biggest influence

This is your final posting to your blog. After completing all chapters in this book and discussing the effects of many items on children, what do you feel is the single most influential item on children today? This will be hard to come up with one, but give your reasoning and why you chose this item.

If I had to chose I would say that it would be family and friends. They are the closest people to you most of the time and they have the biggest effect. If they don't like something you're doing then they usually will be the ones to say it, if your family belives one way your most likely to go with that belief because thats how you were rasied.

children and the media

What are your views on children and media: specifically television, Internet and video games? When should it be allowed? How much should be allowed? How can it be monitored?

To a certain extent its ok. If monitored well by an adult. Tv can be good and bad, just depends on what thety are watching. Educational things are good, but to much violences and negitives can be harmful to a childs being. If tey become more involved with tv or internet or video games than reality they can loose track of life, such as homework chores friendships and family time. I think that tv can be ok in moderation and under supervision of choices. BUt internet is manily for older children that have actually reasons for being on the internet, such as homework or friends if monitored. But at a certain point you have to trust that you taught your children to distiguish right from wrong and whats ok to look at. Viedio games are hard for me because just plain sitting t5hier staring at a tv is not goo, but i think the Wii that actually gets the kids involved an dmoving physically and thinking is awsome. that is an ok video game. I think that overall as long as the kids dont forget the outside world and they either are monitored or make good choices with the media then its ok in moderation.

School Memories

Describe your best and worst teacher (no names please). What are some characteristics that describe your "best" teacher and what are some characteristics that describe your "worst" teacher? What memories do you have of school in general? Are your memories of content (academics) or experience (field trips, activities, etc.)?

1. my best teacher is a great guy. he was nice and caring but knew when to be tough on us. He also loved kids and teacher and you say that about him.
2. My worst teacher was just plain mean. She did not like me and made that clear to everyone. she always yelled or laughed at me weas never helpful or caring.
3.That alot of the time things were good, i remember not wanting to do my homework, or wnating to skip class. but most of all i remember my great teachers and my bad teachers. and what that did for me.
4. i think most of my memories are a little of both. they are about school itself and the experiences i had thier and wiht the people i met there.

Preschool...the best years

Preschool-What are your feelings about preschool? Did you go to preschool as a child? Have you worked in a preschool? Do your kids attend preschool? What type of preschool do YOU believe is best for children? Any other thoughts on education for our under 5 population?

I think if your child is ready to be apart from the parents and your ready to let go for a couple of hours then its a great idea. Personally I can't wait for my girls to go to preschool, my oldest starts in the fall. I went to Early Head Start Program for Nevada County. I think the Developmental Interaction Curriculum is probably the best because I think you get the best of both worlds....the teacher being a teacher and a child being a child. Where I work we have weekly themes. A color shape number and letter so all our activities focus on these things. Then we also have free play indoors and outdoors. So i think that the child gets the best of everything.

I also think that a parent has to be ready to let thier child go if they are going to put them in preschool, because if they aren't then its really hard on the kid they feel that. Preschool is a great fondation to start school with, because they can make friends and still have them in high school, also they become use to being around other kids and teachers do work and playing. everything they will need to be comfortable in kindergarten.

stress...

1. money
2. time spent
3. food
4. bills
5. health insurance
6. school
7. family
8. holidays
9. work
10. chores

These are no way in order to which families are most stressed by. But in life things all revolve around each other, they also effect each other. Children get affected by the stress some of these things put in thier parents lives(money, bills, insurance....) But some times the kids are directly affected and stressed out by worrying about school, or where they will be for the holidays, chores, or school. Some kids grades will fall, they will loose sleep or have a hard time with thier friends or siblings. If someone in the family is truly sick kids sometimes find ways to take it on themselves to make it better.

Are you a child of the 80's, 70's, 60's, 50’s? How was the decade that you grew up in similar to the current decade? How was it different? Discuss a current societal trend and the possible negative impact it may have on child development in the future.

Well I was born in 89' but I think that makes me a child of the 90's. This is just a newer version of the past. It has better technology, more advanced medicine but most of all sad to say but the worst poverty since the Great Depression. I think more parents are leaving thier children behind in a way. They spend less quality time with thier children and more "them" time. I think over time that will lead by example and tell our young children that its ok to do that. Let your kids play video games for hours, eat dinner seperatly...etc. Over time that will create a less family oriented world, and that will be sad.