How To Get The Best Education Possible: Tip #28

Taking pictures and putting them together to tell a story is a great way to bond with your child. Scrap booking has become very popular and you can make it as expensive or inexpensive as you wish. This brings us to tip #28.

Tip #28: Make a memory book of photos with your child.

Taking old photos from before birth to present day and making a memory book can be a fun project to work on together. Explaining to your child the milestones they accomplished can be eye opening and inspirational. Tell them about their temperament and fun stories that they can not remember. Decorating the book can make it original and personal. Add short scripts that explain the events of each photo. Every year add to the photo history of your child and it is something that can be shared with their children and grandchildren. It is time well spent that will never be forgotten and it’s something fun and meaningful.

How To Get The Best Education Possible: Tip #27

School has started and should be in full swing.  Hopefully, you have met your child's teacher and had a short conference to inform him/her of any important information about your child, and letting the teacher know you are there for support.  Very soon if not already, a teacher conference should be scheduled to let you know how your child is doing so far.  It is very important to go to all conferences, and this brings us to tip #27.

Tip #27: Be prepared for conference with questions, concerns, and cooperative support.

A parent conference can be very intimidating.  If you are prepared with questions and ready to help support the teacher in the success of your child school work, a teacher-parent conference can be less stressful.  Below are somethings you should write down and get the answers to.

1. Leave all negative feelings at the door.  Go in with a positive attitude with the objective of assisting the teacher to help your child meet success in the school year?

2.What are the teacher's priorities, objectives, and expectations for this grading period and the next?

3.How much homework is given and how much assistance does the teacher want from the parent?

4.If you find out there are some behavior concerns ask, "When does the behavior happen?" "Can we make some kind of behavior plan so that the behavior can be turned around?" "How can I help?"

5. In confidence share any changes or concerns that are going on in your child's life, so the teacher can understand and look out for any changes in behavior or mood.

6. Make sure you give and get contact information so you can stay in touch with one another.

To get more information and questions on how to handle a parent-teacher conference, order my book, A Parent's Handbook: How to Get the Best Education Possible K-6 Grades. at www.besteducationpossible.com.

       

How To Get The Best Education Possible: Tip #26

With children and teens spending so much time socializing on the Internet, taking pictures with their cell phones, and communicating with strangers from around the world, parents must be sure their child is practicing computer safety. There are predators and scam artist waiting to take advantage of anyone they can. This brings us to tip #26.

Tip #26: Make sure your child is practicing computer safety.

So many times parents and children are unaware of the dangers that are on the social networks. We have face book, tweeter, my space, and emails. The sad thing is that a lot of children (and sadly some adults) unknowingly or stupidly put personal information up on the world-wide-web for all the world to see.

When a friend or boy/girlfriend become angry, they will post private pictures, information, or insults about the person they are angry with. You need to make your child aware of keeping all personal and private matters off of the Internet. You must sit down and explain the dangers and set the boundaries. Let your child know that you will be checking their accounts to see that all rules are being followed. Also, put a block on any sites you don’t want your child or teen to have access to.

Below are some of the dangers you need to discuss with your child:

1. Talking to strangers that very well could be child predators.

2. Giving locations of where they live or where they will be.

3. Taking private pictures of themselves and sending them to boy/girlfriends.

4. Letting your child know that colleges and future employers will go on social networks before they accept applications for admission or job interviews.

5. Employers will also look at social pages to consider promotions.

6. If someone is bullying or using these networks in a negative way about your child, it is harassment. They must let you know so you can contact the school so it can be stopped.

7. If there is anything or anyone that makes your child uncomfortable, he/she must come off of the site and let you know immediately what happened.

8. Your child should never make arrangements for meeting someone they met on the Internet.

9. Anything put on the world-wide-web is there forever!!!!! That is extremely serious.

10.That you have a right  and will be checking all text, emails, social accounts, and site visited.  You must seriously keep an eye on your child's computer usage.

How To Get The Best Education Possible:Tip #25

There is a way to build a positive relationship with your child,  build memories, and build self-esteem all at the same time. This will bring us to Tip #25.

Tip #25: Spend individual special time with each child

Try to spend special time with each child when it is only you and the child. It can be once a year, once a month, or once a week. This time should be planned and fun for both of you. It can be as simple as taking a walk or going to the movies. My great-aunt always took me to the Philadelphia Museum of Art every year from the time I was a little girl. I never forgot those special trips. My grandmother made sure she took me to hear the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra every season. My other great-aunt would take me into the city and buy me 3 outfits to start the school year. It made me feel special and very loved. I always knew my family loved me no matter what, and a great part of this was because of the special individual times they spent with me. Parents should come up with a traditions of spending individual special time with each child. Ask grandparents, if at all possible, to do the same. This is so your child can always look back at these times as special just for him or her. It will be lasting memories, relationship building , self-esteem boosting, as well as time well spent .

Outsmart Breast Cancer: Part II

According to an article in the October 2010 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, 38 percent of breast cancer cases could be prevented with diet, exercise, and weight control.  Yesterday's blog hit on watching weight gain, incorporating certain veggies in your diet, taking vitamin D, and avoid excess hormones.  Today we will look at 5 more tips on preventing breast cancer.

5. Back away from the bar: The reality is that the more alcohol you consume, the greater your odds of getting breast cancer possibly because it raises estrogen levels.  The consensus among health groups is to limit consumption to one drink or less per day.

6. Race for the prevention: Being physically active, it turns out, could be the single best thing you can do to protect your health.  For a start, regular aerobic activity for 30 minutes a day, five days a week.  This will help control weight, but it also acts directly on body chemistry to lower levels of circulating insulin and estrogen. 

7. And keep on going: Surviving and thriving after diagnose may also depend on stepping up the pace.  In a review of six studies involving 12,000 breast cancer patients, researchers found that regular exercise could reduce disease recurrence by 24 percent, breast cancer deaths by 34 percent, and overall deaths by 41 percent.

8. Don't miss mammograms: When government-sponsored task force announced last year that it didn't think there was enough evidence to subject women in their 40s to regular mammograms, and that women in their 50s could be screened every other year.  A major 2009 study reported that three-quarters of breast cancer deaths occurred among women who did not undergo regular screening.

9. Assert your individuality: Public health guidelines focus on the population as a whole, but to protect your health, you need to get specific.  You may need a stepped-up screening schedule if, for example you've ever had a breast biopsy (even if benign). Likewise, if you are at increase risk due to family history, you may need more frequent exams or screenings with MRI.  Make sure your doctor knows your family history (father's as well as mother's).

Outsmart Breast Cancer: Part I

October is breast cancer awareness month.  According to an article in the October 2010 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, states that no matter what age you are now, or what generation you belong to, it's not too early, or too late, to take steps to avoid the disease.  Below are 4 of the 9 steps that make a difference from eating the right vegetables, to taking the correct supplements.

1.  Watch out for weight creep:  If you could still fit into your high school prom dress (with Spanx, if necessary), you're in good shape in more ways than one.  Woman who have gained between 21 and 30 pounds since age 18 have a 40 percent increase risk of breast cancer compared with those who have put on five or fewer pounds, an American Cancer Society study found.

2.  Embrace cauliflower: Recent research seems to show that adopting a pattern of eating that includes lots of fruits and vegetables is beneficial.  When Colorado State University scientist took a second look at the famed Singapore study, the research that initially pointed to the Asian-style diet found that even among Chinese women, those who ate more "vegetable-fruit-soy" diet had a lower risk of breast cancer than woman whose plates contained less of these.  The veggies that seemed to to the most good: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale.

3. Swallow a super supplement: In a Canadian study involving more than 6,000 women, those who reported taking a daily dose of vitamin D were 24 percent less likely to develop breast cancer. The science is not definitive, but evidence is growing that women with adequate vitamin D blood levels have a lower risk of breast cancer than those whose levels are below normal.

4. Avoid excess hormones: Most women are aware that hormone therapy has been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer.  But studies have also found that birth control pills raise your chances slightly, at least while you're actually on the Pill (the risk starts to go down when you stop taking it; after 10 year, it's the same as it would be if you'd never been on the Pill).

Stay tuned for tomorrow because there will be 5 more preventive measures you can take to help in the battle against breast cancer.  We as women and mothers must take care of our health for the sake of the family.  By the way, men are known to get breast cancer too.

How To Get The Best Education Possible: Tip #24

The kind of relationship you build with your child can be for a lifetime of good or bad memories. Your child will remember the time you spend together doing the small things. Why not do something together that is meaningful and fun. That brings us to tip #24.

Tip #24: Start a hobby or a collection with your child.

Talk to your child and find out their interest and passion. Try to come up with something you both would truly have fun doing. Write down some ideas and narrow it down to just a few. Decide on the one idea  you both would love to build, collect, paint, photograph, or study. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money and many hobbies can turn into money making ventures. Below are some ideas.

1. Collect stamps, coins, leaves, baseball cards, dolls, small toy cars, stuffed animals, etc.

2. Build model cars, airplanes, bird houses, doll houses, doll furniture, wooden toys, etc.

3. Take art classes for painting, drawing, sculpturing, etc.

4, Study photography and start taking pictures

5. Scrap booking or journaling