PTAgreatideabank.org for more ideas and discussion.
PTA Reflections is celebrating 40 years of achievement in the arts. Each year, students from preschool through high school submit inspiring, heartwarming, thought-provoking, beautiful pieces in dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography, and the visual arts. Be part of this great program and help unleash students' artistic talents.
- Encourage your child to submit an entry based on this year's theme: 'Beauty is…' For the deadline and submission guidelines, contact your local PTA arts chair.
- Offer suggestions on possible Reflections Program judges within the community to the local arts chair, or volunteer to help organize the judging of submissions.
- Celebrate children's creativity and artwork. Participation in the arts promotes success in the classroom, so all children who participate in the PTA Reflections Program are winners. Talk to the local arts chair about how you can help plan a showcase or awards ceremony to recognize participants.
- Encourage your child to enter the PTA Reflections national theme search, submitting an idea for the 2011–2012 program theme.
For more information on PTA Reflections, visit PTAreflections.org
Your family may have just settled into the groove of the school year, but consider whether some healthy changes could make that groove even better. Take a second look at what you put in your child's lunch box every day; could some easy substitutions make a more nutritious meal? How about your family's level of physical activity? Could you make time for a family walk after dinner, or a game of soccer in the park this weekend?
November is PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month, and we encourage you to take a look at the resources at PTA.org/GoodChoices to find some simple ways to be healthier each day. Also, plan to participate in your school's PTA Healthy Lifestyles celebration. You can offer your talents and time as a volunteer; or if something isn't already planned, why not take the opportunity to step up as a PTA leader? Planning tools and activity ideas can be found at PTA.org/HealthyLifestyles.
Stay tuned throughout November for stories about this year's PTA Healthy Lifestyles Award recipients. You'll hear about efforts to get dads and kids active together, a program that's teaching parents how to speak up for healthier school environments, and a special opportunity for families to share their favorite healthy breakfast dishes.
Keep an eye and an ear out for PTA's Gateway Public Service Announcements (PSAs)—and be ready for people to ask you about your PTA experience and the work PTA does.
The Gateway PSAs include television and radio spots, as well as Web banners, that emphasize how PTA helps parents enrich their children's learning and lives. The PSAs were delivered to select markets across the nation in July, and now, your PTA can send them out as well. Learn more about the campaign at PTA.org/GatewayPSAs.
The latest edition of PTA Radio is is available online. Our featured topics and guests are:
Building Strong Parent-School Partnerships - Aracelli Simeon Luna, National Parent-School Partnership Director for MALDEF, offers strategic best practices and goals for fostering strong partnerships between parents and schools.
Free Resources for Volunteer Leaders - Karen Bantuveris, CEO of VolunteerSpot.com, shares fascinating tips to help leaders maximize volunteer efforts.
Tune in today!
Helping students achieve their full potential is one of the most important goals for parents and PTAs, and there are a number of simple and forward-thinking ways to reach it. How would you like to see your school and PTA handle the challenge of student achievement?
If your response is selected for publication in the December 2009-January 2010 issue of Our Children magazine, 'Student Achievement 2.0,' PTA will send you a $25 gift card.
Deadline for submission: Monday, October 19, 2009.
When submitting your response to forum@pta.org, please include
- Your name,
- The name and town of your PTA,
- Your position in your PTA, and
- Your home mailing address so we can send you a gift card if your submission is published.
By sending an e-mail, you'll be granting PTA the right to publish your response, which may be edited for grammar, length, and/or clarity.
- The No. 1 secret of parenting: Understanding your child's perspective. Here are some tips from the Blogcritics website.
- How do your rules lose power with your children? Some ideas and possible solutions from Dr. Randy Cale.
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:
