How to Say "No" Without Saying "No"

It is often difficult for younger children to accept the word "no.

" Older individuals with developmental or emotional disabilities may also have difficulty accepting the word "no." The word "no" often leads to temper tantrums, arguing, and/or pleading. When your three-year-old daughter old asks you for more candy after she already had a piece and you say "no" she may cry, scream, or beg.
When your seven-year-old son asks you to buy him a toy at the store and you say "no" he may plead with you over and over in the hopes that you will eventually give in.

I am going to show you how to use empathetic statements, explanations, choices, and reminders to say "no", without using the word no.

People often have a hard time giving up the word "no" because they feel children need to accept it without argument since this will be expected in the "real world" when they grow up.

This is an unrealistic expectation on the part of the adult.

Young children or children with developmental or emotional disabilities often have a hard time seeing past the word "no" and thinking of alternatives to meet their needs. This is why they beg and plead.
They get stuck on the fact that they can't have something without seeing the whole picture.
When you apply the empathetic statement, explanation, choice, reminder approach, you generally get a child who accepts your answer without arguing, tantruming, or begging. People often say that parents who don't say "no" end up with spoiled kids. This can be true if you give your kids whatever they want, but using this "saying no without saying no" approach allows the parent or teacher to remain in control while helping the child feel respected and understood.

It also helps the child visualize other scenarios than the one she is hoping for, which will lead to the ability to better accept "no" as she gets older.
Let's look at a clear example: So your three-year-old asks for more candy after you have already told her she can only have one piece a day. She already had her piece of candy for the day but comes to you asking for more. Here is how you can say "no" without saying "no". Empathetic Statement - "I understand you want more candy because it tastes so good.
" (this makes her feel understood). Explanation - "But it is important for our bodies, to eat healthy, so we can only have one piece a day.
" (reiterating the rule) Choice -"If you are hungry, you can have an apple or yogurt.

"(making her feel valuable) Reminder -" You can have a piece of candy again tomorrow" (reminding her that she will enjoy some candy again soon).
It is important to tell the child what is expected "It is good for our bodies to eat healthy, so we can only have one piece of candy a day" rather than what is not expected "you can't have candy because it is bad for you.

" This type of negative phrasing leaves more room for arguing or talking back.

This approach may sound like a lot of work compared to just saying one word "no" but it saves a lot of time because children who get this type of response are much less likely to argue, cry, or have a tantrum. If they do argue with your response, you can simply say, "I've already given you your choices" and not engage in discussion about it anymore.
Think of how you can use this approach in different scenarios at home or in the classroom. Language may need to be shortened or modified for very young children or children who have language based difficulties.

What Are the Benefits of After School Programs?

One activity for your child to do after school is an after school program. Learn the many benefits of this for your child.
Something to consider for your son or daughter is after school programs. These are things that your child can do once school is over instead of going home and being alone. There are many benefits to these types of programs that you should consider before putting your child into a program like this. The first and biggest benefit is that your child will be safe. Most of the time the most violent crimes done to child are done between the time that school gets out and parents come home.
If you child is involved in an after school program, they are around adults in an organized environment and will stay much safer.
Your child will also stay out of trouble.

Much of the violence that is done to other kids is by kids.
If your child is involved in something after school, he or she won't meet up with the wrong kids and get involved in senseless violence.
You know where you child is at and know that they aren't around these types of kids doing these types of things.

Practically, if you are an only parent or both parents are working, it's something that your child can do besides going home and being alone.

An after school program will keep them around other people for something to do.

Many of these programs have some additional benefits to them. Some have a physical fitness element to them where you child can get some exercise which can help with health and weight.

Some have tutoring and homework help. This gives your child a place that he or she can ask questions on homework to help get it done.
Your child can also learn how to interact with other adults. These after school environments are a bit more relaxed than while at school making positive adult interactions. This is especially important for single parent homes so that your child can interact with other people.

The Steps of How to Improve Reading Comprehension in Children

First of all, something which one has to be aware of is the fact that, phonemic awareness and phonological awareness which then leads to phonics is a crucial point in reading, spelling and writing skills for ANY child.

When those types of methods of teaching are applied from an early stage, it is more likely that the child will progress accordingly. When you then move on how to improve reading comprehension in children, it is essential to understand the importance of decoding.

Decoding is an important skill in readiness. Once the child can 'break the code', the learner can begin to understand what message the print is giving.

Breaking the code is when the child starts to decode.

Understanding what the message is given is decoding itself.
These 2 words refer to a very important part of any reading level. If the child can't decode the words easily, he can't begin to understand and comprehend.
How to improve reading comprehension in children? The answer would be to help the child decode faster.

The faster this happens, the more energy the child has to use for comprehension of the given text.

If an adult takes time to read a difficult sentence, he will also experience lack of energy to comprehend what the sentence is actually "saying". One can find himself having to re-read the sentence once he manages to break the code so as to put more energy into comprehending the sentence rather than just 'breaking the code'.
With 'breaking the code', I am referring to matching written symbols to a sound.

This is grapheme-phoneme correspondence.
The faster it happens, the easier it is for the child to understand.

Then, how to improve reading comprehension in children who are finding a problem with decoding? First, you would assess the child and learn what he is having difficulty with the most.
Pin-point the exact graphemes which are giving him trouble and he is still not confident when matching those symbols with a sound, thus, making it more difficult for him to 'break the code' at a fast pace.
When you have this information, use it to introduce him to sounds, which is Phonological Awareness.

How would you go about introducing phonological awareness? Firstly, focus on 1 or 2 Phonological Awareness skills per lesson.

Try to dedicate 15 minutes a day on this task.
Model and explain clearly.

Re-teach and clarify any doubts or questions.

Give guided and monitored independent practice.
Initially, use only CV or CVC words.
Provide scaffolding to show the child you're there for him and that you can give him the support he needs.

On this part, the child needs to be aware with the complex alphabet code which means that there are different ways how to write one sound. For example, /f/ can be written as if, ff and pH.
One also needs to encourage visual recall of words.

Once he starts to see some particular words often enough when reading, every time he reads that word he will get faster in 'decoding' it.

This is due to this visual recall phenomenon that every person has the ability to use.
When re-introducing the child to Phonological Awareness, it is ideal to start off with stretchy sounds which are easier to pronounce.
Examples of stretchy sounds are so, m, and f.

Then, move on to bouncy sounds, such as p, b and k. Always move from easier tasks to more complex tasks.

After he becomes confident in the sounds, is more aware of LISTENING and discriminating between sounds, help him become fluent in letter recognition.
I hope that you found this guide on how to improve reading comprehension in children helpful and that will assist you when facing such issues with children in the future.

5 Fantastic Accessories That You Should Consider For a Wooden Playhouse

A wooden playhouse provides great space for young children to learn and play.

It also enables the children to release their imaginations and creativity.
This type of house can be obtained from the vendors or you can construct it on your own.

It will be a good experience for kids if you can make the playhouse like a real one.
The process is not really hard if you know the right methods. When you have got the whole structure ready, you should start managing the walls.

The wooden house will not be dull if you can add many decorative elements on it.

Get your children to draw some flowers, trees, insects, cartoons, etc.
on the wall. You can guide them to use stencils while they are drawing.
Then you can allow them to paint the pictures on their own.

The playhouse will be very unique because the pictures are drawn by the kids.

After giving your playhouse a great outlook, you are recommended to get some fantastic accessories for the house.
These accessories will make your house more attractive. Let me share with you some important items which you should not miss: • First thing first, we take a look at the windows. It might be quite hot during summer. Hence, it will be good if you can hang some curtains above the window.

It will be better if you can get small wooden rods as they match your wooden house.

• Please bear in mind that your kids need to do some writings or drawings when they spend their time in the playhouse.
Hence, you should provide them with wooden table and chairs.
Make sure that you get them the child-sized set.

You are recommended to get the plain wooden table and chairs so that the kids can do some paintings based on their own preferences.
They can paint their names on the chairs.
This furniture will make the playhouse more cheerful and interesting.

Please keep in mind that the furniture must be positioned in the proper way so that the young kids can walk easily through their play house.

• If your kids do not like chairs, you can get them floor pillows. Get them to choose the covers of the pillows on their own.

If you find that these pillows are too common, you can consider making beanbag chairs.
It is not a waste to get such items. You can always remove them and place them at home when the playhouse is not in use. • Since it is a wooden playhouse, it is not really proper to fix a chandelier there.
In order to avoid any unnecessary accident, in my personal opinion, it will be cost-saving for you to get solar-powered accent lights to make the playhouse brighter in the evenings. • You may arrange your kids to spend their time in the wooden playhouse at night.
The best idea is getting them a telescope. Kids like stars and they are eager to know more about the universal space station.
You can guide them to use the telescope so that they will have more interest in astronomy.
You can get all the above-mentioned items easily through online or offline shopping.

Start working on your budget now.

Kid Stuff - Comments on the History of Children's Literature

It appears that the "Tom Swift" and "Wizard of Oz" books - popular with kids for most of the last century - are finally to be replaced by "Harry Potter." The fourth volume of the Harry Potter series went on sale at bookstores throughout the country during midnight parties -- excitement not seen since the Pet Rock craze a decade ago.

Titled "The Goblet of Fire," the latest book by British author J.
K.

(Joanne Kathleen) Rowling promises - or threatens -- to prolong indefinitely the Potter series for the generation coming on line.

Some parents are uneasy about the new sub-literary fad. It features a supernatural kid who hobnobs with sorcerers and witches.
Hey, they're reading instead of watching the same stuff on teevee.

All kids go through the make-believe stage, and some of us never outgrow it. Ms.
Rowling insists she makes up her stories simply to entertain children and make a living for herself and daughter.

However, deep thinkers profess to see hidden allegories in her works that criticize the political and social life of our times. Her emphasis on wishful events seems to bear out contemporary yearning for magic solutions conjured by 12-year-old Harry Potter to deal with his travails. Whatever. The technique is rooted in ancient literature such as "Aesop's Fables" and "Mother Goose Rhymes." More than 600 fables related by a Greek slave in 550 B.

C.
was intended to impress social verities on children through talking animals. As an 11-year-old, I discovered Aesop's wisdom in a library book.
I have never forgotten his account of the hunt by a lion, fox, jackal and wolf.
The four hunters brought down a stag and then discussed how to divide it.
"Quarter this stag," roared the lion. Accordingly, the other hunters skinned it and cut the meat into four equal parts.

With this, the lion pronounced judgment: "The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts. The second is mine as arbiter, and another share comes to me for my part in the chase. As for the fourth quarter, I should like to see which of you will dare to try and take it from me," growled the Lion.
"Humph," grumbled the Fox as walked away with his tail between his legs, "You may share labors of the great, but you will not share the rewards.

" Still, today, I shake my head a little when someone ascribes the largest share of anything as that due the lion. The lion's portion, stated ironically by Aesop, is not a share at all, but everything.
This fable is a realistic lesson to be learned at an early age.

It describes both social and political greed to guard against throughout life. * * * The same dual purpose inspired the hundreds of Mother Goose rhymes.

In medieval England, criticism of kings, nobles and other authorities could cost your life.

Consequently, jibes at government were couched as ditties for children.

Consider this rhyme: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses, And all the king's men, Couldn't put Humpty together again. The term humpty-dumpty was commonly used in England to describe someone stupid or muddle-headed.

In the rhyme it refers to King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
Richard was resisting a rebellion by Henry Tudor.
In the battle, King Richard fell from his war-horse named Wall.
He was surrounded by enemy soldiers and hacked to pieces.
He was the last of the York kings and the last king to die on a battlefield.
Books For Kids After the American Civil War, the invention of cheap "sulfited" paper pulp sparked a revolution in publishing.
Newspapers expanded.
"Dime novels" became popular.

Public schools were extended to the high-school level. Children had knowledge and desire to read for pleasure.

The old custom of veiling politics with kid-appeal was an easy approach for publishers and writers.

Regular patrons of this column may remember the recent account of Joel Chandler's "Uncle Remus" series.

Those charming tales of talking animals by an editorial writer for the Atlanta Constitution were aimed at "children of all ages.
" The objective was to entertain - while portraying former slaves as wise and dutiful citizens.
An outstanding example of hiding a social message within a fairy tale is the "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" published in 1900. The author was Lyman Frank Baum, editor of the weekly newspaper at Aberdeen, South Dakota. When it failed in 1891 during the prolonged collapse of crop prices he moved his family to Chicago.

There he wrote for various newspapers. He also participated actively in the Populist (Silver Coinage) Movement and the presidential campaigns of Sen.

William Jennings Bryan.
He also wrote his first book "Mother Goose In Prose" in 1897.
Interestingly he employed the fantasy/reality techniques of Aesop Fables, Mother Goose, and Lewis Carroll's "Alice In Wonderland" which preceded him.
Baum's first venture into fantasy was not widely circulated but reviewed favorably enough to encourage him to write his first Oz book.
It was an instant bestseller, which he turned into a theatrical play the following year.

His ambition was to act and write for the theater. Nevertheless, the response to "Wonderful Wizard" was so great he consented to write a sequel titled "The Marvelous Land of Oz.
" Before he died in 1919, Baum wrote 14 Oz books.

Thereafter, Ruth Plumly Thompson and other ghostwriters authored 26 additional volumes until the series was concluded in 1963.
Baum stoutly maintained that the original Oz had no sociopolitical inferences. Yet, the story and its characters so ably reflected the turbulent times that the comparison is compelling.

Oz is the abbreviation for ounce, the standard measure for gold.
The yellow brick road is composed of gold ingots that lead only to a field of opium poppies and drugged sleep.

The Emerald City is the store of "green-back" paper money backed by silver as well as gold. The Tin Woodman, represents the industrial worker made heartless by factory owners and left to rust when his labor was no longer needed. The Scarecrow is the farmer with not enough brains to support Sen.
Bryan's reforms.
The Cowardly Lion is Sen.
Bryan who roars a lot but is afraid to bite.

The Wicked Witch of the East represents New York City financiers and bankers who enslave little people called Munchkins.
The Good Witch of the West portrays people in the heartland of America.

The Wizard is supposed to be President William McKinley who conceals his deceptions with smoke, mirrors and phony proclamations.

Dorothy's magical silver shoes (changed to red in the ever-popular color movie) had the power to grant her wish to go home once she acknowledged the value of family and farm. If Baum did not intentionally weave these symbols into his first Oz book, he subconsciously reflected his time and place - after all, the genius of good writing.

* * * My favorite books as a youngster were those in the "Tom Swift" series which began in 1910 and continue popular today. There was not a speck of politics in them, but they were progenitor of science fiction.

Tom, "the boy inventor," built contraptions that were just in the discovery stage at the turn of the century.

In several instances, the authors of Tom Swift books anticipated science.
Such subject matter reflected the fascination of kids - particularly boys - with the gee-whiz technology of that time.
Then it was such things as motorcycles, speedboats, automobiles, planes, submarines, radios, and super cannons. These things are ordinary today.
Kids now are titillated by witches, giants, monsters, demons, magicians, terminating-killers, space ships and assorted planetary aliens. All are served up by computer games, videos, television and special effect movies.

The genre of series books for children -- with the same, central character -- was the brainchild of a publisher named Edward Stratemeyer.

He started the Stratemeyer Syndicate of ghostwriters to churn out endless books about characters and situations he dreamed up.

Among his creations was the Bobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew.
The big money maker, though, was Tom Swift. Most of the first 38 volumes were written by Howard Garis, Stratemeyer's best friend, under the pseudonym Victor Appleton. The books have come to be known as the Tom Swift Senior series. Since then, other publishers bought the name rights.
They continued to produce Swift Junior books with ghost writers and adventure topics until "Death Quake," the last one, in 1993.
The 99 Tom Swift series is the largest total, and longest running, of all time simply because it tapped the interest of kids in exciting things which might be. Ms. Rowling is simply following a well-tested format. I wish I had thought of it. July 16, 2000

Why a Good Children's Dictionary is an Important Learning Tool

If you have a young children, then you will know the benefits of having a good children's dictionary to hand. A good dictionary will contain more than definitions to help young minds grow and learn new things.

It needs to highlight how a word sounds, as well as what it means.
For children, this is important because knowing how to pronounce a word will give them more confidence to read out aloud and they will also be more likely to use the word in conversation as well as including it in their writing. The pronunciation of a word should normally come directly after the word itself, in the dictionary.

This pronunciation is written in symbols and whilst some of the symbols look like regular letters in the English alphabet, others do not.
It can take a bit of time getting used to deciphering these codes - you will have seen these yourself: one looks like an upside down e, another looks like an n with an extra long and curvy right-hand side and so on.
There are also some symbols that look like normal letters but may have lines or dots above them or below them.
These characters can be a bit daunting when you first see them but if you get a good dictionary, such as Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, then you will see that it has a pronunciation key in the lower right-hand corner of every odd-numbered page.
And if that doesn't provide enough information, it contains a multi-page guide to pronunciation that discusses the finer points of pronunciation and how it has evolved over time.

Some dictionaries have loads of useful and not so useful information in the back of the book.
Style guides for punctuation, capitalization, documentation of sources, and forms of address are useful to have. So are definitions of medical and scientific symbols. In all, have a good children's dictionary at home and make your child feel comfortable and at ease with it.
Show them how to look up the definitions of words, help them to sound out and pronounce words they have never used before, and get them accustomed to using the dictionary to refer to when writing stories or doing their homework.

Even if they learn 1 new word a week, they will have learn 52 new words at the end of a year. Their vocabulary will be growing and as a direct result of this, their command of the English language will be excellent. All this, from using the dictionary as a tool to learning.

Featuring Kindle DX: The Revolutionary Way to Read

There is still so much to say about Kindle DX, it´s been a little more than 3 years since the first model, today, it is the most wanted gadget on electronics market, and it has become a personal companion device as well as a professional stand tool for business people.
Of course Kindle DX holds many features, a ticket that has warranted its popularity and here they stand: -- A larger size on the kindle family (9.
7 inch display screen) -- Storage space holds 3,500 books (4GB) -- E Ink electronic paper display (high contrast and sharpest images) -- An internal PDF reader -- Free Whisper net wireless technology (3G capability throughout the world, high-speed network to download, No need internet connection to reach Kindle Store) -- A read-to-me function which allows your kindle to read out your favorite newspaper, magazine, book or blog.

-- Bookmark and place notes using QWERTY keyboard.
-- A few more extras! Built in Dictionary, a web browser, direct access to Wikipedia and Audible, a back-up library of all owned books at Amazon.

com, and an mp3 player to hear your music while reading.
These features are just an indisputable weight ratio from which the Kindle DX has acquired a revolutionary boom, not to mention that Kindle Wireless Reader Device ascribed to its singularity as a replacement of several types of prints in one single device.

I would like to add, within the revolutionary context an aspect we cannot dismiss, and that is a havoc spread out within the newspaper industry related directly to the presence of Amazon Kindle DX on the market and its repercussions, in short it has affected the way how we read news, and how is delivered even before it hit the newsstand at the local store, lowering traditional subscriptions, budget cuts, lay off workforce, minimize sections on publications. It has influence the production behavior and distribution channels of many newspaper publishers, as an example New York Times has laid itself towards the kindle digital way to manage subscriptions along with The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune to mention a few of them.
One thing that attracted my attention was the mission statement Amazon is holding for the future of kindle readers: "to have every book ever written, in every language in 60 seconds from anywhere on earth", the near and long future for e-readers is laid, then I think this slogan would suit very well the kindle reader device missionary statement: if you have a Kindle you will have them all (all publications), I must said, Would not you?