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H. When to Start Kindergarten p

How do you determine if your child is ready to start school? There are many
factors to consider when you are about to make this decision. The area school
departments rely primarily on the child's physical age to determine if they are
ready. This may be unfair to your child depending on his experience, when he
was born and his gender. Some of the factors you can look at are his motor
control, social and emotional maturity and learning readiness. Fine motor
control includes coordination, such as for writing and tying shoes. Gross motor
control includes running, skipping and jumping. Social and emotional maturity
includes: your child's ability to separate from you, his ability to relate to his peers
and to authority figures. Learning readiness may be related to: how well he
attends, how much memory retention he has and how able he is to sit still and

learn. As part ofyour child's three, four and five year old physicals, we will try to

determine his readiness with you. Vision and hearing screening tests are done
at these times to determine, before entrance to school, if there is a problem in

these areas.

I. Learning Problems ^
Learning disabilities can occur in 10 to 20% of school age children. These can
take the form of difficulty with: reading (dyslexia), arithmetic (dyscalculia), writing
(visual spacial handicaps or fine motor problems), difficulty sitting down to pay
attention or difficulty finishing one's work (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder). If your child's school performance does not match his intelligence, a
learning disability is a distinct possibility. Contact us to discuss these concerns.

J. Sexual Abuse ^

Unfortunately, sexual abuse is an issue that we feel we must address. Our ^
society is just beginning to realize that sexual exploitation of children is common.
Sexual abuse is considered to be anything from taking pornographic pictures to
making a child participate in any sexual activity. Statistics show that children are
most often sexually abused and threatened by people they know and may trust,
usually repeatedly, secretly, and over long periods of time. In fact, children are
extremely vulnerable to sexual abuse because they are taught to obey and trust
adults. It is important to remember that children are NEVER the seducers.

CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS THE VICTIMS!!!

Teaching ourchildren to protect themselves is a must. They have to know they

CAN SAY NO! Also teach your children the difference between good touching
and bad touching. If your child makes any reference to possible sexual abuse,
act on it. BELIEVE THE CHILD. Provide open lines of communication. They
have to know they can come to you without fear of punishment.

If your child complains of any pain in the genital area, or if there is any bleeding
or bruising, call our office within 24 hours. You can ask to talk to either a nurse
or a physician and say it is private. There will be no questions asked.

K. Death and Children

If you are concerned about discussing death with your child, you are not alone.
Many of us hesitate to talk about death, particularly with youngsters. What we
say to our children about death, or when we say it, will depend on their ages and

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