All Blog Posts (148)

Application Deadline: September 21!

UW Early Childhood Leadership Certificate

October 5, 2011 - March 14, 2012…

Here is some new art and new online learning links from my early childhood educational website www.newalphabet.com that you can share with your early learners.

I…

1. Repeatedly ignores social, emotional or physical boundary limits
2. Refuses to let a child set his or her own limits
3. Insists on hugging, touching, kissing, tickling, wrestling with or holding a child even when the child does not want the physical contact.
4. Shares inappropriate personal or private information with a child, that should normally be shared with adults only.
5. Frequently points out sexual images or tells in appropriate or suggestive stories or…

I get lots of great questions during workshops but a very common question that parents bring up is what types of questions should they be asking before their child goes to a new friends house. You don’t have to interrogate another parent to get the answers you need. Sometimes a few key questions will be all you need to determine if you feel comfortable (or not) with your child spending time with this person.

• Who will be home?
• What is the planned activity?
• Do…

I know many parents who think they are protecting their kids by being the parent who HOSTS sleepovers. I mean nothing bad would ever happen in our OWN HOME… or could it? Sexual abuse can happen in your home, under your watch.

Most of the time the only “risk” at a sleepover is not getting any…

Bad Manners Bad Intentions? (or Just a Bad Idea?) By Kim Estes - Savvy Parents Safe Kids

Each month, as I prepare my child safety article, I sometimes wonder: what will I have to write about? I mean, how many times can you write about finding a safe mom with kids at the store? Then, some great safety question presents itself (usually at someone else’s expense) and I create a safety tip with it. This…

Tiny pink and red hearts, paper valentines with cars, animals and your kids favorite cartoon character (who knew Sponge Bob could be sentimental!) February is all about our sweethearts! What a great time to talk safety to your sweethearts (young and old!). It can be as simple as making sure that your…

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The Peapod Foundation, created by The Black Eyed Peas, collaborated with Adobe Youth Voices, a non-profit spearheaded by The Adobe Foundation, to create a new public service announcement (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efSYEZZNrEQ). The PSA demonstrates the power of the arts and technology to engage youth from underserved communities. 

Through their collaboration, the Peapod Foundation and Adobe Foundation have launched…

A new year is here… and with it comes some new resolutions. Why not make family safety one of your resolutions? Here is an easy one:

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The holidays are a busy time of year especially for parents. You plan special meals, wonderful gatherings of family and friends, and search for just the right gifts to delight your children. It's all a lot of work and so it's interesting to consider what your children will remember a year from now.



A mom recently told me that she was busily pondering the gifts she should buy for her two grade school children. Trying to find meaningful gifts, she decided to ask them what they could…

Opening Doors to Early Literacy Downunder NW.doc

You reactions and comments would be appreciated. James Thomas

We just did an exercize at work for a meeting that turned out really interesting. We went around and named which books were our favorites as small children and why. Though I love all things Dr. Suess because of their timelessness and relevance at every age (dreamy, wonderful images to small children, morality tales for older children, fables of societal impact for adults), I must confess that the book I had the hardest time giving away when the time came was The Adventures of Strawberry…

We certainly hope that back to school does not mean back to bullying! Unfortunately being bullied at school is the reality for too many children. According to the National Crime Prevention Council, "Bullying has become a tidal wave of epic proportions."



Everyone's Role



In her book…