Tag: Global Children

The Development of Grammar in Young Children

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Once children learn few words, they start to use those words to communicate their needs. Children between the ages of 12 and 18 months use holophrases, which characterizes a word combined with a gesture or vocal intonation, to convey a meaningful sentence. For example, a child says “water?” to ask for a drink of water.

Next, children put two or three words together. This process takes place between the first and second year of age.

In the first stage of grammar development, sentences include nouns, verbs, and adjectives with no attention to grammar rules. The sentences are closer to a telegraphic speech. For example, children don’t add an “s” to words to make them plural. The words can be an agent (who), object, possession, location, attribute, nomination, or recurrence (more). The verbs that describe actions come later. The expressions vary and there is no specific progression for when they are used.

At around two years, children can use 4 and 5 words in a sentence. The number almost doubles by 30 months. On average, girls use longer sentences than boys.

The more vocabulary the child knows, the more they use grammar rules to construct those words in meaningful sentences. For example, they start using plurals, tenses, and verbs. Children add “ing”, “on”, “in”, “s”, “ed”, “a”, and “the” to their sentences.

Three to four year old children use the “wh” questions and the negatives (not, no). They practise and correct themselves until the full sentence is accurate. The same applies to the use of “ed” to verbs in the past tense. At first, the children overregularize where “ed” is also applied to irregular verbs.

As children grow older, they continue to refine their language. Adults have the responsibility to reinforce children’s expressions by giving them time to self-correct without shaming them. Communication through language is necessary to succeed in a global world. Using more than one language and making mistakes are an inherent part of the process.

Reference:
Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2012). The developing child (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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Reading Strategies in Early Childhood

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To read accurately, children need to realize that spoken words and print are related. The print could reflect ideas, feelings, or even simple words such as “a”, “the”, “in”.

Key reading strategies that help children succeed are as follows:

– The use of effective texts: Children are attracted to books that include pieces of information joined by a theme or a story. Children who listened to stories very early in their lives understand that a story has characters, a plot, and a conclusion. Parents, older siblings, or caregivers could read to the child.

– The exposure to big books: Educators using largely sized books in a shared reading setting can point out to the words as they are being read. This technique helps the child link words to letters and start recognizing common words.

– Provision of many readings of the same book: Reading a book in multiple techniques helps children get the most out of the experience. Parents and educators can read the book to the children the first time without interruptions then read it later while asking about the meaning and shape of the words.

– Presence of print in the environment: Parents and educators could set an example by using print throughout the day. Making shopping lists, labeling items, pointing out road signs, spelling shops’ names, or reading a brand name on a food box are all examples that the child can imitate willingly. In addition, children can be encouraged to express their interests in writing regardless of the accuracy of the letters.

– Diversification of texts: Parents and educators can introduce nursery rhymes, songs, or poems in writing as well as orally. Children will memorize songs that they like and can later see each word in print.

– Reading books independently: Children should be encouraged to choose a book that they would like to listen to or to read themselves. If the book is at the child’s level of reading ability, they should be given time to try to read it on their own then to check with the parent or educator when they are ready to share. In this manner, they could discuss the words that are difficult. They can also read the book to a group of children if they wish to do so.

Ultimately, the practice of independent reading will help children develop reading proficiency and independent learning. Both skills are very valuable for future success in a global world.

Reference:
Fields, M. V., Growth, L. A., & Spangler, K. L. (2008). Let’s begin reading right: A developmental approach to emergent literacy (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

 

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Health and Safety in the Outdoor Environment

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How could the outdoor environment be safe so children could enjoy it?

Some factors that need to be considered to ensure a safe outdoor environment are the number of adults supervising the space, the availability of open-ended material, the provision of supervised water play, and the safety of the equipment.

The publication “Learning Outdoors. Benefits/Risks” explores the keys to success for learning in an outdoor environment. The link is:
https://natureplaysa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/NPSA-Learning-Outdoors-Benefits-Risks-opt.pdf

The main points are:
• Children will experience different seasons and types of weather and, by doing so, they strengthen their immune system.

• Colds spread through viruses. As long as children dress well for the cold weather, they are not at risk of getting sick. Actually, the outdoor environment will bring fresh air.

• The outdoor environment presents diverse opportunities for exploration which could have consequences for emotional wellbeing as all children can get involved with different levels of engagement, complexity, and satisfaction.

• Children walking outside in different seasons will experience the wet and feel of the ground.

• In the warm and hot weathers, it is important to be sun smart and carry out steps for self-protection.

• Children have sensitive skin and need to use sunscreens to reduce UV exposure. One site that could be visited for details is: https://www.sunsmart.com.au/

These are few points that need to be accounted for an enjoyable experience outdoors.

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E-Safety for Young children Using the Internet

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Three to seven year old children vaguely understand the tactics used by search engines to attract followers and to promote products. More importantly, they are not able to capture the risks associated with using the internet or disclosing personal information.
Parents need to establish guidelines for internet use very early in order to counteract the risks. Below are some of the recommendations from https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents :

– Apply strict rules about time allowed on the digital device.

– Educate yourself on the characteristics of developmentally appropriate computer applications.

– Monitor the internet usage for all the family members and let the children know that this is happening.

– Supervise what the child is accessing online.

– Participate in online games with the children. Sharing in the child’s interest will facilitate the establishment of trust between the parent and the child and the discussion on e-safety in the long term.

– Familiarise yourself with the guides to computer applications and disable chat functions and cameras.

– Save the computer applications that are age appropriate and block the ones that are not.

– Make sure the child cannot purchase a product or service online by mistake.

– Discuss acceptable behaviours online as early as possible. Ask the children to discuss what they see online with adults especially if something is annoying, disturbing, or makes them uncomfortable.

– Disconnect devices at meal times so they are not active at the expense of socialising with the family members.

– Make sure that the devices are not used prior to bedtime and are not accessible to the child during the night.

 

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What is the minimum of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep expected for children under 5?

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The World Health Organization (WHO, 2019) issued guidelines for physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep for children under five years old. A summary of the information in a 24-hour day follows.

Activity Infants less than 1 year old Children/toddlers 1 to 2 years of age Children 3 to 4 years of age
Physical activity – At least 30 minutes on tummy with unrestricted movement

– Interactive floor based play

 – At least 180 minutes throughout the day including moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity – At least 180 minutes throughout the day.

– At least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity.
Restrained movement: Unable to move freely Not more than one hour at a time – Not more than one hour at a time.

– No sitting for extended periods of time.

 – Not more than one hour at a time.

– No sitting for more than one hour at a time.
Screen time: Passively watching screen-based entertainment Not recommended – 1 to 2 years: Not recommended

– 2 to 3 years: No more than one hour

 No more than one hour
Good quality sleep

(both night and daytime naps)

 – 0 to 3 months: 14-17 hours

– 4 to 11 months: 12-16 hours

 11-14 hours 10-13 hours

Reference:
World Health Organization. (2019). WHO guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age. Geneva: Author. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/311664/9789241550536-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

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Children with temperament: When does this become an issue?

~ futureglobalchild ~ 3 Comments

According to Thomas and Chess (1977), children’s temperament can be categorised into three types: Easy, slow to warm up, and difficult children.

The easy child smiles frequently and approaches new toys, situations, faces with a willingness to experiment.

The slow to warm up child looks at new people, toys, and events around and instead of approaching immediately hangs on to an adult and observes the full situation prior to engaging in play or in conversation.

The difficult child looks at any change in routines with caution and is wary of strangers. He/she cries easily and is willing to show a lot of resistance or “stubbornness” when faced with new material, adults, settings, or even small changes in the immediate environment.

The same interface applies to food intake and children’s experimentation with new types of food.

Children display those types unconsciously. However, this could become an issue depending on how the adults react to the child. The caregiver needs to be willing to work with children and to give them the space and time needed to become familiar with new situations and new environments.

Even the easy child could have issues with an overly cautious adult. If scolded for being open, the child will learn to doubt himself or herself.

When children grow up in an understanding environment, they will learn to experiment and to trust themselves and the future.

For further reading, refer to:
Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1977). Temperament and development. New York, NY: Brunner/Mazel.

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Is it too early to talk “success” with children?

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Every time,
We listen to a child,
We encourage a child to carry out an activity,
We comfort a crying child,
We let a child make a choice and carry out that responsibility,
We watch a child experiment with materials,
We respect a child’s failure,
We help a child apologise for mistakes,
We discuss different points of view with a child,
We set agreed upon rules,
We accept a child’s fears and need for time to calm down,
We show pride in what a child offers to self and others,
We share fun as well as sad stories,
We show our love,

Guess what, every time,
We are talking “success” with the child.

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Helping children with money literacy so they grow up financially secure

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With the economic fluctuations, teaching children about financial literacy has never been more important.

Developing number sense is essential to learning about money. To do so, children need to learn about fractions, multiplication, addition, …

More important, children need to learn the value of money. One example is engaging the children in a school project where they have to plan material and budget, prepare, and implement the selling scheme. Buyers would have the option to buy using money or services. They could volunteer or bring items from home in return. So, setting the price is going to engage children in discussions on pricing, labour, and the value of money.

There are also actions that parents can do with the kids at the market. They can point out different prices for the same item. Other ideas involve asking the child to save towards a purchase, engaging the child in some home help in exchange for money, and involving children in discussions about gifts.

More information is available at https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/

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Are we holding gifted and talented children back?

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We want children to be gifted and talented and yet parents and teachers find themselves not knowing what to do or what to say to those children.
Sometimes it looks as if the learning method of the gifted and talented children is not conforming to the teachers’ expectations. They might not enjoy groups and prefer to work alone. As a consequence, the behaviour could be seen as uncooperative.
It is important for parents and teachers to assess the child to check her/his capabilities. Children could also engage in self-assessment as they might know their strengths and needs better than other people around them. As a result, the curriculum needs to be differentiated to extend their learning.
It is important to note that gifted and talented children could at the same time have strengths in on area and needs in another. So, a child could be a fast learner and hyperactive at the same time. Any action plan needs to account for both characteristics.
The parents and school need to partner together to support the child.
Gifted children are at a risk of dropping out of school given the inability of schools to nurture them. Teachers need to be able to provide an inclusive curriculum that scaffolds children to the maximum level that they could reach.
An example of a very successful program in reaching to all children is the Renzulli Learning System. More information is available at https://gifted.uconn.edu/# . The “Schoolwide Enrichment Model” provides opportunities to engage all students including the talented and the gifted by enriching the program. Social and emotional challenges are also addressed.

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How can parents and teachers facilitate children’s conversations?

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Children learn very early in life that language helps them communicate their needs and interests to other people around them.

How can parents and teachers facilitate conversations?

Firstly, when parents or teachers notice that children are engaged in a deep conversation, they should consider whether it is worth to interrupt the children in order to move to a different activity. It is more respectful to give children notice and time to bring the conversation to a closure.

Secondly, parents and teachers need to provide opportunities for children to engage in different types of groupings.

Children need to learn to share ideas, to listen, and to voice disagreements in different situations. They also need to learn to take turns in one to one conversations as well as in large groups where the waiting time could be longer.

Children could be grouped by same or mixed age, gender, ability, or interest. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type and children could contribute differently to each type.

Parents and teachers need to expose children to situations where different types of groupings are taking place. They need to note of what is working and to draw strategies to strengthen the groupings that are not functioning well. For example, groupings based on gender are also based on interests. Teachers and parents need to plan experiences where girls and boys are engaged in non-stereotypical activities with children of same or mixed gender.

As children grow up in a global world, they will encounter all sorts of groupings and need to engage in the different scenarios successfully. The early years help set the path to success.

For further reading, refer to:

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2015). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (6th ed.). Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning.

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