Tusculum Church Child Care Center: September 2014

Monday, September 29, 2014

All about Sylvia!

Name: Sylvia Scarlett

Birthday: April 23, 2011

Age: 3

Who is in your family? Mommy, Daddy, dogs-Boba Fett, Vega and Ripley cats- Pele, Spike, Annabel birds- Jabuti and Jellybean

Favorite TCCC teacher: Ms. Ashanti, Ms. Lesley and Ms. Shay

What is your favorite thing at school? Seeing my friends

I want to learn more about: stars, animals, snakes and bubbles

I am good at: helping, singing and dancing

When I grow up I want to be a mommy

Favorite food: Pizza, grapes and olives

Why are you special? I am mommy and daddy’s princess

In my private practice I often see affluent families struggling with wanting to raise "grateful and unspoiled children" despite being wealthy, going on lavish vacations, having beautiful homes and owning the latest gadgets, toys and luxury cars. They ask me if it is really possible and my answer is "Yes, but you are going to have to work hard at it." I call it intentional parenting and it takes discipline to pull it off.

So, here is my list of the top 10 things around which you need to have clarity and consistent follow through in order to raise unspoiled children.

Say no...often. Practice delayed gratification and simply not always giving your children what they want, even if you can easily afford it.
Expect gratitude. Go beyond teaching your child to say please and thank you. Also teach them eye contact, a proper hand shake, affection and appreciation for the kind and generous things that are said and given to them. If this does not happen, have them return the gift (either to the person or to you for safe keeping) and explain that they aren't yet ready to receive such a gift.
Practice altruism yourself. Donate clothes and toys to those in need (not just to your neighbors when it's easy and they have younger children!) and have your kids be a part of that process. Do this regularly as a family and sort through, package and deliver the goods together so the kids really see where their things are going. Do this often and not just around the holidays.
Be mindful of the company you keep. If you only hang around other affluent families who are not raising their kids with intention, you may be surrounding yourself with those who will not help out with what you are trying to accomplish. Be sure family or friends you are spending significant time with have similar values to yours, otherwise you are going to feel defeated after a while.
Write thank you cards. Yes, handwritten on paper with a pen! Kids these days generally have shorter attention spans, are easily distracted and aren't taught to take careful time and attention to express their appreciation. This simple yet important act can go a long way as a skill to teach expression of feelings and thoughtfulness.
Don't catch every fall. Practice natural consequences from an early age — share some of your own experiences and teach them lessons such as "life is not fair." In addition, don't over-protect them from disappointments. You have to really understand and believe that failing and falling is a part successful childhood development.
Resist the urge to buy multiples of things. Just because you can doesn't mean that you should! Don't buy four American Girl Dolls—buy just one and have your child loveand appreciate what they have.
Talk to their grandparents and explain your intentions to them. Share with them your desires to have respectful, appreciative, kind and responsible children and the ways in which you are going to achieve that goal. You will need their help in doing this if they are like most grandparents who want to spoil their grandkids! Ask them to spoil them with love, time, affection and attention—not toys, treats and money.
Teach them the value of money. Have your child manage their money through saving, giving to charity/others and then spending. If you do this from an early age you are truly setting a foundation of responsible wealth management.
Share your story. Last but not least, you should tell your kids the legacy of your family's fortune. When I say wealth or fortune, that is all relative. If you come from significant wealth tell the story of how that was earned and created. If you are self-made, tell that story too—just don't forget that "giving your kids everything that you didn't have" is not always a good thing. There is probably a lot that you learned along the way by stumbling to make you the person you are today.

Stop giving in and start applying most if not all of these values and approaches. You will have greater enjoyment in being a parent, your child will be happier and better adjusted and there will be greater peace and love in your home. And that is something money cannot buy.

All about Ms. Tyffanni

All about Ms. Tyffanni!

Ms. Tyffanni is a proud mother of two terrific girls which both attend Cole Elementary.

Katlyn is 8 in second grade

Kayla is 6 in first grade.

Ms. Tyffanni was born and raised in South Central Florida but has lived in TN for a year now.

She received her GED last year and is now attending Nashcille

Applied Technology where she is studying Early Childhood Education.

She is scheduled to receiver her diploma in April 2015. She then plans to then work toward her A.S. degree also in Early Childhood Education.

Tyffanni loves working with children. She wants to give back and help hard working parents. She wants to give parents a piece of mind and less to worry about knowing their child is receiving knowledge, love and hands on experiences. She also wants to help each child at their level to set great foundations towards their future. She says, she still remembers her Pre K teacher because she made it memorial and loved the children and her job.

It warms her heart to watch children grow and learn new things.

Tyffanni finds it hard to pick just one think she enjoys doing in the classroom with the children. She loves to do art work with them, loves to watch them discover new things, build a tower bigger than the last time and see the excitement in their face and even just dancing and singing their new favorite song.

Tyffanni loves scrap booking and making hair bows for her daughters. She has a thirst for learning and loves doing math.