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| NewsSunday, October 21, 2007 6:14 PM CDT |
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Expo speaker: Make children part of the team
NORMAL — These people are interested in being the best they can be. They have long-range plans for success. They know and utilize their strengths. They aren’t business executives. They are successful parents as described by Dina Emser, a locally based, nationally recognized educational consultant who spoke Saturday at the Parent Expo at Prairieland Elementary School, Normal. Her talk, “Tips for Pro-active Parenting,” focused on using professional job skills to do “the most important job on earth — parenting.” Emser also gave the keynote address, in which she addressed how to communicate with children. The ninth annual Parent Expo brought 50 to 60 parents to the school to learn various facets of successful parenting. While children participated in art activities, games and outside play, their parents attended presentations on topics such as overcoming dyslexia and sparking a love to read in children. Emser said parents have a responsibility to take care of themselves. She noted professionals know they have to “take care of themselves because they know they are their own best assets.” Children today are growing up too pampered and with too much of a sense of entitlement, she said. Parents pay people to do tasks, such as cleaning and yard work, that parents used to assign as children’s chores. But professionals are team builders, and giving children tasks helps them to feel like they are part of the family team. One of the mothers attending the expo was Priscilla Steers, who has one son, Ethan, and is expecting another child. She also is an instructional materials center specialist who teaches children in kindergarten through fifth grade. She agreed with Emser’s comment about parents needing to take care of themselves. “As parents, we have to make time for ourselves, and it’s hard because we’re responsible for our children,” she said. For example, she said there is a book about love and logic in parenting she has been meaning to read, but she hasn’t been able to find the time. Positive feedback Kim Williamson, of Circles Behavior Consultation Services, gave a presentation called “Positive Parenting” in which she discussed how to use positive feedback to improve children’s behavior. She suggested that if a child behaves well in a grocery store, the parent should say, “Good job in the store today. You make me so proud to be your parent.” Williamson recounted telling her daughter to ignore a boy in her school who was teasing her. When the boy ceased bothering her, she came home and proudly told Williamson, “I used behaviorism in school today!” E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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