The Summer Slide

Can you believe summer is almost done? School will be here sooner than we know it because once again the summer has gone way too fast!  As we prepare our little ones to head back to the classroom in September, have you found that certain skills that were mastered by your children in June have begun to deteriorate? In other words, has the “summer slide” has found its way into your house?

The “summer slide” is described as the loss in learning that occurs when students are not engaged in scholastic, academically enriching activities for a prolonged period.  By the end of summer vacation, the average student loses approximately a month’s worth of learning acquired from the previous year.  And it doesn’t end there, as studies have shown the impact is cumulative. A 2007 Johns Hopkins University study found that by ninth grade, about two-thirds of the achievement gap in reading, for example, can be attributed to summer learning loss that took place in the first five years of schooling.

Nationally, there are approaches being discussed to prevent learning loss over the summer months.  However, as parents and caregivers what can we do here and now to help our children?  Today The Philadelphia Nanny Network wanted to share some ideas to help spark some creativity as we get ready for Back to School. Here are just a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing and help make summer fun also equal summer learning.  There are still precious few summer days left, here are some ideas that both parents and nannies can work on together to make the most of them:

1.       Build a family game – game building is a very creative approach to science and math.  This is a great way to develop problem-solving skills while allowing children to be innovative.  Nannies can help the children work on a plan for the game, research and get supplies.  The children and nanny can build the game together.  After nanny hours, parents and children can play the game together, and the children get to “teach” the parents how to play.

2.       Find a reading program at the local library or bookstore that can fit into the children and nanny’s daily schedule.  Visit http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/ for additional resources on summer reading that can be carried into the new school year.  Parents can ask the child about the “rose” (best) and “thorn” (worst) part of the trip and read a library book before bed.

3.       Do a project together as a family.  Summer is the perfect time to complete DIY projects around the house.  Assign each family member an age appropriate job to research and complete.  Nannies can help the children plan budgets (math), plan out measurements (math and science), colors (problem solving) and so much more.  Projects can be incorporated into a fun family project to be enjoyed throughout the year.  With parents, the children can complete the project.  Each new day, the children can give a status update to the nanny and show off the work that was done.

It takes a village, and these are just a few ways that parents and nannies can work together so that children are ready to hit the books when school starts.

Is your child ready for the upcoming school year?  If so, what did your family network do to keep the “summer slide” out of your home and in the back yard where it belongs?

Can Women Have It All?

These past few weeks, the internet has been abuzz discussing “the working mom”, as though it’s a new concept. And while the concept has existed for decades upon decades, the strong opinions surrounding the Mommy-Wars are as fresh as ever. Thanks to Anne-Marie Slaughter’s anything-but-brief article, entitled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, feminist ideas are coming under fire and maternal guilt is on the rise. Slaughter argues that, as the title suggests, women cannot have both a successful career and a successful family life. It comes down to a choice: either your career or your family can flourish, but not both. She notes that many successful career women, now in their 50s and 60s, have had to sacrifice time with their children and spouses to push against the glass ceiling; while women in their 30s and twenty-somethings are hesitant to begin a professional career because they someday want a family and have already come to the realization that they will never be able to have both. Naturally, her opinions received some opposition including many response articles. One of which, written by Jacoba Urist for Forbes Magazine, unveils the very solution to creating a manageable work-life balance. A solution that The Philadelphia Nanny Network, Inc. has been long aware of-

A really good nanny.

Urist discusses a novel idea that maybe women CAN have it all, if they just spread “it all” throughout the day. Between 6p and 8a, a woman can be a mother and raise a loving and successful family. Then from 8a-6p, she can be a lawyer, a writer or whatever her professional calling may be. And she can do all this by finding a nanny that is the right fit, an extension of her family and someone she can trust to raise her children while she is in her other role. As Urist states, “The key to a stronger family unit isn’t trying to juggle parenting and being something else. It’s about letting go and trusting the person or people who raise and educate your kids while you’re not around— and believing that your bonds with your child are strong enough to withstand your workday.”

A Good Sitter Is Hard To Find

The babysitter crisis is in full swing according to a survey conducted by the American Red Cross and many local parents interviewed by 3 CBS Philly. The survey, conducted over the last 24 months, found that parents seek responsible babysitters with references. Upon hearing this, CBS came to the source—The Philadelphia Nanny Network, Inc., Philly’s oldest domestic staffing agency. Reporter Anne-Marie Green came to the agency, located in Ardmore, to interview founder and owner, Wendy Sachs, in hopes to tap into her expertise about what makes a good babysitter and how to find one. Click here to watch the news story!

According to the survey:

• 69% say good babysitters are hard to find
• 55% stayed home because they could not find a babysitter
• 30% rejected a babysitter because of safety concerns    

In order to find vetted, experienced childcare providers, visit www.nannyagency.com or call us 610-645-6550.

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate: National Infant Immunization Week

Since 1994, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been celebrating National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). NIIW is about awareness and action in hopes that all infants can be fully immunized against the fourteen vaccine-preventable diseases. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses this week to celebrate the advancements made in both the creation of vaccinations and immunization programs. Many states and politicians are even getting in on the action, for example Governor Brownback of Kansas signed a bill to make NIIW officially recognized in the state and Illinois is even providing free vaccinations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that vaccines are one of the best health tools available to the public—they are cost effective and have a track record of success. Still, vaccines are one of the most talked about and controversial issues when it comes to keeping children healthy. Data does suggest that providing children with vaccinations is in the best interest of their health. Yet many families, especially in the West and Northwest United States believe that immunization is too dangerous and refuse to put their children at risk; many even suggest it may be a cause of autism (though that assertion has not been medially confirmed). As a result, the United States is now seeing the highest rates of whooping cough and measles that has existed in decades.

As a parent or caregiver, what are your thoughts on vaccination? Will you help to increase awareness of immunization this week? Have your children or charges been vaccinated, or alternatively, would they be if the choice was yours?

Child Labor Laws are Stupid?

Republican 2012 Presidential Candidate, Newt Gingrich, made an appearance at Harvard on Friday for a screening of his new documentary, “A City upon a Hill”, focused on American exceptionalism. Newt discussed poverty and a potential end to child labor laws stating, “It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in, first of all, child laws, which are truly stupid. Saying to people you shouldn’t go to work before you’re 14, 16. You’re totally poor, you’re in a school that’s failing with a teacher that’s failing. I tried for years to have a very simple model. These schools should get rid of unionized janitors, have one master janitor, pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work; they’d have cash; they’d have pride in the schools. They’d begin the process of rising. Go out and talk to people who are really successful in one generation. They all started their first job at 9 to 14 years of age. They are selling newspapers, going door to door, washing cars. They were all making money at a very young age. What do we say to poor kids in poor neighborhoods? Don’t do it. Remember all the stuff about not getting a hamburger-flipping job? Worst possible advice to give the poor children.”  

He went on to say, “You’re going to see from me extraordinarily radical proposals to fundamentally change the culture of poverty in America.”  This sentiment motivates his previous statement; he is trying to show voters not to expect more of the same in a time where many Americans are searching for economic reform.  But in the opinions of some, this does little to justify putting school-aged children to work.  

This statement does, however, provide many points of conversation. If a child is working short hours in the safety of their school, could that be a good thing for them? Would they learn a level of responsibility and of pride in their school and neighborhood? Would they be able to help provide a more stable and comfortable life for themselves and their families? Or is it too much too soon? Would we be robbing them of their youth? Would it cause lower rates of academic success? This is really great stuff to think about; maybe Gingrich is on to something.  He may not always say things with diplomacy and grace, but he throws out real food for thought. The only thing that’s certain is that Gingrich has opened Pandora’s box and no one has heard the last of this conversation.