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Gene Mutations

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You Influence Your Children Before They are Born

well – at least that is what Fox news reported in this story on August 22, 2012.

Scientists are reporting that the single largest factor of passing on new gene mutations to children is a father’s age. This may help explain why autism is on the rise. The study found “an average of two or more new gene mutations appeared in offspring for every year increase in father’s age- meaning the number of new mutations passed on by father’s would double every 16.5 years from puberty onwards.” This is supporting data that it’s not only about the mother’s eggs and both father and mother contribute to the disease risk.

I would WELCOME your feedback after reading this article.

  • How do you feel?
  • Do you think it is valid?
  • Should it in anyway influence your pre-parenting parenting?
  • How do you feel as a father?
  • How do you feel as a mother?

I look forward to reading your input and providing your input to others!

Katherine

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Happy day to you and those you advocate for.

Getting Ready for the School Year

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Wow!  The summer is almost over and the new 2012-2013 school year is just around the corner.

 

Here are some ideas to help you and your child get a HEAD START ON SUCCESS.

  • A week before school make sure that bedtime and wake-up time is in place to insure a happy start to everyone’s day.
  • How about a little practice on those math facts?
    • This is great to do as an activity in the car!   “Sarah, how much is 7×8?”
    • Include MIND MATH too!  “If you and I go to the store and buy 4 goldfish and we give 1 to a friend, how many fish will we have for our fishbowl?”
  • Get those hand and arm muscles ready for writing.
    • Crayola Modeling Compound is so much fun and not messy at all!
    • How about sponges in the pool?
    • Finger paint with pudding.
    • Write letters in hardened jell-o,
  • On these hot days, a trip to the library to pick up some books to read could be great fun.  Remember children learn as much from hearing you read as they do from reading themselves!
  • Make a list of school supplies.
    • For younger ones – draw pictures of what needs to be found for school.
    • For older children have them make the list and when they are shopping plan enough time that they may be able to add how much money they are spending (Sure! Round it off to the next dollar!)
  • Go through your children’s closets to weed out the “this is too small pile”.  Then talk about donating the clothes to Good Will or a shelter for children to use who are less fortunate!

Have fun and be safe. Katherine

Guidelines for Finding Quality Early Childhood Programs

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Please know that when searching for a quality environment in which your child will both grow and thrive, the school should be licensed by the state of Texas.

In addition, if you want your child to attend a preschool with the highest level of accreditation standards, search for programs accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Some of the things you will want the program to have include

  • Trained administration
  • Clear mission and/or philosophy statement
  • State licensing compliance
  • Maintaining developmentally appropriate practices throughout the daily programming and curriculum
  • Staff qualifications and educational development requirements – at least 24 hours of training each year
  • Open door policy
  • Security system in place
  • On-going program evaluation
  • Parent program evaluation conducted yearly
  • Loving and guiding interaction between faculty and children
  • Consistent and frequent interaction between parents and teachers
  • Health and safety a priority

If you need additional support, please let me know how I can help. Katherine