Oxford Family Group Day Care is a family owned and operated Daycare. We have been in business in Jamaica, Queens for the past 6 years. We started this business to provide a much needed care to parents who works unconventional hours in the Jamaica, Hollis, Rosedale, S. Ozone Park and St. Albans areas of Queens. We offer a wide range of educational and care programs for children of all ages — from infants to school-age children who come to the daycare for before and after school. Meals and snacks are also provided daily.

Monday, November 24, 2014

HELPING YOUR KIDS COPE WITH STRESS


LET'S KEEP THEM STRESS FREE


To adults, childhood can seem like a carefree time. But kids still experience stress. Things like school and their social life can sometimes create pressures that can feel overwhelming for kids. As a parent, you can't protect your kids from stress — but you can help them develop healthy ways to cope with stress and solve everyday problems.

Kids deal with stress in both healthy and unhealthy ways. And while they may not initiate a conversation about what's bothering them, they do want their parents to reach out and help them cope with their troubles.  But it's not always easy for parents to know what to do for a child who's feeling stressed.

Here are a few ideas:

Notice out loud. Tell your child when you notice that something's bothering him or her. If you can, name the feeling you think your child is experiencing. ("It seems like you're still mad about what happened at the playground.") This shouldn't sound like an accusation (as in, "OK, what happened now? Are you still mad about that?") or put a child on the spot. It's just a casual observation that you're interested in hearing more about your child's concern. Be sympathetic and show you care and want to understand.

Listen to your child. Ask your child to tell you what's wrong. Listen attentively and calmly — with interest, patience, openness, and caring. Avoid any urge to judge, blame, lecture, or say what you think your child should have done instead.

Comment briefly on the feelings you think your child was experiencing. For example, you might say "That must have been upsetting," "No wonder you felt mad when they wouldn't let you in the game," or "That must have seemed unfair to you." Doing this shows that you understand what your child felt

Put a label on it. Many younger kids do not yet have words for their feelings. If your child seems angry or frustrated, use those words to help him or her learn to identify the emotions by name. Putting feelings into words helps kids communicate and develop emotional awareness — the ability to recognize their own emotional states. Kids who can do so are less likely to reach the behavioral boiling point where strong emotions come out through behaviors rather than communicated with words.

Help your child think of things to do. If there's a specific problem that's causing stress, talk together about what to do. Encourage your child to think of a couple of ideas.

Listen and move on. Sometimes talking and listening and feeling understood is all that's needed to help a child's frustrations begin to melt away.

Limit stress where possible. If certain situations are causing stress, see if there are ways to change things. For instance, if too many after-school activities consistently cause homework stress, it might be necessary to limit activities to leave time and energy for homework.

Just be there. Kids don't always feel like talking about what's bothering them. Sometimes that's OK. Let your kids know you'll be there when they do feel like talking. Even when kids don't want to talk, they usually don't want parents to leave them alone. You can help your child feel better just by being there — keeping him or her company, spending time together.

Be patient. As a parent, it hurts to see your child unhappy or stressed. But try to resist the urge to fix every problem. Instead, focus on helping your child, slowly but surely, grow into a good problem-solver — a kid who knows how to roll with life's ups and downs, put feelings into words, calm down when needed, and bounce back to try again.
Parents can't solve every problem as kids go through life. But by teaching healthy coping strategies, you'll prepare your kids to manage the stresses that come in the future.


      

ANGER, HUGE ISSUE TO DEAL WITH!

ANGER, HUGE ISSUE TO DEAL WITH!

HELPING KIDS TO REMAIN NON-VIOLENT

Violence is part of our world today, but there are many things parents can do to help prevent youth violence. Homes, schools, Daycare should be safe havens for children.

A child who lives with domestic violence is forever changed, but not forever damaged. All children who are exposed to domestic violence are impacted in some way. However, each child is unique. Even children in the same family are affected in different ways, depending upon factors such as age, gender, relationship to the abuser, role in the family and relationships with others.

The effects of domestic violence on children can include: self-harming behaviors, poor boundaries, constant anxiety and stress, feelings of powerlessness, low self-esteem, behavioral problems, taking on adult roles prematurely, constant fear, feelings of isolation, drug and alcohol use and depression. Children who are exposed to domestic violence can also learn how to abuse others as well as how to be victims themselves.

Reducing Violence Begins At Home

Ø Maintain a supportive, loving relationship with your children. Spend time with them on a regular basis.

Ø Reinforce your children’s positive behavior with praise.

Ø Build your children’s self-esteem. Children who feel good about themselves are better able to stand up for themselves in tough social situations.

Ø Set limits, such as “No hitting or name-calling.”

Ø Rather then spanking/physical punishment, use alternatives such as time-out, consequences or withdrawal of privileges.

Ø Set an example by being nonviolent and patient with your children. Learn to manage your own anger, and your children will learn from your example. Express your feelings in words, and teach your children that when they’re upset they can use words instead of hitting.

Ø Teach problem-solving by remaining calm, involving children in discussions and working together to resolve conflicts. When you remain calm in tense situations, your children will learn to control their strong feelings too.

Ø Talk to your children and acknowledge their feelings. When parents listen, their children are less likely to resort to aggressive behavior.

Ø Limit your children’s access to media violence. Explain that the violence they see on TV shows is make-believe, and discuss the consequences of violence in real life.

Ø If children hear about violence in the news, allow them to talk about how it makes them feel. Take time to listen to their feelings of fear, sadness or confusion. Reassure them that you will help keep them safe.

Ø Limit TV viewing to 1–2 hours per day, and keep TV’s out of children’s bedrooms.

Ø Monitor children’s use of TV, Internet and video and computer games.

Ø Discuss gun safety with your children.

Ø Teach children never to touch a gun and to let you or an adult know if they see a gun.

Ø If parents own a gun, keep it unloaded and locked separately from ammunition. Keep firearms far away from children’s reach.

Ø Teach tolerance of other people. Do not discriminate.

Ø Know where your children spend their time after school, and get to know their friends.

Ø Read books with your children.

Ø Identify risk factors that may lead children to become violent.

Teach your children to recognize and regulate their anger. Teach them how anger affects their body. When you are angry, your heart beats faster. You may breathe hard. Your face muscles feel tight. Your eyes might squint. Your body is rigid. You may clench your fists. You may feel like screaming or hitting.

Teach your children that it is normal to feel angry, especially if someone has hurt your feelings. You may want to get even, but hitting or fighting does not solve the problem; thinking and talking are better ways.

Teach your child strategies for calming and redirecting himself when he becomes angry. Choose a time when your child is quiet and receptive. Do not try to teach calming techniques when your child is in the middle of an angry outburst. Practice techniques such as deep breathing, counting to ten, playing with a favorite toy, or going to their room and taking a rest or listening to relaxing music. When your child does become angry, use a verbal reminder or cue to help him calm down.


Get your children Immunized

Vaccines work by preparing a child's body to fight illness. Each immunization contains either a dead or a weakened germ (or parts of it) that causes a particular disease.

The body practices fighting the disease by making antibodies that recognize specific parts of that germ. This permanent or longstanding response means that if someone is ever exposed to the actual disease, the antibodies are already in place and the body knows how to combat it and the person doesn't get sick. This is called immunity.

The risk of disease from vaccination is extremely small. One live virus vaccine that's no longer used in the United States is oral polio vaccine (OPV). The success of the polio vaccination program has made it possible to replace the live virus vaccine with a killed virus form known as inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). this change has completely eliminated the possibility of polio disease being caused by immunization in the United States.

Being the owner of a daycare, it is my duty to ensure that all children attending the daycare should be vaccinated.

"YOU RAISE ME UP"

“You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; you raise me up, to walk on stormy seas; I am strong, when I am on your shoulders; you raise me up… to more than I can be.”

-Josh Groban