18 Blogs Explain Brain Breaks and Why they are Important

boredAs an adult, you’ve likely experienced a time when you’ve been in a training session or a meeting and felt like you were at a breaking point and couldn’t focus any longer. These information overloads don’t happen all the time, but when they do occur you know that you’re in desperate need of a break. The same thing happens to kids, but on a daily basis.  Kids sit through several hours of instruction every day, and it’s not unusual for them to ‘space out’ throughout the day, taking a mini-break without even meaning to.  In these 18 blog entries you’ll find out about what brain breaks are, why they are important and how you can implement them with your kids.

What are Brain Breaks?

Brain breaks are anything that can get your kids out of their seats and energized for a few minutes so that they can continue learning.  When you start teaching your kids about brain breaks, it needs to be understood that a brain break should only be about three minutes long.  This ensures that you don’t lose a ton of time away from the task at hand, but that you are able to take a mental breather and then come back fresher than you were before.  For more information on what a brain break is, read through these six blog articles.

  • I Need a Break… a Brain Break! This teacher explains when and why she uses brain breaks and gives an example of one that works in her classroom.
  • Brain Breaks II Find a clear explanation of what brain breaks are and why this teacher uses them.
  • Give the Kids a Brain-Break! During a difficult lesson this teacher uses brain breaks so the kids can refocus and continue to learn.
  • New: Brain Breaks for the Classroom This teacher explains how she uses brain breaks and how she came up with a way for her students to remember the breaks.
  • Activity Breaks in the Classroom Watch this nine-minute video that explains what brain breaks are and how to get your students to get in and out of a brain break quickly.
  • Brain Breaks Read through this teacher’s explanation of why she does brain breaks and how often she does them.

Importance of Brain Breaks

When kids get tired or bored, they tend to check out.  Once kids begin to check out they are no longer learning, and they mentally are removed from the situation despite being physically present.  It’s important to get their blood flowing and to reconnect those kids that have started day dreaming instead of listening to the lesson.  These six blog posts can explain more about the importance of brain breaks for kids and adults.

  • K Brain Breaks This kindergarten teacher explains the importance of brain breaks for her young students.
  • Fidgets, Brain Breaks, and Therapy Balls… Oh My! Everyone needs to fidget from time to time, and once they do they can refocus on the task at hand.
  • Teacher Tricks “Gimme a Break” Brain Break Jar This fourth grade teacher talks about how important brain breaks are to get kids to wake up and start listening again.
  • Brain Breaks It’s important to give kids a chance to get up and move around every so often, that way they can get their wiggles out and focus on what the teacher is saying.
  • Simon Says: Save Yourself This post has an informative article detailing why brain breaks are needed and how and when you should do them.
  • Brain Breaks Find out why, when and how to use brain breaks in this blog post.

Examples of Brain Breaks

Once you understand what a brain break is and why it’s so important, you can start compiling different brain break ideas to implement. You can make up your own brain breaks as well, but remember that the break should only last about three minutes and not require any supplies.  Check out these six blog entries to get some brain break ideas, then get started using them today.

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10 Tips for Preventing Accidental Drowning in Your Backyard Pool

swimWhen the sun’s hot summer rays are beating down, a backyard swimming pool is a cool, inviting oasis. Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most dangerous things on your property. Making sure that your pool is reasonably safeguarded to help prevent drowning is your responsibility as a parent and a pool owner, and it’s not always easy to know where to start. These ten tips can help you make your backyard swimming pool a little bit safer place.

  • Teach Your Children to Swim – While there’s no way to “drown-proof” a child, making sure that every child in your family knows how to swim is one of the most effective ways to help prevent accidental drowning. Make sure that your kids learn to swim at an early age so that they are reasonably equipped to protect themselves in the event of an accidental fall.
  • Install a Fence – A swimming pool is a beacon to every child in the neighborhood, which is why it’s important to install a fence with a self-latching gate around your pool area that’s at least four feet tall. Remember: kids that can’t access your swimming pool can’t inadvertently drown in it.
  • Put Alarms on Doors Leading to the Pool Area – If doors within your house lead directly to the pool area, it’s wise to consider the installation of alarms that will sound if those doors are opened. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that up to 46% of children that drowned in their family’s backyard pool were last seen inside the house before being found in the pool, and that 15% of them were believed to be sleeping when the incident occurred. Making sure that your kids can’t slip out of the house and into the pool area is one of the most effective things you can do in terms of preventing their accidental drowning.
  • Ban Drinking in the Pool Area – Most drowning deaths in the United States involve young children, but there’s a significant portion of the adult population that drowns after learning the hard way that water and alcohol don’t mix. Relaxing by the pool with an adult beverage or two might be a soothing way to wind down after a long day, but it’s dangerous and should be avoided.
  • Install Underwater Motion Alarms – There are commercially-available devices that will sound an alarm if the surface of the water is disturbed by objects or bodies falling into the water. Models that detect underwater motion are more highly recommended, but either is better than no alarm at all.
  • Never Let Kids Swim Unattended – It should go without saying, but kids should never be allowed to swim without the supervision of an adult who’s able to swim proficiently enough to retrieve them in the event of an accident and who can perform CPR if it’s needed.
  • Learn CPR – You may make every possible effort to secure your pool and safeguard against accidental drowning incidents, but will still not be able to completely rule out the possibility of an accident. That’s why it’s essential for kids and adults alike to know CPR and be well-versed in emergency management.
  • Invest in a High Quality Pool Cover – Summertime is the peak season for pool-related drownings, but plenty of incidents occur in the colder months and are not prevented by flimsy winter covers. Make sure that your seasonal cover is of a high-quality and has a strong safety rating.
  • Maintain Suction Covers and Drains – Improperly functioning suction covers and drains can pose a very real drowning risk, even for accomplished swimmers. As such, making sure that your pool is maintained and in good working order is the mark of a responsible and conscientious pool owner.
  • Keep Flotation Devices in Reach – Should someone fall into your pool and an onlooker is incapable of swimming well enough to pull them to safety, you should make sure that there are adequate flotation devices stocked within easy reach around the perimeter of the pool area.

Your swimming pool doesn’t have to be a dangerous place. With proper preparation and attention to detail, it can be the relaxing and refreshing oasis it was intended to be.

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15 Blogs Informing You How to Improve Posture in You and Your Kids

slouchMaintaining good posture is beneficial for adults and children in many ways, but it’s also something that many people struggle with.  Regular slouching can cause you to have a misaligned spine, which can result in chronic pain. A strong posture, on the other hand, gives you more confidence and makes you appear slimmer. There are many ways you can improve your posture, and these 15 blog entries are full of tips, suggestions and explanations for doing so.

Adult Posture Exercises

Adults spend several hours a day hunched over a keyboard or slumped over a cell phone, which is detrimental to your posture. Sometimes it actually seems easier to slouch than it does to sit up straight. However, there are several exercises you can do to counteract these habits. To improve your posture and reduce back aches, try the exercises in these five blog articles.

Tips for Improving Kids’ Posture

This generation of kids spends more time hunched over a computer or crouched over a handheld electronic device than ever before, so it’s no wonder they are having back problems and suffering from poor posture. By correcting posture problems early on, kids can avoid forming lifelong bad habits. Take a look at these five blog posts to learn how you can help your child improve his posture.

Why Posture is Important

Poor posture will cause chronic back and shoulder problems, and could even cause organ problems. Improperly sitting at your desk can also be the cause of chronic headaches.  To learn more about why correct posture is so important, read through these five blog posts.

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Age-Appropriate Ways Kids Can Show Support to a Sick Relative

cardAny time a member of your family is struggling with an extended illness that forces the adults to come together to offer their support, kids can feel a bit left out in the cold. When faced with the necessity of sharing some of your attention and what seems to be no real way to contribute, kids can be confused and scared about what will happen to someone they love. One of the most effective ways of helping a child to cope with the serious illness of someone close to her is to make her feel like an integral part of the support network. Before you attempt to shield your child from the realities of a serious illness, consider the ways that she can be a real help and learn to understand sickness at the same time.

Making Cards and Writing Letters

Few things brighten an adult’s day like a handmade card or a handwritten letter from a child whom they love. This especially holds true when they’re struggling with a serious illness. Encouraging kids to write letters is not only a great way to help them show support for their family members during a difficult time, but can also help them gain the skills necessary to write an actual, handwritten letter in a world that increasingly relies upon emails and text messaging. When a relative’s illness is so severe that visitors aren’t recommended, or their physical appearance has deteriorated as a result of their illness to the point of being scary or uncomfortable for kids to see, these little mementos serve as a powerful reminder of their love and affection.

Helping to Care for Pets

Pets need to be fed, watered, walked and looked after, even when their owner is struggling to overcome or manage a serious illness. Kids who aren’t quite comfortable getting actively involved in the sickroom or who aren’t old enough to properly manage the intricacies of medical assistance may be more than mature enough to assist with the care and feeding of family pets. Encourage your child to get involved with the pets living in a sick relative’s household, even if the family member is currently hospitalized or incapacitated.

Pitching in With Household Chores

Even kids that are reluctant to contribute to the running of their own household tend to be more than generous when it comes to pitching in to help a sick family member. While you may not want to trust your kindergartener with dusting the fine china or managing the laundry, she’s still perfectly capable of helping to dust, sweep and complete light household chores.

Visiting When Appropriate

When it comes to showing support, love and concern for an ailing loved one, few things make more of a difference than a good, old-fashioned, in-the-flesh visit. That being said, it’s not always wise to expose kids to a relative whose appearance has changed dramatically for the worse after battling with a long illness. You also won’t want to expose little ones to anyone who’s fighting an infectious disease. Use your own better judgment to determine whether or not a visit from your child would be appropriate.

While it’s one of the most unpleasant and upsetting aspects of life, illness and even death are inevitable and kids simply can’t be shielded from them forever. Depending on your child’s age and maturity level, you may find that a frank and honest conversation about her relative’s sickness, the severity of the illness and her loved one’s likelihood of survival is in order. Kids have a way of asking very blunt and direct questions, and don’t tend to shy away from wondering out loud whether or not someone is going to die. Rather than worrying that your child is callous or inconsiderate, realize that the concept of death is still quite vague and mysterious for many kids, especially if they’ve never experienced the passing of someone they knew. Taking the opportunity to explain your family’s belief system and faith regarding the cycle of life may force you to handle the matter earlier than you would have liked, but it’s important to remember that kids simply can’t be sheltered from such incontrovertible truths forever.

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30 of the Best Blogs with Summer Looks for Busy Moms

fashionableAs summer rolls around once again, everyone is getting set to look their best. For busy moms, however, rocking the perfect summer look is not such an easy feat. With little spare time available for luxury tasks like applying makeup, clothes shopping and accessorizing, busy moms need to take advantage of any shortcuts they can find. It’s good to know then, that when time is against you, there are experts out there with the advice that you need to keep up with current fashions and trends.

Summer Makeup Tips for Busy Moms

Applying makeup is usually a time consuming task, and for busy moms, that’s just not always an option. A more fine-tuned regimen is needed so Mom can concentrate on looking after the kids while still looking great. Remember, too, that on those hazy summer days, the kids will be itching to get out to the beach, which means the clock is really ticking. For the quickest, most professional makeup tips, follow the advice of these five bloggers.

Hair and Skincare for Busy Moms

Hair and skincare is important, especially during the summer months when you are at the mercy of an unforgiving sun. Certain precautions are an absolute necessity, as you can’t take any chances with your health. That aside, you want to look your most fabulous while you stroll along the seafront. These five bloggers reveal the hair and skincare secrets you will need to get your summer underway, no matter how busy you are.

Summer Clothes for the Busy Mom

Mixing and matching your wardrobe may have once been a favorite pastime, but with kids biting at your heels, you’d better learn to change in 30 seconds flat. Organizing your wardrobe will afford you a little more time, but it won’t give you much in the way of variety. There are better ways to jazz-up your summer look, though. Take a look at these five blogs for some ideas on how you can quickly rotate your summer style without missing a step.

Busy Mom Workouts

While being a busy mom is a workout in itself, it’s just not the same as getting a structured workout in a gym. The problem, though, is finding the time to do so. Most parents would not happily leave their kids unattended at a gym, and rightfully so. The only alternative, then, is to fit your workout in wherever you can. It can be done, and these five bloggers can give you the motivation and techniques that you need to get summer fit.

General Styling Tips

For busy moms on the run, there are a number of general styling tips that will keep you looking good, even when you’re pressed for time. No matter how busy your day is, these tips will help you make the most of the summer months. The five blogs in this list are specifically aimed at busy moms, which will allow you to stay in style regardless of the challenges you face.

The Summer Baby Look

Let’s not forget your babies this summer; they deserve to look their best, too! Baby fashion is a big industry, but you won’t always have the time to make a truly informed purchase. If you’re struggling for ideas for your kids this summer, take your lead from the ideas in these five blogs.

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20 Blogs with Caring Ways to Boost Your Child’s Self-Esteem

dumHaving high self-esteem is something that everyone needs, but something that is not necessarily easy to come by. Children especially need help developing high self-esteem, because low self-esteem can manifest into problems such as depression, eating disorders and, in extreme cases, even suicide. As a parent, one of your many jobs relating to your child is to help build up your child’s self-esteem. It’s important to really listen to your child and value what he is saying. You also want to avoid criticizing or belittling your child, as this can lay the groundwork for low self-esteem. Teach by example; by showing your child that you have strong self-esteem you can pave the way for him to follow in your footsteps.  These 20 blog articles will give you the tools you need to help improve your child’s self-esteem.

Techniques

Showing pride in your child’s accomplishments will help him feel pride in himself.  Listen and respect your child when he’s talking to you, just as you would want him to respect you when you are talking.  Empower your child by giving him choices and letting him run with whatever he chooses.  These five blog posts will explain different techniques that can help you improve your child’s self-esteem.

ADHD

When a child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) he may feel like there is something wrong with him when he compares himself to his peers.  As a parent, it’s important that you help your child see his ADHD in a positive way.  This is another opportunity to lead by example.  Learn more about how to improve the self-esteem of children with ADHD through these five posts.

Social Skills

Children with low self-esteem often isolate themselves, which makes the situation worse. Because of this, it’s important that you help your child improve his social skills and make some friends.  Having friends will give him a better outlook on life, which will help his self-esteem improve.  For more tips like these, look at these five blog posts.

Teenagers

The teenage years are formative years that can be very difficult for teenagers to navigate through.  Teens are often unkind to each other, and your self-esteem can suffer when you are the one being ignored or talked.  As a parent, it’s important that you keep the lines of communication open with your teen. Try not to judge when your teen tells you what is going on with her.  Take a look at these five blog articles to read more about what you can do to help improve your teenager’s self-esteem.

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10 Ways to Support a New First-Time Mom

Working as a nanny is a rewarding and exciting experience, but it can also be a difficult one from time to time. Accepting a post with a brand new infant and first-time parents is often one of the more challenging occurrences that a veteran nanny faces, but it doesn’t always have to be. As a childcare provider, your first responsibility is to the child under your care. As the employee of parents, however, you’re also there to provide support and assistance in any way that you can. Brand new moms can run the gamut from terrified to completely overwhelmed, and helping them to adjust to their new role in the world can not only give them the assistance they need, but also help to create a better and more enjoyable working environment for you. These are ten of the things you can do to help brand new, first-time moms when they need it most.

mom
  • Support Her Feeding Choices – While everyone from the World Health Organization to the La Leche League asserts that breastfeeding is the best and most nutritious choice for a baby, that doesn’t mean that all moms will be successful in their endeavor to breastfeed. Some may also opt for bottle feeding from the beginning for reasons that are solely their own. Regardless of how they choose to feed their new baby, realize that you’re not there to criticize them. Your job is to care for the baby and to ensure that he’s fed, not provide a single shred of commentary about what’s in his bottle.
  • Respect Her Parenting Style – Pregnant parents will read everything they can get their hands on, and may have their hearts set on a specific parenting style endorsed by a self-proclaimed expert long before they bring their new bundle of joy home from the hospital. Unless it’s actively harming the baby, however, it’s not your place to comment on that parenting style or to detract from it through your own actions. More often than not, unrealistic parenting styles and rigid rules about baby care will fall to the wayside as a new mom hits her stride and becomes more confident.
  • Allay Her Fears – Regardless of how together she may seem, it’s a safe assumption that your new mom boss and first-time mommy is at least a little frightened at the prospect of parenting. She may even be downright petrified. As an experienced childcare provider, you can help to make her more comfortable by allaying any fears you can along the way. Gently reassure her that she’s doing a great job and that she’s adjusting to parenthood beautifully.
  • Providing Extra Support to Post-Surgical Moms – Giving birth naturally is difficult enough; going through major abdominal surgery to bring a new life into the world is another story altogether. Make sure that you’re offering extra help to new moms that are recovering from a cesarean section, as she will likely have restrictions contingent upon her recovery.
  • Looking Out for Signs of Postpartum Depression – No matter how much a new mom reads about recognizing the signs of postpartum depression, it’s not always easy to self-diagnose such a serious condition. This especially holds true when her feelings are being dismissed by other moms in her social circle as the “baby blues.” If you notice signs of postpartum depression, you can provide your mom boss with invaluable assistance by talking to her about it and letting her know that it’s okay to ask for help.
  • Offering a Shoulder to Cry On – Dealing with the rigors of new parenthood while you’re holding a baby that simply won’t stop crying is enough to bring even the strongest mom to tears. While nannies are encouraged to establish and maintain professional boundaries, there is quite a difference between listening to a mom boss dish about her personal life and being there for her when she needs to vent a little bit. New moms don’t always feel comfortable opening up to their partners or family members, which leaves you uniquely positioned to offer them the support they need.
  • Giving New Moms Time to Sleep – Some parents will hire a nanny to look after their baby at night for sleep training purposes, even when they’re planning to be home. Others will wait until the last possible day of maternity leave to turn their precious baby over to a childcare provider. Even if you’re chomping at the bit to get home after a long day of work, one of the best ways you can support an exhausted new mom when she returns home is simply allowing her an hour or so of uninterrupted sleep by sticking around with the baby for a little while longer.
  • Helping Mom Learn the Ropes – While most brand-new moms aren’t eager to admit that their nannies know more about childcare than they do, some will quietly take parenting cues from the professional under their employ. Be sure that you make yourself available if your brand new mom boss is looking for help in terms of learning the basics, especially if she’s far away from family members or friends that could help.
  • Taking Plenty of Pictures – Your mom boss will have to tear herself away from her new baby to go to work each day, and will almost certainly hate feeling as if she’s missing important new developments. Even if the most advanced thing your infant charge does over the course of a day is discover that she has feet, make sure that you document the occasion with plenty of pictures for mom to see when she gets home.
  • Not Taking Jealousy Personally – No mom wants to leave the lion’s share of parenting responsibilities up to an employee, regardless of how experienced and competent a professional that employee might be. Try to take remarks made out of jealousy with a grain of salt until she’s had a chance to adjust to not only becoming a parent, but also being forced to leave her new baby behind each day.
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15 Blogs for Learning about Vegetarian Diets for Kids

For parents who are vegan or vegetarian, raising their children with the same dietary habits may seem like a no-brainer. After all, it’s easier to fix one meal for everyone in the house when dinnertime rolls around, so feeding your kids the same vegetarian diet that you eat may seem like an obvious solution.  The following blogs will explain what some of the concerns are with raising children as vegetarians and what you should keep in mind if this is something that you want to do. Some of these blogs will sing the praises of a vegetarian lifestyle, some may point out some information that you didn’t know, and some will give you some helpful tips on how to raise your child as a vegetarian, complete with kid-friendly food suggestions.

veggies

Concerns about a Vegetarian Diet for Kids

If you are considering switching to a vegetarian diet for yourself and are wondering what some of the concerns are for raising your kids as vegetarians, these five blogs will help you pinpoint the things you should be concerned about as far as maintaining healthy kids.

Benefits of Raising a Vegetarian

The same benefits adults get from eating a vegetarian diet apply to children.  However, there are added benefits that you may not have considered before.  Meat contains a lot of hormones, and those hormones have been blamed for causing early puberty in meat eating children.  Read these five blog posts for more benefits of raising your child as a vegetarian.

How to Raise Your Child as a Vegetarian

Once you make the decision to raise your child as a vegetarian, there are a lot of things you need to consider.  These five bloggers will give you some information that you can use on your quest to get all of the right information for feeding your kids.

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How to Determine if Your Child is Left or Right Handed

handsOne of the delights of being a parent is watching your child grow and develop. Some parents keep a development book handy to make sure their child is reaching all the milestones within the prescribed time-frame, and delight with each new development. Parents wait for their child to start smiling, talking, sitting up, crawling and walking with bated breath, eagerly looking forward to the next phase of their little one’s development. As you watch your bundle of joy grow, you may be interested in knowing how to determine whether your child is left-handed or right-handed. Some people may feel that it doesn’t matter, but for lefties, life can be a little more challenging if some adjustments aren’t made, and for parents of lefties, making those adjustments early can help your child in a variety of situations.

What is Hand Dominance?

Scientifically, hand dominance or handedness is explained as the hand that is most used in performing tasks or the hand that is the most nimble and rapid in performance. Among researchers and scientists, hand dominance is seen as a continuum between strong right and strong left. The four types of handedness are: right-handedness, left-handedness, mixed-handedness and ambidexterity.

By far, the vast majority of the population is right-handed. Left-handedness is less common. Someone who changes hand preferences when doing a variety of tasks is considered mixed-handed or ambidextrous. About 30% of the population displays this trait. Ambidexterity is relatively rare, but can be learned. Those who learn to be ambidextrous have a tendency to favor their naturally dominant hand, while those born with the ability are equally adept at doing things with either hand.

It is interesting to note that in identical twins there is often a difference in the handedness of the two, with one being left-handed and the other being right handed. Rik Smit explores this phenomenon in his book, The Puzzle of Left-Handedness. Australian researchers supposedly debunked the idea of the vanishing twin theory, which held that left-handers were part of an identical twin pair in which the right-handed twin fetus failed to develop, however, Smit re-visits this idea heavily in his research.

Indicators for Hand Dominance

For the most part, babies start off using both hands to do things and preference for one hand or the other seldom manifests before seven to nine months of age. Even then, the preference may not necessarily be permanent. Usually around two years of age there is steady use of one hand in particular, but some four- to six-year-olds may still be ambivalent regarding a dominant hand. Often, parents will assume that the hand with which the child catches or throws a ball is the dominant hand, but that isn’t always the case. More accurate indicators include observation of which hand the child uses to reach for items that are placed directly in front of him, or the hand she uses to feed herself. If she stirs things counter-clockwise, she is most likely left-handed.  Which hand does he use for grooming? These everyday tasks are more accurate in predicting the handedness of your child. Genetics plays a part in handedness as well. 10% of the population is left handed, and twice as many males as females are lefties. If both parents have a dominant left hand, there’s a 25% to 50% chance your child will be a leftie. Trying to change your child’s dominant hand may lead to frustration since it is a trait determined by genetics and the brain, and is not recommended despite the prevalence of the practice in generations past.

Since handedness is influenced by the brain, you should be aware that babies who show an exclusive hand dominance before the age of 18 months might have a motor development problem. Children who have had injuries to the right side of the brain may show a preference for using the left hand, so preference for the right hand could signal injury to the left side of the brain that’s previously gone undetected. Any concerns should be addressed with your pediatrician.

Interesting Research

While most scientists believe that there is no difference in intelligence between left-handed or right-handed people, Chris McManus, author of Right-Hand, Left-Hand believes that the left-handed population is growing, and that throughout history this population has produced a proportionately  greater level of high-achievers. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Lafayette College found that among those who had post-secondary education, left-handers earned 10% to 15% more than their right-handed contemporaries with the same level of education. They also found that regarding the general population, however, there is no significant difference in income between the two.

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The 10 Most Compelling Reasons for Keeping Your Child Home from School

feverIt’s no secret that your child’s education is of unparalleled importance, but there are times when deciding whether or not to send them to school is a complicated proposition. Even if you’re striving for a perfect attendance award, life has a way of spoiling your plans with unpredictable events. These are ten of the situations in which it’s generally considered acceptable to keep your kids home from school.

  1. She Has a Fever – A fever is the body’s natural response to infection and is a line of defense against any germy little invaders, so it’s a smart move to keep your feverish youngster home for the day. Even if she seems to be feeling well enough to go to school she could very well be contagious, and other parents will thank you for not subjecting their kids to her illness.
  2. She Has Digestive or Intestinal Symptoms – Whether she has a fever or not, even if her illness is not contagious, anything that causes your child to vomit repeatedly or have diarrhea is automatic grounds for staying home. The distraction factor aside, the likelihood of an accident is fairly high with younger children that aren’t yet adept at reading their body’s cues, and the attendant embarrassment from losing control of bodily functions is just not worth a few extra grade points.
  3. There’s Been a Family Emergency – Accidents, serious illnesses and other family emergencies are a perfectly acceptable reason for a missed day of school or two, especially if you have to travel as a family to manage the crisis.
  4. She’s Being Bullied Incessantly – While you don’t want to keep your kids home from school indefinitely out of avoidance of a bullying issue, you may want to consider a temporary leave of absence while school administrators address the situation. Chances are, the torment she’s on the receiving end of will be a distraction from her studies anyway, and a day’s reprieve can help her recuperate from the trauma.
  5. Someone Within the Family or Close to Your Child Has Passed Away – Even if funeral ceremonies are still in the works, the news that a loved one has passed away is likely to be so upsetting to your child that she has trouble focusing on her schoolwork anyway. Her grief may even be a distraction to other kids, as well as embarrassing to her, so you may want to consider a short break to allow an appropriate amount of time to grieve.
  6. She Has Pink Eye – Pink eye is highly contagious and extremely uncomfortable, and school administrators are sure to send your child straight home when she shows up with the signs of a pink eye infection. Save yourself the trouble of being forced to go back and pick her up and just make arrangements for her to skip school until she’s fully recovered.
  7. You’ve Found Signs of a Problem With Head Lice – Lice are another highly contagious childhood malady that’s quite common, but still cause for a break from school until all signs of the infestation have been eradicated.
  8. She’s Experienced a Traumatic Event – A natural disaster, car accident or even a particularly scary story on the news can be traumatic for children. You may find that it’s better and more manageable for her to stay home until she’s calmed down than to send her to school. Anxiety can also increase exponentially in crowded places for some kids. It should go without saying that any intimations of impending violence or rumors of an event that makes your child feel unsafe at school is immediate grounds for a day at home.
  9. You’ve Planned a Special Occasion – It’s not a smart move to make a habit of scheduling special events that conflict with the school schedule, but there are times when it’s just not avoidable. Rather than forcing your child to miss out on an exciting event or scrambling to reschedule at a less convenient time, you may want to consider a one-time-only reprieve from classes in order to allow your child to participate.
  10. She’s Under an Inordinate Amount of Pressure – Pressure to succeed academically or even to fit in socially can become overwhelming at times, and your child may simply need a break from time to time. If you think that your child is in danger of burning out completely due to the amount of stress she’s facing, it may be better in the long run to give her a mental health day every once in a while.

In the end, you’re the only person who truly knows whether or not a day of missed classes will have a negative impact on your child. Before making the decision to condone a bit of class-cutting, consider any academic struggles your child may be facing and the projected impact that missing a day of school will have on her grades. After all, an education is an essential aspect of your child’s future success. If you find yourself frequently debating the wisdom of sending your child to school, you may even want to consider making the switch to homeschooling in order to ensure that her education continues despite any social or health struggles she’s facing.

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