'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
With September in the rear view mirror, school is in full swing which means tests and assignments are looming.
One expert says it can be tough to know whether a child is doing well in school ahead of report cards, as kids can be secretive or can feel shame around sharing troubles with a parent or guardian.
But there are ways to help support kids with their learning that will make them feel secure in opening up about their assignments, without impacting their motivation or causing unnecessary anxiety, said Vanessa Vakharia, the founder and director of Toronto-based tutoring service The Math Guru.
She told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday there are warning signs to keep an eye on to help determine whether a child needs help with their schooling.
The first is bad test scores. However, it’s not always clear if a child has taken a test yet, she said.
“I promise you, if you’re watching this right now your kid has had a test,” Vakharia said.
Another indication to look for, she said, is if a child is exhibiting signs of frustration or having a meltdown when doing their homework.
“Are you seeing them hit the table in frustration? Are they crying? We see meltdowns over math homework all the time,” she said. “And it’s not that kids just don’t want to do homework, it might be a sign that something is going on -- they really don’t understand what’s going on in class.”
Parents or guardians can intervene by pausing their child and asking why they are getting upset, Vakharia explained. She added it is important not to get angry with them.
“The more you talk to them, they might say ‘I just don’t understand how to do this’,” she said.
If you’re hearing from your child they are struggling to complete their homework, then it’s time to talk to their teacher about possible solutions, Vakharia said.
“There’s often a big disconnect between how the kid feels and how the teacher feels,” she said. In her experience, Vakharia said she has found the child may actually be doing fine in class, but is struggling with a single concept.
It’s also important to ask kids more probing questions about how school is going, she said.
“So I would start saying things like, ‘What are you learning right now?’ and see if they can come up with an answer,” Vakharia said. Parents can also ask if their children if they’ve had an assessment or a test yet in school.
“Maybe your kid hasn’t actually had a test, they’ve had a project,” she explained.
If your child isn’t providing information to you, then an email to the teacher would help, she said.
Vakharia said kids who want to skip school complaining of stress, stomach aches, or headaches may actually have anxiety around the classroom, which needs to be addressed directly, she said.
“I would even recommend saying, ‘Did you know there’s a connection? If we’re stressed or scared, it can manifest in our physical body’,” Vakharia explained.
Because it is still early in the year, she said there is time to improve concerns around kids’ grades.
“Catch it early and you’ve got a lot of hope,” she said.
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.