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1
about families March 2009
 
Preparing Teenagers:
 A BABYSITTERIN THE MAKING
Making Children
SMARTERTHROUGH MUSIC
Bedtime Routine
GOOD NIGHT,SLEEP TIGHT
 
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about families March 2009
 Volume 13, No. 7March 2009
FEATURESHOW TOREACH USCOLUMNSCULTUREVOICES
Berks Phone
610-
670-2300
toll free:800-673-2454 fax:610-670-9251
Lebanon Phone
717-273-8127
toll free:800-673-2434 fax:717-273-0420
Web site:
www.aboutfamiliespa.com
To reach the editor andto send a calendar event item:
Editor
Mari Connersmaric@aboutfamiliespa.com
To find a copy of our magazineor to arrange home subscription:
Publication Coordinator
Judy Fetterolf judyf@aboutfamiliespa.com
Advertising Sales:
James Snyder jims@aboutfamiliespa.com
Marketing Consultants:
Berks Edition
Linda Earnshawlearnshaw@aboutfamiliespa.com
Lebanon Edition
Susan Zellersusanz@aboutfamiliespa.com
About Families is published twelvetimes a year by Kapp Advertising Service,Inc.All rights are reserved.Reproduction inwhole or part without written permission isprohibited.We welcome correspondenceand editorial submissions but are notresponsible for the return of any unsolicitedmaterials.About Families does not necessarilyendorse the products,services or view-points offered.All material in this publica-tion is provided for information only andmay not be construed as medical advice orinstruction.We reserve the right to reject anyadvertisement.
3
Raising Tweens - Reading Between the Lines of Childhood and Teenage Years
5
Specialty Camps Offer a Program for Every Interest 
2
From the Editor’s Desk
4
Teacher of the Month
1
0
Music in Our Schools Directory
1
0
Reel Life With Jane
15
Creative Crafts
16
March It Figures
17
Kid’s Activity Page
ON THE COVER
12
 A Babysitter in the Making
13
Parents Can Make Their ChildrenSmarter Through Music
18
Good Night, Sleep Tight 
DEPARTMENTS
6
March Event Planning Guide
9
Camp Directory
11
Health News: Childhood SkinInfections
16
Party Page
23
Classified Directory
15
Love, Limits & Lessons: When a Child Uses Powerful Words that Hurt 
2
0
 Wesley Wonders: Camp in the City? How Surprising!
22
Dear Teacher
Page 2
0
Page 15
COMING NEXT MONTH
Birthday Party on a Budget Teens and Sleep: Turn Off Your iPod and Go To Bed
Prevent Child Abuse! Know the Signs
About Families
bringing families together since 1995
Music in the air…
TT
here is great significance attached tomany dates this time of year. Forinstance, I know dozens of folks whoare anxiously looking forward to March 8 as itis the day we “spring” ahead one hour. Othersare crossing off the days until March 20 whichis officially the first day of spring. Yet there aregreat numbers of Berks and Lebanon Countyresidents who are eagerly looking forward toother March dates. Whether marked with an Xor a circle, these are “Red Letter” days forthose who look forward to attending their highschool musical. Be sure to use the
 Music InOur Schools Directory 
included in this issue tohelp you plan the performance you will attend.Each school that responded to our request islisted along with the title of the musical, date,time, and location. If the school offers a specialsenior citizen performance, that is included aswell.For those who have young children andwonder what possible value music could add totheir child’s life, please read Phillip Sheppard’sarticle,
 Parents Can Make Children Smarter Through Music 
.I remember when I was a third grader andwas introduced to the violin and then the cello.I loved the challenge of trying to “makemusic” and then participating in a school per-formance for family members. Today, a child’sfirst musical experience will most likely bewith a flutophone or recorder. They are taughtsimple songs and in the learning of the song,discover that they can succeed. Instinctivelyalmost all children love listening to and singingmusic. In fact, so much early learning happensthrough singing songs and rhymes that I amreminded of how children truly do absorb newinformation much like a sponge. Mothers seefirst hand that when they hold and sing to theirbabies – no matter how off key – the baby vis-ibly becomes more relaxed and they share atangible closeness. Yes it is true, the benefits of music are numerous!
Summer Camp
“Yippee!” I can hear them now as childrenrealize we are inching ever closer to warmweather, shorts, t-shirts, and summer camp.The decision to send your youngster tocamp is never as difficult as deciding whichcamp he or she is best suited for.Considerations such as cost, location, andactivities weigh heavily in the decision process.Some parents of first time campers are lookingfor one that offers a two or three day overnightexperience, while seasoned campers may belooking for a new and different adventurefrom previous years.We hope that by utilizing the camp guideand reviewing the ads in this edition, your levelof confidence in your choice, and then yourchild’s camp experience, will be positive andrewarding.It is no secret, summer group camp is funand exciting!
Have something to share?
We are always excited to hear from ourreaders. So if you have something to share, orcomments to make, please email me at:maric@aboutfamiliespa.com. I’d love to hearfrom you.
Mari Conners 
From the Editor’s Desk 
COUNCIL
VERIFICATION
CIRCULATION
 
changes. They may not come to youwith their questions though. You mayhave to take the intiative to approachyour child. It often works out best fordad to talk to sons and mom to talk todaughters.
Responsibility
While I believe children should have jobs at a very young age, by the timeyour child is a tween, they should bevery familiar with responsibilities.Assigning chores is a good place tostart. Make them responsible for put-ting their clean clothes away, settingand clearing the table, taking trash outand other household chores that willhelp you out and teach them to beresponsible. If you feel they are oldenough, you can set an allowanceamount they will receive for doingtheir weekly chores without reminders.
Communication
Keeping the lines of communicationopen at a time when your childrenoften view you as the enemy, oftenrequires hard work. Tweens won’t nec-essarily want to tell you their deep darksecrets and concerns, but they want toknow you are there for them. Let themknow that you are available to talk towhenever they need to. Listen to thembut don’t expect a thank you for yourpearls of wisdom. Remember, youmight be required to read between thelines, but then that is a skill acquiredfrom the “olden days!”
 Jacqueline Passifione lives inDouglassville with her husband and threechildren. Along with her freelance writing, she works as a receptionist and does sub- stitute teaching for the Daniel BooneSchool District.
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about families March 2009
FF
or years I was under theassumption that children pro-gressed from baby, to toddler,to child, to preteen, to teenager untilfinally they became adults. Somewherealong the line, we picked up anotherperiod in a child’s development knownas the tween years. Now, preteen is aneasy time to grasp, it’s the time justprior to a child turning thirteen. I getthat. But, as a parent from the “oldendays, ” I wonder when this new phase –this tween time – begins?The word tween is used to describechildren between the ages of 8 and 9(opinions vary) through age 12. It is atime when they are becoming awarethat their bodies are going to changeand they start wanting their privacy. Itis a time when they fluctuate betweenloving you and hating you, betweenwanting you around or far enoughaway so as not to cramp their style.They want the freedom of a preteen orteenager but still need your guidinghand. It is a fine line we walk under-standing this age, and quite frankly, onewhich many of us need a guide book tonavigate confidently. I am personallywalking it right now with all three of my tweens who range in age from 8(almost 9), to just turned 11, and a pre-teen who is 12. Prior to my research, Ididn’t think of my youngest as anythingbut eight going on nine. I didn’t knowshe was in the tween stage of develop-ment, nor did I have any idea what thatmight mean.
Same Rules Apply…
NEWS FLASH! The rules reallydon’t change from when they were intheir terrible twos to the time when weexperience their terrible tweens. Rulesof respecting themselves and othersand listening and doing what they areasked are rules that were put in place atan early age and they need to be con-tinually enforced. As they grow, chil-dren will push to see what they can getaway with. It is the parents’ job to setboundaries and keep their childrenwithin the limits that were established.Believe it or not, children not onlyneed boundaries, they want them aswell. That does not mean that theywon’t try to stretch those boundaries orpush the envelope – they will! It is whatkids do. Nonetheless, parents mustenforce rules.
Leave me Alone!
Children need privacy as they grow.When they are young they not onlyneed you around, they want your pres-ence. Don’t be offended or take it per-sonally if you’re not the one they wantto hang out with now that they areolder. Most of us will remember howwe wanted our parents to walk 50 stepsahead of us at the store, or to drop usoff at the movies as quickly as possible,so friends didn’t see us being droppedoff by our parents. It is no different forour children. They want to experiencefreedom, it is part of growing up.
(S)he Loves me (S)he Loves Me Not
The tween years are when childrenstart feeling the early pangs of puppylove. “Going out” constitutes sittingacross the table from each other atlunch. Tween boys hormones kick inand they don’t quite know how to act.Girls and boys start realizing their bod-ies are changing and they begin to havequestions about those impending
by
Jacqueline Passifione
The word tween is used to describe children betweenthe ages of 8 and 9 (opinions vary) through age 12.
Raising Tweens –
Reading Betweenthe Lines of Childhood and Teenage Years
 4  G e n e r a t i o n s
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