DINNER TABLE DRAMA

Written by Jason Katzenback


It has been a long day. Home from work, you put together a nice, healthy dinner forrepparttar entire family to enjoy. Gatheringrepparttar 100527 family aroundrepparttar 100528 table, you sit down to eat and within a minute, a voice pipes up, “I don’t like anything.” Encouraging, you say, “I’ve made some of your favorite foods and even put a couple new things onrepparttar 100529 table that I’m sure you will like if you just try. I really think if you will take one bite, you’ll love it.” The response, “No, I don’t want to eat because I don’t like it.”

If you think aboutrepparttar 100530 way in which food is perceived by adults and children, it is very different. For example, adults often use food for comfort or to celebrate a special occasion while children view food as food – a way to make a hungry tummy stop hurting. Therefore, if you have a child who begins to show signs of being a picky eater, remember that his or her body at that particular time may not need much food. When this situation first begins, offer encouragement but never force your child to clean his or her plate. In most cases, not making a big deal isrepparttar 100531 best course of action.

However, after a few weeks if you find thatrepparttar 100532 picky eating behavior continues and even seems to be getting worse, you might need to intervene. At this time, it basically becomes a matter of teaching your child good eating habits. The problem is that many times,repparttar 100533 child has already established him or herself as a picky eater and now, is not so sure changes are needed. Keep in mind that when a child first starts ignoring food, people are usually making a big fuss. Therefore, byrepparttar 100534 time appropriate changes are made,repparttar 100535 child might have figured out that he or she has some control that was not known about before. With that,repparttar 100536 teaching process becomes more of a struggle than a lesson.

If You'd Like To Know Why Reading Matters

Written by Barbara Freedman-De Vito


Here Are Some ofrepparttar Reasons Why Reading Is So Important for Children

Why Do We Tell Children to Read ?

We're always telling children that books and reading are good for them, but have we ever really thought about why that's true ? Exactly what do older children get out of reading novels ? What do younger kids get from reading children's stories and being read to ? Does reading matter ?

The purpose of this article is to say that, yes, it's true, reading really is important, and that there are some solid reasons why that is so. Let's begin withrepparttar 100519 practical benefits and then move on torepparttar 100520 less tangible rewards of a life filled with reading.

Books Help Children Develop Vital Language Skills

Reading is an important skill that needs to be developed in children. Not only is it necessary for survival inrepparttar 100521 world of schools and (later on) universities, but in adult life as well. The ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful information on anything from health problems and consumer protection to more academic research into science orrepparttar 100522 arts depends onrepparttar 100523 ability to read.

Futurologists used to predictrepparttar 100524 death ofrepparttar 100525 printed word but, ironically, Internet has made reading more and more a part of people's daily lives. The paperless society is a myth. The computer's ability to process and analyze data means that endless variations on reports and other types of documents can be and are generated. Internet, itself an enormous new source of information and recreation, is based onrepparttar 100526 humble written word. To effectively utilizerepparttar 100527 web and judgerepparttar 100528 authenticity and value of what is found there, both reading and critical thinking skills are of prime importance.

The more children read,repparttar 100529 better they become at reading. It's as simple as that. The more enjoyablerepparttar 100530 things they read are,repparttar 100531 more they'll stick with them and developrepparttar 100532 reading skills that they'll need for full access to information in their adult lives. Reading should be viewed as a pleasurable activity - as a source of entertaining tales and useful and interesting factual information.

The more young children read stories and are read to,repparttar 100533 greater their interest in mastering reading. Reading out loud exposes children to proper grammar and phrasing. It enhancesrepparttar 100534 development of their spoken language skills, their ability to express themselves verbally.

Reading, by way of books, children's stories, magazines or websites, exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even when they don't understand every new word, they absorb something fromrepparttar 100535 context that may deepen their understanding of itrepparttar 100536 next timerepparttar 100537 word is encountered. When parents read aloud to children,repparttar 100538 children also hear correct pronunciation as they seerepparttar 100539 words onrepparttar 100540 page, even if they can't yet readrepparttar 100541 words on their own.

Reading Can Open Up New Worlds and Enrich Children's Lives

As mentioned above, reading opens doors - doors to factual information about any subject on earth, practical or theoretical. Givenrepparttar 100542 wealth of available resources such as Internet, libraries, schools and bookstores, if children can read well and if they see reading as a source of information, then forrepparttar 100543 rest of their lives they will have access to all ofrepparttar 100544 accumulated knowledge of mankind, access to all ofrepparttar 100545 great minds and ideas ofrepparttar 100546 past and present. It truly is magic !

Through books and stories, children can also learn about people and places from other parts ofrepparttar 100547 world, improving their understanding of and concern for all of humanity. This, in turn, contributes towards our sense that we truly live in a "global village" and may help us bring about a more peaceful future for everyone. This can happen through nonfiction but, perhaps even more importantly, reading stories that are set in other places and time periods can give children a deeper understanding of others through identification with individual characters and their plights.

Through stories and novels children can vicariously try out new experiences and test new ideas, with no negative consequences in their real lives. They can meet characters who they'll enjoy returning to for comforting and satisfying visits when they reread a cherished book or discover a sequel. Books also give kidsrepparttar 100548 opportunity to flex their critical thinking skills in such areas as problem solving,repparttar 100549 concepts of cause and effect, conflict resolution, and acceptance of responsibility for one's actions. Mysteries allow children to follow clues to their logical conclusions and to try to outguessrepparttar 100550 author. Even for very young children, a simple story with a repetitive refrain or a simple mystery to solve gives a confidence boost. Children can predictrepparttar 100551 patterns and successfully solverepparttar 100552 riddles.

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