Authors discuss book, life and parenthood
The mother-daughter pair worked on the book for three years.
Mother Anna-Marie Burger (70) and daughter Marelda du Preez (39), Kenleaf residents and two generations of educators, recently released their book Lifeline for Parents.
The book, a guidebook for parents covering a range of topics on parenting and childhood development, is a pool of knowledge and experience from Anna-Marie’s 42 years as a maths teacher and Marelda’s 15 years as a science teacher.
Anna-Marie has taught maths from Grade Four to matric, and Marelda focused on teaching grades seven to nine.
The book began after Anna-Marie retired, and her children asked her, “What will you do now?”
She has written a few maths guidebooks and didn’t feel like writing another one, so she focused more on writing something to help parents develop their children for success.
“If even half of humanity raised their children right, the world would be a much better place. The original idea was ‘How to develop and strengthen maths and language skills early on’, and it grew from there,” she explained.
The book took three years to compile and edit and includes topics like nutrition, academic development, discipline, which styles of discipline work for which type of child, how to manage and prevent meltdowns and tantrums and more.
Anna-Marie visits preschools to talk to parents about early childhood development and her book, and she finds that many are impressed, but few are willing to buy and read it.
“I always tell them, if the child is raised right in the first seven years of their life, they are set for the rest of it,” she said.
The book follows children’s development from birth to matric and preparation for adulthood. The preschool and primary school sections have health and safety guidelines, tips for establishing a healthy diet, physical, social and mental milestones and what to do if your child hasn’t reached their milestones by the recommended age.
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One tip is to keep a list of healthy food options on the fridge, with sections for each nutritional group, and have the children choose an item from each section to ‘build a dinner”.
This way, parents can establish what foods their child likes, give their child some autonomy and have endless inspiration for dinner, all while still feeding their child a wholesome and balanced diet. Another of Anna-Marie’s favourite tips is to play board games with your children often and from early on.
“A two-year-old can play snakes and ladders, and a six-year-old can already play chess,” she said.
Playing board games helps with cognitive development, establishing strong bonds and improving social skills. According to Marelda, Anna-Marie wants to solve everyone’s problems and is always busy with their pet dogs and cats.
She also believes every minute spent with your children is an opportunity to teach them, which you should always grasp with both hands. The book is available from Anna-Marie and is on sale for the festive season with 20% off. She delivers around Brakpan but can send the book via Paxi. For an order form, call her on 082 265 1243.
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