ELF Blog
Creating a Good Fit Between Parenting Style & a Child's Temperament
As parents, we can adjust our parenting style to the temperament of our child. It's not always easy to do, however there are ways to respond to a child's behavior that influence their reaction and improve the parent - child fit. Here are a couple parent resources that address ways to create smoother interactions through understanding temperament. Parenting Your Unique Child, a parent news bulletin from the University of Wisconsin Extension is available at www.civitas.org/bits/temperament_3.pdf . Also helpful is S. K. I. P. Strategies for Kids/ Information for Parents: Temperament that can be downloaded for distribution to parents and caregivers at www.civitas.org/bits/temperament.pdf .
You can receive these resources directly from Born Learning by subscribing to their newsletter at www.bornlearning.org and click on the newsletter tab.
How Much Does it Cost to Support a Family in California?
A recent report was published by the California Budget Project detailing what it costs to support a family in California. It's not surprising that families are struggling and need more resources to support basic necessities. For example, a single-parent family with two children needs an average annual income of $59,732 to live modestly, which is much higher than salaries paid by minimum wage through median wage work. This report presents different family configurations and required budgets for ten regions in the state. Findings have strong implications for public policy. Access the report Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a A Family in California? at the California Budget Project website http://www.cbp.org/ .
California Ranks 42nd in Reading to Children
In the report "Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook" 50 states and the District of Columbia were ranked based on the the percentage of children who were read to daily. California ranks 42nd out of the participating states. The national average is 47.8% of the children between birth and five years of age are read to daily, however in California only 44.6% of these children have this opportunity. This just reinforces the need for ELF services throughout the state and the importance of the work you are doing. Check the UCLA Newsroom for the more details on the findings of this report at
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/report-shows-less-than-half-of-40118.aspx
Childhood Matters Radio Broadcast
Every Sunday between 9-10am Childhood Matters is broadcast on 98.1 KISS FM and K-Ocean 105.1FM radio. A discussion topic is chosen such as the Importance of Play or Parenting Through the Lens of Culture, that features a specialist from that field. This Sunday, Nurse Rona and her guest will discuss conventional and alternative medicine for families as cold and flu season nears. Pick up tips to share with your families and encourage your parents and caregivers to tune in. If you find a topic that you missed, simply access the archived broadcast on their website.
For Spanish speakers, Nuestros Ninos is broadcast from 8-9am Sundays on KLOK 1170AM, Tricolor 99.5FM, La Kalle 100.7/105.7FM, KBBF 89.1FM, KSES 107.1 FM and Jose KMBX 700AM. This Sunday the discussion will be on adoptive and foster homes and next Sunday will focus on teaching children an attitude of gratitude.
National Family Week November 18-24, 2007
November 18-24, 2007 is the time to join the Alliance for Children and Families and communities throughout the country to celebrate families. This year's theme, Connections Count, is a particularly applicable topic for ELF libraries and their community partners as they connect to serve families with young children. Through the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, there are resources that you can download such as brochures, posters and event suggestions on the website of the Alliance at www.nationalfamilyweek.org . Also listed are the many organizations nationwide that share a commitment to families and their children.
Virtual Child Development Encyclopedia
A free online Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development is available through Canada's Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. There are 33 scientific topics associated with psychosocial development from birth through age five that can be accessed. Check out the website at http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/en-ca/home.html
ELF Activities that Make a Difference
What services or activities seem to make a difference with families who participate in ELF?
