The Benefits of Daycare

As a parent with a small child it is often hard to decide what the best child care for that child is. Some parents stay at home with their child, others send their child to a babysitter or family member, and others select a daycare or preschool for their child. The key is to make a selection that works best for you, you family, and mostly for your child. In this day and age daycares are more often the popular choice for child care because of the many benefits they offer. If you are trying to decide, take a look at the benefits a good daycare can have for your child.

Socializing: It is very important for children to be involved with other children their age. This helps your child develop social skills that they will not otherwise learn until they start kindergarten. Daycares provide this social activity. Most daycares have children divided into classrooms by their age. This means that your child will be spending the entire day with other children and learning the right and wrong way to interact with these children. Yes, children do develop social skills in the home, but how they interact with family is not the same as how they should or will act with others.

Structure: From the time a child starts kindergarten, until the day they graduate high school, their entire day is structured. Even before this, structure is important. When children are on a schedule they come to expect things and it is easier for them. For instance, if they always have a nap after lunch, then there is no surprise. Children at this age can get upset when you just spring a nap on them. It will be easier for them if it is always at the same time every day. This goes with other activities in their lives. Structure and routine are important.

Procedures: A large part of kindergarten is learning procedures. These are unwritten rules such as stand in line, raise your hand, don't leave the classroom without permission, etc. These are things that your child should learn in order to make their time at school successful, productive, and safe. If your child is in daycare, they will get a head start on learning these things and kindergarten will certainly be easier.

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How to Choose a Daycare

Choosing the proper daycare for your child should be a carefully thought out and researched process. With some daycares being exceptional and some being just plain bad, it is important to pick a daycare that helps your child grow and develop his skills while also having fun.

There are several advantages to having your child in a daycare. Good daycares have a mix of activities that will teach different skills. Projects that lead to creativity, storytelling, dancing, and singing all help the child learn instead of just playing all day. Children also get to socialize with other children, which they wouldn't get to do as often if they were at home with a nanny. Finally, the daycares are more stable and consistent than nannies because the daycare will watch your child even if a teacher is sick.

There are, however, a few disadvantages to daycares. Children and babies usually don't get the one-on-one attention they would get if they were at home with a parent or nanny. Children can also be more likely to get sick since they are exposed to more germs from all the children. While daycares are usually very structured and have clear rules for parents to follow such as those regarding picking up your child, a disadvantage is that you could incur fees for picking up your child late, having to find a place for your child on holidays, or finding someone to watch your child if he or she becomes sick and is sent home by the daycare.

We have listed steps below that will guide you through finding the appropriate daycare.

• Make a list of what's important to you. Do you want a daycare close to home? Close to work? Do you want your children to be with several children or prefer smaller groups?


• Research all your possibilities. Ask your friends, family, doctors, and referral agencies for daycares they would recommend. Look on the Internet and in the phone book for other possible daycares. When doing your research, be sure to think about your list of important topics.


• Once you have a list of possible daycares, call them on the phone and ask some preliminary questions. This is a very important step. Make sure you remember your initial feeling of the conversation and write down if you had a good or bad feeling, including what made you feel that way. You should ask about their policies, hours, fees, activities, and philosophies on teaching children. Are they flexible to help you with your schedule? Will they accommodate your special requests? What is their teacher to child ratio? Do they change activities frequently? Do they have experienced teachers?


• Narrow down your list by crossing off the daycares you had a bad feeling about. Next, visit and interview the daycare you had a good feeling about. Get a list of the activities and look around at the facility. Is the daycare a warm, clean, safe environment in which you think your child would learn and have fun? Be sure to pay close attention to the actual teacher to child ratio during your visit to verify what they told you it was over the phone. Also, ask any more questions you may have and make sure the director is allowing you free access to look at everything you want to see or know about. Again, your gut feeling is most important.


• Narrow down your list again then start checking references. Call parents of children who are currently at the daycare or have had children at the daycare in the past. Ask their opinion of the daycare and if they would recommend it to you. If their child is no longer at the daycare, ask why.


• Take you child to the daycare for a visit. Observe how your child acts in the environment and around the teachers. Does your child seem comfortable? Do you think your child would be happy at the daycare?


• Once you find a daycare that meets your qualifications and one that you feel your child would like, enroll your child. If there is a waiting list, get your name on the list and find a temporary caregiver until a spot becomes open.

Child Development Games.

Child development games play a vital role in the development of your child. It helps in the growth process of your child and provides a leisure activity for him.

It enhances the emotional, physical and intellectual development of your child and also encourages him to move with confidence, imagination and in safety.

  What are the importance of games?

Playing games is an important activity for your child’s social and mental development. Educational games are important for keeping your child interested in learning. For example some games come with educational skills and academic contests, such as spelling.

Through games your child can also learn about teamwork. Games teach him about sportsmanship. Through these games, he can create critical thinking.

Games create courage and inspire your child to prove himself as the best at what he does. It teaches him how to make quick decisions and how to work well under pressure.

Games teach your child about what is good and bad and gives him chance to learn more about people, animals and countries. Games have much significance in healthy child development. Games allow and encourage kids to process information and to make sense of their own world.

Some games are completely based on fitness. Through these games your child learns how to keep fit and healthy. He can also learn about skipping, walking and kicking. Some games create a sense of construction. Recreational games such as board games increase mental and physical skills.

Computer games can also help your child develop his computer skills. For example, between the ages of 3-4 years, your child can play moving square game and colour matching. Through these games, he can learn how to move the mouse in order to catch a moving square and match colours.

Jumping block game is also available for a child between the ages of 4-5 years. He can learn how to change a block by clicking the mouse. Between the ages of 5-6 years he can play Moving image game. This teaches him how to change the direction or scene by clicking the computer mouse. Some games also teach your child how to add, subtract, divide and multiply which is good for his mental development.

  How Do I Choose Child Development Games for My Child?

Child development games are good ways of assisting your child to develop much knowledge of his body as skilfully as being experienced and enjoying activities. It is important to choose the right game for your child. Here are some tips to remember when choosing the perfect games for your child.

• Determine the games that are suited to the age of your child. Games that involve physical activities are perfect for toddlers. Children who are at their toddler age love to do physical activities.

• Identify the interests of your child. Make sure that your child would enjoy and have a wonderful time learning. If your child has interests in puzzles, then you may let him engage in trivia games, word puzzles and jigsaw. Identifying your child’s interests will also help you choose games that will get him off on the right foot.

• Also make sure that the games will help your child in developing his social skills. Make sure that the games are interactive. It is also better if you and other members of the family can join in. This will not only help him develop his social skills but will also serve as a family bonding activity.

• Educational games are also perfect for a child who loves to discover things and ideas. He will surely learn many things and will develop his intellectual abilities. Educational games are also perfect for you if you like engaging in your child's activities.

• Make sure that the games that your child engages in are safe. Safety is the most important factor to consider when choosing games. They should not cause harm to your child. Make sure that the games would not cause harm to your child even when you are not around.

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10 RULES FOR PARENTS

Little kids need rules to go by when growing up as part oftheir education and to build a positive personality

It is an important factor for the parents to understand that your kid will grow to be an individual who will have his own ideas and opinions about things which may differ from your views. But sometimes you can help your child to polish his personality and confidence with a few rules set for you to follow when dealing with your kid as he steps beyond the age of toddlerhood and gains his independence with lesser dependency on you.

1. Do not underestimate your child
Your child understands more than you think he does and if you make him believe you think poorly of his abilities than you might affect his development and confidence.

2. Don’t use threat
a child never deserves to be threatened with negative consequences. Once threatened he might probably go on and do what he wasn’t suppose to just to see if he can escape the punishment or how the worst situation be like.

3. Do not bribe your child
Bribing a child to do a certain thing is even worse than threat. This will make him disregard the importance of learning and all he will get from this is the importance of getting toys and treats.

4. Do not make a small child promise something
You must realize the fact that small children can’t hold promises so don’t force them to lie and then punish them because they did that. You can always make a promise to your child and then do not forget to fulfill it. this is how he or she will learn to make a promise and keep it but in good time.

5. Do not keep them under a short leash
In order to grow up normally children need some space, some freedom and some privacy. Let him decide things for himself and exercise his choice in matters which do not have any adverse implications like which sleeping dress to wear tonight, selecting a bed time story etc.

6. Do not use big words or too many words when you are talking to your child
Kids lose the meaning and the context of the entire conversation when it is extended, especially when being reprimanded or when giving out rules. Keep your talk very short and simple and do not give lengthy explanations about what he or she did. Saying it was wrong is sufficient as an explanation.

7. Do not expect immediate and blind obedience
it is not recommended, a child learns to think for his own and that he does by trying to things and not just by following orders. Sometimes they learn things the harder way but that is what learning is all about.

8. Do not compromise when it comes to the rules of a game
Basically playing games is a way to teach your kid how to apply and follow rules in a simple and fun way. That is actually the educative aspect of games. When playing keep rules simple and teach him to abide by them.

9. Don’t impose rules that don’t go with the age of your child.
Always consider this when imposing a rule as he will only learn that breaking a rule is ok if you keep revising your own rules.

10. Don’t give your child orders that you don’t take seriously
Even for fun sake do not as your child to do something that you would not want him to do when you are serious. Your child will try to please you and giving him such an order is drastic, and it becomes cruel if that order is a joke.

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The Benefits of Music on Child Development

Childhood is an exciting, fun and challenging period of life. Every new experience is an opportunity to learn and grow. It is the most critical time for building the physical, mental and emotional foundations that will support us for the rest of our lives.

As parents and loved ones, we should strive to give our children the tools to build a successful life, and one of the best choices you can make for your children is giving them the gift of music. We should encourage our children as early as possible to listen to and make music. Children can start by listening to their favorite songs and accompanying the music with simple instruments made from household products. (See the instructions on how to make various simple musical instruments in the Free Special Reports section of www.PaulBorgese.com). They can then advance to playing more complex musical instruments and perhaps even take formal lessons

Music and Skill Development

In addition to improving creativity, learning music cultivates many skills that will continue to be useful to your children throughout their lives. The following are some of the skills that listening to music and taking music lessons help develop in children:

  • Concentration
Learning a musical instrument will help your child develop concentration, as they must focus on a particular activity over extended periods of time. Developing concentration in this way also will help them when they must focus their attention on other subjects at school.

  • Coordination
Practicing musical instruments improves hand-eye coordination. Children develop important motor skills when playing music just as they do when playing different sports.

  • Relaxation
More and more, music therapy is being used to complement more traditional forms of medicine. Researchers acknowledge that certain types of music can aid relaxation by lowering heart rates and blood pressure.

  • Relaxation
More and more, music therapy is being used to complement more traditional forms of medicine. Researchers acknowledge that certain types of music can aid relaxation by lowering heart rates and blood pressure.

  • Patience
and Perseverance In order to learn a musical instrument, children must develop patience and perseverance, which will help them later in life when they must tackle other more difficult challenges.

  • Self-Confidence
The act of learning and playing an instrument, the encouragement of a teacher and the enthusiasm of a proud parent, will build in a child a sense of pride and confidence. Moreover, children who practice self-expression and creativity often become better communicators later in life.

Researchers also have found a significant relationship between music instruction and positive performances in such areas as: reading comprehension, spelling, mathematics, listening skills, primary mental abilities (verbal, perceptual, numeric, spatial) and motor skills.

Research on Music, Computer Training and Child Development

With the rise of the Internet and the proliferation of high-tech jobs that require computer skills, there seems to be less interest in music and arts education. Fortunately, while all this is happening, several studies by experts in the field are demonstrating that studying the arts — particularly music — can actually help develop skills necessary when learning about computers.

Several studies by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is based at Brown University, explored the effects of art and music education on young children's learning. The conclusions of these studies support the theory that music instruction can help build intellectual and emotional skills, facilitate children's learning and strengthen other academic areas, such as reading and math. Also, these studies indicate that music can positively affect children and adults of all ages.

The conclusions of these Brown University studies are consistent with other research on music and its effect on child development. One study (by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and the University of California) shows that when three and four-year-old children were given simple piano lessons over a six-month period, they performed 34% better than other children in IQ tests, some of whom had had computer lessons instead. These impressive results came from a study of 789 children from diverse social and economic backgrounds.

In an interview, one of the researchers from the University of California said: "Music training jump starts certain inherent patterns in parts of the brain responsible for spatial-temporal reasoning." Computer lessons, on the other hand, do not force children to think ahead or visualize, as they must when playing a piece of music.

Several studies indicate that the reading level of students with one year of music was nearly one grade higher than their peers without such music training. Children with two years of music experience had scores equivalent to two years ahead of their reading age, and these statistics improved with music experience.

Research has shown that music touches at-risk children in special ways as well. Music introduced into their environment seems to make them more relaxed and receptive to learning.

Selecting Music for Children

When they are around three years old, most children begin to take a real interest in music activities of all kinds. It is a good time for parents and teachers to begin mixing music with games that require body movement, such as clapping, waving, jumping and dancing. Sing-along games are ideal for initiating movement and bringing children together in enjoyable group activities.

Children age four and five are more consistent music-makers and also are more aware of the messages in song lyrics. Children at this age are ready to sit attentively for a short performance or to listen to a short recording. Complementing the education given at school with music that teaches important lessons is recommended for this age group. Appropriate activities also include lessons in music appreciation, playing instruments and learning to write lyrics to simple melodies.

Children age six to ten can start learning that music has structure. Rhymes, repetition and experimenting with different sounds also can be used for speech and reading development. This is the ideal time to actively teach a child a musical instrument or expose them to choral groups. Research has indicated that children at this age will start showing the positive effects of music training in their academic performance.

Conclusion

Music has proven to provide many more benefits to children and adults than simple entertainment. It has even proven to help patients recover from diseases or surgery more quickly and with less pain. Much research currently is being undertaken to learn the effects of music on the mind and body, yet we now know from findings of several of the most prestigious researchers in the field that it can have very positive effects on child development.

By Jovanka Ciares and Paul Borgese

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