General Law & Legal

Raising a Bilingual Child

There are many different reasons that parents may raise a child to be bilingual (or trilingual for that matter). One common reason is that the child has a parent or a set of grandparents who speak a different language. Other parents may want to introduce a second language from an early age because children are often very adept at learning new languages. Many studies show that this will make language learning easier later in life.

Begin Early
If your child will be speaking two languages at home or with family, start to introduce words from both languages early. The earlier you can start exposing the child to both languages, the more natural it will be and the easier of a time you will have teaching them both. Bilingual children have some decided advantages in building language and verbal skills, but they can also have challenges keeping their vocabularies straight early on.

Use Available Resources
If the child has grandparents who are native speakers of the second language, involve them in the language process. The child can get used to speaking primarily in one language with their grandparents and one language with their parents. Later on, you can make the decision to enroll the child in formal language classes, in early childhood, exposure is the most important part of building language skills.

Find Balance
When a child enters school, you will need to work even harder to balance two languages. Chances are the child will be speaking predominately one language in school and may quickly come to favor that one. Use time at home and private classes, to reinforce the second language, while not discouraging the child from continuing the grow at school. Even if they favor one language during early school years, they will have the foundation to continue with their second language at any time.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Language, Language acquisition, Multilingualism, Second language

Raising your Child to be a Good Traveler

Raising your children to be good travelers will help them to appreciate different cultures and develop a love of travel from an early age. It is important to follow some guidelines when traveling with young children to ensure that you, your child, and everyone around you can have a safe and happy trip.

Plan Ahead
Talk to your child’s pediatrician before planning any overseas trips to be sure that everything will be okay. Children’s immune systems are not as strong as adults and they can be susceptible to many things you haven’t given a second thought. If you will on a long plane ride, be sure to allow plenty of recovery time on each side of your trip for your child to get situated. Jet lag affects children just as it affects adults and your child may be disoriented, cranky, or off-schedule for awhile upon arrival. Be patient and plan for it.

Pack Strategically
Dress your child in light layers for a plane ride and pack enough small toys or books to keep him or her occupied for the duration of the trip. Many children who fly from an early age will be fine with the experience and nap most of the way, others may be nervous. Offer plenty of information and reassurance to keep your child feeling safe.

Educate Accordingly
Before going to a new country, talk about the people, the culture, and what to expect. Looking at picture books, maps, or programs on television can help your child know what to expect. Talk about how to treat people that you meet, any new social norms that you may see while visiting, and all of the new things that your child can expect to see along the way. This not only prepares them for the trip, but is a great learning experience too.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Child, Immune system, Jet lag, Parent

Parenting a Cautious Child

Many small children are naturally outgoing and loud, others are naturally a little quieter and more cautious in their ways. For parents of a cautious child, it is important to be your child’s biggest cheerleader, encourage them to go at their own pace when it comes to trying new things, and focus on the positives.

Stand up for them
Many other adults, even your relatives or the child’s teachers, may call your child shy or view their cautious personality as a bad thing. It is important that you stand up for your child and work with the adults in you child’s life to see that while they may need to do things a little differently, it’s okay. Never let another adult pressure your child into acting in a way that doesn’t feel natural.

Offer gentle encouragement
You want to encourage a cautious child to expand his or her horizons and try new things, but you want to do this carefully. Don’t put pressure on your child and make things uncomfortable, instead, help them to identify things they’d like to try and take baby steps to get there. Maybe your child would like to try an art class, but is worried about the other kids and the teacher. Arrange to meet with an art teacher beforehand so that your child will have a familiar face at the first class. A little extra planning can make a world of difference.

Help them see the positive
Be sure to remind your cautious child that while you don’t want them to be afraid of things in life, you appreciate their unique qualities. Cautious children are often very smart, very sensitive, and very in tune with their emotions. They learn about the world in their own way and it is important as parents to encourage them to always be themselves.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Child, Family, Parent, Teacher

Preparing Your Child for Pre-School

Parents can do a lot to help their children be ready to start preschool and prepared to be separated from their family for several hours during the day. Every child reacts to life’s changes in a different way, it is important to explore each new step with your child and consider how their unique personality and temperament will impact their new daily schedule.

Encourage Early Friendships
From a young age, encourage children to spend time with other children. Whether it’s siblings, cousins, or neighbors, learning how to relate to other children is great preparation for preschool. For parents raising an only child, you may have to take steps like arranging play dates with neighborhood kids or seeking out classes and playgroups to help prepare your child and give them some early friends to help practice social skills.

Learn Through Picture Books
Begin well in advance to talk to your child about preschool and kindergarten. There are many excellent children’s books about starting school and these can be a great option. Read the book together and learn the different activities, people, and events that are part of a typical school day. As you get closer to starting preschool,begin to talk to your child about it. By that point, chances are it will something familiar and fun, your child will be excited to go to a place like the one in the book.

Make Time for Them
When your child is in preschool and you are at home or at work, it can feel like you are not as close as you were when you were at home together all day. Be sure to make quality time for your children at home in the evenings or at a time when you are both at home. This will help them to learn that it’s okay to go to school during the day and that they will come home to the same family after.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Child, Home, Preschool education

Co-Sleeping Around the World

For parents in the United States, co-sleeping, or bringing your infant or small child into the same bed with you, is considered to be a bad idea. Parenting authorities have long stressed the importance of allowing a child to sleep in a separate room and become accustomed to their own crib. For other countries in the world, however, co-sleeping is a very different story.

Sharing a Bed
In many countries in Asia and Africa, co-sleeping with a baby in the same bed is considered the norm. Many parents in these cultures believe that the Western style of keeping a child in a separate room is impractical and can be cruel and isolating. Sharing a bed allow mother and child close proximately for nursing and eliminates the running back and forth in the night to settle a fussy child. In the past, sharing a bed would also have been a means of heat and protection for small children.

Alternatives in Co-sleeping
Co-sleeping doesn’t always mean placing a child in the same bed. In some cultures, a small bassinet is placed in the bed, allowing the child a separate space within the parents’ bed. In Japan, it is not uncommon for a parent to sleep on a mat or bed in the same room with the child for the first few months of life. Yet another option is a bassinet places within arms reach of the parents’ bed so that the child can sleep in a separate space while being close to the parents.

Why the Taboo?
In the 1800s, many Western parenting authorities believed that children needed their own space and parents should avoid catering to even a small child’s whims. This would cause the child to become too attached to the parent or to become spoiled. While feelings have shifted quite a bit since then, taboos about co-sleeping have stayed with us to this day.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Co-sleeping, Parent, United States

Preparing Children for International Travel

Talking to your child about other countries in the world is an important part of planning for a trip overseas. It can be tempting to think of traveling with a child only in terms of logistics and planning out hotels, but it is equally important to help your children understand the concept of other cultures and prepare them for life in an increasingly global world.

Talk About Language
For some small children, the idea of foreign languages can seem very distant and remote. Other children may be used to hearing many languages at school or in their city. Talk about what language the people speak in the country where you are traveling. You may want to help your child to learn a few basic phases, particularly ones they could use to greet people or to ask for help if they should become separated from you in a public place.

Talk About Children
One easy way to teach children about culture is to talk about the children in that other country. What is their daily life like? What do they eat for breakfast? Do they go to school and what would their school look like? Learning about children is very relate-able for young children and will help them to understand that while many things are different, there are also a lot of similarities in how children live and play.

Talk About Places
Look at a map or a globe, either in person or on the computer, and identify the country where you will be visiting. Show your child where the plane will fly to get there and talk about neighboring countries, important cities, and landmarks. Feeling like they can identify where they are going will help your child prepare for the trip and talk to other children and adults about their plans.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Child, Foreign language, Talk radio

Residential Care and our Community

: Image via Wikipedia

Old Age is a time of adjustments and changes in lifestyle. It includes planning for future and making sure that your increasing needs in terms of your health, or the health needs of your loved ones, are fully met. Some senior citizens may like to maintain their independence for as long as possible. This may mean modifying their own homes in accordance with new needs, so that they could carry out their tasks themselves. But sometimes, people cannot manage to perform their day to day tasks hence making them to decide about moving to a housing facility like Residential Care Homes with more support and care options on site.

When you grow old you need help to carry out your daily activities. These could range from shopping, cleaning, and cooking to intensive help with bathing, toileting, moving around, and eating. You or your loved ones may also need extra help with medical requirements. These requirements may arise in case of a sudden condition, like a heart attack or stroke, or a more gradual condition demanding more and more care with time. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, about 70 percent of individuals over the age of 65 will require some type of long-term care services during their lifetime. In such situations if there is no one at home to help you and take you to Medical Help in time or if they don’t have time for you; good option will be moving to a Residential Care Facility where residential help and support is available 24/7.

Residential Care Home is a general name for any housing setup designed especially for seniors. These arrangements are also known as retirement communities, retirement homes, senior housing, and senior apartments. The Residential Care Facility may comprise of apartment complexes, condominiums, or even free-standing homes. In general, the housing is designed exclusively to be friendlier for Senior Citizens, is compact, has ease of navigation and provides assistance in outside maintenance. In many Residential Care Housing centers one may find recreational centers or clubhouses on site as well.

Moving to Residential Care is a good option for Elder Adults if they need assistance with their daily activities. In case, if you are a senior citizen and are looking to be at a safe place where you could be well cared off while enjoying the company of people of same age group then residential homes are definitely for you. Residential Care Facilities are providing a great service to community by looking after the people needing support and care.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Apartment, Long-term care, Nursing home, Old age, Residential area, Retirement community, Retirement home, Senior citizen

Selecting Activities for a Child

It can be difficult for parents to resist signing a child up for many classes and activities. Early in life, children often have many different interests and it is tempting to try to follow through on all of them. Preparing a realistic schedule for your children will help everyone to try new things without a lot of added stress.

Pick the Best
Help your child to identify activities that they really want to do. Maybe your child has wanted to take a ballet class or play soccer since birth, that’s something worth trying out. Choose activities that are low pressure, but fun for the child. Some children may also want to choose activities where they can take a class or be on a team with their friends, this can make the activity a lot more fun.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No
If a class isn’t a good fit for your child or they seem stressed by having to go to art class each week, consider not signing up again. Too many parents feel pressured to continue, but it should really come down to what is best for you and your family. Talk to your child about their activities and which ones they enjoy the most. It’s your job to help facilitate good decisions and pick the schedule that meets their needs.

Leave Time for Play
Avoid over scheduling their children to the point that they don’t have time to play on their own. Children need that time to explore new interests, develop the ability to have fun on their own, and just enjoy being a child. Some signs that your child may be over scheduled include a reluctance to go to activities, complaining of being tired even after a good night’s sleep, and complaining that they don’t have time to play. Play is important and deserves a spot on every child’s schedule.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Child, Family, Home, Parent

Communicating with Your Child’s Caregivers

When your child spends a portion of their day with another caregiver, be it a teacher, day care staff member, babysitter, or extended family member, it is important for parents to make a point of sharing information. Pieces of information that seem trivial when you are the one doing the parenting, can help to clue caregivers in when it comes to your child’s moods and behaviors. There are a few things that you should always share with caregivers.

Changes in Routine
If your child’s routine has been shaken up recently, it is important to let other caregivers know. This includes drastic changes in sleep schedules, medical updates, or a child spending more time with other relatives at home. If your child has been struggling with some aspect of their routine, caregivers will be able to use this information as clues as to why behavior may be different at school or while the child is under their care. Little details can help to answer big questions.

Family Issues
If one of the child’s parents is traveling for work, this can have a big impact on a child’s behavior and daily mindset. Caregivers may notice that a child is fussier or has trouble following directions when their home life has been shaken up. If something bigger is happening at home, like a death in the family or parents separating, giving a discreet note to a caregiver can help them to understand the child’s actions.

Phases and New Things
If your child is going through a specific phase or you’ve noticed a behavioral change, it is worth mentioning to a caregiver. You may be able to work together to figure out what has caused the change or at the very least work together to find ways to manage this new mannerism. When you work as a team, parents and other caregivers can find ways to improve the child’s life.

Filed Under: General Law & Legal Tagged With: Caregiver, Child, Day care, Parent