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Tag Archives: parenting

When Disaster Strikes Others, Feel the Pinch of Generosity

If you were lucky enough not to be blown away by disasters like Harvey or Irma, you might feel powerless in the face of all the suffering and destruction. But you can flip that attitude into action by brandishing your human-only superpower of generosity.

Consider the Houston Independent School district. Harvey’s rain was still pounding when district officials decided every one of their 215,000 students could eat breakfast and lunch for free the entire school year. They knew returning to normalcy would take time and, if students were to continue to grow and learn, they needed regular nutritious meals.

In Texas, the display of durability was stunning on the part of Continue reading →

Get Your Child’s School Year Off on the Right Foot. Both of Them.

Girls Walk to School

With the start of school, you want your kids to have plenty of time for homework. But what about everything else they need, like to play and sit down for meals? Two easy-to-use online tools help kids of any age to be more balanced, active, and durable–in school and out.

Get started with the Family Media Plan. Created by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Plan allows you to set up and print out guidelines not only around media use, but other necessities like physical activity, enough sleep, manners, and good digital judgment (such as my personal favorite, to charge cellphones out of the bedroom).

You can make a custom profile for each child, based on his or her age. For older kids, the plan also covers tech use and driving.

To create an ideal 24-hour schedule, Continue reading →

Gifts That Help Kids To Be More Durable

Girl with backpack cycles to school

Being online can be so useful and entertaining it’s easy to forget what screens don’t do to help kids grow up to be self-reliant, durable adults. In fact, many tech-savvy school kids are doing strange things like losing their balance on chairs, accidentally bumping into kids in the hallways, and being more prone to cry when frustrated. Occupational therapy researcher Angela Hanscom, author of Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children, also reports that core strength among children has plummeted. A big reason? They just don’t get enough rough and tumble.

These non-tech gifts supplement kids’ digital pursuits: Continue reading →

Best Books To Help Parents With Tech Mentoring, Nature Guidance, and Self-Care

Parents want to raise well-rounded kids who are comfortable in their own skin and with navigating in the natural and digital worlds. These advice books help parents and other care-givers to achieve that goal or to care for themselves in the process.

screenwise-coverThe sensible guide to raising digital citizens we’ve all been waiting for, Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World finally gets how kids use technology and how parents can support their efforts.

Author Devorah Heitner is thoroughly respectful of both sides of the equation and never talks down to, judges, or belittles anyone. Her book is chock-full of practical use-‘em-now tips and she gently instructs and builds the confidence of kids’ first and best digital mentors: their parents. This book doesn’t just skim the surface, it gets gritty and granular, supplying the words and tools we all need.

Among Heitner’s most important points:

  • Choose mentoring your child over simply monitoring what they do online.
  • Have clear, consistent boundaries and explain them to your kids.
  • Pay attention when your kids need you, or as Heitner says, “Be here now.”  Why that’s absolutely crucial.

balanced-and-barefootAnother must-read, Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children supplements Screenwise by  Continue reading →

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