We’re surrounded by peer pressure every day in a variety of different ways, from the unknown forces of the media to our friends and family. Although a parent can’t erase peer pressure from her child’s life, she can give her the tools she needs to stay strong in the face of it and make decisions based on what’s best for her. Here are a few tools to help you teach your child about peer pressure.

Talk to your child about the influences of the media. Every time you turn on the TV, pick up a magazine, read a billboard, go on Facebook or Twitter, or surf the web there are people trying to get you to take the action they want you to take or think the way they want you to think. Many people don’t recognize these forces as peer pressure because they’ve become such an engrained part of our lives; however, the media greatly influences our ideas and choices. Talking with children about these influences can help kids see things with a critical mind and allow them to make smarter, more objective decisions.

Be a good role model. If your child sees you rush out to buy the latest fashion, stand in line for hours to land the latest gadget, or try the latest fad diet because everyone else on the block is singing its praises, she’s much more likely to fall prey to the same peer influences. Let your child see you making decisions based on what’s best for you and the situation, even when it’s not necessarily the popular choice.

Talk to your child about the people and things that influence him. Conversation is one of the most powerful tools you have in helping your child withstand peer pressure. Talk with your child about what choices his friends are making, the choices he’s facing, the factors that influence him, and how he makes decisions about what to do and what not to do. Giving him a safe place to explore his thoughts and feelings will help him make well thought out decisions. It will also allow him to make up his mind about what to do in a tough situation before he’s actually in the tough situation. Working through his choices ahead of time gives him the confidence to act in accordance with his beliefs and values.

Involve your child in a community that supports your values. Although you can’t insulate your child from peer pressure, you can stack the deck in your favor by surrounding your child with people that can help her make good choices. Your local church, Boys and Girls Club, Boy and Girl Scouts, and community programs are all great places to find like-minded families. Your child will still be pressured to do things that are not in her best interest, but it’s a lot easier to say no when others are saying no alongside you.

Help your child develop a strong sense of self. Children with high self-esteem and a positive self-image have a much easier time resisting peer pressure. Those things don’t develop overnight, so plant the seeds of self-esteem and self-image when your child is young and cultivate them as your child grows.

Help your child avoid troublesome situations. Sometimes peer pressure can be avoided simply by avoiding a certain person or taking control of a situation. If your child’s classmate is known for rallying friends to pick on younger kids, stop meeting him and his mom at the local park. Instead, foster a friendship between your child and a kinder classmate. If your child’s new neighbor friend spends hours watching R rated movies while he’s home alone afterschool, insist they play at your house where you can monitor their TV choices. If you’re worried about your daughter being out late with her older boyfriend, impose an early curfew but allow the boyfriend to stay and visit.

Be supportive. Making good choices in the face of peer pressure is tough. It can be a very emotional struggle for many kids. Be the person your child can confide in, can count on, and can ask for advice.

Don’t expect perfection. Your child will make mistakes. She will hang out with the wrong people. She will make bad choices. How you react when those things happen will have a big impact on how she handles similar situations in the future. Your goal is to help her learn from her mistakes, help her learn how to make a better choice next time, and help her correct her course when she realizes that she’s going in the wrong direction.

A parent can’t protect her child from peer pressure, but she can help her make decisions based on what’s best for her and not simply on what everyone else is doing.

Influencing a child to make the right choices regarding his behavior can be a challenge, especially when the child in question is a particularly strong-willed one. Often, the most effective method of bringing about change is determining a child’s individual currency and using it as an incentive to motivate him to make the right choices.

What is Currency?

While your first thought at the word “currency” may be along the lines of allowances and kids’ finances, currency as a behavioral concept actually has nothing to do with money in most cases. Each child has their own form of currency, whether it’s a hobby, activity or favorite toy. The desire to engage in these activities or play with a favorite toy can be very strong, making it a useful tool when he’s misbehaving. The things that he wants and desires the most are seen as his particular currency.

How Do I Discover His Currency?

No one knows your child like you do. This intimate knowledge of his fears, joys and favorite things makes you one of the only people who can reliably discover his currency. Younger children may value sweet snacks or a favorite television show greatly, while older ones may focus more strongly on socialization and participation in a favorite activity. Paying close attention to your child will help you quickly uncover what it is that motivates him, which is the first step to bringing about positive change in his behavior or attitude using a currency system.

How Do I Use My Child’s Currency?

If your child’s currency is a video game, for instance, you may find that his behavior is more quickly and thoroughly modified when the amount of time he can spend playing that game is jeopardized. Similarly, knowing that a good performance could help him gain more time to spend playing could provide him with the incentive he needs to behave better. A system of rewards and consequences based around the activity, hobby or outcome that your child desires most can be a very effective way of helping him to understand cause and effect in relation to his own behavior.

Rewards and Consequences

When the ability to play a game, engage in a hobby, or spend time with friends is directly tied to your child’s behavior, it puts him in control. His decisions and the way he chooses to behave effects the outcome of any given situation. Being able to make these decisions on his own and either reap the rewards of making the right choice or suffer the consequences of a poor one not only helps him understand that everything he does has an eventual result, but also satisfies a burgeoning urge to assert his independence.

Intangibles Can Be Currency, Too

Some children are mostly driven by a desire to play their favorite sport, watch a beloved television show, or stalk the opposition in a video game. Others, however, are motivated more by a desire to be praised, acknowledged and shown affection. Making sure that you satisfy this need any time your child behaves in accordance with the guidelines you’ve put in place will allow him to connect making the right choice with receiving that attention. Don’t be hemmed in to thinking that your child’s currency is restricted to physical toys, games or other items.

Be Cautious With Food as Currency

Instilling good dietary habits in your child is one of the most important things you can do for him as a parent. With childhood obesity rates and related health risks skyrocketing, it’s important to think carefully about the way you use food as currency. Children who learn to connect unhealthy snacks with the emotional payoff of a job well done are being sent conflicting messages; on the one hand, they’re taught to avoid unhealthy food items, but then they’re conversely being encouraged to accept these same foods as a reward for good behavior. Associating unhealthy foods with specific feelings and moods during childhood can cause your child to reach for those foods during times of distress as an adult to stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain; emotional dependence on food can have far-reaching implications.

Because no two children are the same, the currency approach to rewards and consequences can help you to tailor disciplinary measures to each individual youngster in your home, rather than taking a less-effective one-size-fits-all approach. Taking the time to uncover your kids’ currency and dedicating yourself to using it as a method of affecting change may not always be easy, but it will help you reverse problem behaviors while rewarding those that you approve of.

While all nannies are unique, there are four general types of nannies that you may encounter during your nanny search. As you look at different nanny candidates, consider which type of nanny they may be. Doing so may give you a glance into their backgrounds, motives and qualifications for working as a nanny.

1. The Career Nanny. The career nanny is a nanny who is making a career out of working as an in-home child care specialist. A career nanny may or may not have formal nanny training, but generally has some type of educational background or interest in early childhood development. Career nannies tend to have extensive experience working in private homes and are typically passionate about their work. Sometimes a career nanny will develop a niche, like working with multiples, newborns, special needs children or children of divorce. Career nannies may be closely connected to other nannies and be involved in nanny groups, nanny support groups or professional nanny organizations. Many career nannies will have more experience working with babies and young children than their employers. For this reason, if you’re considering a career nanny you’ll want to evaluate if you are open to a parenting partner that will regularly share tips, advice and suggestions.

2. The Transitioned Nanny. The transitioned nanny is a nanny that transitioned to being a nanny from another related profession. Transitioned nannies may include nannies who were first preschool teachers, elementary school teachers, pediatric nurses or family psychologists. Transitioned nannies are likely to have the appropriate skill set for working with young children, but may lack the experience working in an in-home environment. When considering hiring a transition nanny, you’ll want to be clear about your expectations, allow her time to assimilate to working in a private home, and tweak her skill set to work in the in-home environment.

3. The Stepping Stone Nanny. The stepping stone nanny is a nanny that is working as an in-home child care provider until she figures out what she wants to do next. Stepping stone nannies may include nannies who have completed a degree in early childhood education and want to work as a nanny until they find their ideal teaching job or perhaps a high school graduate considering a degree in early childhood education who wants to test the waters of working with young children first. Stepping stone nannies may also include nannies with previous nanny or childcare experience who are looking to utilize their experience while in between jobs.  Stepping stone nannies don’t typically view being a nanny as a career, but rather a stepping stone to doing what they really wish to be doing next. If hiring a stepping stone nanny, you’ll want to be sure your stepping stone nanny will commit to at least one year of employment, or whatever other timeframe you require.

4. The Granny Nanny. The granny nanny does not refer to a nanny’s age, but rather her experience in raising her own children and her desire to help others raise theirs.  Granny nannies may not have any formal childcare training or experience, but instead rely on the experience of raising their own children.  Many granny nannies look for nanny employment after being laid off from a job, out of a desire to leave their current career and pursue something new, or as something to do during their retired years. Since parenting wisdom and styles changes from generation to generation, if you’re considering hiring a granny nanny, you’ll want to be sure she is familiar with current safety recommendations and practices (like putting healthy babies on their backs to sleep).

While not all nannies will perfectly fit into one of these four general types, chances are that you will be able to identify a category that your candidate fits into best. During the hiring process, keep these categories in mind to help you find the right fit for your family.

Learning the alphabet and memorizing the shapes and sounds that each letter makes is a big job for preschoolers, and is one that requires plenty of practice and a method of teaching that keeps kids engaged and excited to learn. The power that Apple’s wildly popular iPhone has to grasp kids’ attention and help them learn new skills through interactive apps and games make it a very valuable tool in any parent’s teaching repertoire. These 10 apps can help your child learn the letters of the alphabet, and provide an entertaining refresher course any time he’s in need.

1. LetterRecognition – This $1.99 app focuses on helping your children learn to name random letters of the alphabet accurately and in a timely manner. The letters appear in both upper- and lower-case form, and in or out of alphabetical order to ensure that your little one is learning how to recognize each of them independently.
2. Bogga Alphabet – Pre-reading preschoolers will love this interactive, virtual version of the same brightly-colored magnetized letters they already know and love. In addition to reinforcing kids’ ability to recognize letters, Bogga Alphabet also lets kids listen to audio pronunciations and practice their skills as a budding spelling bee champion by lining letters up to form short words.
3. Little Writer – The Tracing App for Kids – By tracing the lines of each letter in the alphabet, kids are able to commit those shapes to memory and boost their ability to recognize those letters. This free app is customizable in order to suit a variety of skill levels and offers a reward system based upon correct responses. As an added bonus, you can record audio yourself so that every lesson your child learns is in your familiar voice.
4. Alphabet Zoo – Designed by educators as an effective method of helping kids learn letter-sound association, this $0.99 app is a valuable tool in your arsenal when it comes to helping your child learn to recognize letters and build the skills he’ll need when he begins to read. Built around concepts that are embraced by the US Common Core curriculum standards for phonics and word recognition, this app is well worth the small investment it requires.
5. Goodnight ABC – Raved about by journalists, parents and educators alike, the iPhone version of this popular iPad app is free in the App Store. Not only will Goodnight ABC help your child learn the alphabet and letter recognition, but also other fundamental preschool skills like colors and numbers as well. There are no rigid rules of game play, no time limits and no pressure to make your child feel anxious regarding his performance, making this app a great choice for kids that struggle with anxiety problems.
6. Pop ABCs – Learning to identify each letter of the alphabet and to associate the proper phonetic sounds with each of them is a breeze with this $1.99 app, which was tested and approved by both kids and their educators.
7. Letter Tracer – Spending time tracing and painting the various letters of the alphabet will help to familiarize kids with their shapes, boosting recognition and helping kids to retain the information through repetition. Combining visual representations of each letter with reinforcement via tracing and voice-overs for identifying them, this $0.99 app is a great choice for preschool preparation.
8. Kids ABC lite – Supporting both capital and lower-case letters and offering tracing, audio reinforcement and reading prep along with early writing skills, this lite version of the paid Kids ABC is powerful and engaging in its own right. Designed with a simple interface that is easily navigable by kids, this app is a must-have for parents of preschoolers.
9. Nick Jr.’s A to Z with Moose and Zee – Featuring kid-favorite Nick Jr. characters, this $1.99 app seamlessly combines entertainment and education. Part hidden-object game and part letter recognition tool, A to Z with Moose and Zee will keep your child endlessly absorbed and learning every step of the way.
10. Alphabet Tracing – In addition to the exciting animations featuring worms, trucks and trains, the free Alphabet Tracing app doubles as a doodle pad and even allows you to print hard copies of tracing worksheets as PDF files. Kids can combine interactive handheld learning with more traditional worksheet-based lessons for an immersive learning experience.

While these apps do have the power to help your child learn much more about letter recognition and phonics than he would on his own, they’re no substitute for the guidance and attention of a loving parent or caregiver. Rather than handing your phone over to a preschooler in an attempt to distract him during long car rides or shopping trips, make an effort to use these apps together to get the greatest benefit. After all, learning is much more fun with a friend.

The number of American children that attend classes within their own home rather than public or private schools is climbing at a steady rate every year, with a 74% relative increase over the eight-year period between 1999 and 2007, according to the National Center for Education statistics. These rising numbers indicate that the face of education in the United States is changing, with more parents opting to teach their children at home with every passing school year. If you’re among the growing number of parents who have chosen homeschooling over the traditional public or private education models, these 30 blog entries can offer you some valuable hints, tips and ideas for ensuring that your children get the most from their home-based education.

Preschool and Kindergarten Curriculum

Whether you’re simply keeping your young child home for the first few years of his education or are planning to homeschool him for the duration of his school years, determining the best and most effective curriculum isn’t always easy. These five bloggers offer valuable ideas and insights regarding a pre-k and kindergarten homeschool curriculum, and may help you find the right methods to suit the needs of your pint-sized homeschooling student.

• How We Are Homeschooling Preschool
• Homeschool Curriculum Kindergarten
• Our Homeschool Preschool Plan
• How We Homeschool Preschool and Kindergarten
• A Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten

Elementary Homeschool Curriculum

While homeschooling your child through preschool and first grade can help you become acclimated to the most effective schedule and teaching methods for your child, you’ll still be forced to adapt your curricula with every passing year. These blog entries focus on the elementary homeschooling experience, and can be valuable resources for the homeschooling parent.

• Our Elementary Homeschool Blog
• Otter’s Homeschool Science Curriculum
• Free Montessori Elementary Materials Online
• Elementary Daily Learning Notebook
• Using Literature Study Guides with Elementary Students

Middle School Curriculum

As kids get older, their individual needs in relation to academic strengths and weaknesses become more pronounced. By the middle school years you’ll be able to easily spot the areas that need more attention, but may still be struggling with settling upon a specific curriculum and adapting it to suit your child’s needs. That’s where these five blogs can prove to be quite useful, as they’re centered on curricula specific to the middle school and junior high student.

• Ideas for Homeschool Middle School History
• Homeschooling Middle School Kids
• 5 Goals for Homeschooling Middle School
• Homeschooling Middle School – Making Science Fun
• General Ideas for the Middle School Years

High School Curriculum and Help

By the time your homeschooled child approaches high school, the need to assert his independence and perhaps to attend traditional classes may start to become a challenge. Managing the twin demands of juggling a lesson plan with soothing those pangs of rebellion isn’t easy, but these homeschooling bloggers can offer you some much-needed support by sharing their own experiences and advice.

• Homeschooling All the Way Through: High School
• Homeschool High School – What We Did
• High School Homeschool
• Two Options for Homeschool High School Online Classes
• Homeschooling High School, Harder than Chemistry and Trig

Socialization and Peer Interaction

One of the primary concerns a parent considering the homeschooling lifestyle may have is that their children will not learn the social skills that they’ll need as adults if they’re deprived of the group-learning public or private school experience. These five bloggers offer advice for socializing and ensuring that your homeschooled child is allowed plenty of interaction with other kids his age.

• Socialization
• “Socializing” Our Homeschooled child
• Homeschool? What about Socialization?!
• Homeschooling Does Not Hamper Socialization
• Socialization is a Benefit of Homeschooling

Hands-On Lessons and Field Trips

The beauty of homeschooling is relative, with each educating parent citing their own favorite aspect of the process. One major perk that’s generally agreed upon across the board is the freedom of teaching your children through unconventional, interactive methods that wouldn’t be feasible in a larger classroom setting. These five blogs are filled with unexpected and exciting hands-on lesson plans and field trips for homeschooling families.

• The Best Places for a Homeschool Field Trip
• Free (or almost) Field Trips and Activities
• Homeschool Field Trip Tips
• Homeschool Chat: About Field Trips
• Homeschool Field Trip Ideas