As parents committed to the positive parenting approach, many of you will try such techniques out with adults. You may even go as far as using the strategies that work with your children in the workplace. Things like setting clear expectations, using active listening, and definitely regulating emotions. The last thing you want is a workplace relationship analogous to an uninvolved parenting style.

Along those same lines positive parents tend to be inclusive in the workplace. It is a natural outcome of being respectful of others and valuing different opinions when brainstorming, working on a project, or getting to know someone personally. Even the field of positive parenting itself has recently recognized the need for inclusion beyond mothers and children to include fathers, grandparents, and all caregivers. So what if you find that your workplace is not very positive and lacks sensitivity, diversity, and inclusion? them the forum to see diversity and potentially hurtful comments from a different lens.

Starting a Diversity Council

Consider joining your company’s or organization’s diversity council if one exists. If not, see if you can get a group of diverse employees together that see the value in the council and start one. There are guides you can use to get started from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Diversity and Inclusion Training

Another important step in establishing the culture and working environment you seek is starting with diversity training or building on the awareness or sensitivity training that was already initiated. Training is involved in the process to introduce key ideas around respect and the importance of using respectful communication practices. In person training is almost always the most engaging and effective.

Remember nearly all employees are teachable. As long as they are willing to listen and learn, there is hope. Also, diversity training is not something that is intrusive. Great diversity trainers present the courses in a way that engages the employees and gives

Online Training Webinars

Blended solutions are also an option and can have great outcomes. These options include webinars, presentations, and online training. Assuming leadership and managers get on board in sponsoring such programs, the opportunity for success is vast. Companies such as Diversity Builder, Inc. are established in leading successful diversity and sensitivity training programs that set up effective accountability systems within companies and teams.

Diversity Consulting

Following the training, the trainers should meet with the managers and human resources leaders to assess progress and establish next steps. It is definitely an ongoing process. This can involve additional facilitation with the management team to equip them with leading their teams in this effort. It may also take the form of one-on-one coaching of managers or employees who may be struggling with the program or in violation of the code of conduct for inappropriate behavior or communication. Things to consider include a review of the mission statement and values of the organization. Does your company have a diversity statement? Is the harassment prevention policy up-to-date? Does it use inclusive language and have bystander intervention support? These are important factors to consider as your company embarks on the journey of embracing and promoting diversity and inclusion.

Would you like more joy and self-trust with just 5 minutes a day for yourself and your family?  I’ll show you how.

There are many studies connecting low self-esteem to suicide. This is the number 3 cause of death of people under 25.

A recent study led by James C. Overholser, Ph. D from the Psychology in Cleveland, Ohio, set out to examine the direct relationship between suicidal tendencies and self-esteem. The conclusion made was not a surprising one: low self-esteem is very closely related to feelings of hopelessness, depression, and suicidal ideation.

Louise Hay wrote and spoke about using a mirror to help you find and trust your self worth. I used her concepts in the first of my Anessa’s Series, Anessa’s Gift.

Spoofing, a national past-time, of this honored method for connecting with true guidance and trusting that you have self-worth only proves how valuable it is.

In the book, Anessa receives a mirror on her eleventh birthday from her grandmother. She is taught to look into it each morning and do the three steps of mirror magic:

• Tell the “you” in the mirror “I love you”.
• Tell the “you” in the mirror at least five wonderful things that you are or would like to be.
• Ask “What can I do today to make you happy?”

When my older granddaughter turned eleven. I was privileged to give her her own “magic mirror”.

On her birthday I explained the whole concept and she did it with her mom (in person) and me (on the phone).. Of course there were giggles and encouragement. And there was great success.

She continued the practice each day. Her mom notices that when her daughter does her “Mirror Magic” she is happier, more emotionally stable, and less likely to argue with her sister. My granddaughter notices that on the days she remembers to do the “mirror magic” it is a much better day.

I’m inspired that the magic of my book is having a positive impact on my daughter and granddaughter.

Would you like to support your children, grandchildren, and friends with self-trust and joy?Anessa’s Gift can help you do that. You can get the novel at Amazon.com and start your own magic. I’d be glad to help you and your family with their own process as well.

 Margot Hawk is a parent coach and can be reached for personal session at parentcoaching.org

. http://www.amazon.com/Anessas-Gift-Margot-Penny-Hawk/dp/074142570X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1461596387&sr=8-1

One of the most stressful times in any parent’s life is bedtime (second only to waking-up-and-getting-out-the-door time). Is it too much to ask if a child will just peacefully go to bed and go to sleep when the clock tells them to? Well… yes.

Our bodies are naturally programmed to go to sleep after a number of hours of activity. The active hours are 2 to 4 for newborns, and grow to anywhere to 6 to 10 hours by the time they are a year old. They seem to max out at about 16 hours in adulthood and start to decrease again as we enter old age.

So, if our bodies are naturally sleepy, why can’t our children just fall to sleep? Unfortunately, their systems are hard-wired for safety. A child left alone in the wild is a child in danger. So, an infant will cry when it is left alone. Children who are left to “cry-it-out” sometimes become more fearful and clingy as they grow. Children who grow up sleeping with their parents are sometimes more secure in their attachment and have an easier time separating from their parents as they grow.

Older children resist bedtime, because they want to keep on being active and having fun. They may feel like parents have a party once the children are in bed, and they don’t want to miss out. They also associate later bedtimes with growing up, and they want to hurry the process along.

Sample Bedtime Routine

The key to a successful bedtime routine is the word “routine”. Every bedtime should be virtually the same. However, the routine will vary widely from house to house. What works in one family may not go so well in another one. Here is a sample bedtime routine:

• 2 hours before sleep: Give the half-hour warning: “It’s time to pick up our toys and get ready for bed.” Join in with the children in their clean up. Make a game out of it – set a time for 3 minutes and see if you can get the blocks in their bin before the timer goes off. Set the timer again for another toy set.
• 1 ½ hours before sleep: Brush Teeth (adults and children together) while the bath water is running. Then have the children take a nice warm bath.
• 1 hour before sleep: Read books. Have a pre-determined number of books to read so that the children do not beg for additional books. Make sure the books are conducive to sleep. (No action-packed thrillers.) Practice using a monotonous, drowsy voice as you read.
• ½ hour before sleep: Climb into bed with them and cuddle. Talk about their day (continuing to use your drowsy voice). If it is your custom, say a prayer thanking God for all their blessings. Turn on music or an audio book to help relax and calm your child. If possible, stay with them until they fall naturally to sleep.

What Time Should They Go to Bed?

This is a difficult question, because it is different for every child. The best way to establish a good bedtime is to have a set waking up time. Get up at the same time every morning, and notice when the child becomes sleepy. Some children can stay awake until 9:00 and still wake up at 6:30 naturally. Other children need an earlier bedtime to be functional at that time of the morning.

And here is the bad news: It is healthiest for everyone concerned if you stick to the same wake-up time, even on weekends and holidays. This is not to say you NEVER get to sleep in, but your natural circadian rhythms have a harder time when you change times often.

And What About Adult Time?

The good news is that most children do sleep longer than adults do. But only an hour or two. It is very important that you continue to have bonding time with your spouse or partner, if you have one. It is also necessary that we all have some “alone” time during the day. But recognize that these times are hard to come by with small children, so treasure them when they happen. Try not to use up this valuable time with mindless activity like television, or stimulating activity like housework or laundry. Studies have shown that probably the worst thing you can do for restful sleep is to watch television news right before bed. Instead, read a book, cuddle with a partner to talk about your day, or just relax with an adult beverage as you listen to the night sounds.

Naturally, this all sounds great, but will it work in real life? Maybe, maybe not. As I said earlier, what works in one family will not work in another. What works one day may not work in another. But the key is in setting a routine and allowing enough time to see it through. And following a routine when possible will help the whole family develop healthy sleep habits.

Linda Ray Miller is a Parent Coach based in Nashville, TN.

Working moms often get pegged as having guilt over working instead of staying home with their children. However according to a study by Harvard Business School, children of working moms are more likely to be employed, hold supervisor positions, and earn higher wages than those of stay-at-home moms. Moms in general want their children to be successful and healthy, but working moms also must deal with the added stress of trying to balance out their careers with raising children. However,many working mothers fail to realize that the real key to balance is learning to cut down on your own responsibilities in order to have a rewarding career and home life.

1.         Learn to Let Go of Guilt – The guilt of not being able to spend time with their children can often overwhelm working mothers. However, focusing more on what you do provide for your children over what you are not providing can help ease the feeling of guilt. Although it may not be easy at first, learning to concentrate on what working can provide for your children can help overcome feeling guilty. Long hours at work can be difficult to get through but knowing that your hard work is helping to provide your children with opportunities such as a good education,opportunities for learning outside of school such as extracurriculars or tutoring, trips to educational sites, and other educational services can make all the time spent worth it.
2.         Flexibility Is In –  Another way to help ease the guilt of working instead of spending time with your children is to change to a more flexible schedule. Too often working mothers forget that they do have options when it comes to the hours they work. Never think you are not allowed to ask for a more flexible schedule that could benefit not only your family life but also your work ethic. Long working hours are strain not just for you, but also for your family.
3.         Prioritize Goals – A flexible schedule does mean learning to prioritize short-term goals versus long-term goals. Goal-setting can help you see if a more flexible schedule is feasible to accomplish what you set out to do. Coming up with goal plans also can help you learn to prioritize what tasks are important to get done while working and what can be held off in order to lessen your work hours. Cutting back on hours at work does not mean getting behind on deadlines, instead it is about learning to prioritize and be more productive. In fact, most mothers who cut back at work end up happier not just with their family lives but also with their careers.
   
4. Make Time For Yourself – Above all an important way to keep yourself sane while working and raising children is to make time for yourself. Part of teaching your children balance is to teach them to take care of themselves both physically and mentally. This might seem simple enough but remember making time for yourself means asking your children and spouse to leave you alone for some time. It also means learning to disconnect from your work phone or email. This can be difficult as we tend to always be on “auto mode” when it comes to work and family routines. However, remember you cannot be an effective parent or be mindful of how well your child is doing in school if you are always tense or cranky. Giving yourself time to recharge is essential and also shows your child the importance of mental health as well as how to let go of stress.
5.   Set Up a Schedule – Setting up a schedule for yourself might seem like an obvious task but going as far to even schedule “me-time” can help you with prioritizing. When you schedule personal life tasks such as going to the movies with your kids or playtime can make family time a priority. You are more likely to stick to and be present in the moment when you have set it as an event.

Working moms might sometimes feel guilty for not being able to spend more time with their children. However, their dedication to their careers and family can help teach their children important life skills that can help them be successful in their own lives. Being a parent is often all about being a balancing act.

Amy Williams

When you consider that a mere one-quarter of public high school graduates in the United States possess the necessary skills to do well academically during post-secondary studies, it becomes more apparent that different learning models are needed to meet the needs of different students.

Competency-based and personalized learning are two popular models that can be used in the classroom, and both can facilitate learning. While an obsession with standards can potentially snuff out the love of learning, competency-based and personalized learning can have a positive impact when teachers use them to customize programs to meet the specific needs of students.

What follows is an overview of competency-based and personalized learning, a comparison and contrast of these two popular learning models, and a look at what these two models mean for teachers and administrators.

Competency-Based Learning

The traditional school format usually requires students to complete course requirements within a set time frame, and their grades are supposed to reflect their performance during the semester or course. However, with competency-based training, students, rather than being graded for how much actual time they spend in the classroom, are rewarded for the skills they obtain. The key thing is that it focuses on ensuring that all students gain a thorough understanding of the subject matter. Students who do not usually do well in a more structured learning environment, may thrive as they get to learn at their own pace. In fact, the set-you-own pace nature of competency-based learning lends itself to students who choose to study online rather than in an actual classroom.

Personalized Learning

Personalized learning is very much student-centric in that it is tailored to meet the specific needs of students’ strengths, personal interests, and requirements. The curriculum in such a learning model factors into the equation things like the students’ existing knowledge base, abilities, and skills as well as establishes high expectations and encourages students to achieve their personal objectives. With personalized learning, the goal is to have students advance once they’ve shown an extensive knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.

Compare & Contrast

There are numerous points to look at when comparing and contrasting competency-based and personalized learning. Some of the more notable points are as follows:

Transition: Both models provide a way to help students move away from a curriculum that places emphasis on time spent in a class to a curriculum that favors the sort of flexibility that helps students to move forward either by showing mastery of the subject matter or by selecting a learning path most conducive to their needs.
Academic Focus: With competency-based learning, the focus is on allowing students to progress only after they’ve demonstrated thorough understanding of the subject matter. With personalized learning, the focus is on using students’ learning style to create personalized learning programs using specifically selected assignments, material, and projects.
Technology: Both of these learning models are most effective when used in combination with technology solutions that permit teachers to augment their curriculum. In this digital age, classrooms can be equipped with mobile devices, broadband Internet access, smartboards, and more, and these tools can both facilitate students’ learning experience and permit teachers to meet the varied needs of students.

What it Means for Teachers and Administrators

Teachers can employ competency-based and personalized learning methods to accomplish their mandate to instruct students. The following Q&A will shed light on how teachers and administrators can benefit:

Q: Han can teachers use either competency-based or personalized learning in existing classrooms?

A: One of the benefits for teachers who want to make use of competency-based and personalized learning for their students is that the process does not necessarily require an overhaul of what they already have in place. Rather, they can use competency-based and personalized learning strategies in order to customize their existing curriculum or program after reflecting on the various needs of the students in their class. As was mentioned previously, technology available during his digital age — mobile devices, smartboards, and high-speed Internet — are tools that teachers can use to meet the various needs of the students in their classrooms.
Q: What’s the incentive for overworked teachers or administrators to implement something new?
The incentive for teachers or administrators to implement something new is that going this route will help them to achieve positive student outcomes — and it will help teachers and administrators to accomplish this objective more ably than would be the case with an inflexible curriculum. Put another way, even though an investment in technology may be required, the effort to implement something new would give teachers better opportunities to meet the needs of students, which would likely lead to better academic outcomes for students.

Q: If a teacher wanted to do this, how would he or she go about it?

A: There are various steps that can be taken to implement competency-based and personalized learning. The following are some of the general steps that should be taken:

1. Administrators and teachers need to be on board and to take responsibility for the program in terms of development and rollout.

2. Teachers should conduct assessments to determine which students need competency-based or personalized learning options.

3. Teachers need to figure out how to implement these models into their existing curriculums so that the students who need competency-based or personalized learning options can get it.

4. Administrators and teachers need to explain to students and their parents about the different learning models and about how they will help students to do better academically.

5. Assessments need to be performed post-rollout to ensure that the desired student outcomes are being achieved and that the curriculums are meeting the needs of those being taught.

The traditional curriculum has proven to be insufficient at helping many students to acquire the skills they need going forward after high school. Competency-based and personalized learning are useful learning models that be used to customize programs to facilitate the education process.

Author Bio: Amy Williams is a free-lance journalist based in Southern California and mother of two. As a parent, she enjoys spreading the word on positive parenting techniques in the digital age and raising awareness on issues like cyberbullying and online safety.

Amy Williams