Surviving the Holidays

Sad christmas santa woman wrapping giftsFor many of us, the holidays are a time of increased stress. Our calendars are overflowing with parties, holiday programs, family get-togethers, shopping, and a variety of other commitments. The holidays can be exciting, but also exhausting. Our stress affects our children. To compound the problem, young children lack the skills that adults have to effectively deal with stresses and anxieties. Therefore, they may be experiencing our stress even more profoundly than we are.

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Countdown to the Big Day!

Are you and your children looking forward to a big event? Whether you are looking forward to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, a birthday, or a visit from Grandma, here’s a fun way to build anticipation and help young children keep track of when the event will arrive. This can work at home or in a child care setting.

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Ten Things That Make Me Feel Thankful

With Thanksgiving approaching, I’ve been feeling thankful for many things that have occurred over my years as an early childhood professional. Here are 10 of the most important things:

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Choosing Toys

Many of the best toys for children don’t cost a lot of money! Have you ever been surprised to see a child having more fun playing with the box a toy comes in than with the toy itself? Boxes are really appealing to children because they can be played with in so many different ways. Depending on the size of the box, children might use it for stacking, for filling and dumping, or for giving rides to other toys. They might even wear it as a hat or use it as a drum! Bigger boxes can be anything from a house to a barn to a store.

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Good Manners Matter

Good manners play an important role in your child’s success in social relationships. However, children are not born with good manners! It’s up to parents and other adults to teach and reinforce them. With these tips in mind and by practicing plenty of patience, you will find that over time, your children will become respectable young people.

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