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Connecting with Connections

August 2015

Your Monthly Connections For Children E-Update

Dear Friend,

AUGUST - end of summer, start of school!

This month, Ready for School offers some sensible advice about children's screen time.
Our Columnist, Joey Lamberti, asks us to Just Listen as he explores some of the issues LGBT kids face every day.
This month our Program Spotlight features resources for parents seeking child care.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month - time to check that vaccines are up-to-date.

Ready for School - Building Blocks for Kindergarten

Limiting Media & Screen Time

Your child’s best learning experiences are from play and interactions that take place in person with parents, caregivers and friends, rather than electronically. But we live in a world of technology. Young children grow up with screens, from TV to cell phones, and see parents using electronics so they are naturally drawn to them.

There is clear evidence that too much screen time is detrimental to children’s learning. Background TV and media can interfere with children developing good sleep habits. Spending too much time in front of the television is linked to obesity in children. If you choose to let your child watch TV and/or play with electronic devices, limit to 1-2 hours or less daily. Research shows that when parents make watching TV or using electronic devices an interactive, shared experience, it can be a tool for learning and the potential negative effects can be reduced.

Here are a few helpful tips:

Be a role model for your child. Put down the cellphone or close the computer and engage in conversations over meals or storytelling at bedtimes. Children learn from what they see.
Participate and make TV or computer use interactive, talking with your child about what he or she is seeing.
Avoid having the TV on in the background. Turn the TV off when no one is watching, let your child see you turn off the TV.
Be sure that the program or game you select is designed to promote learning appropriate to your child’s age. It should engage your child’s mind and body.

You can find more tips about media and electronics usage in the Santa Monica Cradle to Career Building Blocks for Kindergarten.

For more information about sensible media and electronics guidelines, check out Screen Sense at Zero to Three, research-based guidelines for parents about screen use by young children under age three.

Just Listen

by Joey Lamberti

"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.

Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway

This year, the LGBT community has broken new ground. In June, the Supreme Court officially legalized gay marriage nationwide, and just this month, the U.S. Justice Department voted in favor of a Virginia transgender teenager who was claiming discrimination for not being allowed to use the appropriate restroom for their identifiable sex. Another news story swept national headlines when the patriarch of a popular reality show officially came out as a woman. The public reaction to these decisions have not been entirely positive, which is rather telling when every recent amendment or decision is a brave and bold statement for the LGBT community. While others may not share the same tolerance, it would be a non-issue for my wife and I if our sons were to come out as homosexuals or transgender. The goal of this piece is not to reject differing ideals, but to briefly shed some light on just how far the LGBT community has come, and how much further they can go with their parents, peers and most importantly, the state, as advocates instead of enemies.

On March 26, 1973, a short while after marching with her son in New York’s Christopher Street Liberation Day March, Jeanne Manford held the first formal meeting for parents in support of their gay and lesbian children. The buzz surrounding these meetings would spread into other communities, and new groups would take form. In 1980, the representatives of these groups formed the largest organization of its kind: PFLAG, or Parents for Lesbians and Gays. As of 2015, there are over 350 individual chapters across the nation, where parents, family members and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people can receive support and educational materials.

32% of children aren't ready to learn to read when they enter kindergarten. Your gift today will help a child with the guidance and care needed to get ready to learn and thrive!

Click to Make a Gift

For questions about how you can make a difference today,

please contact Patti Oblath by e-mail or phone at (310) 452-3325 Ext. 212.

Online Training for Early Childhood Educators

Did you know that Connections For Children offers online courses that are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? This training is perfect for busy early childhood educators who want a self-paced curriculum they can access on their own schedules!

Our training courses are designed to help early childhood professionals complete annual training requirements and acquire required training hours for those seeking a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, CDA credential renewal or in-service training. These courses provide a variety of engaging subjects designed specifically for the early childhood professional. You can choose a two-hour single topic, eight-hour credit-bearing courses, or enroll in the complete 120-hour CDA credential course. Click below to learn more and enroll in the training of your choice.

Learn More & Register

August is national Immunization Awareness Month

Protect our Children and

Protect our Community

Vaccines give parents the safe, proven power to protect their children from serious diseases. Getting all of the recommended vaccines is one of the most important things a parent can do to protect their child's health, especially when they are in a setting like a school or a child care center where disease outbreaks can occur. Whether it's a baby starting at a new child care facility, a toddler heading to preschool, a student going back to elementary, middle, or high school - or even a college freshman - parents should check their child's immunization records to be sure they are up-to-date on recommoneded vaccinations.

For more information and useful toolkits, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Look for the National Immunization Awareness Month page.