Young children don’t realize that they make choices every day…what toy to play with, sharing or not sharing a toy and eating or not eating what is put in front of them just to name a few.

Being able to make choices is empowering. That is the function of interactivity in E-learning programs. When a young child has the opportunity to experience the outcomes of making choices and sees the results immediately, it makes decision-making seem like a safe and good thing to do. It helps a child develop the confidence to make decisions in real-time situations.

We teach our children to be safe. We encourage them to share, to be a friend, to play fair, to be honest, and to behave well. We hope when they are faced with a situation that challenges what we have taught them, they remember what we said and make the right decision. Unlike riding a bike or crossing a street it is not possible to give our child practice runs in all the life skills situations they may encounter.

E-learning programs do just that; they give our children practice runs for making good choices when faced with life situations.

E-learning learning programs also have other attributes that make decision-making attractive to preschoolers. They ask the child using the program to help the animated, cartoon characters to make decisions. While this makes decision-making less personal to a child, it also fosters a sense of responsibility for helping a character make the right decision.

E-learning content is always consistent and is not affected by differences in an instructor’s performance resulting from tiredness or the time of the presentation. E-learning programs are less intimidating, as a child can make an incorrect choice and go back and correct it without feeling that others will know about it.

E-learning programs reinforce what is being taught through engaging the child in interactive decision-making. This reinforcement tends to result in higher content retention rates than a presentation that talks about life skills decision-making.

If you’re throwing a birthday party for your 5-7 year old, you may be wondering how to make sure the party goes over well in terms of behavior and how happy the kids are.

A birthday party isn’t much fun for anyone if the party guests bicker or act up in a way that’s stressful to you and the other chaperones. So, as a parent, it’s your responsibility to make sure you do everything possible to keep the party and the party guests’ behavior under control. Here are a few tips to help you do that:

Limit the guest list – Bigger parties are often only more fun in theory. Your child will have a better time if only his or her closest friends are in attendance at the party. Plus, it’s a lot easier to manage the behavior of 10 kids versus the behavior of 30 kids. So, try not to invite more than 15 guests, and remember that smaller and more intimate is usually better.

Plan the whole party out – Creating a schedule of activities for your child’s party may seem like extra, unnecessary work for you, but it will help you avoid chaos and less than perfect behavior at the party. Pick 5 or 6 activities the kids can engage in during the party and write down a schedule for those activities. A party that’s full of fun activities is the best kind of party for 5-7 year olds, who tend to stay out of trouble and feel more safe and secure, if they’re kept busy.

Give the kids a rundown of the rules – At the beginning of the party, make sure you explain any and all rules to the children. For instance, you might want to tell them that there will be no fighting, roughhousing, or yelling. Young kids usually take rules seriously but often need a reminder of what kind of behavior is appropriate.

Get help from other adults – It’s usually a good idea for you to ask family members and a few parents of the party guests to stick around at the party and help out. The more supervised the children are, the less likely they are to get into trouble or quarrel.

Keep refined sugar to a minimum – This doesn't mean you have to do without the birthday cake. Just keep the other snacks and drinks at the party healthy and low in sugar. Consider serving cheese and crackers with some all-natural juice as opposed to sweet tarts, cupcakes, and soda. Serving the kids too much sugar just means they’ll have a lot of energy at the beginning of the party and will feel crabby and tired at the end of the party.

Be prepared for a few snags – Make sure you have a first aid kit on hand and the phone numbers of all of the parents of the party guests. Kids trip, fall, and scrape their knees when they’re running around and having fun at a birthday party. Additionally, you might have to call the parent of a sick or unhappy child who wants to leave the party early. Preparation is key.

It’s relatively easy to throw a successful children’s birthday party if you’re willing to do a little bit of work. So, consider trying out the tips above, and don’t forget to spoil your child a little bit at his or her party!

This guest post is authored by Melissa,  a mom and guest blogger from The Party Works, (www.thepartyworks.com) an online party supply retailer. She writes for a variety of blogs about party planning, child behavior, and party supplies, including Mario party supplies.