Archive for April, 2009

When Should You Hold Your Child Back?

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

If you’re a parent whose child has had less than stellar reports at a recent parent-teacher conference at a preschool in Boston or a childcare center in Boston that caters to preschoolers, you may be wondering whether you should hold your child back and keep him or her in that Boston preschool program for another year. This may also be the case if your youngster will be on the young side when she attends kindergarten. With that in mind, here are a few reasons parents might consider holding their child back another year.

If your child is struggling to “keep up” with the rest of her peers, socially, developmentally, or in learning activities while attending children’s daycare program in Boston or Boston family daycare such as recognizing letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. If he has a birthday just before the cutoff date and seems “young for his age”, for example, if he turns 5 in August or September of the year he starts kindergarten, you might consider holding him back an extra year.

In some circles, it’s even “fashionable” to keep their child back an extra year in a preschool program at a Boston child care center, but parents should be aware that it’s not always beneficial since research indicates that older children may be less motivated academically once they reach high school.

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Tips for Handling Parent-Teacher Conferences

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

Although it can be a time of anxiety for parents of a child in a Boston preschool or child care center in Boston, parent-teacher conferences are an important part of your child’s learning and development. While teachers are prepared for these conferences, parents typically are not. Here are a couple of tips for making the parent-teacher conference time at your daycare or preschool go more smoothly.

Before the scheduled conference date at the Boston daycare center or preschool in Boston your child attends sit down with your child and discuss what projects she’s working on. Also ask questions about what’s going on in the classroom and on the playground with her peers. That way, if the teacher points out any behavioral or academic problems, you’ll probably have some inkling of them already and not be caught completely off guard. This will also help you to discuss with the teacher how you can help remedy the situation, either through some extra-curricular learning exercises, role-playing, or even therapy in the case of behavioral problems.

Parents should also keep in mind that it’s important to keep the lines of communication open throughout the school year not just a couple of times a year when it’s parent-teacher conference time at Boston day care facility or Boston family daycare your child goes to.

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Tips for Handling Separation Anxiety at Preschool or Daycare

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Separation anxiety is common—and perfectly normal—when children head off to a preschool in Boston or elsewhere or even Boston family daycare in someone’s home for the first time, especially for a child who has always been at home with a parent. Experts say that parents need to understand that it is just another developmental stage that their child is going through. Even so, most parents find it to be an emotional and perhaps difficult time and wonder how they should handle their child’s separation anxiety.

One tip that works for most children, especially those who are shy or have difficulty handling new situations, is to talk to your child in advance. Explain where she is going, e.g., a children’s daycare program in Boston and why, as well as what activities she’ll be engaged in at “school”. Make it fun and emphasize that she’ll be playing with new friends. Sometimes allowing the child to take a small object from home, a small stuffed animal for example, to their Boston preschool, Boston day care center, or a Boston day care program with them can help make the transition from home to preschool easier.

Another thing parents can do is to meet up with a few other parents and their preschool children before the school year starts so their child already knows one or two kids. Don’t be afraid to ask the staff at the Boston preschool or Boston child care center for ideas as well. After all, they are experts and dealing separation anxiety is part of their job.

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When Is Your Child Too Sick to Go to Daycare?

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

When your child tells you he doesn’t feel well or she has a tummy ache, parents of children in Boston daycare or a preschool in Boston often wonder whether they should send their child to daycare anyway or keep the child home that day. Like most parenting issues, there’s usually no clear-cut answer. Furthermore, your pediatrician and Boston childcare center staff might have conflicting ideas on the matter as well. That said, there are however, a couple of guidelines parents can use to determine whether their child is too sick to attend daycare in Boston or not.

First, most Boston children’s daycare centers have policies governing whether your child stays home from daycare or not, so check there first. The rule of thumb is fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throats, especially where redness and white patches indicating strep are present are all signs that your child should stay home. Any child with a highly contagious illness such as pink eye, impetigo, chicken pox, or measles should also stay home. The same applies to head lice or scabies.

Coughing and runny noses associated with a cold or respiratory virus are probably not enough to keep your child home from a Boston preschool or daycare facility, but parents should check with the daycare provider just in case. While it’s not a hard and fast rule, you should probably keep your child out of daycare if she is whining or lethargic, not eating, or is just plain miserable and needs to rest.

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