Kids Help Scientists In the Great Bird Count

Do your kids love nature and want to protect it? They can help by counting birds this weekend! There's a free app that can help you identify the birds you are seeing or hearing. Entering the birds you see helps build a world-wide database.

Problems From Letting Your Child Use Your Phone

Have you ever let your child use your phone to play a game or watch a video? Listen to this dad's story about what happened when he let his 6-year-old use his phone to play a game.



Letting your kids use your phone may seem like a fine idea right up until you realize how much trouble is easily available. Kids are curious and likely to launch apps other than the one they were originally using. From spending your money to watching porn, kids can get in a lot of trouble using your phone.

Have your kids gotten into trouble using your phone? What happened? How did you respond? Feel free to share your story in the comments below.

Encouraging Words for Parents

You work hard as a parent to do the best for your kids.  For the most part, it is a thankless job.  Watch this video for some encouraging words.  What affirmations would you add? 

Balancing Giving Your Kids Too Much or Too Little

Is there such thing as too much of a good thing? Yes!

How do you know when your kids have crossed the line into the "too much" territory?  Their behavior will be your best clue: 

• Watching shows that are too scary lead to trouble falling asleep. 
• Eating too much junk food leads to stomach aches and weight gain.
• Having too much screen time leads to crankiness. 
• Owning too much stuff leads to difficulty keeping their room clean. 
• Participating in too many planned activities leads to feelings of overwhelm. 

You teach your kids by example.  You also teach them by setting limits.  If you try to make your kids happy all the time, you risk not setting healthy limits.  

What is one area you feel your child is in the "too much" territory?  How will you set a limit?  

 

Social Media's Link To Rising Despair In Kids

Social media plays a role in the rising rates of mental health issues in children.  How big a role it plays is up for debate.  January 6, 2023, the Seattle Public Schools filed a lawsuit against Meta, Facebook, Instagram, Siculus, Snap, TikTok, ByteDance, Alphabet, Google, XXVI Holdings, and YouTube. 

The lawsuit alleges how these companies have built their businesses by exploiting children's vulnerabilities.  It states "Defendants have successfully exploited the vulnerable brains of youth, hooking tens of millions of students across the country into positive feedback loops of excessive use and abuse of Defendants’ social media platforms. Worse, the content Defendants curate and direct to youth is too often harmful and exploitive (e.g., promoting a “corpse bride” diet, eating 300 calories a day, or encouraging self-harm)."

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, this information is helpful in appreciating the impact social media may be having on your children.  What limits are you setting on your kids use of social media?  You play a major role in teaching your kids to keep themselves mentally healthy. 

Preventing Kids From Using Gun Violence

You dream of your children growing up and making a positive impact on the world. The last thing you want is for your child to be responsible for killing innocent people. However, kids accidentally or intentionally shooting themselves or someone else is an everyday occurrence in the United States.

Reducing these tragedies requires commitment from everyone. Politicians need to pass common sense gun laws. Parents need to lock up their guns so that their kids cannot access them. Kids need to learn that violence is unacceptable.

Children should be safe in all public situations. It's beyond time for sensible gun laws including banning assault rifles. This is a societal problem that you cannot solve alone. However, you can influence your own children to not turn to violence as a way of dealing with their wounded feelings.

(finish reading the article on PricelessParenting.com)  

Turning Summer Boredom into Opportunities to Grow

 

Summer is a time for kids to enjoy being kids, but it can also be a stressful time for parents. You love your children and want them to have fun. You also want them to use their time in a healthy way.

How will your children be spending their time this summer? Summer vacation with time off from school provides many opportunities for growth, fun and also trouble. It's the trouble that you want to avoid!  

Concerns About Kids' Free Time

Some parents look forward to the unstructured time their children can enjoy during the summer while others worry about how their children will fill those extra hours. What are your greatest concerns about the free time your kids have during the summer? 

(finish reading at PricelessParenting.com)