My research on Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Theory

The family is the main core stimuli for the growth and development of the children. The teachers are capable of and are committed to provide excellent educational climates for young children, but still they do not have responsibility for each child throughout the child's entire life. Though the teachers' functions are similar to parents' function, but the parents are more capable of providing for the physical and psychological needs of a child.

In Urie Bronfenbrenner's (1979) bioelogical theory, it provides substantial support for upholding practices of involving families in early care and education. He has provided details about environmental systems that take our understanding beyond the effect of the immediate environment of children's behaviour and development. He poses five environmental systems namely Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem and Chronosystem.

Microsystem is the setting in which the individual lives or the near environment. This included the home, school and community.

Mesosystem is definded as the relationships between contexts in the microsystem. The relationshop or the connection between two forms of microsystem actually influences children's behaviour and development.

Exosystem is a system removed from direct access of the individual and has an indirect rather than direct effect on her. Examples include parental work sites, extended family and mass media.

Macrosystem is the culture in which an individual lives. Values and belief of a culture or subculture affect children and families.

Chronosystem is the time of the sociohistorical context. The era in which one lives her life affect behavior and development (Couchenour and Chrisman, 2000, pp.7-8).

Bronfenbrenner's Bilogical Theory, therefore, informs teachers that differences in children's microsystem will account for differences provided to children by their families is directly driven by the family's identification with race, culture and ethnicity. Other factors that influence the microsystem include economics, gender, religion and geographical region of residence.

References:
* Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

* Couchenour, D. and Chrisman, K (2000), pp.7-8. Families, Schools and Communities Together for Young Children. USA: Delmar.

My research on "The Importance of Families in Children's Lives"

"It takes a village to raise a child."

This African proverb caused an ideological debate during the course of the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign which should never have happened. But to the professionals who work with young children are well aware that children need both families and communities, as much as, families and communities need children.

Healthy communities rely on families to perform a variety of functions for their children (Couchenour, Ph.D., and Chrisman, Ed., 2000, pp. 4-5). But when families cannot do or perform their function, cases are communities fill the lack for the good of the children.

That is why, early childhood teachers have always known that frequent, effective communication with families is needed in the provision of quality care and education of the youngest children. "The emphasis on parents in the settlement house movement of the 1880s, the nursery movement of the 1920s, and the early intervention movement of the 1960s is exemplary of the parent participation tradition in early childhood education (Powell, 1989, p.1). The traditional use of teachers form of communication such as newsletters and conferences as well as the use of interactive journals and portfolio are effective strategies for parent-teacher involvement in the performance of the children in school.

The concern for continuity of children's experience is widely held as a rationale for positive and sustained relationships between early childhood teachers and family members (Powell, 1989) though little research exists to record or document this as an absolute and it offers substantial support for the importance of continuity in young children's lives (Couchenour, Chrisman, 2000, p.5).

Thus, the best way to provide continuity in early childhood education is to develop strong home-school bonds.

References:
Powell, D. (1989). Families and early childhood education. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Chrisman, Kent, Ed. & Couchenour, Donna, Ph.D., (2000). Families, Schools and Communities Together for Yong Children. NY, USA: Delmar.

Dealing with toddler's fear of unexpected noises.

Vacuum cleaner, sirens, an airplane flying overhead, thunder, passing ambulance - there same loud sounds seem strange to your toddler.

"Let your child turn the vacuum cleaner on and off or push the buttons on the dishwasher," says Dr. Lindsa Acredolo, Ph.D., co-author of Baby Hearts: A Guide to Giving Your Child an Emotional Head Start. Research shows that when kids have control of something that scares them, they become less fearful of it. Moreover, for noises like thunder or a passing ambulance, it's important that you act calm and even show pleasure at hearing the sound, Dr. Acredolo added. Parents' responding with a happy face and reassuring words are slues on how to react to things toddlers' don't understand.

Dealing with toddler's fear of animals.

Animals are man's best friends but for kids, they are life-threatening. Boosting your kid's confidence to love pets or animals is your initial step to cast away that kid's animal-fear factor.

Familiarize him with animals through books, puppets and other toys or take him to the zoo or pet store to watch them from a safe distance. On the other hand, if he seems anxious, give role-playing a try. "This will help your child to gradually gain confidence around animals," says Harvey Karp, M.D., creator of the DVD The Happiest Toddler on the Block. But remember to respect his fear and don't push him to do more than he's ready for.

Reading to your toddler.

Reading to your child at an early age improves her memory and attention span. When you read, you are teaching her about the sounds and the structure of language, and helping expand her vocabulary as well. Research shows that the love of books is the number-one determinant of future academic success. And thus, it is therefore the task of the parents to foster kids love of books as education always starts at home.

For toddlers, reading sparks their imagination, satisfies their curiosity and makes them feel at ease about new experiences. The more types of books your child is exposed to, the more he will learn. That is why, parents should set aside regular times to read together everyday. On the other hand, not all books are appropriate for toddlers. Looks for titles that reflect your child's everyday experiences. Mostly, toddlers between 12 and 18 months tend to like books that ask questions or future simple rhymes while those closer to age 2 can appreciate more complex rhyme schemes and story lines that involve basic emotions, like anger and happiness. Oftentimes too, pull out several books at a time and let your child pock one or two to read. He will be more excited if he's actively involved in the decision. Furthermore, you will not only be teaching her the basic mechanics of reading, but you'll also be enriching her mind if you give your child a chance to hold the book and show her how to turn the pages.

Since toddlers are easily distracted, pick a quiet, comfortable spot for reading - and a time when you don't feel rushed. Make sure your older kids and spouse know they should not interrupt you. In order to hold your child's attention when you start to read him books, dramatize the story by raising and lowering your volume, varying the pace and creating a unique voice fro each character. Or you can mix it up by having your spouse read it with you. Don't be surprised if your child wants to read the same book over and over again. They learn through repetition. So there is no choice instead to bear with it, and try to add in a new book between readings of her current favorite. And thus, if your child quickly loses patience with reading, experiment with different kinds of books to see what he likes. If he gets antsy, take a break or try reading him just before naps or bedtime, when he will be most receptive to sitting and listening. With a little persistence and ingenuity, you will teach him that books are fun. Or you might as well travel him to visit the kid's library to give her the chance to see other little readers enjoying themselves in reading books. In this way, he will have the chance to love reading books.

Thus, instilling the proper nourishment of your toddler with good books is a good attitude that will fruitfully serve him well now and in the future. And parents should start the stimulus.

Let's volunteer.

Through volunteering, your child will learn an important lesson about helping others. But it's always hard to find time. Probably, the easiest way to make it a priority is to get your child involved. If you don't have a favorite charity or cause, you can collect canned goods or clothes for a local group or shelter, make cookies for a bake sale, pick up litter in your neighborhood park or playground, set up a lemonade stand to benefit troops or a local hospital, for the next birthday party, asks for donations instead of gifts, or donate a few or her old toys together before the celebration, do yard work, go grocery shopping, or bring the garbage cans in from the curb for an elderly neighbor, hand out flyers or stuff and stamp envelopes for an event in your area, collect books for your local library's book drive or raise money to fight a disease that's affected a family member or friend.

Volunteering makes impossible things possible and the difference starts with YOU.

How to make friends.

Friends make our world colorful. But how does our kid build friendship in school and how we, parents should handle the relationship that our child chooses.

Pamela Brill, writer of Making Friends (article) of Parents magazine (2008) shares these vital friendship information.

"During in the preschool years, children begin to develop the social skills that are necessary to form friendships," says Nancy Hertzog, Ph.D, author of Ready for Preschool. "About this time, your job shifts from providing a playmate to helping foster the relationships that you r child chooses." On the other hand, here are some suggestions she shared:

Respect your kid's feelings.

"Parents shouldn't impose their wishes for playmates on their children. Friends aren't interchangeable," says Marsha Weinraub, Ph.D., director of the personality and social development research laboratory at Temple University, in Philadelphia. But if your child plays to someone totally inappropriate - like a kid you know is a bully - it's fine to discourage that.

Get pals together.

"School and organized activities are focused more on doing things as a group than on developing individual relationships," says Theresa Kellam, Ph. D., a family counselor in Arlington, Texas and author of The Parent Survival Guide. "It's important for children to be along together so they can play without adult interference." Play dates with two kids are best than threesome which often leads to competition for one child's attention during preschool.

Let your child be the host.

If your child's friend is coming over to your house, resist the temptation to organize the activities yourself. Have a talk before hand about games that he and his friend might play. Be sure to ask him to keep in mind what his friend like to do as well as his own favorite games. If he has a special toy he doesn't like to share, it makes sense to put it away fro the afternoon. Let your child select a healthy snack for the play date and encourage him to open the front door to welcome his guest.

Give him some space.

During a play date, parents job is to set out any necessary supplies, serve the snack that your child picked, and hover nearby to make sure the kids stay safe. If a battle breaks out, give them time to resolve their conflict. Offer to act as a mediator if they reach a stalemate. Furthermore, don't rush to your child's rescue if her friend is being bossy. And if your child is the one who's overbearing, don't call her on it when her friend is around. Instead talk about it with her afterward.

Don't overdo it.

Limit play dates for preschoolers to about two hours - and fill your guests in on the time frame beforehand. After that, kids start to lose interest. "Think about it: Once you spend a couple of hours with someone, you're usually ready to move on too," say Dr. Weinraub. "Rather than burning out on each other, you want the kids to look forward to getting together in the future."