It’s not about time
We’re the guinea pigs for parenting in the era of screens This isn’t your grandparents’ parenting. There isn’t any age old advice on kids and screens. We are running on…
Seeing is believing
We’ve got some videos and podcasts we think will show kids the possibilities.
Our world has big troubles but we also have some great perks. You can impart great life lessons and all you have to do is lift a finger to click play.
Here are three categories of resources with some examples that you can casually insert into your kids' digital repertoire. They do the triple duty of entertaining, educating, and inspiring.
I’ve still got it!
Have you recently been in a debate with a tween? They know things you have long ago learnt and then forgotten. And they don’t let you forget that!
Let’s just say, there are times every parent needs to remind the kids that having been alive longer counts for something.
Become a just-in-time expert on anything your kids are stumped on. Here’s how to use the internet to flex on your kids every now and then.
Somebody stop me!
Sometimes we need a little help to make ourselves do what we want to do One thing the covid lockdowns revealed to me is that my willpower is not nearly…
Spring (Break) is here!
Ah, yes, Spring Break. Another time of year when kids are out of school and parents are pulling out their hair trying to figure what the kids will do all day.
Well, fear not. As fellow parents who have to work during spring break, Yours Truly and guest blogger Dr Melanie are coming at you with some tips to make this year’s Spring Break be relatively battle free. Yes - we can get the kids to happily do IRL activities over screen time.
It’s ok for kids to be bored
Sometimes kids truly can’t place the source of the unease in their bodies. The claims of boredom may be a deep need for rest. The problem is if you respond with something enticing enough, a second wind may displace that rest. So the next time you feel compelled to step between your child and boredom, try the most relaxing, soothing thing you can get away with first.
Over Spoilt for Choice
Who has ever really needed 31 flavors of ice cream? Or 57 varieties of condiments? We have so many choices that going to the supermarket can bring about feelings that shouldn’t really be associated with buying groceries - inadequacy, unpreparedness, fear about the choice you’ve made, stress about what else you’re not making the best choice on. This week, we share some simple tips that will save kids from the tyranny of choice overload they can encounter with screen time. It’s simpler than you think.
Easy Come, Easy go… Just Easy
It seems you you can have gain without pain Are you a bit skeptical of tearless shampoo? You’ve probably learnt (the hard way) that respectable shampoo that sticks it to…
We can do Hard Things
This week's tips and tricks come out of a conversation with an exceptionally qualified board of advisors on effective parenting - a 10 year old and a 6 year old. How do they psych themselves up to do hard things especially when they had a choice not to do them.
As kids are wont to do, they shock you with their insight. The elegant simplicity of their answer was “because it's fun”.
We are not saying everything in life has to be fun and enjoyable for a kid to do it. The point is making a hard thing fun does motivate us to do it - despite it being hard.
So for kids learning or practicing newly acquired skills, here are some tactical ways you can use digital resources to help them do this particular hard thing.
Share the LOVE!
This week, we share some tactical ways to use Valentine’s day mania to advance the cause of getting kids to fall in love - with learning of course. Being part of the reason why a child falls in love with learning is a thrill. Plus, it automatically makes you better than any Cupid. Own that superpower - even if you have no desire to be in competition with a naked Cherub. So here’s some stuff you can do.