Should Students have Limits on Screen Time?

Have you ever wondered how much screen time is too much?

By allowing student unlimited access to staring into TV screens, portable gaming devices, cell phones, and tablets may cause students to become too sedentary and may have affects on their social development.

WHY LIMIT SCREEN TIME?

Although allowing your students to a lot of time watching TV or playing video games does keep them quiet, it may also some undesirable effects on their behavior and health. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between a sedentary lifestyle and an increase risk of childhood obesity and increased incidences of diabetes.

Too much screen time can lead to irregular sleeping patterns. This, in turn, can lead to attention deficits, poor academic performance and weight gain.

According to the May Clinic: “Elementary students who spend more than two hours a day watching TV or using a computer are more likely to have emotional, social and attention problems. Exposure to video games is also linked with an increased risk of attention problems in children. Watching excessive amounts of TV at age 4 is linked with bullying at ages 6 through 11.”

Children under 3 should not be watching TV or playing with phones or tablets. According to the BBC: “Dr Aric Sigman is warning that screens “may produce” an increased level of dopamine in children’s brains. He suggests this could lead to a dependency on screen media when they are older.”

In France, TV shows aimed at an audience younger than 3 are banned to protect younger children from too much exposure.

According to a study by Public Health in England, children who spend most of their time in front of a screen have a lower self-esteem and are more prone to emotional problems.

HOW TO LIMIT SCREEN TIME

If you think your student is spending too much time online, limit their access to the internet to just a couple of hours a day. It’s important that you discuss with them why they should limit screen time and the rules around accessing the internet and watching TV.

Don’t eat in front of the TV, but take meal times to connect as a family. Be a good example by unplugging regularly yourself.

Be more active as a family. Plan activities that get your family moving and out of the house.

Don’t leave the TV on in the background as this will prove to be distracting. Move TVs and computers from bedrooms into common areas.

Not only is it important to limit screen time, it’s also important to keep tabs on what your student is being exposed to online. You can enforce screen time limitations by programming phones, computers and tablets to switch off after the designated time allowances have been reached.

Teaching Responsibility: How to Help your Student to Take Charge

Teaching your students to take responsibility for their learning and their actions is a great way to empower them and to motivate them. Being responsible isn’t something that comes naturally to most students and part of the reason for this is that those areas of the brain which deal with responsibility (frontal cortex) continue to grow and develop well into their early twenties. You can help them to take ownership of their actions and to think things through before acting with these simple techniques.

Instilling confidence

The first step in taking responsibility is for your students to believe that they are capable of making the right choices and of taking the lead. Start with baby steps; ask them how they are going to deal with a situation like an upcoming test or looking after a younger sibling.

Listen to their plan and discuss things that could go wrong and how to deal with possible problems. It’s best here to allow your student to come up with their own solutions; don’t be too prescriptive as to what they should do. Allowing them to formulate their own plans inspires confidence and giving them more responsibility shows that you have confidence in their abilities.

Dealing with failure

As students take on more responsibility with their studies and in other aspects of their lives, it’s inevitable that some glitches will occur. When this happens, try to remain calm and reflect on their actions, and the consequences of those actions.

When discussing failures, ask open ended-questions to allow students to arrive at their own conclusions. Taking responsibility means taking ownership of actions and consequences both good and bad. If you give your students responsibility, but keep taking the issue back or interfering, it will take them longer to assume responsibility.

Developing responsibility at home

Pets, chores and independence should be gradually introduced when your students are ready for them. As they learn to be responsible for all aspects of their lives, they will naturally assume responsibility for their academics too.

If you find yourself nagging them to do the things they know that they are responsible for, allowing them to fail occasionally and to deal with the consequences may inspire greater responsibility in the future.

Assuming academic responsibility

When students are struggling with academics, it may be time to set some goals that are realistic. Decide together on goals that for short term improvement and long-term achievement. Then set out a plan to accomplish those goals.

Get a tutor for students who have fallen behind, set a study schedule and suggest ways in which you can monitor their progress. Be involved, but don’t dictate; remember that they must be responsible for their own academic progress if they are really going to succeed.

Social Networks and Teens: A Parent's Guide

Social networks like Facebook have become so much a part of our culture that our teens may find it hard to believe that there was a time before the internet. As in all spheres of social life, there’s are dangers inherent in participating in social networking. Here is a guide to ensuring that your students stay safe on social networks.

Privacy and Trust

Don’t be offended if your teen rejects your friend request. Reading their social network sites is just like listening in on their phone conversations, reading their texts or peeking in their diaries. While students are entitled to a modicum of privacy and trust, you still have a responsibility to protect them. The internet provides a certain anonymity that means that people posing as their friends will have access to all their personal information.

Social networking sites are inevitable and crucial for the modern teen to effectively communicate with their friends. Sharing photos and videos inspires creativity and written communications improve their writing skills. Since your teen is going to be participating, it’s best to outline rules and guidelines to help them to safely navigate social networking sites.

Rules and Guidelines

Talk about which sites your students can belong to and set up your own account so you can familiarize yourself with the way in which the site works. Help your  student to set up the site (make sure that they are old enough to comply with the site’s age restrictions) and show them how the privacy settings work. Explain carefully to them why the privacy settings are important and regularly check that they have not been changed.

Make it a rule that your student doesn’t friend anyone that they haven’t already met in person and don’t know. You can even get younger students to check with you before they accept a friend request. Ensure that photos posted to ensure that they are appropriate and don’t reveal any information that could tell someone which school they attend or where they live.

Regularly Google your students to see what pictures and information are out there. Sometimes their friends may post personal information or pictures that you may not want online. Be vigilant and ask your student to show you what they have been up to online.

It is your responsibility to monitor the sites your students use and the information that they post. Set up guidelines and rules for internet use and be sure to discuss the consequences of posting inappropriate information or pictures. Discuss cyber bullying and how they should react if they receive any messages or posts that are offensive or hurtful. Ask the school for their policy on social bullying and discuss this with your student too.

Five best Board Games for Middle and High School Students

Holidays can be long and when rainy days or long trips confine teens to the home, there are many games which can encourage them to spend some time with family members. This gives them a break from their computers and phones and gives you all an opportunity to have some family fun while learning.

Settlers of Catan

This board game is intense action mixed with resource management. Each game takes about an hour to play and can accommodate up to six players with an extension pack. Players must gain resources such as sheep, wheat, wood and brick to build settlements, armies and roads. This is a strategy game which teaches students to think ahead and use their resources and bargaining skills wisely. Settlers of Catan has been voted the best game of the year in the US and Europe. This game is very engaging and every game is completely different from the last.

Say Anything

This is an excellent way to get your teens talking and helps them to build social skills. Players will have to practice excellent communication skills to win and it helps you to get to know each other a little better. The game takes about 35 minutes to play and is easy to follow: 1) Ask a question from the card you draw. Some examples of questions include: “What’s the best movie of all time?” or “If I could have a BIG anything, what would it be?” 2) All the players write an answer and turn it face-up. 3) You choose which answer you like most (this is based on wit, style and accuracy). The players then try to guess which answer you picked. This is a great game for getting to know family members better and it.s fun to think of new and original answers to the questions.

Ticket to Ride

This game revolves around the adventures of Phileas Fogg and players must collect railway stations to connect routes around North America. The longer the route, the more points the player accumulates. Additional points can be accrued when you fulfill your Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities. The player who builds the longest continuous railway also gets additional points. Games take 30-60 minutes to play and are a great way to inspire a love of travel and improve knowledge of North American geography.

Cranium

This is a great way for the whole family to play together because Cranium relies on a whole bunch of skills from general knowledge, humming tunes, charades and drawing to sculpting play dough. No matter the age of participants, they can all contribute to their teams with their own special talents. The fact that this game has so many different ways to answer a question keeps it fresh and exciting. Many questions are for team play which means all the teams get to participate, keeping the game fun and exciting.

Equate

This is Scrabble for math lovers. The board functions in much the same ways as Scrabble with tiles which contain numbers and equations. You can help students to improve math and especially algebra skills by playing this game. The board can accommodate 2-4 players from ages 8 and up.

5 Amazing Halloween Costumes you can make from a Box

The scary season is nearly upon us and it’s time to start thinking about this year’s unique costume. Homemade Halloween costumes don’t have to take up tons of time or cost a fortune. In fact, making your own costume often earns you extra treats because you went to the trouble to do something original. Making Halloween costumes from cardboard boxes is inexpensive and it’s really great for the environment as you recycle materials instead of using new ones. Here are some of our favorite Halloween box costume ideas from Greenmoxie.com.

The Dinosaur

You can make this costume in an house with a couple of boxes and a pair of scissors. Simply glue (or tape) the boxes together to make the body and the head. Toilet paper rolls work well as the eyes. Open a box and cut out the tail and the spikes for the back. You can paint the box green for a more realistic dinosaur.

Fortune Teller

Use a single box to cut out a front view panel and two side panels as well. Attach straps to the back of the box so that you can wear the costume like a backpack over your shoulders. Paint the outside of the box brightly and write the name of your fortune teller persona on the front. Make a little slot for fortunes in the front of the box. Print out a list of fortunes and cut them out so you can hand out funny fortunes. An alternative to the fortune teller is the claw game costume. Create the same box that your would for the fortune teller, but bend the front of the box up to create a shelf. Fill the shelf with toys from the dollar store and use your hand as a claw machine. This works even better if you have an old joystick from a computer game on the outside so that people can play your claw game. 

Sponge Bob

This is a great homemade Halloween costume when you don’t have a lot of time. Just paint the box yellow with Sponge Bob’s face on the front. Add a pair of brown shorts and yellow leggings to complete the look.

The Lego Block

This is the perfect homemade Halloween costume for the more environmentally friendly student. You will need a cardboard box and eight yogurt containers. Glue the containers to the front of the box and paint. This is a wonderful way to use recycled materials this Halloween.

The Toy Box

Choose any toy action figure or doll that you like and recreate the look with a cardboard box! Gift wrap makes for the best background and you will have to paint the front of the box with the name of the toy. Attach straps to the back of the box so that you can wear it over your shoulders for added comfort.

5 Tips for SAT Test Success

The Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT is a four-hour long test that most high school students dread. The SAT has a profound impact on your college application and is the test that all your years of schooling have prepared you for. There’s no substitute for hard work here and you will have to study many long hours to get the best results, but knowing how to navigate the SAT test and how best to prepare for it will help you to succeed.

The technicalities
The SAT consists of 170 questions divided into three components: writing, critical reading, and math.
Writing: This consists of a 25-minute essay and 49 multiple choice questions.
Critical Reading: This section is testing your ability to understand and analyse text and consists of 67 questions.
Math: 44 Questions are multiple choice with 10 additional questions.

SAT Test Preparation
The first thing you should do is to decide if you actually want to take the SAT test. Find out if the colleges you wish to apply to accept the ACT test. These two tests are both designed to test your aptitude, but are very differently formulated. Take a practice test for both to see which one fits your style best.

Vivian Kerr from Bloomberg Business Week: “In general, the SAT is the preferred test for schools on the East and West coasts, while the ACT remains popular with schools in the Midwest and the South. Many schools accept both, however.”

If you like books and are an avid reader, then the SAT is definitely for you. The SAT is for students with excellent language, reading and vocabulary skills and the math components are said to be easier than those found in the ACT.

Under Pressure
The SAT is divided into 9 sections and each section has a time limit. So you will go through nine iterations of “Five more minutes” and “Pencils down!” This places enormous pressure on you during the test. The ACT test also has time constraints but here students who work quickly may have time to go back and answer questions that they didn’t get to or check that their answers are correct.

READ the questions
Read all questions really carefully. If you don’t know the answer, don’t guess, leave it blank and try to come back if you have time at the end of the section. There is a penalty (1/4 of a point) for incorrect answers, so it’s best to be safe.

Trick questions may try to catch you off guard, so ensure that you read the questions slowly and carefully before you begin.

Eat, drink and be ready
Your brain needs fuel to function optimally. Avoid living on a diet of candy, fast food and coffee in the weeks leading up to the SATs; it’s time to give your brain the right fuel to get it firing on all cylinders.

Eat brain-building foods in the weeks and months leading up to your SATs. These include wild salmon, acai berries, leafy green veggies, seeds and nuts and whole grains. Get a healthy balance of proteins, omega-3 and carbohydrates on the day of your exam and drink lots of water so that you are properly hydrated.

Practice makes perfect so ensure that you try some practice tests which you can download here. Ask your tutor for help with SAT test preparation well in advance of your test date.

Homework Help Tips for Parents

With school in session, I have more time. That trip to the gym is easier to squeeze in around my work schedule. The days are less stressful…and then the kids come home and that means I’m on homework help duty.

*insert ominous music here*

The house that was quiet, the laundry that was folded, the email that was half answered are all now a memory because there are things that have to be done … homework! To be quite honest, I was not always a big fan of homework. I saw it as busy work the kids were required to complete at the expense of play. I have changed my mind a bit and so has my approach to getting the work done.

• Homework is the time that I can see how my child is learning. Sitting down and working through a few problems with him shows me what he has grasped and what he hasn’t grasped.That is where my approach to homework help has changed.
• I have taken control over the areas that are still a struggle.At first, I was worried I wouldn’t teach it right or confuse the issue, but jumping in and doing it has made me realize that my kids need my help, even if it isn’t exactly how the teacher would do it.
• We spend the majority of our time on the struggle areas. When it comes to homework help, I tend to have them skip the stuff they seem to have mastered. When this happens, I will often just send a note to the teacher explaining why some things were left blank. In years of writing these notes, I have never had a teacher write back saying that it isn’t OK or penalize my child with a lower homework score for empty answer spaces.
• On most days, homework help really looks like my checking in for a moment on a particularly challenging subject. Once in a while, it looks like a mini class on the kitchen table.
• By checking in, I have also been able to determine when to bring in reinforcements. I have to admit, providing my kids with homework help isn’t always easy for me. On two occasions, the teaching was beyond what I had the skill or energy to do, so the kids went to tutoring to fill in the gap. The downside of this approach is that it takes time on my part. It isn’t always the easiest thing to fit into the family schedule!
• The other issue that I have had was that my children aren’t always thrilled to have mom’s intervention.Whining about extra work and arguing that they already “know how to do it” has been a regular part of my experience.

Holly is a  mom of three boys ages 7, 9 and 12. She has found out (the hard way) that one of the secrets to raising boys is keeping them tired, which is why she writes Kids Activities Blog, an online scrapbook of family activities, learning adventures and tips for maintaining parental sanity. Holly is such a believer in nap time that when her boys stopped taking them, she started.

Community Service: Ways in which Students can Give Back

Those of us who stay in bigger towns will feel the loss of a sense of community most keenly. We have become isolated and wary of our neighbors. The more this becomes part of our culture, the more we suffer from depression and other anxieties. Being part of a family, and a community is good for our mental health, our physical health and is crucial to having happy, well-adjusted students. One of the ways in which your students can experience a sense of belonging is through community service.

Community service not only helps your students to meet and mix with the people in their community, it also helps to foster a culture of giving, care for their fellow humans, social skills and organizational skills. There are many ways in which students can help only some of which are listed below.

Environmental Impact

Your student can organize or join cleanups in your area. Keeping garbage out of sensitive natural areas will help to preserve local eco-systems. Students can rally their friends to help in a cleanup, but ensure that gloves and masks are worn for additional safety.

Students can also help the environment by saving energy. This is augmented by energy monitoring systems that are installed by many local municipalities to help residents to monitor consumption. You can also just work off your utilities bills. Consumption can further be reduced by growing vegetables in the backyard, conducting clothing swaps rather than buying new clothing and upcycling old items to keep them from the landfill.

Seniors

Loneliness is a huge issue many seniors living in homes face. Most senior’s residences welcome student volunteers who can spend time with seniors and keep them company or help them with everyday tasks. If you have seniors in your neighborhood, your students could help them with more strenuous tasks like cleaning gutters or mowing the lawn.

Animals

If your student is an animal lover, then local shelters are a great place for them to volunteer. They can also help by raising money for shelters or organizing donations of food and other pet supplies. Students can offer to help friends and neighbors who are at work all day by taking their dogs for a walk.

Community Gardens

These are a great way to introduce good nutrition and teach your students about growing plants. Community gardens are a healthy and fun way to grow your own food. They provide communities with a source of fresh fruit and vegetables that can be organic and are definitely locally grown.

Random acts of kindness

These should be done every day. Community means the people around us and your student is sure to find a student at school that needs a little help. Tutoring younger students is a great way for your kids to give back. They can bring lunch for someone who regularly has no lunch at school, they can stand up to bullying, they can help students who are struggling academically and show appreciation to a teacher for all the hard work they do.