Mrs. Hancock's Blog

Holidays, Children and those once-a-year Acquaintances!

I grew up in a Military family and many years we did not have the pleasure of seeing relatives during the Holidays (when we lived on Okinawa, for example!). Some years had us living in the States and we got to travel to mix and mingle with various relatives, some of whom we’d never met before. It was fun, but honestly a little frightening to get kisses from people that in some cases were almost complete strangers to us.

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We work with a lot of kids, tweens and teens. The biggest 'problem' with see in some of them is that they can either be pretty spoiled or simply uncommunicative overall. Many lack respect for siblings and adults and haven't been taught how to navigate the waters at home or in public towards better behavior. Manners education helps; so does character education. Interestingly enough most kids DO know right from wrong. Ask any question related to the subject of "what's the right thing to do in this situation?" and they'll answer correctly 9 times out of 10". It's an odd phenonmenon; they understand but they don't or can't put it into action. The true sign of a child (at any age!). We find what most children truly don't understand is that their behavior, positive or negative, affects everyone around them. What they also don't seem or want to understand is that daily life is not 'all about them'. We know sometimes Parents tend to be push-overs and instead of insisting upon respect and obedience, you might roll over because you're too tired to fight the fight. Many young parents lack parenting skills and many are working through guilt with their Children for any number of reasons.

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10 Big Mistakes Parents Make

While we all love our kids, in this day and age of two working parents and insane schedules, we tend to cut corners and neglect important things. That being said, here are 10 big mistakes parents make.
By Craig Playstead

1) Spoiling kids
There is no doubt that parents love their kids and want them to have all the things they didn't. However, this comes at a price. A ton of well-intentioned parents have ended up spoiling their kids to such a degree that the kids aren't even happy with all the stuff they have. This causes them to never be satisfied and always want more. Junior doesn't need one more piece of crap, what he needs is some special time with his parents. Think of it this way: How will they ever be prepared for disappointment throughout their life—or learn to be thankful for anything?

2) Inadequate discipline
When you're too lazy to adequately discipline your kids, you pass the little devil you've created on to your relatives, coaches, teachers, and his friends' parents. It's not OK to let your kids treat your house like it was a Jump Planet because that's exactly how they'll treat other people's homes. They should also be much better behaved when they leave the house and visit elsewhere. I've lived through this nightmare first-hand, with the same kid at my house treating my $1,500 couch like a trampoline, and then calling my daughter "ugly" while the kids were eating dinner. All within a 15-minute span. If you don't discipline your kid, someone else will—and you won't like it.

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Stand Your Ground -- Refusing to give in to peer pressure will help your child in the long run.....by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer

My two children nearly badgered me to death in their pre-teen years. They were desperate to fit in and were furious when I refused them what they wanted. Being a middle-school teacher made it a little easier to say no. I had learned that at about age 8, students stop soaking up their teacher's every word and follow their friends instead. I had also seen how quickly tweens get over (and forget) things that only a short time before had been among life's greatest disappointments or injustices. But still, I admit to feeling pleased when my daughter later declared, "It was good you wouldn't let me have a GameBoy. My friends waste so much time on them." And I'm probably not the only mother whose teenage son thanked her for not allowing him to get an earring when he was 10, because it wasn't "like, cool, now."

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As we'd prefer not to have many of these words on our website, if you have a Child who's into texting (what child isn't?), please familiarize yourself with the Top 50 provided by www.netlingo.com. Be prepared and aware, please!