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.

Two key qualities of strong families are that they spend positive time together and share fun and laughter. What better way to combine these qualities than by playing with your children?

Television, movies, video games all increasingly vie for our children's time. But they rarely allow children the luxury of burning some of their pent-up energy. Parents can make a big difference in the amount of physical activity children experience.

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.

A combination of qualities and skills is required for children to be ready for school. These qualities and skills include social and emotional maturity, language skills, good health and physical well-being, problem-solving abilities, creative thinking skills and general knowledge about the world.