Soraya Diase Coffelt's Blog, page 7
August 1, 2022
Bossy Children? Here are Some Tips to Handle Their Behaviors
“All of you young people should obey your elders. In fact, everyone should be humble toward everyone else. The Scriptures say, “God opposes proud people, but he helps everyone who is humble.”
-1 Peter 5:5 (CEV)
What does “bossy” mean? The Cambridge dictionary defines it, when applied to a person, as someone who “is always telling people what to do.” As a mother of two sons, I can readily admit that one of them exhibited “bossy” behavior more often than the other. This type of behavior can be very challenging to parents, siblings, friends, and others who have any form of interaction with a child. What we do not want to do is squelch any leadership tendencies, but this behavior must be addressed. What can parents do? This blog post is from a Christian’s perspective and relies on scripture from the Bible.
Here are some helpful tips:
Do not allow your children to get away with bossy behavior. Often, people will comment or laugh and say, “She is so cute when she does that!” or “He just has a quick temper.” Bossy behavior should not be ignored or tolerated or laughed at.
Use scripture to guide your discussions and discipline. Read and talk about various scriptures with your children. In this blog post, I quote 1 Peter 5:5 (CEV) which stresses that children should obey their elders and be humble. Remember that you are the parent and remind your children of that.
Children should also honor their parents. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12). Other scriptures that admonish us to honor our parents are Colossians 3:20, Ephesians 6:1-3, and Proverbs 30:17.
Stop and talk with your children so that they can learn about empathy. If you are watching a television show or movie, and someone is being “bossy” or picking on someone else, stop it and speak with your children about what is happening. Ask them to think about how the other person feels. Also, when reading a book, you can do the same thing. The importance is to focus on the wrong behavior that someone else is exhibiting and speak to your children about it so that they learn.
Do volunteer service together as a family. Children will learn about those who may be less fortunate than themselves and the importance of being kind and loving to others.
To learn more, please visit:
https://www.cornerstonesforparents.com/bossy-child
https://www.faithfulmotherhood.com/not-the-mommy-challenge-of-sibling-authority/
July 25, 2022
Books that Help Your Children Learn About the Lives of Immigrants and Refugees
Reports about immigrants and refugees are constantly in the news. Your children hear about these groups of people and I’m sure have many questions about them and the lives they came from as well as the lives they are living now. To help your children understand and learn more about them, I recommend having them read books that tell their stories as well as the history of our country.
Below is a listing of some books for your children. Of course, this list is not exhaustive and I provide website links as well to assist you in doing your own searches.
What is a Refugee? Author Elisa Gravel, ages 3-7 – introduces a refugee
The Name Jar Author Yangsook Choi, ages 4-8 – describes the challenge of having a name that is hard to pronounce and how it makes a child feel
I'm New Here Author Anne Sibley O'Brien, ages 5-7 – tells the story of 3 children from different countries as they enter elementary school
Dreamers Author Yuyi Morales, ages 5-7 – tells the story of leaving a country but still bringing all your beautiful culture with you
My Little Golden Book About the Statue of Liberty Author Jen Arena, ages 2-5 – tells the history of the Statute of Liberty
What Was Ellis Island? Author Patricia Brennan Demuth, ages 8-10 – tells the history of Ellis Island as the entry point into the United States for millions of immigrants who wanted to start a new life
100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World (Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls), ages 6 and up – tells the stories of 100 immigrant women who have had an impact
The Arabic Quilt Author Aya Khalil, ages 6-8 – tells the story of a girl from Egypt who starts elementary school in America
For more information, please visit:
https://www.readbrightly.com/books-about-immigration-for-kids/
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Children's-Books-on-Immigration/zgbs/books/271597011
July 18, 2022
The Inspirational Story of Darrion Cockrell
Darrion Cockrell was awarded Missouri’s Teacher of the Year for 2021, a prestigious award for the most dedicated and respected teachers. He is a physical education teacher at Crestwood Elementary School in St. Louis. His journey to becoming a teacher and then winning this award is very inspirational. It shows the tremendous impact that teachers and a loving family have on a child. Please share with your children.
Darrion’s mother was a drug addict and had 2 children by the time she was 16 years old. His father was murdered when he was 4 years old, and he began his life in and out of the foster system at age 6. He even became a gang member before he was 10. He lived with his grandmother for a period of time, but she lost custody of him.
Darrion says that he owes his life to a teacher named Ken and other teachers, counselors and even a school principal who gave him a second chance. Teachers used physical education to keep him interested in attending school. One teacher even picked him up for school each day from the foster care center – he saw her as a “mom” figure for at least 6 months.
When he was in the 7th grade, his football coach and wife took him into their home, and he lived with them until he graduated from high school. He eventually attended the University of Missouri – St. Louis and graduated.
As a physical education teacher, he loves what he does and the impact he has on children and their families. As to the importance of his role, he said:
"PE is just as important as social studies and science and math. As long as you understand those building blocks of fitness and health and taking care of yourself, then you can do anything you want in the world."
To read more about Darrion, please visit:
https://www.passiton.com/passiton-blog/30-former-gang-member-changed-path-in-life
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/12/us/former-gang-member-teacher-trnd/index.html
https://people.com/human-interest/former-gang-member-becomes-missouri-teacher-of-the-year/
July 11, 2022
Teaching Your Children How to Budget From an Early Age
Because of the downturn in the economy, there are news reports of many people going to banks and credit unions seeking loans to help them get through the rough patches and meet their financial obligations. Some of those people have already defaulted on loan obligations and yet are trying to refinance their debts. I think it is critical to teach our children about budgeting and not overspending from an early age so that those habits are engrained into adulthood.
There is an excellent online article written by Anna Baluch titled Budgeting for Kids: How to Teach It and Why It Matters. The article stresses the importance of teaching budgeting skills so that children understand the importance of saving for long-term goals and developing good habits for financial solvency from a young age.
It is generally understood that our first mentors for handling money are our parents so why not teach our children these important skills. When should parents start? The article recommends as early as 8 years-old, even younger, at age 5, if it is just teaching about saving.
The article lists key takeaways as follows:
Budgeting teaches critical savings and spending skills that children can use to achieve financial health in adulthood.
It helps children learn how to identify financial goals and develop a specific plan for achieving them.
You can use real-life examples to teach children about budgeting so they can relate to the lessons.
The article recommends having a simple budget sheet that is a sheet of paper with 3 columns – goals, savings and cost. Discuss it with your children and then keep them on track.
To read the entire article, please visit https://www.thebalance.com/teach-kids-to-budget-money-454012
July 4, 2022
The Tremendous Benefits That Reading 20 Minutes A Day Has on Your Children
Yes, you read the title of this blog post correctly! Studies have shown that your children can read for just 20 minutes a day and have tremendous benefits.
What are these benefits?
Your children will be exposed to a tremendous amount of new vocabulary. By reading 20 minutes a day, or being read to, your children will have been exposed to 1.8 million words a year.
They are likely to score in the top 90th percentile on standardized tests.
Their brains will be activated allowing them to develop stronger and healthier brains.
Their imaginations will be enhanced.
Their writing skills will improve as they learn about putting thoughts and sentences together.
They will be more relaxed and ready to sleep at bedtime as their stress levels will be lowered.
They will develop empathy as they learn about different peoples and cultures.
To learn more, please visit:
https://specialedresource.com/benefits-of-reading-20-minutes-a-day
https://illogicalscript.com/how-reading-20-minutes-a-day-affects-our-life/
June 27, 2022
Teaching Your Children About The 4th of July And Then Celebrating With Them
The 4th of July or Independence Day holiday weekend is approaching and what do you have planned for your family’s celebrations? I recommend spending some time with your children teaching them about the historical facts that lead up to the 4th of July and the founding of our great country and then having a lot of fun activities afterwards.
The history of our Independence Day is riveting and powerful. One way to help your children learn about it is by reading my book It’s Not About You Mrs. Firecracker – A Love Letter About the True Meaning of the Fourth of July. It is historically accurate and has colorful illustrations and lots of humor. There are many other books available as well. Since we are a diverse country filled with immigrants and refugees, consider having your children read as well about them. Some recommendations are: I’m New Here by Anne Sibley O’Brien; Landing at Ellis Island by Dr. Holly Karapetkova; The Journey by Francesca Sanna; and Dreamers by Yuyi Morales.
I have written two prior blog posts that have very helpful tips: Teaching Your Children the Importance of What Happened on July 4th and Celebrate with Your Children the Freedoms We Have This July 4th.
In addition to my blog posts, there are many websites that have suggestions of activities. Make this July 4th weekend extra special by planning some teachable time with your children and then fun outdoor activities.
To learn more, please visit these websites:
https://www.weareteachers.com/fourth-of-july-activities/
https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/g4463/4th-of-july-activites/
June 20, 2022
Helpful Tips for Building Good Nutritional Habits in Your Children
Have your children made the same or a similar comment to you as the girl in this cartoon when you are encouraging them to eat vegetables and fruits? It seems to be an age-old challenge for parents. An excellent online article from the American Academy of Pediatrics has many good suggestions to help parents build good nutritional habits in their children.
Here are some helpful tips from that article:
Be a role model to your children. If they see you eating more fruits and vegetables, they will too.
Begin with learning what is the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables for children. Visit choosemyplate.gov for more information.
When grocery shopping, limit the amount of purchases of sugary snacks such as cookies and candy as well as sugary drinks.
Keep fruits and vegetables washed and easily accessible as snacks. I often had dips as well to accompany the vegetables as snacks.
Add fruits or vegetables to meals. For example, if your children like to eat cereal, add a banana or blueberries. For school lunches, pack snacks of veggies with dips.
Serve salads often with lunches and dinners.
It is key to remember that your goal is to build life-long, good nutritional habits in your children. When you start them from young eating nutritiously, they will continue as adults.
To read the entire article, please visit:
June 13, 2022
Help Your Children Protect Themselves From Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is essentially bullying using cell phones or social media. What can parents do to protect their children from these types of bullies?
The Child Mind Institute, a leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health, has an excellent online article about cyberbullying and what parents can do to help their children. Some points covered are:
How can parents know if their child is being cyberbullied? Because children often are embarrassed or ashamed when they are bullied, they may not tell their parents. Parents usually find out after the situation has gotten worse. Talk with your children frequently and be open to discuss topics that are challenging them without judging them.
When should parents intervene? It is important that parents gather facts before they intervene. Talk with your child about what has happened. Come up with a plan together.
What can a child do when being cyberbullied? The article recommends taking many actions such as turning off the computer and walking away; not responding or retaliating; blocking the bully; saving and printing out bullying messages; and talking with friends and trusted adults.
How can cyberbullying be reported? If it happens using a form of social media, contact the company and report what has happened. If it happens by text, contact the cellar company, and report it as well as change the cell number. If the bullying continues, seek the help of others such as your children’s friends, coaches, and teachers.
The article has many links to other online resources, so please take the time to learn more about cyberbullying. As parents become educated about it, the sooner they will be able to talk to their children and discover what has been happening so that they can help their children protect themselves and avoid suffering.
To read the entire article and many relevant links, please go to:
June 6, 2022
Children Who Are Making An Impact on Improving Our World
The Foundation for a Better Life promotes so many great causes for adults and children. Its website www.passiton.com has daily quotes of encouragement as well as weekly articles with good news to make us smile and be uplifted. My blog post this week is about its online article Born to Make a Difference - Kids Who are Changing Their World.
Adults often complain about the younger generation, with complaints ranging from lack of respect to too much involvement in social media. However, this article highlights many children who are movers and shakers in helping to change their world.
Captured in the photo for this blog post are Jamil Jackson and sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen. Jamil started when he was 9 years old to distribute “Blessing Bags” to the homeless in Chicago. These bags are filled with important items such as toiletries, food items and other essentials. Sisters Melati and Isabel started a successful campaign to free their beaches in their country Bali from plastic. Beaches there are now plastic free!
The article mentions the names of several other children who are involved with projects for recycling and even some who are inventors in their communities. And of course, there are countless numbers of children involved in projects to raise money for worthy causes.
The next time you hear anyone criticize the younger generation, be sure to mention all the good things that children are doing all over the world!
To read more, please visit:
https://www.passiton.com/passiton-blog/80-born-to-make-a-difference-kids-who-are
May 30, 2022
What Parents Can Do To Improve Their Children's Mental Health
May has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Month. The theme this year is “Getting Back to Basics” which seeks to promote learning more about mental health conditions and what can be done to improve our mental health. This coincides with several recent articles that center on the growing mental health crisis among children.
One excellent article is The Mental Health Crisis Among Children and Teens: How Parents can Help from Harvard Health Publishing/Harvard Medical School which was published in March. The article begins with this call to action: “We are in the midst of a pediatric mental health crisis — and parents need to take action.” One of the main results of the pandemic is the “alarming amount of anxiety and depression in our children and teens.”
What can parents do? The article suggests the following:
Understand that your children’s mental health is just as important as their physical health.
Have regular times to communicate with your children in a nonjudgmental way.
Make sure that your children have time to relax and do things that they enjoy.
Encourage more sleep and physical exercise.
Monitor their social media so they develop safe and healthy habits.
Keep in touch regularly with other adults in their lives, such as their teachers, coaches, and parents of their friends, to ensure that your children are getting the support they need.
Try not to judge them so much by having “expectations without judgment”.
Ensure that your own mental health is taken care of as well.
The article provides many resources that you will find very helpful. Please invest the time and effort in doing what you can to improve your children’s mental health.
To read the entire article, please visit:
