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It’s just about every parent’s worst nightmare — you let your children go out and enjoy the playground, you turn your head for a second and one of your kids has hurt themselves. The Canadian Paediatric Society says at least 29,000 children under 15 are forced to go to the emergency room for playground injuries each year. Now we don’t want you to be too alarmed — this only accounts for less than one per cent of children in Canada, but it’s still a good idea to teach kids playground safety.

Establish clear boundaries for children on the playground

According to a CBC news report, the number of playground injuries has been increasing steadily over the years. While it’s still unclear exactly what is causing this trend, some experts in the above report believe it has to do with playground design. Equipment for different age groups is sometimes grouped closely together. So for example, a 5-year-old may be tempted to use monkey bars designed for 10 to 12-year-olds. Since it’s probable that the bars will be higher and more difficult to climb, the 5-year-old has an increased chance of getting hurt on the playground.

Get involved in playground design and safety— go to school parental advisory meetings

One possible way to address this problem would be to get involved in the playground design process. If a school has announced that it will be building a new playground, participating in parental advisory meetings can be a good start. Voice your opinion and ask schools to increase distance between equipment meant for older kids and equipment meant for younger children.

However, if a school has already built a playground with older kids’ equipment close to the younger children’s play area, that may not be an option. In this case, you’ll simply have to teach kids safety on the playground by showing them which toys are appropriate for their age and which aren’t. Go to the school playground on a weekend and point it out to your children.

Showing proper play techniques is a great way to teach kids playground safety

A lot of playground injuries can be prevented by teaching children proper playground conduct in a jungle-gym type of area, or even in general play spaces. While many kids are capable of figuring out how to behave themselves in a playground, it’s best to go over these seemingly common-sense rules to be extra safe. The Alberta Health Services website has a great guide which gives some good pointers:

Some examples include:

• Waiting  your turn
• No pushing, shoving or tripping
• Keep ropes and scarves away from playground equipment and fences
• Keep clear of moving things
• Hold on with both hands when swinging or climbing
• Only one person on the slide at a time
• Slide down feet first and sitting up

Pay special attention to how your kids use equipment like playground nets or monkey bars. A study published in Paediatric Child Health says falling from equipment is the main cause of playground injuries.

Stay vigilant when your child is on the playground

There are some occasions when a parent can find something inherently dangerous in a playground. Whether it’s a broken swing or broken glass, you’d do well to report it to local authorities. If you don’t know where to start, Safe Kids Canada is a great place to go. Call them at 1-888-SAFE-TIPS, 1-888-723-3847.

Kayaking is a great summer activity that the whole family can enjoy. It can also be a chance for students to learn something new over the summer! In addition to being a fun way to enjoy the sun and get some exercise, there are a number of life lessons kids can learn when kayaking.

Lessons from the history of kayaking

But first, a little history lesson. According to Howstuffworks.com, Kayaks were first built by the Inuit and the Aleuts, which were both indigenous peoples who lived in the Arctic. These boats were made from the scarce resources that could be found in the tundra. Often, kayaks were built with frames of light driftwood or whalebone. Tribe members would then stretch animal skins over the structures. Seal bladders filled with air would be tucked into the fore and aft sections.

Why are these important kayaking details to teach your kids? Because learning about the ingenuity of the kayak’s design is a good example of how something can be made from almost nothing. Furthermore, it shows children the value of conserving — every part of an animal was used for something. That’s a very important lesson to learn in today’s world, where environmental problems are becoming a big concern.

Mindfulness can be a big life lesson kids can learn when kayaking

The history of kayaking can serve as a powerful example of resourcefulness, but once the paddle hits the water, there are plenty of other lessons to learn. Kayaking can be great for teaching focus. When first starting off, children must learn how to stay balanced on the boat. They must also maintain good technique and form while navigating waters that can be turbulent.

Because kayaking can demand a lot of attention, this sport is a great opportunity to teach mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is a practice that has been shown to provide clinical benefits such as better concentration. In addition it boosts mental and physical health. In a nutshell, it is the act of giving intense focus to the present moment. We’d recommend trying it out!

Kayaking can help kids face fear

Kayaking sometimes puts riders in uncomfortable situations. Rivers, for example, can offer some pretty bumpy rides and are dangerous on occasion. Obviously, we don’t recommend overwhelming your children by throwing them into the rapids, but small challenges can provide opportunity for personal growth.

Possibly one of the most important kayaking lessons for kids is showing them how to face fear. Breathing exercises, identifying the source of worries and problem-solving are just some examples of coping techniques you can teach your kids. Psychology Today also has a thoughtful example regarding how kayaking through keeper holes, which are like whirlpools, can be a great metaphor for facing fear.

Put the kayaking lessons to the test!

Once you’ve gone over some of the lessons in this article, see if they stick when kayaking! When paddling through the water, try stopping every once in a while and ask your children if they are practising mindfulness. Are they paying attention to their surroundings or are they getting lost in too much thought? If they encounter obstacles like a tricky route in a river, ask them if fear is getting in the way. Then remind them of the coping techniques you taught them. Kayaking is a great way to spur personal growth!

We as parents are concerned about schooling in large part because we want our children to succeed in the work world. Many of us value education because it will help our kids become capable at providing for themselves. With this idea in mind, it’s invaluable to ask ourselves how much time our children should be spending in school versus how many hours they should spend on internships, work and volunteer experience.

School is invaluable for developing skills, but what use are students’ talents if they don’t know how to apply them? Internships, work and volunteer experience can help make what they learn in school relevant to the ‘real’ world. Each child will be different, but in this post we’ll try and dig up some valuable perspectives that can help you come to a decision about the merits of internships, work and volunteer experience.

Work experience helps develop entrepreneurial skills

The man who was one of the masterminds of 1-800-GOT-JUNK says schools often don’t do enough to teach children business skills. In a TEDx talk that has garnered more than 1.3 million views, Cameron Herold says children who often show potential as entrepreneurs are repressed rather than encouraged to use their gifts. He says one of the biggest problems in schools is teaching children to become employees, rather than teaching them how to come up with viable businesses.

And he says even business schools are guilty of this! Cameron says there’s nothing wrong with encouraging children to become employees, but when children receive little entrepreneurship training, many kids who show promise as business owners are having their potential wasted.

The solution? Work and volunteer experience can help alleviate that problem. He says it’s important for parents to encourage their children to start thinking entrepreneurially at a young age. His parents encouraged him to find ways to create jobs for himself rather than ask for them. His father taught him the basics of supply and demand when he was seven.

Cameron credits this type of parental mentoring for his success — he did poorly in school and was diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But he says entrepreneurship helped him channel his creativity — which was not appreciated in a traditional school environment — into something positive.

If your children can start volunteering or interning

Work experience helps students land jobs in the future

And even if you’re not grooming your children to become one of the next Forbes 100 CEOs, work experience increases their chances of finding jobs, according to a National Post report.

Furthermore, the Government of Canada also agrees that working while still in school is a good idea for a slew of reasons, including developing professional networks, getting your foot in the door at a company, or gaining valuable experience from mentorship.

Volunteering helps build communities

Many schools are encouraging or requiring children to clock in some out-of-school volunteer time. According the New York Times, high school students who volunteered in high school are more likely to become active in civic or volunteer work later in their lives.

Regardless of whether students choose to volunteer or are forced to do so by schools, the effects seem to be positive, the article says. But that’s usually dependent on the job and whether the program allows students to learn about their work in the greater context of a larger issue. For example, students working in a soup kitchen may become more civic minded if they’re given the opportunity to serve the homeless and discuss their experiences afterwards. This may not be the case if their volunteer work in the shelter does not give them the chance to interact with people.

What we know about internships, work and volunteer experience

Generally speaking, it’s a good thing! But obviously, as with everything, balance is crucial. Education shouldn’t be neglected, seeing that schooling is related to higher earning and lower unemployment.

Working also teaches children how to overcome obstacles, which helps develop resilience.

But keep in mind, not all internships, jobs or volunteer experiences are equal. The benefits your child will get out of internships, work and volunteerism depend on whether those tasks encourage entrepreneurship, creative thought, problem solving and community consciousness.

Of course we’re not belittling menial labour, because those jobs have their benefits too.
In a nutshell, encourage your kids to get internships, work and volunteer experience. Try to find work that encourages the attributes we discussed above. But try to avoid overwhelming your children to the point their grades suffer.

We’ve already provided some pointers in this blog that will help you learn how your child learns. Now it’s time to take the next step and make an actual assessment on the kind of learning style your child has. Before we get started, make sure you’ve already seen part one of this series, because everything we do here builds on that post.

Tips on assessing how your child learns

Children often don’t have the knowledge or ability to tell us which category of learning style they fall into. During your one-on-one time, let your child decide what he or she wants to do. Take careful note of what they choose and what they enjoy. Remember, these may be two different things. Kids may choose something to please their parents, not necessarily because they enjoy it. Pay attention to the activities your child appears to be genuinely fond of.

As a starting point, Parenting.com has a checklist that could be invaluable for figuring out what kind of learner your child is.

The above site recommends looking at what activities your children seem to enjoy the most. Is their favourite board game Operation? Do they like making hands-on crafts? You may have a physical or kinaesthetic learner.

Does your child like Scrabble? Is she good with names? Does she like reading and writing? Chances are she may be a verbal/linguistic learner.

Does your child have a knack for humming melodies and remembering song lyrics? He may be an audio/musical learner.

Do your children respond to diagrams? Are they moved by pictures and photography? Do they daydream? They may be visual learners.

There are also some good online tests which you can have your child take.

Edutopia has what is called a multiple intelligence test that provides a percentage scale of how your child interacts with the world. There is also an explainer that provides details on the kinds of activities your child would find most engaging. This is useful for finding out what interests your kids and their potential hobbies or career paths.

Educationplanner.org has a test that tells you what kind of learning style your kids have. Once they finish it, the site also gives tips on what kinds of activities will help them study and learn.

These are just a few examples. A simple Google search will reveal many more. But be sure to check and see if the site appears to be credible.

If your kids are a little too young to understand the queries, try taking the test together. Reword the questions and ask each child yourself. And remember some of the questions may need adaptation. For example, older questionnaires may ask if your child listens to the radio a lot. Since this is 2015, you might ask your child if he or she downloads a lot of music or listens to podcasts.

How you can help once you figure out the learning style of your child

Once you determine the learning style of your child, it becomes much easier to assist them in their education. Some parents may even be able to inform teachers how to best school their child. And even if that’s not always possible, there are ways you can help your kids learn once they get back to the house.

Kurt Fischer of the Harvard Graduate School of Education says one of the best predictors for a visual learner’s success is the amount of books available at home. When it comes to auditory learners, Fischer says it’s best to keep audiobooks, music around the house. These children will also benefit from engaging conversation with peers and adults. Verbal instructions are also helpful when explaining things. And as for kinesthetic learners, Fischer recommends keeping toys around that help them learn by doing. LEGO is a great example. And don’t be afraid to ask them to re-enact passages of books they’re learning in class. Even getting them to play teacher could be a good idea.

Learning styles are not always set in stone

Children’s learning styles can change over time, so it’s helpful to schedule check-ups to see how your kids are doing. Be flexible and adapt to your child’s needs. If your child is a reader but develops an interest in music, perhaps in the future he or she will learn better by listening rather than reading.

A final word — learning assessments are not substitutes for careful observation

We have heard of a case where a child did not get diagnosed with a learning challenge even though he was tested by the school. The mother of the child saw her son was still struggling, so she started homeschooling her child. It was only then that she discovered her son was dyslexic. If it weren’t for her one-on-one attention with her son, her child could have fallen through the cracks.

The moral of the story? Make sure you spend alone time with your children before assessing them. Zero in on frustrations they have. Remember that checklists and tests are still imperfect tools and are no substitute for carefully observing your child.