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In an article in the January 2009 issue of Exchange, "10 tips to crash-proof families in cash-strapped times," Roslyn Duffy offered the following suggestions for parents....

Pay it forward
The most hopeful thing any human being can do is to offer hope to someone else. When children feel able to contribute by helping others, they feel good about themselves.

When the tsunami in Asia occurred, the children at the Learning Tree in Seattle prepared a special ‘water buffalo’ fundraising breakfast for their parents. The children learned about how valued these animals are in Southeast Asia, through story time and related projects. The money they raised helped flood victims purchase water buffalo to replace those that had drowned in the tsunami.

Children’s feelings of contribution will increase in proportion to their involvement. Instead of merely collecting food for a food drive, take them to a food bank to deliver it. Look for meaningful ways your family or program can help children help others.

Keep it up
Routines give children a sense of safety. The sooner a routine can be re-established or a new one begun, the better. If you have lost a job — get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then do something. Go to the park, clear out a closet together, or bake bread. The more old lifestyle routines keep functioning or are replaced by similar ones, the more reassured children feel.

All ten tips for parents are available on the Exchange web site.

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The parents in your school would value the helpful ideas from Roslyn Duffy's new Exchange book, The Top Ten Preschool Parenting Problems and What to Do about Them! Here are just a few of the problems Duffy addresses in this no-nonsense guidebook for parents...

• Whining — How can that high-pitched little voice wield so much power?
• Not Listening — What we really mean is that she doesn’t do what she is told to do.
• Meltdowns — Meltdown is easy to predict when whining and listening isn’t working.
• Negotiation and Manipulation — When does negotiation stop and manipulation begin?
• Morning Hassles, Mealtime Mischief, Bedtime Blues — Daily life can sure wear us down.

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