This article describes the importance of reading to your baby and child.

The LSU AgCenter will be partnering with the Junior League of Baton Rouge for a second year to educate and motivate new parents in their role as their baby’s first and most important teacher.

(Distributed 08/29/08) Adults are urged to assemble a “grab-and-go” box of important papers in case of a hurricane evacuation. How about making a “to-go kit” for your child? Assembling a few treasured items can help your child in times of disaster, according to LSU AgCenter family development professor Dr. Rebecca White.

(Distributed 09/07/08) You probably can’t avoid the stress coming in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, but you can manage it, says LSU AgCenter family and consumer sciences specialist Becky White.

Series of articles covering various topics that address issues relating to people caring for themselves and their elderly loved ones. Topics covered include: Care for the Caregiver, Caregiver Burnout, Communicating with Parents About Growing Older, Employment and Caregiving: Is There a Balance?, Helping an Elderly Loved One with Personal Care, and The Dynamics of Sibling Relationships While Caring for an Aging Parent.

Articles addressing various topics relating to health and nutrition for the elderly. Topics covered include: Bone Up on Osteoporosis, Eating Well as We Age, Food Label: Nutrition Facts at a Glance, Seniors and Food Safety...Preventing Food-borne Illness, and Vegetable Purchasing and Storage Tips.

Quality child care involves a variety of factors that should be considered when parents are searching for child care for their children. While cost and convenience are important considerations, parents should also consider their children’s ages, abilities, interests and personalities. Beliefs and attitudes about education, training, child guidance, nutrition and health are also major considerations.

12 monthly fact sheets about reading to your baby during the first year of life. Each fact sheet shares the importance of reading to your baby as he/she develops.

Typically, providers require that children be kept from care for a minimum of 24 hours or until symptoms disappear.

The Smart Choices Nutrition News for Seniors is an informative newsletter designed to address specific nutrition and health-related issues for adults over 50.

A variety of factors should be considered when parents are attempting to find quality child care for their offspring.

A quality caregiver makes all the difference during the early years of a child’s development, so parents need to look for indications of quality when entrusting their children to others, says LSU AgCenter specialist Dr. Becky White.

A child-care center director's work is critically important as well as exhausting, not to mention complicated, so it is paramount that a dedicated, knowledgeable person oversees these operations. This article will explore some of the many qualifications needed to be an effective child-care center director.

Preschool and kindergarten character education resources. Use this link to access the following Character Critter materials all at once: Bookmarks, Hand Puppets, Masks, and Hat patterns.

Preschool and kindergarten characer education resources. Use a garden glove to create storytelling finger puppets that will add life to your Character Critters story experience.

Print out and share Character Critter bookmarks featuring the Critters' favorite sayings.

Preschool and Kindergarten character resources - fun Character Critters coloring sheets along with interactive drawing pages.

Create fun masks and hats to wear featuring your favorite Character Critters.

General tips for parents on reading to babies and young children and creating a reading-friendly environment at home.

Quality Child Care. Parents should make sure their child is receiving quality child care. One way to check on the quality of care your child is receiving is to plan a surprise visit to your child’s child-care center to observe the conditions. Listerd are a few things to consider looking for and inquiring about on such a visit.

More and more grandparents are responsible for getting their grandchildren back to school. While this means the smell of new uniforms, shoes and notebooks, it means potentially lots of dollar bills flowing away from some grandparents who may be on a tight budget! Use this time as a teaching tool.

Infants and toddlers need child care environments that are welcoming and responsive.

Some of the most stressful times children experience come when they move from one classroom to another. There are many things parents and caregivers can do to facilitate a smooth move from one classroom to another.

Outdoor playground areas for children are important to consider when choosing a child-care facility. It is just as important to visit the outside spaces as it is to tour the classrooms. Playing outdoors provides the opportunity for young children to use and develop their large muscles and cognitive abilities.

One of the most important roles parents and caregivers serve is to ensure that the children entrusted to them thrive in healthy and safe environments.

Child-care environments play an important role in the healthy growth and development of infant and toddlers. Since infants and toddlers spend a large portion of their day in routines such as saying hello or good-bye, getting dressed, diapering, toileting and mealtime, the child-care environment should reflect these important shared learning times. The environment provided for infants and toddlers should be welcoming and responsive to both children and their families.

By following a routine and providing a predictable einvironment, children can feel secure in their child care environment and learn that they can trust their caregivers to meet their needs.

Child care and preventing sickness. Parents who depend on child-care centers need to know the policies of their center and to keep in mind that those policies are designed to keep disease outbreaks from spreading to all children.

A supportive, nurturing, inviting environment for preschool age children is extremely important in encouraging them to explore and learn. Children learn through their own experiences of trial and error, repetition and imitation. Adults may encourage learning by ensuring that the classroom or day-care environment is appropriate and supports an array of experiences and choices.

Most injuries to young children in school or child-care environments occur outdoors, so playground safety definitely should be a concern in a child-care setting. Approximately 40 percent of the outdoor injuries to children are due to poor adult supervision," says LSU AgCenter child-care associate Cheri Gioe. "That means supervision is an essential component of playground safety."

Spending time in the landscape with children, especially young ones, requires adults to pay careful attention. Just as you would childproof an indoor room, it’s important to take safety precautions in the yard to keep young ones safe.

Temper tantrums aren’t uncommon in young children. The key for adults is learning how to deal with them, says LSU AgCenter child-care associate Cheri Gioe.

Parents and grandparents often face the challenge of deciding what toys are appropriate for their children or grandchildren. The same thing is true of child-care providers seeking new toys for their child-care centers.

To help educators and caregivers help youth cope with the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the LSU AgCenter 4-H Youth Development program is reviewing and recommending curriculum materials that emphasize hands-on activities.

Click the image to read a cute story to your child that teaches preschool children about fairness.

Click image to read a cute story that teaches preschoolers about citizenship and good character.

Click image to read a cute story that teaches preschoolers about caring and good character.

Click on image to read a cute story that teaches preschoolers about respect and good character.

Click image read a cute story that teaches preschoolers about responsibility.

When you think about teaching your children to be trustworthy, you must remember it does not happen overnight. Instead, trustworthiness and good character are something you should model for your children every day because you are the most important teacher your child will ever have.

You are the most important teacher your child will ever have. Your children will learn by the example you set for them. This means that the ways that you are respectful of others will influence the ways your child is respectful of others.

You are the most important teacher your child will ever have. Your children will learn by the example you set for them. If your children see you being responsible, they will want to act responsibly, too.

Young children are very impressionable, and you are the most important teacher your child will ever have. One way you can help your child learn to be fair is by example. If your child sees you following rules, sharing with your family, listening to others and not placing blame, he or she will be likely to follow your example.

You are the most important teacher your child will ever have. Your children will learn by the example you set for them. If your children see you acting in a caring way, they will want to act in a caring way, too.

Being a good citizen is something adults may do every day. Adults might practice good citizenship by: obeying traffic laws, paying taxes, helping a neighbor, volunteering or recycling. Your child will develop good citizenship habits by following your good citizenship practices.

When you think about teaching your children to be trustworthy, you must remember that it does not happen overnight. Instead, it is something you should model for your children every day because teachers are an important influence on young children.

Teachers are an important influence on young children. The children in your classroom will learn by the example you set for them. This means that the ways you are respectful of others will influence the ways the children are respectful of others.

Teachers are an important influence on young children. The children in your class will learn by the example you set for them. If your children see you being responsible, they will want to act responsibly, too.

Young children are very impressionable, and teachers are an important influence on young children. One way you can help children learn to be fair is by example. If the children see you following rules, sharing, listening to others and not placing blame, they will be likely to follow your example.

Teachers are an important influence on young children. The children in your class will learn by the example you set for them. If your children see you acting in a caring way, they will want to act in a caring way, too.

Being a good citizen is something adults may do every day. Adults might practice good citizenship by: obeying traffic laws, paying taxes, helping a neighbor, volunteering or recycling. The children in your class will develop good citizenship habits by following your good citizenship practices.

For both parents and children, visitation is critical to maintaining a sense of connectedness both during and after a divorce. Tips for smooth visitations, constructive parenting goals and a list of visitation do's and don'ts.

Active listening means paying careful attention to what others are saying. Follow these steps to improve active listening skills. (PDF Format Only)

Many believe that providing character education for all our children at home, in school and in our communities can help our nation. In keeping with this growing recognition that character education is critically needed for our young children and youth, Character Critters was developed by the LSU AgCenter for preschool and kindergarten children.

Children's reactions to disaster depend on their age and maturity. Their responses also are affected by how close they are to the event, their level of exposure to it through TV and how they see their parents react.

Parents can help their children experience school success by fostering social and emotional maturity, language skills, creative thinking skills, good health, problem-solving abilities and a general knowledge of the world.

Shopping for quality child care? There are things you can do to become a better consumer of quality child care and at the same time help your children by providing the very best in caregiving.

With more and more parents working and the need for child care increasing, parents need to plan carefully for quality child care for their children. You can do many things to become a better consumer of quality child care, according to LSU AgCenter specialist Becky White.

Single parent families have hectic lives. Most single parents feel they have too little time and too much to do. The first step to making the most of your time, however, is thinking about your goals. Follow these tips to help you determine and reach your goals.

Parents can help children prepare for kindergarten by taking several actions before the first school bell rings.

It happens often when children receive a gift. The youngsters often are happier playing with the box than the present. Although amused at first, the gift-givers may soon suspect that their money was ill-spent.

Parents want their children to be successful in school and in life. Starting early can give children a foundation for success.

A series of informative fact sheets designed to help grandparents caring for their grandchildren.

Information on why the elderly are more at risk for frauds and scams, along with helpful tips and tools for managing finances and protecting your privacy.

As you and your child join the 4-H program, you’ll want to make the most of the experience. The success of your 4-H club and the kind of experience your child depends greatly upon your parental involvement. 4-H has so much to offer your child through educational programs, contests and special events. Through active participation in 4-H, your child will develop skills that will last a lifetime.

Traditions help strengthen families. Thanksgiving Day doesn’t have to be all about the food – unless you want the preparation to be a shared family experience. Here are some other ideas about how to share and created memories at Thanksgiving.

Children need it desperately. Adults long for it. And during February, we celebrate it – love. It has been the inspiration for countless poems, songs and movies, and it is vital to healthy development and well-being.

Parents Preparing for Success Program is designed for parents of infants looking for more information on best recommended practices in parenting and resource management to help create an environment that will help their children to grow and thrive.

“You got some bones to get some kicks.” “Backup your grill, you got the dragon.” “Boo, let’s go flossin.” Do these phrases seem like a foreign language? If you answered yes to this question, get the lowdown on teen lingo.

This guide discusses the common physical, mental, social and emotional characteristics for high school youth. Keep in mind that no two children develop according to the same schedule and the transitions are gradual. By accepting youth at their current developmental stage and offering challenging growth opportunities to help them make the transition into the next stage.

Drinking enough fluids is important during our hot summer weather – especially for senior citizens, according to LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames.

Books make great holiday gifts for your preschooler. They can be fun and engage your child’s developing mind.

Character education art activities and resources including hats, masks, bookmarks, puppets, etc.

The Character Critters storybook is ideal for parents or grandparents to read to their children or grandchildren. The storybook includes six separate stories that talk about being fair, trustworthy, responsible, respectful, caring and a good citizen. Cost: $7 plus tax and shipping. You can order this book through our online store by using the Order Publication link below. Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards accepted.

Those popular Character Critters are back, learning new lessons about good character! It is a story-and-activity approach to teaching character featuring stories of six charming critters learning about good character. There are six individual stories told on 30 storytelling posters with story illustrations on one side and the story script on the other. Implementation guide also included. Cost: $40 plus tax and shipping. Click on the Order Publication link below.

Teaching children about good character can be fun! Kit 1 is designed for early childhood educators and others who work with 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds. There are six individual stories told on 30 storytelling posters with story illustrations on one side and the story script on the other. Implementation guide also included. Cost: $40 plus tax and shipping. Click on the Order Publication link below. Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards accepted..

One reality of today's society is that many divorced people - particularly fathers - are faced with the task of making the most out of the limited time they get to spend with their children.

Click image to read a cute story that teaches preschoolers about trustworthiness.

Responsibility often is difficult to develop in children. Youngsters must have some inherent sense of responsibility before the trait can be developed more fully.

Hurricanes have brought crisis into the living rooms of all Americans. Once again, the trauma of such events has struck at the heart of America. Dealing with natural disasters is difficult enough for all to comprehend. The lives of all will be changed forever. It is incredibly more difficult when young people and children are involved and are the victims.

After the passage of federal welfare reform legislation in 1996, faculty from land-grant universities organized to conduct a study of the legislation’s impact on rural families. The project began in 1998 and runs through 2008. The intent was to provide policymakers and program directors with up-to-date information about the ability of rural, low-income families to be economically self sufficient. The objectives of this project are included in this publication. (PDF Format Only)

(Distributed 09/07/08) A child may continue to be fearful following a hurricane because of the uncertainty of the future. “A child can mix up real fear and make-believe fear. This is OK, and a parent or other care-giver can help in many ways,” says LSU AgCenter family and consumer sciences specialist Becky White.

(Distributed 06/01/01) Health is more than just the absence of illness, according to an LSU AgCenter family development authority. Mental and spiritual health account for much of our quality of life, says family development expert Raye Neely.