Random Parenting Articles

Parenting: Know Your Responsibility As a Parent

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:21:28 -0500

If you are a parent, you probably have received gazillions of suggestions to raise your own kids. Some of them may come from your own parents, your relatives, other parents, and even from experts. These propositions may be as right as it is useful, however, always remember that every parent is different and so are their children. But in parenting there are commonalities and generalities that can apply to all.

The truth is that there is no such thing as the right way to become a good parent. And there surely are no accurate steps to be one. The list in parenting do’s and don’ts and should and shouldn’t is pretty long and sometimes a bit overrated. In addition to it being long are also its inconsistencies. These parenting tips would only serve as helping hands when things are not the way they should be.

To be a good parent, it is not only enough to take care of your children’s basic needs. You also have to keep and make them feel safe, listen to their needs, lead a good example, spend quality time with them, show affection, and give them advices when they need it. Of course, parenting is not just about all the good stuff; you also have to set and enforce restrictions firmly, monitor their progress in school, and give reasonable punishment when they commit mistakes.

As a parent, you also need to recognize your own mistakes. Yes, parents do make mistakes, but mostly these mistakes are unrecognized because there is nobody telling you that you are wrong. Being confused, worried, overwhelmed, angry, and guilty because of your child’s behavior is fairly normal in parenting. In fact, they are even considered to be good signs and would only mean that you are striving to become better parents. You see, it is merely futile and pointless to try to be the perfect parent and try to raise perfect children, because they DO NOT exist. However, there sure are better parents and better kids, and this is the place you would rather belong.

Be honest to yourself and ask for help if you think you need one. Don’t worry. There are tons of people willing to help you and there are many ways to get useful parenting advices. However, the most significant among all of these advices is that you take a break from time to time and spend a little alone time for yourself or with your spouse.

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Lucile Taylor is a contributor for WebArticles.com. She is an expert in Pregnancy and Babies Toddler advice.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Online Shopping For Child Safety Locks

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:05:52 -0500

Do you have small children in your home who love to explore and discover something new or old in your house? Is your child curious enough to find out what's inside your cabinets or drawers? If yes, you probably could be looking for child safety locks.

Child safety locks have been around for decades now. They are designed and manufactured for several good reasons; one of those is to prevent children from gaining access to things that can be harmful for them, such as knives and other sharp objects. Well, as you may realize, the child safety locks are not a guarantee of protection, but they can make it difficult for your toddlers to reach dangerous objects and substances. It is for this reason that designers and manufacturers still continue to produce child safety locks for household use.

If you are looking for child safety locks with the best design and quality, I have listed below a few of the most recognized online stores selling locks that guarantee a bit of protection for your child. These stores are just a few of the many. There are a lot of them where you can find the right child safety locks for your cabinets and drawers. Before you go and look for other stores available online, consider the following for the right items.

Epinions.com

One of the most recognized shopping stores online, the Epinions.com presents a number of child safety locks to choose from. Perhaps what is best about their collection is that the items are offered by categories. You can find locks that are categorized by brand, by type, and by estimated price. This allows you to search and find the right child safety lock as easy and quickly as possible.

SureBaby.com

Another notable baby store online, the SureBaby.com features child safety locks and latches for cabinets and drawers. According to several claims, the locks and latches that SureBaby.com has been providing are all designed to prevent small children from poisoning and other injuries. They are great enough to keep your cabinets and drawers locked and intact. These products are easy to install and sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from children.

KidSmartLiving.com

KidSmartLiving.com is out there to give a wide selection of cabinet and drawer locks that are perfect for your child's safety. The locks featured at this site are categorized according to their features and price. And, it is worth knowing that the child safety locks offered by KidSmartLiving.com are great enough to withstand the tugs and pulls of your children, without harming them. They also come in different design and style.

Get more information about Art Projects and Cross Stitch at WebArticles.com.

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Lucile Taylor is a contributor for WebArticles.com. She is an expert in Pregnancy and Babies Toddler advice.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Chronicle of Malarky: The Drug Lord's Mansion

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The Narco-trafficker's Mansion in the Forest

My Mexican friend, her daughter and I decided to take a long hike in a national forest somewhere around Ciudad Guzman, deep in the heart of Mexico. I had taken a little adventure trip to Mexico to see what I could see. So, here we were, looking for a hidden waterfall somewhere deep in a huge forest.

We had eaten breakfast with the locals at an open air market in the nearby town. It was a lively place, complete with dogs and vagabonds looking for a handout. It was an interesting place, where the locals gathered in the mornings. I didn't really like the lack of sanitary conditions though, and sure enough, I got the worst case of diarrhea that I'd ever had.

My friend took me to a pharmacy and got some medicine. She said she was a medical doctor, but considering all the lies she told me while I was with her, I have my doubts.
Anyway, she got some pills that helped quite a bit, and she made me some kind of traditional concoction out of maize, lemon, limes, pineapple, and who knows what else.

So, we were deeper in the forest than I expected, when I saw a mansion, sort of all by itself. Strange, why would there be such a place out here? I asked her and she kind of looked around and quietly said: "narco-traffickers." Oh, I understood.

I asked her if it bothered her, she said, "Of course not! It's you stupid American with your drug habit that feed it. For us it doesn't matter if it's corn or peas or cocaine." I'd never looked at it like that before, at least not so close up!

I found out later that people didn't really dislike these businessmen; in fact the gifts that they gave the local community were greatly, appreciated. There was a nice park in Ciudad Guzman, courtesy of whoever owned this mansion, for example. Sort of a Robin Hood outlook to the matter.

I didn't see anyone around, so I took out my camera and took a few shots of the place, after all, how often do you get to see something like this?

Then I heard a noise like a truck coming up the hill toward me. I didn't even realize you could drive on this little pathway. Oh no! I don't believe it! This time, they are going to read about me in the paper. There were six mestizos in the truck, three in the front and three in the back.

Mestizos are a mixure of Spanish and Indian and to me they always looked kind of scary. I guess it's because the only ones I'd met were fierce looking policemen in Guadalajara. To me, they all had black eyes, surrounded by red instead of white. They probably were kind-hearted fathers who read bedtime stories to their infant children, but these guys looked downright scary

So, there I was, miles from town, alone on some remote road, in a Mexican forest with six scary looking men coming toward me. Plus, my friend and her daughter had gone on ahead of me because I had stopped to stare and take pictures.

The truckful of scary men stopped when they got to me, and the three in the back jumped out. They each had a big machete in hand and they all proceeded to walk toward me. I greeted them in my better-than-average Spanish. I must have convinced them that I was a harmless, stupid American tourist because they greeted me back and sort of moved to the side and started cutting brush on the road side.

I glanced around quickly to see if any other weeds were cut down anywhere, of course they weren't! I said "Hasta luego!" and got out of there as quickly as a nonchalant acting bee-line will allow.

This was the first time in my life that I've actually thought I was going to die. All I could envision was me cut up into pieces by some ruthless, drug-addicted minions of a heartless drug lord who despised Americans.

There were several more of these mansions, but you can be sure that I was a kept my camera in my pocket and minded my own business!

www.stress-familyhealth.net

--

Well traveled father of eight lively children who

has had more experiences that make you just shake

your head and marvel.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

What to Pack for Summer Camp

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:13:07 -0500

More than just a place to spend summer vacations, summer camp is a fun place where a child can learn to be more independent, create new friendships and develop new skills. Summer camps are also credited for fostering a sense of teamwork in children and teaching children how to appreciate nature and outdoor sports — especially in a generation where fun usually means playing computer games or surfing the internet.

Summer camps usually last for two to four weeks, depending on the camp activities. From choosing the perfect camp to packing your child’s gear for camp, parents have a major role in ensuring a successful and memorable camp experience for their children. And as in most things in life, preparation is key — especially in packing your child’s gear. Here are some useful tips and pointers to remember before sending your kids to camp.

First step would be to create a packing list. Summer camps usually send a recommended list of packing essentials. Make sure that you include all the things on this official list in your kids’ gear. They are there for a reason.

Pack early. Start shopping for camp essentials as soon as you get the recommended list of things to bring from the camp. Procrastination won’t do you any good. Packing several days (or even weeks, if possible) will help you avoid stressful last minute shopping trips. It will also save you the trouble of scrambling to find his/her favorite shirt and jammies at the last minute.

Don’t forget to pack appropriate medications. While most camps have clinics and first aid stations, it is still very important to pack your child’s prescribed medications. It is also best practice to include the phone/contact number of the physician in case the prescription is lost and needs to be refilled by the camp staff.

Pack an extra pillow case. Despite reminders from camp staff that the facility has sufficient pillow cases, it might be best to pack an extra pillow case. Most camp kids complain that pillows and cases provided by the camp are notoriously grungy. Also, it is more hygienic for your kids to use their own pillow cases, at the very least.

Pack an appropriate number of clothes, keeping in mind the duration of the camp. In general, laundry is done once a week in camps. Make sure that your child will have enough shirts, jeans, underwear, pajamas and other clothing essentials even if laundry is done only once every week. There is no hard and fast rule for number of clothes to pack as the need and quantity would largely depend on the camp’s location but to be on the safe side, this list might be helpful in planning your kids’ wardrobe:
Clothing

8-10 t-shirts
5-6 pairs of shorts
3-4 sweatshirts
2-3 pairs of sweat pants
2 pairs of jeans
1 warm jacket
1 raincoat
3-5 swimsuits
12 pairs of underpants
12 pairs of socks
2-3 pairs of pajamas
1 sunhat
1 bathrobe
A list of miscellaneous stuff can include:
Flashlight and batteries
Bug repellent
Sunscreen
Laundry Bag
Rain gear
Baseball hat
Shower Pail
Toiletries
Stationary and postage stamps

Other quick reminders when packing:
o Mark everything — each piece of clothing, books, toys — with your child’s name
o Include a list of emergency phone numbers and email addresses
o Disposable flashlights will always come in handy, regardless of camp location
o Pack several pre-addressed postcards with postage so as to encourage your child to write

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Dov Shapiro is owner and co-director of Camp Chateaugay, located on Adirondack Lakes in New York.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Times Tables - The Worst Way to Teach Multiplication

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Learning the "multiplication tables" is one of the first traumas that children usually face when learning arithmetic.

Ask ten elementary-school kids to tell you what, say, eight times seven is. Watch as they look up and to their left (or right) and go into, "let's-see" mode. Often you'll hear them say, "Um, ah..." before give you the answer. Generally, there's a lot of hesitation. Only then, do they actually give you the answer. Sometimes it's even correct.

I know, I was one of them. Maybe you were, too. Most children are victimized by the thoughtless, authoritarian, wrong way to teach the "multiplication facts" (what a stupid term!)

Why are "the tables" the wrong way to learn? Maybe I can illustrate it best by analogy. Imagine that you wanted your children to learn the names of all their cousins, aunts and uncles. But you never actually let them meet or play with them. You just showed them pictures of them, and told them to memorize their names.

Each day you'd have them recite the names, over and over again. You'd say, "OK, this is a picture of your great-aunt Beatrice. Her husband was your great-uncle Earnie. They had three children, your uncles Harpo, Zeppo, and Gummo. Harpo married your aunt Leonie...yadda, yadda, yadda.

Boring!

But what if you had them all over for the weekend, and you found out Earnie did magic tricks, Beatrice had been a rodeo queen, Zeppo always wore mismatching socks, Harpo played the, well, you know, Gummo picked his nose and wiped it on his tie, and Leonie could sing like an angel?

Well, then you'd have some relationship with them, wouldn't you? The next time you saw Earnie, you'd ask him to show you a trick. You'd ask his daughter Leonie if she could teach you to sing, and you'd stay away from Gummo's tie.

It turns out that you can build relationships with multiplications, as well. And they have relationships with each other. You already know some of them. Like the relationship of nine to ten. Nine is one less than ten, so when you multiply something by nine, just stick a zero at the end of it, and subtract the original number.

Take the example 8*9. Just stick a zero behind the 8 to get 80. Next, subtract 8 from 80, and you've got 72, which is the correct answer to 8 multiplied by 9.

That is the intuitive way for many people to multiply by 9. So why do they make you stare at the nine-times-table in school? It's boring and fosters no sense of the relationship of nine to the other numbers. It turns multiplication into isolated "multiplication facts" (there's that stupid term again).

If you had children multiply by nine with the subtraction method often enough, they'd know the answers in their bones after awhile. It would take less time than it would to memorize the nine-times-tables by rote, and it would have them actively involved with using the numbers. Imagine that!

This may be hard to digest at first, because learning the "multiplication facts" by rote has been ingrained into the school system for decades. Maybe that is why our children are getting worse and worse at this easy, important skill.

If you're a teacher, you're probably fed up with the bad mojo from the policy-makers. You need to get your own mojo working.

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If you are serious about teaching or learning multiplication, you owe it to your child, your students, or yourself to check out the "Numbers Juggling" e-booklet and e-course to learn to multiply at Learn2Multiply.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Essential Back to School Gadgets

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Five Gadgets Every Student Needs to Avoid a Computing Disaster
It's only the beginning of August but already time to start shopping for the high tech necessities every student is going to need to succeed at school. Whether you're buying someone's first laptop computer, upgrading the old one, or looking for advice on essential gadgets for today's student, here are some suggestions for what to buy along with some tips on good deals.

A Reliable Computer, seriously
Computers don't last forever. If your student is using the old hand-me-down computer with 512 MB of RAM running Windows 98 it's probably time to upgrade. First, you’ll need to decide between a desktop and laptop, or you could buy one of each. You’ll also have to decide between Windows and the Mac OS. Mac’s can run Windows applications easily but not the other way around. A desktop can deliver a lot more performance than a similarly priced laptop. With a desktop you'll get more storage, a real keyboard, better graphics processor, bigger monitor, and more expansion options but laptops are what every student wants so what are you going to do?

eMachines recently announced some new desktops including the T3656 which comes with 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive and sells for around $299.99. The T5274 has 2GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive and retails for $399.99.

Hot Back to School Deal from Apple
Apple launched a Back to School promotion campaign that offers a free iPod when you buy a qualifying Mac. You need to purchase both products and then submit a rebate to get up to $299 back on the iPod.

A good anti-everything application
It's too easy for anyone, especially students to click on the wrong link and find their computers loaded up with malicious software like virus' or spyware. There are many commercial applications to choose from like McAfee and Symantec. These companies maintain expensive labs to identify and combat malware. Unfortunately, you end up paying an annual fee for these programs which can add up when you're maintaining multiple computers in a household. Fortunately there are some very good applications like ones from Avast who offer "home" versions for free. PCPitstop.com offers some free tests for anything that could adversely affect your computer.

Extra Ink
You can often find third party ink cartridges for sale on ebay and other places. The ink may not be the very highest quality but we’ve found them to be quite adequate for most tasks and we’ve saved a lot of money too. Just in case the ink is out of stock or too expensive you should consider upgrading the old printer to a new model.

A fast, high resolution, inkjet printer can be amazingly inexpensive. Maybe it’s because manufacturers know they’ll make up for giving the printer away when you buy lots of expensive ink cartridges. The HP Photosmart D7460 is a wireless printer and it’s a fast color inkjet that gets good reviews. A mutifunction printer might make a lot of sense for a student. They can copy and scan documents and many of these devices produce high quality photo prints. The Canon Pixma MX850 that gets high marks from users.

External Backup Disk
It would be a terrible shame to spend a lot of money on computer gear only to lose that important term paper(not to mention that photo and MP3 collection) from a hard disk malfunction.. External hard drives that hook up to the computer through a high speed USB connection and very often include back up software can be relatively inexpensive.

Removable Storage
Two forms of storage we highly recommend are flash drives and optical discs. You can get 2 GB flash drives for under $20 which will store 4 years worth of term papers. Blank DVDs not cost around $.30 each and hold over 4 GB of data. You can back up all your docs to a few of these in spread them around for safe keeping.

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Writing is my hobby.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

The Crucial Parent-Teen Relationship

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Enjoy them now, they'll soon be teenagers!" Warnings like this from friends and relatives, together with media images of adolescents as irresponsible, rebellious troublemakers, can lead parents to expect trouble as their children enter puberty. Parenting teens includes many challenges as well as joys.

Even when teens start dating, they are still not as close with romantic partners as they are with their same-sex friends. Also, the relationships teens have with their parents – especially the degree of support and security they feel in their relationships – influences their having warm and secure feelings about friendship. Having a secure view of friendship is positively related to teens’ security in their romantic relationships. In other words, parents influence the quality of teens’ friendships and dating relationships.

A focus should be on the positive side of parenting teens. This focus will better help the parent to feel more competent and actually be able to enjoy their teen and the ups and downs they face. Sometimes parents tend to over emphasize the negatives and annoyances of parenting their teens.

Parents and teens can live together more or less harmoniously if parents know what to expect and are willing to make some adjustments in the way they think and act.
Parents want the most for their children: the ability to achieve goals, good friends, positive self-esteem, a strong family relationship, physical and emotional health, self-control, joy and satisfaction in life.

It is important for parents to see self-centeredness, not as a disregard for others, but as a form of psychological self-protection. Teens have fragile egos. Parents can be helpful by giving their teens tactful grooming tips and by encouraging them to look beyond themselves in some way perhaps by joining an interest group or taking up a new sport or hobby.

Teenage behavior is not always easy to live with. Learning to accept though not necessarily condone "typical" behaviour is one of the biggest challenges in bringing up teenagers. Parents have to try to keep this behaviour especially the aggressive type, at a manageable level, so that it doesn't escalate into violence or become self-defeating for their teenagers.

Our focus is to provide a refreshing look at the many joys and challenges facing parents with teens. Please take a moment to look through our site and study some of the topics that parents of teens are most interested in.

Many parents know they have a troubled teen on there hands, as these warning signs will help tell. The question many parents have is "What do I do!" or "what are my options? If you have any suggestions for how to improve this site or any questions pertaining to this site, feel free to go:

http://www.abundantlifeacademy.us

http://www.abundantlifeacademy.info

There are ways to help to manage your teens and all it takes is some effort to find those answers. It offers a wide variety of information pertaining to parenting teens in today's society. They hope that the information presented on this site will be of some use to parents everywhere. We know that in today's society, parenting teens can be a huge challenge and it always helps to receive a little insight from others who have been down that path. Be sure to come back and see us often as they are continually adding information to the site.

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About Author: Harry Johnson
For listings please visit http://www.abundantlifeacademy.us/ Online High Schools - online high school courses . You can also visit http://www.abundantlifeacademy.info/ for Parent Coaching - Restoring troubled families .

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Shared Parenting Information

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:20:20 -0600

Shared parenting is a concept, subsequently after a separation or a divorce, to which the biological mother and father, retains a strong parenting role in each of their children’s lives. Although structurally incorrect, a growing number of failed marriages result to this kind of setting.

What is Shared Parenting?
Shared parenting is a legal term that refers to family arrangements in allusion of child custody after separation or divorce settlements have been put in to order by the biological parents. This type of arrangement entitles both parents to be fully involved in the upbringing of their kid/s together. Both the child’s original mother and father will share the responsibilities of parenthood. However, in most cases, shared parenting is even considered desirable in order to continue parenting even after separation.
However, shared parenting is sometimes unacceptable to other regions where divorce is not favored. In fact, shared parenting is even uncommon in conservative countries that strongly have high regards for the Family Law. Nevertheless, there are still those people who do not support this type of setting due to its possible adversarial and negative effects on the children.

Shared parenting is also bordered by the fact that your children will spend substantial time living in each of the parent’s house. In court, the parents are to come up with an agreeable parenting plan. In a way that includes the schedule to when and where the child will stay on a particular day. If the parents are unable to do so, the court judge will declare an equal-time sharing between the parents, unless it is not in the best interest of the child. United Nations Rights of the Child has already declared that sole custody can only be possible if it is the most practical way as well as in the best interest of the child. Otherwise, balanced parenting should be practiced.

However, after the irrefutable fact of their parent’s separation, shared parenting ensures the continuation of the so-called family life for the children. This will also create a lasting and a more meaningful relationship with the child and his or her original parents. It also reassures that the children will have a definitive place to stay although both parents live separately now.

Children who have been living under shared parenting are statistically known to do better than children who live with only one of them. Research shows that children who survive shared parenting after their parent’s break up maintain a significant relationship to both parents.

Find insightful and useful information about Schooling and Education and Pre-Kindergarden at WebArticles.com.

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Lucile Taylor, an expert in Parenting, is a writer for WebArticles.com.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

Adoptions and How We View It

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:42:49 -0500

When one speaks of adoptions, varied perceptions will then be heard. Each person feels differently about the subject, more like basing from his or her own personal experiences. In the society today, lots of assumptions are encountered about adoptions that were already around from previous generations. There are positive and negative feedbacks. The positive dealt on adoption beneficial on both the adoptive parents and the adopted child. On the contrary, negative perceptions talked on the bond between the child and foster parents is lesser or weaker as compared to the biological tie; and adolescent behaviors on the child are said to be the results of the trauma of being adopted. These ideas were already around since the 1920's and some of the assumptions were even older. What has not essentially changed is the tendency to safely typecast adoptions, regardless of being positive or negative.

Early on, adoptions by people with no blood relation to the adopted child was considered informal and could be motivated by economic and practical concerns such as providing a home to an orphan to get an extra hand around the farm or home. However, this mindset subsided in the later part of the nineteenth century and found to be unusual these days. Childhood mortality also substantially declined, along with another adoption motivation like the aspiration to "replace" a lost or dead biological daughter or son. By now, more and more people are viewing adoptions in a more utilitarian way than how it was before.

The decision in adopting someone else's child is tough. It is difficult to raise somebody you may not know from whom. The fact that you are taking in a child, welcoming him or her into your home and is from another culture, or race, or from another nationality makes it all the more harder. Nevertheless, thousands of couples and individuals are into adoptions and they are blessed with their decisions. These people who openly welcome an innocent stranger into their homes have various reasons for doing it. But whatever these reasons are, the fact remains that adoptive parents provide something these orphans deserve to have: a family and a home they can call their own.

International adoptions, or those who want to adopt children from other countries or nationalities may wait for about a year or a little more. It may sounds like a long wait, but it will be worth it once you have the child with you. Since many people are on the same league with you, wanting to adopt a child, certain things and requirements must be complied first accordingly. Couples without children are given the top priority, and all the more those with infertility problems.

In some countries and areas, adoptions procedures are very strict. Like people between 25-35 years old, healthy and have spouses are more likely to be granted with their adoption requests. Also, birth moms giving up their child are given the options to choose the kind of persons or parents their child will grow up with. Married couples, not old and with college education, good paying job and living an active life are most preferred. This is understandable for even if these children are given up for adoptions, still, every mother wants the best for their baby.

On the other hand, other countries are not so narrow-minded in dealing with adoptions. In such countries, one is allowed to have many adopted children that he or she wants, even if single and no large income. Just as long as you have the ability to truly care and love a given child, and can raise him or her in a nice home, social services will be willing to let you try and will give you the chance to prove your worth to be a parent or parents.

It is no joke to adopt a child. Great responsibility comes with the decision of taking in someone totally not your own. As you take part into the sensitive issue of adoptions, be ready to open up yourself to a child that can be out of your league, someone out of your race and culture. Embrace him or her as if he or she is your own. Shower your "gift" with the unconditional love he or she could not possibly imagine of having. Together, you build a family of harmony and blissfulness.

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Lucile Taylor is a contributor for WebArticles.com. She is an expert in Pregnancy and Babies Toddler advice.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com

5 Ways To Help Your Child Get Ready For A Test

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Getting ready for a test is something every student experiences. The skills required for test preparation are necessary throughout one's entire school career. Children in first grade need just as many test taking skills as a student striving to attain a doctorate in graduate school. Success during an exam not only requires test taking skills, but also proper preparation. While there are countless ways to get ready for a test, there are 5 that stand out as the most beneficial.

Systematic Material Skimming
The best way to help your child get ready for a test is to teach him/her how to correctly study. When exams cover an entire chapter, or multiple chapters of information, children tend to become overwhelmed. The best place to start is right at the beginning of the material. Have your child read all the chapter titles, heading titles, and definitions. Usually text books contain review questions at the end of each chapter or section. Read the review questions. Even if your child doesn't know the answers, it will let him/her know where to focus energy.

Flashcards
Flashcards can be used when your child is getting ready for a test with a partner, or studying alone. Flashcards work best if your child is the one to create them. Not only do they get the benefit of quiz repetition, but they also have the benefit of physically writing down study material.

Study Sheet of Difficult Information
While your child is getting ready for a test, he/she will come across information that is difficult to remember. Everyone has certain facts, figures, definitions, and dates that never seem to come to mind. Have your child write down particularly difficult information on a special study sheet. This sheet can be referenced immediately before the test to refresh the memory.

Quiz Child Using Review Sheet
Your child should never have to study alone. Getting ready for a test is mentally and emotionally draining. If your child doesn't have a study buddy, volunteer yourself. Most instructors hand out review worksheets. Quiz your child on the worksheet beginning 3 or 4 days before the exam. If the teacher does not provide a review worksheet, have your child create their own.

Enforce Homework Completion Each Day
Perhaps the best way to help your child get ready for a test is to help him/her absorb the information each day. Each night, ask your son or daughter what was learned in class and what type of homework was given. Have a specific time in which homework should be completed. If your child needs help, make yourself available. Getting ready for a test is much easier if information is digest over a few weeks, rather than crammed into 1 or 2 nights.

Testing is no picnic. It doesn't, however, need to be a stressful event filled with anxiety and fear. Preparation is the key to successful test taking. Getting ready for a test is simple if you help your child with these 5 study techniques.

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Jennifer Berry is the managing editor of Worksheets Library

. Her site features thousands of kindergarten through grade six printable

teacher worksheets. All worksheets

are aligned to national curriculum standards.

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