We all know that friendship and socialization is important. Humans are social creatures, and much of how we interact with and perceive the world is based on the people we choose to have around us. The same goes for our children.
As children get a little older and start branching out socially, it’s a good idea for parents to get to know their child’s friends. Not only can you learn a lot about your child by who they choose to hang out with, but friendships offer the unique ability for a child to learn about who they can trust and builds up their social confidence, both of which are crucial to healthy future friendships and social connections.
Below are some tips about how you can begin to get to know your child’s friends!
The pandemic has certainly increased the amount of time that people are sitting in front of screens each day, and kids are no exception.
With the rise of remote and online learning, children are exposed to screens more often than they used to be. Pair that with the amount of time spent watching TV, playing with their cellphones, or playing video games, and screen time is at an all-time high.
It’s important to explain to your children how screen time can affect their eyes, and coming up with a family media plan may be helpful to prevent eye strain, obesity, sleep disturbances and more for not only your children, but you as well.
Below are some tips on how to create a media use plan for your family, as well as how screen time can affect your children’s eyes.
Getting a toddler to sleep through the night can be a struggle. Although there are things you as a parent can do to keep their routines as consistent as possible, ensure they’re comfortable and more, sometimes things happen that can affect their sleep. One of those things is nightmares and night terrors.
Nightmares and night terrors are more common than you may think, but they can be scary to witness.
Keep reading below about how to identify nightmares and night terrors, as well as strategies for helping your child overcome them.
As a parent it is your job to raise and help your child to feel worthy, loved and valued. Your child likely looks up to you for guidance on how to navigate the world, and if you can lead by example in a healthy, encouraging way, your child will want to do that too, and that can help bolster your child’s sense of self-esteem. Previously, we did an article on how you can help your child become resilient, and if you’re interested, click here to read that article which may give you good pointers on helping your child become more confident and resilient in the face of adversity.
Drawing from your own experience from when you were a teenager, you know that time of life can be particularly tough. Being a teenager has its ups and downs, as they start coming to realize who they are and who they might want to be in the future. Between school, social events, puberty, dating, and applying to college, it’s easy for them to get overwhelmed, and some of that is normal.
But how do you know if their stress, feelings, or anxiety isn’t normal?
Unfortunately, mental illness can begin to strike kids when they arrive into their teenage years. Determining whether what they are feeling is typical teen “angst” or something more can be challenging for parents. If you’re lucky, then maybe your teen has talked to you about what they’re feeling and how they are coping, but for many parents, the opposite is true. Maybe your teen is withdrawing from people, struggling with school or there are other signs that they just aren’t doing too well and you feel helpless or unsure of how to approach the situation with them, and that’s understandable.