Day Four - "Permission" Slips

Before you automatically sign any permission slip which asks you to give your parental consent for your child to participate in something, ask yourself:

• Do I truly know what I am giving my parental consent to? 
• Or am I just assuming / trusting that someone else knows what's best for my child?

Permission slips for your middle school child to participate in the "All Stars Program" at MMS are due tomorrow.  As parents, you are given the opportunity to request more information regarding the All Stars Program.

Tip:  Request the All Stars Program information!  Even if you read this past tomorrow's permission slip due date, request it anyway especially if you signed the permission slip for your son or daughter to participate.

Why:  The purpose of a parental permission slip is to tell you, "Hey!  This is really YOUR responsibility as a parent to teach this to your child.  However, WE want to teach this to your child, and therefore we need YOUR permission as his/her parent that you are okay with us doing that."

For You To Consider:

• Not all children are alike in maturity, readiness, receptiveness, etc.
• Children have tendency to truly believe what an adult tells them especially if the adult is in a position of authority (teacher, law enforcement officer, etc.)
• Do you know (not assuming/trusting) that what will be taught to your child reflects your values, standards, etc. and your child's level of maturity, readiness, etc.?
• Too often we parents assume that our children are learning maturation, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, HIV/Aids prevention, etc. in the same manner and presentation that WE learned about these subjects 5, 10, 15 or more years ago.  JFYI - things can be, and often are very different from what you are assuming....

Concluding Fact:  KNOWING specifically what you are, or are not, giving your parental consent to before signing a parental permission slip will greatly assist you in making THE BEST CHOICE for your individual child!  In addition, it can greatly assist you as parents in:

1. Connecting with your child because you will know what they are learning and can talk about it with them at home to see if they are understanding and appropriately processing the information that they are learning outside your home (if you choose to give your informed parental consent on a permission slip)
2. Knowing what you can teach your child at home when he/she is ready and according to his/her level of understanding, maturity, and receptiveness (if you choose NOT to give your informed parental consent on a permission slip).

Gone are the days when I blindly gave my "UNinformed parental consent" for my children to participate in programs, surveys, and examinations!  I have learned a lot (an understatement), and sometimes I have been blown away by what my kids have been exposed to by well-meaning people out there (but I gave my UNinformed consent = my fault).  However, since I've been practicing the principle of "INFORMED parental consent/non-consent", my connection with my kids has skyrocketed because of being able to do #1 and #2 above.  My kids are stronger, and the relationship that my husband and I have with them is stronger.  In today's world, what an awesome gift we can give to our kids!

Blog-in tomorrow for Day Five!