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Resources for Parents

Dr John Worthington

Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Queensland, Australia

Play and Learning

Between the ages of six and nine your child will mature and develop markedly. Just by playing together, you encourage and enhance this process.

Your child's day is now more structured to fit around school, with lots of rules to follow. Having free time to play and ponder is very valuable, as children still need time to let their thoughts roam, to explore ideas and to just run around for fun.

Research shows that sometimes parents can worry that their child is not doing enough structured activities, but often the time spent on self-directed play can be the most valuable. ...

From: School-age children at play, Raising Children Network, 2006

Activities

... a calendar of events, including children's activities, meetings for parents and teachers (sometimes with a guest speaker), information nights, and outings ...

From: Parents', Teachers' and Children's Activities, Queensland Association for Gifted and Talented Children Inc, 2006

Specific Learning Disabilities

Students with Specific Learning Disabilities/Difficulties (SLD/D) are those who have a short-term or persistent problem in one or more areas of literacy, numeracy and learning how to learn.

In some areas, however, they may display strengths. For example: they may be very good at oral communication, but have difficulty putting these words into written language, or they may have problems learning to read and spell, but show an aptitude for maths.

From: Specific Learning Disabilities/Difficulties (SLD/D's), SPELD QLD Inc, 2006

Getting Your Children to Listen

Getting your child to do what you want the first time you ask. Sound impossible?

It's not. Parents of young children can achieve just that.

Getting your child to listen is an easy online program that can help you improve your child's behaviour. It?s designed to help parents get children to do what you ask, with less nagging, yelling and frustration.

And that means more enjoyment for the whole family.

From: Getting Your Children to Listen, Victorian Parenting Centre, 2006

Improving Reading For Children and Teens

Just watch how a preschooler will pretend to read a story you have just read for them. They are learning by imitation. Actually that is how children learn many things. Take speech for an example. Young children learn to talk by imitating the sounds made by their parents. They then learn how the sounds go together to make words.

When you helped your child learn to talk you both had fun. You probably made up games to stimulate them to talk. They interacted with you and that made the learning process enjoyable. You both smiled and laughed when they learned to say new words or phrases.

From: Improving Reading For Children and Teens, Child Development Institute

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