Thursday, August 17, 2006

Balance demands in Your Super Busy Lives

With the school year resuming and many fall activities starting back up, a question I am frequently asked by my clients is how to help children balance the demands of school and extracurricular activities.

What I've learned over the years is that it's important to teach kids how to set priorities. Help them realize that they can't do everything; at least, not all at once (and, by the way, neither can you!). This is crucial as they move up the grades: Elementary school kids can do many things, but as they get older and each activity requires more time and attention, they have to learn to prioritize. So start early: "We can go to the park and play, or we can go for a swim, but we can't do both. You choose." That's the key: Get them used to making decisions.

If you see the signs of overload, such as inadequate sleep, inability to concentrate, or moodiness recognize that they may be feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. Just like adults, children, can experience these same things when their life is too hectic.

Be alert and watch for signs of stress in your kids. Do something about it as soon as possible to avoid other possible disasters from occuring!

Good luck!

Yours truly,
Coach Natalie

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Help Kids Organize for the School Year

Even if you're one of those parents who think you don't have good organization skills, fact is, just to keep things flowing on a daily basis, you have some degree of organization skills. Help your kids learn to organize, too!

Motivate your children to get organized and, more importantly, make it a habit by creating rituals at home like:

1. Put the backpack in the same place at the end of the school day.

2. Do homework in the same place and at the same time each day.

3. For younger kids, sit nearby as they work, if possible. And for all kids, make sure they have adequate supplies, from notebooks to pencils. Review their notebooks. Check their homework. Review their papers, quizzes and tests from school.

Kids, just like adults, like the feeling of being organized. Before the school year begins, ask the teachers what they think are essential organizational skills. This prepares you and enables you to get a head start.

See if this helps!

Best regards,


Coach Natalie

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Help your Kids Prepare

Remember the 5 P's: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

Talk about routine shifts from summer to school year: Bedtime, curfew and the like, but get beyond this, too as you prepare for the new school year.

Get your children to feel a bigger sense of responsibility for completing their homework and keeping track of assignments by taking things one step at a time. Be realistic in your expectations. If your child spent all summer losing their swim goggles, don't expect them to be able to keep track of all their books, their sweatshirt, and their school supplies! Improve the odds of better responsibility by growing the skills from the inside, which means, unfortunately, that you often don't necessarily see results right away. They develop the roots of responsibility long before the behaviors are evident on the outside.

Set clear expectations and hold your children to these expectations. Be interested in their work, the assignments, and what's difficult and easy about them. Your interest helps.

When they complete homework make sure you acknowledge it, but not just with an "I'm proud of you." Your feedback has to point to the internal growth of responsibility, so "How do you feel?" or "You must feel good about that" are better comments.

Be preparing your kids and shifting responsibility to them you have less stress in your super busy life!

Try it and see how it works for you....but remember to be patient!

Yours,
Coach Natalie

Partner with the School

Even though life might feel too busy, get to know your child's teacher(s), principal and other school personnel. Although you may not be available during the school day for regular activities, look for opportunities to participate in the hours you can. For instance, you can bring a dish to the annual pot luck dinner, attend PTA meetings, visit the school with your child prior to the start of the year, help with photocopying, etc. If they have a website, log on often to see what's going on. Be aware of school regulations and help your child abide by them. Also, be sure to read school notices regularly.

Yours,
Coach Natalie

Monday, August 14, 2006

Stay Involved with School-Aged Kids

Even though you are super busy at work and home, it's vital that you are involved with your children's education. The younger your children, the more parental involvement is necessary! However, even when you have teens in high school, it's still important to be involved because parental involvement makes a positive difference (even though your children may not readily share that with you!).

Your kids start the school year with a clean slate and a new teacher. It's a great opportunity for a fresh start.

If you demonstrate how you value education it is more important than if you just talk about it. So, model the importance and help get your children off to a good start this new school year.

With older kids, seek their input about your role in their education for this school year. It might take awhile for the response to unfold, but when it does, you'll have some interesting conversations.

With younger kids, plan on spending time at the school during the first few weeks to get to know the teachers and other parents.

Finally, stay involved, but don't try to run the show, either. Just stay involved and aware of what's going on.

Stay tuned for more back-to-school tips in this BLOG!

Yours truly,

Coach Natalie