How to Tell Stories to Your Children - Creative Parenting Tips on Story Telling to Kids

What are the benefits of reading stories to your children and what's the best way of doing it? How to you make it interesting? How do you increase their learning? Make story telling time a pleasure for both parent and child with these top storytelling tips.

THE POWER OF STORYTELLING

When you see an indifferent, bored or restless kid suddenly entranced by a beguiling story tale, you can fully appreciate the power of storytelling and the rewards it brings to both listener and storyteller. Here are just a few of the benefits of telling bedtime stories to your child:

1. Storytelling helps you bond with your child

Storytelling is one of the best ways to create a bond with your child. You are communicating and engaging with your child on a one-to-one basis. It is also a good chance for your child to find out something about you too as you can put your personal touches into the story.

2. Story time forms part of a restful routine before bedtime

Most parents understand the enormous benefits of sleep for a young child. However, many toddlers refuse to go to bed. Creating a quiet and regular schedule before bedtime helps get your child to go to bed.

3. Story time is one of the most effective language-learning tools

Kids do not know the difference between learning time and play time. For them, almost all the time is play time. Reading a bedtime story is one of the best ways of teaching language skills to young children.

By the way, do not feel that you have to pause the story to explain every new word. If your child asks, by all means, explain the word, but a lot of the time they will get the meaning through context. Sometimes it is good enough for now to introduce concepts that will be explained later. For example, jokes such as puns may be very difficult to explain and you don't need to. You are simply introducing the overall concept of a 'joke' which they will learn to understand in finer detail as their learning progresses.

4. Story time teaches so much more than language

Storytelling does not introduce simply language and vocabulary. Ethics, geology, botany, physics, zoology, chemistry, human behavior, social skills..all these areas may be introduced through seemingly simple tales.

5. Storytelling time will help your child to concentrate and focus

The nightly bedtime story is most of the most simple yet effective means of forming the habit of concentration, of fixed attention in your child.

BEST WAYS TO READ STORIES TO YOUR CHILD

Here are simple tips for reading stories to your children.

1. Schedule time for storytelling and turn it into part of your bedtime routine

Getting your child ready for bedtime is often the second most stressful, busy time of the day, next to the morning off-to-school rush. As mentioned, you should make storytelling part of your night time ritual. Switch off the TV and any other noise, put away toys and other distractions. Dim the lights except for your reading lamp, settle your child down on the sofa with their warm glass of milk and read them an engaging story. This creates an atmosphere and routine your child will learn to understand, and will have them calm and ready for bed. I know that you might be tired and distracted, but try to make this time focused

2. Picking the right bedtime story

A great bedtime story has a sense of familiarity but with some magic or mystery, repetition, great characters and a storyline that moves along.

Goldilocks and The Three Bears, for example, contains familiar and related objects and situations such as a breakfast setting of porridge, chairs, beds, a mummy, a daddy etc. It also achieves an air of mystery "who's been sitting in my bed" and magic by having three bears at the center of the tale.

A classic tale such as Jack and The Beanstalk has wonderful characters from the old lady Jack meets along the way, the giant's wife, and of course, the wonderfully scary Giant with those memorable lines "Fe Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman". It is a great chance of course for you to put on your most dramatic voice.

A tale like Three Little Pigs has lots of repetition so the child is able to anticipate parts of the story. The big bad wolf goes up to one of the little pig's houses and he will blow and will blow....but what will happen next!?

It is hard to go wrong if you pick one of the classic fairytales: The Ugly Duckling, Cinderella, The Frog Princess, Goldilocks and The Three Bears, The Princess And The Pea, Rapunzel and so many more.

As for the best modern bedtime stories: try the works of Julia Donaldson, Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are and of course, Dr Seuss.

3. It helps to know the story

If you are already familiar with the bedtime story, you can turn your primary focus onto your child. Eye contact is a key part of bonding and you can't engage your child by looking in their eyes if your head is in a book. Knowing the story also means you can be spontaneous and ad-lib a little.

4. Delivery

Speak with passion and engagement and you are sure to hold your child in rapt attention. Obviously do not rush, keep to a pace your child can follow but at the same time, there's no need to string out every word. Act as if you are hearing the story for the first time too: express surprise, humor, tension as the story goes along.

5. Participation

As your child grows older, encourage them to participate in the storytelling. They can repeat "Fe Fi Fo Fum" with you, for instance, or you can ask them what they think will happen next. Obviously, hold off if your child is quite tired (by the way, you don't have to finish the story if they are too tired, just bookmark for the next night) or busy with their milk or too young. Before they learn to read, you can point at the pictures. Once they start to learn to read, you can follow the words with your finger or ask them to do the same. Do not dismiss their questions even if they are not relevant. This interaction and questioning is a valuable part of their cognitive learning.

6. Enjoy yourself

And finally, enjoy story time, do not see it as a chore, and your child will feel that sense of passion, concentration and joy.

Gemma Swansburg is re-reading her favorite bedtime story, Anne Of Green Gables. Gemma is a writer/researcher. Visit her latest article, a series of Luminess tan reviews. For best prices, product info and special offers for the Luminess tan airbrush system and other airbrush makeup equipment, visit airbrushmakeupfoundation.com.

Why Some Children May Never Get the Sleep Disorder Solution They Need

There is a growing trend in the area of medical treatment for children with sleep disorders, and it could spell big trouble for the suffering kids if it isn't reversed soon. Dr. Dennis Rosen, a noted pediatric sleep specialist, recently pointed out the huge shortage of the number of qualified subspecialists in the field of pediatric medicine. Oddly enough, when it comes to physicians specializing in adult medicine, the trend is just the opposite: every doctor and his brother wants to be an adult specialist. Why the disparity? I'll give you one gue$$.

Adult sleep specialists make a lot of money. A LOT of money. Those who help children to find a sleep disorder solution, on the other hand, don't make nearly as much. Not only that, but those graduating doctors who want to work with children must attend even more years of medical training and residency. That means they'll have to go into debt even further and wait longer to begin paying it back. That makes pediatric medicine very unattractive from a sheer financial standpoint. But the money issue, significant as it is, isn't the biggest repercussion when it comes to the huge difference in the number of qualified sleep disorder specialists. What is the issue is the access to care.

With so few pediatric specialists in the area of sleep disorders available, that means one of two things. Either the affected child will have to travel great distances at great costs to get the care he or she needs, or that child will have to wait (sometimes months on end) before he or she can be seen by one of the few practitioners he can find. Or perhaps a combination of both.

Check out these sleep disorder statistics. According to the American Board of Pediatrics, there are only 751 qualified pediatric practitioners open for business in the United States. That's only 1 for every 100,000 suffering children. And in sparsely populated states like Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, there isn't even one!

Even though the US government is under great pressure to reduce medical spending, this is a free market problem that simply isn't going to fix itself without some significant intervention from Congress. Too many children's lives are at stake for lack of qualified medical professionals. The extra training is definitely needed (children aren't just "little adults"). But something needs to be done to ease the financial burden of aspiring pediatric sleep disorder specialists. Otherwise many suffering American children won't get the sleep disorder solution they desperately need.
 

By Harvey Foreman
  

Do you or a loved one have insomnia? It may be very treatable. Or it may be a bona fide sleep disorder that requires treatment and medication. Visit http://www.sleepdisordersolution.net to find out which one you need and get the rest your body craves. Don't wait another night. Get visit now and get to sleep tonight.

Back To School Shopping - Top 5 Tips

It's that time again to get excited and do some shopping for back to school clothes. Here are 5 tips to follow when doing your back to school shopping.

1) Shop end of summer sales - You know as well as we do that kids wear short sleeve polo shirts all year long, so hit the big summer sales and snap up discounted duds that can be worn well into fall.

2)Stick to the list - It's easy to sway from the clothes you set out to get but remember to pace yourself it's a long school year and there will be some shopping through the year, so make a list and stick to it.

3)Separate wants from needs - Most clothes don't go out of style over the summer, and your child should use some of the previous years school clothes his or her has or maybe there is a older brother or sister that has some slightly used clothes that could be handed down.So there may not be a need to go out and buy everything brand new, also if money is tight you might want to hold off on winter clothes for a couple of months.

4)Have a budget, Stick to the budget - Set aside your back to school funds and only use that money, because things could get out of control real fast.

5) Shop online - More people are shopping online these days because it's fast,easy,safe and in most cases cheaper. There are huge discounts when shopping online.
 

By Carl Bender
  

So there it is 5 great, quick tips to do your Back to school shopping, I have also set up a one stop shopping center to help, just visit Back to school sales to see for yourself.

Short and Long Term Effects of Bullying - The Victim & the Bully

Bullying is a serious problem faced by our youth today. It does not matter if the bullying takes place in the school, neighborhood or on the internet. It can lead to serious problems for both the victim and the perpetrator.

There are short and long term effects of bullying that should be noted for both the victim and the bully.

It is important to realize that once it is determined a bullying situation exists, immediate help needs to be given both the victim and the bully.

Short Term Effects for the Victim:

*Extreme depression - always seems sad and withdrawn
*Loss of self-esteem or self-worth may occur
*Trouble sleeping - bad dreams - nightmares
*Bed wetting might occur, especially in younger victims
*Physical Symptoms (upset stomach, headache, etc...)
*Anxiety about going to school or riding the bus
*Truancy could result as a result of being bullied
*Anxiety about attending social events with peers
*Drop in grade average

Short Term Effects for the Bully:

*Difficulty in maintaining friendships with others
*Generally does not do well in school
*Tends to be truant and often drops out of school
*Higher risk for alcohol or substance abuse

Long Term Effects for the Victim:

*If given immediate help the victim should have limited long term effects. This is especially true if the victim is given assistance by a child mental health care professional to resolve the issues of being victimized.

*If the bullying continues for any length of time:

**Chronic depression leading to suicidal tendencies
**Long term psychological post-trauma disorders
**Self-destructive behavior
**Alcohol or substance abuse may result

Long Term Effects for the Bully:

*Increased percentage are convicted of a crime by age 24
*Increased dependency on alcohol and illegal drugs
*Increased chance of spousal or child abuse as an adult
*Continued difficulty in maintaining long term relationships

It is also shown through surveys that boys and girls, victims and bullies, all have a much higher occurrence of carrying concealed weapons to school.

Our children have a tendency to keep the acts of bullying to themselves. Less than half who are involved report the instances to an adult or parent.

This, combined with the statistics that show over half of our children are either a victim of bullying or a bully, makes this a major issue when trying to secure the safety of our children.

There are many websites available for adults who are concerned about the issues of bullying. I urge any parent, adult and child care professional to visit one of these resources to learn more about what can be done to address this serious issue.

The short and long term effects of bullying and cyber bullying are too great to ignore. Immediate action needs to be taken.

By John W Sheridan

I have written a detailed report on the subject of Cyber Bullycide Victims

Please protect your children from Cyber-Bullying! Read this report before it is too late!

5 Tips To Coping In The First Weeks With Your Newborn

When having a new baby, you really do not realise how much work it is until they arrive. It can feel overwhelming when you need to catch up on your sleep, rest, do housework, fix food for yourself as well as trying to keep up with the demands of a newborn.

This article gives you tips on how to cope.

Accept the realities - first it is important to accept the position you are in. You may be miserable without your sleep or having to put someone constantly before yourself, but this stage passes quickly - more so than it feels at first. Try to focus on enjoying the time and don't worry about routines. Just go with the flow and things will adjust quickly.

Rely On Others - When there is a new arrival in the family, family should be there to help you out and make sure things are easier. If your family offer to clean for you or cook for you - accept it. It will be a much needed break. If they don't offer, don't be afraid to ask and try to rely on people at this time. Also try to keep in touch with friends so that you have people to talk to if you are feeling a little overwhelmed.

Cut Corners or Accept Mess - Try not to let it stress you that you haven't vacuumed in over a week or the house is a little messy. Let it go, your baby is more important and tidiness isn't. It can be tough but it is OK to have a messy house and you shouldn't like you have to keep up appearances with your home. If it bothers you too much, try and get family to help out.

Get Out Of The House - One of the best things I did when I had my son was to go out on a walk everyday. I put him in a sling and went for a walk. This helped his colic and helped me calm down when I felt like a bad mother or unable to cope. Getting out of the house will make you feel like you have taken a much needed breather.

You Can't Spoil A Baby - Despite what many people might try to tell you, it is impossible to spoil a baby. Responding to your newborn's every need is important and not something to stress over. Go with your own natural instincts and trust yourself. YOU know best.

Being a new parent is stressful but relying on others, accepting mess and trying to focus on what is important will get you through it.

By Marie Crawford

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