Oftentimes, parents won’t think about tutoring their children on academic subjects until they’re already behind.

And while it’s never too late to help your child, you’ll have much more success if you don’t have to start from square one – that is, learning how to tutor in the first place.

Using the following guidelines, you can put yourself in a good position to help your child stay on top of things even before they’re struggling.

Be their tutor, but remain their parent.

Tutoring is different from parenting, and that makes it crucial that these roles are very distinct in both your mind and your child’s.

There are two main ways this can go wrong, the first being that you act too much like their parent while you’re tutoring them – and the other that you become more critical and tutor-like when you’re not.

Thus, it’s very important that your child understands – even as you tutor them – that you love them unconditionally, whether they seem to be understanding the material or not.

But they also should know that, as their tutor, you can’t just give them the answers – you have to let them struggle (even more so than you might as a parent) and learn through their mistakes.

Make sure you know the subject well.

It’s very possible that you’ll relate to your child’s struggles with maths, writing, or similar – precisely because you struggled or still struggle with the same things.

That’s why it’s very important that you have a strong, foundational grasp on the subject or subjects they’re struggling with.

After all, can you truly help them with maths if you never got past some of the major pitfalls yourself?

Sure, you can help them solve problems on their homework, but tutoring is more involved than just providing homework answers.

Good tutors must know the ins and outs of the subject they’re teaching – the fundamental concepts, where students often go wrong – or else they’re doing little more than just helping with homework and not helping their students learn.

Consult their teacher first, if you can.

It’s impossible to overstate the value of parent-teacher interviews, especially if your child is struggling academically with one or more subjects.

The information you can get on your child’s education is invaluable, not least because you generally can’t get much objective insight from your child’s responses to questions like “How was your day at school?”

Upon meeting with your child’s teacher, you’ll more fully understand what subjects they’re struggling with – and maybe even the specific concepts that they haven’t completely mastered yet, causing them to fall behind.

Parent-teacher interviews are almost always too brief, but if you know how to make the most of that time by asking the right questions, they can help you be a very effective tutor.

Use their interests to motivate them.

No matter what the subject, there should always be some way to tie the concepts back to things that your child cares about – and that’s important to help them learn.

A simple example for younger children: Using toys – cars, marbles, doll clothing – to practice counting and simple maths concepts like addition and subtraction.

For older children, you might show how these subjects relate to real-life responsibilities – paying taxes, budgeting – as these are things they should know they’ll have to do when they get older.

Of course, the better you know your child and the more imaginative you are, the more effective this can be – so listen to them and get creative.

Communicate – by instructing and by listening.

The most vital tip to being an effective tutor for your child is to communicate with them. Tutors must be able to communicate well with parents to update them on their child’s progress, of course.

But they also must be able to communicate well with the child – not just by giving clear instructions and specific, actionable feedback, but also by listening to them.

You might think you know how your child likes to learn, but your understanding could turn out to be wrong – so if they’re getting frustrated, pay attention to this and adjust accordingly.

As long as you’re communicating with your child and following these guidelines, you should be able to help your child improve in no time.

Photo Credit: 

Image 1: https://pixabay.com/en/family-parenting-together-people-1784371/

Image 2: source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125892716@N05/14419606327/in/photostream/

Why are mosquitoes attracted to certain people? 

Scientists have proven that aside from genetics, certain elements in the body chemistry found in excess in the skin can make mosquitoes attracted to people. People with high cholesterol, lactic acid, and who emits more carbon dioxide can be mosquito magnets.

Despite keeping the surroundings free from the stagnant water where mosquitoes breed and maintaining a cleaner environment, it is inevitable that sometimes a few mosquitoes would still thrive and come from unseen sources. In order for susceptible individuals to be protected from being bitten by mosquitoes, one of the things that they should do is to use safe and effective insect repellent lotions or sprays. There are so many products that promise the best results but it also depends on the person's idiosyncrasy. In our case, we tried and tested too many brands in the past, both all-natural and the ones with DEET, but only one brand passed our standards. Since then, we make sure that we never run out of stock of that product at home especially during the rainy season when Dengue cases rise.

Paps, Bunso, and Kuya attract mosquitoes that's why for seven years, Green Cross Active Protect Insect Repellent Lotion (10 Hours), the variant that has a 10-hour effect is our reliable partner in repelling those pesky mosquitoes that may cause Dengue and another mosquito bite-related disease. 



Green Cross is the only one that we find very effective. What we like about it is that it's an anti-dengue and antibacterial protection in one. Its efficacy and continuous protection from day and night last up to 10 hours. We don't need to reapply often to keep ourselves protected. It provides 99.9% antibacterial protection for 10 hours without causing any irritation. It's cool and non-sticky to the skin, perfect for our active lifestyle. The formula smells great on the skin. It doesn't smell medicated or herbal. Only a small amount is needed to cover the exposed skin. It can be spread on skin evenly and easily. It's also reasonably priced, available in a sachet, small tube, and big tube, making it affordable for all. It's also available in leading drugstores and supermarkets where we can find and buy it conveniently. And also, it's made by Green Cross so we're sure that we are using a well-researched, tried and tested, and safe product.

I agree with the saying that parents today face an immense challenge. It is a common concern among them to figure out and plan the things that they should do to make sure that their kids grow up self-directed and ready to face what the future brings.

Technology can make the lives of the kids in this generation easier but it poses another challenge for parents and that is how they and their kids can keep up without losing their chances to socialize with other people and not to get dependent and addicted to their gadgets. Parents nowadays may be very busy with their work or personal struggles and their kids may be focused on their studies and school activities that lead to lack of exercise and physical activities. Furthermore, the advent of readily available fast-food chains and prepacked meals can also compromise their nutrition making the family especially kids manifesting health and psychosocial problems like obesity, social difficulties, attention problems, and learning deficiencies.

These concerns can be overwhelming, can't they? However, with consistency, dedication, patience, and a little guidance and support from fellow parents, experts and Parentology+, powered by NANKID, it's entirely possible for parents to ensure that their kids are ready for the future.

Like most parents do, it is a must for Paps and I to give time to our kids. We talk and spend quality time with them as a family or individually. We encourage them to do what makes them happy and expose them to activities that can enhance their fine and gross motor skills. We make sure that we are not busy with our gadgets when we interact with them. We focus on one another.

As parents try to navigate the new challenges presented by changing lifestyles and technological advancements, Parentology+ powered by NANKID, is making sure that parents are empowered with the tips that will help reshape their children's future.

Launched earlier this year, Parentology+ is anchored on three pillars--- proper nutrition, active lifestyle, and high social quotient. "The success of Parentology+, gave parents an opportunity to address challenges presented by modern parenting. We would like to go deeper into these issues and really flesh out the importance of these three pillars, as well as give parents the tools to establish this at home," exclaimed Jean Espino, Vice President for Marketing-Premium Milks of Nestle Philippines.

Understanding that parents seek guidance and tips from people they trust, Parentology+ sought the help of various experts to weigh in and give advice for the three pillars, partnered with the NANKID ambassadors.

Cat Arambulo-Antonio is skilled at juggling relationships in different situations, and with clinical psychologist, Dr. Cely Magpantay, the two believe that in order to help your child socialize, it's important to put your child in new situations where they can learn and listen to others. To better encourage kids to socialize with others, Dr. Cely says, "Warm up, be present at first, then be invisible during playtime. Join them at the start of the activity, and eventually let them be. Be a role model to them."

In the event, they have also prepared an activity that lets moms and kids do work together to see what traits their child already possess and how they can further build on them to make them more socially competent.

Nutrition can be challenging for parents, especially when kids need around 3,000 calories a day. However, Joy Sotti and Ms. Aleli Magtibay, Nestle's own Nutritionist, say that it can be done with moderation, balance, and variety of food options. Ms. Aleli further advises parents, "Follow portions by making sure to give a combination of go, grom, and glow foods in every meal, and practice variety, in terms of flavor, texture, color, and food preparation"

For Parentology+, a kitchen set-up was created for kids to be able to select different food in the pantry to create a balanced meal which then is verified by an interactive nutrition guide and scanner.

Playtime may seem like a regular activity for children, but benefits on the child's physical health is hard to ignore. Anton del Rosario and Dr. Edgar Eufemio, an orthopedist specializing in sports medicine, want parents and kids to realize that some activities are better than others. Through a fun goal kicking challenge, kids learned the different traits that are beneficial to their physical development and lifestyle.

When asked how to encourage kids to be more active, Dr. Edgar says, "Give them a taste of success by giving words of encouragement. Be supportive of your kids' activities, so they would just continue doing what they love to do. Also, play with them. if you expect them to be disciplined and grow up a certain way, do it with them."

Parents are encouraged to be a role model for their children, and participate in their various activities, may it be socializing, eating healthier and staying active. Through learning the style of modern parenting, Parentology+, can help parents create a customized model that can help reshape their child's future. These three pillars are essential to the development of a healthy, well-rounded child that's ready to take on the challenges the future holds.

The ambassadors and experts all encourage everyone to drop by Parentology+ to learn more about the three pillars, and how they can make their own home, a home of the future. With the different activities that await participants, exciting prizes such as digital instant cameras, premium tumblers, and other exclusive NANKID items can be won when they post their experience at Parentology+ on social media using the hashtags #NANKID, #PARENTOLOGY, and #ReShapeTheFuture.

Parentology+, powered by NANKID, will also be coming to SM Cebu on August 11 to 12 and Abreeza Davao on August 25 to 26.

For more details, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NANKIDOPTIPRO/.

*****

Nankid Optipro Four and Optipro HW Four are not breastmilk substitutes. These products are for healthy children above 3 years of age.

Courtesy: https://unsplash.com/photos/IqHuJ_Ceq60

It is never too late to instill healthy nutritional values to your children. In the United States, we have just finished Easter celebrations. As with most celebrations and holidays, the event was a reason to overload our kids with sugary sweets. As we deal with tummy aches, children on sugar-rushes followed by the dreaded sugar-crashes, we think there must be a better way,

Consider the following:

A child has limited space in their stomach. Excessive treats loaded with sugar leave no room for foods with nutritional values. 

Sugar-filled treats stick to a child's teeth. It is difficult to brush a toddler's teeth effectively. If they fall asleep after eating sugar, the sugar eats away at their teeth for an extended period of time. This leads to long-term dental health issues.

Sugar causes your child's insulin levels to rise too quickly to process sugar in their blood. The rise can cause hyperactivity and discomfort. This is followed by a fast and hard drop in the insulin levels once the sugar has been distributed. A high blood-sugar count followed by a sugar-crash makes even seasoned adults feel ill. 

When you eat sugar, your body craves more sugar. A child who is allowed to consume sugar at will can quickly become obese. Sugar affects the brain, and the body craves the “feel-good hormone” it initiates. 

Why would any parent want to allow these medical problems in their young child? Sure, the child is temporarily happy to have their sugar fix, but a smart parent weighs it out and soon decides that omitting sugar is much easier on their child than do damage control.

Courtesy: https://unsplash.com/photos/eo11MS0FSnk

Changing your lifestyle

We all agree that we should do better. But, some of us have the feeling that we are somehow depriving our kids if we cut out all the sweet treats that the other kids get. While this is a misplaced concern, we feel it, so it is valid. Perhaps we should use the rule of quality over quantity. For example, a child that receives an Easter basket that is filled with books, small toys, and activities is just as exciting as a basket that is filled with candy. If you include a small Ghiradelli candy treat, the child is perfectly happy. They got a reasonable and quality treat and will have the thrill of their toys long after the sugar filled baskets are empty. 

You are not putting your children on a diet. You are teaching them the proper way to eat. You must have open conversations with them about your food rules. You will have to share these instructions with other adults in their lives. Your child will not have one bad side-effect of living without sugar. They can have reasonable treats, but they do not have to contain sugar. Keep treats for their special days and parties. Your child will be just as excited to have a sugar-free candy as they would be if it contained sugar. Keep a stash at your parents or caregivers homes. If they are tempted to treat the child, they have an acceptable option. 

Talk to your children. Have them help you make a list of their favorite foods that are healthy They will soon see there are many foods that they like that they can have. 

Let your children help make treats for holidays as part of the fun. There are tins of DIY treats available online that are made from fruits, veggies, and berries. Get creative and conquer the sugar beast in your home. 

As your child grows, they will branch out and try different things. However, by then, they will have developed a taste for good and healthy food. They will have been taught to recognize the health effects they experience when they eat sugar and they will opt on their own to stay with what they know. It will not be difficult for them. You will have effectively taught them that they eat to live. They do not live to eat. What a wonderful gift to them that is. 

Here are some other tips:

Keep a sugar-free home.

Set a good example. This is a family lifestyle.

Have foods that they like and that they can eat, on hand.

Have sugar-free candy on hand for treats you want to give them.

Use natural products like honey to sweeten baked goods.

Select your battles. Do not make a big deal out of a small issue. If you have to address an issue, address it with the adults in the situation, not the child. 

Written by:

Wendy Dessler

Parenting is a huge responsibility. You always want your kids to excel well in important subjects like Math and Science. But the problem is most kids find these subjects difficult. 

Most kids fear Math and Science because they are difficult or they find them uninteresting to learn. Here are some useful ways you can make your kids more interested in Math and Science: 

1. Make learning fun and applicable to daily life.

Incorporate Math and Science into daily life by creating activities that children can apply at home. A good example would be cooking with them in the kitchen. You can bake a cake while letting them count and measure the ingredients needed to make the cake. After mixing the ingredients you can interject the different kinds of a mixture and ask which one is a solvent and a solute. You can also explain what happens when water boils and why the toast burns.

Another great activity to get them interested in these subjects is when you go shopping. You can teach them about money, fractions, and prices by making comparisons of which one is better to buy. By doing this, they’ll soon realize the importance of Math and Science in their daily life.

2. Expose them to hands-on experience.

Explore things together to encourage your child to learn Math and Science. One way to do this is by creating DIY projects together. Say for example toys made out of paper or recyclable materials. You can create interactive toys like a dancing puppet robot with the use of strings or a zip-line toy transporter to get the toys moving with the work of gravity. 

Why not take your kids to the zoo or the museum? There are numerous opportunities where they can have hands-on experience in learning about the history of technology and how things were made. By exposing them to these hands-on activities, your kids will have a lasting memory that will spark their interest more in learning Math and Science.

3. Praise the process of learning instead of focusing on grades.

Learning Math and Science is tough and can be challenging for kids. Sometimes they feel they’re not smart enough to learn these subjects so they quit. Parents can influence their kids on how they perceive Math and Science subjects on how they praise them. 

According to Carol Dweck, a psychology professor, parents praise the ability, talent, or intelligence too much and this is the opposite of good process praise. This is a  praise for the process of the child when he engages in hard work, focus, perseverance, improvement, and trying many strategies to learn a certain thing. So whenever your child is doing homework, praise the process and ask a question like “Wow, how did you do that?” while showing interest in what your kid is doing.

You’ve done your jobs as a parent when you see that the fun your kids are having with their homework or projects in Math and Science is greater than the fear they have of failing.

One of the things to get them more interested in learning is by playing toys and games. This encourages the child to have fun while learning the concepts of Math and Science. A number of great toys for them to play would be building blocks like LEGO, buildable towns or toy cars, and trains with tracks. You could also get them some fun Science experiment kits where they can build their own lava lamps or see what happens when you combine baking soda and vinegar together by making a man-made volcano.

Nowadays, technology influences the young by exposing them to fun friendly games online. There are apps available in the market where they can learn how to code or create their own online games which are really amazing!

These are just a few tips to help your kids be interested in learning Math and Science. What’s important is the goal of incorporating these subjects into their daily life and not forcing them to learn the subject that they might end up fearing. Your role as a parent is to help them foster their interest and passion towards these subjects that would benefit them in the future.

Conclusion

Apart from trying these methods by yourself, you can assign a dependable tuition teacher at home to make your young kids understand and solve Match and Science problems. You easily find Math, Physics, and Chemistry tuition teachers around you. The goal should be to make your kids find these difficult subjects as interesting as early as possible in their life. 

This happened to me a few months ago when I won another giveaway through Petite Momma's World blog despite having no winner's luck and the prize was Lactacyd's latest product line, Lactacyd Baby- 2 in 1 Moisturizing Cleanser and Liquid Powder.

Lactacyd is a known brand of clinically-proven safe, hypoallergenic, and mild feminine wash and cleanser that our family trusts for years. Never in my experience that both have caused irritations on me and my kids. That's why upon receiving my Lactacyd Baby prize, I immediately let Bunso use both and of course, shared one baby wash to my nephew and liquid powder to my best friend's daughter who has a recurring problem of suffering from rashes during summer or hot weather.

As expected, both did an amazing job in keeping our kids skin very clean, moisturized, supple, smelling fresh, and free from irritations. What made me really, really happy was Kylee, my best friend's daughter finally found the right product that could keep herself from getting those stubborn rashes. She didn't have back breakouts, experience itchiness especially upon bedtime that caused her to have sleepless nights, and feel sticky and uneasy unlike when she was using an ordinary baby powder that could only soothe her irritations temporarily. My best friend was so thankful that I let her daughter try Lactacyd Baby Liquid Powder that served as the best solution to their problem for years. The hydrating, moisturizing, and protecting properties of this dust-free powder did a good job! That made me feel so blessed and purposeful.

Lactacyd Baby is available in leading supermarkets and drugstores nationwide at very reasonable price. 2 in 1 Moisturizing Cleanser, which can be used with or without water, and Liquid Powder come in big and travel sizes, perfect to bring or use anytime, anywhere. I highly recommend both. They give the skin what it deserves and more!