Mio Debnam replies: Well, before you set pen to paper I’d suggest a little preparatory homework, but luckily, the ‘work’ should be lots of fun for you and hopefully your child too!

The homework is pretty simple – read as many books as you possibly can with your child… This is assuming that you want to write for a similarly aged reader as your child. If this is not the case, then do the reading by yourself, anyhow, as reading is a really important step to becoming a good writer.

When you read a story that you (and your child) particularly enjoy, read it again in detail and analyse it. Look at the pacing of the story, the character development, the descriptions and setting. Study the sentence structure, the dialogue and the vocabulary range – and see how the author has used all of these things to write a story that is age-appropriate for the reader.

For example, picture books are deceptively hard to write. Did you know that an ideal picture book text only contains about 700 words? Because illustrations are expected to carry half of the story there are very few words, but each one has to be perfectly chosen to convey the idea or mood concisely!

Once you have done your homework, it’s time to start thinking about the story and the characters you want to write about. Every good story has characters with whom readers can empathise, and at least one of the characters must want or need something – ie has a problem. The heart of most stories (apart from themed books such as bedtime books or alphabet books etc) is the tale of how the character overcomes their problems to achieve their goal, and how they grow as a person. This is what makes a story interesting.

Once you have done all that homework, it’s ‘bum on seat’ time – you have to write the story that’s in your head. This is normally the hardest part, but don’t give up until it’s done. When you have done your first draft, put it aside for a while, and reward yourself! You need that reward, because the hard work is not over yet…

When you’ve allowed a few days to pass, go back to your story and try and read it with new eyes, and dispassionately assess which bits are good and which parts need fixing. You’ll probably need to spend as many hours editing. By which I don’t mean changing a couple of words, but really making sure that the pacing, the characterisation, etc are good, and not being afraid to cut or change big chunks of text if necessary. You may also need to rewrite your story. But don’t be discouraged, you are not alone. Even bestselling authors have to do this!

So, let’s say you’ve spent a substantial amount of time editing, and you think it’s pretty good… but you’re unsure how to polish it to publisher-ready standard. Now it’s time to get your work critiqued by some qualified readers – by which I do not mean your child or your mother (they tend to be a bit biased!), but a writer or an editor of children’s books. A way to do this, is to join a critique group, such as the one organised by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (www.scbwi.org) in Hong Kong. There’s an added advantage to joining a group such as this, in that it’s nice to meet others who share your passion, and it’s always a good idea to network and to find out all about the business of writing and publishing children’s books.

Hope that helps, and happy writing!

Amy Stewart answers: The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation that offers three programmes that cover children aged 3 to 19 years. The programmes focus on international mindedness, and students who participate in an IB programme learn a second language and skills to live and work with others internationally.

Schools need to apply and be authorised to use the programmes. These schools are known as IB World Schools. Authorisation to be an IB World School is an intensive process and takes two or more years. IB is available in 3,324 schools in 141 countries.

The first programme is The Primary Years Programme. This covers children aged three to 12 years. The focus for this programme is on the development of the whole child inside and outside the classroom. Students study six trans-disciplinary themes that drive inquiry investigations.

The second programme is The Middle Years Programme. This covers children aged 11 to 16 years. The focus of this programme is a framework of academic challenges and life skills. There are eight subject groups that include: mother tongue, second language, humanties, sciences, mathematics, arts, technology and physical education.

The final programme is The Diploma Programme. This covers children aged 16 to 19 years. The students select six subjects from a range of disciplines which include languages, social sciences, experimental sciences, mathematics and arts. The programme ensures a coverage of these subjects for the students.

This information was sourced from www.ibo.org, where you can find more details about IB and which schools offer one or more of the IB programmes.

You can explain to your child that every individual is unique and different in their own way. Some people need glasses to see clearly; some cannot eat sugar because they have diabetes; those with allergies cannot eat nuts or they might start sneezing if they are exposed to dust or pets etc. Similarly this person has a condition called “epilepsy” and a person with epilepsy has seizures. One kind of seizure can make a person fall down and shake all over for a few minutes, which is what that lady experienced.

Explain to the child that the brain controls most of our movements. It sends messages to our body to move our hands, open our mouths to eat, take a step and walk etc. During the seizure a part of their brain does not communicate in the correct manner, and that causes some unusual actions in the person’s body, such as the stiffening and shaking of the body. In a few minutes that person’s brain will begin to communicate correctly, and the seizure will stop. But the lady might need to rest for a while as her body will be very tired. Although the seizure symptoms look strange, the lady is definitely not crazy.

Epilepsy is a medical condition and it happens because the brain is not sending the right message to the body. When the seizure stops, the lady will not really have any memory of the seizure and can go back to doing what she was doing earlier. It is important to reiterate that she might look a little strange when she has a seizure, but it is the epilepsy that causes it and she is no different from you or I.

Secondly, doexplain to your child that there is nothing to be scared of. The lady is neither in pain nor is she of danger to your child or anybody witnessing her seizure. The seizures are not contagious either, and will not happen to someone who does not have epilepsy. You can even encourage your child to be a little ambassador of epilepsy by introducing him or her to some basic seizure first-aid. 1. Stay Calm, 2. Move any furniture to the side, 3. Call an adult for help immediately.

Finally, please emphasise once again that the lady is NOT CRAZY and if in the future he has a friend at school with epilepsy, he should treat them just like he treats others.

If you and your son would like to learn more about epilepsy or want to become an ambassador by spreading the right messages about epilepsy, we have a free children’s booklet that helps young children to understand the condition better.

Please also inform your son’s school that Enlighten-Action for Epilepsy runs free training sessions and talks to students of all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong to increase epilepsy awareness.

We are happy to come to your son’s school too. They can contact our training department on 2820 0111 to book the free training session. They can also visit our website www.enlightenhk.org and read about our school education and training programmes.

Enlighten-Action for Epilepsy is the only epilepsy-focused, non-medical Hong Kong charity that aims to benefit anyone directly or indirectly affected by epilepsy. It runs a range of complimentary, bilingual epilepsy-focused programmes to meet its objectives of raising epilepsy awareness in Hong Kong, and supporting those indirectly and directly affected by epilepsy and helping improve their quality of lives. For more information, go to www.enlightenhk.org

Sheila Dickinson answers: Learning to be responsible for expenditure is an important step in a child’s financial literary education. In general, children aged about 16 should have a good understanding of the concepts of spending and budgeting.

Taking your son as an example, it would be good to start discussing financial responsibility with him, and how his “income” (this can be pocket money or a salary from a part-time job) are allocated for expenditure and savings. Through constructive conversations and daily observations, you will begin to see if your son is ready to take care of part of his own expenditure or not. Depending on the parents’ preference and the child’s age and stage of development, the degree in which the child is responsible for his or her own expenses can also vary.

Regular allowance
It would be a good idea to give your son a regular allowance, if you have not yet done so. This is the most hands-on method of teaching him how to spend and save. The amount of allowance you give him should be able to meet his needs, but not necessarily fulfil everything he wants.

You can then encourage him to start managing his money by letting him to take care of part of his daily expenses, such as topping up his mobile phone or paying his own weekend entertainment expenses. He may have to learn to work out a budget, determine how much he needs for daily expenses, how much to save and how to allocate his money accordingly. If he spends more than his budget, he should be responsible for that.

Paying bills on time
Remind your son to pay his bills before the due date. Paying on time is a good habit that should be cultivated. Ask him to keep records of his money. This is a good way for him to see how much he has spent over time, and how much he has saved. He should also be encouraged to keep receipts from all purchases and bills paid, and keep notes on what he does with his money.

Through budgeting, saving and spending, your son will learn about decision-making, responsibility and priorities – important lessons that will be needed throughout life.

Don’t forget that your guidance is also an integral part of his learning process in becoming a financially responsible adult.

This article was contributed by Sheila Dickinson. Sheila is the Senior Vice President and a SFC Licensed Representative (SFC CE no: ANS128) with ipac financial planning Hong Kong limited. Sheila is also a Technical Representative with the Professional Insurance Brokers Association, Registration Number PIBA-0428-007924. Sheila can be contacted at financial.planning@ipac.com.hk.

ipac is licensed with the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, CE No. AAN641. ipac is a member of Professional Insurance Brokers Association, member number 0428.

In preparing this information, we did not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any person. Before making an investment decision, you should speak to a financial planner to consider whether this information is appropriate to your needs, objectives and circumstances.

The Presentation Theme is: Solving the rubics cube: Understanding Specific Learning Differences/Attention Deficit diagnosis and intervention.

Mr McDaniel will address the shifting diagnoses and the confusion around those, but will cut through to some general principles that seem to universally address ADHD and SLD learning issues with regard to programming and pedagogy. In other words, regardless of the diagnosis, there are some basic principles of education that work to address this general population’s needs.

Date: Monday, November 7, 2011
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: FOCUS, 2/B, CKK Commercial Centre, 289 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

To arrange a time to meet with James during the day on November 7th, 2011, please email christinebrendle@gmail.com

James McDaniel’s Bio:James McDaniel is Headmaster of Linden Hill School, a Junior Boarding School for boys, aged 9-16, with learning differences and attention issues. He has worked with students at the middle school level for 32 years in all capacities of school life. He has served as a learning specialist at the Greenwich Country Day, Assistant Headmaster at the Fay School, and Headmaster at the Nantucket New School prior to his arrival at Linden Hill in 2003. Mr McDaniel holds a BA in History from Hamilton College andan MA in Educational Psychology: Remedial Reading from Columbia University.