parent talk magazine | january 2016

1January 2016

The Power of Friendship pg 6

talkJanuary 2016

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Kara Domangue, Managing Editor

The Toy BoxThe ABC's of Healthy HabitsThe Power of Friendship

Let's Get FitKnowledge Is Power

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5

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN WAITZ

PublishersBen Jones Jr

Cody J. Blanchard

MANAGING EDITORKara Domangue

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTSJasmine Richard, Joni Bascle, Anne Marie Naquin,

Kim Thompson, Katherine Elias

TO ADVERTISE985.441.7073

PHOTOGRAPHYBrian Waitz

JANUARY 2016VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 1

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Dear Parents

In This Issue

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parenttalk

Insight From The Inside14

I hope you have been enjoying Parent Talk each month. Don’t forget, we welcome all ideas and any input from local parents looking to spread their message of raising children in South Louisiana. Shoot us an email at [email protected] if you have any suggestions and don’t forget to check out many of the local advertisers in this month’s issue!

Keep talking, parents!

Happy New Year! 2015 is behind us and we can now look forward to the wonderful opportunities for our children in 2016.

This month’s feature focuses on the power of friendship and how you can help your child develop friendship skills. Friends are wonderful relationships for our children to have. True friends will always be there through the good times and the bad, and it’s nice to know that your child has made one or two while in school. These friendships can usually last a lifetime if properly maintained.


The

Toy BoxJASMINE RICHARD, SOCIAL MEDIA LIBRARIAN

Book of the Month

DNA Play By AVOKIDDO

Age Level: 3-6A bright and silly picture book by Eric Litwin, author of Pete the Cat books. It’s time for bed but the kids are full of energy and imagination. This is a fun read before bed to get the kids to wind down with a colorful and funny picture book. Don’t miss the other adorable Nut Family book: The Nuts:Sing and Dance In Your Polka-Dot Pants.

The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House by Eric Litwin, Scott Magoon

Price: $21.99Touch a color to hear its musical note or create a musical masterpiece by touching lots of colors. There are nine sing-along color songs included. This educational toy is programmed with multiple music styles such as rock, jazz, and country and features two modes of play with a 16-page musical activity book.

Toy of the Month

App of the Month

Magic Moves RainbowJam

JASMINE is a Technology and Media Librarian at the Lafourche Parish Public Library. She has a Bachelor's Degree in English and Psychology and a Master's degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS). You can contact her at:

[email protected](985) 446-1163

Lafourche Parish Library314 St. Mary StreetThibodaux, LA 70301

Available: : iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Fire phone, Kindle FirePrice: $2.99Age: 5+DNA Play is a colorful and fun, interactive learning app. It allows young kids to learn about genetic basics to change and mutate features of creatures. Play shows how certain features and mutations can be helpful or not in various situations. Easy enough for kids to play without assistance. Engages creativity with the options and provides a foundation for learning about science concepts. See more here: http://avokiddo.com/pt

SHWEIKI

5January 2016

DNA Play By AVOKIDDO

Statistics from organicfacts.net

The ABC’s of

Healthy Habits!N is for NUTSBY KATHERINE ELIAS, THIBODAUX

KATHERINE is Owner and Creator of Fusion Wellness. She is a Certified Wellness Coach, Personal Trainer and Exercise Group Instructor.

You can contact her at:[email protected]

Or visit her website at:www.wellwithfusion.com

Go NUTS about NUTS! Why are nuts good for us?— Nuts are very high in PROTEIN. Protein is what helps build muscle and makes you stronger!— Nuts have lots of nutrients that are beneficial for your heart. Eating nuts in moderation can make your heart stronger!— The nutrients and minerals in nuts can help with the growth and development in children.

What are some ways you can get more nuts in your diet?— Eat a handful of mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews) with some dried fruit (raisins, pineapple). — Spread a spoon of peanut butter on some wheat crackers or a banana.— Sprinkle some chopped nuts on low fat yogurt.

Fun Facts about NUTS!— Peanuts are the number one nut consumed in the United States.— Nuts are defined as a simple, dry fruit with one seed. This seed then becomes very hard at maturity. Peanuts, walnuts, and cashews are not actually real “nuts”.— The shell on cashews is poisonous and can be dangerous if consumed!

Don’t forget to go NUTS today!


PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN WAITZ

7January 2016

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIPBY BEN JONES JR, THIBODAUX

I’m sure as a parent you wonder who your child plays with at school. You probably also wonder if your child is being bullied or teased.

What if your child happens to be the bully? Would you know?As a young person grows in your home, you have the power to

shape him or her into a wonderful and caring person. There are many different ways you can teach your child the power of friendship and how good manners and behavior can open a world of treasures to them for the rest of their lives.


Explain What Friends Are For

If your child is looking to make a new friend or wants to further expand on a current friendship, then explain to them that friends are for and what they actually do for each other. A friend is a person you have fun with and converse in kind language with. Friends also do favors for one another and help each other out when one of them may be sad or have a problem. A friend is a reliable person who they can always count on and it’s always a positive to remember important dates in a friend’s life such as a birthday, recital, sports game, and so on.

Developing Social Skills

According to pediatricsafety.net, there are many social skills for you to help your child develop that will reward him with positive friendships in the future. These skills include accepting ‘no’, accepting consequences, apologizing, arguing respectively, asking a favor, asking questions, being a good listener, good sportsmanship, and many more. Don’t be afraid to tackle one skill at a time to teach your child and help them understand.

Explain Friendship Through Story Time

Although we tend to pass around the iPad or turn on Netflix for the kids, picking out a good book on friendship and bonding with your child over reading will not only benefit your relationship with your child, but will help your child understand true friendship and bonding with their friend. Books about friendship will also show your child challenges in a friendship and give ideas on how to solve them.

Set Yourself As An Example

The best way to show a child true friendship is to be a true friend yourself. Let your child see you interacting with one of your closest friends. How do you treat your friend? What would you do for your friend? Opening up your child to you and your friend’s relationship will in turn show him how to treat others as well.

The power of friendship is a wonderful thing. It’s a relief to know that your child has someone that he or she can count and rely on in a time of need. It’s also nice to know that your child can continue to develop his or her relationship skills with a person who will continue to support your child and enjoy his or her company for years to come. pt

9January 2016


Winter holidays are great refreshers for children and parents alike. But, just because children are out of school, it

doesn't mean they can't continue to learn by taking part in fun and educational activities. As a parent, take advantage of these holidays to spend fun, learning time together. Show your children how the lessons learned in the classroom apply in day-to-day life.

Here are some tips that can keep learning alive during holidays:

WritingTo help writing skills, encourage your children to start a diary or to write letters to a grandparent or friend. If you are travelling on a vacation, ask your children to keep travel journals recording where you stayed and what you did. At the end of every day, talk through the activities with your children and help them with the journals. It not only helps with their writing skills; it creates great family memories.

MathematicsHelping mom or dad with grocery shopping creates opportunities to use math skills: making change, weighing fruits and vegetables, etc. Providing assistance with cooking can also familiarize students with weights and measures, organization and planning, and following a recipe. Perhaps you and your child could make a special dessert for the whole family. Help him or her pick a recipe, create an ingredients list and go shopping together.

Knowledge is PowerA Break from School Doesn't Need to be a Break from Learning

BY ANNE MARIE NAQUIN, HOUMA

ANNE MARIE is Director of the Sylvan Learning Center. She is the mother of 2 children and has a Bachelor's Degree in English and Math from LSU.

You can contact her at:[email protected](985) 233-3798

Or visit Sylvan's website at:www.sylvanlearning.com

ReadingThe local libraries offer infinite resources for children. Librarians can recommend books appropriate for your child’s reading level and interests, and often offer free children’s programs and clubs.

Children also learn by example. If parents are setting time aside to

read, it reinforces the fun and enjoyment of reading.

InternetVisit www.BookAdventure.com, a free interactive, reading motivation program. Children can create their own book list from more than 7,500 titles, take short comprehension quizzes and redeem their accumulated points for small prizes.

Analysis and Logic – Many family games and puzzles are not only

fun, but help children to develop and reinforce skills. A simple card game can involve mathematics, analysis and logical thinking. Be sure to select games appropriate for your child's age level. pt

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POP QUIZ! The Average Snowflake Falls At?

A. 1 MPHB. 3 MPHC. 6 MPH

D. 10 MPH

13January 2016

Let s Get FitReleasing Your Inner Child

BY JONI BASCLE, THIBODAUX

JONI is Manager and Certified Trainer of Koko FitClub, Advocare Distributor, Nationally Certified Personal Trainer and Master Certified Koko FitCoach. She is the mother of 1 son.

You can contact her at:[email protected]

Or visit these websites:www.kokofitlcub.comwww.advocare.com/131030270

Happy New Year! As we welcome 2016, our kids are sitting down to play with their gadgets that Santa brought, so let's

take a little mental trip to simpler times. Being a child of the 80's, my fondest memories had nothing to do with computers, tablets, video games, or even TV. Ok, most of that didn't exist, but just because it exists, do our kids need it?

When I was a kid, my favorite memories involved pogo sticks, bicycles, swings, roller skating, building forts during backyard adventures with my brothers and best friend, and fishing in the pond. We were blessed to have things like a go-kart and an Atari, but I have not one single memory of playing an Atari game. The most fun times that I remember were playing outside on the swings, trips to the pond with my brother trying unsuccessfully to teach me to skip rocks, swimming with friends, and jumping on the trampoline at the neighbor's house. Do you know what else I remember? None of my friends were overweight or allergic to everything. I wasn't sickly and neither were my siblings. We played all day and miraculously didn't have ADHD. Maybe we were just too exhausted from all of the playing to exhibit any symptoms.

Fast forward to today. We want to give our kids EVERYTHING. It's a wonderful thing to love your child so much that you want them to have the best, but are we really doing them any favors? Look at your child and their friends. Are they as healthy and fit as you were as a child? I'm not saying we need to throw out all technology. Tablets are amazing when your kid won't stop screaming in a restaurant, or when mom and dad need 30 minutes to regroup after a day of chasing toddlers and doing 4th grade homework. What I am saying is that it's okay to limit those devices. Don't just tell your kids about how you weren't lucky enough to have all of these fancy gadgets when you were a kid. Show them what it was like when you were a kid! Build a fort with them using whatever you can find outside. It might be the first step to a healthier lifestyle. I've said it before and I'll say it again; it's easier to teach a kid to live an active lifestyle than it is to teach a 30 or 40 year old when their doctor says they need to. So this year, skip the resolutions. Just get up and play with your kid like you're 10 years old again! You might both reap the benefits from it! pt


As you read the title of the article, parents from my generation probably sparked up a good beat from the infamous Spice

Girls' hit, while kids likely think this article is a month too late and focused on what "stuff" they want. Quite the contrary, this article is not about tangible goods at all. Rather, the focus is on more important things like WHO and WHAT we really, really want to be in life.I'm not a huge fan of New Year's Resolutions, although I'm always a proponent of taking action toward reaching goals. Any time of the year is a great time to write goals and outline WHAT and WHO you really want to be in life. There are two key components to creating your best self. The PICTURES you play in your head about who and what you want to be, and the WORDS you say to and about yourself. So, as you begin a new year, I encourage you to be a visionary for yourself, your relationships, and your children. Make this year the best ever by learning to create positively vivid images about yourself and your loved ones, and use the languages of love as you express these visions. Here are some ways to get started.

1) Declare January the month of dreams. Keep a chalk or dry erase board by the entryway, and have each family member write their hopes and dreams for the future of themselves and/or the family. Get it started by writing your own. Examples may be a scream-free home, a healthy diet, a beach vacation, a promotion at work, 30 minutes a day reading for leisure, weekly date night, peaceful sibling relationships, etc.

2) Amp up the visions by cutting out pictures from magazines or drawing these dreams. Have a family fun day by sitting down together and creating a family or individual collage on a poster board with these images.

3) Practice talking about yourself and your future in positive verbiage. For example, if every time you pass a mirror, your tendency is to suck in and loathe a body part or two, practice

Insight from the InsideSo Tell Me What You Want, What You Really, Really Want...

BY KIM THOMPSON, THIBODAUX

saying out loud, "I love my body. I love that my body gave me these children. I love that my body is healthy," etc. Or, if your brain thinks "my kids never listen" every time you are on your third leg of "turn off the video game and do your chores" ... Reframe that negative voice by saying, out loud, "I am teaching my children to learn to listen the first time. They are becoming better listeners as we reinforce positive behaviors. They do sometimes listen." Take the hopelessness out of your self-talk, and then empower yourself to DO something about it by creating a vision of hope.

3) Mix together the visions and the verbiage by talking about the dreams and the images you created. Any time you can evoke affirmative emotion when talking about yourself, your partner, your child, or your future, you are activating that reality for yourself. For example, create an image (in your mind or on paper) of yourself confidently teaching your children a valuable life lesson while they eagerly listen and act the first time. You create a sense of hope that this could and will happen. Again, to up the ante', speaking aloud about this type of certain future evokes even more intensely optimistic emotions. And, before you know it, this is what you and your family are creating as a new norm in your home.

4) ACT. Visions and words are meaningless unless you create EVENTS by taking action. As you walk by your vision board, think, "What action will I take today to move closer toward this dream?"

Best wishes as you envision, speak, and act your way to your best year yet! pt

KIM is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Counselor, Nicholls State University Instructor and has her MSW, LCSW, and LLC. She is the mother of 3 sons. You can contact her at:

[email protected] (985) 493-9304

15January 2016

parent talk magazine | january 2016

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