EDUCATION

Working to be the perfect parent

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has identified that fathers of young children are generally working longer hours than any other group. In some cases this may be partially motivated by avoidance behaviour linked to feeling increasingly superfluous and ignored in a home environment greatly modified by the introduction of young children. More consistently, however, it is driven by the feeling of responsibility to provide more income and security for a growing family that can be complicated by the need to replace the monetary shortfall created in cases where the female partner has left the work force.

There is no indication that this trend is in the process of changing despite the fact that this report also highlights that 68 per cent of fathers feel they do not spend enough time with their families. Certainly a great deal of research indicates the value of fathers being significantly involved in the parenting process. Of the fathers with grown children that I talk to, almost all identify in hindsight that they would have swapped many of the consumer goods and services they regarded as mandatory at the time for more time and involvement with their children as they were growing up.

Mothers of young children often acknowledge that their partners are working hard but frequently feel themselves to be under valued. Many women complain their partners do not understand the pressures that they experience as mothers and certainly this is supported by the report, which highlights that mothers on average complete 12.5 hours of work per day compared to less than 10 hours for fathers when paid and unpaid work is combined for both sexes.   

Help for childhood Speech and Language difficulties

Does your child have difficulty learning at school, following instructions, participating in conversation, putting sentences together, or reading and writing? If so, he or she may benefit from speech and language intervention.

For some children, learning to talk and understand what is said can be as complicated (and memorable) as learning to drive.  Children need strong language skills to maximise their true academic potential and develop strong literacy skills. Some require additional guidance to learn foundation language skills, just like some of us needed a few extra driving lessons.

Ballajura Speech Pathology Clinicís team of specialised speech pathologists have over 40 years combined experience. They provide thorough speech and language assessment followed by fun-focused therapy for children of all ages in the areas of:

* Speech delay and Dyspraxia
* Language delay
* Reading and writing difficulties
* Stuttering
* Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Do you need SPEECH?

S.P.E.E.C.H (WA) Inc is the Society to Promote Essential Education for Children with Communication Handicaps.  It is a network of parents and professionals who are committed to supporting families with children with speech and language difficulties.

SPEECH is designed to help parents:
* Find out where to go for information, and what they can do to help their child at home,
* Obtain information on what educational resources are out there for children with speech and language problems, and
* Campaign for educational rights for children by lobbying government for better school and therapy support for kids. 

SPEECH provides a quarterly newsletter to all members and also organises four educational events for parents each year on topics that are relevant to their children's needs. 

The next parent night topic is ëBribery and Corruption:  How to motivate children to do therapy at home!í  Itís a fun look at games and activities available to make therapy practice a great time for you and your child.

Time: 7.30pm
Place: Subiaco Community Centre, 203 Bagot Road, Subiaco
Cost:    $5.00 non-members, $2.00 members (you can join on the night) or $15.00 per annum.
For details or other information call Cazz Gould 9319 9847

Ready for high school?
By Mark Jones

Your Year Seven child is now rapidly moving towards the next big step, with all the pressures of a new school, new routines, new subjects and new expectations. Is he or she ready?

It may not be possible to prepare them for all the problems they may face, but it is possible help make the road easier. Does your child comprehend at an appropriate level? Does your child write at a level suitable for moving into essays? Are his or her maths skills up to the demands of algebra?

At Kip McGrath Education Centres we have been helping children successfully move into high school for some twenty years. We are able to provide you with the answers to your questions. We can help your child with instruction finely tuned to his or her special needs.

Specialist educational intervention: Pre-Primary to Year 10 
Julia Gilmore (M.Ed.,B.Ed.,Dip.Tch) 

What do you do when your child is struggling at school?  Reports and portfolios have recently been handed out and the second half of the year has begun. 

Parents are often aware that their child is not succeeding or reaching his/her full potential at school but are not sure about what to do.  Whether the child is struggling in reading, writing, spelling, maths, organizational and study skills or is cruising and not achieving his/her true levels, there is help available. 

I am seeing more parents of Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary students who want specialized intervention to help their child.  Most parents find it very hard to help an unwilling, frustrated and often negative child at home and need guidance and support from an educational specialist.  

At A1 Learning, each child is given an individual programme so that he/she can achieve full potential and develop a strong sense of self-esteem as a learner.   Parents are given weekly feedback, with additional support always available. 

Parents and teachers report major improvements within weeks of the children commencing their programmes at A1 Learning. 

Parents often need counselling as to the best choices for their childís academic, social, emotional and behavioural well-being.  At A1 Learning, practical assistance and follow-up help is provided.  

Smart kids should not have to struggle
Julia Gilmore (M.Ed.,B.Ed.,Dip.Tch)

In each class, in every primary and secondary school, there are five to ten bright children who are struggling to reach a satisfactory level in reading, writing, spelling and maths. These students may have learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, or have fallen behind for many other reasons.

There are others in each of those classes ìcruisingî within the satisfactory range of performance. They could be extended, both ahead and laterally.

Many of the children I assess are very bright and creative, but have difficulties in some or all subjects at school. The parents of these children have many relevant concerns with student numbers creeping up to 35 per class in some instances. They are also worried about the lack of extra support teachers.

So many students miss out on learning the basic skills involved in reading, writing and maths. Skills such as reading, essay writing, editing, spelling, phonics, arithmetic, tables etc. are lacking and reports no longer alert parents to specific problem areas.

Many parents bring their children to me for assessment so that the childís strengths and weaknesses may be determined and an action plan devised. Weekly teaching sessions are available at the centres or in the studentsí homes.

As self-esteem and confidence grows, each child improves rapidly within weeks.

Course to raise self-esteem
by Victoria Carlton, International Centre for Excellence

There is no doubt that children are held back and ìdamagedî by their low self-esteem and poor emotional intelligence. We see hundreds of children with poor motivation and negative views of themselves. Our EQ4KIDZ course is designed to help these children break through barriers and reach their potential.

Our EQ4KIDZ (Emotional Intelligence for children) course is designed to help the children with the following profiles:

… low self-esteem 
… been bullied or have been bullies
… low motivation and drive
… easily moved to frustration and anger
… poor self-image due to learning difficulties 
… poor concentration and ability to focus and follow through
… smart but under-achieving
… need to assert themselves
… lonely at school
… shy and awkward in social situations
… unable to set reasonable boundaries

This course is available at Leederville ICE (Tuesdays 4:00-6:00) and Guildford ICE (Wednesdays 4-6pm). Most children take five sessions to complete the course and it is available in both group and individual mode.