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PARENTS NEED TO PUT DOWN THE CELLPHONE

The Neighbor News - 6/21/2017

In the time it takes a child to grow from diapers to travel soccer, Americans have become addicted to their cellphones. There have been many changes in our lives now that we have the information world, literally, at our fingertips, but one important thing is still the same:

Our children need to interact with us to learn and to grow.

Child care and preschool directors have noticed that, more and more, parents are preoccupied looking at their cellphones when they are reuniting with their children at the end of the school/work day. When we do this, we are not modeling social behavior for our children and not showing them how important they are to us.

Our directors recommend parents keep the following things in mind as they pick up and drop off their young children at preschools, child care centers and summer camps:

Show your interest in your children's activities. When you take the time to look at your children's artwork and listen to your children tell you about the day's activities, you show them that they are important to you.

Talk to your children. Whenever young children hear language, they are building vocabulary and learning syntax, plus practicing how to have a conversation.

Help them transition. Minimize meltdown odds by helping children adjust to the transition between home and school.

Exchange important information with your children's teachers/care givers to help both of you better meet your children's needs.

Children know when you're not really listening to them or looking at the planet they made out of clay or the lion they painted. They need more than just your divided attention with the phone in your face.

When you give your children your full attention and show a genuine interest in what they're doing, they feel as though they are important, that their accomplishments and what they say matter to you. By just listening and talking to your children, you are building a foundation of healthy self-esteem.

So, please, parents, when you pick your child up from preschool, child care, an after-school activity or summer camp, put down the phone.

Gail Reuther

The writer is President of the Morris County Child Care Directors Association and Executive Director of the Mt. Olive Child Care & Learning Center.

Denville Beautification Committee would like your help

Who doesn't like beauty? While working at one of the many sites that the Denville Beautification Committee has improved as a member of the committee, I have experienced that people will slow down and shout, "Thank you, you are doing a great job," or they will say, "It is so beautiful." The members naturally like to hear these remarks and feel assured that they are doing the right thing.

Over the years the character of the Denville Beautification Committee has changed. Once it was only an advisory committee. Now we are an all-volunteer group with great plans and a limited budget. To not only keep what we have going, but to improve on it, we need more help.

While complimenting what we are doing, we would appreciate it even more when you join us. Denville is a good community and we can make it better yet. The downtown area has a new, fresh face and will hopefully attract shoppers. A beautiful place influences people's behavior for the better. I know working with the volunteers of the Denville Beautification Committee has made me a better man, improved my neighborhood and widened my circle of friends.

So come and join us. Gardening is a great physical and mental therapy, a bonus we all need.

Franz Fuertges

Denville

The writer is a member of the Denville Beautification Committee.