Do you need support for coping with your ADD, ADHD, or
dyslexia child? Do you need ideas and tips for handling
the everyday situations that arise? Do you need information
that will make life easier for you and your child?
If you answered yes to any of these questions then consider
coming to our monthly Monday evening group. Join with
other parents and Beth Salgado, facilitator of the group on
Monday, February 11 from 7-8:30 PM in room 5. For
information please call the Adult Ministries office at St.
Timothy’s Catholic Church in Laguna Niguel @ 949.249.4096.

Part of the reason two-year-olds have tantrums is because they don’t have the words or other tools they need to express their anger or frustration fully or appropriately. For this, your toddler needs your help.

Thus the most important rule in handling tantrums is this:

Ignore the behavior, but don’t ignore your child.

Q-tip

Challenging your child by saying, “No laughing,” may be a good way to transform anger into a burst of the giggles. Yet although this is a very useful trick at times, this approach also slights your toddler’s anger. So if you decide to diffuse your child’s anger in this way, be sure to take the time to encourage her to talk about her anger with you afterward, when she has calmed down.

What is your toddler trying to communicate to you through her tantrum? Anger? Frustration? Ask your child what’s wrong and at the same time, encourage her to calm down enough so that you can help her. Let your child know that if she’s frustrated with something, you can’t possibly help her unless you know what’s wrong-but that you can’t understand her when she tries to talk to you in the midst of a hysterical tantrum.

Don’t ignore your child’s expressions of anger. In fact, if they are appropriate, encourage them. Suppressed anger can become even more explosive. So don’t encourage your toddler to rein in her anger or frustration. Instead, teach your child to express it in non-destructive or non-hurtful ways. Allow and encourage your child to express anger and frustration:

• in words;
• by punching a pillow or mattress;
• by slamming clay around on a cutting board;
• by banging a drum;
• by running around outside;
• by doing something brief, loud, and angry: letting out a “primal scream,” yelling, dancing, or singing about her anger; or
• by creating an angry work of art.

The lessons you teach your child about expressing anger and frustration may seem to have little impact during her third year—and perhaps even her fourth. Your toddler (and later, your preschooler) will no doubt still have angry outbursts, violent episodes, and uncontrollable tantrums at least occasionally. In time, however, your child will absorb these lessons. And learning how to handle anger without becoming destructive or hurtful is an invaluable lesson for anyone, child or adult.

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Parenting a Preschooler and Toddler, Too © 1997 by Keith M. Boyd, M.D., and Kevin Osborn.

Parents often ask how they can help their children navigate through high school to be prepared for college.  Studies show that students are much more likely to excel when their parents stay involved.  Parents should keep track of their student’s progress, encourage goal setting and consult regularly with the student’s academic advisor.

High school students who aspire to attend college should take a rigorous course of academic classes.  Classes that are the most challenging, such as honors, International Baccalaureate, and Advanced Placement courses, will give the student the best possible preparation for the admissions competition and the demands of college.

One of the key things parents can do is to make sure their sons and daughters take the appropriate “A-through-G” classes required by the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems.  To meet he minimum eligibility requirements, applicants must have completed a series of high school college-preparatory courses that provide a strong academic foundation, including, but not limited to:

Two years of history/social science; Four years of English’ Three years of mathematics including advanced algebra and geometry (four years of math are strongly recommended); Two years of laboratory science (three years are strongly recommended):  Two years of a language other than English (three years are strongly recommended); One year of visual and performing arts; and One year of a college-preparatory elective.

Going to College?

Changing Standards

Kindergarten has evolved from a largely social, developmental environment to an academic one governed by state curriculum standards, educators say.  To ensure children are ready for kindergarten, preschools have been adjusting their own teaching strategies.

Kindergarten teachers now ask children entering their classrooms to have skills such as:

• Writing their own name
• Counting to 10 or higher
• Reciting the alphabet
• Sitting down and listening when instructed
• Using Scissors
• Recognizing basic shapes

Provided by:  Newport Beach Fire Department

If a fire occurred in your home, would you and your family know what to do?  Once a fire has started, there is no time to plan an escape.  The Newport Beach Fire Department would like to encourage you to take a few moments and develop and practice E.D.I.T.H., or “Exit Drills In the Home” with your family members.  Here are few tip to help you plans, and practicing them can mean the difference between life and death for you or a loved one.

Draw a Floor Plan of Your Home  Sit down with your family and draw a floor plan of your entire house, including doors, windows, stairs, halls and balconies.  Whenever possible, show two exits from every room.  You may need to include an emergency escape ladder for second story windows.

Practice Your Escape Plan   Practice your family’s escape plan at least twice a year, making sure that everyone is involved.  After a daytime practice drill is held, it’s a good idea to hold a night or lights-out drill as well.  Catching children off guard, however, will not increase the value of the drill.  Telling them there will be a drill before they go to bed can be as effective as a surprise drill.  If anyone in your household does not readily waken to the sound of the smoke alarm, or if there are infants or family members with disabilities, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in a fire drill and in the event of an emergency.

Make Your Escape Realistic  No matter how often or how well you practice, things will be different during an actual fire.  Help prepare your family by designing a number of different scenarios.  Pretend that a room is filled with smoke or an exit is blocked by fire, then practice alternative escape routes.

Agree on a Meeting Place  Designate a place outside your home where the members of your household will gather after escaping a fire.  This will allow you to count heads and inform the fire department if anyone is missing or trapped inside the house.  As soon as possible, send a member of the family to a neighbor’s house to call 9-1-1.  This is often faster than calling on a cell phone, but if a cell phone is the only things available, call 9-1-1 on it.  Also, once outside never re-enter the burning structure, especially for material possessions.  Firefighters will arrive shortly to assist with this.

Once a fire starts, it spreads rapidly.  Normal exits, halls and stairways become filled with intense heat, poisonous gases and blinding smoke.  Because smoke and heat both rise, cleaner air will be found near the floor.  If you encounter smoke when using your primary exit, use an alternative escape route.  If you must exit through smoke, crawl on your hands and knees, keeping your head 12-24 inches above the floor.

Test Doors Before Opening Them  If you must enter or exit a room through a closed door, test the door with the back of your hand before opening it.  If it’s warm to the touch, use another escape route.  It it’s cool, open it with caution.  Put your shoulder against the door and open it slowly.  Be prepared to slam it shut if there is smoke or flames on the other side.

If You’re Trapped  If smoke, heat or flames block your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed.  Stuff the cracks around the door to keep smoke out.  Wait at a window and signal for help with a flashlight or by waving a light-colored cloth.  If there’s a phone in the room, call 911 and report your exact location.

Finally, a key component to early fire detection is a working smoking detector.  Test your smoke detectors monthly and change your batteries semi-annually.