Is barbie good or bad for you

Barbie is a toy that still involves some imagination, around which children can create their own fantasy world instead of having one ready-made and presented to them. Of course it's a multi-million dollar industry so Barbie has a world.

Barbie is just a doll. Such a little thing and yet, in recent years, she has had so much criticism aimed at her and has, seemingly, a lot to answer for.

 But little girls, often know better than their parents, for it is the parents' hang-ups and associations that make Barbie "dangerous".

A Barbie is no worse for a child than a teddy or a train set, all wonderful staples of childhood that we should encourage. With a Barbie, or any doll, a child can go anywhere, do anything. Together they can have fabulous adventures that will feed their minds and develop their imaginations

Screen Time

Many parents, providers, and educators are concerned about the amount of television and the type of programming to which children are being exposed. Young children under the age of two spend, on average, two hours every day watching TV or other screen media. Studies show that too much television viewing can have negative effects: children may have attention difficulties, they may have delays in language and develop smaller vocabularies, they may have more violent and aggressive play and behavior, and they are more likely to be obese.
Young children need to “explore, move, manipulate, smell, touch and repeat as they learn.” Research tells us that watching television or sitting in front of a screen does not increase attention, promote social skills, or foster creative play. Children should engage in the activities they need to help them develop their bodies and brains instead of watching television.
 Children who watch too much TV or are absorbed by screen time have less time for interactions and for free play, which are both important for healthy development.

Want Your Kids to Succeed? Don't Pay For Their Education

Paying for college is probably one of your biggest financial concerns, many parents started to think of a saving plan, even before the child begins elementary school, to reduce the burden of taking on high debt to pay for their higher education.

Hopefully, some parents dream that their child will receive scholarship offers to attend college. But the reality is that scholarships seldom cover the entire cost. In fact, over 99% of college students end up paying for some of their college costs.

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A new study has found that the more money parents pay for their kids’ college educations, the worse their kids tend to perform, at least when it comes to grades, larger contributions from parents are linked to lower grades among students at a variety of four-year colleges.
The study’s results are striking because most parents assume that the more money they pay for their children’s education, the better their children will perform. If students don’t have to spend time working a job to support themselves, they aren't burdened by the weight of heavy loans, they will be free to study more diligently.
 So, what should parents do? It’s not that all money is bad. The problem is how the money is given. Parents should have a careful discussion with their children about the costs of college and what kind of performance they expect, and encourage them to get a part-time job or work –study position

What Is a Shadow Teacher?

Children with special needs, together with their parents, have been struggling to be accepted in society and have been aspiring to be given a chance to develop their skills and become productive members of their communities. 

 A shadow teacher is an educational assistant who works directly with a single special needs child during his preschool and elementary school years. These experts help the child focus, communicate, participate in class, socialize, show courtesy to others and control her behavior. Although regular teachers are instrumental, they do not possess the specific training that a shadow teacher has. Shadow teachers convey class lessons to the special needs child in order to maximize understanding.

Most schools allow parents to enlist the services of a Shadow teacher , however the cost of having a Shadow teacher is borne by the parents. The Shadow teacher works autonomously and is not considered a staff member of the school.

Teachers as role model

A role model is a person whose behavior is imitated by others. Of course, there are both good role models and bad role models.

Strong role models possess the kind of qualities that make students want to be and become better people. While there is some variation in every teacher’s definition of what it means to be a good person, the following 7 characteristics of a positive role model remain constant.

  1- Model positive choice-making: When it comes to being a role model, you must be aware that the choices you make don’t only impact you but also the children who regard you as their superhero.

2- Think out loud: A good role model will not only show a child which decision is best, but also how they to come to that conclusion. That way, the child will be able to follow that reasoning when they are in a similar situation.

3- Apologize and admit mistakes: Nobody’s perfect. When you make a bad choice, let those who are watching and learning from you know that you made a mistake and how you plan to correct it.

4- Follow through: Teachers must stick to their commitments and follow through with their promises.

5- Show respect. We always tell children to “treat others the way we want to be treated” and yet, may not subscribe to that axiom ourselves.

6- Be well rounded: Great role models aren't just “teachers.” They’re people who show curiosities and have varied interests. They’re great learners and challenge themselves to get out of their comfort zones.

7- Demonstrate confidence in who you are: Whatever you choose to do with your life, be proud of the person you've become and continue to become.

Violence

To give you perspective on just how much violence kids see on TV, consider this: The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want.

Many violent acts are perpetrated by the "good guys," whom kids have been taught to admire. Even though kids are taught by their parents that it's not right to hit, television says it's OK to bite, hit, or kick if you're the good guy. This can lead to confusion when kids try to understand the difference between right and wrong. And the "bad guys" on TV aren't always held responsible or punished for their actions.

Young kids are particularly frightened by scary and violent images. Simply telling kids that those images aren't real won't console them, because they can't yet distinguish between fantasy and reality. Behavior problems, nightmares, and difficulty sleeping may follow exposure to media violence.

Older kids also can be frightened by violent images, whether they appear on fictional shows, the news, or reality-based shows. Reasoning with kids this age will help them, so it's important to provide reassuring and honest information to help ease fears. However, consider not letting your kids view programs that they may find frightening.

Risky Behaviors

TV is full of programs and commercials that depict risky behaviors (such as drinking alcohol, doing drugs, smoking cigarettes, and having premarital sex) as cool, fun, and exciting. And often, there's no discussion about the consequences of those actions.

For example, studies have shown that teens who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate intercourse or participate in other sexual activities earlier than peers who don't watch sexually explicit shows.

Alcohol ads on TV have actually increased over the last few years and more underage kids are being exposed to them than ever. A recent study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) found that youth exposure to alcohol ads on TV increased by 30% from 2001 to 2006.

And although they've banned cigarette ads on television, kids and teens can still see plenty of people smoking on programs and movies airing on TV. This kind of "product placement" makes behaviors like smoking and drinking alcohol seem acceptable. In fact, kids who watch 5 or more hours of TV per day are far more likely to begin smoking cigarettes than those who watch less than the recommended 2 hours a day.

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Reading

Francis Bacon says: "Reading make a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man".

Reading habit is one of the best characteristics that a man can possess. Once the habit of reading books grows in one, it seldom dies out. It is said that a book is one's best friend in life. By reading a good book, one can not only earn knowledge but also gain experience in life, and realize the eternal truth.

The taste of reading' should be acquired early in life, because a good book refreshes one's mind and bring immense pleasure.

Just to read any book, whatever comes near at hand, is not to be called a good reading habit, because worthless books cannot provide knowledge. It is only the good books that can provide innocent joy and pure wisdom that one aspires. So there must be a proper selection of books which are to be read.

 Teachers are the most influential helpers and motivators for children at schools, the way they interact with students and the choices they made about reading books or stories affect children a lot. 

Traditional Punishment

Traditionally, punishment is something that someone in authority imposes on someone else as a penalty for a misdeed. We all know that traditional punishments are not always effective in changing behavior yet we persist, secure in the knowledge that behavior will eventually change.

Traditional punishments involve taking away something the child likes or imposing something the child doesn't like that have nothing to do with the behavior, but rather with punishing children. Punishment relieves guilt and remorse. Children no longer have to feel remorse or guilt when they feel they have paid for their misbehavior by serving the punishment, or “paid their debt to society.”  When children feel they have more than paid for their misbehavior, they tend to become resentful, angry, and vindictive. Perhaps the only good thing about traditional punishment is the effect it may have on others.  Seeing someone else punished for something you refrained from doing reinforces not only your behavior but also your values related to appropriate behavior.

Punishment is strong medicine. As with any strong medicine, potentially harmful side effects may occur. Some children are more prone than others to side effects.

Some side effects to watch for:

1.      Lying, sneaking, dishonesty, blaming others. Children eventually learn to avoid getting caught.

2.      Don't trust adults. When children are not sure they did the right thing, they will normally come to adults for advice, unless they fear they will be punished.

3.      People often feel hurt and misunderstood when they have been punished and become resentful and angry.

4.      When we punish, they sometimes learn to punish others when they feel hurt in some way.

5.      Poor self-image. Children tend to see themselves through the eyes of others.  Knowing that adults think they deserve to be punished can be very damaging.

6.      Loss of confidence and motivation. Children who are punished sometimes feel they can't do anything right and don't try

When we free ourselves from the mistaken belief that children must be punished for their misbehavior we can usually find creative ways to insure that misbehavior is punished effectively without having to punish children and being tough with them, there are logical consequences that teachers can apply to target specific behaviors.  

Suspension

Recently, I have observed a class in a public school, I was really surprised that 12 students in grade two were suspended for two days because they were causing problems and not studying.
New research shows that sending kids home from school as punishment may do more harm than good, yet most school districts continue to use out-of-school suspensions even for  minor disciplinary issues even though they tend to actually exacerbate problem behaviors and also may lead to academic problems. Further, out-of-school suspensions are not fairly applied. Reasons why out-of-school suspensions don’t work are fairly obvious. Giving students what amounts to a free day or two off doesn't actually feel like punishment for most kids, especially those who may already be hostile towards school to begin with. But if the student then misses school work, his or her grades will decline, further increasing the student’s detachment from the academic environment. Out-of-school suspensions leave kids at home unsupervised and able to cause more problems. And they also do nothing to teach appropriate alternative behavior nor address underlying issues that may be causing the bad behavior.
 In fairness, schools often struggle to find alternatives for kids whose discipline problems are truly serious and who may disrupt the learning environment for other students. Some schools have implemented either in-school suspension or Saturday suspension (effectively a Saturday detention) so that students are not rewarded by being excused from school and won’t miss out on schoolwork.

Identifying stress in the children

Young people, like adults, experience stress. It can come from a variety of sources including doing well in school, making and sustaining friendships, or managing perceived expectations from their parents or teachers. Some stress can be positive in that it provides the energy to tackle a big test; however, too much stress can create unnecessary hardship and challenge. Adults can sometimes be unaware when their children or teens are experiencing overwhelming feelings of stress. Tuning into emotional or behavioral cues is important in identifying potential problems and working with your young person to provide guidance and support.

Youth of all ages, but especially younger children, may find it difficult to recognize and verbalize when they are experiencing stress. For children, stress can manifest itself through changes in behavior. Common changes can include withdrawing from activities that used to give them pleasure, complaining more than usual about school, crying, displaying surprising fearful reactions, clinging to a parent, sleeping too much or too little, or eating too much or too little, acting out in an unusual way with others, and also stress can appear in physical symptoms such as stomach aches and headaches.

Children and teens may also express feelings of stress by saying negative things about themselves, others, or the world around them (e.g. “No one likes me,” “I’m stupid,” “Nothing is fun.”). It is important for parents and teachers to listen for these words and statements and try to figure out why your child or teen is saying them.

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Dealing with the Difficult Child

If you've been a teacher for more than a day, you've probably had to deal with a difficult child. 

When you're little and dream of becoming a teacher, you never imagine having a behavior problem in your class.  However, then comes the real world and you quickly realize that there's no such thing as a "perfect" class.  You will always have some type of behavior issues to deal with.  Here are some tips that will help you to be successful:

1. Focus on the Positive in Your Classroom

Just having a good system that rewards the good behavior in your class can be enough to get many students to step it up.  Plus, it's a lot more fun to focus on the positive!

2. Always Make Your First Contact with Parents a Positive One

 Even if you have the most challenging student in the world, deal with it until you send home at least one positive note or make a positive phone call.  You can always find something positive to say about each child.

3. Find something you have in Common

Show them that you are a human being and enjoy what they also enjoy, both of us love holidays.

4. Recognize EVERY Little Thing that the Child Does Correctly
 For a child that is a behavior issue, you need to take notice of every single thing that they are doing right and make a big deal of it.
It can be a long road for some students, but eventually you will start to see some improvement for a longer period of time

5. Practice

 Students need tons and tons of practice and modeling of good behavior.  It seems so repetitive sometimes, but it's totally worth it.  We have tons of discussions about how we should behave the right way, even when no one is watching.