Get Ready for School Success!

It feels like summer has just gotten going.

But, the calendar says differently. Unbelievably, it’s August already, which means the new school year is nearly upon us. For parents of school-age kids, this is the perfect time not only to get new backpacks, pencils, and notebooks. It’s also a good time to reconsider any concerns you might have about your child’s ability to learn and do well in school.

Evaluation for issues that may be keeping your child from reaching his or her full academic potential is called psychoeducational testing. Our friends at The K5 give a good explanation of what this is. To avoid re-inventing the wheel, we'll let their school psychologist, J. David Carr, tell you more:



In many school districts, psychoeducational testing is done to determine whether a child needs to have an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP. In my local area, parents also have the right to seek out a second opinion – at the school district’s cost. This means that if you are dissatisfied with the school’s testing or IEP results, you may seek out additional psychoeducational testing from a psychologist on your own. To find out more about this, you may contact your local school district.

A great resource for parents in Southern California who want additional (or first time) psychological/educational testing for their child, is Dr. Paula Bruce, who has a great deal of experience, expertise, and is just terrific to work with.

Remember: Identifying and understanding how your child best learns and where he or she needs additional support is one of the best ways to get ready for school success!

Eensies: A Giant Help for Parents

In these tough economic times, many parents I know have been feeling not only worried and concerned, but understandably stressed and overwhelmed.

It's a good time to remember certain important things, including that children can easily pick up on a parent's state of mind. Younger children who tend to be more egocentric may feel that "Mommy isn't happy," or "Something is wrong with Daddy," and blame themselves. If you see your child responding in such a way, this is a great time to remind him that you love him.

If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, you are not alone. Now is the perfect time to reach out to friends, family members, or professionals such as teachers and counselors for support. Remember that no matter where you live, there are free local resources available.

One of the best online resources for parents (and one of my new favorites) is eensies. Started by two teachers (and parents), eensies is chock full of tips, activities, and advice. And, every Thursday is dedicated to answering parents' questions about everything from homework and reading to how to help your child make clean up time fun. Not only is eensies enjoyable to read and a giant help for parents -- it's also absolutely free.

Speaking of free, don't forget that love and hugs don't cost a cent. So give your favorite child a hug today and remember to check out eensies.

Baby's Play

Recently, I went to visit my friend, Amy, and her new son, Sven, who was just seven weeks old. Amy was adjusting well, had her Excel sheets to track Sven's sleeping and eating cycles, and was thinking about the days when she would be able to get back to her Ironman training again.

Most of all, she was trying to get used to being a mom for the first time.

Amy held Sven confidently and chatted with me about the little things she was noticing about him -- how he had long arms and legs like her but his dad's nose and eyes, that he seemed to usually hold one arm up whenever he was feeding, and that he tended to prefer leaning against her on his left side.

She also told me that she heard that you were supposed to play with your baby but that because he was still so "little," she wasn't sure how to go about doing it.

Playing with a baby even seven weeks old is wonderful fun and not that difficult. It's about cooing back when baby coos, smiling at him, laughing, and making silly faces. It's about making sounds that he responds to with a gurgle, another coo, or a slight wiggle. Then you gurgle, coo, and wiggle your fingers back, both of you filled with mutual delight.

These kinds of interactions are so important for a child to have from his earliest weeks on.

A child develops a sense of self and of the world through his relationships. The back-and-forth between baby and mom or baby and whomever else is of importance to him helps baby learn to recognize different types of facial expressions, stimulates his brain growth, allows him to develop the ability to engage with another person, and lets him try out all the fancy new tricks that his little body can now perform -- like smile, hold up his hand in a fist, and let out a startlingly loud fart.

As Amy and I watched, played with Sven, and realized that day, it's also just pure fun.