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In a child’s education an important factor is the parents’ expertise for this “job”. No one is born holding all the knowledge, but we can learn and understand some things from books or advice from qualified persons.
Amongst the commandments a parent should strictly follow are the following:
1. Do not underestimate your child – he can understand more than you think he does and if you make him believe you think poorly of him this might affect his development.
2. Don’t use threat – a child loves a challenge and once threatened he might probably go on and do what he wasn’t suppose to just to see if he can escape the punishment.
3. Do not bribe your child – if you are trying to get him to learn for money for example, he will fail to understand the importance of learning, all he will get from this is the importance of money.
4. Do not make a small child promise something – small children can’t hold promises so don’t force them to lie and then punish them because they did that.
5. Do not keep them under a short leash – to grow up normally children need some space, some freedom.
6. Do not use big words or too many words when you are talking to your child – keep your ideas simple and concise so he can understand every thing you have to say.
7. Do not expect an immediate and blind obedience – it is not recommended, the child has to be learned to think for his own not to follow orders.
8. Do not indulge him too much – he can develop compartmental disorders.
9. Do not compromise when it comes to the rules of a game – the trick for a game to become educative is too have its initial rules respected.
10. Don’t impose rules that don’t go with the age of your child.
11. Do not try to inflict quilt – quilt is not an appropriate feeling for children, especially if they are little.
12. Don’t give your child orders that you don’t take seriously – your child will try to please you and giving him an order is drastic, and it becomes cruel if that order is a joke.
All these “commandments” are addressed first to the parent. But they are to be referred to by teachers and educators as well. Along with the parents, they will settle upon an attitude and strategy for the education and growth of the child, so that they can give him all the things he needs to properly develop emotional and physically
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
12 Commandments for Parents
Friday, June 1, 2007
Diagnosing Learning Disabilities
There are no physical signs to a learning disability, albeit of course any genetic or possible other disorders that may indeed cause a learning disability as a secondary effect. There are many forms of learning disabilities that perhaps some people are not aware of. This article will touch base with some common signs of a potential learning disability.
When trying to diagnose a learning disability what do you look for? Are there any significant physical traits to be seen? The answer is no.
If you have noticed your child struggling in very remedial tasks that you feel should have been picked up at a very young age such as, putting together comprehendible sentences, or catching the grasp of tying their shoes, as they get older, then this may very well be a sign. It is impossible to determine at the start of schooling whether or not your child will have difficulties, and start to fall behind. There are however, a few things to consider that may have eluded you until now. Perhaps they do not have a learning disability at all, rather an eyesight problem. It may be possible that your child is placed too far back in the classroom and is having trouble seeing what is going on, or to be done. The same can be said for hearing as well, it can be misconstrued as a learning disability, yet they merely have a problem with communication as the are not picking up the proper instructions from the teacher. Both of these issues can be in a sense a learning disability only because of the restrictions that are placed on them. This can indeed be corrected as you take them to an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist.
Another sign could be that they just cannot sit still in class or at home while studying. This is a sign of a learning disability that is known as attention deficit disorder, or A.D.D. This condition is where the individual cannot focus on a set task for very long. This can also impede the learning process, as they do not pick up any set details and cannot focus on what is needed, or should be done for more than a few minutes at a time. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D is in fashion is the same disorder, yet you can throw extreme hyperactivity into the mix. The same lack of attention is present in this disorder, as well as the seemingly endless supply of energy. This in turn makes it very difficult for the person to sit still in class. Both of these disorders although related, are not the same and will need to be treated differently. Hyperactivity can be a very hard condition to control without the use of some very potent specially prescribed drugs. Many times these drugs however, can strip the child of far too much energy than needed, and really be counterproductive. Talk to a specialist and find a means to control this disorder. This should help at least control the fidgetiness in the child; many times specialists will recommend a change in diets as an initial move to correcting this disorder.
When this does not work, often they will set up small tests to determine the severity of the disorder so that a proper treatment can be applied. There are several fashions of learning disabilities such as academic skills disorders, language and speech disorders, and sometimes, yet rarely, coordination disorders that can lead up to some forms of learning disabilities. As a parent it is your job to watch over developments that may arise in your children, especially when it comes to learning or the lack thereof. When you see signs of a disability, it is very concerning, yet there is treatment for the problems. It is better off not left to chance, and risking the possibility of it getting worse. The less you pay attention to the problem, the more disabling the problem can become in the future. Help your kids learn on pace with everyone else.
Diagnosing LD Early is Important
If you notice that your child is having great difficulties making out words or sounds would assume they have a learning disability? What does this mean? More than likely this is the early sign of a learning disability. If they are having troubles with putting together understandable sentences, there is another sign of this problem.
Most times, it is the parent at home with the child that first recognizes a problem with the speech or development of the child. This generally happens long before the child even hits school. If the child exhibits traits of rowdiness there is another possibility, it may be ADD or ADHD. In any case, and whatever the situation, the child should be brought to the pediatrician for some tests to determine exactly what the problem could be. If it is a case of ADD or ADHD then there are many options for the treatment of the conditions. If, however, it is a learning disability, the options are not as varied or quantified. Basically, the options consist of special education, and/or a private tutor. The idea of having a child with a learning disorder can be troubling, yet it is not the end of the world. With the tools that teachers have at their disposal these days, great strides in the correcting of many of the issues that the condition carry can be overcome.
When finding out that your child has a learning disorder, and the child has yet to be enrolled in the public education system, this is indeed the most ideal time to start working with them. There are programs that can be picked up from the pediatrician’s office, or off the Internet. Getting sets of good flash cards from an educational is a good idea, as well. It is easy enough for you to make your own flash cards. They can incorporate pictures with the words. Small words to start with will be appropriate, and then as the child develops confidence, gradually increasing in size and complexity.
In addition, the idea of tutoring your child at home prior to them going to school will definitely give them a fair shot at least keeping up with the rest of the class, and not falling to far behind. In the early stages of school the reading, and writing aspects are not as important as social development are. The time span of the transition between kindergarten and higher grades, will give plenty of time for the child to develop some skills in reading and writing. This will be most helpful if you can develop a regime at home for them to follow on a daily basis.
If you do detect this problem in the child and do nothing about it, what you are doing is hurting your child in the long run. This makes things that others may find easy, a challenge to your child. You are doing them no service by allowing the decrease in processing to continue. When they reach latter stages of their education, this is where this will be most evident. Often when a child’s disability goes unattended, it leads to further trouble. This is most recognizable by traits of fidgety behavior, and/or extreme restlessness in the classroom. This can often be associated with the condition of ADD or ADHD, which is not the case in said learning disorder.
The fact that they cannot sit still is the fact that the level of processing of the information before them is very limited. This makes them restless on what they are doing and end up disrupting the entire classroom. When this situation arises, it is possible for the student to be reprimanded for their behavior, even though it is not really their fault. If the teacher knew ahead of time, it would be more likely that the child would already be in some sort of special education class. In helping the child at home, you give them an opportunity to make advancements long before they enter school. Early detection of this condition is truly a good thing when it comes to the child’s development. It definitely gives them an edge they otherwise would not have had.
