How to Help Your Child Read
Here are some frequently asked questions about how parents may foster the love of reading in their children.
1. Are children who try to learn two languages during the preschool years handicapped in learning to read?
Preschool children who try to learn two languages are usually somewhat retarded in both. There are, of course, exceptions. It has been suggested that the retardation may be due to a reluctance to abandon the mother’s language rather than to lack of intelligence or verbal ability.
The language heard in infancy, Dorothea McCarthy has said, has deep emotional roots. The child may become emotionally disturbed if he is forbidden to use the language he has associated with his parents from the earliest years. Therefore, children who need to learn two languages should learn to use both languages correctly in the situations in which each is appropriate.
2. Should I teach my child the alphabet?
A child is better prepared for beginning reading if he knows the names of the letters. You can teach him to write each letter large as soon as he learns to name it. You teach the name of the letter B, not the sound, “Bun.” Later he will group the letters as follows:
ABCDEFG H I J K L M
NOPQRST U VWXYZ
Letters near the beginning of the dictionary, letters in the middle after the beginning group, letters in the middle toward the end, letters near the end of the dictionary.
This grouping will help the child to find words quickly in the dictionary.
3. Why is reading aloud to children sometimes unsuccessful?
There are many possible reasons. If the adult dislikes reading aloud, or reads from a sense of duty, his attitude is communicated to the child. Adult and child should both enjoy the story. The child may not be quite ready for the story the parent is reading – though the parent remembers that he loved it when he was the child’s age.
Times change, and children’s interests shift somewhat from generation to generation. Sometimes the child’s unreadiness to listen may be merely temporary; something else had absorbed his attention for the moment. It is better to recognize this immediate interest than to try to override it. Older children, especially those in early adolescence, sometimes prefer an unshared reading experience. At such times they guard their private world with fierce jealousy, and resent any adult intrusion into it.
4. How can parents foster a child’s love of reading?
“Liking to read just comes naturally to my child,” you may say. Probably it doesn’t. Without being aware of it, you have done, and are still doing, many things that cause your child to love reading and to want to read. He has seen you reading and has gathered that reading gives you pleasure and profit.
He has listened to the enchanting stories that you have read him, and he wants to hear more than you have time to read to him. This stimulates him to want to learn to read for himself. As he looks at the books while you read to him, he begins to recognize certain words, and realizes that those black marks on white paper have meaning.
Even after he has started school, you should continue to read him books that are beyond his own present reading ability; this will create further interest in the world of books that he will someday be able to explore himself.
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3 Critical Safety Points To Remember When Decorating a Child’s Room
Making your home child safe requires much more than placing a few outlet covers or cabinet locks. Child safety is an ongoing issue and the only way to ensure your child’s health and well being is to adopt a safety culture in your home.
The point of a safety culture is not “safety over everything else.” The goal is to balance the needs of safety with the reality of living your life.
In this article, we’ll explore how to handle 3 critical safety areas to consider when child-proofing your home: child safe window blinds, child safe lamps and lamp placements, and child safe bookshelves and cabinetry.
Child Safe Window Blinds
In the early 1990s, blind safety was a hot item among child safety advocates. Babies and toddlers were being accidentally strangled by the cords of window blinds and an outpouring of consumer concern lead to fundamental changes in the way window blinds and window shades were designed. A second redesign of window blinds in the late 90s improved blind safety even further.
However, about one child a month dies from accidental entanglement in the cords of window blinds. You don’t need to leave your windows uncovered, just take steps to enhance the safety of window blinds your home.
- Move the crib or bed away from the windows so the cords of the window blinds don’t dangle over his head.
- Move chairs and other climbable objects away from windows and window blinds.
- Tie up the cords of your window blinds so that they well out of the reach of little hands.
- Use a window blinds cord safety tool which collects the loose portions of the cord into a safety ball that hangs near the top of the window blinds.
- Older blinds can be made safer with a free repair kit from the Window Covering Safety Council.
Child Safe Lamps and Lamp Placements
Children are notorious for climbing up on everything as they explore. For lamps sitting on tables, wrap the cord tightly around the table leg so that when the table wiggles, the lamp does not topple to the ground.
Another option is to install ceiling mounted track lighting or wall mounted lamps to keep lamps out of the reach of children and also secure so that they cannot be pulled over. Lamps that fall off of tables are not just a hazard to small hands that could be burned by the hot light bulb, but can also pose a serious fire hazard.
Child Safe Bookshelves and Cabinetry
Small children that are learning to walk by pulling themselves up on objects and older children that love to climb are at serious risk of being crushed by large heavy bookshelves and cabinetry. Fortunately, there is a simple remedy for this that takes just a few minutes to implement.
Using an “L” or “U” shaped bracket, drill one side of the bracket into the back or back shelf of the cabinetry itself. Next, drill the other portion of the bracket directly into the wall. Be sure to test the strength of the bracket by pulling hard on the cabinetry to ensure a strong hold.
Remember the mantra of child safety: It only takes a second. No one can watch a child every single moment. Minimizing the dangers by taking precautions with your window blinds, securing lamps, and bolting bookshelves and cabinetry to walls makes it less likely disaster will strike during that moment your attention wanders. By keeping household risks as low as reasonably achievable you make your home a safe and secure environment.
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on blinds and window shades, visit http://www.BlindsExpress.com/.
School Bus Accidents Can Be Prevented by Safety Training and Parking Lot Design
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 25 million students are in school with an average of 500,000 school buses on the roads. While school buses are statistically one of the safest modes of transportation, more than twice as many children are killed while getting on or off school buses than while riding in them. Preventable School Bus Accident
A 12-year-old girl was hit by a school bus in a South New Jersey middle school parking lot. She was walking across the parking lot which had no designated lines for pedestrian paths and no cross walks. She was run over by the rear tire of a school bus as it came around a loop. She suffered multiple fractures and serious internal injuries.
The bus driver was not faulted. The girl was walking between two cars.
At fault was the school district for failing to provide a parking lot with visibly designated markings; failing to provide appropriate cross walks; and failing to provide a school safety plan for bus arrivals and departures.
“This case, on first blush, appeared to be one of a careless child darting out between parked cars and running into the side of a bus, causing her own injuries”, states Larry Cohan, counsel for the victim.
“After careful analysis, and expert review, it became apparent that this child was a victim of bad planning and bad design by her school. Had there been proper crosswalks, a safety plan and supervision, this child would not have even been crossing where she was, and the incident would not have occurred. The irresponsible school officials, who created this danger, were clearly negligent, and the school was required to pay for their failures.”
The girl received a substantial settlement. Through extensive medical care and physical therapy, she is recovering.
School budget and school districts in many states are frequently in dire straits and are forced to make choices in how their limited funds are expended. Somehow the important issue of school bus safety goes to the back of the bus and doesn’t get addressed.
School Bus Safety Problems
In 2002, 26 children were killed as pedestrians getting on or off a school bus, or while waiting at the school bus stop. Other motorists illegally passing a stopped school bus remain a problem in every community and the school bus industry urges stricter police and judicial enforcement against violators.
School buses always are operated by drivers with a Commercial Drivers License (CDL), required by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and who have received special school bus driver training required by states. In addition, no one can drive a school bus without first passing drug and alcohol screening and required law enforcement background checks.
There is no safer way to transport a child than in a school bus. Fatal crashes involving school bus occupants are rare events, even though school buses drive a remarkable 8.8 billion students to and from school annually. Every school day, some 500,000 yellow school buses transport more than 25 million children to and from schools mostly without a serious incident.
Anapol Schwartz law firm can help determine if you should file a lawsuit. If your child has been injured from a school bus accident or safety issue, please visit http://www.anapolschwartz.com for your free consultation. For more info on bus, car or truck accidents visit http://crash.legalview.com/
Smart Parenting: Eye Care Tips For Your Children
In the same manner that adults have regular eye exams, children should have their eyes regularly examined as well. As a rule of thumb, eye examination is a must every two years and if possible every year. For those who have a family history of eye diseases or are taking certain medications that can have a side effect to the eyes, they should have their eyes examined twice every year.
Children should have their first eye examination at the age of just 6 months. Upon reaching the age of 2 or 3 years old, a follow-up exam can be conducted as it is during this age when rapid development of the visual system occurs and corrective vision if necessary is most effective. The earlier some eye related problems are diagnosed, the greater are the chances of a complete and effective recovery.
After the child’s initial eye exam, regular eye examination can be conducted every two years and more frequently should your family have any history of eye disorders. You are fully aware that children in school use their eyes frequently to read and to perform other school related activities so it is very much essential that they get to have a regular eye exam. While schools may regularly conduct eye screening tests, such only tackle distance. Vision problems like near vision, focus and eye coordination may not be detected by such screenings as long as you have a 20/20 distance vision. Untreated eye related problems can cause not only headaches and discomfort but possibly cause learning disabilities.
Parents should correct and identify vision problems early on to avoid academic problems in the future. The child’s vision problem could probably interfere with their learning ability. Parents should be keen on certain warning signs signaling vision problems such as excessive eye blinking and squinting, regular headaches, dizziness, difficulty with hand and eye coordination and the holding of objects too close when trying to view it. If you notice any of these behaviors or conditions, it is best to immediately pay your eye doctor a visit for consultation.
Also, if your child is very much active in sports, wearing protective eyewear can help prevent eye-related injuries. Some examples of sports where children need to wear protective goggles include baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, football and many more others. Protective goggles should fit comfortably and should be made of proper materials. Make sure that it has 100% UV protection.
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