Tips for Teaching Your Child Anything

Simply telling your child what you want them to do and walking away is not an effective teaching strategy. You can’t “talk” your child into learning a new skill. The most effective teaching strategy is to do it with them and then have them practice. Research has repeatedly proven that the only way we all learn is through practice, practice, practice.

Prompting is the most important tool in teaching your child a new skill. Prompting is the action of persuading, encouraging, or reminding. There are four main types of prompting: verbal, gestural, visual, and hand over hand.

1. Verbal prompting is standing beside your child while they are doing the task and telling them what to do next.

2. Gestural prompting is when you point or act out the behavior to help your child know what to do next.

3. Visual prompting includes pictures, visual schedules, written lists, etc. An example of this is putting a list of the process of getting ready on their bathroom mirror.

4. Hand-over-hand prompting is when you take your child’s hands in yours and do what you want to see. For example, if you are asking your child which car is blue, you would touch the car with his hand while saying, “This car is blue.” This approach is invaluable because it negates any language barriers, provides an opportunity for the child to get the right answer and earn praise, and it encourages the child to comply.

Shaping is the next tool. Shaping is simply reinforcing small accomplishments towards the skill you are trying to teach. For example, let’s say your goal is that your child sits at the dinner table until the end of the meal. Shaping starts exactly where the child is. If your child walks around eating and has never been forced to sit at the dinner table, start there. Shape the behavior by putting them in the chair for 10 seconds, praise them for sitting, and then let them return to walking around. After a short time, do this again. If 10 seconds occurred without any extreme frustration, you can move up to 15 seconds and then 20 seconds. The next day, you increase the time and continue shaping until your child can sit through the meal. We always begin shaping from where the child will be successful, so if 10 seconds is too long, start at 5 seconds. If that is too long, start with sitting in the chair. No matter how your child behaves, praise them for trying, even if they are angry. If you praise what you want to see, your child will do it again willingly.

I can’t talk about prompting or shaping without conveying the importance of precursor skills. Precursor skills must be mastered before you can move to something more complex. For example, if your child can’t write her name, make sure she has the precursor skills of holding a pencil, writing on paper, writing letters, and attending long enough to write her entire name. We strongly encourage parents to think through the precursor skills a child needs before working towards a goal. Oth erwise, you are setting your child up for failure and frustration.

Practice makes progress, but effective practice must include starting where they are, prompting when necessary, and shaping complex skills.

Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday

Alabama is once again offering a Back to School Sales Tax Holiday for school items* including clothes, school supplies, books, and more. The sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 21, 2023, and will end at midnight Sunday, July 13, 2023, *For a list of qualified items, limits and additional details visit the Alabama Department of Revenue website – www.revenue.alabama.gov and search Sales Tax Holidays.

Gulf Coast Ethnic & Heritage Jazz Festival

The Gulf Coast Ethnic & Heritage Jazz Festival provides the Gulf Coast and surrounding areas with a vibrant mix of jazz music and education. This year the Festival will include the Marcus Johnson Summer Jazz Camp, an evening of poetry, 25 Years of Jazz Gala, and at the heart of it all, incredible main stage jazz concerts. Join us July 27-30, 2023 for our festival. Please visit https://gcehjazzfest.wordpress.com/ for our full schedule of events and for tickets.

Feeding the Gulf Coast Provides FREE Summer Meals For Children

Feeding the Gulf Coast is partnering with local community organizations to offer free meals to children, 18 and younger, through the Summer Meals Program. The program is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is designed to fill the nutritional gap when children are out of school during summer months and do not have access to free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches at school. This program has a significant impact on children and families across the central Gulf Coast.

“As summer comes, many children who rely on school meals face the painful reality of hunger instead of the carefree days of summer they should be able to enjoy,” said Michael Ledger, President and CEO at Feeding the Gulf Coast. “We are partnering with nearly 150 sites this summer across our service area to provide 9,500 meals on a daily basis.”

To find child meals sites near you throughout the summer, call our office at (888) 704-FOOD or visit our website at feedingthegulfcoast.org/find-help.

Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament

The Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament is designed to bring families together and encourage sportsmanship. The tournament takes place on Saturday, July 15, 2023. RMYAT is for children 15 years and younger and it typically attracts more than 1,500 young anglers. The one-day event features 30 categories with prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes in all categories. One Master Angler is awarded. All participants receive a certificate, hot dog, ice cream courtesy of Blue Bell Creameries, and a drink provided by Coca-Cola. All proceeds benefit the Mobile Jaycees Children’s Christmas Shopping Tour. Please visit https://adsfr.com/rmyat/ for more information.

Autism FUNraiser

High Hopes 4 Autism is excited to announce the 17th Annual Illuminating Autism FUNraiser at Pirates Cove. This FUNraiser is a two-day event, held July 22 & 23 that will feature a JEEP draw down, silent auction, art market and local live entertainment. ALL proceeds from the FUNraiser go to a local Autism program. To purchase Jeep Drawdown Tickets or for more information visit http:// highhopes4autism.org/funraiser.

Distinguished Young Women’s “Be Your Best Self” Boot Camp

Distinguished Young Women of Baldwin County invites 3rd-6th grade girls to participate in this year’s “Be Your Best Self” Boot Camp and 7th-8th grade girls to participate in this year’s “Boot Camp Elite.” This year both camps will meet August 12, 2023 at Coastal Alabama Community College from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Both camps will also participate in a segment of the 2024 program on August 26, 2023. This year’s camps also include 2 tickets to this year’s program, group photos, refreshments, a boot camp t-shirt and more. Registration is $30 which goes to the scholarship fund. For more information, contact Katy Sipper at katy.sipper@gmail.com (251-421-1320).