Family

Beckard's comments

Preschooling at Home: My Thoughts - Blog Entry

30 Mar 2009 04:04 PM

I too feel that it would be ideal for a child to receive their early education from home under the condition that the parents are following recommended "teaching/play" strategies. I too an a huge supporter of preschool. I think that if the student to teacher ratio is low, and the program offers a cognitive learning aspect, preschool can be very beneficial for children. I am taking a child and adolescent development class and have recently examined the recent research studies examining the effectiveness of preschool. Through my research I found that preschool programs with a low student to teacher ratio and a cognitive component are actually successful at boosting children's immediate test scores, as well as increasing their chances of continuing education (evident through the completion of high school and college). Although it would be most parents' wish to stay home with their children, finding the right preschool program may be just as effective.

Spanking in School - Blog Entry

30 Mar 2009 03:56 PM

I have been in school for the last 17 years of my life and was only in high school 5 years ago. I honestly cannot imagine one of my teachers using physical force to discipline me or any of my peers. I feel as though it is the school's responsibility to enforce the rules, however, they should follow the prescribed disciplinary measures that are set forth by the school board, and I don't believe that physical violence is an accepted punishment. I am no proponent for physically disciplining children, however I believe that the manner in which a child is disciplined (with regards to physical force) should be the sole decision of the parents. The discipline methods implemented on children can have drastic effects on the child's development (depending on their temperament) and I believe that it is the parents' decision to make, not the school's. I do not have children right now, but if I were to find out that my child's teacher struck or restrained my child (for a disciplinary reason) I would demand that the teacher be relieved of her duties.

Lack of Sleep Makes Babies Fat - Blog Entry

25 Feb 2009 09:30 PM

I think that your take on this issue brings up a very interesting point. It does seem very logical that if we are packing so many activities into our day, we are essentially cutting out other important times that evening (i.e. allowing adequate time to prepare healthy meals, and setting a specific bed time), and in conjunction with this, we are also losing sleep, which then repeats the cycle the following day. I also agree that although you may set a bed time for your child and stick to it every night, there is no guarantee that they will actually fall asleep, however, for this to happen sporadically, I would assume that is relatively normal, and should have minimal effects. Although there may be other factors, such as the aforementioned, that contribute to the results of the Harvard University study, I feel that the actual hours of sleep may also contribute to this. As I have learned through many of my biology classes, an increased amount of stress leads to the the production of a hormone, Cortisol, that promotes weight gain/feelings of hunger. Additionally, after taking learning and development, I have learned that regular sleep for babies is essential for brain maturation, learning, psychological adjustment and, most importantly to this topic, emotional regulation. Taking this into consideration, if a child is not getting an adequate amount of sleep (regardless of food consumption), they body may be less capable to appropriately handle emotions, including stress, thus resulting in an increased production of cortisol which initiates hunger signs, thus promoting weight gain. Although there may be social factors, like what you mentioned, leading to the results of the Harvard study, I believe that there are likely biological explanations for these results as well.

Adjust Discipline to Fit the Child - Blog Entry

15 Feb 2009 01:24 PM

I understand your concern with fair treatment of children with regards to equal discipline. I was always one of those children that wanted strict guidelines to follow, and if I made the wrong decision, the hands on the hip followed by "I'm disappointed in you" was all that it took to make me regret what I did and learn from my mistake. However, my brother was quite different. He thought nothing of the guidelines set by my parents. He is the child to make what decision he wants, when he wants, he likes to experiment and find out what's right for him. However, when it came to punishments, nothing seemed to work. He would never be upset simply because my parents were disappointed in him, and grounding him never seemed to quite get the point across. I have always wondered what led to our drastic differences, and I wonder if it had to do with the techniques that were used when we were small children. After taking a learning and behavior course, my professor was teaching us about two parenting techniques. First she made the comment that when disciplining a young child, you must not only tell them that their behavior is inappropriate, but you must also explain to them what would be the appropriate behavior for this situation, because often times they do not know. Secondly, when learning of reinforcements and punishments, we learned the if the behavior was consistently reinforced/punished, the child would not necessarily associate the behavior with its consequences. The idea about reinforcement/punishment is how I believe my brother and I came to differ so much. Even from what I could remember, when he would get in trouble his punishments for the same behavior were never consistent, so I think he concluded that he could sometimes get away with the behavior and have no consequences, thus he didn't see the need to stop the behavior. I think that his understanding of the inconsistent punishments influenced his later behavioral decision because he knows that if he breaks the rules, he'll only be punished 1/2 of the time. All in all, I think that regardless of the method of discipline you decide is best for your child, it is most important for you to be consistent in its application.

Parental Dilemma: Big Birthday Parties for Little Kids - Blog Entry

15 Feb 2009 01:08 PM

I like the suggestion that you turn it into an all girl's party, creating a "girly" theme like a tea party, princess party or maybe a spa party (I think 4/5 year olds like to get their nails painted? I know my cousin does). I think that this would be a very diplomatic way of inviting all of the kids in the class without hurting feelings. You could easily invite all of the girls, and most likely the boys won't be offended because it is a girl party (and even if the whole getting invited/not getting invited issue doesn't cross the children's minds, their parents will still understand why their sons were not invited to the princess party). Additionally, your daughter will have a great time no matter how many of her friends are there. My parents have made me cut down birthday party guest lists before and I still have great memories of each party that I had, sometimes its fun just to spend time with the girls (even as a kid)

Getting Fit: Anyone Can Do It! - Blog Entry

04 Feb 2009 07:56 PM

I entirely agree that a healthy diet and exercise are key to a fulfilling life. I have to admit that in the past I have not always worked out or eaten the most healthy, however as I have approached the end of my "young adult-hood" I have found it increasingly important to work out and eat healthy. It seems as though on days that I work out I have so much more energy, am less stressed, and in general, in better spirits. I think that, although time seems to limit this, working out is important for all parents. I think that children pick up more from their parents than we really realize, and if your child sees you taking care of yourself, working out, eating healthy, they will be more likely to do so in their life.

Girls to Women: All Too Soon? - Blog Entry

04 Feb 2009 07:44 PM

I agree, for a parent to buy their child a "toy" that mimics a woman pole dancing is simply pushing them out of their childhood. I believe that it is the parents' responsibility to protect their children from such advertising ploys, as it the parents' job to ensure their child experiences things that a child their age should experience, not something that a grown woman should experience. It is simply my opinion, but I think that parents should shield their children from this because the children will never know that it is wrong (for the child based on age) if the parents are condoning it.

It Takes an Office to Raise a Child - Blog Entry

04 Feb 2009 07:21 PM

While I think this is a great attempt by companies to boost their employee satisfaction, I do question whether or not this is good for the parent or the child. My biggest concern would be that while at work the parent must obviously pay attention to the baby, but is it enough attention considering the work that the parent must complete? Also, does it add extra stress to the mother/father who must deal with the stresses of work in addition to the demands of the child. While it would be very nice to have the luxury of bringing your child to work, I worry that because of the environment, it may be difficult for the parent to do adequate work while paying full attention to a newborn.

How Long Do You Have to Worry About SIDS? - Blog Entry

04 Feb 2009 07:13 PM

I am currently a psychology students taking a Child and Adolescent development class. It seems fairly logical to me that during the 2-4 month range, while a child is not mobile they should be placed on their back to sleep, simply for the fear that they will move their head into the bed and be unable to move it back. I agree with mygrowingdaughter that if your child simply prefers to sleep on their stomach, you should let them, provided you check in on them often to be sure they have not endangered themselves. Also, this is not proven, but at what age does a child develop the gasp reflex? As adults, we all have it, this is actually what causes sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is when during the course of the night you stop breathing for a short moment, but because we have this gasp reflex, our bodies make us gasp for air, thus allowing us to breathe again, however, waking us up every time it happens. In class one day, I remember my professor discussing this and then questioning when children develop this reflex, and he thought that it may be a possible explanation for SIDS. Is it possible that children simply stop breathing, like adults do during sleep, but have yet to develop their gasp reflex so they are unable to begin breathing again? How feasible do you think this is? When he said it I thought it was an interesting notion, is there any research that you know of that has been done regarding this?

Am I Prepared for the Ritalin Debate? - Blog Entry

02 Feb 2009 06:01 PM

My family also struggled with a very similar problem. Growing up my brother had many behavioral problems and was later diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. My mother however was not very fond of the idea of medication. Although she was unhappy about the decision, she followed the doctor's advice and medicated my brother. After several weeks, my mother also noticed that it greatly altered my brother's ability to function in other areas of his life. He has always been an athlete, primarily as a way of releasing some of his energy, and the medication made him less interested in and less able to play sports. This obviously bothered him, so she looked into other ways of "treating" his ADHD. She found that through a regiment of vitamins (such as Omega 3- Fish Oils and Ginkgo biloba- which is a memory and concentration enhancement), they were able to curb the effects of his ADHD. He continued to do this throughout Elementary school and Middle school and it seemed to work very well.
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