FUN IDEAS FOR KIDS

For my last post I wanted to have a little fun by giving ideas of ways to have fun.

From the Zen habits website I a pulled a list of activities you can do with your kids.

100 Ways to Have Fun with Your Kids for Free or Cheap

1. Have a reading marathon.
2. Write stories together.
3. Play soccer.
4. Paint or draw together.
5. Create a fort in your living room out of blankets or cardboard boxes.
6. Go on a hike.
7. Have a sunset picnic at a park or beach.
8. Play board games.
9. Play kickball.
10. Get up early, pack breakfast, and have a sunrise breakfast.
11. Go to a museum.
12. Go to a playground.
13. Play hide-and-seek.
14. Have a pillow fight.
15. Ride bikes.
16. Build sandcastles.
17. Rent a dvd and make popcorn.
18. Tell stories.
19. Have a scavenger hunt.
20. Make mazes or puzzles for each other to solve.
21. Play card games.
22. Garden together.
23. Bake cookies (let the kids help).
24. Go to the zoo.
25. Go to the library.
26. Shop at a thrift shop.
27. Create a blog together.
28. Create a scrapbook.
29. Make a movie using a camcorder and computer.
30. Learn to play music.
31. Fingerpaint.
32. Make play dough from scratch.
33. Make homemade mini pizzas.
34. Buy popsicles.
35. Make hand-painted T-shirts.
36. Set up a hammock, make lemonade, relax.
37. Go to a pool.
38. Go to a public place, people watch, and make up imaginary stories about people.
39. Visit family.
40. Write letters to family.
41. Paint or decorate the kids’ room.
42. Make milkshakes.
43. Play freeze tag.
44. Create a treasure hunt for them (leaving clues around the house or yard).
45. Decorate a pair of jeans.
46. Do a science experiment.
47. Play games online.
48. Teach them to play chess.
49. Learn magic tricks.
50. Create a family book, with information and pictures about each family member.
51. Fly kites.
52. Go snorkeling.
53. Barbecue.
54. Volunteer.
55. Donate stuff to charity.
56. Compete in a three-legged or other race.
57. Create an obstacle course.
58. Pitch a tent and sleep outside with marshmallows.
59. Roast marshmallows.
60. Play loud music and dance crazy.
61. Write and produce a play (to perform before other family members).
62. Paint each other’s faces.
63. Have a water balloon fight.
64. Have a gun-fight with those foam dart guns.
65. Explore your yard and look for insects.
66. Go for a walk and explore the neighborhood.
67. Go jogging.
68. Take pictures of nature.
69. Play a trivia game.
70. Make up trivia questions about each other.
71. Make hot cocoa.
72. Play house.
73. Decorate the house with decorations you make.
74. Make popsicles.
75. Play school.
76. Do shadow puppets.
77. Make a comic book.
78. Play in the rain.
79. Make mud pies.
80. Blow bubbles.
81. Take turns saying tongue twisters.
82. Sing songs.
83. Tell ghost stories in the dark with a flashlight.
84. Build stuff with Legos.
85. Give them a bubble bath.
86. Play with squirt guns.
87. Play video games together.
88. Play wiffleball.
89. Play nerf football.
90. Build a rocket from a kit.
91. Bake a cake and decorate it.
92. Play dress-up.
93. Thumb-wrestle, play mercy, or have a tickle fight.
94. Make a gingerbread house, or decorate gingerbread men.
95. Learn and tell each other jokes.
96. Play basketball.
97. Learn to juggle.
98. Walk barefoot in the grass and pick flowers.
99. Build paper airplanes and have a flying contest.
100. Prank call their grandparents, using disguised, humorous voices.

Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect: Signs and Symptoms

We have just been talking about child abuse in class lately... and it makes be so sad to think about all of the millions of children who unknowingly go abused each day. This article was taken from the childwelfare website written by Child Welfare Information Gateway, published 2007. (http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.com)

This posting lists all of the signs and symptoms of abuse that everyone should be on the out look for. By law, we are required to report any signs of abuse to athorities... but we need to remember we do this for the children. If we don't know the signs, how will they ever be able to lead a normal life being stuck in the abuse they have been living in.

Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect: Signs and Symptoms

The first step in helping abused or neglected children is learning to recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect. The presence of a single sign does not prove child abuse is occurring in a family, but a closer look at the situation may be warranted when these signs appear repeatedly or in combination.

If you do suspect a child is being harmed, reporting your suspicions may protect the child and get help for the family. Any concerned person can report suspicions of child abuse and neglect. Some people (typically certain types of professionals) are required by law to make a report of child maltreatment under specific circumstances—these are called mandatory reporters. For more information, see the Child Welfare Information Gateway publication, Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect.

For more information about where and how to file a report, contact your local child protective services agency or police department. An additional resource for information and referral is the Childhelp® National Child Abuse Hotline (800.4.A.CHILD).

Recognizing Child Abuse

The following signs may signal the presence of child abuse or neglect.

The Child:

• Shows sudden changes in behavior or school performance
• Has not received help for physical or medical problems brought to the parents' attention
• Has learning problems (or difficulty concentrating) that cannot be attributed to specific physical or psychological causes
• Is always watchful, as though preparing for something bad to happen
• Lacks adult supervision
• Is overly compliant, passive, or withdrawn
• Comes to school or other activities early, stays late, and does not want to go home

The Parent:

• Shows little concern for the child
• Denies the existence of—or blames the child for—the child's problems in school or at home
• Asks teachers or other caregivers to use harsh physical discipline if the child misbehaves
• Sees the child as entirely bad, worthless, or burdensome
• Demands a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve
• Looks primarily to the child for care, attention, and satisfaction of emotional needs

The Parent and Child:

• Rarely touch or look at each other
• Consider their relationship entirely negative
• State that they do not like each other

Types of Abuse

The following are some signs often associated with particular types of child abuse and neglect: physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. It is important to note, however, that these types of abuse are more typically found in combination than alone. A physically abused child, for example, is often emotionally abused as well, and a sexually abused child also may be neglected.

Signs of Physical Abuse

Consider the possibility of physical abuse when the child:

• Has unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, or black eyes
• Has fading bruises or other marks noticeable after an absence from school
• Seems frightened of the parents and protests or cries when it is time to go home
• Shrinks at the approach of adults
• Reports injury by a parent or another adult caregiver

Consider the possibility of physical abuse when the parent or other adult caregiver:

• Offers conflicting, unconvincing, or no explanation for the child's injury
• Describes the child as "evil," or in some other very negative way
• Uses harsh physical discipline with the child
• Has a history of abuse as a child

Signs of Neglect

Consider the possibility of neglect when the child:

• Is frequently absent from school
• Begs or steals food or money
• Lacks needed medical or dental care, immunizations, or glasses
• Is consistently dirty and has severe body odor
• Lacks sufficient clothing for the weather
• Abuses alcohol or other drugs
• States that there is no one at home to provide care

Consider the possibility of neglect when the parent or other adult caregiver:

• Appears to be indifferent to the child
• Seems apathetic or depressed
• Behaves irrationally or in a bizarre manner
• Is abusing alcohol or other drugs

Signs of Sexual Abuse

Consider the possibility of sexual abuse when the child:

• Has difficulty walking or sitting
• Suddenly refuses to change for gym or to participate in physical activities
• Reports nightmares or bedwetting
• Experiences a sudden change in appetite
• Demonstrates bizarre, sophisticated, or unusual sexual knowledge or behavior
• Becomes pregnant or contracts a venereal disease, particularly if under age 14
• Runs away
• Reports sexual abuse by a parent or another adult caregiver

Consider the possibility of sexual abuse when the parent or other adult caregiver:

• Is unduly protective of the child or severely limits the child's contact with other children, especially of the opposite sex
• Is secretive and isolated
• Is jealous or controlling with family members

Signs of Emotional Maltreatment

Consider the possibility of emotional maltreatment when the child:

• Shows extremes in behavior, such as overly compliant or demanding behavior, extreme passivity, or aggression
• Is either inappropriately adult (parenting other children, for example) or inappropriately infantile (frequently rocking or head-banging, for example)
• Is delayed in physical or emotional development
• Has attempted suicide
• Reports a lack of attachment to the parent

Consider the possibility of emotional maltreatment when the parent or other adult caregiver:

• Constantly blames, belittles, or berates the child
• Is unconcerned about the child and refuses to consider offers of help for the child's problems
• Overtly rejects the child

Resources on the Child Welfare Information Gateway Website

Child Abuse and Neglect

www.childwelfare.gov/can/

Defining Child Abuse and Neglect

www.childwelfare.gov/can/defining/

Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect

www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/

Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect

www.childwelfare.gov/responding/reporting.cfm

Pirate Eliot

For my other class, Childhood Development, I wrote about a young boy in our class. Here is the observation I made about him.

Working at the Children’s Center has been a great experience while being in this class. I get to see most of the subjects we have learned about appear in most of the children I work with. Lately we have been talking about social interactions and theory of mind. In observing the children and connecting the dots to the lessons we have had, I have been able to make some assumptions and label children’s behaviors.

In the class I work with there are now 9 boys, all around the age of 5. And they are full of energy… let me tell you. Most of the boys have behavioral and/or emotional problems. At first I would label most of them as either Rejected-aggressive or Controversial, but knowing about the way it is seen as a whole group decision changes things. But, even though certain children in the group would most likely be considered popular, in any other setting right now they would be in a very different situation. One child in particular I am thinking about, we’ll call him Eliot, is they type of boy who stokes the fire under another kid to get them to do naughty things. He never is the leader but the provoker. Eliot is a popular kid in the class; he makes the other kids laugh with his crazy ideas and his ability to manipulate kids. Eliot is very aggressive though, physically especially. So it’s interesting to me that in this situation he is seen as popular amongst this crowd of kids.

Another observation about this same boy Eliot is his ongoing pretend friend, or in this case, pretend pirate. While reading the supplementary readings about how children take on the pretend character as themselves I immediately thought of this boy! This pretend character originated about 2 months ago at the Children’s Center. We had a day where one of the TPS’s had designed a treasure map that the kids could all follow to find some buried treasure. We all dressed up and practice making pirate sounds. At this point this boy decided that his name was “Pirate Eliot”. And even after the game, all day long as a matter of fact he was not “real name” he was Pirate Eliot. As the weeks went on there would be times when he still insisted on being this character. As time went on the character became more elaborate as well, he had certain villains that always appeared, and monsters that always lingered around when Pirate Eliot was present. He would also at times when he was in trouble and we would be asking him things or addressing him with his real name he would tell us he didn’t do that because he wasn’t that person, he was Pirate Eliot. Often he would have a hard time when the TPS’s for certain reasons had to tell him that they wouldn’t call him Pirate Eliot for certain reasons that day.

In connecting the dots it’s easy to see that this boy has a rich imagination, and I believe it has given him a better theory of mind. I believe that because he does have a better theory of mind it has given him the ability to be popular amongst his friends, understanding more of what they are feeling and how he can sometimes manipulate them as well.

Marshmallow Test

Take a look at this! This has been a very basic study, but has become widely known.

Piaget Conservation Task

If you haven't ever heard of Piaget Conservations task, you will love this video and then, like I did, test it out on all of your little nephews and nieces. 

Piaget Conservation Task is a procedure that is used to test the theory that children between the ages of 3-5 thinking ability is limited by what is known as centration. Centration is the tendency to focus on a single, perceptually striking feature of an object or event. This test is not to trick the child, but to merely show that there thinking ability at this age literally doesn't process the fact that even though the glass is taller, it is also skinnier. These children can only focus on that one aspect even though they just watched everything that happened. In this video they also have an example of an older child doing the task to show that she has indeed over come the lack of knowledge of conservation. FACINATING! Watch and see for yourself.

FACE UP TO WAKE UP

SIDS - Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, it can be the most terrifying thought for a parent with an infant. The most common SIDS scenario is that an apparently healthy baby, usually between 2 and 5 months of age, is put to bed or a nap and is found dead later or the next morning. This is caused because children of this age are starting to gain strength in there refluxes, but can not fully control themselves or pick them selves up and move into a new position. Often the baby can't push there heads away from a blanket they have on there face, or a smothering pillow.

Because of this large issue, the BACK TO SLEEP campaign, it encourages parents to put their infants to sleep on their backs.

I have found a very beneficial pamphlet that is geared towards mothers and what they need to do to reduce SIDS in there own child's life.

BACK TO SLEEP PAMPHLET

Click on the link above to open the PDF.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY

Playing is a huge part of children development. It helps them develop their Cognitive development and speech. A researcher by the name of Lev Vygotsky was a pioneer in studying the way play helps a child develop. He believes that a psychological al phenomenon happens when children play. Through play, Vigotsky believed that a child abstractly develops meaning separate from the objects in the world, which is a critical feature in the development of higher mental functions. When play is included with an adult the child learns to regulate his/her emotions, develop speech, cognitive reasoning and learns how to deal with situations.

In continuing my volunteering at the Children’s Center in down town Salt Lake, I have observed how important playing is in the development of children, especially in there cognitive development. Lately I have begun to pay attention more to the types of play we use at the Children’s Center.

 

For those who do not know much about the Children’s Center, we use play as the primary form of therapy. Literally, we play for the full 3 hours we are with them.

 

Throughout each day we follow a general regime.

• Play on the playground

• Read books and play quiet games while eating lunch

• Play a game with everyone in a circle

• Art time

• Snack Time

• Book and Puzzle time

• Toy time

 

But, within these different time periods I have observed that through play the way the children feel, think and need.

For example, one day while out on the playground a young boy, (I’ll call Matt for now), got a toy he was playing with ripped out of his hands by another boy. I had seen this happen and while heading over to correct the problem Matt yelled out to the boy, “Your mean, were not friends”. Now, this made the boy who had the toy now super sad and he threw the toy in reaction across the playground. Me and a T.A. sat Matt down and the other boy and first resolved the fact that taking the toy in the first place was wrong, explaining that doing this makes the other sad, asking them to think about how they would feel if this had happened to him.

 

After this problem was taken care I was still sitting next to the T.A. and overheard what she talked to him next about. She asked him if he was mad, he said yes, she said that even though he was mad at someone that that doesn’t mean that him and that boy can’t still be friends.  The boys response was a little shocking, when he said the when anyone does something wrong that they can no longer be friends ever. But, the T.A. pointed out that the T.A. had made Matt mad once before and they were still friends. Matt acknowledged this fact and that was the last I heard of it.

This situation with Matt happened several times that day and the next week, he would go around telling everyone who had done him or her wrong that they were no longer friends But repeating and having him think about his words and the situation throughout play time resolved the problem because 2 weeks after this incident we were playing with puzzles and books, and another child mad Matt mad, and I over heard him tell the child that what he had done made him mad, and even though they were friends he didn’t want to help him with the puzzle anymore.

 

And later that day while playing with some dinosaur toys he had one dinosaur jump on his other dinosaur he was playing with, the now damaged dinosaur was then made to say, it’s okay, we can still play. He had obviously through these two examples made a connection to the fact that even though people do things that make you mad you can still be friends. And forgive them for what they have done.

This brings to light the fact that Vygotsky said about play and the fact that fantasy play and reality are closely intertwined for children at this age. Through role-play and through sitting down and talking to him about the situations Matt had learned a valuable lesson. Through engaging in sociodramatic play with friends and adult there to help Scaffold, Matt had come to understand his pears psychological function in that situation, and the correct way to deal with the situation.

HELP ONLINE

Have you ever felt like you don't know how to handle a situation with your kids, or maybe that you feel like something is wrong and you don't quite know what to do? Here are some great websites that will help you with questions you may have, help with dealing with situations and support from the other thousands of parents who are going through exactly what you are.

GENERAL INFORMATION

We all have general questions that need asking, these websites can help you to start to discover what 

path you need to start taking

www.gurgle.co.uk

www.becomingtheparent.org

WHAT TO EXPECT AT WHAT AGE

A huge help in parenting is understanding what is going on with your child, these websites show what is going on with your child as what age, and how to deal with common situations during that time

www.parenting.com

www.parenting.org

THE STRANGE SITUATION

This is a famous test created by Mary Ainsworth. It determines the attachment style children have with there parents.

ATTACHMENT STYLES

In Childhood development and the theory's behind it, a cue to a childs future and how they will interact with the world was discovered by Mary Ainsworth. She developed what is called "The Strange Situation", in which you can categorize a child by the attachment style they have to there mother. Here is a link to explain more in detail about the research and situation.

http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/measures/content/ss_scoring.pdf

ATTACHMENT TYPE

The thing I have found most interesting in childhood development, in relation to the kids I have been working with, have been the types of attachments the children develop. In reading and researching this topic I have thought about many of the children in the class and how they exhibit behaviors seen in certain long term effects of certain attachments. Now, the children that I am thinking about in specific have very confidential backgrounds so there is no way of knowing what there past history or home life is like. But if I were to make presumptions I could categorize most of them in an attachment type. 

RESISTANT/AMBIVALENT

 For example, one of the kids I work with, I’ll call him Timothy for confidentiality purposes, would not let me put him down today. While playing in the playground he became very attached to me and would not let me put him down for any reason. If I did he got frantic and or mad. When this happened I started to think about the Resistant/Ambivalent relationship, and how those children react to caregivers.  Now I know this could just be a sign of having a shy temperament, but again, not knowing the full backgrounds I just have to assume. But what also cued me in to think that this could be an attachment for Timothy was the way he would avoid any in depth questions I would ask him, or refuse any help from me in certain situations.  For example a week ago Timothy was working with a hard puzzle and when I came over, at first his frustration was obvious and I started to help him, but then he pushed me away and wanted his own space. Now, this is a long shot, but I thought about how when the children that do have this attachment style seek comfort but then push there comforter away, it could be seen as similar and relevant in this situation.

 There are many other children in which I have seriously been thinking about these situations and how their early childhood attachments have affected their personality and the way they interact with others and the world. I find it fascinating to say the least! I’ve even been profiling family members of mine… Secretly of course.

THE SITUATION

I have had the immense pleasure of volunteer and working with an awesome group of kids for the last two weeks. I am new to the program and have been able to start getting to know them one by one. In discussing the experiences I have had, and the situations I may describe I will not be using real names to protect them and there families.

Every friday I spend 3 hours at a care center for children with emotional or behavioral problems. On average our group of kids consists of  8 kids and 4-5 "big people" or adults. We PLAY all day long, this is very therapeutic to kids. It puts them in situations where we have the opportunity to help them with person to person interaction and helps us understand more about how they feel about themselves and the world around them. I received great advice from one of the head teachers of our group in the case of how to respond to misbehaving children or negative situations. 

ADVISE #1

USING POSITIVE DIRECTIONS

The summary of what I was taught was this: When dealing with misbehaving children there are better ways of saying "NO" or "Don't". When children develop a bad habit acting out to gain your attention in a negative way you do not want to acknowledge the bad behavior by giving them something else to feed off of.  Sometimes the way you word a question can give them the opportunity to pick a negative situation, this can be corrected through only using positive and simple directions. The best way to explain would be to give a list of examples they gave to me.

IT'S BETTER TO SAY  > THAN

Sit down when you slide  >  Don't stand up when you slide

Let's dig in the sand  >  Don't throw sand

Use both hands when you climb  > You will fall if you don't watch out

Let's keep the puzzle on the table  > Don't dump the puzzle pieces on the floor.

Use your inside voice  > Don't shout

Time to go inside  > Don't you want to go inside?

I like how Johnny is using nice words, I'll go play with him  > Don't swear

And of course besides watching yourself when reacting to situations, it is always good to make sure you acknowledge good behavior when being done. Especially when around other children. One other tip to remember, children can tell when you are being sarcastic, this will draw out very negative behavior and will make it worse, be sincere and patient when dealing with kids.

Prenatal Development

Hey everyone! I have found the neatest videos done by Nova about Prenatal Development. It's really neat to watch how the miracle of life is created. I would highly recommend this video to anyone who is pregnant or is thinking of becoming so. Here is the link to eight videos following the development of the egg, sperm and eventually the baby. 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/programs/ht/qt/2816_qlg_03.html