Natural Consequences

As many of you know, I am a mother in addition to being a school counselor.  We currently have a 3 year old, and if you remember, this is a time that challenges your patience and parenting skills! So just like you, I often find myself looking for new strategies and insights.  

I have found that oftentimes, in our attempts to teach our children right from wrong, we are very busy coming up with consequences for their negative behaviors. . . and it is exhausting!  Are we punishing them, or ourselves, with these elaborate consequences??  I am a firm believer that when possible the best consequences are natural consequences.

I came across a great article about how to use natural consequences effectively.  Very importantly, it talks about how parents unknowingly sabotage the natural consequence. 

Check out the article at http://blog.positivediscipline.com/2012/04/natural-consequences.html!

Safety First!

 One of the most important lessons that I present every year involves student safety.  I am always surprised by the number of kindergarteners who seem to be unaware of the rules for staying safe around adult strangers.  I don't know if they have forgotten the information, or if the parents have not discussed this topic with them.  Regardless, it is so important to talk with your kids about strangers!

In the lessons, we teach the concept of "checking first."  We tell students that anytime they are approached by a stranger, they should never speak to the stranger or go with the stranger without "checking first" with a safe adult.  Within our lesson, we practice checking with an adult in common scenarios.  Children are asked to check with a safe adult when they are offered candy, offered a ride because mommy is sick, and asked to help find a lost puppy. 

If this isn't something that you have talked to your child about, please take the time to do it today!  You can find more information and tips on keeping your child safe at http://safelyeverafter.com/index.html and http://www.youthonline.ca/safety/stranger.shtml.