Parent-Teacher Communication is the Core of a Child’s Success at School

For most classroom teachers besides preparing engaging lessons and activities, there is one very important thing they had to prepare during each upcoming school year. And yes — you guessed it — better communication and collaboration with parents. Sure a lot of teachers do everything they can to strengthen the parent-teacher communication, plenty of them admit that they’ve failed at establishing an effective strategy for communicating with parents.

That’s not to say they didn’t try. Teachers have said that they did have the right goals and intentions — heck some even came up with the perfect method, but at the end of the day many of them didn’t have a clear vision for what an effective communication would look like.

A Strong and Positive Parent-Teacher Communication Is Necessary

A positive and effective relationship between parents and teachers is imperative for the best interest of the students. Strong parent-teacher communication throughout the year is essential for the student’s overall academic success and well-being.

Furthermore, it helps teachers and parents to work together to support a student’s learning and success. Parents can provide teachers with insights about his or her children especially the strengths and weaknesses, which the teachers can utilize to form better relationship and communication with the student.

There have been many reports that reiterate that children whose parents actively participate in their education have a better chance to excel in school.

Here are three steps for teachers to establish an effective and positive parent-teacher communication:

Be Transparent and Determined

Today we live and work in a world surrounded by technology and where information is available and accessible to anyone. Many school districts allow parents to access assessment portals online where they can look up their kids’ data profiles, report cards, and even see their grade books get updated in real-time.

This is extremely useful and it demonstrates how technology can be leveraged to increase transparency in a bid to improve parent-teacher communication. But this doesn’t mean that the parents know everything.

http://localhost/raisingworld/2018/08/13/kicking-off-the-school-year-with-intention/

So, there should be some form of direct communication with the parent and teacher. Despite the fact most districts offer parents opportunities to keep track of their kids’ education, a 2017 study conducted by Learning Heroes, a nonprofit organization reported that 86% of parents relied wholly on report cards for their children’s’ educational progress.

What’s more concerning is the fact 9 out of 10 parents surveyed assumed that their children are performing above the average, which is unfortunately not the case according to the collected data.

Teachers should set realistic targets for transparency and encourage parents to look into their children’s education. Progress portals and sites are widely available. Teachers should request parents to get in the habit of checking these portals and websites through the use of links and reminders online or letters sent directly to homes, and demonstrate accessing them in parent-teacher conferences. Some teachers also encourage students to remind their parents to visit the portals and sites frequently.

Use Comprehensible Language

During any kind of communication, teachers should use informal language. You’ve to keep in mind that though many parents have college degrees, not everyone is familiar with educational jargon.

So if you use a word whether in writing or while speaking and the parents have to look up a specific word in the dictionary to find its meaning, you can rest assured that you’ve failed to effectively communicate.

We recommend you use simple, easy-to-understand language, short sentences during all written communication. Be direct and always be respectful and show appreciation for parents. Students come from various cultural backgrounds so be sensitive to cultural differences.

http://localhost/raisingworld/2018/09/26/do-you-appreciate-the-leadership-in-your-school-system/

The Parents Are Your Partners.

It’s not uncommon to see teachers sometimes lose sight of what they want to communicate with parents and even sometimes students. Effective and positive communication is not all about updates and reminders; it’s a two-way process.

A communication can only be effective if it helps in nurturing a mutually beneficial relationship. So teachers should remember not only to send information but facilitating channels that empower parents to respond easily

. Phone calls, emails, and messaging applications all work well. Sending biweekly or monthly newsletters about the student’s overall performance and educational activities also work great.

As we are living in a multi-cultural and globalized world, sending SMS messages with translation features will overcome any language barriers hence fostering a much stronger and productive relationship between the teachers and parents. This approach not only starts conversations, but it also sends a message to parents that you do care about students and what happens in the classroom.

4 Tips for Finding Extracurriculars For Your Kids in a New City

Childhood is a critical stage. It’s a time for development. It’s a time for wonder. It’s a time for education as well. If you want your children to make the most out of their lives, it can help to expose them to all sorts of recreational activities. That’s why it may be time to relocate to a city that gives kids an abundance of activity options. Finding a city that’s in this category doesn’t have to be tough.

Ask Around

You may be spending all your time looking for homes for sale, but you should also be looking out for recreational activity options. You can initiate this process by asking around. If you know fellow parents anywhere, ask them if they’re aware of places that present youngsters of all ages with exciting, exhilarating, and energizing extracurricular pathways.

Search the Internet Diligently

There are all sorts of information resources online accessible to people who are considering all of their relocation options. If you want to find a city that’s kid-friendly, the Internet can point you in the right direction. There are many message boards on the Internet that discuss cities that are all about recreation and the young crowd. If you can’t easily find an answer, you may want to start a forum thread yourself.

Speak with a Knowledgeable Real Estate Agent

Real estate agent consultations can often help parents who want to discover communities that are suitable matches for their children. It doesn’t matter if you want your kids to participate in basketball, painting sessions, gymnastics, or anything else.

Speaking with a real estate agent may help you greatly. Real estate agents know a lot about cities and all that they have to offer residents. They can talk to you about everything from educational institutions and recreation to average monthly mortgages and even dining establishments.

Read Books about Cities

Check out your community library. Head to the nearest shopping center and browse any bookshops there, too. You may just discover books that revolve around specific cities. Reading books may help you figure out which cities are the best option for your kids and for your lifestyle. Ask people you know if they have any book suggestions for you.

Relocating to a brand new city in the company of your kids can be a joy. It can be particularly joyous for parents who are 100 percent prepared. Your terrific kids deserve to live in a place that’s a haven for recreational options of all varieties.

Manage Picky Eating Without Losing Your Mind

One of the first things that we learn to dread when we decide to enter the parenting roller-coaster is getting that difficult child. You know who I’m talking about, don’t you? That child with a mind of his own. That child who appears to have entered this world for one and only one reason, pushing all our buttons. And god forbid if the child decides to be a picky eater! It is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

We spend our life dreaming of that picture-perfect child, the one who listens to every word we say, is smart, studies well and eats every single thing that is offered to him, on top of everything else. But the reality is quite different from our dreamland. What we get is a screaming, tantrum-throwing child, who runs at the sight of books and who will only eat junk food. The resulting battle that ensues is what dramatic stories are made of. The game is called power-struggle, and who controls whom is the object of this game. Makes your head spin, doesn’t it?

The breakfast, lunch and dinner table turns into a battleground and the battling sides are a parent and a child. The little being, the sight of whom can bring a tender smile on our face can also bring out screams from our throat that we never knew existed in us.

The dinner table conversations revolve around, ” Eat your carrots or you don’t get ice-cream!” The parent is nagging, the child is screaming and throwing food all over the place and the house appears like a tornado just made an appearance. We all know that this is a problem, but what is the solution?

First thing first.

Finding a solution to the problem often is the secondary step. We often ignore the first step, try to climb over it, fall down and believe that we fell because we tried the wrong solution. The first step to handling any problem is staying calm ourselves. An agitated mind does not offer answers. It just raises more questions and absolutely exhausts us in the process. So let’s all take a deep breath, count to ten, and try to get a totally different perspective of the situation.

The truth.

The little being that came out of us, is a unique individual. He may look like us and even act like us in some ways, but he is separate from us. He is not going to like everything we like or even feel the way we feel about things. And he does not like carrots!! We can eat, drink and sleep with carrots, but he simply does not like them.

And that is completely okay, but not for us.

We know carrots are really good for him. We have read on the internet that carrots are rich in vitamins, mineral, and fiber. They are good for eyes and in the long term have been known to even prevent cancer. But most importantly, we love carrots. It’s all good except, the apple of our eye extremely dislikes carrots.

What is a parent to do?

We have accepted, in as calm a state of mind as we possibly can, that our child does not like carrots. So what, do we just give up on our idea of carrot-eating dream child? That’s not really a good option for us.

The answer to this often depends on the age of the child.

If we are dealing with a tantrum-throwing toddler, we go with the flow. We offer him carrots, and if they start flying all over the dining room, we calmly pick them all up, maybe clean the carrots and start eating them ourselves. After-all, we do not want to waste food, do we? If we are well-fed, our efficiency in dealing with trouble can only increase, right?

As for the unhappy child, we offer him another healthy vegetable, something that he likes, like beans. We do want to feed him, as a starving child can also be the worst possible tantrum thrower. If the child is older, we explain to them why carrots are so good for their health.

Maybe, we also show them those internet articles that we have painfully researched. We teach them that they need to eat those pesky vegetables, especially if they want to be strong and functioning being. Will it work? Your guess is as good as mine. It may work or our child may still decide to be stubborn and not eat it. He may tell us that he is fine the way he is and there is really nothing we can do about it. So, what’s next?

http://localhost/raisingworld/2019/03/28/why-i-choose-not-to-feed-my-children-by-hand/

We rest and repeat

When it comes to children, we need to remember to take lots of breaks in between all the parenting we do. When we step away from the problem for a short period of time, we feel rejuvenated. If our child does not want to eat carrots today, that does not mean they will never eat them ever again.

Kids can be tricky that way. What they don’t like today may become their most-favorite-dish-ever tomorrow.

This follows the same thought process of friends-today-but-enemies- tomorrow scenario. So, we give it a week and try the whole process all over again. The odds are that food may fly some more, but they can always be cleaned up and we get the satisfaction of not really giving up.

But, aren’t we really giving in to the tantrum?

Yes, we are probably giving in, temporarily.

The real question is, do we really want to stuff their faces with food, even the healthy kind, by threatening them with dire consequences?

The food may be healthy, but the energy that we are serving along with the platter of food should count for something too, right? The next question that our restless mind asks is that if we give in to their demands now, what will people say?

The judgment

We all face it, constantly, over every decision that we take, whether it is about the child’ s education, behavior or eating habits. We are constantly trying to live up to an image of the perfect parent with the perfect child. If we feed the child, people say that we are encouraging them to be dependent on us.

If we put our foot down and expect them to eat by themselves, we are being harsh. We cannot escape judgment, no matter which path we pick.

So, we may as well do what is peaceful for us and makes the most sense to us at that point in time. And if there is some consequence to our action, so be it. At least, it was our choice and not forced upon us by an outsider’s opinion.

Final Thought

In my household, we have an easy-going child as well as a picky child. Now which one will be easy going and which one will be picky depends on the situation. It can be for a dish, for school work, or friends.

Disaster comes un-announced and brings with it a great deal of emotion. What I have learned from my fifteen years of parenting is that it all depends on my attitude to the problem. If I make it a big deal in my head, it becomes the biggest deal outside.

And then begins a downward spiral that results in a lot of screaming and crying from everyone, and the loudest screams are usually coming from me.

A bitter pill we all need to swallow is that there is no one-step-solution to such problems.

What worked for us may not work for someone else. We want our children to grow up to be balanced individuals, but we also need to make sure that they don’t lose their individuality in this process. So, if they don’t eat everything that we want them to eat, it’s not the end of the world!!

Get Our Book for Confident Kids with a Global Mindset

<br />

Your Sensitive Child at School and Their Anxiety

Some thoughts from an anxious child:

Standing constantly on the edge of a crowd looking in. Slowly counting down the minutes before escape is an option. Questioning have enough people seen me that it is now ok to leave without causing offense?

Sitting in class excitedly thinking, “Yes! Yes! Miss I know this one? pick me! Please pick me!” Now it’s my turn to answer and all I can manage is…. “Yeah, um… what was the question again please? Oh um! Yes,th… th a… “ Tripping over the words as I excitedly try to explain myself, feeling more and more embarrassed by the minute. If only the floor would only open for my quick decent! And my teacher moves on….

Did someone say “Exam”?… I was trying to avoid this one… which possibly, ok probably means, it needs special mention… Sitting silently amongst other students waiting for all of the instructions to be read, whilst starring with trepidation at the back of the exam paper face down on the desk! “15 minutes reading time starts now! You may turn over your paper.”, calls the head supervisor. Turning the exam paper over…. “Oh, no! Where are the words?” When your subconscious starts telling you “Breathe, you need to breathe!” as the star’s in from of your eyes slowly fade and you slowly stop shaking, you realise there is a teacher standing in front of you, handing you a glass of water, saying “Are you ok? Why aren’t you writing? You could start writing 15 minutes ago!” Looking from me to the paper she sees I am confused and shaking… she opens the booklet in the middle and says “Start here! Find the answer place in your answer book.” Subconscious advises, “Oh, a task! We can do that… “!

Suggestions for successful negotiations in these situations:

1. Become familiar with the task at hand.

1. Review possible scenarios and how you will handle them.
2. Talk to your teacher about particular exam strategies.

2. Make your own in-a-pocket support system.

1. A support for ‘anxiety and/or panic inducing situations’ creature in your pocket is helpful …. Here the choice is usually a tiny smurf! A distraction for centering yourself.
2. A pencil and small notebook for drawing. In an exam ask if you can take a separate paper to draw on. Your teacher can check it or take it and bring you a spare.

3. A prepared speech.

1. When you are worried you can hold your cards, even if you don’t need them, during your presentation.
2. Prepare – practice, practice, practice!
3. Visual your presentation – and your success (Even when you are worried! You can do this!)
4. Vocus on a point above the audience’s head. It looks like you are talking to them but they are not in focus so you don’t have to register off-putting antics, even unintentional ones.

4. In class.

1. A support creature – a kerokerokeroppi pen to pick up with the purpose of holding focus.
2. Organising your desk in a way to support your thought processes.
3. Have a scribble book or paper to draw extra explanation notes to the lesson notes on, or to squiggle on to help if you start to feel frazzled.

Think before you speak!

Practice till you are ready to tell your mother and elocution teacher – enough please!. The mantra of the elocution teacher echoes still,

“Deep breathe! Sit up straight! Hands on the desk or in your lap! Now, answer the question!”

If you look-up speech exercises like:
Repeating “red leather, yellow leather” clearly as many times as you can in one breathe.
Learning to say tongue twisters as fast as you can. Then as many times as you can in one breathe clearly.
I used to be terrified before presentations but “red leather, yellow leather” repeated in the bathroom 100 times before hand meant my speech never caught me out. My nerves had me shaking but my speech and shakes never showed – but I had to practice!
Find a long piece of poetry to learn. I could recite “The Man From Snowy River” by A B “the Banjo” Paterson, all 4 pages of it. And I kept it learnt (I still know most of it) because… if you can visualise yourself not faltering, you won’t.

However, to get to that point you need to practice.

Practice conversations.
Pick a topic and get someone to throw questions at you that you have to answer. Even asking multiplication tables fast (even if your child is 15).
The faster you can answer questions the less likely you will be caught off balance
Slowly you will learn to think on your feet.

Practice a beginning response to every question you will encounter:

Example: What is today’s date? Start with the obvious. “Today’s date is…”
Another example: How many states does Australia have? “Australia has ….”

This way you know where you are starting, so usually you don’t need to fumble on the part of an answer or talk you wish to present.

Nerves are funny things – you can learn to use them to your advantage by centering yourself and concentrating on the words you already know.

The key to overcoming your anxiety in these situations is to role play the possibilities, and practice until you are confident you will succeed.

Articles I like:

4 Ways to Develop Cognitive Skills For Kids in an Entertaining Way

Raising kids is a long-term investment, and it can be pretty difficult at times. Sometimes adults don’t realize that parenting can be fun for kids and their caregivers. With a little thought, parents can help their kids develop their mental and physical skills in entertaining ways. This infuses daily activities with creativity and wonder. In turn, this teaches children that these are the qualities of a rich and full life. Developing cognitive skills is part of the job kids do; supporting them in their growth is the job of parents. Here are four ways to infuse more creative entertainment into your kids’ cognitive growth.

Music and Poetry

Kids love to sing and dance. They learn through lyrics and rhythm. Expose them to Chopin at bedtime and your favorite boy band while in the car. Counting songs, songs about emotions, and silly songs all teach children. They can learn how to moderate emotions, how to name animals, and how to occupy themselves in a self-reliant way.

Conversation

A nurturing home includes two-way conversation. It can be difficult to gauge which stage of cognitive development a child is at, so knowing your child is crucial. Let kids choose topics and develop opinions. They can listen to your old family stories. Open-ended conversation can be about the books you read together or the walk you took that day. Everything is new to kids, so few topics are boring to them.

Kids learn through conversation just how much they are respected. They learn to show respect as well. They learn about the big world, and they let a trusted adult into their little world. Adults can see both the successful development and those areas where kids need extra support.

Games

From outside games to Kontu, parents can challenge kids. They can help their children practice numbers and take turns. Children can experience what it feels like to win graciously and lose patiently. Online games and outdoor activities promote eye-hand coordination and fill an afternoon with quality learning time.

Good Health in Mind and Body

A tired or hungry child finds it hard to advance in their cognitive development. Parents can establish routine sleep patterns and ensure the best nutrition possible. They can also provide a safe learning environment. This is an essential step in allowing kids to reach their full potential as they grow physically, emotionally, and cognitively.

As a parent, helping your child develop cognitive skills is one of your most important jobs. Use the above four tips to teach your children in a creative and entertaining way.

4 Services You Need for Your Family’s Next Road Trip

A road trip is a great place for family bonding because you’re traveling in close quarters together. You’ll discover fun landmarks and natural wonders along the way. Be prepared before you turn on the ignition so you get the most out of the journey.

Plan Your Route

So you’ve decided to hit the open road. Research the path first. Where do you hope to end up? What attractions would you like to see along the way? Getting everyone’s input makes the experience more fun. You have something to look forward to. Don’t forget to include regular rest stops and a list of hotels for longer trips. Add emergency care rooms to the list just in case. Schedule your trip in the off-season if at all possible. You want to get the most out of your road trip without too many other tourists in the way.

Insure Your Vehicle

Your existing policy should largely cover you if you are using your own car for the trip. Talk to your provider, whether LA insurance or another company, about potential additions. They can tell you if your in-state coverage will still work if you’re crossing several state boundaries. There are also some companies that will give you greater roadside assistance if you need to be towed.

Get a Tune-Up

You don’t want your engine to stall out or suffer a flat tire halfway through the trip. Take your vehicle to your regular mechanic. They can replace broken or damaged parts. It is especially critical to change your vehicle’s engine oil. Long travel puts stress on your car. Refill any fluids like brake fluid and coolant. Updating your air filter improves air circulation and prevents your car from feeling stale. Double-check the car lights. You want to be able to signal for help if you get stuck in unfamiliar territory.

Create an Emergency Bag

A first aid kit is a great place to start. This should include standard items such as band aids, gauze, and disinfectant. You will need to expand your existing supplies for longer trips. Pack hearty foods: no chips here. Aim for granola bars and trail mix instead. If you are using an RV that has a refrigerator your food selection will be a bit wider. Use it to store lots of water and milk if your family likes it.

Once everything is in place it’s time for the next important step: to get excited!

Incredible Lessons Imbibed When Teenagers Travel

“There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” – Virginia Woolf

Teenage children are rebellious, tenacious and passionate. I don’t want them any other way. But as a mother of three teenage kids, I crazily bounce from loving them to pieces to wanting to send them to the moon with smart phone and video games included!

Raising teenagers is not for the faint of heart and parents must be ready to put on their thinking caps to empower their children while establishing clear rules and boundaries. I try, as a respectful mom, to explain the reasons behind every rule and consequence. I listen to my kids’ points of view and ideas.

However, there are situations in which negotiation isn’t an option and in which I don’t yield to intelligent and persistent youngsters. It will be done as I say: period!

There are decisions and moments in which learning and being healthy are priorities and in these cases I refuse to negotiate with my teenagers and instead I proceed as a merciless dictator telling everybody what to do and how to do it.

Traveling is one of them.

Traveling encourages curiosity. Bali, Indonesia

Why do I strongly encourage my kids to travel?

It may sounds like a cliché but traveling is an eye-opening experience for children and adolescents alike. Represents an opportunity to grow and learn to make decisions on their own; constitutes a meaningful way of interacting with siblings and parents while developing team-work skills. Traveling represents the chance to learn a new language and culture.

Although, many times my teenage kiddos don’t see it that way. They don’t want to walk all those kilometers to visit another church (Europe is full of them), or don’t want to explore the rainforest in Indonesia because is unbearably humid and hot. They complain and beg to stay home or at the hotel.

That’s when I start giving orders to every one in sight asking them to carry their own luggage, fill their water bottles, walk, and enjoy because the benefits of traveling are too many to risk missing them for some teenage tantrum.

Don’t get me wrong! Once we are on the road, ideas about places to visit and explore accordingly to my children’s interests are quickly written at the top of our to-do list. It is not about making their lives miserable. It is about taking control of the many possibilities they have to grow emotionally and physically and that teenage kids sometimes don’t see by themselves because of their short and inexperienced years.

Discovering Barcelona with our three nomads. Spain

When it comes to learning and raising diversity awareness I feel the need to behave as a parent who guides and encourages. As guidance, many times you will need to establish priorities for your children even though these concerns don’t align with your teenager’s desires.

How do teenagers benefit from traveling?

To travel with adolescents is an invaluable experience that brings many benefits to our children. Some of these advantages refer to their core values, some others will enhance their understanding of diversity and cultures. From my family to yours, these are the amazing things I have seen my teenage kids to enjoy and learn during our adventures abroad:

Lessons Learnt When Teenagers Travel

Learn how to save and budget money.

Once my kids are informed about our travel plans for the next weekend or holidays, they begin this unstoppable race to make money so they can buy souvenirs, comics, books, and clothing in our destination. It is so rewarding to see them plan their budgets, brain storming about selling the toys, gadgets and clothes they don’t use anymore, and also helping with extra chores at home… wow! They become so persistent and motivated. Traveling has given them without a doubt some of the tools needed to budget money and the importance of saving.

http://localhost/raisingworld/2019/04/16/5-awesome-travel-hacks-when-traveling-with-your-teens/

Paris isn’t a cheap destination. Some serious budget planning needs to be done before traveling.

2. Empowerment of navigation skills.

Teenagers like to be in control, they want their opinions and input to be taken into account and traveling allows that. In our family, we encourage our kiddos to suggest and create an itinerary and also to gather info about the transportation and costs of moving around our destination. Technology makes everything easier, so our children handle maps and coordinates with the apps they find more user friendly on their own cellphones.

I must confess that at first they were so afraid to make mistakes… Afraid of getting lost! But now they feel more independent and capable of finding their way around without the help of mom and dad. And that my dear readers is priceless. I feel like I’m giving my children wings to fly away and be prepared to be successful abroad.

travel teenagers — Finding her way around London, United Kingdom

3. Lowers the risk of youth depression.

Millions of teenagers struggle with depression on a regular basis and it’s not uncommon for doctors to over prescribe medication without treating the reasons behind this behavior. It is important to acknowledge that there are cases of clinical depression and other mental behaviors that need to be treated by specialists.

Let’s be clear, these facts and statistic are scary. Even more scarier is that many cases of teenage depression aren’t recognized by parents and caregivers.

Being on the road with your kiddos helps promote a deep connection between you and your offsprings and this connection is very important to lay the foundations for an emotionally healthy young adult. Additionally, traveling gives you the time to nurture your parent-child relationship, without distractions from work and school, and this allows you to recognize any signs of melancholy, chronic sadness, worries and problems that your child may suffer.

Crazy moments but always connected as a family! Road trip to Lake Como, Italy

4. Break stereotypes and experience diversity.

It is a fact that our children are constantly bombarded by the media with statements and generalizations about other cultures, their religion, traditions, and values. By traveling, you are exposing your young adults to diverse cultures and people so they can come with their own ideas and opinions.

For us it has been an eye-opening experience to hear our kids talk to each other about how they had certain biases against a specific ethnic identity, but after a trip they come back home with a totally different approach. When a teenage child travels overseas, he or she has the opportunity to break the often vicious cycle of prejudice and biases by experiencing diversity first hand. That’s awesome! To me it sounds like a more peaceful future for the world!

http://localhost/raisingworld/2019/09/04/top-10-fun-loving-places-for-kids-in-india/

5. Discovering unknown abilities and personal traits.

Traveling doesn’t go smoothly all of the time. Many times we need to reschedule train rides, change hotels, plan a new budget or itinerary or simply deal with illness in the middle of nowhere in a language we don’t speak.

However, traveling maximizes our problem solving skills to their maximum! Cool, isn’t it? But the benefits don’t end there. No. Let me tell you that we have discovered so many things about our children while traveling! Skills that our teenagers didn’t suspect they had… passions they didn’t want to pursue at first and now they love!

During our last trip to France, my son started to compare some words from French to the Spanish language. He was excited to see that his knowledge of Spanish had helped him understand some ads, street signs, restaurant menus and so on in French. Then he surprised us with several translations using his mobile phone, his Spanish understanding and new discovered ability.

Bingo!

Our teenage son has found a new reason to pursue his career as an author and writer, adding some translations certificates along the way while being motivated by linguistics of Romance languages. He has a new passion now. Is it going to last forever? We don’t know. But being able to find and recognize the good inside themselves is for teenagers the key to a healthy self esteem and happy future.

In conclusion, I invite you to give your teenage child the chance to see the world! Don’t fall for tantrums and NOs! Stay firm. You are giving them the gift of a lifetime. They will come back home to share with family and friends their experiences about people and their cultures. Instill in them the same curiosity about differences and appreciation of similarities that you have. Traveling will help your children to keep an open heart and become global citizens.

So, where are you going next?