Politics can be a difficult subject to discuss with children, but as they grow and begin to understand the fundamentals of civics and how people choose their local and national leaders, the subject is hard to avoid. Voting allows people to come together as a community to make a collective decision; it fosters democracy and allows for a fair process in electing local and national leaders. How do you talk to kids about voting and…
Read More »Going back to school can be a little intimidating, but while you can’t hold your kid’s hand as they try to find their classes, you can get them prepared with the right gear for the year. Here are a few items that can help keep you organized, energized, ready to tackle the start of the new school year. 1. Start the morning off right with a sunrise alarm clock. If mornings are difficult for your…
Read More »It’s hard to believe that school will be starting up soon for most kids and teens. The back-to-school season can be exciting and challenging, but a smooth transition helps families adjust well and thrive with the new school year. Here are some practical back to school strategies to help your kids and teens (as well as you) prepare. 1. Help your child make a plan and get any remaining summer assignments completed. Divide up reading,…
Read More »Children look forward to the summer months when a break from school gives them a chance to enjoy the outdoors, travel, and relax with friends and family. However, it’s important to ensure children’s safety while they’re having fun in the sun. Specialists from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center offer seven recommendations for keeping kids safe this summer season. 1. Keep children away from burn hazards. Fireworks can be extremely dangerous…
Read More »The summer slide is a decline in a child’s academic skills that occurs over the summer vacation when school is not in session. Summer slide goes by a number of names, including the summer learning loss and the summer brain drain, but in essence, they all mean the same thing: over the summer vacation, children are likely to forget a lot of the information and knowledge they have picked up over the past academic year. Summer…
Read More »In the United States today, more than 23 million children live in a single parent family. This total, has risen over the last half century and currently covers about one in every three kids across America. A number of long-term demographic trends have fueled this increase, including: marrying later, declining marriage rates, increasing divorce rates and an uptick in babies born to single mothers. Within single-parent families, most children — 14.3 million — live in…
Read More »While active shooter drills have become common practice across much of the country, some experts and parents worry they may do more harm than good, particularly if they involve simulation. One of those critics is Dr. David Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. He spoke to NPR’s Steve Inskeep about how high-intensity drills can harm students’ mental health, and shared what alternatives he would…
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When your child is younger, you as a parent have a lot of control over his social life, selecting whom he should interact with, the length of the interaction and where the interaction takes place. That changes when your child reaches school age. Suddenly, these decisions about friendships— with whom to be friends, how much time to spend with a friend and how to spend that time together — are made largely on his own…
Read More »in Elementary School, Parent-Child Advice, Reading - 0 Comments
What is economics? An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations? The task of managing a household? The study of man in the ordinary business of life? When theorists and philosophers through the ages have offered very different definitions, how are parents meant to define economics for kids when they ask? Your children might well be wondering about the economy, right now. The current cost of living crisis means the state…
Read More »You may have never thought specifically about teaching your child about forgiveness, but it’s an essential social-emotional lesson we all must learn. Maybe you’ve apologized to your child only to have them stare back at you blankly, or maybe your child had a misunderstanding with their friend on the playground, and even after it had been resolved they refused to play with that friend. Maybe their brother accidentally pushed them and they still lashed out…
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