Durable Human (2 book series)

Tag Archives: play

How and Why Home Can Supplement School

Four children take a break from school by playing together outdoors

There is lots you can do at home to help your child succeed in online school and be healthier and happier overall.

First, 8-year-old Emma changed her name to “Kitty” in the midst of a Zoom session. Another time, she tried to make her classmates laugh by showing them her bare foot. Fiddling with a glue bottle while her teacher was talking was apparently the last straw.

“We just want it to be a successful year for everyone,” the teacher said in a phone call home. The words she spoke were soothing, but her tone said otherwise. “You could hear she was upset,” recalls Emma’s mom, who herself was assigned homework. The teacher told her to clear off Emma’s desk so there’d be no further distractions.

All that in the first week of school for a kid who used her small summer allowance to pay for a math game subscription.

~~~

Last spring’s rush to online learning was understandably rife with problems. “For most, remote teaching did not work well,” contends David McKinnon, Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook University in a presentation by Children and Screens. “Kids gained little or nothing, or regressed.” This time, schools have had more time to prepare. Still, he says, “creating a good remote learning program is a very challenging task.”

Teachers will try their hardest to give students opportunities for higher-level reasoning and independent thought along with the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. What may be lost for kids are the intangibles, like being able to express their feelings, move around, and build life skills. Supplementing those at home will go a long way toward keeping kids’ spirits up and their love of learning alive.

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Have a Slightly Risky Christmas: Exciting Non-Tech Gift Ideas for Kids

Chistmas stocking filled with coal

Lots of kids only have shiny objects on their holiday lists and it’s hard to imagine what would entice them that isn’t tech-related. But unplugged gifts can compete, especially if they’re just risky enough to cause a jolt of adrenaline, as do their screen-based rivals.

The gifts on this list not only pack a thrill, they also build kids’ mental, physical, and social skills, and might even draw your family closer together:

Tickle a preschooler’s fancy with a (play) knife

Little kids love slicing through the bread, tomatoes and other wooden foodstuffs in Melissa and Doug’s sandwich-making set. Besides the mental math your child does to separate and arrange the Velcro-joined pieces, this toy builds manual dexterity. Hand-eye coordination is taking a hit of late, as evidenced by young adults who are smart enough to train as surgeons, but they can’t sew.
Melissa and Doug wooden toy for fun cutting wooden food

For elementary-aged kids, a spooky night caper alone in the woods

No need to leave the comforts of home. To play the award-winning Shadows in the Forest board game, kids need only turn out the lights. Players roll glow-in-the-dark dice and take turns using a teeny LED lantern to search out mysterious creatures called Shadowlings. Opponents use cunning and logic to keep their Shadowlings in the shadows.

Shadows in the Forest Board Game

A thrifty holiday gift for older and younger kids

Toddler blowing bubbles

Bubbles! How are they slightly risky? They’re guaranteed to cause unpredictable movement. That, in turn, builds physical durability as kids stand up and get exercise, which became sorely lacking as the pandemic spread.

Blowing bubbles also helps little kids learn how to speak. By puckering up and exhaling, they strengthen breath control and muscles in the back of the tongue. They also practice a bunch of sounds, including /w/ and the /o/, /oo/, along with /k/ and /g/, according to Michelle Boisvert, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, RSP-ADHD, founder of the speech language pathologists’ reporting platform, easyReportPRO. You can buy bottles of bubbles in bulk and bubble refills at Bubble Tree USA.

Non-tech gift idea for Fortnite-prone teens: a wand of red-hot metal

Kids can’t not get creative adorning the ligneous shapes in T.S. Shure Woodburning Creations Kit. Even the box is burnable! Sure, they could possibly singe a finger, but the kit is rated 13 and older. Oh, alright. If you’re gonna get nervous, buy leather gloves to go with.

picture of child's woodburning kit

Enjoy right along with them: a genuine sack of coal

This is no punishment. Who knew you could make beautiful crystals out of coal briquettes, but here are the directions. To make the experiment work, you also need a bottle of the laundry agent, bluing.  This activity teaches your child hands-on lessons in chemistry and earth science—plus how smart and fun mom or dad can be.

Besides needing 3-D, 360-degree full-sensory play, kids crave your undivided attention. To fulfill those wishes, print out fill-in-the-blank coupons (thanks, NewDream.org!) and create your own fun, like a family kayak (or camping or sledding) adventure.

Little ones don’t hold much sway in household decision-making, so love redeeming coupons such as:

  • Let me stay up 15 minutes past bedtime
  • Read me an extra bedtime story
  • Drop everything and play with me

When the holidays are over, continue your tech-management momentum with this free downloadable Durable Family Pledge. Family members choose five life-balance habits to try over 4-week period. Long enough that they just might stick.

Download the Durable Family Pledge for FREE

About the author: Jenifer Joy Madden is a health journalist, digital media professor, and parent of three durable young adults. Her words have informed millions on news outlets including ABC News, The Washington Post, and in her books, How To Be a Durable Human: Revive and Thrive in the Digital Age Through the Power of Self-Design and The Durable Human Manifesto: Practical Wisdom for Living and Parenting in the Digital World.

Be sure to also see all the Durable Human holiday gifts (mugs, clothing, tech hygiene gifts, book, and courses) here.

Insights Behind the TEDx Talk Durable Humans are Smarter Than Their Phones

Kids with arms around huge durable Sequoia tree.

Top TED talker Brene Brown nailed it at the Mom2Summit when she declared: “I’ve never done anything that was worth much unless I was scared shitless and nauseous.”

That’s exactly how I felt stepping onto the red circle at TEDx Tysons in Tysons, Virginia. But as I delivered “Durable Humans are Smarter Than Their Phones,” I was uplifted by the inspiration of a host of brilliant people I want to thank here.

Copious credit goes to Hilarie Cash, co-founder of ReStart, the nation’s first Internet addiction treatment center. Hilarie invited me in to meet people like “Jeff,” the young tech addict whose heartbreaking yet hopeful story you can read about here.

ReStart’s track record proves that simple things like cooking dinner and mopping the floor can help young people break the stranglehold of addiction and return to success in real life. By creating and sustaining Attachment, Hilarie told me in this interview, parents can help kids Continue reading

Don’t Be Dumb About Smart Toys and Home Devices by Google and Amazon

Grumpy Bulldog used with permission

We’re getting into a whole new relationship with technology. Tech makers want us to embrace the “Internet of Things,” especially those that can be used in the household.

Like our smartphones do, smart home devices have prodigious capabilities. Amazon Echo becomes a DJ, spinning up impromptu family dance parties. You can summon the weather report even when you’re elbows deep in soap suds. Internet-connected gadgets become more indispensable when they team up, like when Alexa cues your robot vacuum.

But if you opt to bring these powerful objects into your home, you need to be smart, too. For one thing, you can’t expect 100% Continue reading

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