Parental Control

“I hate that I am always the one that has to come down on my kids. I have 3 and 4-year-old toddlers.

I know I am the disciplinarian, but it is difficult being that person all the time and then transitioning to something positive. I am a young mom too and I know I still have a lot to learn but I am always

looking for new and better ways. Any suggestions to how to play both roles would be great. ”

(This is my 16-year-old daughter’s response. She is very popular with her younger cousins and does babysit too. They actually call her, “The Queen of the Little People.”) Whenredirectingchildren,itisimportanttobefirmand convincethemtodotheneededtask.Togetoutofthings manychildrenwillcryandbegtodowhattheywant.I’m sureIusedtodothattoo.But,togetachildtocomply,you mayhavetomakethetaskseemmorefunthanitactuallyis. Sometimesitisnotthatsimplethough,butyoucan’tgive intotheirbegging.Givingincanteachthem thatiftheycry foracertainamountoftimethentheywilleventuallyget theirway.Sometimesyoumayneedtoputyourfootdown anddiscipline themwithaconsequence. Some children learnquicklyandyouwillnothavetodoitagain.Beingfirm butstillentertainingforthekidsisveryimportantsothat youseemlikesomeonetheyshouldlistento.Becomingan adultfiguremaybedifficult,butitisworthitwhenyoucan havefunwhilekeepingthechildrenincheck. a:

(My response) Ithinktherearetonsofparentsthathaveto playmanyrolesintheirkid’slives.Youarecorrectthatit canbedifficulttobeallthingstoourkidsandhowdowe switchinbetweenbadcop/goodcop?Unfortunately,there isnotamagicwandtomakethataneasiertransition-- asmuchasweallwishthatweretrue.Ithinkthe waytomakethistransitionsmootheristhe relationshipyouhavewithyourchildren.Themorepositive the relationship is between you and your children the easiergivingoutconsequencesaregoingtobeforyou.The

morenaturalconsequencesachildreceivestheeasierthat transitionwillbe.Forexample,ifyoutellyourchildwhen youactthisway(insertanyannoyingbehavior)wewillleave whereverweareandgohome.Thenaturalconsequenceis thatyounolongergettobeataplaceyouwanttobeatand youhavetogohome.Itisnotyourfaultthatyouhadto leave,itisbecauseofthechild’sbehavior.Themorethatyou dothesetypesofthings,themorethechildwillfocustheir blameandattentionontheirbehaviorsandnotyou.Think aboutatimethatyourchildhasmadeyouacrazyperson askingforsomething,itcouldbeanythingyoucanthink ofandoftentimeswegiveinbecausewearegoingtolose ourminds.Wehaveallbeenthere.Whenyoureallysitback andexaminethatbehavior,whenyouarenotexhausted orsleepdeprived,whatdoyousee?Youseethatthechild actedacertainwayormanneranditworked.Thebehaviors thattheyexhibitedgotthemwhattheywanted.Nowwhat ifthosesamebehaviorsalwaysresultedinsomethingthey werenottryingtoobtain-- likegoinghomeandbeing puttimeintimeout?Whenthishappens,theyshouldbe upsetattheirbehaviorandnotyou.Ofcourse,thattakes consistency and time but also builds a more positive relationshipbetweenyouandyourchildbygivingyoumore timetodofunstuffandenjoyeachother.Hopethishelps!

OP

CHRISTINA DALTON, MSSW, CSW is a Family Resource Center Coordinator for Daviess County Public Schools. MATISSE DALTON is a 10th grader at Apollo High School, where she is in the Engineering Academy. Her interests include drawing, softball, reading and trying to see every bookstore in the world. She is also an excellent babysitter and appropriately nicknamed, “Queen of the Little People.”

Do Kids Really Need a Bedtime?

Have you ever wondered “Do kids REALLY need a bedtime?” Well in my opinionthey................Do.NowIknow some kids go to bedwhenever they want. But some parents have their kidsgotobedataspecifictime.Like mine. Ifyou read myWHOLE book thenyoumightsay“Wellkidsreally doneedabedtime.” Kidsneedabedtimebecausethey might be really grumpy. Ifthey go to bed at 12:00 or 1:00, theymight sayIneedanap!Theymightalsobe meantoasibling,orjustcryforno reason,orsay“NO,NO,NO!!!”That’s

Tip Time!

by Eva Harrison, 3rd grade

whyinfantsto1yearoldsneed12to 16hoursofsleep.Also3to5yearolds need10to13hoursofsleepevery24 hours.Includingnaps. Kidsneedabedtimebecausethey might just have 9 meltdowns. Kids cancryalot,buttheyalwayshavea reason.Butiftheygotobedlatethey mightjustcryfornoreasonALLday. PLUSitwillgetonyournervesfast. Butthatisadayinthelifeofaparent. Kidsneedabedtimebecausethey mightstayinbedallday.Kidscanbe rude, andjustlikewhentheydidn’t getallthesleeptheyneeded,they’ll say“NO”toeverythingtheirparents say.Butthatwillbewhentheyfinally getoutofbed.Beforethatit’slikethey

LIVEintheirbed!!!

“Areyoudoneyet?‘Causethisis

a spectacularly looooooong piece.” That’sprobablywhatyou’rethinking. Andalmost.Hereiswhykidsneeda bedtime.It’sforgoodhealthandjusta

goodattitudeinthemorning.Orthey

willstayinbedallday,orbegrumpy.

That’swhyinfantsneedlike12to16 hoursandteensneed8to10hours. Nowifyou’reaparentandyourchild won’tgotobed,therearesometips

below.

OP

GIVE YOUR

KID A HOT BATH

READ THEM A BEDTIME

STORY

HAVE DINNER

WITH THICK HEAVY GRAVY GO SOMEWHERE AND BURN OFF THEIR ENERGY

EVERY HOUSEHOLD

WITH A CHILD SHOULD HAVE A PET

by Payden Sanders, 3rd grade // Illustration by Lydia Tanner, 1st grade

Everyhouseholdwithachildshould have apet! Itkeeps the kids happyfor onething!Buttherearesooomanyother reasonsIcannamethathelpyouandyour child! Having a pet would teach the kids responsibility. 58% of parents say that having a pet teaches their kids responsibility.Onaregularbasesthekids wouldhaveto:

›› Givethepetfoodandwater ›› Cleanthecage(iftheanimalhasone) ›› Makesurethepetitselfisclean ›› Makesurethepetgetsenoughexercise ›› Makesurethepetishealthy ›› Andsoon. Youcangetsmall pets. WhenI say smallImeansmall.Youcouldgetafish,or ahamster,orbugs(inacageofcourse!). There is actuallya place inJapan that sellsplanktonandotherreallysmallpets! Whosaysthepethastobereal!You could get a Tamagotchi. ATamagotchi is a small circular device with three buttons.YouturntheTamagotchionand arandompetspawns.Thenyouusethe buttonstointeractwiththepet,butifyou don’ttakecareofthepetitcandie. Ihopeyoucanconsiderthesereasons soyoucanmakethebestdecisiononthis topic.Ihopetoseeyounexttime!

OP

by Sasha Foster, 4th grade // Illustration by Katye Clark, 7th grade Earth Day is Important

LotsofpeoplethinkEarthDay isnotimportant,butit’sactuallya bigdeal.Infact,it’sareallybigdeal! EarthDayisthedaywherepeople needtobekindtoourplanet. EarthDaycanbeanyday,aslong asyouaredoingsomethinggoodfor ourplanet.Someexamplesarelike pickinguptrashontheground,not throwingtrashontheground,and recyclingthingslikewaterbottles andpaper.OnEarthDay,gooutto aparkandlookfortrashifyouwant todoagooddeed.Ordothisonany day,justtoberecognizedasagood person! Wedon’twantourplanettolook liketrash! Wewantoutplanetto lookgreenandgoodasnew!Saving ourplanetalsoincludessavingthe ocean.Throwingtrashinalakeor inarivercanhaveabigimpacton the animal kingdom. Throwing

plasticitemsintheoceancankill seaanimals,yes,includingturtles. Turtlesandotherseacreaturesare

importantforourplanet.

Treesarealsoabigthing.On

EarthDay,trynottocutdownalot oftrees,becausetreesgiveoutan importantneedcalledoxygen,also knownasair.Youcan’tlivewithout

oxygen, so you can’t live without

trees!Treesarealsomadeofwood,

sotreesalsoproducepaper.Ifyou

don’tcutdowntrees,ourcommunity cansavepaper!Andhaveoxygento breathe!

Asyoucansee,weneedtosave

ourplanetforlotsofreasons.When

you do something for our planet, you’llfeelgoodaboutitafterwards!

EARTH DAY BUCKET LIST

by Ava Settles, 6th grade

EARTH DAY IS WEDNESDAY,

APRIL 22

Recycle. Useareusablebaginsteadofaplasticbag. Turnoffyourcomputerorlaptop.

Turnoffthewaterwhenyouarebrushing yourteeth. Turnthelightsoffwhenyouleavearoom. Usebothsidesofthepaper.

Pickuptrashataparknearyou. Plantatree. Rideyourbikeinsteadofridinginacar. Takeshortershowers.