ParentTalk Forums / ParentTalk / School-Age Children

sexual health education

utorontovcg — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:44:22 GMT

Hi all parents,

We are a group of students working to design a curriculum for children in grades 3-6. We would like your opinion on children's sexual health education in elementary schools and your experience discussing this topic with your children.

We would greatly appreciate if you can take ten minutes of your time to take our online survey. You do not need to provide any personal information, so everything will be anonymous.

www.surveymonkey.com/s/aidseducationg

Thank you very much!

Anyone having a little one in full time JK or SK in Sept?

susanc — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:56:24 GMT

Just wondering if anyone here in Ontario will be putting there little one in full time JK or SK come Sept? The school my 4 year old is currently in will not be offering the full time SK or JK program because they need to renovate the school first to accomodate this. I don't think the school will be ready by Sept 2011 either when my second daughter begins JK.

Anyone have a child that will be going full-time? Are you looking forward to it or dreading it?

Woohoo we have made it to the kid in school area

puckthefool — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:05:23 GMT

So Katherine now goes to school boy this is fun we fight to get her up in the morning for school then when we pick her up from school it is a fight to get her to come home has anyone else have this problem and the other thing the days she goes to school she is good about the potty but the days she is at home she would rather wet herself then go to the potty same with when we go out anywhere she will tell us when she has to go to the bathroom but at home it is a battle to even get her on the potty and mentioning it gets a reaction like you now have 3 heads an d breathing fire.

Anyone else have a VERY active boy?

online-editor — Sun, 25 May 2008 13:21:58 GMT

Our almost-five-year-old is constantly on the go. We can barely keep up with him. I'm quite sure he doesn't have ADD because he can sit and watch a movie and does not have problems at school but the boy talks a mile a minute and wants to be entertained constantly.

Do you have a son (or daughter) with this go-go-go mentality?

French Immersion

online-editor — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 13:44:08 GMT

Hi there.

As I mentioned in the blog, our son will be starting French Immersion in the fall. I'm excited for him as I think it's a good opportunity but I'd love to hear from French-Canadian folks or those with kids in FI on the pros and cons of this program.

All advice/suggestions welcome.

Lisa

AM or PM Class (JK/SK)

issamama — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:56:06 GMT

When my daughter started in JK I enrolled her in AM class (9-11:30). My purpose is for her to get used to the mornings. I tried to put her to bed by 8p and sometimes she falls asleep by 8:30p. There were times that she couldn't sleep and we go past 9p. Now I'm thinking for SK, I would enrolled her for the PM class (12:20-3:10). At least she'll be able to get extra sleep. On regular days, she would sleep until 8:20a.

What do guys think? Any suggestions, thoughts?

Thanks,

Jen

Wiping...

Jodi77 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:59:41 GMT

Today is my 4 year old son's second day of school...he's loving it so far but has a lot of anxiety about having to "poo" at school. So far it hasn't needed to happen (day 2) but I'm worried about when it does. We've been trying to teach him how to wipe after but he's not very interested in doing it and doing it properly. He said he just won't poo at school...but sometime that's going to happen since he's a chronic morning pooper. I don't want him to leave it too long and then have an accident! Did we go wrong not to teach him how to do this sooner? Any suggestions how to get a 4 year old to master the art of wiping or are we pretty much having a bath every night until he's old enough to do it well? Help!

Anxiety/Paranoia Problems?

mcfmullen — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:50:16 GMT

So here's the deal: At 4 years of age, my girlfriend's son had to undergo surgery. His mother was not allowed into the ER. Her son is now 6 years old and ever since his surgery, he has been exhibiting some anxiety problems. Allow me to list the particularities:

- He is shy but overall, social and makes friends easily. He has started kindergarten and has no problems going to or from school and is happy to go to school and come back home.

- However, at home he is constantly on the lookout for his mother and myself (or babysitter) here are some examples:

1) At bed time we read him stories, kiss him good night and all is well but every 10 or so minutes, he will call out loud to his mother or myself to ask us if we are in the living room. We used to answer him but that just led to him asking us other questions (and not falling asleep) so we've taken to answering with "go to sleep" and nothing more. However, his inquiry as to our location persists. If we don't answer at all, he raises the volume and frequency of the question to the point where we worry he might be panicking. How do we get him to stop asking us where we are? We tell him when we leave his room exactly where we will be and exactly what we will be doing but it doesn't seem to change anything. In fact 99% of the time, we are in his mother's room which is separated from his by a simple curtain, no walls. If we left, he would know but he constantly asks us if we're still in the room. This does not seem like behavior a 6 year old should exhibit.

2) When he goes to the bathroom he never closes the door. If by some miracle (and a lot of convincing) he does close the bathroom door, he will immediately call out to us and ask us if we're still in the kitchen or living room. Answering him will only convince him for a few seconds and he will ask us again. Basically, it's the same problem as above.

3) When he plays on the computer in the computer room, he will come running out in 10 minute intervals to see if we're still in the living room. He won't call out to us, but he does run out, checks on us, and returns to his game without saying anything.

We really don't know how we can get him to stop thinking we'll disappear on him. We tell him where we are and what we're doing when we leave him alone, but he doesn't seem to understand that we won't be going anywhere. As stated above, he does well in social groups and doesn't worry about us when he's playing with friends but when he is alone, this problem appears.

P.S. He also used to play on his own pre-surgery but now he won't play by himself for more than a few minutes anymore. Any suggestions for this as well?

Getting kids to brush their teeth!

online-editor — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:37:06 GMT

My kids (2.5 years and 5 years) are fairly good about brushing their teeth but each night my husband and I have to remind them about why it's important to brush. We're also trying to get them to brush in the mornings but sometimes we're just too worn out (and rushed) to do this. What works for you?

UPDATES and NEW CONTEST: We're running a contest starting today until December 31, 2008 where one person will win a family "oral healthcare" prize pack with: Listerine products, Agent Cool Blue mouth rinse, new towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste and more. You need to comment or respond here to enter. Feel free to comment on oral health care, dentist visits, tooth decay, tips for parents or the new info just released by the Ontario Dental Association saying that tooth decay is now classified as an infectious disease!

You need to be a member of ParentsCanada.com to comment/respond on these forums. If you're not already a member, you can sign up (for free) here. Good luck!

how to get your child to cooperate with the dentist visit

epennycook — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:54:25 GMT

My son is 3 1/2 now and I can't get him to sit in the chair and open his mouth so the dentist can look at his teeth. I know it is very important that they see the dentist at a young age. He has been for two visits already and the best he has done is go for a ride in the chair. I have combined the visits with my regular visits so as he can see the dentist cleaning my teeth and that it is ok. It doesn't seem to matter. Any suggestions?

Tonsils and adnoid surgery

Jennee — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:29:31 GMT

I just have a question. My daughter had t&A surgery last week and she started talking this week. Her voice seems to have changed and it kind of seems like she has a speech problem. I went for a follow up appointment this week and he said that it is normal. Her voice says changed alot. She had the surgery a week and a half ago and she is still waking up in the night crying. Sleeping has been a huge issue since the surgery. She is 4 any advice would be good!

How do I get a 12 year old to open up

momsloopy25 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:31:24 GMT

My son has never been good at letting us know what he is thinking or feeling, but now that he is 12 I can't get anything out of him. I am afraid it is only going to get worse. He had a problem at school were it seems he was being bullied. I tried to get hie to talk about it and he would not tell me anything. The next day his younger brother told us what happened and he became very upset actually he was angry at his younger brother for telling us. My oldest son is very difficult to raise he has ADHD and also a nonverbal learning disability to go along with it. I am feeling hopeless about what to do and am so afraid of where this is going to lead him. Any help or suggestions would be great.

Head Lice Warning from School!

canadianmomof3 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:55:28 GMT

Hi all,

My little girl's school sent out a warning to all parents that there is a potential outbreak of LICE. Ugh! I haven't seen any in my DD's hair, but I am really concerned. Am I being too paranoid to ask the teacher to get the kids to put their backpacks and jackets in the xlarge ziplock bags with the handles and then hang them on their hooks so the fabrics are not touching?

My sister says the "Hair Therapy for Dandruff" brush made by Goody is excellent for killing lice and repelling it. Anyone heard of that? She lives in AB and her kids got it once. She swears by this brush and the stuff she bought that the US army uses to control it.

ANY tips would be great.

My Son's Friend

sdw16 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:01:39 GMT

Hi all, I'm new here and request your opinion. My 6 yo son is in grade 1. Last year he mostly played with a group 5 boys, one of whom he didn't care for as much but since he was a part of the "group" didn't have any problems. This year, the one boy he didn't care for as much is the only one from his group that is in his class. My son, J, doesn't really want to play with this boy, C, but C won't leave him alone. C will always sit with him on the bus and follow him around on the playground. J has become friends with another couple of boys who do not like C either and won't play with J if C is around. J has tried to tell C that he doesn't want to play with him but C still stays around. J has now gotten in trouble a few times on the bus and at school because of trying to get C to leave him alone. C does have some social issues, aspergers I believe. I'm not sure what to tell J. I don't want him to be mean to C but at the same time I don't think he should have to play with C if he doesn't want to. My guess is that C is just comfortable with J. Up to now, I've just let J tell me what's going on and have told him not to be mean to C and that C likes him as a friend. Is there anything I should or could do or should I just leave it alone and let him figure it out. My biggest concern right now is that it is leading to some problems where I got notes home from school. Should I have a talk with their teacher. Thanks for listening. <S>

Uniforms vs Street Clothes

MrsE — Fri, 05 May 2006 14:11:32 GMT

Right now my DSS's are at a private school where they wear a uniform. I would rather have them in street clothes-too much ironing for me with the uniforms! I'm happy when they have gym day and they can wear their uniform. A happy medium would be a permanent uniform of school gym clothes.

I went to a uniformed high school and didn't mind that-and I did my own ironing, so mom was off the hook there.

SIX YEAR OLD SOCIALLY ISOLATES HIMSELF!

kimmylynn — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:57:50 GMT

Good Day Ladies,

This is the first at this forum and I find all the articles very interesting. I am hoping that anyone could give me some help/adivice on my son. He is a six year old boy who is in grade one in a french school (his Dad is french). His first year of school was good he played with all the boys, was invited to b-day parties we even invited some of the boys from his class to his place to pay.....anytime I meet up with a Mom they would say how there son liked playing with mine.

This year from day one was a totally different story, first of all he did not want to go to the french school he wanted to go to the English school (this school is a very good school). I have a good friend who's son goes to this school and these boys have been in preschool together and the second year at this school, my friends son loves playing with mine.......well from day one my son has some days played with him other days he has just walked away from this boy when he wanted to play with my son...I mean snubbed him. When I asked him why he did this he said.......Lim didn't want to play with me. I have asked him about friends and nobody interests him, he never gets excited about any kids or even playing with anyone in particular, it's almost like he doesn't want to ......two weeks ago he went apple picking and his Dad helped out with the class , my husband said he played with the other kids and he seemed get along with them all.....laughing and having fun he even played with this one boy in particular. So, I asked him if he would like to invite him over for a play date.....yes, no excitement at all. Not at all like my friends son who gets excited if my son comes over to play. Anyway my husband gave our phone number and anyway the other day I asked when he would like to invite this little boy over and he said I don't know....his tone was of I don't like him.

My husband I decided that we needed to find out what was going on at school...we have learned from the teacher that he eats lunch alone and when he plays outside he plays by himself. He gets b-day invitations and I know that he does have friends to play with but he won't.

We have asked the teacher to keep an eye on him because we feel something is wrong my son at home and outside with friends on our street ~ well he very sociable and very friendly, he's the first to say Hello! So, you can understand why we are perplexed by this why he is socially isolating himself.

Any help someone could shed on this would be great......this child at school is not my child.

School Days bedtime schedule

jodimccomb — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:07:27 GMT

I'm starting to think that with braxton starting school in September I may just have to begin a bedtime routine. At his point he is a big afternoon napper and I'm not keen on waking him earlier as I've always felt that kids will sleep cause they need it. But.... with school coming my mom, grrr.. love that mom advice was saying that she thinks Braxton is going to have to get into a routine of going to bed earlier than 9 or 10 pm.
Right now he goes to bed anywhere between 9 and 10pm and wakes around 7:20 to 7:45am.
What do you do, what's your school time routine? Does it change in the summer or on days off??

Montessori education

online-editor — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:52:19 GMT

New blog post and Q&A regarding Montessori schooling.

http://blog.parentscanada.com/my_weblog/2008/09/thats-amore-mon.html

Third day of school blues

Jodi77 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:27:55 GMT

So my little guy (in JK) says he's loving school but last night was the first time he said he didn't really want to go anymore. He said there were some kids who didn't want to play with him and he tripped and fell and no one helped him up (but he would help someone else cause he loves to help *sniff sniff* break my heart) This morning he didn't really give me a hard time but asked why he had to go EVERYDAY. He said he'd like to go back to his daycare. I know that it's a big change but I'm just hoping it won't get worse! At some point it becomes routine for them to get up and go to school....right?

Preparing your child for school

jodimccomb — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:27:12 GMT

What do you do or have done or are doing to prepare your child for the new school year??

New piggy bank testers

online-editor — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:36:54 GMT

Hi there.

Edward Jones has these really cool four-slot piggy banks -- donations; savings; investments; spending.

I saw one the other day and thought it would be great if we could get some mom/dad/kid testers to see how kids respond. I'm hoping that our son (5 years old) will better appreciate the value of money as well as the value of charity if he SEES where his money's going.

If you're interested in being one of our parent/kid testers, please email me at: lisah@parentscanada.com by August 25, 2008.

Thanks!

My Mommy Went to Ottawa and All I Got Was This Lousy Blog Post

online-editor — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 05:39:53 GMT

Check out the details on our trip to the land of Stephen Harper.

http://blog.parentscanada.com/my_weblog/2008/08/my-mommy-went-t.html

Parents needed of children 3-11

leeannj — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:17:35 GMT

Hope you can help me. I have just start a new business gathering peoplefor focus groups. Because I am in my late 40's I don't know anyone with youngchildren. I am currently working on a focus group that need Moms who feed their children (age 3-11) Cereal. For this particular group only you must have a College Education and be between 30 and 49 years of age, have a household income of $60K and purchase Rice Krispies. The focus group is two hours long in Toronto and you are compensated for your time. They are fun and you get to give your opinion.

If you are interested please email me at leeann.jensen@sympatico.ca with a phone number or give me a call at (905) 471-7843 (Single Horizons).

If you don't qualify for the above but would like to be considered for something in the future also just let me know.

Thanks in advance!!

warm regards,

LeeAnn

Loves preschool so much I have to drag him home

violet1amythest — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:00:16 GMT

I'm very excited that Cole loves his new preschool and am absolutely thrilled to have some 1 on 1 time with Carter but Cole loves his preschool so much that it is literally an argument brimming when it's time to go home. All the kids get picked up within 20 min of each other so it's not like someone is hanging around to play with still. But he still wants to stay. When we do finally get in the car he is upset that he can't go to preschool again right now. I'm sure this stage will pass as he gets used to preschool as a whole which includes going home when it's over. HOw have you all dealt with your little one going to preschool?

Whining!

online-editor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:27:41 GMT

Has anyone else found an effective way to deal with whining and complaining with young school-aged kids?

Camp

online-editor — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:28:43 GMT

Does your child go to camp? What age is best for starting camp? My son's going for two weeks, full days (day camp only) in August and he's five.

Is this normal for a 4 year old girl?

cherylmomof2 — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:27:41 GMT

My daughter is bossy, demanding, snappy, snippy and just downright whiney some days. Is this normal for a 4 year old? She doesn't listen, I have to ask her 5 times to do the simpilest thing, she talks back. My husband and I are going nuts. Any tips? She's smart as a whip....writes her name, mine, her brothers, knows her numbers, colours, shapes, letters etc. Is she just showing her personality?

Kumon schooling

violet1amythest — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 13:03:52 GMT

I've seen a few ads for Kumon schooling and am wondering if any one has their kids in it. I haven't had the chance to check it out online to see what it is all about but plan on trying to get some info about it tonight. Have your kids had any success with it more then in the normal school ciriculum?

Lying

huntersmom81 — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:53:06 GMT

What do I do with a 7 year old who has discovered lying? He lies about everything now....i have caught him every time and I have sent him to his room/taken away priviledges..you name it i've tried it, but it doesn't seem to effect him the way I was hoping. However, he doesn't lie about the same thing twice. So maybe he is learning and testing at the same time.

The other day he faked being sick (and boy did he put on a show), but he admitted that he was lying just so that he didn't have to go to daycare. I give him points for being creative, but how do I curb this before it gets out of hand.

Is my 4 year old son gay?

chupche — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:22:57 GMT

While we (family) were sittiing at the kitchen table, we were talking about sill things and marriage. My 4 year old son said that he didn't want to get married. He then said he was going to marry a man. My husband turned to me and asked if we should be concerned. I shrugged it off and just said, kids will say funny things, like I want to be a pony when I grow up or marry my mother or sister. Should I be concerned that he may be gay? He is quiet at school, but does play well with children. He is a little shy, but very outgoing with people he knows. I can honestly say, I have lost sleep and can't eat. Am I overreacting? I don't really care if a person is gay, but I guess when it comes to my son, I don't want him to grow up being teashed, confused, etc. It's bad enough growing up with peer pressure, being gay would only be worse. Am I overreacting? Any info would be appreciated.

A Conduct if Life Book for Kids 6-9 years old!

ahbooks — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:57:17 GMT

Hi! My name is Amanda and I just wanted to share some exciting news with as many parents as possible. There is a great conduct of life book out there for kids, one that helps busy parents, teachers and caregivers have profound and intimate conversations with kids on matters like self-image, materialism and respecting the environment (to name a few). The book is called GIFTS by Amanda Maragos
for more info visit www.ahbooks.ca
Enjoy!

co- sleeping with mom

Samismom — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:00:00 GMT

a lady I know (divorced for 3 1/2 years and shares custody with Dad) still lets her 7 (grade 2) year old boy sleep with her every night. she doesn't even try to put him in his own bed cause they like to sleep and cuddle together. I believe he is to old for this. when he is at his Dad's he can sleep in his own bed with no trouble. any advice??

lead paint worries? PC writer wants to talk to you!

kirav — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:40:53 GMT

Hi there, I'm a Parents Canada writer working on an upcoming story about lead poisoning and kids. I'd love to do a couple of quick 10-minute phone interviews with parents who worry about the toy recalls we keep hearing about. Especially those who have found and thrown out toys covered in lead paint. Or parents who have concerns about lead poisoning in general (lead can be in old homes, water etc.). Maybe you've done renovations lately and worry about the dust? Or maybe your own child has been diagnosed with lead poisoning. Luckily, this is very rare though.

If you're interested in talking to me, feel free to drop me a line at: kira@vermond.ca or at 1-877-826-9883 and we’ll set up a time to talk.

Thanks!

Kira Vermond

is your kid overlooked in a large class?

ritapita — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 14:22:14 GMT

They're capping classes in K-grade 3 to 20 students by 2008. Have your kids struggled in larger classes? I'm researching a story on this topic and would love to hear from parents about their child's experience. Please post or email me directly at rheaseymour@sympatico.ca

family home or life in chaos?

rude awakening — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:35:37 GMT

I work for the television production company Next Film. We are currently producing a brand new series for the W Netowrk designed to help families lead a more harmonious life - whether you face bad manners at the dinner table, are always late for everything, start jobs but never finish them or some members of your household are just downright lazy - we want to hear from you!

If this sounds of interest please either email me (Sheila Risk) at srisk@nextfilm.ca or phone me 416 531 2500 ext 715.

We can help!

Starting preschool this year, any tips?

violet1amythest — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:30:49 GMT

I am starting Cole into preschool this year and am not totally sure what to expect in his reaction. He is sometimes ok with me leaving him and sometimes not. I am the type of mom to drop off and walk away but that is not always possible. Last week Cole went a church evening camp and was in a group of like aged kids. The first 2 days he was fine, no problem leaving me and I didn't need to hang around. The 3rd night however was a disaster. They actually called us 30 min later to pick him up as he wouldn't calm down. He knows the leaders at the church since we regularly attend and has been around most of them. When he got home he burst into tears again and mainly sat with me the rest of the night till bed time. The next night I stayed with him while everyone was upstairs singing, when everyone went downstairs I took him down and said I would stay for 2 min. I finally had to tell him I was going to stay upstairs while he was in his class room in order for him to stay. We didn't go the next night as we were away. I don't want to have a repeat of this happening with preschool but am not sure on how to reassure him enough that I will come back.

The preschool he is attending has only 8 kids and is only 1 day a week. I think that is the best situation for him as he doesn't seem to do well with large crowds. Since he was 2 months we have attended a playgroup fairly regularly and has been around other kids quite often. So it won't be a totally new experience.

What are some of the things you are doing/did to prepare your kid for the separation and new experience?

Loot Bags

Danicasmum — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:44:43 GMT

I'm looking for your opinion. Which is better....one bigger 'gift' for the loot bag, or a bunch of little dollar store stuff? I'm trying to get a feel for what people do now. I don't want to buy tons of little junky things that just get lost, but I also don't want to add to the craziness that parties have become. Any help?

Birthday Parties

fcgilbert2001 — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:44:58 GMT

Hello everybody,

I have a quick question. When a child is invited to a party at a "location" (bowling alley in this case), are the parents expected to stay?

Thanks

Cyberbullying

Moderator — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 09:18:23 GMT

Hello PC.com Members,

There's a great new article from our new ParentsCanada subscription based magazine called, Cyberbullying. It discusses how to deal with the growing issue your kids may be exposed too.

Take a look in our "Tweens" section now or click here: http://www.parentscanada.com/relating/articles.aspx?listingid=107

recommended nanny agency

regev1 — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:58:53 GMT

Hi, we just wanted to share a site we came across that has lots of good info on finding/hiring/employing a nanny, including the details of the Canadian laws and regulations - we found it very useful actually. The address is:
http://www.ofek.ca