Building motor skills

Radio Commentary

            Children’s work is play. Much is learned through simple games and activities.

In fact, play is important in helping children build basic motor skills like running, jumping, throwing, and catching.

            Play helps build muscles and aerobic capacity in young bodies. It allows children to release energy and tensions. Play also teaches social skills. It can increase self-esteem, help strengthen and build attention spans, and improve physical coordination.

            To help your child develop basic motor skills during playtime you might consider the following activities:

            Use bright, colorful balls when playing ball games because these are easy for children’s eyes to follow.

It helps keep their attention and makes it easier for their eyes to follow the motion.

            Use slow, consistent pitches when tossing to your child. Practice makes perfect—for them and for you!

            Practice the same skill in different ways to keep your child interested. Run races today. Play tag tomorrow. The skills are the same but the game seems very different. This helps prevent boredom or distraction.

            Give brief instructions that are easy to follow, like “watch the ball.” Long-winded explanations about why it’s important to watch the ball can lead a child’s mind to wander.

            Remember that children tire easily, so keep periods of vigorous activity short. It’s always better when children are young to try to schedule several short activities rather than one long one.

It helps keep you fresh as well.

I Madonnari

Radio Commentary

           The plaza of the Old Mission will again come to colorful life when Santa Barbara’s Italian Street Painting festival is celebrated over Memorial Day weekend, May 25 to 27.

I Madonnari, part Renaissance fair, part performance art, and one of Santa Barbara's most popular open-air festivals, will once again transform the piazza at the Mission over Memorial Day Weekend.

            My office sponsors the program, run through our Children’s Creative Project, as a continuing means of fostering art education and expression for young and old alike.

            It is also a major fund-raiser for the Children’s Creative Project.

The Project uses professional artists-in-residence to provide quality arts instruction in the visual and performing arts.

They also sponsor professional performing arts groups to come to Santa Barbara to work with our school children.

These performers reach some 40,000 children in scores of elementary schools.

The Children’s Creative Project is more essential than ever as more and more school districts are forced to cut arts offerings from their budgets. Every dollar raised is used to support visual and performing arts instruction in our schools.

            At the I Madonnari festival, pavement squares sponsored by businesses and organizations are made available for local artists, architects, and school children.

            Don’t miss out on this local tradition, starting May 25 at the Santa Barbara Mission.

Verbal, nonverbal message

Radio Commentary

Communication has two parts, verbal and nonverbal. Both aspects convey vital information to the listener.

Verbal, of course, is the portion that is actually spoken out loud. It is the words used and how they are put together.

Nonverbal communication is the portion that does not use words — it includes facial expressions, tone of voice, eye contact, posture, hand movements, and other indications of meaning, whether intended or not. 

For this reason, it’s important to be very aware of what tone of voice you are using when you speak to your children.  

Often it’s not what you say but how you say it that conveys your underlying message.    

Children are particularly good at picking up on these cues, especially with their parents. 

Pay attention to how loudly, softly, quickly, or slowly you speak.  

Remember that you also communicate with eye contact and facial expression.  

If you are looking away it can signal that you are either preoccupied or not being completely direct.  

Saying something too quickly, or too sharply, can undermine a conciliatory message.

Be sure that all your messages are consistent, in word and expression.

Drug advice

Radio Commentary

             The Partnership for a Drug-Free America provided good suggestions for parents to help their children stay off drugs.

The ideas deserve parents’ consideration.

For example, parents were urged to make sure the information they offer fits their children’s age and cognitive level.

When a six or seven-year-old is brushing his teeth, parents can say, “There are lots of things we need to do to keep our bodies strong and healthy, like brushing our teeth. But there are also some things we shouldn’t do because they can hurt our bodies, like smoking or taking medicine when we are not sick.”

An eight-year-old can understand a simple lesson about specific drugs, like marijuana or alcohol.

If marijuana is mentioned on TV, take advantage of the chance to ask your child if he knows what it is. Say it’s a bad drug that can hurt your body.

If your child has more questions, answer them. If not, let it go. Short, simple comments, repeated often enough, will get the message across.

For older children, you can add more details. Explain to a 10 to 12-year-old what marijuana and crack look like, their street names, and how they can affect the body.

Don’t be afraid to talk tough. Cocaine, crack, heroin and meth are very dangerous and illegal drugs that can kill a user, sometimes if taken only once. Say so.

Decrease in biking

Radio Commentary

            Just a few generations ago, in the 1950s and 60s, half of all children bicycled or walked to school. Today, only one in 10 does so.

In fact, even among school-age children who live within two miles of school, only about two percent ride bicycles to get there. These figures have implications for health, fitness, and safety.

The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition cites several major reasons for the decline:

•     As we widened roads for cars, we decreased safety for bikers and walkers, leading to a lack of area for children to walk and bike safely.

•     Excessive media stories about the dangers of child abductions, gun violence, drugs, and other real-but-overblown-concerns add to a sense of danger and worry for parents. The truth is that automobiles are by far a bigger threat to children than all these other potential threats combined.

•     With both parents working, for longer hours, many try to compensate through the perceived ‘gift’ of driving children around.

These changes have contributed to increased rates of obesity among young people.

They have also helped foster a loss of independence that comes from bicycling.

            As was the case with recycling and smoking, it will take shifts of awareness and attitude to change the current condition. We should all try to help.