On the Horizon – 03/15/2011

Horizons Developmental Remediation Center
On the Horizon
On the Horizon

Welcome to “On the Horizon”

Issue 140: Raising Responsible and Respectable Children

On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

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In This Issue

Fun Ideas

A Note from Nicole: Heading Toward Spring

Idea of the Week:  Ants on a Log

Feature Article: Raising Responsible and Respectable Children

The Horizons Team Recommends: Parent Success Cards

Allergen-Free Recipe of the Week: Apple Rice Pudding

Upcoming Events: Workshops/Conferences

A Note From Nicole
Nicole Beurkens

Hi Everyone,

I’m sitting at my desk enjoying a delicious World Peace cookie one of my clients baked for me.  It’s pure chocolate deliciousness, and I can see why the theory about these cookies is that if everyone ate one there would be world peace.  It certainly makes for a lovely start to the afternoon!

We’re heading toward Spring, and if your kids are like mine, cabin fever set in a while ago!  In her featured article this week, Michelle shares some thoughts and strategies about raising children to be responsible and respectable.  In these days toward the end of winter when kids are tearing their own and each other’s hair out, this article provides some necessary reminders for us all!

This Thursday I will be doing a seminar for parents titled “End the Mealtime Madness: Feeding Strategies for Picky Eaters.”  If you’re in the West Michigan area and would like to attend, please register online at www.SimpleSolutionsSeminar.com. We are working on a way to make these seminars available to those of you who are not local to our clinic – stay tuned. .

Make it a great week!

Looking to the horizon,

Idea of the Week

Ants on a Log

Have fun with our hands

Prepare celery by cutting it to a desired length. Help your child spread peanut butter on celery, and then give your child raisins to place on the peanut butter.

Feature Article
Are you comfortable?

Raising Responsible and Respectable Children

By: Michelle VanderHeide, BSW

If anybody says that parenting is easy, they must not have kids! As a parent of three wonderful children, I have found that each one needs to be parented differently. One child needs to be held often, one needs opportunities to talk, and the other thrives on quality time. One is strong willed, another is a people pleaser, and the other is just busy! I’ve read many books, listened to several books on tape, and watched my fair share of DVD’s about different approaches to parenting; but a few things consistently resurface as important strategies when raising responsible and respectable children. These strategies work, because they’re not about the children, they’re about you – the parent. The first thing to do is write down the areas that you want to work on with your child. Speaking disrespectfully, hitting, potty training, walking off while you are talking, and homework issues are just a few of the problem areas you may be facing. Pick one thing to work on at a time, so as not to overwhelm yourself. I’ll use resistance to come in from outside as an example for this article. Once you’ve picked your battle, put your boxing gloves on and follow the guidelines below.

Remain Calm: One of the easiest parenting mistakes is allowing yourself to get upset. Once you are angry, you have given your child control and now need a parent to calm you down. The best way to have control is to remain calm; so take a deep breath, take a timeout for yourself if needed, then return to your child and talk calmly and respectfully to him/her – when you are both ready.

Read more …

The Horizons Team Recommends
Parent Success Cards

Parent Success Cards

For CORE Approach Program families, these cards provide reminders of the main principles of CORE Approach such as the importance of experience sharing, guiding, slowing down, staying focused on the marathon, finding small moments for remediation, and much more. You will find them an invaluable source of inspiration and guidance as you focus on remediation.

Set of 50 heavyweight full-color cards in a sturdy box with lid – $24.95

Purchase the set or view more samples here

NEW! Allergen-Free Recipe of the Week

Apple Rice Pudding

(Recipe from Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids by Leslie Hammond and Lynne Marie Rominger. Page 222)

Whether you have just started a special diet with your child or you have been following one for years, it can be difficult to come up with what to serve. We decided to try to make that just a bit easier by providing you with a new allergen free recipe each week. While it is impossible to meet every person’s unique food sensitivity needs, we hope you will find these recipes helpful and delicious. Please feel free to adapt the recipes to meet your needs and taste buds; we do it all the time. In addition to the weekly recipes, we will be highlighting a specific allergen free product of the month. Enjoy!

French ToastApple Rice Pudding

This is very rich, creamy, and delicious. Best of all, this is great whether served warm or cold.

  • 3 cups (710 ml) alternative milk beverage, divided
  • 2 cups (475 ml) water
  • 1 cup (200 g) short-grain white rice

Get the recipe …

Upcoming Events

Please join us!

  • Teleseminar
    Sleep Issues and Strategies with Nicole
    (Horizons Families Only)
    Thursday March 17th 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  • Simple Solutions Seminar
    “End the Mealtime Madness: Feeding Strategies for Picky Eaters”
    (Open to Everyone)
    March 17th at Horizons from 7:00 – 8:30 PM
  • Autism Society of Wisconsin Annual Conference

    Nicole will be presenting

    April 14th – 16th

  • Teleseminar
    Carschooling Ideas and Resources for Learning while in the Car
    Guest: Diane Flynn Keith
    (Horizons Families Only)
    Thursday April 21 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  • Simple Solutions Seminar
    How to Set Limits Without Losing Your Mind
    (Open to Everyone)
    April 21st at Horizons from 7:00 – 8:30 PM

On the Horizon
is a weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child¹s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

Our mailing address is:

Horizons Developmental Remediation Center

3120 68th Street SE

Caledonia, MI  49316

Our telephone:

(616) 698-0306

Our email address:

info@horizonsdrc.com

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