Just for Parents
Parents, here is a special page just for you. I’ve listed some concerns parents often ask me about. If you’d like to explore these issues—or any others—with me and other blog readers, feel free to post a comment or a question and we’ll begin a dialogue!
Some common parent concerns:
Bedtime
Chores
Eating
Friendships
Homework
School
Siblings
Sleeping
Technology time
Some ways to begin the conversation:
—I’m seeing this behavior. Is this normal for this age?
—What can I do if my child is having trouble with…?
—What can I do if my child is getting in trouble at school?
—What can I do if my child is bored at school?
—What can I do if …?
The more detail you can give about your situation, the more helpful the exchange is likely to be.
If you’d like to talk to me privately:
If you have an issue about which you’d like to have some private consultation, send me an email and I’ll get back to you.
Melanie – First of all I am concerned by the fact that your son’s kindergarten teacher “approached” you to tell you these concerns rather than asking to have a conference with you and sitting down and explaining just what is going on in the classroom for your son. Behavior such as this is never just a one way street. It may involve attention seeking behavior that needs to be redirected, it may involve what is called “other directing” behavior which is a natural part of children’s play in kindergarten, it may involve overly assertive or aggresive behavior that your son needs some help with through modeling or role playing.
You also mention you are worried about how his behaviors are being handled, but do not talk about this. If you would like to discuss this directly, contact yardsticks@comcast.net.
My six-year old son’s kindergarten teacher approached me today after school to tell me that my son has been displaying increasingly rude and inappropriate behavior towards both other children and adults (the teachers) at school. The behaviors include correcting other children when they make mistakes, proclaiming that he is better at something than others, and speaking in a tone of voice that the teachers find inappropriate. I was told that his behaviors are “not the kind of behavior we like to see from students at (our school)”. While these behaviors may not be desirable, I thought they were normal for a six year old. I am also worried about the way the teachers are handling his behavior in the classroom. Does anyone have advice on how I should approach this with both my son and (separately) with his teachers?