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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2014)
Molina helps present veterans medals in Presidents’ Day ceremony Feb. 17 was a holiday for most peo- ple, but not everyone. Sometimes dedica- tion goes beyond the 40-hour work week. For Tony Molina, Tribal veterans rep- resentative for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, dedication to the veterans is ’round the clock. Presidents’ Day found Molina present- ing Veterans of Oregon Honorable Service Medals at Lakeview Senior Living in Lincoln City, Ore. He was there with John Neuman, the originator of the Veterans of Oregon Medal Ceremony, who also created the Field of Honor (field of 1,000 full-size American flags), and Jim Reed from the Oregon Coast Veterans Association. With the assistance of Teresa Simmons, they presented serial-numbered service medals and certificates to military veterans who reside at Lakeview and family members of veterans who have walked on. Janet Shinner, community relations director at Lakeview, was responsible for initiating this honor ceremony and made arrangements for family members, rela- tives and friends to join in the celebration. There were smiles, thank yous and very few dry eyes at the conclusion of a moving ceremony for those who served to protect the rights of all of us and too often are forgotten. Courtesy photos John Neuman and Tony Molina (above) John Neuman (back row, right), Tony Molina (back row, second from right), Jim Reed (back row, third from right) and Teresa Simmons (back row, center) join residents of Lakeview Senior Living and others during the awards ceremony. Suggestions for Child Guidance (aka Discipline) By Robin Limbert, Tribal Head Start Education Coordinator There are three things that I cannot stress enough in child guidance. These are: 1. Consistency 2. Routine 3. Expectations Consistency, consistency, consistency This will be the key to guiding your child and getting the results you want. If you, the parent, are consistent with your child you will naturally set up routine and expectations, both of which your child needs, especially in early childhood. These will make your child feel safe and secure. If you are not consistent, how can you expect your child to be consistent? For example: If I tell my child to stop doing something, but then let them continue to do it, I have given the mes- sage that my child does not have to follow directions. I have not been consistent. Routine, routine, routine Setting a routine for your child will increase your child’s independence and security and will reduce confrontations between you and your child. If your child knows they have to brush their teeth and 8 • Siletz News • put on pajamas at 8 p.m. every night, they will know this is their routine. Your child is much less likely to argue with you if you have set up a routine. Big changes or changes without warning are very upsetting to children, especially in early childhood. If you can prepare your child for changes, however, you will have fewer struggles when the time comes for the change. For example: If your child usually goes to your neighbors after school, but tomor- row they will be going to grandma’s house, prepare them ahead of time. Tell them the night before and remind them again in the morning before they go to school. If you don’t have a set routine, it’s not too late. But you’ll have to be patient; it will probably take a few months for your child to learn and accept the new routine. But having a clear routine and set bound- aries for your child helps them to learn what behavior is OK and not OK. expectations, expectations, expectations With routine and consistency in mind, you need to make sure your expectations are appropriate for your child’s age and developmental stage. Remember, your child’s attention span is only 1 minute for each year of age. So, a 3-year-old will March 2014 generally only be able to stay on task for 3 minutes or sit for 3 minutes on timeout. If you ask your 3-year-old to clean up their bedroom, you’re asking too much of them. You can, however, ask them to put away five toys or offer to help them clean up. Both of these would be within their ability and you will end up getting the results you want. what about discipline? What happens when you’ve been con- sistent, you’ve set a routine and you had clear and appropriate expectations – and your child still acts out? You need to figure out what works for you and your child. For many children, spanking or timeout will not affect them. They will continue to do the behavior you’re trying to stop. Instead of increasing the amount of discipline, try something different. There must be something out there that will work for you and your child and get the results you want. If you volunteer in the classroom, you’ve probably noticed that we do not use timeout, we use choices. We will try to prevent misbehavior first by redirecting. If a child is being disruptive in one area, we will redirect them to a different activity. If the child continues to be disrup- tive, we will then give them choices. For example, “You can either go play with the blocks or you can sit at the table until you are ready to come join the group again. What is your choice?” The wonderful thing about choices is that you are really the one making the decision because you get to pick the choice. But your child feels they have the control and are independent because they get to choose between the two. (Don’t tell them, though. You have to keep this a secret or else it won’t work.) Something what works great for my children is “work jobs,” which are like chores. If my kids are acting up, I’ll assign them a work job. If they continue, I’ll give them another work job. This is something that works well for my kids. If you try work jobs, make sure they are consistent with your child’s abilities. But most importantly, find what works for you and your child. For some of you, this information may mean making big changes or you may decide these suggestions do not work for you. But I guarantee you if you are consistent, set routines and have clear and appropriate expectations, you will see huge changes in your child’s behavior and you will set a foundation for positive behavior throughout your child’s life.
