I simply said no angry words. Rather, I gave her the privilege to choose where in the entire house she would like to use as her pretense school. She chose my room. I brought out some learning resources and gave her activities to engage her. It was back to back. She didn’t really like it.…
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Mrs IB and I car pooled. She was a teacher in my older children’s school while her children attended the same school with my younger children. So when she dropped her children to join mine on the ride to school, she picked my older ones since they schooled in the school where she was a…
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Examination Malpractice? The much dreaded physics exams was only hours away. Kunle was restless. He doubted if he knew enough to excel. His mind started to race. He was beginning to pant at the thought flying through his mind. Just this one time. Otherwise, how else? He convinced himself. As the examination papers were served…
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“Good girl!” “You got 10/10! That’s my smart boy!” “I love your picture!’ “Good job” “You are awesome!” You’re the best! These comments sound positive but they’re simply external praise, external judgement. What ends up happening is the child being praised continues to perform the behaviour because it pleases the adult. I’m sure you’re quite…
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Hmmmmmm…. As the children’s day was wrapping up, I just found myself reminiscing about some of my interesting childhood memories. Talking of memories, I have loads of them to choose from both the good, the bad and the ugly and even the bizarre like I am about to share today hoping we all learn from…
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If you’re like most parents, you’d choose having fun with your children rather than those feelings of frustration and guilt that arise from sibling fights and rivalry. In as much as you may not totally be able to eliminate the fight, how about strategies to make your kids become more cooperative, self-sufficient, empowered and able…
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Holidays lives in our imaginations throughout the year because it nourishes our souls. The warmth….the fun…the sheer deliciousness. But mostly, the luxury of time, unbounded by school. Time to explore, to make new friends, to lie on your back and watch the clouds billow. The vivid aliveness and freedom of a child’s holiday can change…
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The school calls at 1pm to tell Mrs Junaid that her 10yr old son Adam, got into a fight with a boy named Lam at break time. At 3:30pm, Adam comes home. Mom starts the conversation: “How was your day?” “Good. You made me my favourite samosas for break time. Thank you, mom!” “Speaking about…
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I need advice on how to build confidence in my child. He often complains that he doesn’t have friends in school and feels like he doesn’t fit in You are not alone. A lot of parents feel huge concern over what they see as their child’s lack of self-confidence which comes in the way of…
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Despite the negative statistics, some parents still feel the need to showcase the talent of their child to the world through social media. Here are a few tips to stay safe: Monitoring Some parents have failed to monitor what their child does on social media. They allow him freedom without any orientation or monitoring. By…
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She picked up a copy of the prayer book. She flipped through till she got to the portion of the morning devotions. I quickly recognized the act. It’s a kind of manipulation. One of the unfortunate parts of parenting is that we cannot give our children everything they want. For instance, it’s part of the…
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I simply said no angry words. Rather, I gave her the privilege to choose where in the entire house she would like to use as her pretense school. She chose my room. I brought out some learning resources and gave her activities to engage her. It was back to back. She didn’t really like it.…
Read More
Mrs IB and I car pooled. She was a teacher in my older children’s school while her children attended the same school with my younger children. So when she dropped her children to join mine on the ride to school, she picked my older ones since they schooled in the school where she was a…
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Several years back, precisely 2008, my friends and I were on a trip to the UK. We actually went for a workshop on “Every Child Matters” at the Thames Valley University, Reading. Over the weekend of the training, we decided to go see a common friend in Birmingham. We passed two nights at our friend’s…
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