The perfect gifts
for children young and old are stuffed toys. Why you say? Because they are
cuddly, they comfort you, they look good and people nowadays have collections
of stuffed and plush toys. Children nowadays want the latest stuffed and plush
toys; e.g. stuffed toys from the latest video games, the latest anime (Japanese
cartoons), TV shows and movies. Creativity and imagination can be displayed
through playing with stuffed toys. Now this is all good and all but is there
another reason for giving your children stuffed toys?

According to
research, playing with plush and stuffed toys will assist children in different
ways. The toy is like a friend to them which they can share their thoughts,
emotions, dreams or troubles. By providing your child with many stuffed toys,
each toy can represent a different personality which your child creates. As a
result the child will improve their social skills and be more confident; which
does not mean that toys will replace real people but in fact will help your
child build confidence in meeting with other children.

Toys can act
as real people for children and they will include them through their daily
routine from eating, talking and sleeping etc.???
Children with no siblings or busy parents who do not have much time to
spend with their kids due to work or other matters, the plush toys will become
their companion and keep them company during the day.

According to
studies, by playing with stuffed toys rather than general toys the child will show
different sets of behaviour. Children with stuffed toys are less agitated, more
empathetic and display good behaviour to their siblings and parents. They also
develop a very positive and confident attitude towards life.

Stuffed and
plush toys can also have a calm and soothing effect on kids.

So what
stuffed toys should you give to your child?

Animal
stuffed toys are one of the most popular and are given to many children around
the world. They are widely accepted among babies and young children; the toys
can also vary in different shapes and animals. Teddy bears, cats, dogs are some
of the more commonly known ones.

Tinh Nguyen is the owner of ??Little Toy Shop?? which
knows the importance and benefits of stuffed toys on children so it has created
its own section dedicated for Stuffed and Plush toys.
Get it now at

http://littletoyshop.info/stuffed-animals-plush

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent issues among the young clients I counsel. Children feel anxious over events or something in their environment. They experience physical and mental symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweaty palms, stomach cramps, and persistent thoughts. These anxieties may lead to sleepless nights, resistance to go places, oppositional behavior, repetitive patterns, or withdrawal. When anxiety is persistent and high, a professional should be employed. When anxiety seems time-limited or situational, then parents can use these tools to help their children cope.

1. The Worry Spill. Children and adults talk to me frequently about what I call a worry spill. The worries start out quite honestly and grow into huge monsters. A child might consistently worry that he will forget to bring his homework to school. Before he knows it, the feeling spills into fretting over whether he??ll forget his lunch, although he has never forgotten his lunch before. In these cases, worrying takes on a life of its own. Thus, containment is the only solution!

   How does one contain worrying? First, it??s important for people to visualize a worry spill. In counseling, I often draw out an Issues Map, a map shaped like the United States, for instance, with different lines separating different issues. For a child, the map might include homework, chores, band, friends, family, or world peace. Basically anything the child believes is an issue in his life. Once an Issues Map is drawn, I take a different colored pen and we decide when and where the worrying all started. Usually, there is a starting point. It could have been the day when homework wasn??t turned in or an evening when mom and dad fought. We put a big X on the spot to show our starting point. Next, we talk about how worries spill over into new worries when concerns are not addressed. We take a marker and draw the worry bleeding over into other areas on the Issues Map. By the time we are done coloring in the map, it is evident that the worries are out of control.

   Finally, we talk about containment. We discuss how worrying or anxiety is a helpful energy when we focus it on solving a particular problem. For instance, the problem might be how can I feel assured that I will remember my lunch? The solution might be to place a sign on the front door that says, ??Remember your lunch.?? If we spend time problem solving and then following through with our solutions our worries often go away. Once the original issue is solved, the other issues tend to deflate.

2. The Worry Box. Some children live with a great deal of anxiety. They worry over school. They fret over sports. They have concerns over friends and family. They feel overwhelmed. To help these children cope, I explain to them that sometimes their ??emotional cup?? feels full. Thus, when parents ask for a chore to be done, these children can easily break into tears or burst in a rage. Parents feel as if they are ??walking on eggshells?? when children are in this state. They often don??t realize how easily they can tip the emotional cup over with simple requests. Your children’s worries are important to them. And when children have too many worries, they may be cranky a lot and might even have trouble sleeping.

   One way to help relieve your children of their worries is to help define what’s bothering them and then put their worries in a literal box. First you say, ??I understand that your worries are important to you but they are also overwhelming sometimes. Your worries sometimes make you cry or get you angry and sometimes you lose sleep. I want to help you. Let??s write your worries down and then put them in this box. As you have new worries you can add them to the box. When the worries feel too heavy, I will carry them for you. I can even keep them overnight. I will take care of them and when you want them back, you can take them back. I am your parent and I will do this for you. I can handle the weight of your worries when you cannot.??

   Then you help your child write her worries on a piece of paper. Try the ??I feel?? when?? because???? formula. An example might be ??I feel afraid when I go to bed because there might be something under my bed.?? Then place the written worry in a special box. This process allows children to let go and feel safe. It??s symbolic and can show your child that she is not in this alone. Sometimes, children never come back for their worries.

3. Parent-Child Journal.?????? Opening up communication with your child is very important. If you find the talking-listening routine a little too much for now, try the parent-child journal. First, purchase a sturdy journal. Then, write the first entry on the first page describing the purpose of the journal. You might say, ??Sometimes talking about your worries is difficult. I know it has been for me at times. But writing down our problems might feel easier. I am hoping that this journal is our way to communicate about difficult things until we feel more comfortable talking about them. You will not get in trouble for anything you write and you are not expected to talk about it later. However, you??re free to talk about it if you choose.

   Open the journal with this entry: “I sometimes worry about?? and this is how I cope with that worry.?? If you have some communication skills, sit down with your child and explain that the purpose of the journal is to open up communication. Once you??ve written your entry, place the journal under your child??s pillow. Wait patiently for a response. Once you receive your child??s entry, write back thoughtfully and timely. After a while, take your child out for a ??date?? or spend alone time and talk about whatever comes up.??? Slowly but surely you??ll find that the pages of your journaling activity will come to life verbally, however, never push beyond your child??s boundaries. Pushing can lead to a shut down in communication.

These three solutions to moderate anxiety have proven helpful when parents use them calmly. It’s always important to remember that as the parent you model calm behavior and problem solving skills. Talk your children through your techniques for coping with stress. If you find that you are not great at handling your own worries, get some help for yourself and share you discoveries with your child. Stress might be a natural part of being human, but decreasing stress and anxiety certainly makes for a healthier, happier lifestyle.

Child car seats are widely recognized for their value in helping to keep children safe and comfortable while traveling, and are one of the most important purchases that can be made for your child’s safety. However, a study by the U.S. Government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration** found that, of nearly 3500 car seats observed, more than SEVEN in every TEN child restraint systems were misused in a way that “could be expected to increase a child’s risk of injury during a crash”. It is not only important that you obtain the right car seat in the first place, but also that the car seat be used properly at all times.

**Per the U.S. Government’s Department of Health and Human Service’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ‘Child Passenger Safety Fact Sheet’ (see the ‘Risk Factors’ section).

Types of Child Car Seats:

There are three basic types of child car seats, with each type being suitable for a child within a certain age and weight range.

‘Infant’ car seats are designed for newborns up to about six months of age. These are rear facing car seats with a harness to keep the child securely in place, with the child riding in a lying down position. There are also ‘convertible’ infant/toddler child car seats available. These car seats can be used for children from infancy into their toddler years, until they are ready for a booster seat.

At about six months of age most children are ready to start using a ‘toddler’ car seat, until they transition into a ‘booster’ car seat. Many toddler car seats allow the child to ride in either an upright or a reclined position, and some models raise the child up sufficiently to be able to easily see out of the vehicle’s windows while in the upright position.

‘Booster’ car seats are designed for children from approximately 2 years of age up to 6 years, and are forward facing car seats that are designed for the child to sit upright. There are also ‘convertible’ toddler/booster child car seats available. These car seats can be used for children from the time they are ready to start using a toddler seat until they are ready to start using just the car’s seat belts.

Purchasing a Child Car Seat:

Although it may not be necessary to buy an expensive car seat to keep your child safe, price alone should not be the determining factor in choosing which car seat to purchase. A ‘cheap’ child car seat, or a ‘bargain’ that you find at a garage sale, may not give your child the maximum level of protection that he or she deserves.

Using a secondhand child car seat may not be a good idea, as you may not be able to tell how old the car seat is, and, thus, whether or not it was designed to comply with current automobile designs and child car seat standards (federal motor vehicle safety standards change regularly, and older car seats may not be in compliance with them). In addition, the car seat may have suffered internal damage in an accident, or may not have all of its original parts. You may be able to use a relatively new secondhand car seat from a family member or friend, if they can tell you the car seat’s history, and know that the car seat has all its original parts. Also, make sure that the instructions for the car seat are either included with the car seat, or that you obtain them from the manufacturer or a distributor (instructions are usually available at no cost, either through the mail, or by downloading them over the Internet).

Before buying any child car seat, you should do your ‘homework’ to make sure that you select one that is suitable both for your child, and for the vehicle(s) in which it will be used. You can purchase quality child car seats over the Internet, and searching the Internet is a good way to find manufacturers’ descriptions and recommendations, product reviews, safety ratings, and recall information, for various child car seat models, so that you can choose the best models to consider purchasing. Child car seat manufacturers are bound by very strict guidelines, and you may be surprised to find that some of the more expensive car seats don’t provide any better level of protection than those which are more moderately priced.

A good place to start your research is to read Consumer Reports for comparisons of various car seat models. Make sure that any car seat you’re considering has passed the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) test. Also, there are often parent comments that you can read on the Web sites of retailers that sell car seats online. In this way you can find good information from actual users about both the good and bad features of various car seat models (such as comfort level, and easy of installation and use).

Child Car Seat Installation and Use:

To provide your child with the maximum level of protection, it is vital that your child use a child car seat that is suitable both for the child and for the vehicle(s) in which the car seat will be used, and that it always be used in a proper fashion. Every new car seat comes with instructions for proper installation and use, and before buying any car seat, you should always check the manufacturer’s specifications and recommendations to make sure that it is not only appropriate for your child, but also that it will fit into your vehicle(s) properly, so that it will provide the best possible protection. There may be special instructions that you should be aware of, and failure to follow these instructions could result in compromising your child’s safety and comfort while using the car seat.

If you have any questions about the suitability of a particular car seat for a particular vehicle, or how to install the car seat in that vehicle, contact the car seat’s manufacturer for clarification. In addition, many communities have agencies (including local law enforcement) that will assist you in making sure that you know how to properly install and use your child’s car seat, so as to provide the highest level of car seat safety.

Buying the right child car seat for your child, and using the car seat properly, will provide your child with a comfortable and safe riding experience, and make traveling a more pleasant and enjoyable experience for the whole family.

Where to Shop:

GalaxyOfStores is an Online Shopping Center for THOUSANDS of different products for the whole family.

Please visit CHILD CAR SEATS for more information about car seats, as well as a great selection of car seats, strollers, and travel systems, and visit the GalaxyOfStores.com HOME PAGE for all of its great products.

Children coping with divorce have difficulty because their perceptions of reality are forced to change. To understand their challenge, I have created a concept to help children and parents visualize the dilemma they face when confronted with these changes. It is called the ??Lifeline;?? that is, we live on a continuum which begins at birth and ends at death. Wherever we are at on the continuum, we tend to base our present beliefs and our future expectations on our past experience. Thus, we lead our daily lives needing the security of our past perceptions.

For children who are born into relatively healthy homes, life patterns are learned from their family and environment. They learn to anticipate tomorrow??s outcomes, based on today??s experience.??? The evidence from the past provides them with a picture of what will come next and makes them feel secure. When divorce occurs, they cannot incorporate the new information into their secure picture of the future. They feel at first as if they are floating aimlessly without an anchor.

Although there are healthy ways to tell children about divorce, children??s Lifelines are compromised as they receive this new information.?????? Children??s past perception ?? that their mother and father loved each other ?? is called into question. Their assumptions that they will continue to live in their home with their parents, is altered. They feel like they have nothing left to base their now on. Thus parents need to help them regain their base and rebuild their Lifeline.

Following is a conversation you might have with children to help them cope:

1. Reconstruction of the Lifeline starts with a simple drawing. Draw a straight line ________ with an arrowhead on the left side > representing birth and an X on the right side representing death. Explain, ??We don??t know how life will play out anymore than we know the end of a story in a book or movie. But generally we have a beginning,?? you point to the arrow, ??and an end,?? point to the X.
2. Then draw a dot on the line, ??Let??s say this is where you are on your Lifeline. You live everyday with an understanding of your world based on what you know about how things work in our family, at school, with friends, and in your activities.??

???

3. ??When we told you that we were divorcing, you might have felt scared. You might have asked yourself, did mom and dad ever love each other? It could have made you question your past and feel that what you believed to be true just wasn??t true.?? Then erase the line to the left of the dot. ??It might have made you feel that your past wasn??t really true.??
4. ??And I??ll bet that you also might have felt confused about the future. You have always lived with us in the same house and community. And you probably can??t imagine what it would feel like if it were different. So it feels like your future is unknown.?? Then erase the future line. Add, ??I understand that it might feel like everything has changed. The past doesn??t feel the same because you question what you thought. And the future doesn??t seem the same because we will have two homes and mom and dad won??t be married.??
5. Finally you can help your child redefine and redraw the past. ??Yes, it is true that much has changed with the divorce. And sometimes when we have something big in our lives change it feels like everything is different. Let??s take a moment, however, to look at what stays the same.?? Draw a staggered line – - – - – from birth to the present. ??If we look at the past, we can be sure that mommy and daddy loved you. And we both loved each other for many years. We know that Grandma and Grandpa love you. Can we be sure about that??? A child might say, ??Yes.?? Then draw a little bit more of the lifeline. ??We can also agree that you have many good friends at school and that you like many activities. We could agree that we??ve had good vacations too. We like our community and we live in a nice neighborhood where you have enjoyed playing and running around with friends. Am I correct so far??? Draw a bit more of the staggered line. ??Okay, now you draw in more of the past and tell me about it??? As she tells facts about her life, she draws in more of the Lifeline. Although the line is never perfectly solid, she begins to visualize that even though her parents are divorcing, not everything is lost and she feels a bit more steady.
6. Now you help her redraw the future. Say, ??If we were to look at what does not change in the past, then what do you think will carry over to the future??? She might say, ??I??ll still have my sports.?? And you say, ??Yes, you will. So let??s draw some of that in.?? And she continues to list those things that will remain the same. Some children will remain in their home and at their school. They will have the same friends and activities. These are anchors for children coping with divorce. As the child draws in more of the Lifeline from present to future, she gains stability. You might say, ??It??s true that we cannot control or predict the future and this might make you feel uncomfortable. But we always have things that remain the same in the face of change and those things can make us feel safe and secure.??

Although some children need more in depth processing when faced with their parents?? divorce, many children respond well to the Lifeline framework. It gives parents and children a common language.

These days, many families have two working parents. This means that they must find child care for not only their older children but their infants as well. Infant child care has always been controversial regarding its affect on the child. When you consider that the first year of a child’s life sets the stage for their future development, many wonder if it is such a good idea to have them spending huge amounts of time with strangers.

Based on my research, I feel that it really depends on the facility that you send your baby to. Are they giving you and your baby the kind of service that will help your child grow and succeed? Good attention to specific family needs is very important, especially if this is an infant child care facility.

What are some of the most important questions for you to ask? I recommend questions such as:

Are your caregivers trained in infant specific child care and infant development? Does your staff undergo training in infant CPR & first aid? Does your facility offer infant mental development programs such as stimulation activities through baby massage and baby sign language. How long have you been in business and are you in good standing with the BBB?

These are all great things to ask your infant child care facilities to better determine which one is best for your baby. Educate yourself about the different kinds of programs out there. Remember that your baby is learning at a very fast pace right now and what they are taught in these first years will continue to be a part of their attitude and educational growth for the future.

You also may want to think about how long you’ll need to keep your baby in an infant child care program each day. Is this something that you only need a few hours a day or are you needing 8 or more hours each day? This will play a big role on what kind of facility you choose. If you only need a few hours for instance maybe look into hiring a family member or someone that you know from a social area. This way the baby does not have to leave the comfort and security of your home. If you need longer term care make sure you are getting the best that is available in your area.

There of course are many good child care programs and facilities out there, but you want to always do your research in order for you to pick the very best for your baby. This development stage is very vital, and you want the center you choose to be very educated on infant child care, not just a day care in general. So educate yourself as much as possible that way you know that when you leave your baby in their care that you are leaving them with people who will educate and help develop your baby.

One of the most useful accessories that you can use for your child’s car seat is a removable car seat cover. With such a cover, cleaning up after even the messiest child becomes simply a matter of removing, washing, and replacing the cover (and perhaps washing harnesses or straps by hand), instead of having to spend time trying to remove dirt and food from all of the surfaces and crevices of the car seat, itself.

Many child car seat manufacturers make removable car seat covers available for purchase. These covers are easy to remove and replace, and can be machine washed and dried as part of your normal household laundry. This will help to keep the cover sanitary and free of dirt and food stains. Not only will a cover be a convenience for you, but it will also help to extend the life of the car seat by keeping cleaning chemicals away from the surfaces of the car seat, itself.

If your child car seat manufacturer does not sell a cover for it, it may be possible to buy a separate cover that will fit well. Some retailers sell covers that will fit a variety of different car seat sizes. They are quite affordable, easy to install, and are very comfortable for your child to sit on. These covers are simple to remove for easy clean up, and are waterproof, which will help to contain spills, and the wetness from diapers. The covers come in a variety of sizes, colors, and designs, so that you should be able to find one that both fits and matches your child’s car seat.

As an alternative to a commercial car seat cover, you can improvise one by using a small blanket or towel to line the seat (for many booster seats, a full sized bath towel will work well). You can keep the cover in place with clips or tacks; just make sure they aren’t where your child can reach them, or where they can poke your child. Then, whenever the cover gets dirty, it can simply be removed, washed, and replaced, as with a commercial cover.

If you do not wish to use a car seat cover, the entire car seat can be washed by hand, using a mild soap and warm water. Strong or abrasive cleaners should be avoided, as they can have a cumulative damaging effect on the car seat’s materials, which may lead to a shortening of the useful life of the car seat.

You can use an outdoor water hose to help reach into the crevices of the car seat, but be sure to keep the water pressure low enough so as not to damage the surfaces of the car seat. The car seat should be allowed to dry completely before it is reinstalled in the vehicle. It may seem tempting to leave the car seat out in direct sunlight to dry, but this can have a cumulative effect that can lead to ruining the padding inside the car seat, which will make the car seat uncomfortable for your child to use.

All in all, the cost of a car seat cover is a small price to pay for the ease and convenience it will provide in helping you keep your child’s car seat clean and sanitary, and in prolonging the life of the car seat.

Where to Shop:

GalaxyOfStores is an Online Shopping Center for THOUSANDS of different products for the whole family.

Please visit CHILD CAR SEATS for more information about car seats, as well as a great selection of car seats, strollers, and travel systems, and visit the GalaxyOfStores.com HOME PAGE for all of its great products.

Planning to expand your family is one of the most exciting times in an adult’s life. However, like all big steps in life, planning to have a baby is an important financial decision as well as a lifestyle change. There are things that savvy parents should consider while planning to increase their number of family members. One of the first things they need to consider is how they will be able to pay for the future medical bills, doctor visits, clothes, food, diapers and more – especially if they are considering reducing their household income when the baby arrives.

Just how much will your lifestyle differ once your child is born? If this is your first child then it’s likely to have a big impact on household income. Will one of the parents be staying home at least in the initial months of the baby’s arrival? If so, the household income could be dramatically cut back.

In addition, a new family member will increase the overall monthly costs for the parents. Items such as groceries, diapers, furnishings and clothes will soon add up. If both parents will go back to work once the baby arrives, child care costs can be surprisingly expensive. All in all, it’s important to plan ahead for the future in order to prevent going into debt once the child arrives.

What do savvy and financially-intelligent parents do in order to prevent these future lifestyle changes from incurring debt? Save. Simply put, savings account options can be a great way for parents to plan for a future child. By planning your finances ahead of time, soon-to-be parents can find the finances to pay for the medical bills and other necessary future items.

There are a number of savings account options that soon-to-be parents can consider to help pay for the initial bills and items that will be needed for a new baby. An online savings account can be helpful to stockpile funds and earn accumulate interest during a pregnancy. A managed fund is another smart option for new parents.

If your planning to live off a single income after your baby is born it is great practice to start living off the single income before your child is born, adjusting your budget to make this work. This way, the additional money coming in from the secondary income can go directly into a managed fund or high interest savings account. In a strong performing fund you may be surprised just how fast the value of the fund can increase once you start depositing most of a second income into the fund. You’ll be able to build up funds to cover items such as doctors bills, baby supplies and more.

Planning a new baby doesn’t have to mean that your family will go into debt. By analyzing and budgeting your finances in advance, you can save lots of money through high interest savings account programs and managed fund options. When the time comes, the new parents will come home with a new baby – and no new debt. Learn how you can start saving now to plan for a new baby through savings accounts and more.

??10, 9, 8?? check responsibility levels?? 7, 6, 5?? check independence levels?? 4, 3, 2?? Houston, we have a problem. Johnny??s 18 but not ready to launch. He??s not ready to live on his own. Abort launch!??

It is a commonly held believe that once children graduate high school, they move out of their parents?? home and start a life of their own. This is often referred to as a launch. Thus the failure to launch, like the popular movie of the same name, is when children are unprepared to leave and instead stay living with their parents as adults.

The failure to launch is familiar to 22 million American families who have adult children living at home (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/286762_parents28.html). There are many reason why this phenomena happens including economic hardship but sometimes the launch fails due to the lack of adult skills. So how do parents prepare their children for the ultimate launch date? Mainly, by teaching the essential life skills of adulthood. I liken it to reverse engineering.??? If the end product of your parenting is responsible adulthood, what are the steps and stages needed to achieve it?

The following are some essential life skills necessary to a successful launch:

1. Relationship Skills: The parent-child relationship starts the child off with the ability to bond, relate, communicate and to love others. This relationship is so crucial to the child that it effects intellectual, physical, and social development. Spending time interacting and responding to your child produces this bond. Parents who have difficulty in this arena should seek coaching through books, audio books, and/or counselors. The pay-off of a bonded relationship is big because it helps create the ability to have meaningful connections.
2. Independence: Children naturally push to become independent. At two they want to do everything themselves. Some parents find it easier to tie the child??s shoe, for instance, or make their bed instead of teaching and allowing their child to learn. Teaching takes patience as parents have to wait for children??s awkward and sometimes unsuccessful attempts to do a task all by themselves. And yet encouraging independence at an early age means less work for the parent and almost guarantees that the child will be prepared for his/her launch
3. Financial Management: Learning how to make, save, and spend money is paramount in preparing for adulthood. There are several ways to accomplish this: Begin by giving children earning opportunities, setting up bank accounts, and expecting them to pay for their own extras. Children can earn an allowance by doing extra chores at home. Once they advance to adolescence, give them a monthly budgeted income to manage clothing, entertainment, gas, and even a cell phone bill (basically the money you spend on them already). If it is your expectation that they have a car at this age, they need to be included in providing for the insurance. As they earn through summer jobs or school year jobs, their money should be included in that budget.
4. Emotional Self-Regulation: Our ability to manage our emotions within our environment, our relationships and even inside our own heads is crucial to our success. Learning how to calm oneself, express emotions, and find solutions begins in childhood. In order to train your children successfully, you too must be able to emotionally self-regulate. Once you understand how to breathe, use self-talk and effectively problem solve, then you can teach your children these tools.
5. Time-Management: The ways in which people organize their time differ widely but some manner of organization is important. Some children like regimented schedules, clear cut time-lines, and doing things in a specific order. Some children are on their own time-lines and always dawdling. Either way, society expects us to be on-time. Thus, help your child develop an understanding of his/her daily schedule by reviewing it, printing it and then breaking down the details of each task. It might look like this: 7 A.M.: Get up (go to the bathroom, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, put on shoes, get backpack and lunch), 8:15: go to school (walk 5 blocks, stand in line, go in at the bell). Ask your child how much time it will take to do those little in-between tasks. How fast do they need to get dressed? Or eat? Or walk to school? As they get older, you might help them breakdown the timeline of their homework. Some children do this naturally and others struggle. This skill will serve them the rest of their lives.
6. Social Interaction: In order to get a job, one must demonstrate good social skills. These skills can be as complicated as developing good friendships or as simple as good manners and appropriate grooming. In my social skills group for elementary children, we teach such things as taking turns, waiting patiently, sharing, managing materials, participating, asking for help, working as a team, staying on task, saying please and thank you, encouraging others, communicating clearly, resolving conflicts, praising others, and following directions. These are the skills that make for a well-rounded adult too. Each stage of development should build toward the next stage. It??s difficult to learn manners at 20 if you didn??t learn them at 5 just like it??s difficult to manage money as an adult if you where never taught how as a child.

When the day comes for your children to launch, whether at 18 or 22, they will need adult skills to manage a well-balanced life. If you can encourage your children to enjoy learning by decreasing the conflict, increasing the self-praise, and celebrating the successes, then your children will be ready for the ultimate launch.

‘Today I’m giving you some unusual homework,’ the teacher said. ‘Tomorrow’s you must get up early and write down everything that your granny’s hands do during the day. Then draw a picture of them.’

On Saturday morning, Nicky asked her granny to put her hands on a sheet of paper so she could draw round them. Granny’s hands were old and wrinkled. Nicky looked at her own slim, pink fingers and thought to herself:

‘There’s nothing beautiful about granny’s hands. Why didn’t our teacher ask us to draw an artist’s hands, or even our own?’

Granny spent the whole weekend cooking, washing and ironing. Nicky’s hands got tired of drawing everything granny did. Her chores were boring, and Nicky said to her:

‘Gran, sing me a song or play the piano. Remember how you played it on granddad’s birthday?’

‘I don’t have time, dear. I still have to clean your shoes and help you get ready for school,’ granny smiled.

The weekend had been ruined. However, on Monday, the teacher said to the girl:

‘Well done, Nicky. You wrote more than anyone else. Read us what your granny did at the weekend.’

Nicky started to read loudly and clearly:

‘My granny prepared breakfast, ironed my dress and plaited some blue hair ribbons. Then she made me a mug of hot chocolate and some pancakes. She washed the dishes and put new covers on text books.’

A few children sniggered, and someone shouted out:

‘What class is your granny in?’

‘Does she still wear ribbons in her hair?’ said someone else.

Nicky went red, but she carried on:

‘Granny made the bed and carefully laid out my dolls on the bedspread. I like all my dolls to sit on the bed during the day.’

‘Your granny plays with dolls!’ the children laughed.

‘Be quiet everyone,’ the teacher said. ‘Please go on, Nicky.’

‘Granny sharpened my colouring pencils because we have drawing class today.’

The children started to laugh again, and the teacher said:

‘Good, Nicky. Your granny must be very busy if she does all your chores as well as her own.’

Nicky went home feeling upset, and as she walked into the house she announced:

‘Granny, it’s not fair. You do everything for me. Starting from today, I’m going to do all my chores myself.’

Granny said nothing, and simply sighed sadly. Nicky put down her school bag and decided to sew on the button which had come off her coat. She pricked her finger and got the thread all tangled in the needle, but she didn’t managed to sew on the button. Feeling upset, Nicky tried to cook dinner for herself, but she burnt her fish fingers and then broke her favourite plate as she tried to wash it up afterwards.

For the first time in her life, Nicky went to bed without doing her homework. She was so tired, she couldn’t even begin to write. Before she fell asleep, Nicky looked at granny’s hands and said:

‘Granny, your hands are so old, but they do everything quickly and well. They must know some sort of secret…’

‘Of course they do, dear, but they can’t tell you. Let’s swap hands and you can find out what the secret is,’ granny replied.

‘What do you mean, granny?! That’s impossible,’ Nicky said, grinning. And she secretly thought that she wouldn’t like to swap her delicate pink hands for her granny’s dark, wrinkled ones.

Nicky tossed and turned all night, and woke up an hour earlier than usual. Instead of lounging around in bed, she jumped up and discovered with horror that she had granny’s wrinkled hands. The girl was about to burst into tears, but then she realised she had no time to cry. She had to wash, prepare breakfast for everyone, clean daddy’s coat, finish her homework and then do a million more things.

Before Nicky even had time to think about what she had to do, her hands quickly began to complete one task after another.

But when her hands tried to put an unfinished sock and knitting needles into her school bag so that they could finish it at break time, Nicky resisted.

‘Break time is for relaxing!’

‘We don’t like sitting doing nothing!’ the hands replied.

‘You need to relax sometimes,’ Nicky said.

‘Time to get up, dear,’ said Granny’s kind voice, and Nicky woke with a start.

A delicious breakfast was waiting for her on the table and her exercise book was packed up in her bag with her homework completed. Nicky went red, then she took hold of granny’s hands and squeezed them tight.

‘Granny, you have the best hands in the whole wide world. I want mine to be just the same. From now on I’m going to help you in everything you do’.

Questions and tasks:

Draw your granny’s hands and write down everything they do in one day. Which member of your family’s hands do the most work? Imagine you and your granny swap hands for a day. Describe what you do during that day. Say thank you to your granny for everything she does for you.