Good Morning and welcome to this week’s episode of A Child’s Life. This week’s episode is geared towards parents of children in the upper elementary and high school years. We are going to look at Academic goal setting.
If you are a parent that sets personal and professional goals for yourself, you know how powerful goal setting can be. Goal setting is essential to academic success. When helping your pre-teen or teen set academic goals, there are a few essentials to keep in mind to increase the likelihood of success.

The first step is to remember the 3 P’s of goal setting.
·         Positive: Goals should be phrased positively so that they help your children feel good about themselves and what they are trying to accomplish.
·         Personal: They must reflect the dreams and values of the child, not those of family, friends, teachers or even popular media.
·         Possible: When setting goals, it’s important to look at what is possible and within the reach and control of your child.
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​Good Morning and welcome to this week’s episode of A Child’s Life.  As a mom and an educator I am constantly looking for new ways to help my children and students develop in order to be able to tackle our ever changing world. The reality is each generation has been and will continue to be exposed to different challenges.

Although we often hear the overly used cliché, “When I was your age…” denoting the lecture that is imminent about how tough things were, we often don’t take into account that there are many ways in which things have gotten tougher over time.

Our children are exposed to many things that we were not exposed to as children. Twenty years ago we may have been worried about the images that were being presented through racy television shows, and the glamorization of certain lifestyles through their lyrical content. Today, not only do parents have to worry about the racy television shows that have become the reality shows, but also the influence of technology through the use of social media. Our children only physically leave school at 3 p.m. because they often remain connected to their peers 24/7 through the use of computers, tablets and smart phones.

Good Morning Turks and Caicos and welcome to a Child’s Life. With exams around the corner for many students in the Turks and Caicos, this morning we are going to look at effective study habits.
Let us first discuss what a habit is. A habit is a behavior that we do regularly and consistently. We can have good habits and bad habits, what distinguishes them is whether they have a positive or negative effect on our life. It takes approximately three weeks to get settled in a new or changed habit, so it’s important to keep that in mind when helping our children get used to new habits.
Effective study habits are extremely important. Once your child develops these habits, and learns to maintain them, it will make school much more enjoyable for them, and will reflect in their overall academic success. Poor study habits often result in wasted time, frustration, low grades and as a result low academic self-esteem.
Success in studying revolves around three key words: place, time and habits.

Have you ever asked your child if they performed an easy task such as washing their hands and gotten a yes answer when you clearly know they’re lying by the dirt on their hands, the lack of water in the sink and the look on their face? I don’t think there is a parent around that has not gone through it. So why is it that children lie, and how can we help and reduce the amount of lying that takes place? For this week’s episode of A Child’s Life we are going to explore the topic of children and lying.

Let’s start by looking at why children lie. There are a variety of reasons. Let’s start with younger children in the pre-school years. Toddlers and pre-schoolers are often live between the real world and the fantasy world.  Young children are often watching and being read books that are full of fantasy. They are in the process of developing their imagination which is something that parents should encourage and promote.  With this may come situations like your three-year old telling you that the donkey climbed up a tree and needs to be rescued.  Statements like that are more a product of an active imagination than a child telling a lie to be rebellious. Often young children that are immersed in the fantasy of books and television often find the truth is just too boring. A little later we will talk about how to separate fantasy and reality, without losing the benefits of a great imagination.
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Don't forget to tune into Radio Turks and Caicos 89FM every Wednesday morning at 9:30 am.

Does your child struggle with creative writing? Here is a quick and easy tip from Mrs. Russell that outlines how to set up the pre-writing stage in order to take the frustration out of the writing stage!

Family discussion time is a great way to get a window into the lives of your children. Whether it be sharing in the daily joys or understanding and helping to navigate through challenging times, discussion opens doors. Here is this week's talk time suggestion.