10 New Year's Tips for Parents from CORA Experts
January is the mid-way mark for the school year. After holiday break, students and parents can feel overwhelmed by the increased work load and other life stressors. Your friends at CORA have some advice to help you stay focused and better motivate your children.
Support your children even better in 2017!
Talk more
- do not let our reliance on technology hinder our ability to communicate! Speaking more with you will better prepare your children to be effective communicators in school and beyond.
Listen more
- being a good listener does not just happen to be the theme of this issue of the CORA Connection. Listening really is vital to building your child's esteem and plays a major role in their school success. Stop what you're doing, make eye contact and encourage them to tell you more!
Read more
- Reading with your children is the easiest and maybe the most important thing you can do to help your children succeed in school. For older kids, ask them to talk to you about what they've been reading or study with them and find ways to make it fun. Ask questions about the characters and their feelings on the text.
Involve them
- Make a schedule with your children, rather than for them, and allow them to have input. They will be more invested when they feel part of the plan .
Set goals
with appropriate time lines with your children and come up with rewards for their successes together. Display the written goals in a prominent location for the children to see daily. Celebrate when any goal is achieved.
You can't properly support your kids if you aren't feeling supported!
Pack a healthy lunch
and enjoy lunch with your co-workers more often. Leave the office if you can occasionally and go out to lunch or just take a quick walk and enjoy some positive interaction with other adults.
Take time for yourself
, even if it's only 20 minutes. Read, work on a crossword puzzle, stretch, run or listen to music. Do anything that relaxes you, whenever you can squeeze it in, but don't stress out if it doesn't happen.
Stay calm!
Stressing out usually makes situations worse and adding pressure to a problem won't help you solve it faster. Remember to take a deep breath and put your anxiety into perspective.
Clean and reorganize
your desk or your room or your car. An organized area equals an organized mind.
Seek Support
. Ask for advice. Someone else has been there. Don't be afraid to look for help - it's out there!
Remember that CORA is a resource for parents and families. Our professionals are here to listen and guide you through the obstacles of life and parenting.
*Submitted by CORA Staff members; Christine Fink, Stacy Leonard and Teresa Zamorski
|