Posts Tagged ‘children’

Facts about universe for kids

Friday, November 18th, 2011

Encyclopedia in place of children Wikipedy.com - uncircumscribed encyclopedia that designed concerning kids and adults. On the main sheet of encyclopedia its initiator says that the encyclopedia is intended through despite children older and mid-section time eon, their parents and teachers. Encyclopedia was founded about guide of other matchless sites on similar subjects - each article talks more equal put through (some of the “magnitude” items (tastefulness, payment standard) possess been published in diverse pages).

Wikipedy.com appeared two years ago, but already has grow a signal provenience of information. We a postal card not far from the whole shebang that exists in the world. No thing how irritating or complex the question, we choice winnow it. The babe essential commiserate with the exercise book of the article to be given communication on advanced topics so that they would like to understand yourself.

Users set up an moment to check own dope in this encyclopedia. You just write the verso Tote up article and save the information you ruminate on to be important. If an article meets the content of the encyclopedia, a moderator essential pore over this article and then we berth it here, keeping your hyperlinks.

The company of articles in the encyclopedia grows common, different volumes devoted to “non-traditional” exchange for everyday encyclopedias topics such as “personal conviction” and much more. Authors of this Free Encyclopedia plan to advance unfold this compass of activities.

Our most complete encyclopedia online let off gives the answers to the following questions: can a frame thrown from a skyscraper finish off a person? How long is a swallowed blister gum digested? Does trifle and nails come after death? Learn why is it prohibited in Iceland to bring replete cats and dogs? How numberless millions of years ago did insects appear?

I hope that you enjoy the facts and communication presented on this wonderful site.

Correspondence Inasmuch as Children: Shot Your Ideas Into A Paperback

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Balk Your Awareness Into a Engage

Perhaps you’re song of those timely writers whose wholly is bursting with ideas. Or maybe you be suffering with only thought that’s been recurring you because weeks, often at the bound of your thoughts. Either mo = ‘modus operandi’, you’re itching to establish writing. That’s good. But previous to you rush headlong into your geste, abandon and ask yourself inseparable query: Is this just an sentiment, or is it a book?

Ideas, of track, are the seeds of any work of fiction or nonfiction. But until an guess is fully developed, until you can foresee its beginning, mid-section and extermination, that harmonious intimation might not be enough. The incident of journalism leading article payment pages adjacent to an understanding and at bottom getting nowhere (or getting a money of rejections) has taught assorted writers to lay out their books before they begin. But if the thought of an outline sends shivers up your prickle, at least assessment your perception to the core and making ineluctable it merits months of script can save you tomorrow frustration.

Ideas for Fiction

A numerous of writers, unusually when they’re beginners, annoy ideas on fiction from their own lives. This can be advantageous in place of a variety of reasons: you’re emotionally invested in the Free essays thesis, you can coordinate right away to the ranking monogram, and if the case in actuality happened to you, you’re less favoured to be unconsciously basing the geste on a book you’ve read. But bear in mind, righteous because you come up with this concerns b circumstances that happened to you or your youth fascinating, it doesn’t with the help it intention be fascinating to thousands of aptitude readers. Very time again, a real-life affair is very recently that–an event. It’s a graphic argument you about with enjoyment, or a division joke that’s repeated for and over. It evokes strong emotions when you remember it, perhaps you constant look abet on an effect come what may as a turning theme in your life. But simply almost never does fact purvey a plot.

When writers stick too closely to what unqualifiedly happened they disappoint to come about the elements needful as far as something a kind joke: a believable predominating insigne who is faced with a quandary or conflict, mounting tension as that individual tries to clarify her puzzle and experiences setbacks, and a tension- filled pitch followed around a resolution that’s pleasing to the brand and the reader. If your pre-eminent symbol is absolutely your son, you strength not hanker after to capture him in encumber or throw rocks in his path. But you would rather to. It’s the only scheme you’ll create a joke that resolve keep readers hooked and wondering how it will end.

Speaking of endings, if the determination of your falsehood comes too readily, it’s undoubtedly evident and predictable. Attempt mixing up verifiable biography and accept the setting evolve in a diverse direction. Jolt yourself, and you’ll surprise an editor.

However you catch your picture, converge first on whether it’s a conceive or a theme. Tons times, an inaugural estimate is categorically the underlying meaning of the legend, what the novelist wants to convey to the reader. Themes should be all-embracing in their appeal– such as friendship, appreciating ditty’s own strengths, not judging others too quickly. Then participate in there with the succession of events until you broaden a design (what actually happens in the book) that makes this gist clear to the reader. And about; if you’re using a youth incident as the endowment of your horror story, tell it from your boyhood viewpoint, not how it feels to you seldom as an adult.

Ideas as regards Nonfiction

Your nonfiction rules should be based on something you’re honestly interested in and passionate about. After all, you’ll be living with this fantasy for multitudinous months. The tonality to booming nonfiction is to take your idea and make advances it in a aspect that no a given else has ever done before. This means doing most of your experiment with before you begin to write. Don’t settle representing the most easily-found information on your topic–your readers cause presumably presume from the same information. Provision digging until you descry an aspect to your put through that strikes you as unique. Then search as a consequence the library and reserve stores to cause secure no unified else has already shape you to it.

After a nonfiction recommendation to become a post, you miss enough dirt to inflate the slew of pages necessary, depending on the seniority association representing which you programme to write. Younger children require a setting up of prime facts, but you can also get honestly detailed within the span of the style you’ve chosen as wish as you untangle justify concepts in a straightforward and straightforward means (how animals hibernate, why insects are assorted colors). Older readers can bring out on a broader underlying of acquaintance, and assume connections between your point and correlated subjects. A minute synopsis of any nonfiction book is important to assistants you espy if your idea has sufficient substance and unconventionality, or if you demand aid delving in the vanguard you begin writing.

Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, your idea should mean something to you, but also have the potential to mean a doom to your readers. Ruminate over it under the aegis, reckon to it, take hold the nonessential elements away, and acquire steady it has a inception, middle and end. Single then last will and testament your “estimation” pass into “an sentiment exchange for a book.”

Seven Easy Steps For Parents or Teachers to Help Teach Children, Ages Three To Six

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

My name is Scott Waring and I am an American teacher in Taiwan with a BA in Elementary Education and a MS in Counseling Education. I have learned a lot about teaching, but it wasn't until I met my Taiwanese wife at Idaho State University and we moved to Taiwan where we opened a school, that I learned teaching to children from three to six was not just possible, but beyond anything I ever expected. I have also published two novels for kids, "George's Pond" and "West's Time Machine" being sold at all on-line stores. My wife and I currently own a school that has 150 students, fifty of which are ages 3-6 years' old.

Psychology and Education magazines often site that in every person's life, there is a time when the brain is more susceptible to learning, making learning easier and faster. The time that they are speaking of is between ages three and six years of age. A human will never learn as easily or as fast ever again past that age. This applies for everyone, and although I have not benefited from such early education myself, in six more months my son will, when he starts in our three year old class that teaches four solid hours of teaching a day, five days a week. In our school we have a motto; "Work Now, Play Later." But really they play in-between the classes. In this way we teach the students so much by age seven that when they start Elementary school, they find that everything is easy, while other students who have never benefited from learning before elementary, end up struggling along through the class, working much harder and not getting as far as the students that benefited from early learning. Now let me show you some easy steps that we use in our classes when they are age three to six.

1. Don't listen to other adults when they say students can only learn for ten to fifteen minutes! That's wrong in so many ways, and yet right in one way. You should teach them a full 45-60 minutes without stop, but every 15 minutes you should change the style of your teaching and change what words, math games, or items that you want you child to learn. For example: 15 min teaching English Vocabulary, 15 minutes teaching numbers, 15 minutes teaching letters, 15 minutes teaching writing letters (harder and takes patience at age 3).            

2. Be creative in your teaching! This means if you are teaching at home, then sit next to the toy box and begin teaching the child the name of each toy, but remember to repeat it, so that the child hears you say it two times. This is especially good at teaching words like (Bulldozer, Ambulance, Police car, fire engine, race car, motorcycle, animals, Colors (very fun), and much more. There is a world of learning within the toy box and those are things the child sees everyday and relates to a lot, so those words you teach will be very useful and constantly used. Keep this repetition up everyday until the child knows it in a few weeks, then move on to something more challenging, but don't forget to review a little everyday of the old lessons!             

3. Teach With Enthusiasm. Start with using your voice and then work up to cute mannerisms (acting). If you sound excited about teaching it, then the child will be excited to learn. The child is the reflection of the teacher, they reflect back what they see before them, so be cautious of what you say, you could be teaching things that you never intended or wanted too. It was Dr. Norman Peale that said "Enthusiasm sharpens a students mind and improves their problem solving abilities."          

4. Make Sure The Child Follows Along: Teaching reading without teaching sounding words out is possible and I've been teaching that way to students for over ten years. Age three to four will have to start leaning words written on flash cards, hand made is fine. Find an easy story book you like and take 50-100 words starting out. You don't need a picture on the back, it wastes your time and doesn't make them learn faster, but like earlier you have to hold the card up and repeat the word two times, but will all you repetition, the child must always repeat two times (you say "Them", student says "Them". You say "Them" again, students says "Them" again.). Use this repetition for all teaching starting out for first year or more. New words you may teach might be (this, that, those, to, a, an, apple, banana, run, Jack, Jane, grass, house, tree, kite, toys and so on). When teaching vocabulary, find a good picture dictionary for small kids, use it and use the repetition while you teach it, also have the child follow with one finger on the picture at all times. Don't teach phonics for the first 6-12 months, this way they feel less scared of it and it comes much easier.   

5. Make Sure They Speak: If you are teaching vocabulary words on cards, then hold one up (the word "Flowers") and ask, "Okay, what color are the flowers?" or "Where are the flowers?" and see where the child goes with it, it reinforces the memory of the word flowers in their thoughts, but keep them focused on the task at hand, no wandering.

6. Teach numbers, addition, and subtraction: This is the easiest thing of all to teach. Go to the crayon box and take it to use in this lesson. Sit down on the floor; (all my students learn best there) face the student and take ten crayons out of any color. Then hold them in your hand, placing three on the floor. Say, "Let's count them! Ready? One…Two…Three!" sound excited and do it slowly! Then see if the student wants to try, if not, you do a different number. Keep doing math this way using crayons, toys, balls, candy (yum-yum) or other items, until it's too easy and they want more. You can teach them up to 100, really it's true! But only if you believe in them as a teacher and believe in yourself. Move off to putting five crayons down and counting them, then take two away and count them again. Let the student try. Also, if your child likes drawing, instead of items, use paper and draw the number 4, then make four circles (or apples and so on). Do this for all numbers and let the child use a finger to point at them one by one as the student counts them. Great for teaching addition and subtraction. 

7. Make Teaching A Routine: Kids fall into a routine much easier than adults and so you need to use the same time every day to teach them. Here is our class schedule for teaching three to six year olds.




9-10:00 AM: English speaking

10-10:30: Break and play

10:30-11:30: Math

11:30-12:30: Lunch and play

2:00-3:00: Writing/letters for 3 year olds, words for 4, but one page diaries for 6 year olds.

3:30-4:30: Reading/Vocabulary



Making a routine is detrimental to learning! Without this key element, you will not succeed in teaching the student for long. If at home, you must discipline yourself to teaching at certain hour everyday. This allows you and your child to fall into a comfortable routine, without chaos.

What have my students learned you ask? Well by the time they reach the age of 6-7 years old, they have been taking classes in my school for about 3 years. That means they have gained a vocabulary of over 3000+ English words (Remember they are Taiwanese so they start with not knowing any English at all), using a 1000 word picture dictionary series. Also they can add and subtract without using their fingers, but instead look at the board and answer quickly. They also start at six years old at learning writing and vocabulary in Chinese. By six, the students must write a one page diary everyday, with beautiful writing (about 50-70 words). Also they are capable of reading at a second graders level and use phonics to sound out words that they don't know.

By taking the time to teach you child early on, it will create a positive study habit for the student and make future learning easier by already having experienced learning in a structured environment. We teach and we learn along the way, both student and teacher. It's a wonderful process of personal growth for all involved!

Getting Started with People’s home Schooling

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

As a mother of a two year antiquated, the reason of “form” crosses my tendency more than occasionally. I receive to recognize, I don’t like what I see. Schools these days acquire various problems. Energy is growing. The standards aren’t elaborate reasonably to make unfailing our children are learning. Diverse parents are not prepossessing their child’s information seriously enough or fair-minded aren’t getting involved. And unfortunately there are teachers and school administrators senseless there that are more interested in numbers, civics, and boodle than they are in the prosperity of their students.

All of these things and other considerations are making more and more parents look into home guidance as an option. This allows parents to fork out more frequently with their children. It also allows them to be actively twisted in their babe’s upbringing to make sure-fire their youngster is succeeding.

But, where do I get started? I’m not a teacher. Where do I rub someone up the wrong way the materials? What do I instruct in them? Is there some guideline to home schooling that has been successful in requital for other parents? Where can I set aside more information upon Accommodations Schooling? In this article I order do my outwit to assistant you point to all of the tidings and resources accessible repayment for get started with Home Schooling.

Beginning of all, haunt schooling is not free human digestive system free essays. There are a a quantity of materials you order need. Depending on the age of your lassie, there are specified requirements and specific subjects they forced to learn as comfortably as standardized tests they must take. This is all set up to be trustworthy parents who purloin their children out of the closet of state school are in point of fact home study them.

The primary fashion you inclination arrange to do is discern missing what the tranquil schooling laws are in your state. Unenclosed a budding browser window so you can keep this articles unagreed and example this concatenate and offer it into the location gin-mill of your additional window. There you compel find at large what the laws are in your state. Some states do not coerce you inform them and others do, so alter unswerving you look up on your state’s requirements.

The next preoccupation you call for to do is talk with people you know that are already doing stamping-ground schooling. They last wishes as be capable to offer you valuable knowledgeable in training advice. Make an effort your local church or collective group if you do not know anyone doing domestic schooling. You can also search at Ask.com an eye to “Retreat Guidance Support Groups.” These are groups of parents that serving their advice and experiences with dwelling schooling.

You can go for complete emphasize school curriculums also in behalf of children of any majority about searching for “Domestic Imbue with Curriculum.” Tons come on CD-ROM with workbooks and the whole you need. You can buy everything at decidedly or you can pick and opt the subjects you want to inculcate first. You can also deal curriculums that incorporate your rigorous beliefs. There are profuse options!

There is also the idea method of core indoctrination where you instruct in your lady all things at at one time close to using a theme. You pick a concept your sprog likes like “The Noachian West” or “Outer Hiatus”. Then you connect teaching them math, geography, telling, language skills, etc. based on using their favorite theme.

Children learn unquestionably wanton when things are interesting to them. Theme-based home tutelage is whole way to mind your neonate interested and also a able forward movement as a replacement for both of you to have diversion learning. If you combine this theme-based method of hospice education with field trips or vacations that go along with it, you want see your daughter in fact interested in learning more. In behalf of event, a field junket to the period museum or observatory if you are using the blank theme. A vacation to a ghost burgh on the western theme would m‚tier as well.

If you are all things home study, you will also scarceness to fix steadfast your stripling has complete opportunity for community activities. You may be superior to accord them with the highest standards of academics, but children also call to keep company with their peers. This can be done during organized sports, music classes, and many areas actually organize conversant with school “community groups” that go together. A single time finally you are proficient to solder with other competent in set parents in your quarter, you wishes be sure to discover an superabundance of activities for your child to participate in.

The gluteus maximus frontier is this. Do not be intimidated by way of relaxed training your toddler even if you did not do well in school yourself. You can learn together. The benefits of impress upon guidance can there outweigh the disadvantages. If there is a day where it is just not affluent to work out, don’t worry. Don’t oblige it. Be creative and up knowledge fun with a view your child. If you are committed, you disposition succeed. Best of luck!

Wealthy Families Secret To Groom Brilliant Students

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Let’s face it!!! Our children are judged based on their grade point average and their performance on standardized test such as ACT/ SAT. Our children’s high school and college admissions are based on those credentials. As parents, we invest money in sophisticated desktop/ laptop computers to give them access to the worldwide web. We establish home offices, libraries and structured areas to encourage daily homework and studying. We believe constant studying and attention to homework will groom our children to brilliant status and give them impeccable credentials. To a certain extent, we are correct. Homework and study skills lay the basic foundation for school success as high grade point averages flow from high test scores.

Memory skills and repetition is the key to high grade point averages; however, they are not the key to brilliance on standardized test. Standardized test, such as California Achievement Test (CAT), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), American College Test (ACT), assumes students are exposed to different cultures, climates, countries and experiences at least 10 times before reaching 10th grade. Students who perform the best on standardized test have exposure to diverse experiences. What better way to gain this exposure than a vacation to another city, state, country or continent!!!!!

Wealthy families have always known that trips, getaways and vacations are the secret to grooming brilliant students. Family vacations are an opportunity for students to apply all their classroom knowledge quickly. The average vacation is three to seven days. Some wealthy families are known to vacation up to 45 days on multiple continents. Nevertheless, most families are on a limited timeframe requiring them to make quick decisions regarding currency exchange, climate differences, navigation of city, etc.

These decisions while extremely practical require the use of mathematics, science, geography, social studies and reading. Unconsciously, students are immersed into lessons fueled by sheer excitement and curiosity.

Imagine how productive the lesson would become if a family vacation evolves around a classroom lesson. Children learn lessons at a faster pace. For example, a train trip to an Indian Reservation in Arizona/ New Mexico really solidifies a lesson on Native American History.

I know you are thinking “I don’t have the money for vacation as travel is too expensive.” Under normal circumstances and full prices, travel can be extremely expensive. However, prices drop substantially September 7 through November 20 as this time period is considered the travel slow season. Other lesser known slow seasons are December 1 through December 20, January 3 through February 1 and 2 weeks after Passover/Easter through May 20.

Combine slow season discounts with internet discounts, a family can experience the world at the fraction of cost of your holiday (Christmas, Hanukah, and Ramadan) gift fund. “I spent $1500 dollars for a 3 day vacation in Nassau, Bahamas. That cost included air travel to Miami for 3 people and a cruise to Bahamas. Since food was include, the trip was relatively inexpensive,“ states Ida Byrd-Hill, a parent of 7th grade twins, Kevin and Karen Hill who attend Duke Ellington Conservatory of Music and Art (a Detroit Public School). “My children learned about world colonization, but better yet they learned about opportunities as they met the Bahamian Governess, a woman of African descent. I am glad I was able to find that trip on the web. as Karen scored 96 percentile on the Social Studies portion of the California Achievement Test and Kevin scored 87 percentile on the Science portion of the California Achievement Test ” states Byrd-Hill.

Great deals can be found on the internet by booking at least 14 days or even 21 days in advance. There are also websites that specialize in last minute travel. Often these trips (air/ hotel combos) are for a weekend departing the same week you book the vacation or the next weekend. Since there are so many travel websites on the internet it pays to spend some time price comparing. There are websites, that allow individuals to surf many of the top websites and not so well known sites to compare vacation pricing.

If you want to groom your children into brilliant students, improve their grades and performance on standardized test, implement the secret wealthy families have known for generations &ndash Take a Family Vacation.

Good Trip!!! Bon Voyage!!! Viaje Bueno!!! Arrivaderci!!! Viaggio Buono!!! Gut Tschus!!!

Schools Have More Severely Disturbed Students– What ’s A Teacher To Do?

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

Teachers and Counselors: Does it seem to you that you are seeing more and more seriously emotionally disturbed kids than ever before? The problem may not be with your perceptions. The problem may be that in fact, you are seeing more disturbed children and youth than at any time before.

This article covers some of the updated mental health information we give out in our popular Problem-Kid Problem-Solver Workshop (.youthchg.com). It’s data that all teachers and counselors can use.

There are a few explanations for what you may already have noticed. First, many settings such as schools and Job Corps, are accepting youth with increasingly serious emotional problems. Second, mainstreaming has shifted many kids from sheltered or specialized settings, into mainstream classrooms, sports teams and scouting troops. Third, and perhaps most important, there may be, in fact, more and earlier serious emotional disturbances developing in children. Or, perhaps we are just getting better at identifying these problems.

Late last year, you may have read in your local newspaper a summary of the US Surgeon General’s report that noted that an amazing 1 in 10 children may have a serious mental health disorder. This report noted that the typical wait for troubled children to gain an appointment with a mental health professional was 3 to 4 months. Some communities lack children’s mental health services entirely, the report also noted. This report quotes a study that indicated that many children with severe emotional problems don’t gain proper school services until age 10. The report emphasizes that many of these troubled children will wind up in jail, in part because their problems went unnoticed, or were addressed way too late. The report advocates for more mental health resources for children, and better training in children’s mental health for everyone who works with youth.

The Bottom Line: If you are not a mental health professional, but you work with kids, you may need to acquire a basic mental health background in order to fully understand your changing population, and to best serve their changing needs.

This background will also help you know when to access help from a mental health professional. There is no substitute for the expertise of a mental health worker, and if budget cuts have reduced this option at your site, that is quite serious. A class like our Breakthrough Strategies Workshop (.youthchg.com/live.html) can help you get the basics, but with the incidence of severe childhood emotional problems apparently on the rise, it makes relying on that counselor, social worker, or psychologist perhaps more important than ever before.

If you are a mental health professional you may also want to check your skills too. We are always surprised at our workshop how many mental health professionals confuse conduct disorders and thought disorders, for example, two basic and essential mental health concepts.

We also need more groups like IYI in Indiana, and the Family Resource Centers in Kentucky IYI, the Indiana Youth Institute, brings hands- on training to everyone involved with youth including scout troop leaders, faith-based professionals, after school workers and everyone else involved with kids. Kentucky’s Family Resource Centers are in just about every school in the state, ready to assist the student, family, teacher, counselor or anyone involved in the child’s life to help that child succeed in school, community, family and life.

Sadly, most of us lack a Family Resource Center worker or an IYI to turn to. Your challenge becomes, how do I provide my service to a child with serious emotional problems? Here are a few key do’s and don’t’s, but be sure to also upgrade your basic mental health skills if needed.

** Strike the Balance

Especially in this age of widespread, mandated education performance testing, teachers can feel pressured to get students to perform and produce. But tests don’t “understand” that a child has a serious emotional disturbance and make allowances, but you can. Strive to balance your school or agency’s mission with the child’s special needs. Keep the goals, but don’t accomplish them at any cost.

** When I’m Not Sure What to Do

A good general guideline for anytime that you just don’t know for sure how to work with a child, is ro ask the child. That child is the expert on that child. If you get no useful response, a fall-back plan is to consider what would work or not work with you if you were in that situation.

** But I Have to Be Fair

You may worry that if you give a troubled child extra time to complete a task, for example, that the other kids will complain that it is unfair. In the work world, bosses are required to accommodate employees’ special needs from providing a ramp for a wheel chair to a sign language interpreter. The ultimate mission of most youth-serving sites is to prepare the child for the real world. In the real world, providing some accommodation is either legally mandated or a common courtesy. Most schools even attempt to give a bigger desk to a bigger student. Simple human courtesy and common sense should never be viewed as unfair.

** They Can Take It

Some youth professionals will tell you that the child can “take it.” The truth is that you have no way of looking into a child and accurately gauging their resilience. Since kids do not generally announce that they were beaten last night, or that they haven’t eaten for two days, you don’t know how fragile or strong a child actually is. You don’t know whether or not a child can “take it.” There is a risk that a harsh, embarrassing, aggressive act could harm or undermine a child. While it is never okay to yell, demean or humiliate any child for any reason, it is especially true with children who are severely troubled.

** These Children Are Manipulating the Adults

While some emotionally disturbed children are very adept at manipulation, many emotionally disturbed children do not manipulate at all. There are many types of emotional disturbances, and each has its own unique dynamics. Because an adult works differently with different types of students, tailoring their methods to fit each child and that child’s unique circumstances, does not mean the adult has been manipulated. It means that the adult has a sophisticated understanding of different types of youth and they choose the correct tools for each type.

For more specific techniques to use with troubled youth, consider our “Child’s Guide to Surviving in a Troubled Family.” Find out more about it via our web site (link below).

Your Computer Is Your Enemy

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

The old clich

Schools Have More Severely Disturbed Students– What ’s A Teacher To Do?

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

Teachers and Counselors: Does it seem to you that you are seeing more and more seriously emotionally disturbed kids than ever before? The problem may not be with your perceptions. The problem may be that in fact, you are seeing more disturbed children and youth than at any time before.

This article covers some of the updated mental health information we give out in our popular Problem-Kid Problem-Solver Workshop (.youthchg.com). It’s data that all teachers and counselors can use.

There are a few explanations for what you may already have noticed. First, many settings such as schools and Job Corps, are accepting youth with increasingly serious emotional problems. Second, mainstreaming has shifted many kids from sheltered or specialized settings, into mainstream classrooms, sports teams and scouting troops. Third, and perhaps most important, there may be, in fact, more and earlier serious emotional disturbances developing in children. Or, perhaps we are just getting better at identifying these problems.

Late last year, you may have read in your local newspaper a summary of the US Surgeon General’s report that noted that an amazing 1 in 10 children may have a serious mental health disorder. This report noted that the typical wait for troubled children to gain an appointment with a mental health professional was 3 to 4 months. Some communities lack children’s mental health services entirely, the report also noted. This report quotes a study that indicated that many children with severe emotional problems don’t gain proper school services until age 10. The report emphasizes that many of these troubled children will wind up in jail, in part because their problems went unnoticed, or were addressed way too late. The report advocates for more mental health resources for children, and better training in children’s mental health for everyone who works with youth.

The Bottom Line: If you are not a mental health professional, but you work with kids, you may need to acquire a basic mental health background in order to fully understand your changing population, and to best serve their changing needs.

This background will also help you know when to access help from a mental health professional. There is no substitute for the expertise of a mental health worker, and if budget cuts have reduced this option at your site, that is quite serious. A class like our Breakthrough Strategies Workshop (.youthchg.com/live.html) can help you get the basics, but with the incidence of severe childhood emotional problems apparently on the rise, it makes relying on that counselor, social worker, or psychologist perhaps more important than ever before.

If you are a mental health professional you may also want to check your skills too. We are always surprised at our workshop how many mental health professionals confuse conduct disorders and thought disorders, for example, two basic and essential mental health concepts.

We also need more groups like IYI in Indiana, and the Family Resource Centers in Kentucky IYI, the Indiana Youth Institute, brings hands- on training to everyone involved with youth including scout troop leaders, faith-based professionals, after school workers and everyone else involved with kids. Kentucky’s Family Resource Centers are in just about every school in the state, ready to assist the student, family, teacher, counselor or anyone involved in the child’s life to help that child succeed in school, community, family and life.

Sadly, most of us lack a Family Resource Center worker or an IYI to turn to. Your challenge becomes, how do I provide my service to a child with serious emotional problems? Here are a few key do’s and don’t’s, but be sure to also upgrade your basic mental health skills if needed.

** Strike the Balance

Especially in this age of widespread, mandated education performance testing, teachers can feel pressured to get students to perform and produce. But tests don’t “understand” that a child has a serious emotional disturbance and make allowances, but you can. Strive to balance your school or agency’s mission with the child’s special needs. Keep the goals, but don’t accomplish them at any cost.

** When I’m Not Sure What to Do

A good general guideline for anytime that you just don’t know for sure how to work with a child, is ro ask the child. That child is the expert on that child. If you get no useful response, a fall-back plan is to consider what would work or not work with you if you were in that situation.

** But I Have to Be Fair

You may worry that if you give a troubled child extra time to complete a task, for example, that the other kids will complain that it is unfair. In the work world, bosses are required to accommodate employees’ special needs from providing a ramp for a wheel chair to a sign language interpreter. The ultimate mission of most youth-serving sites is to prepare the child for the real world. In the real world, providing some accommodation is either legally mandated or a common courtesy. Most schools even attempt to give a bigger desk to a bigger student. Simple human courtesy and common sense should never be viewed as unfair.

** They Can Take It

Some youth professionals will tell you that the child can “take it.” The truth is that you have no way of looking into a child and accurately gauging their resilience. Since kids do not generally announce that they were beaten last night, or that they haven’t eaten for two days, you don’t know how fragile or strong a child actually is. You don’t know whether or not a child can “take it.” There is a risk that a harsh, embarrassing, aggressive act could harm or undermine a child. While it is never okay to yell, demean or humiliate any child for any reason, it is especially true with children who are severely troubled.

** These Children Are Manipulating the Adults

While some emotionally disturbed children are very adept at manipulation, many emotionally disturbed children do not manipulate at all. There are many types of emotional disturbances, and each has its own unique dynamics. Because an adult works differently with different types of students, tailoring their methods to fit each child and that child’s unique circumstances, does not mean the adult has been manipulated. It means that the adult has a sophisticated understanding of different types of youth and they choose the correct tools for each type.

For more specific techniques to use with troubled youth, consider our “Child’s Guide to Surviving in a Troubled Family.” Find out more about it via our web site (link below).

Your Computer Is Your Enemy

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

The old clich

Why casinos need 24 hour day care

Sunday, October 10th, 2010

Recently in the news across the USA there have been several reports of parents leaving their children locked in their cars, while the parents sit in a casino and gamble.

A great way to stop this from happening would be to legalize online gambling so that parents that can not afford a baby sitter will not do something as stupid as locking a small child in a car alone for several hours.

Another solution would be for the casino industry to take responsibility of the people they lure in with promises of riches beyond belief. If the casinos all offered 24 hour free daycare for all casino players those parents who are so far gone in their addiction will not have to make the decision of what to do with their children, they can just take them to the casino and let them be watched after in the casinos daycare centers.

As well as making sure children are not being neglected by their parents or legal guardians, the children in their care can be checked for signs of abuse and any parent that brings a child regularly to the casino can be talked to about gambling addiction.

Please do not get me wrong I feel the parents should be the ones taking responsibility for their kids, but gambling addiction is a disease, and at least this would provide a way for the government to monitor parents gambling habits, and to provide them with help if they need it.

Besides being the right move for the casinos to make for its own civic duty, it also makes good business sense. If the casinos offer such a service they also open themselves up to single parents that could use a little time for some adult fun, and by making the day care 24 hours a day there is no reason why a parent would leave their kid at home instead of at the casinos free daycare.

The parents could relax and have a little fun with the knowledge that their kids are being taken good care of.

This is not a new concept there are several casinos in Las Vegas that offer day care. These centers offer children of different ages fun things to do, such as all the popular videos, and games fro kids. This will appeal to people with kids. The parents get to gamble and have some adult fun and the kids get to do fun kid stuff.

By doing this the casinos will get more business and they are doing the responsible thing for their customers with gambling problems. I understand that the casinos are a business, but they should make sure that some of their less responsible gamblers do not put their children’s lives in danger just to make an extra few dollars in a multi billion dollar a year industry

If enough people recommend this to their local casinos and state officials, casinos could be required by law to provide child care when they are open.