parenting

Maximizing School Breaks: Tips for Parents to Help Kids Stay on Track

Early Childhood

Shared by Hazel Bridges

Ms. Bridges is the creator of Aging Wellness, a website that aims to provide health and wellness resources for aging seniors. She’s a breast cancer survivor. She challenges herself to live life to the fullest and inspires others to do so as well.

mother and son reading a book
Photo by Ivan Samkov

School breaks are essential for kids to recharge their batteries and relax. However, it is equally important to keep their minds active during this period. Parents can play a crucial role in supporting their child’s academic progress during school breaks. Here is a guide that will explore simple ways parents can help their kids with their studies during school breaks. 

Create a Multipurpose Room 

Creating a study space for your child is a great way to help them stay focused and organized. Consider adding a desk and chair, bookshelves, and a bulletin board to their room, to create a multipurpose room that will not only help your child’s focus but will also increase your house’s appraisal value. It is essential to ensure that lighting is adequate, and the room has minimum distractions. Having a designated study area can make studying more enjoyable, efficient, and effective. 

Encourage Journaling 

Journaling is a great way to practice writing skills and express thoughts and emotions. Encourage your child to keep a journal during school breaks. They can write about their experiences, goals, and aspirations, and reflect on what they’ve learned. You can provide them with prompts or ideas to get them started. This will help improve their writing skills and also encourage self-expression. 

Volunteer Together 

Volunteering is an excellent way to teach kids about empathy, compassion, and community involvement. Research together and find a volunteer opportunity that aligns with your family’s values. Volunteering at a local animal shelter, food bank, or nursing home can be a great way to give back to the community. This will teach your child the importance of social responsibility, empathy, and kindness. 

Practice Public Speaking 

Public speaking is a fundamental skill that can benefit kids throughout their lives. Practicing public speaking during school breaks can help build confidence and improve communication skills. Encourage your child to practice speeches, debates, or presentations on a topic they are passionate about. You can act as an audience and provide feedback to improve their delivery. 

Encourage Reading 

Reading is an essential skill that can improve vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking. Encourage your child to read during school breaks, and make it fun by choosing books that align with their interests. Allow them to choose the books they want to read, whether it’s a classic novel or a comic book. Reading together with your child can also be a great bonding experience. 

Organize Playdates with an Educational Twist 

Organizing playdates with other kids can be a fun way to learn and socialize. Consider organizing playdates with an educational twist, such as a science experiment or an art project. This can help kids learn new skills while having fun with their friends. It’s important to ensure that the activities are age-appropriate and safe. 

Practice Problem-Solving 

Problem-solving is a valuable skill that can help kids navigate challenges and make sound decisions. Encourage your child to practice problem-solving during school breaks. You can provide them with puzzles, brain teasers, or math problems to solve. This will help improve their critical thinking, analytical, and decision-making skills. 

Support Your Child’s Development 

Parents can play a vital role in supporting their child’s academic progress during school breaks. Creating a dedicated workspace, encouraging journaling, volunteering together, etc., are all great ways parents can help their kids with their studies during school breaks. These activities not only help kids stay mentally engaged but also teach them valuable life skills that will benefit them throughout their lives. 

What are some ways that you keep your child/ren busy and engaged over breaks? Share them in the comments below!

WEBSITE DISCLAIMER

This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.

Simple Ways to Help Kids Cope with & Manage Stress

Early Childhood, Self-Regulation

Kids have stress too!? Yes! Just like us, kids do have stress.

Here are simple ways to understand and help your kids cope with and manage stress.

Stress in the Womb
Even in utero, a fetus can experience the stress of its mother. Whether that be emotional, physical or physiological, the fetus can feel and be impacted by what the mother is experiencing. Especially when her stress levels are high and/or she has poor health.

The Stress Response System
Regardless of age, the stress response system, formally known as our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) operates in the exact same way. What I mean by that is, children can experience the same physiological fight, flight or freeze reaction in a threat-like situation. Stress is caused by an adrenaline surge and elevated cortisol levels to create a quick action response. Alternatively, acetylcholine and serotonin are released to slow things down for recovery.

Feelings of Distress
Babies cry to express when they are stressed/in distress such as when they’re tired, hungry, need to be changed or comforted. Babies are not born with coping strategies to deal with stress; therefore, they can solely rely on the love and care from the adults in their life. Matter of fact, coping strategies to deal with stress can continue to develop well into adulthood.  

Photo by Alexander Dummer

Types of Stressors
Children can experience a range of stressors such as biological – feeling hungry, tired, having allergies, emotional – feeling lonely, guilty, embarrassed, cognitive – feeling confused, overstimulated, learning new things, just to list a few. You’d be surprised some of the things that can be considered stressful for a child. The stress that humans experience can also range from positive stress – a normal and healthy part development, tolerable stress – more severe stressors with a limited duration, or toxic stress – adversity with a frequent and/or prolonged duration. Supportive relationships are what help to buffer and reverse the effects of stress. (See: Stress & Stressors)

Stress Behaviours
The manifestation of stress can be interpreted as challenging behaviours such as the following: temper tantrums, a change in eating (undereating or overeating) and/or sleep habits, physical aggression (biting, hitting, kicking), complaining of physical symptoms such as a tummy ache, headache, frequent illnesses due to a low immune system, just to list a few. 


Understanding the science behind stress can be quite complex.

In fact, not all stress is bad for us. It’s a normal key part of development and daily life. Stress is what gets us up in the morning, pushes us to do our best and helps us to Keep Going.

The most important thing to consider when understanding stress would first be to realize that you too experience stress. This will help you to think about how your child may be experiencing and displaying in an age-appropriate way that they’re stressed, and how best you can support them through all the ups and downs that life will inevitably bring their way. Such as the first day of school, trying out for a sports club or going for a job interview.

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS YOU CAN HELP YOUR CHILD COPE WITH AND MANAGE STRESS: 
Photo by cottonbro
  • Ensure they are eating healthy and balanced meals and are getting enough sleep
  • Develop their emotional literacy by helping them to recognize, acknowledge, identify, express and talk about their feelings
  • Engage them in relaxation strategies such as deep breathing, mindfulness/meditation or yoga, as well as in physical activities. These create endorphins in the brain which help to reduce stress
  • Try to create stress-free environments such as device-free dinners/family time and limiting screen time
  • Read age-appropriate books with characters who overcome challenging situations
  • Kids like predictability. Maintain consistency in their daily routines and explain to them in advance when changes may be happening
  • Explain to them that stress is normal part of life and growing up and set positive examples of how you deal with it 

WEBSITE DISCLAIMER

This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.

Attachment Styles

Early Childhood

“A lasting psychological connectedness between human beings.” – John Bowlby

Humans are social beings. From the moment we are born, we enter a world filled with people. Babies make sense of their world through the relationships and interactions they have with their primary caregivers. This is how an attachment is formed and generally this takes place within the first year of life. An attachment is an emotional bond with another person. It can be formed with a child, parent, friend, teacher or student.

Attachment Theory.

At the heart of evolutionary theory of attachment is a psychiatrist by the name of John Bowlby. His work at a clinic in the 1930s with children who were emotionally disturbed led him to explore the importance of the mother-child relationship in children’s earliest stages of development. Bowlby noticed that children showed great distress when separated from their mothers and that they represented a source of security for the child to explore and engage with the world. He suggested that this mother-child relationship sets the template for which children will view future social relationships they encounter later in life. He believed the window for attachment to develop is from birth to 5 years of age and if an attachment is not established within this time, there are consequences to a child’s development (McLeod, 2017).

Attachment Styles.

At the heart of attachment styles is a psychologist by the name of Mary Ainsworth. She was interested in investigating the varying styles of attachment among children. Ainsworth devised an experimental study in the 1970s called the Strange Situation which observed the interaction between a mother and child in a room, the behaviour and reaction of the child when a stranger entered the room, when the mother left the child with the stranger and then when she returned. The results from the study yielded three main attachment styles among 1 to 2-year-old babies:

Secure – The attachment figure is a safe base (a source of safety, security and comfort) for the child to freely explore and in times of distress. When a child feels a sense of safety and security they will feel comfortable with exploring and interacting with their environment. The child is easily soothed when the mother leaves the room and returns. The attachment figure is overall available, caring, attuned, consistent and responsive to the child’s needs (McLeod, 2018).

Insecure-Avoidant – The child is physically and emotionally independent of the attachment figure. The attachment figure is not sought out by the child during distress when the mother leaves the room and returns. The attachment figure is likely unavailable, insensitive and rejecting of the child’s needs (McLeod, 2018).

Insecure Ambivalent/Resistant – The child displays clingy, dependent behaviour towards their attachment figure. The child does not feel a sense of security from their attachment figure and is hard to soothe and feel comforted when in distress. The attachment figure is considered inconsistency in their responsiveness to the child’s needs (McLeod, 2018).  

The level of sensitivity and responsiveness that a caregiver displays plays a role in the type of attachment style a child will develop and the way in which the child will view themselves and their worth as they grow older and into an adult. Children who have a secure attachment may likely develop a positive outlook, seeing themselves as worthy of care and respect, and may view others as trusting and helpful. A secure attachment tends to lead to healthy self-regulation and coping skills and the development of future relationships that have a balance of intimacy, independence, reliability and trust (McLeod, 2018).

Children with an avoidant attachment style may likely to view themselves as devalued, unworthy and unacceptable due to the rejecting nature of their caregiver. As an adult, they may be emotionally distance from others, fear closeness, intimacy and being vulnerable, as a means of protecting themselves from getting hurt. They may view the world as unreliable, leading them to be self-reliant, self-dependent and protective (McLeod, 2018).

Children with an ambivalent/resistant attachment style may likely have a negative self-image, be angry and confused and seek out ways to gain attention. They may be disinterested and anxious towards others and struggle with forming strong and positive emotional connections. They may also have feelings of insecurity, be overdependent and always seek approval from others (McLeod, 2018).

While a caregiver’s level of sensitivity is one factor, there are many other factors that can influence a child’s attachment style such as their temperament and experiences. Ultimately, early attachment sets the template for the future development of relationships later in life. This is why it’s important that families, parents/caregivers and provided and offered with supports to ensure the healthy development of their child’s social-emotional and overall development.

References

If you are interested in exploring attachment theories further, I have referenced a couple of links below where you can find more information:

Attachment (City of Toronto)

John Bowlby – Attachment Theory; Stages of Attachment:

McLeod, S. A. (2017, Feb 05). Attachment theory. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/attachment.html

Mary Ainsworth – Strange Situation:

McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 05). Mary Ainsworth. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/mary-ainsworth.html

WEBSITE DISCLAIMER

This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.

Brain Development in the Early Years

Early Childhood

“Early experiences affect the development of brain architecture, which provides the foundation for all future learning.” – Center on the Developing Child

man in gray shirt holding baby in white onesie
Photo by nappy

If you haven’t already read What is ECD? it’s a great place to start as topics mentioned there will relate to what I’ll discuss here. As I mentioned in that article, the first 3 years of a child’s life is the most important. Relationships and experiences play a significant part in the earliest years as it is ultimately where it all begins. Experiences are created through relationships and it is how a young child learns. Nurturing and supportive experiences (through serve and return) repeated overtime with the caregivers in a child’s life eventually forms a healthy, secure attachment which is bounded by a feeling of trust and security. These repeated experiences and type of relationships all get build into the architecture of the developing brain (see: “More on Brain Development” below). A secure attachment is formed when a child has learned that they can trust that their needs will be consistently met, and they feel a sense of safety and protection with their caregivers. There are also 2 other types of attachment styles. The type of relationship a child has established from the beginning sets the template for how they will view future relationships. This template is known as their internal working model. When a child learns that both they and their needs are important and will be met, this contributes to the later development of many future competencies, including how they feel about themselves, their attitude towards learning and others, the types of relationships they will continue to form, and even how they understand and interpret their own emotions and that of others.

It’s important that future relationships, especially those that are formed outside the context of the family and home, are also sources of trust and safety; such as when a child enters school and is exposed to opportunities to develop relationships with their peers and teachers. Children learn best through relationships in all contexts. A child will continue to learn things such as people have needs, feelings and thoughts that are different than their own, such as in situations that may require them to share or wait their turn. In school, when a child has established a positive relationship with their teachers and peers, they are more likely to be eager to learn, attend, and be successful in school. The positive relationships and experiences early in their life lay the foundation for hopefully new positive relationships, experiences and learning to form. If a child is going to school not feeling happy and excited to learn, there is possibly a reason why and it’s important to pay attention to that.  

I understand that brain development in the early years is a very board topic which is why I’ve kept this article short. As I continue to publish more posts, you will learn from a range of topics that contribute to an understanding of how children grow and develop into adulthood. The two things I want you to take away from this article is the importance of early relationships and experiences. These both play a large part in present and future development but do not operate in isolation. It’s important to acknowledge that there are a range of other factors that contribute to development. These will also appear in future posts. So, stay tuned, as I hope to continue sharing with you.

More on Brain Development

The Brain Architects Podcast: Brain Architecture: Laying the Foundation

WEBSITE DISCLAIMER

This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.

What is ECD?

Early Childhood

“Let’s raise children who won’t have to recover from their childhoods.” – Pamela Leo

photo of family sitting on floor while reading book

Early Childhood Development, (often referred to as ECD), is the development that occurs within a child’s life from 0-8 years of age. This is a time of rapid growth in the social, emotional, cognitive, linguistic, and physical development of a child. This all takes place in the context in which a child is developing such as the home, child care centre and/or community.

But what exactly is happening during ECD?

The most important and crucial time of a child’s development is essentially the first 3 years of their life. But why is this? Well, during this stage of development, there are 1 million new neural connections every second that are happening in the brain when a baby learns and makes sense of their environment and everything that is happening around them. The genetics that a baby is born with also play an important role as well. Genetics, early experiences, interactions and relationships with the people in their life, as well as the environment in which they live, all interact and influence the quality and architectural foundation of the developing brain. The development of a solid and sturdy foundation is optimal.

photo of man in raising baby under blue sky

So, how is a solid and sturdy foundation built?

A solid and sturdy foundation is built through serve and return interactions (see: “More on Serve & Return” below). This consists of the back-and-forth interactions between a young child and an adult. When a child uses facial expressions, babbling and gestures to interact, serve and return consists of the level of sensitivity in the actions, gestures, eye contact and words that an adult uses to appropriately respond to the child and their needs. During serve and return interactions, neural connections in a child’s brain are being made, strengthened and ultimately set the foundation for the development of future communication and social skills.

What happens when there is little to no serve and return interactions happening between a child and an adult?

When there is a lack of serve and return maintained by the adult or their responses are inconsistent and/or inappropriate, this contributes to creating a weak foundation, possibly an insecure attachment, resulting in the architecture of a child’s brain not developing as it should. Consequently, this impacts their learning, behaviour and development, and could lead to long-term health and developmental issues. At its earliest development, the human brain is “plastic”, meaning it’s malleable, flexible and easier to change. Over time, connections from experiences and interactions that are repeated and “hardwired” into the brain become harder to reverse. Long-term experiences and interactions that lack serve and return become harder to repair later.

How does a sturdy foundation impact future development?

Not only does serve and return build a sturdy foundation, it also fosters a baby’s social and emotional development. When a baby cries, she may be easily comforted by her caregiver’s touch. When a baby babbles, he learns new words from his caregiver’s gentle and calm responses. When these early experiences are happening, they positively influence the development of future, more complex, emerging and interrelated abilities that build on top such as cognition and language (see: The Science of Early Childhood). These are skills that become essential when a child enters school.

So, what does all this mean?

crop anonymous black mother holding hand of baby lying on bed

Early childhood is a time of rapid development, growth and potential. When a sturdy social and emotional foundation is not established, which includes the development of self-regulation (which an adult plays a crucial role in helping a child to develop), a child will have difficulty developing more complex skills. For example, a child who struggles with regulating their emotions because they did not have the experiences with an adult that would have helped to foster the development of this may have a challenging time remaining focused at more complex skills and tasks. The type of foundation that is set during this time is so important and fundamental to the successful future development of a child. When a sturdy foundation is established through the care, interaction and response of an adult, a child has the capacity to build upon the development of necessary future skills.

Let’s ensure that children’s early childhood is a time of great care, attention and understanding. Let’s get it right from the start. As Pamela Leo said, “Let’s raise children who won’t have to recover from their childhoods“.

See: Brain Development in the Early Years to continue reading.

Visit: Self-Regulation: A Parent’s Guide for more on self-regulation.

More on Serve & Return

Visit: 5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve & Return

The Brain Architects Podcast: Serve and Return: Supporting the Foundation

WEBSITE DISCLAIMER

This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.