WHAT’S INSIDE: 1. letter to a parent 2. themes from the past months 3. our community events 4. parents share 5. did you know that? 6. health & yummy
SUPPORTS HELPS ANSWERS RECOMMENDS
JANUARY 2019
A welcome note to parents: Dear ACS Athens community, Please enjoy our first SHARE newsletter of 2019. We, the PTO board are honored and delighted to be part of the ACS Athens community. We are continuously working towards creating a nice friendly school environment where we can all share our thoughts and learn from each other to better support our children. In this issue of SHARE, we will be featuring an article “letter to a parent” written by an ACS Athens mom, journalist, educator and family counselor, Rania Thraskia. Throughout the year we are continuously trying to organize nice events and your ideas are always welcome! We are at your disposal, you can reach us at pto@acs.gr or checkout our PTO page on ACS athens website which is updated with minutes of meetings, pictures of past events and upcoming events calendar. Best wishes! Your PTO Board
LETTER TO A PARENT:
10 important facts about setting limits with kids
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Setting limits with kids means that you provide a stable environment that allows your child to feel accepted and safe, both physically and emotionally. Limits teach our children appropriate behavior and give them opportunities to sharpen their skills. Setting limits can be tough and challenging for parents for several reasons. Most of the times parents feel guilty about saying no because they think that they make their children sad and mad. Partners don’t always agree on what limits to set with kids mostly because they have been raised differently and they copy family habits and behavioral models. Because of the limits parents set, children learn how to control themselves, to take responsibility for their actions and they get to learn what is socially accepted or not. Limits teach kids how to keep themselves safe when they begin doing activities independently and when they are using the internet! It is very important that parents create behavior management contracts to help your child understand concrete ways you will recognize when she/he needs to fewer limits. Limits should expand as your child matures.
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Kids are impulsive and enjoy immediate gratification. Therefore, they need adults to teach them how to stay healthy. Limits should be set with a child’s eating habits and with electronics. Many kids would eat junk food and watch tv or play on the computer all day if there are no family rules regarding those matters! Limits help kids cope with uncomfortable feelings. Learning how to deal with emotions it’s an extremely important skill for children and helps them throughout their entire life! Each limit you set is an opportunity for your child to practice managing his /her emotions. It is crucial that you coach his/her efforts as he/she tries to deal with frustration, anger, boredom or sadness but don’t try to cheer him up or calm him down because you are having trouble understand that feelings.