Healthy Portions for Kids

January 26, 2012 in childhood obesity, parenting, weight management by cmoore | No comments

By Carol Gordon

A.C.E. Certified Personal Fitness Trainer and A.C.E. Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant

Is your child eating too much?  With today’s super sizing of everything, most of us really don’t know what an appropriate portion is for a child.  A healthy portion size is simply how much food you should be consuming. A kid’s portion size, an adult portion size and a teenager’s portion size are going to be completely different.

Portions should equal the size of the palm of your child’s hand – not YOUR palm!

Restaurants delight in serving super helpings of French fries to kids as well as large size portions of pasta, etc.  Parents need to step in and split these portions or request a smaller serving of fries or other high calorie foods.  Many kids could easily eat 2 cups of pasta  which equals 4 times a kids healthy portion size.

Try to visualize a healthy portion size plate.

1)      ¼ of the plate should be meat/protein equal to a deck of cards or size of a palm of hand;

2)       ¼ of the plate should be whole grains such as breads, pasta or rice equal to a CD ROM;

3)      ¼ of the plate should be vegetables equal to a tennis ball

4)      ¼ of the plate should be fruit the size of a yo-yo or replace fruit with another vegetable.

Aside from appropriate portions, an important thing to remember about kids’ calories is to avoid empty calories. For example, empty calories are candy bars, French fries, fast food, chips, sodas – foods that  provide little or no nutritional value. Replace those items with fruits, vegetables, cheese, yogurt or other healthy alternatives.

 For more information, please visit these sites:

www.familyfun.Kaboose.com and/or www.kids-meal-ideas.com/healthyportionsize.html

 

 

 

Fast Food And Your Child

January 24, 2012 in childhood obesity, parenting, weight management by cmoore | No comments

by Carol Gordon, A.C.E. Certified Personal Fitness Trainer; A.C.E. Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant

Kids like fast food and parents appreciate the convenience. But, in the long run, is it worth it to compromise your child’s health?

A recent study by University of California, San Diego, pediatrics researchers showed that fast-food lunches accounted for 36%-51% of a child’s daily caloric needs, with fat contributing 35%-39% of the calories. These fast food meals also provided more than 50% of the recommended daily sodium intake for most children- and as much as 100% of the sodium levels recommended for pre-schoolers.

Many families use fast-food as a reward for their kids. But it’s important for families to recognize the impact of fast-food on the current obesity epidemic in the US. Now, I’m not saying never go to fast-food restaurants (who can grow up without an occasional McDonalds?), I’m just saying to use common sense and help your child to choose responsibly. There’s no need to ever super size fries or any meal—in fact, little kids can certainly share a container of fries. Plus, choose milk or lemonade over soda. Encourage the oatmeal over the pancakes; the fruit parfaits over the apple pies and cookies.

Most of all, lead by example—kids learn from what they see. You make healthy decisions in a fast-food restaurant, they will too. It’s also OK to give yourself permission to say “No, we’re not making that choice today. However it is OK to order, x,y,or z”.  Again, moderation and example are the keys to helping your children live a healthy lifestyle.

Parents Of Overweight Kids, Meet Vegetables . . . Your New Best Friend

January 16, 2012 in childhood obesity, parenting, weight management by cmoore | 1 comment

by Connie Moore, parent and Yondrr contributor

I just got this amazing story from a friend of mine who has lost 12 pounds in two weeks.  Whoa! 

Here’s her story:

How many times have you heard parents say something like: “Jason, eat your vegetables” or “M-kala, you can either have more fruit or more vegetables. Your choice.”  Or maybe it’s more directed, like: “eat your spinach,” “eat your squash,” or “eat your tomatoes.”  Kids just hate hearing this.  And who can blame them when it’s some boring old vegetable dish competing against a piece of pie or a serving of ice cream.

My friend says she’s made an important discovery about the POWER of vegetables to help you get fit.  Really fit. She’s following the Jenny Craig plan to the T.  And they advocate the “volumizer” approach, which boils down to: eat lots and lots of vegetables because they fill you up and you don’t get hungry.

Guess what?  It really works.  In fact, it’s unbelievable how powerful the lowly veggie is.  She really looks forward to her sauteed spinich with garlic, or sauteed squash and onions, or dish of steamed kale or bowl of tomato soup because it fills her up and keeps her from being hungry.

Plus, she’s not the only one saying this to me. My nephew (who is fit already)  just became a vegetarian and immediately lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks.  He’s been having fun cooking and bought a juicer, which he swears by.  He says he feels fantastic.

Now, in my opinion, the trick is to make your kid’s vegetable dishes really tasty, instead of offering them some bland steamed or raw vegetables.  Even I get tired of crudite platters crammed full of raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, and carrots.  Ho hum.

Here’s my advice to the parents of kids struggling with weight issues:  buy a vegetarian cookbook and use lots of spices and flavors to make your dishes interesting to kids.  Maybe even bring your daughter or son into the kitchen for some cooking experience.  Find out what spices they like and look for recipes that highlight those flavors.  After all, my friend’s husband says he could be a vegetarian if he could live in India because the food is so delicious there.  That’s a lesson for all of us–let’s make our veggies that delicious too and live healthier in the process!

Reward Systems Help With Challenging Kids

January 14, 2012 in ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, child advocate, childhood obesity, happiness, parenting, weight management by cmoore | No comments

by Connie Moore

Here’s something I recently learned about when talking to the mom of a kid with ADHD. 

Here’s what she told me:

When her oldest son was younger, her husband and she struggled to come up with a reward system that really changed his behavior. Because he has ADHD, he perpetually lives “in the moment.” That makes it difficult to find a reward system that works–kids with ADHD have a hard time thinking about a reward that’s in the dim, distant future to them.

They  worked with a therapist who recommended a really great book called Transforming The Difficult Child: The Nurtured Heart Approach, by Howard Glaser (http://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Difficult-Child-Nurtured-Approach/dp/0967050707).
This book advocates a reward system that recognizes the child for small types of good behavior all day long. Parents using this approach typically give their child chips (plastic poker chips work great) for little things the child does well. Like reading a book for 30 minutes, or taking a shower, or whatever it is that the child resists doing. The key reason this works: the child gets instant and constant feedback all day, and that works very well with the ADHD or ADD kid who lives in the moment.

The mom told me this story because she had just come across an old paper about the reward system. It’s the list of ways she and her husband developed to spend these rewards. They had struggled with finding a workable reward system for a couple of years before coming across Glaser’s approach. That’s because giving an ADD child “stars” or “check marks” on a poster for really big accomplishments and then promising an ADHD kid that they can go to a theme park in 3-6 months for good schoolwork isn’t going to cut it. They need a flow of  little rewards–frequently, constantly–and a way to cash them in quickly. This a powerful technique for changing their behavior.  Also, they respond well to positive feedback and little rewards, instead of harping on the negative.

So here’s a real list that those parents used:

Ways to Spend Chips

Privilege/Value

15 minutes of personal computer time (2 hour max per week) 1 chip

30 minutes of educational TV (2 hour max per week) 1 chip

15 minutes of Wii or watching a DVD (2 hour max per week) 1 chip

15 minutes of watching TV (2 hour max per week) 1 chip

1 hour trip to the train store, 8 chips

Go see a movie, 35 chips

Go bowling, 35 chips

$1 (max of $5 per week), 4 chips

15 minutes of playing with model trains, 1 chip

trip to an amusement park, 160 chips

trip to train museum, 80 chips

15 minutes of talking about trains with Mom or Dad, 2 chips

One hour at swimming pool, 10 chips

Hopefully you can see how this Nurtured Heart approach works. The mom I talked with encouraged all parents to read this book and establish a reward system that matches the child’s needs and way of thinking about the world. In the case of children with issues, focus on small rewards that can be cashed in for bigger rewards. That helps the kid behave “in the moment.”

Kids In The Gym – Good Idea????

January 14, 2012 in childhood obesity, parenting, weight management by cmoore | No comments

By Carol Gordon, A.C.E. Personal Fitness Trainer and Certified ACE Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant.

Many parents ask me when is a good time to introduce their children to the gym. I may be old-fashioned in this way, but I feel kids need to play outside with their friends as much as possible. Plus, children’s bones are forming and may not be up to the weights in the gym. Therefore, my answer is always not before age 12. Others may differ with me, but it is very important that when the kids do come into the gym, they are properly instructed as to how to use the equipment. Often I see a well-intentioned parent attempting to “coach” their child through a work out only to have the child mirror the parent’s mistakes.

If your young child needs to lose a few pounds, look to your community and school sports programs. There are many good ones out there- soccer, wrestling, basketball, girls on the run, etc. If your child is 12 or over and is part of a sports team and wants conditioning (we see this a lot in boys beginning football for the first time), then it is in your child’s best interest to hook him or her up with a well-qualified sports conditioning coach. This individual will know exactly how the body works and exactly what to do and what not to do to get the desired results. So often teens are more obsessed with “weight” or how much they can bench press, than they are with correct form. Often instead of strength, injuries result.

If you as a parent just want to work out with your child and come to the gym together, again, spend the dollars and have your child work with a personal fitness trainer. Your child will learn correct techniques and hopefully ward off bad habits that may cause injury. They will learn to use proper form and how to use the machines to obtain their fitness goals. A good personal trainer will also talk to your child about healthy nutrition. A standard fitness rule that holds true is “you can never out- exercise a poor diet”.

Families that exercise together and keep moving, have kids that will do the same as adults. Find something you enjoy and go with it. Have your child try lots of different sports before settling into one or two particular sport. Cross training is always a benefit to any sport. Above all, keep exercise fun and challenging!

Healthy Kids, Healthy Choices

January 10, 2012 in childhood obesity, parenting, self-esteem, Uncategorized, weight management by cmoore | 2 comments

 By Carol Gordon, A.C.E. Personal Fitness Trainer and Certified ACE Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant

Connie encouraged me to begin blogging with Yondrr because of my interest in children , physical fitness and nutrition.  I cannot begin to tell you how concerned I am about childhood obesity and the affect it has on today’s children and tomorrow’s adults.

I can’t say enough to parents to help your child accept the responsibility for their own weight and food choices. Encourage and educate them to make the right food choices. Emphasize their having a body that is strong and healthy. We are long past the day when dessert or sweets are served only on weekends, at picnics, or birthday parties. Look at your child’s calendar, how many parties or special occasions have they been to over the last 6 months?

There are several ways you can get your point across:

  1. If your child is interested in cooking or baking, encourage healthy recipes or show them how to modify recipes to make them healthier choices.
  2. Be sure your child gets at least 1 hour of heart pounding exercise daily. Family activities, school sports teams, neighborhood pick-up games – all help your child feel strong and realize that their body is working for them.
  3. Get the chips and sweets out of the house.  It’s better for you and your family. Sodas, pastries, chips, pop tarts- they’re all empty calories. Teach your child to read labels and know what to look for.
  4.  Snacking is fine- but make it healthy foods- be creative and let your child help. Give your child several healthy choices and allow them to fix their own snacks.
  5.  If you are requested to bring a dessert, snack, make sure it’s a healthy snack. Many times after sporting games, you’ll find the “games snack” being a Costco box of Oreo cookie bags or sun baked chips, etc. Yes, this might be easier and what kid is going to turn down those snacks? But faced with a healthier choice ( grapes or clementines) kids will happily consume those as well. As adults, we need to provide our children with the foods that will nourish their bodies NOT feed their fat.
  6.  Advise friends, relatives, and family members to help provide healthy foods to your child. Remember, often it does take a village.

From my work as a personal trainer, I see and am asked to consult with parents of overweight children. These kids have a very difficult time with self-esteem and peer pressure. Sometimes it’s heartbreaking. I consider it our duty as parents to help our mildly overweight children not develop into overweight adolescents, thus avoiding heartbreak and angst for them as teens.

There is an overload of information out there regarding obesity among children. Please remember, your child didn’t gain this weight overnight. If you don’t as a parent, work to keep your child healthy, who will?

 

Consider Yoga For Your Child’s Mental And Physical Fitness

January 5, 2012 in ADD, ADHD, childhood obesity, parenting, Uncategorized, weight management by cmoore | No comments

by Connie Moore, with Denise Moore (accredited Hatha Yoga instructor, and no relation to Connie <smile>)

For the past five years, I’ve been on a two-pronged quest:

1) to discover and embrace anything that would help me battle back to good health from my lupus, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis conditions; and,

2) to discover and embrace anything that would help kids cope with and eventually overcome ADHD and ADD. 

I think I’ve found one solution that fits both bills–and it’s yoga.

Personally, yoga helped me recover the flexibility and strength I had lost from chronic illnesses over the last 5 years. This is a very big statement because I hated, simply hated the idea of going anywhere near a yoga class. Actually, it was an illogical position that was probably a holdover from my Baptist upbringing. But, for whatever reason, I resisted the idea and turned to yoga only because I was desperate. My first day with my instructor, Denise, I told her I couldn’t get down on the floor–and when she got me there anyway–I said I couldn’t get back up from the floor.  Her gentle coaching won the day, won the battle and now I can say that yoga alone has been the single most effective non-medical treatment I’ve found. I believe it has played a huge role in restoring me to good health.

Now for the kid part.  Once I became a yoga enthusiast, I started asking Denise if yoga is good for children.  With ADHD, for example, I could easily imagine that yoga would cause a child’s brain to slow down (which is a good thing) as the girl student focuses on getting the postures right or the boy student focuses on learning meditation. 

So I asked her: “how good is yoga for kids?” 

Here’s what she wrote:

Yoga is a perfect component for children’s  well-being and physical fitness.  The yoga postures (asanas) have their origin in the movements and shapes of animals, people, plants, and insects.  Because of this, yoga for children can be presented in a variety of games with each child practicing a posture to depict a hissing cobra, a dog, a brave warrior and a tree.  And that’s just the start – there are thousands of yoga poses so the possibilities of stirring a child’s imagination are limitless. 

Yoga is a non-competitive form of exercise which tones the body, creates flexibility and promotes concentration.  The end of  a class is a quiet time to let go and receive the experience of “not-doing,” a rare but necessary period of relaxation for children and adults alike.

Everything that Denise says has been my own experience.  I’d encourage you to consider yoga for any child who needs a healthier lifestyle for weight management or your ADD/ADHD or Asperger’s child.  It might just make a big difference.

Protect Your Children When On Social Networks

December 13, 2011 in bullying, parenting, Uncategorized by cmoore | 2 comments

By James Behan

On Oct 18, 2011 I attended a presentation at my son’s middle school by
Detective Spurlock of the Loudoun County (VA) Police Department. His
presentation was titled “Internet Safety” and was intended to educate
parents about threats the internet poses to their children. Though the
turnout was poor–only 25 parents from a middle school of over 1,000
students–I was glad I attended.

First, I should tell you that I am not a user of the current social networks
such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. Detective Spurlock would have been pleased.
He readily admitted his dislike for the social networks because from his
experienced viewpoint, there are a lot of bad people lurking on the
internet. Every parent needs to make their decision regarding the
appropriate use of the internet for their children. However, here are some
of Detective Spurlock’s stories and statistics you might want to know.

In a recent local survey of teenagers 13-17, 71% of the girls said they had
sexted! Fifty one percent of the girls said they were pressured by boys to
do so. Detective Spurlock said parents need to talk to their boys. I
think the girls need a heavy dose of the same medicine. Young people
(adults too) often can’t image the consequences of their actions. The
detective talked about two promising high school girls in the Northeast who
had sexted. After breaking up, their boyfriends sent the photos around.
Both girls eventually committed suicide, one had been selected as a
Fullbright Scholar.

The detective detailed how easy it is for predators to gain information from
the social networking sites. Most GPS-enabled cell phone cameras
automatically put the geographic coordinates of the phone on the photos –
called a “Geo Tag”? A girl in Virginia innocently posted photos taken of herself (not sexting) from the living room at home. A man in New York got
the coordinates off the photos, googled a picture of her house, mapquested
the route, and showed up at her front door. Luckily the mother answered the
door and called the police. What if mom had not been home?

The Geo Tag example was relatively easy for the predator. Detective
Spurlock said predators can piece together seemingly insignificant info from
social networks to find targets. Maybe it’s a name (Mary) from a town
(Anywhere US). Somewhere else mentions something about playing on the soccer
team at school. The search of school-related sites may disclose pictures
and names of players. Search of phone books narrows down the address.

The detective strongly recommended overseeing (controlling) your children’s
internet use. He cautioned that savvy teenage users will have multiple
social media accounts: one Facebook for the parents to see, and another for
their friends. After concluding his remarks, Detective Spurlock’s handed
out a CD that will identify all social media accounts on a computer. This
is something all concerned parents should have in their arsenal.

Oh, there was a lot more information provided during the two hours. The
“take aways” for me was the rampant “sexting” by teenagers, and the dangers
of carelessly putting personal info on social media accounts. That danger
doesn’t lie only with children.

Teaching our Children to Be Happy

August 2, 2011 in childhood obesity, education, happiness, parenting, self-esteem by yondrrmom | 2 comments

by Penny Gillespie

Being a firm believer in teaching children cause and effect made me realize that many people, including children, seem to eat when they are either sad or depressed. Therefore, I decided it would be worthwhile to conduct some research on happiness. I picked up two books: The How of Happiness, A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want (2008) by Sonja Lyubomirsky PhD. because its subtitle suggested that she had taken a scientific approach toward identifying what made people happy and The Myth of More and Other Lifetraps that Sabotage the Happiness You Deserve (2000) by Joseph R. Novello, MD, who suggested a review of his book when he learned that I was writing an article on happiness.
According to Lyubomirsky, a person’s happiness is contingent on three things:

  • 50 percent is genetically based
  • 10 percent is situational based
  • 40 percent is self-controlled

This means that we each have a high propensity to improve the state of our own happiness as well as that of our children. We can understand how to be happy and coach our children to be happier. One is not happy simply because one is born happy—although genetics do seem to have a role. One is happy because of one’s own actions. I still remember my father’s response to my declaration of unhappiness as a young teenager. One day he asked me, “Why do you look so down and out?” I replied with “I’m so unhappy.” He proceeded to ask me why I was so unhappy to which I responded with a list of things and events. After carefully choosing he words, he told me, “you cannot depend on the world to make you happy and if you are going to let that list of things make you unhappy, you’re going to be in for a very unhappy life. Happiness comes from within. You have to make your own happiness.”

We all believe happiness is important. In fact, most parents’ response to the question, “what do you want for your children,” is “happiness”—being very careful not to define what constitutes happiness for fear of forcing one’s own desires on one’s children—recognizing what makes us happy may or may not make our children happy. Lyubomirsky’s research confirms that happiness is a good desire for our children. Based on her extensive research, happiness brings multiple benefits:

  • Happier people are more sociable and energetic, more charitable and cooperative and better liked by others” …(happier people) actually show more flexibility and ingenuity in their thinking and are more productive…they are better leaders and negotiators and even earn more money. They are more resilient in the face of hardship, have stronger immune systems, and are physically healthier. Happy people even live longer.
  • …In becoming happier, we bolster as well our feeling of self-confidence and self-esteem; we come to believe that we are worthy human beings, deserving of respect…if we become happier, we benefit not only ourselves but also our partners, families, communities and even society at large.

No wonder we want happiness for our children. Happy children are more likely to have a positive attitude on life, have higher self-esteem and a wider array of friends. They are even more likely to do better in school and be healthier. They are even more likely to become productive and responsible citizens. Without sounding too Pollyannaish, helping our children become happy can them work towards solving many of the issues they face today: having no or few friends, not being well-liked, lacking self-confident, over eating, etc.

However, in our pursuit of happiness, let’s make sure we understand the difference between pleasure and happiness, which Novello defines in his book as follows:

  • Pleasure is transitory; good feelings and good fortune rise and fall. Once you’ve captured them, the thrill is soon gone, and it must be recaptured again and again. Pleasure is a fleeting moment. Pleasure exults in things. Pleasure is self-seeking. Pleasure must be constantly refilled. Pleasure is about feeling good.
  • Happiness is more about the value we place on our lives. Happiness is generosity toward others. Happiness endures. Happiness accepts both the agonies and ecstasies of life in a spirit of tranquility, knowing the world is unfolding as it should. …happiness paradoxically takes work. Psychological work. Spiritual work… Happiness is less a destination than a way of traveling. If you are successful in your new life , happiness will find you.

If we continue to want things that we do not have, misery will most likely set in—particularly if we believe our happiness is contingent on getting these things. Misery is not merely wanting—we all have wants of one kind or another, but believing that our happiness depends on it getting what we want.

Here are 10 steps to increasing your child’s happiness (as well as your own) based on my research and interpretation of Lyubomirsky’s and Novello’s works.

  1. Love unconditionally. Love your children unconditionally. Make sure they understand that your love is truly unconditional and not tied to any sort of achievement. Who cares if they are star football player or number one in their class. Teach them that it is ok to make a mistake and as parents, keep their mistakes in perspective. Don’t over react. Help them understand that you may not always like what they do but that you will always love them and be willing to help them.
  2. Teach self-reliance and responsibility. Avoid overprotecting and overcontrolling your children. Instead, teach children to be self-reliant and responsible. Help them understand the possible repercussions that an action may bring. Help them recognize the consequences of their behaviors and don’t make the mistake of attempting to remove all negative consequences, which is something so many parents are guilty of today. As a parent, try adopting my mother-in law’s philosophy toward her youngest son (who is now my husband). He was evidently a very daring young boy. After he startled his mother in the kitchen one morning, peering in at her through the kitchen window (they lived in an apartment at the time on the 4th floor) she accepted the fact that he was a blessing, and although mostly likely a short term one, she would cherish every moment with him.
  3. Give age-appropriate responsibility. Give children responsibility appropriate for their age. Don’t try to make them be more mature than they should be for their age by placing them in charge of their siblings at too early an age or having mature theme discussions. American parents, in particular, have been accused of robbing children of their childhoods. If you are unsure about age appropriateness, try reading, The Hurried Child (2007) by David Elkink, PhD.
  4. Meet children’s needs not wants. Don’t confuse meeting your children’s needs with meeting their wants. Parents are not supposed to satisfy a child’s every whim. Children need to be taught tolerance. They need to understand the concept of limits and living within limits. Teach them how to accept “no” as an answer. Although satisfying occasional wants and desires is fine, don’t make a practice of attempting to satisfy all.
  5. Adopt positive attitudes. Teach children how to maintain a positive attitude. Help them to see the glass as half full (versus half empty) and to look for good in all things. Always look for the jelly bean. As a friend of mine always says, “there is always a jellybean, sometimes you just have to look harder for it than others.”
  6. Show generosity and charity. Teach empathy and demonstrate generous and charitable behavior to your children. Teach them to be appreciative of others and recognize the kind and nice things they say or do. Teach children to say “thank-you” often. As my Aunt Nancy says, “one is hard-pressed to go wrong with a thank you (or apology).” Lyubomirsky’s lab results showed that when participants were given the opportunity to do various acts of kindness over a ten-week period (such as an extra household chore, help a stranger, change a tire, help a niece with homework, etc,) the participants became happier and stayed happier. A second study showed that people were more successful at increasing their happiness when they committed 5 concentrated acts of kindness on a specific day than when they spread the acts throughout the week.
  7. Practice thankfulness. Teach children to be gracious and focus on what they have (versus what they do not have). A study from Lyubomirsky’s lab found that people who actively and regularly practiced either gratitude or optimism over an 8 week period came to regard their routine experiences in more positive ways and to find everyday events (meeting a friend, commuting to work, cooking dinner) more satisfying. Another lab study showed that people were more successful at increasing their happiness when they counted their blessings every Sunday night than when they did it 3 times a week. More positive thoughts and interpretations, in turn, triggered improvements in well-being.
  8. Live in the moment . Teach children to focus on the moment and enjoy its pleasures. Set a good example by giving your child your undivided attention when your child is trying to talk to you or interact with you. How often do our children try to talk to us and we are distracted by all the things we have yet to do. This also means don’t harp on past misbehaviors. Once a child is reprimanded and their corresponding punishment completed, consider their transgression over and do not discuss it again. Help them understand the concept of taking one step at a time. For example, in Dr. Novello’s book, he discusses his work with a young fifteen year old tennis protégée who despite the fact that she was a rising star, she fell apart in competition if she hit a bad shot. Once he helped her to understood that the past was over, the future lay ahead and only the present could be addressed—hitting one ball at a time with her best effort, her game improved.
  9. Set and work on goals. Teach children how to make goals and work toward them. Children need to experience the joy of a job well done and the fruits of their labor. This is not only a strategy for happiness and the feeling of accomplishment but the preliminary steps for lifelong success. Subject matter experts agree that one of the top reasons people are not successful in their lives today is that they had/have no goals or objectives.
  10. Develop new habits. Help children develop new habits and better practices that improve their lives—be it better ways to study, improved manners, small ways to show consideration, etc. New behaviors and practices become habitual through repetition, meaning that they are done without thinking. Habits form with repetition and practice. Researchers theorize that every time someone repeats a behavior, an association develops in their memory between the behavior and the context in which it occurs.

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Great Teachers Make A Great Difference

July 31, 2010 in ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, education, parenting, teachers, Uncategorized by The Yondrr Foundation | 1 comment

By Laurie Davenport

 Laurie is a parent and contributor to the Yondrr Foundation Blog.

As I look at the title of this blog post I’m writing, I’m struck by how obvious the title is.  Of course!  Great teachers make a great difference in the lives of their students and the lives of the parents of those students.

So, if that’s the case, I’m asking myself—why am I even writing such an obvious blog post?  The reason is that Great Teachers really, truly make a difference in the lives of kids with ADHD and their parents.

So many people, even in the education field, don’t understand ADHD and ADD—or other developmental orders like Aspergers’, autism, dyslexia, bipolar and obsessive compulsive disorders.  I’ve heard teachers, even special ed teachers; make comments that clearly show they don’t truly “get” it deep down that these are disabilities—forgetting that the child doesn’t choose to behave a certain way. Instead, these children do whatever they do because of some wiring or development disorder or slower development in parts of their brains.

When my son got his first really GREAT teacher, he was in elementary school.  We, and all the other families that had a student assigned to that classroom, approached the year with extreme trepidation.  The teacher was widely feared throughout our community as a dragon lady who handed out 2 and 3 hours of homework every night like it was candy at Christmas time. I was convinced my son would hit some major disaster within the first few weeks of school and we’d be looking for a private school pretty darn fast.

Not even close. Instead, this teacher worked magic in my son’s life.  Yes, she dished out the homework and it was a really tough slog for our entire family all year.  But along with that she provided more structure in my son’s life than he had ever had.  I’m not a structured person myself, and it convinced me that I needed to clean up my act too. She also held my son to a very high standard of academic performance, insisting that he could too make the highest grades, despite some learning challenges.

In fact, she cut her lunch period short to work one-on-one with him, and she stayed for an hour after school with him to help with whatever subject or project he was falling behind in.  Not only that, she did the same thing with other students in her class.  I think she was an angel. I don’t say that lightly—she was an angel.  No doubt about it, she worked wonders in the lives of all the kids in her class.  One parent told me that the study habits this teacher instilled in her son stayed with him all the way through high school.  What a testament to how truly great she is.

About half-way during the year she suggested we get our son tested.  She thought he might have ADHD or ADD and she thought we should find out.  She was right.  It turned out that about half the students in her class that year had some sort of developmental issue, and she said that was the norm.  As a result, she had become well aware of the signs and the issues that each of these conditions brought with them.

I know she was a great teacher—despite being tough and despite having a fierce reputation.  I heard her when working after school with my son say to him “look in my eyes—I know you can do this.  You know you can do this.  Don’t give up—you can do it.”  Her belief in him became the wind beneath his wings and he soared.  I will never forget her impact on him and will never stop appreciating her for being such a strong force in his life.

And listen to what this Great Teacher did.  Everyday at the end of school she would hug every single child as they were leaving, saying “I love you, Peter; I love you Alice” and on down the line until she hugged every single child in her class.  And this Great Teacher says the day the school system makes her stop doing that is the day she resigns.

What a fantastic teacher and what a difference she has made in countless lives!  Great Teachers really do make a Great difference in the lives of kids (and the parents of kids) with developmental issues.

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