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- If you're interested in starting daycare, check with Social Services to find out if you
are going to make any improvements to your house. They may even have a list of
requirements. For example, I needed to make sure my paneling met certain
requirements.
- If you do daycare, don't forget to take a few minutes for yourself. It helps you
feel sane, and you keep more patience.
- CONSISTENCY!! I can't stress this enough. I've had parents
that couldn't understand why the children listened to me so well. For example, a
mother had children that would run out on the road, she would say "Get back here
now!" But if they didn't listen she wouldn't do anything about it one time, but
another time she would. If she had done something every time, eventually they
realize they have to listen. I had parents who were not always consistent, and I
remember my thinking at the time about doing something naughty. I was never sure if
I would be in trouble or not, so I took my chances and did it. Don't forget to
explain why they're being punished, and whenever possible let the punishment fit the crime
( these techniques help them to realize for themselves that doing what they did is wrong,
and after a couple of times they may realize that they do not want to do it.) For
example, apologizing, cleaning up the mess they made, etc. Resort to time outs and
other things if necessary. Try not to use them too often, because children do not
think it's a big deal if they're punished too frequently. The
"proffessionals" say timeouts and corner time should be one minute for every
year in age. But they get bored and start fooling around, which irritated me.
So by shortening the time period they still knew that they'd done something wrong, and I
did not have to be upset, because they always stand in the corner really good for a little
while. Use your best judgement, but don't forget to be consistent. Set your
standards and act on it every time. It came in handy for me when a child was in the
street, and was not listening to her mother. A car was coming, and I told the child
to come and she responded immediately. Consistency is a wonderful thing, it makes
them listen so much better.
T.T.F.N. ----TaTa For Now
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