When you consider that children today spend an average of 53 hours a week in front of a screen, it isn’t surprising that it is having an impact on kids’ health and wellness. You might imagine the kinds of activities that some kids are missing out on (running, jumping, playing, sprinting, and swimming to name… Read More →
Little children take to television like fish to water. TV programs do a great job grabbing kids’ attention and can keep it if they tell an interesting tale. These powerful storytellers can be positive or negative forces in the lives of our kids, depending upon a number of factors. Here are six ways to get… Read More →
I just wrote a blog post about self-regulation, technology, and the importance of managing the environment to set our kids (and ourselves) up for success. Here are 8 ways to decrease digital distractions and increase productivity: Cut out background media and discourage multitasking (the exception to this might be calm music for some kids) when… Read More →
We live in a world that begs our attention and engagement at every turn. Even as I settle in to write this blog post, Ping! A new email; Beep! someone posted on my Facebook timeline; Bzzz. my phone alerts me to a text even though I’ve put it on vibrate in a weak attempt to… Read More →
We just wrote a post about executive function and how important these skills are for our kids success in school and in life. Here are some tips for giving your kids lots of practice: Help your child build a framework: Helping your child set attainable goals and breaking tasks into achievable steps helps build executive… Read More →
Does this sound familiar? You are driving your daughter and her two friends to a soccer game and the car is unusually quiet. They must be mentally preparing for the big game, you think. How nice. You maintain this illusion until you hit the first long red light at which point you glance into the… Read More →
I just wrote a post on the importance of face-to-face interaction for tweens. Here are a couple of ways to make sure you are striking a good balance between online and offline time: Make meal times screen free. This is a great time to start conversations about the day and connect with one another. Ask… Read More →
There has been a dramatic increase in parental and teacher concern about technology “overuse” as more and more children and teens have their own smart phones and more of their social life is spent on line either texting or on social networking sites. While it is clear that there is enormous benefit to growing up… Read More →
I get asked a lot to come in to a community to talk about Internet Safety. I often begin these sessions by asking parents what they are most excited about and what concerns them most in terms of parenting kids in the digital age. While many parents come to workshops worried about cyberbullying and predators,… Read More →
Many parents share your love/hate relationship with technology. This ambivalence makes a lot of sense! If you synthesize the mountain of research on technology’s impact on kids it boils down to this: there is a lot of incredible opportunity and a lot of stuff our kids could do without. So how do we respond? The… Read More →
