Posted on

10 Must-Have Apps for Families

If you are like most families, your schedules are jam-packed. Keeping track of all the needs of your family members is an overwhelming task. Recognizing the constant struggles parents face daily, app makers have created tools to make your family life pleasant. With these apps, your family will be more organized and connected. Cozi Cozi is a top-rated organizational app that can be synced across numerous devices. It keeps track of everyone’s calendars, to-do lists, grocery lists, and more. For example, parents can easily see who is taking which child to which after-school activity. Remember the Milk Remember the Milk …

Continue reading “10 Must-Have Apps for Families”

Posted on

Encouraging Kids to be Independent

Recent parenting styles include helicopter parents who hovered anxiously around their children and lawnmower parents intent on mowing down any rough patches in their children’s lives. It seems like parents are trying to do more to ease their children into adulthood. In Tokyo, however, children as young as six years of age are sent on their first solo errand. It’s how some Japanese parents instill independence in their children. They assign the child a simple task, such as purchasing something at a nearby store. Often one or more family members secretly follow the child at first. Eventually, the child will …

Continue reading “Encouraging Kids to be Independent”

Posted on

10 Habits of Tech-Savvy Parents

As parents, we all have different approaches to technology. But whatever your personal attitude may be, there’s no escaping the reality that our children are immersed digital media. As with anything else, knowledge and monitoring of our children’s use of technology are critical. So, what are the habits of tech-savvy parents? Here are a few. They provide an example of the balanced use of technology. As important as technology is in our daily lives, tech-savvy parents understand the importance of showing their children that some things are more important than non-stop social media updates and ceaseless email and text conversations. …

Continue reading “10 Habits of Tech-Savvy Parents”

Posted on

8 Must-Have Parental Control and Phone Monitoring Apps

Every parent yearns to protect his or her children from danger. The problem is, children no longer have to leave the house to find themselves in dangerous situations. The rise of technology, and especially the convenience and ease of tablets and Smartphones, have made parental protection a moving target. As a parent, you have a responsibility to protect your children from inappropriate or violent games or websites, Internet predators, and cyberbullying. But where to even start? Fortunately, there are some great parental control and phone monitoring apps to make this overwhelming task much simpler. Net Nanny. This amazing app puts …

Continue reading “8 Must-Have Parental Control and Phone Monitoring Apps”

Posted on

The Secret to Raising a Confident Boy

As parents, we start building our kids’ confidence from the day they’re born. This is an extremely important task, because confident children grow up to be happy and successful adults. Instilling confidence in kids is all about demonstrating that they are valued, loved, and accepted, as well as providing your child with opportunities to feel capable and competent. When it comes to raising confident boys, it’s also important to allow your son to be who he is, even if that means he doesn’t fit society’s perception of a “manly” male. Below, we’ll share four simple tips to help you raise …

Continue reading “The Secret to Raising a Confident Boy”

Posted on

Teaching Your Child to Set Goals

Goal-setting is a highly useful life skill that builds values such as motivation, persistence, determination, and confidence. But setting goals—and especially sticking with them—isn’t an easy task, even for adults. So how can you help your child set and achieve goals? Let Your Child Choose First, it’s important to let your child choose his own goal. If the goal is something that you want your child to achieve, he’s less likely to have the motivation needed to see it through. And even if he does reach the goal, it won’t be nearly as meaningful. Offer Guidance Of course, once your …

Continue reading “Teaching Your Child to Set Goals”

Posted on

How to Help Kids Understand Scary Events

The key to helping kids understand scary events is first to recognize that is often impossible to understand. Even as adults, we struggle to wrap our minds around the reasons for natural disasters, mass shootings, or other devastating events. As parents, we have the challenging role of trying to help our children process these types of events. Take Care of Yourself First Your children will feed off your emotional energy. If they sense your anxiety, they will grow anxious. Therefore, you must take care of yourself first. I am not suggesting you do not respond to tragedies; instead, you find …

Continue reading “How to Help Kids Understand Scary Events”

Posted on

Why Regular Napping Helps Kids Learn

All parents know napping is a necessity where their children are babies, but did you realize that continued napping helps kids learn? While some children begin to drop their naps around age three, those children who continue napping through the preschool years tend to perform better. As you will see in this article, studies show that preschoolers benefit from regular napping. More Positive Attitudes Often, one of the first signs that a child is tired is the change in his/her attitude. Cranky children are usually tired children. Plus, when children are sleepy, they struggle. Teachers will attest that these children …

Continue reading “Why Regular Napping Helps Kids Learn”

Posted on

How to Talk to Your Kids About Puberty

It’s that awkward moment every parent dreads. The time has come to talk to your child about puberty. You may feel uncomfortable, but know that this conversation is essential to your child’s overall emotional and physical well-being. Here are a few pointers to help you navigate these uncharted waters. Start early. Experts recommend beginning the discussion about puberty with your child at the age of eight. Consider that some changes, such as the onset of menstruation, can occur as early as age nine. Initiate the conversation. Show that you are receptive to their problems and concerns by opening the dialogue. …

Continue reading “How to Talk to Your Kids About Puberty”

Posted on

9 Benefits of Music Lessons

Has your child been asking for lessons on the piano, the guitar, or maybe even the saxophone? If you’re hesitating about the commitment, here are some great benefits for kids who learn to play a musical instrument. It builds language skills. As they learn their instrument, children become accustomed to different sounds that they would not have recognized before. This practice trains their ears for the nuances and subtle sounds of language. It makes them stronger academically. Researchers have found connections between music lessons and nearly every measure of academic achievement: SAT scores, high school GPA, reading comprehension, and math …

Continue reading “9 Benefits of Music Lessons”