Daniela Singh

1. Have a story-filled life.

The best writers are avid readers. Read to your child every day. You say your child’s in middle school? Read to your child every day. Pick a book above your child’s reading ability, or take turns reading pages in a book of his choice. When your children are young, tell stories in the car, the doctor’s office, or when you’re pushing the stroller. Above all, talk to your children.

2. Recognize and celebrate early writing.

When your two-year-old scribbles and calls it his name, he’s writing. When your preschooler writes a string of letters and tells you what it says, he’s writing. And when your kindergartner draws a picture and adds a single word, she’s writing too. Call it that. Celebrate it!

3. Let your child see you write.

When you’re in a rush to head out the door and are scribbling down a grocery list – and your preschooler hangs over your shoulder and asks what you’re doing – take a second. Show him. Let him watch you make lists, send e-mails, write thank you notes, and compose a note for his lunch box.

4. Provide a great variety of writing tools and surfaces for writing, and give your child easy access to them.

Give your children pens, chalk, paint, and markers. Get big pads of newsprint, a chalkboard, or a dry erase board. When your child knows her letters, put her at the computer. Make the font big and bright, and let her type.

5. Create a writing space.

Set up a quiet corner for your child to write. If space is an issue, pack writing materials into a portable container that your child can pull out at the kitchen table. Include pens and pencils, pads of paper and envelopes, a notebook, and a spelling dictionary appropriate for your child’s age.

6. Schedule quality writing time into your day.

Don’t put a writing prompt in front of your child and call that teaching writing. While prompts can serve a useful purpose, the focus of your writing time should be short mini-lessons and plenty of time for independent writing. What’s a mini-lesson? Here are just a few examples:

a) Teach your child how to streeetch out a word and write its sounds.

b) Teach your child how to brainstorm writing ideas.

c) Teach your child to reread her work after she’s written it.

Give your child writing time as often as you can. Would one book a week help your child love to read? Neither would one writing session promote a love of writing. If your child is resistant, use your best judgment. But keep in mind that frequent writing develops the habit of writing. I think that three days a week of 20-40 minutes (depending on age) is better than five days of just 10 minutes a day.

Chances are, your kids (and maybe even you!) could use a primer on the Pilgrims and Native Americans—and just why we feast and give thanks every November. Here, the Thanksgiving story for kids.

Long ago, in the early 1600s, a group of people in England wanted to pray and worship God in their own way. The King controlled the Church of England, and everyone was ordered to go to the same type of church. Anyone who dared to disobey would be sent to jail.

The group of people who wanted to free the Church of England from the King's rule, making it "pure" were known as the Puritans. To escape the rule of the King and his church, around 100 men, women and children left their homeland, with their dream of religious freedom. They sailed on a ship, the Mayflower—on a pilgrimage to the New World.

These brave travelers—the Pilgrims—landed in Plymouth after their long six-week journey. It was December 11, 1620. The cold winter had set in. The land was strange to them, and nothing seemed familiar.

The winter was long, cold, and very hard for the Pilgrims. Luckily, Native Americans helped by supplying them with seeds and food, teaching them about their new home, and giving them the skills needed to survive in a strange, new land.

The first year in their new home was hard for the Pilgrims. Many died. With seeds and plants received from the Native Americans, the Pilgrims planted crops. The fall harvest was a good one. To celebrate their good fortune, the Pilgrims had a feast of thanksgiving.

Many foods were cooked for the feast - wild turkey, duck, and venison were probably served, along with fish, pumpkins, squash, corn, sweet potatoes, and cranberries. Captain Miles Standish, the leader of the Pilgrims invited all of the Native Americans who had helped them so much during their first year. Everyone had a good day of thanksgiving. The feast lasted for three days!

This harvest feast in 1621 is often called the "First Thanksgiving." Over the years, the day we now celebrate as Thanksgiving became an important tradition in the United States—a day of giving thanks for all that we have. In 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt made Thanksgiving a national holiday. There you have it: The Thanksgiving story for kids!

Chicago psychologist Elizabeth Lombardo told the News that the best way to manage your children’s fears is to manage your own.

“Children absorb our energy, so the more at peace you can be, the better for your children. This does not mean you need to like the president-elect. It does mean you move through the stages of mourning to acceptance.”

Lombardo recommends grounding children in realism and the present. “Fear is often caused by assumptions of what will happen, and then emotionally reacting as if those fears are imminent. Help your child focus on the here and now.”

She says that managing anxiety as a family is also important. “Help your entire family keep their stress in check. Ways to do that include deep breathing, jumping on the bed, going for a walk, dancing around to a song, spending positive time together.”

Guilt-ridden busy moms and dads take heart: Mothers – and fathers – across most Western countries are spending more time with their children than parents did in the mid-'60s, according to a University of California, Irvine study.

And time spent with kids is highest among better-educated parents – a finding that somewhat surprised study co-author Judith Treas, UC Irvine Chancellor's Professor of Sociology.

"According to economic theory, higher wages should discourage well-educated parents from foregoing work to spend extra time with youngsters," she said. "Also, they have the money to pay others to care for their children."

Treas and co-author Giulia M. Dotti Sani, a postdoctoral fellow at Collegio Carlo Alberto in Turin, Italy, found that between 1965 and 2012, all but one of 11 Western nations showed an increase in the amount of time both parents spent with their kids. The study was published online in the August issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.

In 1965, mothers spent a daily average of 54 minutes on child care activities, while moms in 2012 averaged almost twice that at 104 minutes per day. Fathers' time with children nearly quadrupled – 1965 dads spent a daily average of just 16 minutes with their kids, while today's fathers spend about 59 minutes a day caring for them.

These numbers include parents from all education levels. When the researchers broke out the 2012 data into two categories – parents with a college education versus parents without – they found quite a difference.

College-educated moms spent an estimated 123 minutes daily on child care, compared with 94 minutes spent by less educated mothers. Fathers with a college degree spent about 74 minutes a day with their kids, while less educated dads averaged 50 minutes.

Provided by: University of California, Irvine

Knowing the best course of action can be difficult when you have a child who is struggling at school. But whether their problems are academic, social or otherwise, there is always a way to give them the support they truly need.

Struggling academically:

If your child is having difficulty with their school work it’s best to step in as soon as possible and make an appointment to speak with their teacher. Ideally you’ll be able to go through your child’s school books to pinpoint the problem - and the best way to progress. Perhaps you could help your child by spending time revising or going over problem issues. Or, if your child’s teacher thinks it could help, you could invest in professional tutoring.

As well as working on any weaknesses, it’s important to spend time praising your child’s strengths and encouraging their interests. Focusing on the positive can help build their self-esteem and make them more inclined to feel capable of progressing.

Struggling socially:

Sometimes we forget that children aren’t born naturally knowing how to make friends - and our role as parents is to help guide them. Start by organising regular playdates with another child in your child’s class (preferably one at a time).

Maybe make it a regularly, weekly thing - such as ‘friendship friday’. A well-supervised playdate, with lots of activities organised to keep them busy can help friendships blossom. Offer advice on how to make friends. Sometimes children need reminding how to say hello and to ask someone if they want to play on the monkey bars at recess.

Build their resilience by reminding them that their friend mightn’t always want to play, but they should try again until they succeed.

Struggling emotionally:

Children all mature at their own pace, but sometimes children can mature emotionally at a different pace to others which can cause issues. It can help to take the time to chat with your child about their feelings, in a non-threatening way.

Many parents find it easier to chat in the car - the lack of eye-contact can often make for easier confidence sharing. Remind your child that it’s okay to be themselves, and offer plenty of love along with any guidance. If your child continues to struggle, perhaps some form of counselling could help.

Behavioural issues:

It can be tough for children to be on their best behaviour for six or so hours a day. Talk to your child about school behavioural expectations and ask them why they’re struggling. Children aren’t born knowing all the social mores, it’s our job to help guide them.

Talk to them about classroom rules such as listening, raising your hand to speak and using an indoor voice.For kids with boundless, almost uncontainable energy, it can help to organise something physical for after school - or perhaps they could ride a bike or scooter to school to release some pent-up energy.

Testing times:

If your child’s struggling it can help to have them undergo a few basic tests to ensure there’s no underlying problem.

Eye-sight and hearing should be assessed on your child. If you are worried that your child may have ADHD or another condition, it’s best to seek professional advice.

A parent’s role:

If possible, it’s always a good idea to volunteer at your child’s school. Offer to help out with reading groups, at canteen, with art. This gives you the opportunity to see your child interact in the school environment and how well she gets on with others.

Always be there are a non-judgemental and positive force for your child. While children do need to learn to solve problems, they also need to know they’ve got you to guide them and back them up along the way.School’s a learning experience, and sometimes we need to take two steps forward, and often one step back. So long as children keep moving forward, that’s the main thing.