Welcome to Upswing Parenting!
Congratulations, you are on your way to learning the best tools and techniques backed by child specialists and experts. To get started watch this video!
Mission
Become familiar with the program & get excited for learning!Goals
DUE Friday, July 9th
4 Tips to Keep in Mind
Why Parent Education is Essential
Enhances child-rearing skills, competency & confidence (Smith et al., 2002)
Parents may instinctually respond to infant cues (Papoušek, 2002), but good parenting does not come naturally, it is learned
Reduces risks for mental health disorders and depression in children long term
Leads to effective communication & builds stronger parent-child bonds
How to Stay Motivated
Set clear goals for yourself e.g., spend 10 mins minimum each week on Upswing Parenting
Recognize that you are in charge of how much you are learning & your mastery of effective parenting
Imagine your future, your kids future, your grandkids’ future - positive parenting can have a lasting impact for generations (Kerr et al., 2009)
Look for relatedness. Join parenting groups, forums, or communities and share your progress with fellow parents
Where to Find Definitions and Resources
Click on underlined words for more information/definition
For more help with specialized care take a look at the resources list
We encourage seeking coordinated services for multiple needs
This page can also be accessed at the bottom of the home page
Where to Find Citations and Disclaimer
All the content is backed by teachers, specialists, researchers, and parents
If you are interested in learning more about the diverse sources we have citations
You can read Upswing Parenting’s disclaimer here
These pages can also be accessed at the bottom of the home page
Activities
This week’s activities are meant to help your child easily transition between the home and school environment, keeping a consistent practice. Essential skills and phrases that are used at school have been integrated below so your child can also focus on them at home.
1. Practice Patience
Patience is one of the most useful skills children can learn! It is quite difficult for young children, especially when they still lack a sense of time, but it is not impossible. With practice they can improve and learn techniques to self-regulate.
Provide them with opportunities to practice waiting:
When they ask for something (not a necessity), tell them “Yes, I will help” and help them slowly. Show them that you are taking action, but it may take time
Make it more challenging:
When they ask for something, tell them “I’m happy to help, but I need to finish ___ first”.
Do not jump up as soon as your child tells you they are bored or asks you for something. Instead give them a chance to learn to distract themselves.
Explain the importance of self-control and the ability to wait:
E.g. You need to wait for the cookies to finish baking, because if you don’t and you take them out too early the cookies will be bad and you can’t eat them.
Praise their patience:
Your child may not even realize they are being patient so point it out to them
Let them know when they are doing it correctly
Associate patience with a positive behavior
Patient children perform better in compulsory and secondary school due to their ability to be future-oriented.
Childhood self-control has a lasting effect even as an adult impacting one’s physical health, substance dependence, personal finances and criminal offending outcomes.
Patient people tend to have better mental health, be more cooperative, empathetic and forgiving.
2. Helpful Phrases
Teachers use a variety of phrases and expressions to help manage their students whether it’s in a group setting or individually. Consistency is key in making it work both at home and in school.
Some of the most commonly used and popular phrases focus on the positive action of a body part rather than the child themselves as a whole. This helps them focus on what they should do with their bodies instead of being told what not to do.
Here are some phrases to practice at home to your child:
Instead of saying “don’t--”
Say “Walking feet” when you want your child to walk indoors (action: you can try to use two fingers to show walking)
Say “Quiet lips” or “Quiet voices” when you want them to lower their voice (action: you can try whispering or put a finger over your mouth)
Say “Listening ears” when you want them to listen (action: touch your ears)
Say “Looking eyes” or “Watchful eyes” (action: point to your eyes)
Say “Gentle hands” or “Hands are for helping” (action: hold your hands together)
Tip: Remember to say please or thank you to model good behavior for your child
Eg: “Use your quiet voices, please” or “Thank you for using your gentle hands”
Having a clear and concise way to set up appropriate behavior expectations for the child
Consistent rules between home and school setting
Practice listening (phonological awareness) and comprehension skills
Laying a stronger foundation to positive parent-child relationships
3. Transition Time
This is a transition activity that helps children smoothly switch tasks or finish one up. Young children lack an understanding of time and are not aware of the passage of time and its relevance. As they grow older and have more experience their time perception strengthens.
Providing your child with specific sequences instead of a time frame:
“After you put on your pajamas, we will read a book”
“Five more swings and then we need to leave”
Play a sound or song to notify them and let them know they need to finish up their task:
Music box
Bell
Give them a sand timer to understand time:
“If you finish eating before the sand runs out, you can play with your legos”
“If you get ready for bed before the sand runs out, we can read a book”
Ask your child to guess how long it will take them to finish an activity:
“How long do you think it will take for you to get your coat, water bottle and backpack?”
Time them doing long and short activities
Compare their guess and the actual time it took
Children strengthen their perception of time and are more aware of the value of time. You don’t need to nag at them to do something, because they will understand routine transitions and have fun with incentives to finish before the time runs out
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4. Clean Up
Children, even at a young age, are capable of cleaning up after themselves. It may not be perfect, but the act and process of cleaning is essential to learn. This activity can be tailored to what works at your home and the routine that you wish to implement.
Have your child clean up after eating each meal. Provide them with child-sized cleaning supplies.
Show them how to clean up crumbs and dispose of trash. Explain which supplies is used for each cleaning job.
You can also sing a clean up song with them to let them know it is time to clean up.
Fine & gross motor skills
Learn to value their environment & home
Experience natural consequences
Teaches responsibility & independence
Care & respect for one’s belongings
Sense of accomplishment and ownership