Newsletter July 2011

July 19, 2011
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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:

Summer Sanity
Summer Reading for Boys
Back to Nature: Kids and Gardening

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Summer Sanity

Summer is finally upon us and chances are you’re already trying to figure out how to manage all the free time on your child’s hands now. Summer is a time to kick back and let loose a little. However, you want to be careful not to have summer be a total free-for-all or your child might return to school in fall with the dreaded “summer slide.”

Child psychiatrist Michael Brody says it’s important to find a balance for your child during the summer months. To some degree, Brody feels parents should expect the same discipline in their child over the summer, but he also points out that the freedom of summer is an important respite from a child’s otherwise busy schedule.

According to Brody, it’s okay—and important—to allow your child a little bit of unstructured time at the start of summer. This means time when kids are not expected to do tasks parents will soon be hounding them for—like summer reading or writing. Of course, as the summer drags on, this free time should be balanced with summer learning, allowing for continued growth and reinforcement on the months off.

Here are a few tips to balance summer freedom and scholarly pursuits:

Routines

No doubt your schedules will change in the summer. The important thing is to discuss what will not change—whether it’s chores, bedtimes or other house rules—so children know what’s expected of them over the summer. It’s okay to relax the rules a bit, but keeping some structure is important for development and understanding responsibility. Carl Pickhardt, psychologist and Psychology Today blogger, suggests incorporating unstructured time into the schedule so children feel they have a say and active role in how they spend their time—summer should still be fun after all.

Exploration

Summer is an excellent time for children to discover their own more personal interests without the pressures and demands of school. How do you decide how much time they have to explore on their own? Brody says it all depends on age and maturity. What works for the neighbor’s child may not be right for your own child. A good happy medium is to take them somewhere where they have free reign, but you can also observe from afar, like a park or play center.

Neighborhood Kids

This can be a tricky one. In the summer, neighborhood kids of all ages may find themselves together more often, which means your child may be around children and adolescents who are older. This isn’t bad in and of itself, but children can often be peer pressured by older kids to try risky behaviors, or they may learn things that aren’t age appropriate for them. On the flip side, older kids can also be positive role models for your child and offer great learning experiences. It’s up to you to decide who your child is allowed to play with, and the best way to do that is to know the child and the parents yourself before making a decision.

Summer Sleepovers

Sleepovers are a mainstay of summer and most kids love them. Pickhardt says sleepovers can be a great learning experience for children—learning to spend time away from parents, spending sustained time with friends, and respecting the rules of another household. However, some kids are more into sleepovers than others, and it’s not inherently bad if your child doesn’t care for them, or calls home wanting to leave halfway through. Being comfortable away from home is a something children grow into at their own pace, and it pays to be respectful of their needs. Knowing the other child and the child’s parents is a given for a safe stay away from home.

Screening Screen Time

Pickhardt suggests children spend about four hours a week going over scholastics like math, summer reading, or other areas where your child needed extra help last year. TV, iPhone and iPads, computers and video games will likely compete for your child’s attention over the summer so it’s important to regulate this too—too much sitting in front of a screen is not an ideal way to spend the summer. Pickhardt says 15 hours a week is plenty, as these forms of entertainment can undermine a child’s natural ability to entertain him or herself, and hardwire kids to need a high level of stimulation to capture their attention. Instead encourage them to get outside and enjoy the summer weather—which naturally results in more time spent being active and healthier.

source Weinstein, Anna“Summer Parenting: Tips for Good Behavior.”education.com
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Summer Reading for Boys

It’s important for both boys and girls to focus on their reading skills, particularly over the summer to stay fresh. But recent studies suggest that boys on the whole aren’t reading as often, or as well, as girls are. The U.S. Department of Education’s reading tests found that boys scored worse than girls in every age group, for the past 30 years. Other studies show that boys are behind girls when it comes to reading outside of school.

Put simply, boys aren’t reading as much, and it follows that the less you do something, the less likely you are to improve at it. Boys who don’t read often may become frustrated when they attempt it and give up, perpetuating the cycle. Educators and other organizations are trying to address this problem, offering resources like Reading Rockets and Guys Read, or special reading lists catered to boys. Resources like this look at the many possible factors for why boys don’t excel in reading—biological factors such as boys developing reading skills slower, or not being able to sit still, to social factors like the perception that reading is uncool or for girls.

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, as many boys do read—it’s just more often that they’re reading comic books, joke books or the sports sections than respected literary tomes. Regardless, the numbers show the gap, and there are things we can do to help our boys become better readers.

Be Flexible

It’s okay to broaden your idea of what is considered “reading,” especially over the summer. Spend less time worrying about what your son reads, and more time providing materials you know he’ll pick up. This can make reading really fun for your child and can spark a lifelong love for reading. If your son loves science, turn to science fiction; sports lovers may enjoy biographies of their favorite player. Music lovers may enjoy the thrill of reading about their favorite rock star. Use resources like the Internet—sites like Amazon will recommend similar books—and libraries. Make suggestions, but don’t push. Your child is more likely to follow through if you let them choose.

Go Digital

While ebooks are a source of contention for some readers, it’s no problem if your child prefers to receive his dose of reading in the digital form. Some children are just more intrigued when there’s a screen instead of an old-fashioned page. Ebooks can be read on smart phones, tablets and other readers, so they are a convenient way to pack a few books into a bag for a day at the beach or a longer vacation.

Make a Challenge

Boys can be competitive so reading competitions or challenges may be a way to inspire your son. There are some programs that hold reading competitions or offer prizes, or you can create your own. See who can read the most pages in a week, or who can get through the most books over the summer. Making it seem more like a game of accomplishment can motivate boys who otherwise look at reading as a chore.

Male Role Models

What can we do to dispel the myth that reading is for girls? Like the concept that science and math are only for boys, we can do a lot to prove these theories wrong at home. The best way to do this is for a boy to see other men in his life taking pleasure in reading. Does dad enjoy the paper on a Sunday, or get excited when his favorite magazine arrives in the mail? Maybe an older brother is reading a great novel and talks about it at dinner. The best examples are the ones that we demonstrate, rather than simply talk about.

Summer Reading Suggestions:

Here are some parent-approved suggestions (provided they are age appropriate):

• The Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles series - Rick Riordan
• The Frankie Pickle series - Eric Wight
• The Skeleton Creek and Trackers series - Patrick Carman (involves websites in the experience)
• The DK Readers series
• The Final Four Mystery series - John Feinstein
• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series - Jeff Kinney
• The Lunch Lady series - Jarrett Krosoczka
• The Secrets series - Pseudonymous Bosch

source Robinson, Jen“Boys and Summer Reading.” pragmaticmom.com
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Back to Nature: Kids and Gardening

Many parents today complain that their child won’t sit still. So with the summer months upon us, why not take advantage of our children’s energy and physical nature and get them outside in the yard? TV, computers, video games and other forms of passive entertainment take away our child-like curiosity about the world and how it works. Getting children outside helps keep that natural inquisitiveness going, fosters a more hands-on approach to learning, and teaches valuable lessons about nature and conservation.

Understanding nature is a crucial part of our life on this planet, and for our children it’s especially important, as they will one day be the next environmental stewards. Being outside helps us recognize the way in which we relate to the natural world—how the patterns of the sun and seasons affect us, or how everything is related in a complex web of continuity.

Jamie Durie, author of Outdoor Kids feels strongly about the importance of outside playtime, and how spending time together outdoors helps us build healthy, fun relationships with our kids. Of course the summer is the perfect time to take advantage of nature’s bounty, to enjoy the fresh summer air, and most of all—to teach our children a sense of responsibility for the world around us.

Project Ideas

What projects do you have around the house that can help you and your child get outside and spend some quality time together? Durie provides a few suggestions:

• If you have room, create pathways of stones, nooks or other mazes where your child can explore and hide.
• Running water can be a big draw toward encouraging children outside to play. Fountains, slip and slides, or even a simple sprinkler can turn your backyard into a fun water park.
• Grow a garden with veggies, fruits or herbs. Eating food grown ourselves can be rewarding and educational.
• Plant to attract local animals, insects or birds. Watching birds build nests, or butterflies lay eggs gives the best kind of one-on-one nature shows.
• Don’t be afraid to get dirty. The truth is nature is not always clean and tidy. Sandboxes or other areas where you can really dig your hands in the dirt are lots of fun and can be very freeing for kids. You can worry about the grass stains on their old shorts later; for now, just enjoy the sunny, refreshing time spent with your child.

source Durie, Jamie “Bringing the Joy of the Garden to Children.” pbs.org.