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Kids and Technology: How to Handle it

June 23, 2022 by admin

Technology can be extremely useful and convenient, and as time goes on, it seems like it is getting more and more innovative. We’ve gotten inventions like electric cars, instant customer services such as the kind at Votacall, smartwatches, and much more. Our kids are no strangers to these technological advancements, but the line between restricting their access and allowing full control can be blurry in these regards.

Here are some popular pieces of technology with today’s children and teens and how you might want to go about handling them.

Phones

Because most kids these days can’t go a minute without being by their phones, it’s natural that parents would be concerned about their screen time. Depending on their age and level of maturity, you may even want to wait until getting them a phone in the first place. This will depend on your personal opinion, but most experts agree that waiting to get a smartphone for your child until they reach the ages of eleven and thirteen is appropriate.

Then you have to remain aware of just how often they use it and what they’re using it for. You may want to set restrictions such as no phones at the table, past a certain evening hour, or using parental restrictions on certain apps for younger kids. As long as you’re paying the phone bill, it’s all up to you, but conveying a certain amount of trust in them while also being aware that they are still a child will go a long way.

Video Games

Kids love video games. It’s a way for them to unwind after a long day at school, play online with their friends, and engage in an interactive hobby like no other. However, gaming, just like anything else, can turn into an addiction like being on your phone, eating junk food, or watching TV. It is completely fine to let them play games with their friends or alone, but limiting the amount they play within a single day or week—within reason—might be required if you find them shut up in their room for hours at a time each day.

For younger kids, you also need to be aware of the type of game their playing. Some games may be inappropriate for their age group, as is indicated on the front cover’s rating. Other games may be filled with spammy microtransactions that take advantage of players and get them to pay ludicrous amounts of money for digital goods. If they want a new game, take the time to do a quick search and see if it’s something you’re comfortable with them playing.

Television

Even if your child doesn’t have a phone yet or isn’t really into video games, they’ll likely be watching television at some point. There’s nothing wrong with letting your child watch cartoons and movies, but if that’s all they’re doing, you might have a problem. It can be easy for kids to want to wake up on Saturdays and just watch TV all day, or for teenagers after school to retreat to their rooms each night and binge Netflix or Hulu for hours on end.

Making sure they are actually engaging in something other than television is the main concern, not so much that they are actually watching TV. As long as they are spending some time outside, hanging out with their friends and the family, doing their homework, and taking on additional hobbies, letting them watch the occasional show isn’t a big deal.

Mutual Understandings

At the end of the day, how you raise your kids in regards to technology is completely up to you, and reaching a reasonable, mutual understanding with your child is important. You may want to play it a little stricter, a little looser, or somewhere in the middle, but as long as your kids are growing up into good people and you are happy with it, that’s all that matters.

Easy School Lunch Ideas Your Child Will Actually Eat

June 23, 2022 by admin

Packing your child’s lunch shouldn’t be stressful, but for many busy moms, it is just one more task that needs to be done on a busy morning. While adults can easily prepare lunch for the week using a meal prep service like Lean Kitchen, little ones are usually pickier and require smaller, fresh options for each day of the week. Whether you’re packing a lunch for school, daycare, camp, or anywhere else your child might be headed for the day, it is important to pack enough food that will keep them full, while also preventing food waste by only packing what they will eat. If you’re looking for some new ideas for school lunches that your child will actually eat, keep reading!

1. Sandwiches

You are likely already packing some kind of sandwich for your child’s lunch since they are a relatively quick and inexpensive meal option. The great thing about sandwiches is that they are often kid-friendly, with ingredients that even the pickiest eaters like or can easily modify. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a classic, but if your child is tired of eating them, you could also try:

Hummus and veggies
Cream Cheese (add salmon for protein if your child likes it)
Cold cuts – ham, roasted chicken, and turkey sandwiches are all high in protein and will keep your child full for the rest of the school day!

2. Filling Sides

In addition to a sandwich or other “entree,” be sure to give your child a filling side dish. This could include some kind of rice or pasta dish depending on the entree, or a cheese and meat spread. You could also try:

Chips and salsa
Salad
Veggies (broccoli, miniature corn cobs, carrots, and cauliflower are all filling options that most children like, and can be eaten cold)

3. Snacks

Once your child has been given a filling and healthy entree and side dish, it is time to pack snacks that they will enjoy. Popular and filling snacks include:

Pretzels – try a soft pretzel cut into bite-sized pieces for a fun take on this classic snack
Apples and peanut butter (or chocolate/hazelnut spread)
Fruit Slices
Crackers

4. Dessert

Reward your child for eating a healthy lunch and give them a fun snack to look forward to with dessert. This could include:

Cookies
A slice of cake or pie
Fruit salad
Mini chocolate bars

5 Ways to Get Your Child Excited About Learning

January 26, 2022 by admin

Your child’s education is one of the most important aspects of their upbringing. Naturally, learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom. You have to teach your child at home as well. But just as importantly, you have to make sure that your child actually wants to learn. If learning is not enjoyable for young children, they will want to spend their formative years doing other things that do not always help open and expand their minds. So, in today’s post, we are going to look at 5 ways to get your child excited about learning!

Talk With Your Child’s Teachers

It goes without saying that a lot of learning will happen at school. To a large degree, this part of your child’s education is outside of your control. For this reason, it is important to speak with your child’s teacher on a regular basis. This way, you can exchange information, learning about potential problem areas that your child faces in the classroom while also providing their teacher with useful tips about how your child learns at home. If you’re looking for a Pre-K program that actively engages with kids and creates excitement for learning, be sure to check out the programs available through Frog Street!

Read With Your Child

Reading is one of the best ways to help your child learn. While some children do not enjoy reading as much as others, most children love stories. So, you can read to your child or with your child. Either way, having your child engage with books on a regular basis (ideally every day) will help them grow and learn through fun stories.

Limit Non-Educational Screen Time

Smartphones and tablets can be great tools to help your child have fun while learning. Though many experts recommend keeping your child away from screens during their first few years, they will almost certainly encounter them at one point or another. For this reason, you should ideally limit their ability to access smart devices at home without your supervision. When they are using smartphones or tablets, they should be engaging in learning activities or playing educational games.

Incorporate Lessons Into Daily Activities

Everything you do with your child is an opportunity to learn. Whether you’re going for a walk in the park or making dinner at home, use these opportunities to teach your child about the world around them. Your child likely has tons of questions about things they see and observe, so do your best to answer their questions and even create engaging activities or games around different subjects.

Show Your Own Enthusiasm For Learning

Ultimately, children learn the most from observing others. Moreover, children tend to copy the behavior of their parent, parents, or caregivers. If you seem bored by learning activities, how can you expect your child to get excited? So, even if you had a long day at work and are feeling tired, do your best to show excitement about learning with your child. They will likely mimic your positive attitude in no time!

Did you enjoy our guide on 5 ways to get your child excited about learning? If so, be sure to check out some of our other posts on 3 Kids And Us today!

What Hobbies Can Parents And Children Do Together?

September 16, 2021 by admin

It’s good to have a hobby. No matter who you are or what else you are doing in life, if you have a hobby, you will keep active (physically or mentally, and sometimes both), have something to look forward to always have a topic of conversation, and be able to de-stress more easily.

Of course, the problem can sometimes be the work-life balance. You have to work and enjoy your hobby, but is that really possible when you also have children to take care of? This is why hobbies can sometimes fall by the wayside; you just don’t have the time. However, if you can find a hobby that your children can do with you, you’ll be able to fit everything in and enjoy yourself immensely, as well as getting some extra bonding time with your kids. Read on for some ideas to get you started.

Reading

Reading might not seem to be a hobby as such, but it can be if you do it right. Simply reading a book is an excellent way to relax, but reading a book and then discussing it, writing a follow-up, or learning more about the author makes it more of a hobby.

Since reading is so good for children (children who read at home often do better at school, and their creativity will have an outlet and even improve through reading), it’s the ideal hobby to do together. You could choose to read the same book and then talk about it, or you might have your own books but use your reading time to find new places to read – even outside – or bake some treats to enjoy while you’re reading. Reading by itself is great, but it’s even better when you turn it into a hobby.

Gardening

The more time children spend outside, the better. They aren’t focused on their screens, they’re getting a break from schoolwork, and they’re breathing in the fresh air, as well as getting exercise and topping up their vitamin D levels. Of course, the same goes for the adults who are with them; being outside is good for everyone.

A hobby that involves being outside and that you and your children can do together could be gardening. This hobby offers a good amount of physical exercise, but it also teaches you something; you’ll need to know what plants will thrive, what to add to your soil, how to weed, and, importantly, what landscape gardening tools to use.

Gardening is a hobby without end; there is always something to do, so you’ll never get bored, and if you need to fill some time, gardening can be the solution there too.

Collecting

Collecting might sound like a generic, vague hobby, but once you determine what you want to collect, you can spend a lot of time and enjoyment searching those things out. Some of the things you might collect could include:

Old postcards
Stamps
Music memorabilia
Spoons
Pin badges
Anything to do with a certain animal
Wooden boxes

The list goes on and on; whatever it is that catches your eye and makes you want to know more and have more can be your collection.

You don’t have to collect the same thing as your child; you might find that you have completely different tastes, and they want to collect gemstones while you want to find old cookery books, but this doesn’t matter. Going out together to scour the local shops, antiques markets, or boot sales to see if you can pick up any more items is always going to be fun.

How to Help Your Child Avoid Bad Health Habits

April 22, 2021 by admin

Bad habits don’t form overnight. Rather, they develop slowly over long periods of time. As such, it can be difficult to notice if you –– or someone in your family –– starts to fall into a bad health habit. Parents in particular are right to be concerned about their kids forming poor dietary and exercise patterns early in life. To prevent that from occurring, today we’ll explore how moms and dads can spot, stop, and reverse bad habits that could affect the health of their little ones. Check it out here:

Communicate

Communication is vital to every relationship. It should come as no surprise that one of the best ways to monitor the health and happiness of a child is to simply talk to them! While they may not be able to articulate everything that they notice or feel, they can certainly let you know if they think something’s wrong. Similarly, parents should have regular dialogue with teachers, babysitters, and other parents to make sure that their children aren’t building bad habits outside of the house.

Set a Good Example

Kids can tell when their parents aren’t being genuine with them. If you say to your child that a good night of sleep is very important, but you yourself often stay up late and fail to get quality rest, that message will be unlikely to carry much weight. This is why setting a good example for your kids is fundamental. Going on walks, eating healthy meals, visiting healthcare clinics like Northwest Surgery Center if you have a problem, and generally following wellness best practices on your own will help your child develop good habits as well. Children take cues from their parents constantly, so be sure to exemplify the habits you want them to follow.

Consult with a Professional

It’s impossible for even the most vigilant parents to identify every problem that could affect their child right away. Sometimes bad habits can form as a result of physical ailments or emotional distress. As a general rule, parents should schedule regular health checkups for their kids as often as needed. However, if you’re concerned about your child’s behavior for a specific reason, then it’s a good idea to consult with a medical expert.

Be Patient

Breaking a bad habit is tough. Getting a child to curtail a bad habit can be even more challenging. Parents must be patient and persistent though, to ensure the long-term health and happiness of their children. Your patience now will be hugely important for the development of your child –– remember that when things get tough!