Children Archives - Page 21 of 39

3 Major Benefits of Educational Vacations with Kids

January 30, 2018 by admin

Planning where to go on a family vacation is always a major undertaking. While you want to go somewhere the kids won’t be bored silly, you also want to take a much-needed break that you so deserve after all the hard work you’ve put in this year. Actually, you can accomplish all that and so much more if you plan an educational vacation with the kids. There are at least three major benefits of educational vacations, but when you stop to think about it, you’ll find many more as well!

1. Real Quality Time Spent Together

One of the great things about educational vacations is that you really need to spend time with the kids. Instead of going to a beach where the kids will play in the sand and wade on the shore while you sip tropical drinks and get that tan you’ve been looking forward to all year, you will have to actually talk to your kids. Don’t think that just because you are visiting Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty, or the Space Needle in Seattle that your kids will not be entertained.

These historic sites have been thrilling students, not just Norwich University master in history grad students, but kids of all ages, for many years. Even if you follow a tour guide around, you will find that your kids have plenty of questions and will babble your ears off in the process. What better way to spend quality time with your kids than looking at our heritage together and talking about how it impacts our lives today?

2. An Up-Close Look at History

In fact, just imagine that someday your kids might look back on this vacation as the inspiration for earning that advanced degree in history at Norwich University. It is one thing to study history and world events in a textbook, but it is something else altogether when you get an up-close look at the places where history was made. Sometimes it feels like we are letting our own history pass us by in this digital age, but a family vacation to some of the most important historic destinations can ground us for just a few moments in time.

3. Learning to Appreciate the Diversity of Other Cultures

Another way in which an educational vacation can benefit our children is to show them the cultural diversity of the peoples living on this small (and getting smaller!) planet upon which we live. Sometimes it only takes a trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown or a day in Little Havana (Miami) to see that our nation is comprised of people of all cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Instead of learning to fear and hate other people who differ culturally from our way of life, we can learn to appreciate the beauty and diversity each culture adds to this nation.

There are just so many educational places to visit and lessons to be learned that you will probably want to do this very same thing again next year, and the year after that. You can always take a weekend trip to the beach or an extended weekend camping, but how often do you actually get to go on vacation that demands you spend quality time talking together? This is that chance, so use it wisely – a vacation your kids will remember for many, many years to come.

Developing a Happy, Healthy Home Life for Parents with Kids

January 26, 2018 by admin

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Creating a happy, healthy environment for your children to grow up in matters enormously for their emotional, mental, and personal development. Kids need to feel secure in their environment and have a greater degree of predictability because most things are new to them. This is why when going on a trip, kids need to know when they’ll arrive and make plans after their arrival to return a sense of control when out of their limited comfort zone.

Here are a few ways to create a home environment that’s conducive to a happy life for children.

Children Need Their Own Autonomy

While they depend very much on their parents for help, support, and advice, they also must learn to think for themselves, solve problems and not require parental assistance at every turn. Just like with using stabilizers on a bicycle, it’s good to help them avoid injury, but sometimes they have to take a few knocks to learn important life lessons you cannot get from reading a book.

It’s always better to learn from the mistakes of others, but that’s not always useful with practical challenges. Parents will do well to note the different types of things that their kids will need to learn and when practical lessons override book smarts.

Rewards for Participation Isn’t Setting Them Up for Long-term Success

One of the issues currently evident with the millennial generation is a lack of desire to win. It’s been found that millennials as children were given awards just for participating in an event or a challenge, regardless of whether they won or not. Doing so creates several new problems long-term.

Firstly, it makes it clear that winning is not necessary; just doing the minimum is good enough, which is a lousy ethic to bring into a competitive workplace environment later.

Secondly, not striving for continual improvement because average performance is rewarded makes it difficult for young adults to keep up with a rapidly-changing marketplace that we’re currently all facing.

For the next generation, it’s important to expect higher performance as children get older. Whilst parents should recognize that each child has their own innate abilities and limitations, doing the best that they can do is the mark to attain. Teaching children to finish what they start and to be heavily goal-oriented are both vital disciplines that lead to better performance throughout life.

Healing Emotional Abuse with Foster Kids

For foster parents, the challenges can often be even greater than for biological parents. Many children that go into foster care were poorly treated, previously suffering one or more kinds of abuse. A sense of betrayal and abandonment leads to a lack of trust in authority figures, which if not handled the right way continues through to adult life, leading to potential difficulties in the workplace and elsewhere.

Taking an emotional abuse test is a good way to confirm whether there are any major difficulties in this area, which can then be addressed in a positive way. Rebuilding trust in authority and learning to accept sensible guidance takes time in children who are preschoolers, tweens, or of school age. But it’s a critically important component of a child’s developmental path.

Creating a safe environment for children allows them to focus on their lives, accelerate learning and leave plenty of time to play. In chaotic homes, it’s been shown time and again that this leads to erratic children who grow up to be detrimental members of society. By doing your part as a parent, your children can grow up to be leaders and inspire others.

4 Ways to Make Your Kids Feel at Home at the Doctor’s

January 19, 2018 by admin

No matter what age your children are, going to the doctor’s office can be a stressful and nervy experience for many youngsters. Even if it’s just a routine check up, the next time you have to take one of your kids to the pediatrician’s could prove to be a tough day on the parenting docket. Fortunately, here are four steps you can take to mitigate against a stress-inducing day out to the doctor’s –– and help both you and your little one relax!

Bring Entertainment

The most excruciating aspect of any visit to the doctor’s isn’t the check up itself, the reflex tests, or even the dreaded shots –– rather, it’s the anticipation that can unsettle even the most fearless child. Plan for having to wait in the lobby for some time while at the pediatrician and make sure to bring along something for your child to play with. A book, iPad, tablet, or small toy are all good suggestions. Anything that holds their attention, without causing too much of a ruckus will serve to relax them, and allow you to fill out paperwork without distraction.

Consistency is Key

The last thing your child needs on an already stressful day are unplanned shocks to the system. So if possible, schedule each trip to the doctor to be as similar as possible. Find a pediatrician you like and trust at a location that’s convenient for you and continue with them. Your child will appreciate the consistency and will learn to trust a doctor the more they see them.

Be Transparent

If your kid is especially freaked out by going to the doctor’s, one way to help calm their nerves is to explain the different processes to them. Tell them what to expect at the doctor’s, why certain exams and shots are necessary, and how long everything is going to take. You can even show them images of different lab equipment like needles, pediatric blood tubes, and stethoscopes to help destigmatize any fears they might harbor. Remember, your child is perceptive; misleading them, or downright lying will cause more trouble than it’s worth.

Reward Good Behavior

Let your little one know up front that after you go to the doctor’s, there will be a treat in store for them. Whether you take them out for a classic like ice cream, or candy, or a trip to the movie theater or zoo is up to you. Just let them know you appreciate their cooperation and reinforce their positive behavior.

Kids and Teens More Vulnerable to Sleep Disruption from Electronics

January 16, 2018 by admin

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One of our primary concerns as parents involves ensuring that our children obtain a good night’s sleep, from the time they are babies. In the U.S., recent reports show that children under the age of nine spend over two hours a day on electronic devices, with around 42% of children this age having their own tablets. In addition to raising concerns about the type of apps they are using/games they are playing, so much screen time has also recently been found to risk their quality of sleep.

Why Are Children and Teens More Vulnerable to the Effects of Screens?

A recent large-scale review of available research, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, found that children are particularly sensitive to the sleep-disrupting effects of electronic devices, because their brains, sleeping patterns, and eyes are still in the process of development. As noted by the report authors, when light hits the retina of the eye, it suppresses the production of melatonin – a hormone which makes us feel sleepy. Light extends the period of time during which we feel awake and alert, and because lenses are more transparent in young people, the effect of electronics on their eyes is significantly higher.

Psychological arousal is also more significant in children and teens: that is, texting friends, watching visually impactful media or networking on social media sites can increase their cognitive arousal.

Why is Sleep so Important?

Sleep is vital for a host of bodily functions; it helps keep anxiety, obesity, and fatigue at bay, to name just a few. Lack of sleep can lead to major health issues that are costly and challenging to treat, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Although the majority of Americans enjoy coverage for these diseases, some medication or treatments may lie outside their policies, which can pose a great economic and personal burden for families.

How Can Parents Improve Sleep in Children?

Experts recommend specific steps, including:

Ensuring children do not spend time on electronic devices in the hours leading up to bedtime.
Turning off all devices at bedtime and charging them outside the bedroom.
Removing plug-in devices from children’s bedrooms (including computer games, televisions, etc.).

To improve sleep in kids, try to reduce their amount of screen time, especially in the afternoon and night time. Stick to a routine, ensure your child’s bedroom is cosy and dark, and if you do opt to give your children a snack before bed, make it a healthy one such as fruit or veggies, or snacks from a food group your child may have consumed little of during the day.

Helping Your Teen Dye their Hair For The First Time

January 8, 2018 by admin

One of the best parts of being a teenager is experimenting with different looks and finding your own style. If your teen is in this stage right now, it can actually be a lot of fun to join in with it, rather than thwarting their desire to try out different things with clothes, hair, and make-up. As long as it doesn’t go against their school’s dress code and the changes aren’t permanent, there is nothing to lose by embracing their interest in having a unique look (or a series of unique looks that change like the wind!).

One thing where your own experience may actually be a big help is if your teen wants to start changing their hair color (assuming you have ever dyed your hair yourself – although even if you haven’t, a second pair of hands and eyes can help a lot when applying hair dye as a novice!). It can also be a really fun thing to do together and a great way to bond.

Helping Them Choose A Dye Carefully

Hair dye comes in lots of flavors, and if they want to make a dramatic change like going from naturally blonde hair to black, then it is best to talk through their options. A permanent hair colorant is not the best choice for a first-time hair experiment. While they may be certain they want black hair forever and ever, if they change their mind and want to go back to a lighter color and have used a permanent dye, this will mean they’ll have to do some serious bleaching, which will damage their hair. And even then, they may not get it back to the color they want (it may very well turn bright orange).

Encourage them to choose a temporary or semi-permanent color instead. While this will fade, it is better to dye it again in a few weeks to keep the color if they like it than to have to go to great lengths and ruin the condition of their hair if they want to go back or try something else.

Look Through Style Ideas Together

Teens who are new to changing their hair color may simply assume that a color they like on a model or celebrity in a picture will look the same on them. Actually, skin tone and eye color make a lot of difference, and what may look striking on one person can make another look washed out. It is a good idea to look through pictures and try and find images where the model has similar eye color and skin tone to your teen, and base tones on that. One shade of red, for instance, may be better for them than another, and doing this will help you both find out which. There are lots of useful hair images and ideas at mynewhairstyles.net, which can be a good starting point.

Get Your Gloves On!

The final thing to do is to help them to apply the color. Even experienced people sometimes end up with patches at the back that they missed, and so for a first timer, getting even coverage on their own is going to be ultra-hard.

If you dye your own hair, you and your teen can even make a day of it, picking out new styles together and helping one another with the application!