Parent Express for 14-Mar-2006

Welcome to Parent Express, the PCI e-zine! Here you will find updates on the Parent Coaching Institute, along with ideas and practical tips for the parenting journey.

Early Childhood education seems to be in the news often these days! A new recent study from the Committee for Economic Development and Families and Work Institute titled, "The Economic Benefits of High-Quality Early Childhood Programs: What Makes the Difference?" raises important questions about current early childhood educational policy.

Interestingly enough the increased amount of time toddlers and preschoolers spend with screen machines is not an issue addressed. To think that computers in child care facilities and preschools for three and four year olds will help those children academically in the future is misguided thinking. In addition to dramatically reducing screen time for our youngest citizens, we need to be comprehensively focusing on supporting family media literacy in every home. If family screen entertainment is proactively addressed, parental stress decreases and children's academic success increases, as shown in my research over the past 30 years. Below is an article with many simple, but powerful suggestions parents can easily fit into a busy day. It builds on what they are already doing when supporting their children's reading abilities—except this time, they are Reading TV!

To blooming positive potential and life-learning opportunities for all children,

Gloria DeGaetano, Founder and CEO

Applications are being accepted now for Summer Quarter. (Application deadline, May 1.) If you are a forward-thinking professional with an undergraduate degree and a deep calling to work with parents, welcome home. We seek the "best of the best" for our acclaimed distance-learning Parent Coach Certification Training Program™ . Please click here for more information. As a PCI Certified Parent Coach™ you’ll have the opportunity to create a parent coaching practice, working with moms and dads who want to take their parenting to the next level. Call today for an application packet: 425-401-1519 or email: info@thepci.com.

You are going to be amazed at what a PCI Parent Coach can do for you and your family!

PCI Certified Parent Coaches™ are caring, thoughtful professionals with years of experience working with parents. PCI Certified Parent Coaches™ have successfully completed the PCI Parent Coach Certification Training Program™ — a comprehensive academic one-year, graduate-level program in collaboration with Seattle Pacific University.

Through a series of coaching conversations that can be either by telephone or in person, PCI Parent Coaches help you re-discover your dreams and design your life for more joy and satisfaction.

To find a PCI Parent Coach in your area, please click here, or call 425-401-1519 for a referral to a PCI Parent Coach selected especially for you.

Moms and Dads, tune in every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. on 1150 AM for true understanding, authentic affirmation, and real-world solutions to parenting challenges while sharing laughter and conversation. We want to hear your stories too! So call us on Saturday!

In the Seattle area, call 425-373-5527. Out of town, call 888-298-5569. Listen to us on the web: www.1150kknw.com

Upcoming topic and guests:

Reading TV

Simple techniques parents can use to make TV time thinking time

by Gloria DeGaetano

Seven-year-old Sally snuggles into her Mom’s lap as Mom reads aloud. It’s a moment of togetherness that parent and child both cherish. But while Sally may be sitting quietly, her brain is very busy—sorting, categorizing, guessing, analyzing and synthesizing, exploring, and assessing a wide range of information, character traits, and emotions. In fact, Sally’s brain is getting a good workout, although she, nor her mother, never notice the mental sweat.

Reading aloud can seem like magic, especially as children get older and parents begin to see the profound effects of such a humble activity. Three decades of scientific research confirm the benefits of this family habit. Children up to fourteen years old who regularly listen to stories for 20-30 minutes at a time are more likely to be successful in school. They are also more likely to be creative problem solvers, self-confident writers and speakers, and lifelong readers themselves.

The benefits of reading to children are well established, but did you know that with a little guidance, children and teens can get similar benefits from watching television? That may seem like a lot to ask from a flat screen, but when children are stimulated to think, as opposed to watching passively, their minds are very busy.

Parents can make family TV time more productive and educational by asking the same questions they ask kids when reading aloud. Here are seven simple techniques that help develop important mental skills for school success—right in the middle of couch-comfort!

Read More

Karen Bierdeman, PCI Certified Parent Coach™ from Olympia, WA and one of her clients were featured in a TV segment for KOMO News. You can read the text portion here and view the video here. Congratulations, Karen on this wonderful accomplishment. To learn more about Karen’s parent coaching, please visit her lovely new website: www.parentwisecoaching.com

Chess for Children and The PCI are pleased to announce their recent collaboration! With our joint energy, we can provide the benefits of chess to more schools nationwide. Since mindless entertainment is on the rise, schools who offer a chess program give a much-needed, mind-enriching alternative. They may also find themselves ahead in the testing game as the cognitive and developmental advantages of chess have been well-known for decades. It is the primary focus of Chess for Children, partnered with The PCI, to offer their enrichment programs to as many children as possible. A fun, interactive, yet structured curriculum focuses on the many positive attributes of chess; sparking a child’s learning curiosity. Chess for Children can begin as early as kindergarten. For more information on how to begin a chess program at your school, visit, www.chessforchildren.net or call 866.800.7980.

Seattle’s Child and Puget Sound Parent now include Gloria’s syndicated column, Your Parenting Coach. This is an interactive column. Parents can email their questions to gloria@thepci.com or to nweditor@seattleschild.com.

Gloria De Gaetano will present a seminar for parents of young children on March 28 at 7PM at Wedgewood Co-Operative Preschool in Seattle. There is no charge for the event. Please call, 206-633-0151 for more information. Gloria will discuss the power of the media to influence young brains and how parents can immunize their children against potential negative effects by amplifying The Vital Five—the five developmental needs that easily get shortchanged in our media culture. For more about The Vital Five, see Gloria’s latest book, Parenting Well in a Media Age.

To engage Gloria DeGaetano for a keynote or workshop, contact her at 425-401-1519 or 1-888-599-4447.

A New Way to Look at "Time Out" Jennifer Beck, PCI Certified Parent Coach™ from Corvallis, Oregon has developed an innovative way for parents to use time out with their children. She recommends the following: Stop and think (like when you're frustrated with your spouse—your children learn how to be in relationships from watching you!). Never underestimate your power as their role model. Discover what need is not being met (What is needed?). Voice your question to get the need met using The 3 Word Key, what You Want (Read more about the 3 Word Key) Give your child time to think in their special place.  Most importantly, notice and mention some of the thoughtful choices your child makes. Reinforcing positive choices creates a ripple effect and you'll notice even more!