Parenting

Screens, you can’t get away from them these days. Parents need them to work from home, kids need them for school. They are inevitable now. However, some kids finish their school work in 3-4 hours. Then, they have the rest of the day!

Many teenagers love to play video games. Not every teen who plays video games has a problem. But it is a problem for some. What does it look like for your teen? Have you noticed they have healthy friendships, are active in their school, and making good grades? Do they like to do things besides play video games?

Managing screen use for our children can be hard. Luckily, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has some great recommendations for promoting healthy screen use. They recommend children 18 months and younger to not have exposure to screens other than video-chatting.

I recently picked up the volume on child development published in Childcraft books, copyright 1949. My mother had saved these from her childhood, and I had never realized they included an entire volume about the intricacies of child development. I love reading long-forgotten books about childhood development and may write a few more blog entries on some gems from the past I’ve found useful.

If there is one thing booksellers still carry in hardcover, it's legions of parenting books. The titles range from the hokey and gimmicky to complex and scientific-sounding. There is even a book about the scores of books (Raising America: Experts, Parents and a Century of Advice about Children by Ann Hulbert).

Roughly 20% of all children will present with a psychiatric diagnosis before 18. Asking for a family tree of psychiatric problems at the first well baby visit might someday become part of pediatric screening and at some point, mapping out genetic susceptibility to psychiatric illness is probably a good idea for each child. But parents can prepare for psychiatric problems also by employing the best positive parenting practices—minimizing power struggles and simultaneously taking care to get to know their child’s motivations and feelings as well as possible.

As parents, we want our children to succeed in everything they do, especially school. Teachers play an important role in the development of our children. Get to know your child’s teacher and be actively involved with your child's education. Here are some tips to help your child with school...