Carers influential in allowing kids in care reach full potential

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Eight years ago, foster carer Penny Hallett’s desire for equal opportunities for all children saw her dedicate her life to providing care.

Inspired by her experience as a volunteer for The Pyjama Foundation, Penny and her husband began to explore the idea of becoming foster carers.

In 2008, Penny’s journey began when she was matched with a young boy in care through the Foundation’s Love of Learning Program – together they played educational games, read stories, built confidence and set the child up to be much more than what life had given him.

Penny went on to mentor another young girl, where she met a foster carer who had cared for children for over 40 years and inspired Penny to explore becoming a carer herself.

In 2011, Penny and her family embarked on the process and became full time foster carers.

This Foster and Kinship Carer Week we celebrate the wonderful people in our community just like Penny, opening up their hearts and homes for children in out of home care.

“As a volunteer with The Pyjama Foundation, you are able to form a positive relationship and encourage a love of learning,” she said.

“We would read books together, sometimes we would go outside and enact the stories that sparked their imagination, or just jump on the trampoline and laugh a lot.

“The children I mentored and have in my home have the most heart wrenching stories, but you know what, they just get on with it.

“Apart from all the ‘mum things’, I see my role as a Foster Carer as being my kids advocate until they can do that for themselves.

“I can’t imagine my life not being involved with kids in care, and I am grateful for the lifelong friendships I have made with other carers and all the wonderful staff at The Pyjama Foundation.”

Child Safety Minister Di Farmer congratulated Penny on her support for children in care, both as a Pyjama Angel and now as a foster carer.

“The men and women who volunteer to be foster carers are some of the kindest and most caring I’ve met,” she said.

“Penny has given some children who need some love and support her time, care and attention both as a Pyjama Angel, then as a foster carer.

“Penny’s opened her heart, and then her home. You really can’t underestimate just how life changing that kind of support can be to the children who are looked after by our carers.”

The number of children in the out of home care system continues to rise in Australia, with more than 9,000 children currently in foster and kinship care in Queensland.

Foster and Kinship Carer Week runs from 21-28 April and aims to celebrate and thank people like Penny for their continued work in ensuring the most vulnerable children have a loving place to call home.

Townsville volunteer helps preppie soar

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Back to school after the holiday break can be a terrifying time for many children, particularly those in the foster care system.

But thanks to dedicated Townsville Pyjama Angel volunteer Robyn Narratone one child’s experience has been far more positive.

Lexi* was just two-years-old when Robyn was first matched as her Pyjama Angel.

Fast forward three years and countless hours of reading together and playing educational games, Lexi has soaring confidence and Foster Carer Sarah* said she couldn’t be more grateful for the support Robyn has provided.

“When our two-year-old began to develop an interest in language and books, we referred her to the Pyjama Angel Program and her Pyjama Angel Robyn has been such a great support to her ever since,” she said.

“I think for Lexi a key benefit was providing that individual, focused attention. As the middle child and having a brother with additional support needs, it was difficult for Lexi to get the learning support which was needed in order to catch up with her age group and develop foundational skills.”

Sarah said one of her very favourite moments was coming home from work and hearing little Lexi reading ‘Where is the Green Sheep’ by herself for the very first time.

“Weekly sessions have provided effective early intervention to support the development of a range of skills for school readiness, including following instructions, focusing on tasks, being able to talk and listen, identifying numbers and letters, basic manners, writing her name and taking turns,” she said.

“She has continued to thrive with Robyn’s support and we can see that she is set up for success with schooling.”

The Pyjama Foundation North QLD regional coordinator Mel Vaughan said quality interaction with adults in the early years is vital for educational success.

“We have a number of Pyjama Angels in our program, who are matched with toddlers or children about to start school,” she said.

“These volunteers provide positive learning experiences in a safe environment and build a love of reading and learning that will hopefully transfer to formal schooling experiences.

“Robyn sang simple nursery rhymes to Lexi, played counting games, read books, improved fine motor skills through finger painting and play-dough and completed puzzles.

Meet Mel Clack – Ipswich New Coordinator

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We sat down with our new Ipswich Coordinator, Mel Clack, to find out why she chose to join The Pyjama Foundation’s team (family), and to know what drives her, and other fun little tidbits!

 

Why did you apply for the role of ‘Ipswich Coordinator’?

I have always had a passion for helping other people and helping fundraise and run events for many not-for-profit organisations or just “good causes” – Since having my almost 6 year old I have considered becoming a Foster Carer myself and just last year completed a Teacher’s Aide course with the view of helping kids in school as well as my own son with his learning now that he’s just started Grade 1 – I saw The Pyjama Foundation to be a great opportunity to combine both of these and to be involved in helping kids in our local area that need it more than most. I couldn’t turn up an opportunity to be a part of that.

 

What do you love most about your job (so far)?

Meeting new people in our community and listening to all the great stories of the success our Pyjama Angels have in creating relationships and making a difference in these kids’ lives as well as their own.

 

What challenges are you currently facing? (And how are you working to overcome them)

At the moment the biggest challenge is learning more about the families we can help and the volunteers we currently have to make the best matches for success in our Love of Learning Program.

 

What are your goals for the Ipswich region/ branch of The Pyjama Foundation?

My biggest goal right now is to find as many new volunteers as possible to match up as many of the kids we have already waiting to be placed in our program that are yet to know what it’s like to have a Pyjama Angel in their life and what that can mean for them.

 

What are you passionate about? / What drives you?

Being able to help people that don’t always get all the opportunities that others get in life.

 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I go to the gym, love family time including our 2 fur babies, camping, eating out at new places and also our favourite’s, hanging out with good friends – and LOVE to go on holidays, see places that I haven’t seen before, meet people and learn about different cultures from real people (not a tour guide).

 

What are your favourite places to visit in Ipswich?

Kholo Gardens (so beautiful and peaceful), Ipswich Nature Centre, Workshops Museum, Bundamba Swimming Pool, Any of the walks/bike tracks around – especially the dinosaur footprints!

 

What’s your favourite quote?

To make a difference in someone’s life you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful or prefect – you just have to care – Mandy Hale

 

What’s a fun fact about you that you’d like to share?

I once moved more than 10 times in one year – and I hate moving!

 

What’s your favourite children’s book?

It’s hard to pick just 1 – there are so many, but my favourite author is Dr Seuss – not only are his books fun to read, bright and happy, they all have underlying meanings or some kind of learning in a fun, playful way.

Foster carers empowered with unique training

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In Australia, there are more than 48,000 children in the foster care system and of this number, approximately 75 per cent won’t finish high school.

The reality is many of these children may have never felt a sense of love and support in their lives, leaving it up to their carers to put the pieces back together.

A training initiative launched in Victoria by Carer KaFE, in collaboration with The Pyjama Foundation is aiming to provide a new level of educational support.

In 2019, Carer KaFE will be working with The Pyjama Foundation to support carers in assisting their children with their learning, an area many of them may have never felt comfortable delving into.

It’s an area The Pyjama Foundation have been providing support in for more than 15 years, matching trained learning mentors with children in the system to provide educational support.

The Pyjama Foundation Program Manager Kevin Gallard said throughout his time training Pyjama Angel community volunteers he has met many wonderful carers who he describes as the “angels”.

“Our Love of Learning program allows us to support these carers by providing them with a special Pyjama Angel for their child, often giving them an hour of respite each week,” he said.

“This training takes this support one step further, empowering our carers with the tools to directly support their children with their education.

“Our program offers tried and tested learning methodologies which are research based and match the current curriculum.

“We demonstrate to foster parents how to support their children with literacy and numeracy in a fun and engaging manner.”

Launched in 2017, Carer KaFE provides learning and development opportunities for Kinship and Foster carers throughout Victoria.

Program Manager Penny Daly said this type of education was something carers were calling out for.

“Our evaluations and feedback from kinship and foster carers across the State told us that helping children and young people with their homework is something carers need support with,” she said.

“After seeing Kevin present at the Queensland National Foster Care Conference, we knew that we had found the perfect answer to the carers requests.

“Carers leave these sessions with a bag of wonderful resources that turn homework help into fun games.”

Kinship and Foster carers said the support received in this session was invaluable, providing strategies and resources to use for all ages.

“I felt stuck in helping my child educationally, now I have strategies to help and resources to use,” one said.

“I learnt new techniques to help my 6-year-old who at present hates school as she has issues with being told what to do. She won’t even know I am helping now,” said another.

For more information on Carer KaFE and its work in Victoria, www.carerkafe.org.au/.

Research identifies educational disadvantage of children in Out of Home Care

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Australian children in Out of Home Care may struggle to keep up with their peers and reach national literacy and numeracy benchmarks as a study by the Queensland University of Technology’s Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) has identified.

The research suggests a large portion of the 48,000 Australian children currently in foster care are at a high risk of becoming disengaged with schooling, making them more vulnerable to educational disadvantage.

The study, conducted by Dr Ruth Knight examined research in Australia and overseas that identifies what puts children in foster care situations at risk, what can protect them, their educational outcomes and existing intervention programs to improve these outcomes.

The Pyjama Foundation’s Founder and CEO of  Bronwyn Sheehan said this research reflects the need to focus intervention programs alike the Love of Learning Program that are focussed on improving educational outcomes for children in foster care.

“This research provides insight into the current educational landscape for children in care and the need for early intervention and strong supportive relationships that encourage learning,” she said.

“It highlights the strengths of The Pyjama Foundation’s Love of Learning Program, a mentoring syllabus focused on improving literacy, numeracy and life skills through one on one reading sessions with a positive adult role model.

“The program involves trained volunteer learning mentors, known as Pyjama Angels, meeting regularly and doing one-on-one reading sessions with more than 1400 foster children across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.”

Dr Knight said the ACPNS study found there was a limited number of intervention programs that effectively address protective factors known to improve children’s educational engagement.

“Those protective factors include family stability with a carer who supports educational and extracurricular activities, access to books and other literacy materials, developing literacy skills as early as possible in life, and having adult mentors or tutors for at least 12 months to build cognitive and social skills,” she said.

“The most successful intervention programs for children in care are ones based on positive relationships with teachers, care givers and case workers, which take into account trauma, provide flexible learning, and which support children to genuinely love learning.

“This review shows that there are only a few of these programs available.”

This literary review is instrumental in validating the work of The Pyjama Foundation’s Love of Learning Program, which has been changing the direction of children’s lives for more than 14 years.

To read the report in full, please visit our website.

 

Helping Foster Children Stay On Task

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“Concentration is like a muscle that requires regular exercise to strengthen. Some kids are born “stronger” in this area than others, but all kids can learn strategies and engage in practices that help improve their ability to focus and sustain their attention”

– Dr. Jamie Howard

Children in out of home care often lack interest in learning and find difficulty in concentrating and staying on task. With 92% of children in care below average reading skills by the time they are seven years of age and struggle to catch up, it is important as mentors to help our children build and train their ‘concentration muscle’.

Here are some tips for our Pyjama Angels to implement in visits to help their children stay on task.

1. Set A Plan

It can be a good idea to create a plan for your visits. At the beginning of your visit you can work with your child to write out a set plan for the visit. This gives both you and your child the opportunity to decide what you will aim to achieve within your visit.

2. Set Time Lengths For Tasks

When setting a plan or just completing tasks, it is important to set appropriate time lengths for specific tasks. As a Pyjama Angel, you will get to know the typical time length your child will concentrate and focus on a task. Use your understanding to set appropriate time lengths on tasks you aim to complete.

3. Use Timers

When aiming to complete a task for a specific time, it can be helpful to utilise timers or stopwatches. Clocks or stopwatches can provide a visual aid for children, and help them understand when a task will finish.

4. Planned Breaks

It is also important to ensure that you build in planned breaks. After spending some time concentrating, it is useful to take a break – whether that be a small physical break such as throwing a ball around or trying a Brain Gym exercise.

Brain Gym

These exercises can be utilised if child become distracted or simply as a planned break. These small physical activities will re-engage the brain and can help a child re-focus on a set task.

* Brain Gym exercises adapted from margdteachingposters.weebly.com/thinking-processes

 

Incorporating these tips will hopefully see your visits become more productive and time efficient, though it it important to remember that every child is unique and requires different techniques. Be patient and kind and see what works best for you and your child during your visits.

If you ever feel stuck and need any assistance or tips, our team is available for a chat at 07 3256 8802 between 9-5pm Monday-Friday.

Free holiday fun for all ages

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The two-week September school holidays are here! This is a good time for you and your Pyjama child to get crafty, creative and learn outdoors without homework hindering your visit.

The holidays is an awesome opportunity to extend your visits and perhaps have a change of scenery. This is a wonderful way to build your relationship with your Pyjama Child but please remember the restrictions and key policies which you would have learnt about in your Pyjama Angel training.

Here are some free events happening in our regions during the September school holidays. This may provide some inspiration for potential activities or a fun day out. You may even be able to assist your carer in taking the whole family out for a free and fun-filled day!

The State Library of Queensland is hosting a one-day event these school holidays, to celebrate art, science, learning, play and adventure. The day offers children with an interest in scientific mysteries and art, to participate in experiments and games. This would be a perfect opportunity for Pyjama children to explore their interests or even show off their science skills!

For: Any age

Where: The Edge, State Library of Queensland

When: 10:00am to 3:00pm | Saturday 6 October 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens has designed a self-guided scavenger hunt, for those children interested in exploring nature. The Gardens provides an activity sheet to guide children around the gardens, encouraging them to find locate and explore the local flora and fauna. This scavenger hunt gives our Pyjama children the opportunity to explore nature!

Find the Botanic Gardens Scavenger Hunt Map here or collect from the Gardens Administration.

Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens are also providing 20 other free self-guided activities in the Gardens. There is an online passport that can be downloaded from here or collected from the Gardens Administration.

For: Any age

Where: Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens

When: 22-29 September

 

 

Has your Pyjama child expressed the interest in learning a new skill? The Pier is running 45-minute how-to knit sessions for children. These free lessons are designed to expand their creativity, concentration and coordination skills.

For: Any age

Where: The Pier

When: 10:00am – 1:30pm | 25 – 28th September, 2 – 5 October

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Gallery of Victoria is currently running an interactive exhibit for children, to explore the sights and sounds of New York! The exhibit is a great opportunity for our Pyjama children to learn about New York, through interactive displays, multimedia projections and hands-on activities.

For: All Ages

Where: National Gallery of Victoria

When: 10:30am – 12:30pm | 2nd October

 

The Gladstone Regional Libraries is holding a range of educational activities at libraries across the region these September holidays. If your Pyjama child has a special interest in technology or robotics, the libraries are holding sessions for children to learn the basics of coding and robot play. They are also providing craft activities, including tie dying.

For: Children 10 and over (Tie Dye Fun & Coding), All ages (Craft & Robot Play)

Where: Gladstone City Library

When: 24th September – 4th October

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a part of their KRANK program, The Logan City Council are holding many school holiday events, including a cooking class. This free event will let you and your Pyjama child master a new skill in the kitchen, while preparing and cooking new foods together. The Logan City council are also offering other events, such as Zumba and hip-hop classes.

For: 5 – 11 years

Where: Kingston East Neighbourhood Centre

When: 10am – 11am | 4th October

 

The State Library of New South Wales has recently opened their new Learning Centre and are holding a range of activities for children. These activities focus on building and construction giving children the opportunity to help the library create a cardboard city. Children can build and create a pop-up house!

For: All Ages

Where: State Library of New South Wales

When: 10am – 3pm | 8 October – 12 October

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surfers Paradise is holding their annual Kids Week. This year the event is dinosaur themed and will showcase daily live shows from 1pm.  This event also gives our Pyjama children the opportunity to meet rangers and their animatronic dinosaurs, as well as learn all there is to know about dinosaurs!

For: All Ages

Where: State Library of New South Wales

When: 29th September – 5th October

 

The City of Townsville is holding two different Lego activities during the school holidays. These activities will give our creative Pyjama children the opportunity to construct a building with Lego and turn it into a robot! Through technology, the children will be able to program their robot to do exactly what they tell it to do.

For: 7+ years

Where: CityLibraries Thuringowa Central

When: 2pm – 4:30pm | 25th September & 4th October

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ipswich Art Gallery is running a workshop for children to create shadow puppets. The workshop let’s children transform their puppet design into a moveable creation made of pipe cleaners, paper, ribbon and a range of craft materials.

For: 4+ years

Where: Ipswich Art Gallery

When: 10am – 5pm | 11nd September – 11th October

Our Big Dreams Gala Ball 2018

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One week ago, we hosted the night of all nights — an evening of glitz, glam and giving back. Guests came from as far as Western Australia to celebrate The Pyjama Foundation’s Big Dreams Gala Ball and raise much needed funds for children in foster care. Attendees were met with some of Brisbane’s best views, with the balcony of Room ThreeSixty at QUT providing a perfect outlook to the Story Bridge and Kangaroo Point.

The theme for this year’s event was inspired by the very core values of The Pyjama Foundation — every child should have the opportunity to dream big and go far. Each child should be given the tools to follow their wildest dreams!

Children living in out of home care often bounce between different homes and to different schools, which can affect their opportunities to read and learn, causing them to fall behind their peers academically. Dreams are no good if they remain just dreams and the Big Dreams Gala Ball was for the 52,000 Australian children living in foster care, with a focus on letting them know that their dreams and desires are just as valid as the next child’s.

Our guests were met at the door with a 9ft angel pouring bubbly for each willing patron (see below if you don’t believe us!), live entertainment, a photobooth setup worth marvelling at and a constantly stocked candy bar. It was a magical start to the evening!

We were lucky to be joined by former and present Pyjama kids, as well as many of our Pyjama Angels who continue to inspire us every day. Senior Executive Director, Accommodation, Respite and Forensic Disability Services at Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors Matthew Lupi was the entertaining MC for the evening, surprising guests with dream themed trivia between meals. Matthew welcomed the Honourable Di Farmer, Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence to give a powerful address to start off the evening.

Guests were thrilled with the banquet-style dinner, flowing beverages and incredible prizes. Our token instant win mystery envelopes were a hit again this year, with everyone walking away a winner thanks to our incredible prize sponsors! Raffle tickets were available to purchase on the night with more amazing prizes up for grabs, those who won the accommodation in Phuket and the Lamborghini driving experience were envied by all!

Our live auction also went off with a bang thanks to our friends at Watt Realty who got the crowd rearing for our big-ticket auction items! Accommodation on the ski slopes in Canada, a stay in a five-star lodge in Queenstown, and a private chef dinner in your own home all sold at generous prices to those in the room.

The money raised on the evening will go directly towards our Love of Learning Program which aims to improve the educational outcomes of children in foster care, just like 9-year-old Frankie who spoke about his special Pyjama Angel at our gala. A few words from his speech on the evening:

“Cathy has been visiting me for almost five years. The things we do together are read, play sport, watch movies, play iPad games, play with kinetic sand and sometimes go to the skate park. We have dinner together every week,” he said.

“I look forward to Wednesdays. Every Wednesday I ask mum, ‘Is Cathy coming today?’. I like Cathy a lot.

“Thank you for helping The Pyjama Foundation, so kids like me can have a special friend.”

There was so much love, laughter and great acts of generosity on the evening, to which we thank each person who attended. It was truly a wonderful night and we are so thankful to have spent it with so many people who are crucial to our foundation.

Thank you for supporting The Pyjama Foundation’s Big Dreams Gala Ball, we couldn’t have pulled it off without your support and we hope to see you all again next year.

Dad’s Day a chance to say thanks to our male role models

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Father’s Day has a different meaning to everyone, but for children in foster care it can be a reminder of what they are missing and how important it is to have a positive male role model.

Townsville’s Andrew Pangrazio, 30, was placed with an 11-year-old boy living in care four years ago after volunteering as a mentor ‘Pyjama Angel’ as part of The Pyjama Foundation’s Love of Learning Program, which supports children in foster care.

The now 15-year-old aspires to become a mechanic and the weekly visits from Andrew where they practice hands on mechanical work was key to helping make this possible.

“My child has learning impairments and finds it easier to be working bikes or engines as it is his passion to become a mechanic,” the psychologist said.

“I try to combine as many instruction guides and manuals in our work to continue to work on focused reading.

“[He] doesn’t have many male role models in life so the male attention I believe has been healthy.”

The child Andrew visits is just one of the 95 children in care currently supported by a special Pyjama Angel volunteer in Townsville, a number the Foundation hopes will steadily increase with a total of 41 children currently waiting for a Pyjama Angel to come into their lives.

One of The Foundation’s Townsville carers detailed just how special this unique interaction is for her children.

“B* waited a long time for a Pyjama Angel and Alex is absolutely perfect for him, he turns up to B’s soccer games and cheers him on from the sideline which we think is absolutely brilliant,” the carer said.

Currently, 93 per cent of The Pyjama Foundation’s volunteers are female and moving forward The Foundation is hoping to see more male involvement.

As a carer of young boys with Pyjama Angel’s, she sees the importance of the positive male role models and the difference it is making for her boys.

“The world needs more male Pyjama Angels, so many boys in care have never known a positive relationship with a man,” the carer said.

“It’s time we show our boys that there are good men out there that genuinely care and want to help them learn and help shape the young men they become.”

Pyjama Angel Andrew believes helping others is a form of self-help, acknowledging that connection and meaning are all major contributors to psychological wellbeing.

“I would encourage everyone to join and I think males especially as not only will the kids benefit from having healthy male role models in their life, but helping others is helping yourself and is an important lesson to teach the future generation,” he said.

Founder of The Pyjama Foundation, Bronwyn Sheehan says the number of foster children is continuing to grow every year and without extra support, empowerment and encouragement, many of the children’s futures will be compromised.

“Currently there are more than 51,000 children in foster care, and statistics show that approximately 32,250 of these children will not complete high school,” she said.

“Many children in care bounce from home to home, and to difference schools which greatly hinders their learning.”

Head to www.thepyjamafoundation.com/volunteer to see if you’re eligible to become a Pyjama Angel to help support and mentor a child in foster care.

Boosting the self-esteem of foster children

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Self-esteem is difficult for foster children to understand, let alone see in themselves. Even adults struggle with it from time to time. But that doesn’t mean self-esteem is impossible to find, even in bleak situations.

It starts with you
As a mentor, your own self-esteem is an example for your charge. How do you feel about yourself? How do you see yourself? Are you proud of your achievements and how you live your life? Because it’s absolutely fine if you are. There’s nothing wrong with having a healthy level of confidence and pride within yourself.

Ask them what they’re good at, and do it
Foster kids might say they aren’t good at anything and that simply isn’t true. Use this tactic instead;

What are you good at? turns into What do you enjoy?

If someone enjoys writing, they create great stories. If a person enjoys drawing or painting, they create nice artwork. Now a creative area, like art or writing, might not be your charge’s idea of enjoyment. But they could enjoy reading, playing games or sports. These can be implemented in one way or another during your time with them.

Give praise – within reason
Excessive praise does more harm than good. Children at the receiving end of constant praise from parents or other mature figures will crumble at criticism for others. This knocks down their self-esteem and can be hard to recover.

There is one way to give realistic praise, and we go further into that with the next point.

Help them set goals
Realistic ones where they will earn praise. You’ll work out goals within the first few visits. The Love of Learning Program emphasizes education; set up goals by term or by year. An easy one is reading; read X amount of books by the end of the year, for example.

Boosting the self-esteem of foster kids isn’t an uphill battle. That mindset makes things harder. It’s a matter of finding out what they enjoy, using it during your visits and watching them make progress. Their self-confidence and happiness will grow, slowly and surely.