Athletics Carnival

In light of some of the weather lately we were especially blessed with a wonderful day on Friday. Thanks again Mrs McCarthy for your wonderful organisation. Thanks also to parent helpers. Your support is much appreciated.

We are hosting the Northern Region Athletics Carnival next Wednesday 19^th and we need your help especially with the canteen. It is a great fundraiser for our school.

Upcoming events

Don’t forget to get children to collect their Spellathon money –great prizes are on offer.

First Communion Mass – 22^nd & 23^rd June

School Photo day 25^th June – don’t forget your orders

School Feast Day 28^th June- there will be a note about pre-purchasing your tokens.

SELF CONTROL- Some THOUGHTS

So how do we teach it to our children?

There are two important issues to be aware of.

First, if we constantly try to influence and subtly (or explicitly) control our children they will not develop self-control. That’s because we will be in control.

Decades of research shows that being too controlling of our kids is bad for their development. They don’t become responsible. They simply wait to be controlled.

Second, demanding that a child show self-control and be responsible can sometimes be too much, too soon. We must ensure we are encouraging our children to do things that are age-appropriate. (Additionally, making such demands ironically means we’re in control rather than them, and we’re being responsible!)

To teach self-control (and impulse control/delayed gratification) to your children

1. Be a model. If you are calm, intentional, and ‘in control’ of yourself, your children will learn from your behaviour. However, if you are explosive or ‘lose control’, your children will learn the same behaviour no matter how much you ‘demand’ something better of them. If you leave mess, don’t exercise, or stare at a computer all day, the kids will follow your example.
2. Set limits. Children will be far more likely to regulate their behaviour when they understand limits, particularly if they are involved in the process (where appropriate).
3. Give responsibilities. Expect children to contribute (again in an age-appropriate way. We can’t ask four year-olds to do a perfect job mowing the lawn! But they can “help” with the dishes, tidying up, and so on). The more responsibilities they have, the more they need to develop responsibility and a sense of control.
   When they fail to live up to their responsibilities, take their tasks/chores back a notch, and then boost it again a few weeks later. Alternatively, give those responsibilities they had to another sibling, but give additional privileges to that sibling as well (while simultaneously reducing privileges for the less responsible child). Things will change pretty fast!
4. Let your children make decisions for themselves. No, I’m not suggesting open-slather. It’s not a free-for-all. But the way that children learn how to make decisions is by making decisions – not by following directions! When a decision needs to be made, talk about the ramifications of their decisions and help them think through the consequences of their choices.
5. Talk about self-control. Share this information with your children. Talk about the psychology of control. Share the ramifications (positive and negative) about self-control. It may be particularly useful to encourage your children to tell you about times when they did or did not control themselves. Have them identify the outcomes of their choices to use self-control.

Kathy Neely