Appletree Day Care, Inc

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Protecting Your Child – Vaccines for Children

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Vaccination is one of the best ways a parent can protect their children from harmful diseases.  The following graphs provide information about what vaccines your children need from birth to age six. (Click to enlarge image.)

Compliments of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Appletree Daycare, Inc.  is a 5 star rated preschool in Raleigh, North Carolina.  We invite you to learn more about our child care programs and schedule a tour of our school 919-255-3434.

Dads Helping Make Kindergarten Great

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In the traditional family structure, the role of the father is clearly unique.  Perhaps it is because dad goes off to work and comes home with that big booming voice or maybe it is that he is a soft touch for ice cream or an extra ride on the Ferris Wheel at the State Fair but dad has a special place in the hearts of the kids.  He is both the voice of authority and sometimes the voice of wise counsel when children need someone to guide them and direct them.

On the other hand, it is the mom who is there every day, guiding every event, making sure the children are safe and receive needed care.  Both jobs are crucial and beloved by the kids, even if they do not know it or say so.  So when the time comes to get your little one ready for kindergarten, it may be that both parents can have a big role in this transition as well.

There is no doubt that regarding the physical preparations for kindergarten; mom is a big decision maker.  The clothing that your new student will wear, buying the right school supplies and even buying the extra things that will be needed in the classroom are all good jobs for the primary shopper in the family which is often mom.  However, if you can get dad in on the act particularly in the mental and emotional preparations for kindergarten, which can be a huge help because he can use his mentoring role to give the child permission to begin to accept this big change.

This is especially true in the case of dad’s little man.  A young boy often idolizes his father and admires him as a hero because dad is brave and able to go out and conquer the world each day.  When the family goes on the trip, it is a dad who is leading the way, slaying the dragons along the way, saving the fair maiden (mom or sis) and hunting food for dinner (paying at the restaurant).  In the child’s imaginary world, dad is a combination of mighty warrior, master hunter, and mighty wizard.  These are some powerful images that you can tap to help that little guy see himself as ready to the big adventure of going off to kindergarten on his own for the first time.

If you can get dad to be the one to drive that slightly frightened little one to school, he often knows just what to say to change fear into excitement and to motivate his son or daughter to want to go in there and do great to make dad proud.  That is the nature of the father’s role in the lives of his children.  So why not use it to help your child through this very important day in his or her early childhood development?

Very often dads have a special bond and a special language they speak to their sons.  To an outsider when dad says, “Get in there and be a man” to his little boy, that may sound harsh and not nurturing.  However, what the little guy hears is, “I know you can do it.  When you go to kindergarten like a man, you are a brave like daddy.”  Moreover, that is just the right language to motivate that little guy to face his fears and go to that first day of kindergarten and be a big success to live up to that strong affirmation and high expectation of daddy.

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Dealing with Separation and Loss

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Children do not deal with separation and loss in the same way as adults. Adults, for example, recognize the difference between a friend moving out of town and a friend dying. Young children, on the other hand, simply view both situations as a loss.

Here are some important points to consider when you are helping a child deal with separation and/or loss:

  1. Children have three questions that they want to be answered ASAP when loss or separation occur: Is what happened my fault? Will it happen to me? How will what happened affect me? All three questions need to be answered in terms that the child can understand.
  2. Don’t use words that make death or separation more palatable to adults. Children are literal. Don’t say words like “sleeping” or “resting.” You might make the child afraid to go to sleep. Explain the situation in literal terms to children.
  3. Give the child an opportunity for closure if it is possible. If his friend is moving away, take him to visit and give him the opportunity to say goodbye. The same thing is true for death. Prepare the child for what is to be.
  4. Listen to what the child has to say about the separation or loss. He has an opinion, and it is important that the opinion be given validation.
  5. Remember that from the child’s point of view, stability and continuity are of the utmost importance. Children do not like major changes to their worlds. Changes make a child feel threatened. Point out that you are there and that you love him. Tell him how his world has not changed and lists the ways that his world will remain unchanged.

Children, particularly young children, need to be guided through separation and loss situations with patience and love.

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Helping a Child Deal with Anger

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We all get angry from time to time. Anger is just part of the human condition. It is not “bad” to be angry. Now, some behaviors that are the result of being angry can be “bad,” but it is not the anger that’s “bad.”

The same thing goes for children. Of course, children get angry — they are humans, and sometimes other people (especially other children) or situations can just make them MAD.

As parents, we must instruct our children what appropriate behavior is in the face of anger. It is a concept that many adults have a problem with so getting started early is a good idea.

The first thing that the child needs to know is that you do not think that he is “bad” because he is angry. He needs to understand that you are not angry with him because he is angry. He needs to know that it is perfectly all right for him to get angry.

Then the child must understand that his behavior when he becomes angry IS the problem. He has to be taught to control himself and not hit or bite when things are not going his way.

Let the child know that you understand how he feels by acknowledging the reason for his anger. You might say, “It must have made you really angry when Bobby took that toy away from you.”

Then you need to turn the focus of the conversation toward the actions that your child took because he was angry and point out that when he hits, bites, pinches, or otherwise inflicts injury on the object of his anger that he is not behaving in an appropriate manner. It is an opportunity to teach negotiation and compromise skills.

 

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