Newsletter February 2010
February 9, 2010
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We strive to bring you the most helpful and up to date information every month, and this month's newsletter is no exception.
You can scroll down through the articles below, or you can click on a headline you like to go directly to that article.

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This Month's Headlines:

Staying Connected With Your Teen
Dyslexia: The Overlooked Disorder
Understanding the Homework Struggle
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Staying Connected With Your Teen

The types of things teenagers spend their time worrying about can seem like small potatoes compared to real-world, adult issues. But, adolescent years are very important years filled with change and development, as young adults begin to figure out who they are and what is important to them. While many teens process these difficult, identity-forming changes by pulling away from their parents, it’s important to stay connected with your teen and be there when they turn to you for support. Peer pressure and media-delivered messages can be powerful and persuasive to young adults. It’s normal for teens to want to spend more time with their friends, but research shows that when parents offer an open, supportive environment at home, kids are more likely to make the right choices on their own.

Even though it may not always seem like it, your teen does want to feel connected to you. Here are some steps parents can take toward keeping the lines of communication open and creating an encouraging parent-child relationship.

Listen Up
Teenagers often complain that their parents don’t really listen to them. It’s important to them that parents are interested in what they have to say. Show your child that you are paying attention when they decide to share with you by asking questions, or discussing topics that interest them.

Time Together
Even though they want to run off with their friends at any free moment, it’s important to still do things together as a family. Movie night or shopping trips are classic examples, or you can get creative by participating in an organized activity, class or workshop. Family dinners are an important and easy time to sit down together too.

A Little Help From Friends
Since teens want to be everywhere with their friends, it’s important to integrate their friends into certain activities. Knowing about their friends also shows that you listen and care who your child spends his or her time with. It’s a good idea to know the friend’s parents too, so you know what kind of environment your child will be in when they are with their friends.

Great Expectations and Goals
While it may not always seem like it, teenagers still turn to parents for praise and encouragement. They want to make you proud, so talking about your expectations and values teaches kids how to make better, more informed choices. Setting long-term goals is also a great way for kids to start taking responsibility for their own actions and future. Young adults who have plans to go to college or enter a specific career typically make smarter choices.

Be Open
It’s important to not only be open when it comes to communication, but also to be open to your child’s individuality. When kids feel that they are supported for who they are, they often find it easier to discuss difficult topics with their parents, getting the guidance they need to discover their own identity and easing the transition into adulthood.

Source: Allen, Kim, “What Can Parents Do To Keep Connection With Their Teens?” missourifamilies.org.
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Dyslexia: The Overlooked Disorder

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, has gotten a lot of attention recently. When children fall behind or are struggling in class, ADHD is often the first thought. But, according to Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide, authors of The Mislabeled Child, a potential attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be covering up the real issue—dyslexia. Thought to occur in as many as one in 10 people, dyslexia is a commonly misdiagnosed issue.

Children struggling from dyslexia are often considered to be slow, sloppy, or inattentive, which, according to the Eides, is a major misrepresentation. “Dyslexics are overrepresented in creative and inventive fields like art and architecture, or computers and engineering,” says Fernette Eide. “As young people, their gifts and talents may be overlooked because society only sees their weakest link.”

While dyslexia is a common learning disability, parents and teachers may not be aware of some of its telling signs. Because of this, the Eides feel its even more important for parents to watch out for signs so they can get their child the proper evaluation and help he or she needs.

Here are some red flags, according to the authors:

• Slow and strained reading, especially when reading aloud
• Difficulty understanding or appreciating rhymes
• May skip small words, such as “a”, “an” or “the” while reading
• Dislikes or avoids reading aloud
• Performs better with oral tests
• Better listening comprehension than reading comprehension
• Mixes up order of letters
• Reverses letters or has unusual spelling errors
• Makes wild guesses with new words
• Careless errors in reading test instructions or in math problems

If your child is struggling, the important part is to address the situation right away to figure out the underlying problem. Whether it’s ADHD, dyslexia, another learning disability, or simply being behind in class material, the sooner the diagnosis, the sooner you can get your child the help he or she needs.

Source: Wood, Danielle. “Not ADHD? Think Dyslexia.” education.com.
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Understanding the Homework Struggle

It’s probably one of the age-old challenges for teachers, parents and tutors alike—the average student just doesn’t like doing homework. But the fact remains that homework is a crucial part of the learning process and needs to be done. Growing up, most of us didn’t like homework, but we recognized or learned quickly that it was a necessary part of schooling and we did it.

Whether students lack the motivation, don’t care about their grades or don’t see the real value in it, the excuses for skipping out on homework are numerous. If homework time turns into a fight every night in your house it’s time to get to the bottom of it. Talk to your child and find out why homework is such a struggle. They may have never really thought at length about this, and making them put it into words may lead to some important revelations.

In the meantime, here are some of the classic excuses for trying to get out of homework, and how you can try to work around them.

What’s the point?
Students who use this excuse are having a hard time seeing the relationship between homework and the real world. They need to be taught that homework goes beyond practicing the material learned in class and is also a lesson in responsibility and time management. This cycle of assignments and deadlines put them in practice for their eventual career and builds responsibility skills.

Homework turns into an argument!
Homework is one area where students can exert control and ignore their parent’s instructions. Whether they realize it or not, students often use homework as a power play when they feel like they don’t have control over other areas. The best way to address this is to give your child some more control. A good way to do this is instead of giving complete control, offer your child choices, so either decision is a good one: “You can choose from 3 topics for your history essay; which one do you want to do most?” Or: “Do you want to start with science or math homework first?” Giving children a choice and then following through with it teaches them that their opinion matters, and helps boost their own motivation.

It’s just one assignment. No big deal!
Students don’t always realize the impact a single “zero” can have on their overall grade. Show them some simple math to demonstrate that one missed assignment can do some serious damage to their grade, or if you can check grades electronically, log in to see how the grade changes after assignments.

I lost my homework!
Some students just have a harder time staying organized than others. Make it easy for your child to keep all important papers in their right place, whether he or she needs to put all homework into one folder, have separate binders for each class, or some other arrangement. Staying organized avoids students getting frustrated before they even start their assignments.

It takes too long!
This may be for a number of reasons. Often, homework takes longer than expected because the student is distracted, or multi-tasking. Make sure your student isn’t watching TV, texting or surfing the Internet while working on homework. This goes a long way toward time-management lessons and skill building. However, remember that some students may have a real issue with the material that does make homework hard to get through in a timely manner, and would benefit from reviewing it with the help of a tutor.

Source: Kruger, Susan. “Homework: What to Do When Students Don’t Do It.” soarstudyskills.com.

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