From Bev’s Desk

Things never really seem to slow down at the WCA, and as we gear up for back to school time at the shelter and with our community clients – August is certainly no exception. With 45 women and children currently in residence in our emergency and transitional shelter programs and hundreds more who are community clients, things can sometimes seem hectic as our moms prepare their children for back to school time.

With the help of our generous community, the WCA staff is busy making sure that each child has what they need in terms of supplies, backpacks, clothing and funds to cover required school fees. However, getting ready to go back to school means more than just getting a backpack full of supplies. It can also mean developing social skills that may or may not come easily to some kids, especially to children who have been exposed to domestic abuse or have been abused themselves. At the WCA, our fantastic staff works with the kids year round, to help them overcome these barriers. However, a lot of these social skills are things that all children need to learn and that we can all practice well into adulthood.

Here are a few things you can do to teach and practice respectful behavior with your kids:

• The Basics: Say “please” and “thank you” to your children, and prompt them to do the same to others with a “What do you need to say?”
• Stay Calm: Do not overact to seemingly disrespectful behavior. The child may not be paying attention or may not understand the behavior is disrespectful.
• Model Being Respectful: We cannot teach children to be respectful by being disrespectful. Speak to your children respectfully, and teach them to speak to and of others with respect.
• Pay it Forward: Find opportunities on a small scale for your child to do something for someone else and have a conversation about why this is important.

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