Category: Parent Resources

Try To Cut Down On Screen Time!

3/16/2015

Tablets, laptops, and the television can be both fun and educational for children, but too much screen time can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Are your kids watching too much?

"Screen time" includes: watching TV shows, watching movies, and playing video games and computer games. Too much screen time promotes sluggishness and immobility--habits that may follow children for the rest of their life. The CATCH program encourages fewer hours of screen time and an increase in physical activity to keep children fit and healthy.

The recommendation for screen time is 2 hours or less per day. Here are some alternate ideas to help reduce screen time for your child:

Read aloud to your child instead of placing them in front of the TV or a computer
Play games like catch or hide and seek
Put together puzzles
Dance to music!
Have them help with chores like sweeping, setting the table, or making the bed
Go for a walk in the park
Color, make something with art supplies, or use molding clay
Play water games--water colors, sprinklers, swimming, etc.

These tips are courtesy of the CATCH program.

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Food & Your Family

3/12/2015

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Food Plays a major role in all families. It is important to encourage the whole family to make healthy food choices. Here are some jumping off points to help make your family healthier!

Try to have at least one meal together every day as a family
Assign tasks to all family members to get dinner on the table
Put meals on everyone's calendar. Sometimes even family time needs to be scheduled!
Establish some table rules--eat together at the dinner table. Say NO to TV!
Don't give up on new foods! Research has shown that it takes a child 7-10 times of trying a new food to actually like it.
Make you meals colorful--offer a variety of different fruits and vegetables.

These tips were provided by the CATCH program.

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Advice For Parents, From Parents

3/11/2015

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At one of our recent PAB meetings, a parent suggested that we give an opportunity for parents to both ask and answer questions about children and parenting. While talking to doctors, teachers, etc. is important, it is also helpful to talk to other parents to get real world ideas and advice!

We used last week's Dr. Seuss Family Fun Night as a way to give parents this networking opportunity. Our "What Would You Do If It Were You? Wall" displayed several parent-posed questions and throughout the night, parents were invited to give their advice by writing in their response.

Below you will find the questions and parent responses that we collected. Hopefully some of you you will find these words of wisdom helpful in some way! We plan to use Parent Advice Boards again in the future, so if you have a question that you would like to be asked, please comment below!

How do you respond to temper tantrums? What are some things you do that work for you?

Let them get it out for a minute or two, then ask if they are ready to talk about it and how they may better handle their emotions.
I initially walk away and ignore them, then come back and try to change their attention to something else.
I ignore them and talk about how calm I am being until they calm down.

Eat them in front of the kids to encourage them to try.
It’s a chore on the chore chart
Our daughter eats what we eat. If children see their parents eating, they will follow suit. We don’t give any other options other than what I cooked. She will eat when she’s hungry. This has never failed—even when she went on strike for a day!
I put peanut butter on apples and they love it!
Disguise them!
I hide vegetables in a smoothie or baked goods.

How do you get your child to eat healthy foods?

Stay consistent—bath, story, and sleep at the same time each night. Give a 30-minute warning before bedtime will start.
Consistency is key! Avoid power struggles by giving (some) choices, ie. “Do you want to brush your teeth or put your PJs on first?”
May not be the same time every night, but same steps: watch Sprout, bath, bed….
Consistency and routine!

What different ideas do you use to establish a bedtime routine?

Do you incorporate positive discipline with your child? If so, how?

Yes, by encouraging them to see their error and talking it out
Praise positive/good behavior!
I draw more attention and give lots of praise for good behavior. I redirect and don’t draw much attention to negative behavior.

What do you do to stop your child from biting?

Teach them about “using words” or drawing to help deal with their emotions
Bite them back
^ Ditto—it works
Encourage the child to use their words

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Give Kids a Smile Day

1/30/2015

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February is National Children's Dental Health month and Feb. 6TH is Kids Give a Smile Day--a one-day event when kids who could not normally afford dental services, can receive free dental care!

On Feb. 6Th, volunteers in the dental community will give their time and services to deliver screenings and treatment to needy children age 12 and under.

Dental Health is a serious problem in New Jersey:
~More than 1/3 of all children in the US have no dental insurance
~Uninsured children are 2.5 times less-likely to receive dental care than insured children
~80% of tooth decay is suffered by 25% of the children
~51 million school hours are lost each year to untreated cavities
~Economic disadvantage is the number one predictor of tooth decay in children

Appointments fill up quickly, so if you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, don't hesitate! Parents are able to make an appointment at the office of their choice at no cost to themselves or the community. Check out this list of all participating dental offices.

So read more about the GKAS program, visit its page on the New Jersey Dental Association website or check out their brochure.

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January PAB Meeting Agenda

1/21/2015

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Last night was our second Parent Advisory Board Meeting and we were happy to increase our attendance a little bit this month! Below you will find the agenda from our meeting:

PARENT ADVISORY BOARD
AGENDA: JAN. 20, 2015

1.) Strengthening Families Parent Cafe:
Feb, 5TH @ Heavens Nest in Burlington (6-9PM)
2.) Parent Committee:
Community Day in Delanco
County-wide event in April
3.) CATCH: 30 minutes per day
4.) Upcoming events:
Frozentozen
International Art Show
May Day
5.) Guidelines for Positive Discipline
6.) Sanitizing/Disinfecting protocol
7.) Referrals/Networking
8.) Career Week
9.) Birthday parties
10.) Discussion/Parent suggestions

If any of the items on this agenda interest you or do not make sense to you, consider attending our next meeting to find out more!

Our next PAB Meeting will be on Tuesday Feb. 10TH at 6:30PM.

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Try To Cut Down On Screen Time!

Food & Your Family

Advice For Parents, From Parents

Give Kids a Smile Day

January PAB Meeting Agenda

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