“But, Mom! Everyone else has a cell phone!” Are you getting a bit tired of hearing this complaint? Giving your child a cell phone is a big decision that you shouldn’t have to feel pressured into making. But when it seems like your kids are the only ones without cell phones, it can be hard to stand your ground.

Common Sense Media discovered that 43% of 8-to-12-year-olds in 2021 owned their own smartphones. Yet, these phones are an obvious distraction at school and home, creating mental health issues and symptoms of addiction.

What can you do, though, when your kids continue to beg and plead over the phone issue? How can you include your children in the decision process and prepare them and yourself for the ensuing peer pressure?

1.  Let Your Child Present a Case

Your kids are much more likely to accept your decision about having a cell phone if you’re willing to give them a little respect first.

Next time they beg to have a smartphone like the rest of their friends, ask their reasoning. Ask your child to present a case for why they should be allowed to have one. You can even offer to give them a while to prepare before they talk to you about it.

They may have some valid reasons for letting them have a phone:

• You could reach each other in an emergency.
• They’d be able to contact their friends and stay in the social loop.
• It could help them learn responsibility.
• You get the ability to check in on them when they’re exploring increasing freedoms.

It may be a good idea to take some notes while they talk to you, so you can seriously consider their ideas before reaching a decision. After they finish, repeat what you wrote to make sure you understood them correctly. Then, no matter what you decide, your kids will know you took the time to hear them out and you listened carefully.

2.  Take Time to Think and Research

You took the time to actively listen to your child’s thoughts on the phone issue. Now you need to be willing to think it through from all angles and talk it over. Come to a decision as a parental unit before taking your decision to your child. No matter your decision, you’ll want to present a united front with no room for them to work on the other parent in secret.

While you talk it out, discuss your opinions and dig into some research so you can make an informed decision. What are some reasons to prevent your child from owning a phone?

• On average, kids spend between six and nine hours a day in front of screens.
• Phones are too expensive for kids to be responsible for keeping in good condition.
• Exposure to cyberbullying and social media on phones increases the risk of mental health problems in kids and teens.
• Social media and countless other apps leave kids exposed to contact with inappropriate content and predators.
• Having your smartphone in your presence reduces your cognitive abilities even if it’s turned off.

3.  Explain Your Reasoning

Once you’ve decided, you should sit down with your child to let them know your answer. If you’ve decided to let them have a cell phone, you should include your house rules for phone ownership and use. Then you can move on.

Parents who’ve decided not to allow their child to have a cell phone right now should be prepared for backlash in all directions. Luckily, your child will be likelier to listen to your reasons because you listened to theirs, but they’ll still probably do it with a fuss.

Ultimately, as a parent, you don’t have to explain your decisions to your children, but understanding the “why” usually makes it easier to swallow.

4.  Offer an Alternative

If your child is in activities or spends any amount of time at home alone, you may need a way to get a hold of them or vice versa. Also, you’re not entirely deaf to your child’s desire to interact with their friends when they’re not around.

Many companies make smart watches or “dumb” phones designed to limit what type of contact your child can have. Typically, the parent gets to set boundaries on the device.

5.  Introduce Phone-Free Activities

Reducing your own smartphone usage is an excellent example for your kids and will give you more time for all of you to spend together. Instead of a room full of zombies starting at screens, limiting phones allows you to truly enjoy each other. Get out the board games, go for a hike, plant a garden, and just soak up every moment.

6.  Hold Your Stance With Naysayers

Finally, you’ll want to discuss with your kids how to deal with criticism from peers. Talk to them about how you plan to deal with other parents’ questions and comments. At this point, you’ve had a very clear discussion about the reasons for not getting a phone, which you can share with naysayers. Your kids can either share those reasons with friends or simply blame your no-phone rule.  Eventually, their day will come at the appropriate age and they’ll finally have their own cell phone.

Be Willing to Revisit Your Decision

No decision ever has to be set in stone. Every year will bring new developmental changes for your kids, and life circumstances frequently change. Keep an open mind to changing technology and the needs of each child individually. Be upfront with your children that you mean what you say, yet you’re willing to be flexible if the need – not any amount of begging – arises.

Author bio:  Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She strives to live a happy and healthy life with her family by her side.
Follow Cora on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Has your child continually been asking you for a pet?  The first think you may think of is all the work that is involved.  As much as you communicate that your child that they would need to take part in caring for the pet, most of the duties will fall on the parent. Still, there are benefits to having a family pet.

In addition to having your kids learn responsibility of taking care of a pet, there are other positives. These include the growth and health benefits that kids receive from having a pet around, as well as developing empathy and compassion for all living creatures.

Here are five reasons to help you decide whether or not to welcome a new pet into your home.

1. Less Prone to Allergies

It’s no secret that dogs make great support animals.  This is true even if therapy is not even a concern, dogs have been proven to improve a child’s immunity against common germs and viruses.  They are also less prone to getting allergies and asthma.

Health psychologist, Dr. June McNicholas at the University of Warwick, conducted a study of 138 children between the ages of four and eleven.  Their saliva was tested for IgA antibodies, an immune system antibody that aids in the prevention of infection.

Results indicated that kids with dogs were better able to succumb to common illnesses than kids without pets, which led to them missing fewer days of school.

2. Better Learning

Pets help children to be better learners. Educators acknowledge the use of animals, most often dogs, as support therapy in schools to help in the leaning of kids with developmental disabilities.

According to research, children who might be afraid to read aloud in class feel more comfortable reading to animals because they view them as a friend who won’t condemn them.  Pets have been discovered to be a calming, nonjudgmental aid for children learning to read aloud.

Dogs are used by organizations like the Story Dogs to encourage young readers to read aloud in a comfortable, judgment-free atmosphere! Also, since pets need to be taken care of in a specific way, the kids develop that understanding and knowledge also. For instance, they would know the ideal temp for bearded dragon tank.

3. Comforting Companionship

Pets give unconditional love to children.  Through caring for and playing with an animal there is regular physical contact.   This help growing kids to develop social skills. Pets give kids something to talk about which fuels conversation and instills self-confidence and self-esteem in social situations.   A lot is said about dogs in reference to support, but cats make good companions as well.

It has been shown that children with autism who own a pet have far more advanced social abilities than those who don’t. When the world around them is overwhelming, an animal is consistent companion in their lives that gives children comfort, security and support.  Instead of becoming alienated with the world, they learn to engage with their environment.  Instead of becoming withdrawn, anxiety dissipates.

4. Encourage a Healthy Lifestyle

Having a pet encourages physical exercise. Kids who have pets are involved in playing games, exercising the animal, or providing regular pet care. Dog owners are 54% more likely than non-dog owners to reach prescribed levels of physical exercise and log more walking minutes each week.

Walking the dog may also reduce your chances of becoming obese. Having a pet might help youngsters feel more prepared to handle schoolwork and examinations since petting animals can drop blood pressure and, in turn, lessen anxiety. Not just physical fitness, having a pet is also considered good for your mental health.

Approximately 80% of pet owners claim that their animal companions make them feel less lonely and separated from others. Pet ownership has been demonstrated to assist people of all ages experience lower stress, anxiety, and depression. It has been shown that using therapy animals with autistic children can lessen their stress and anxiety levels as well as the stress hormone cortisol.

5. Good for Family Bonding

When you consider a shared passion for a family, it is often a special activity or regular event.  Throughout all those moments together, as well as when life is routine, the family pet is always there in daily life as focal point.   Animals in the home foster family unity while walking the dog, playing with the pet and their favorite to, and even grooming and feeding. Kids also learn how to care for the health of their pet with the guidelines of parents or older siblings.

Families that have pets have the chance to take a break from their hectic schedules and simply enjoy their time together and with their dogs. Animals remind us all how fragile life is and just as our loving pet need us for survival, we also need each other and our pets to be healthy and happy.

Wrapping Up

Teaching your kids how to appreciate and interact with animals should begin at an early page, even if they never own a pet.  The study on the relationship between humans and animals is ongoing, but the research is strongly points to the fact that pets in their daily lives help youngsters grow up to be happier, healthier people. You now have even more justification to consider bringing a pet into your home. You never know who you could discover there, so it doesn’t hurt to check out your neighborhood adoption shelter!

Halloween, a contraction of All Hallows’ Eve, is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31 every year. This popular festival dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. But now it’s observed all over the world. Halloween activities include parties, carving jack-o-lanterns, donning costumes and spooky treats.

Children wearing costumes go house to house after dark, calling out at each door “trick or treat”! Then people give them ‘treats’ like candy or gifts.  Among the fun facts, you may be wondering about the history of Halloween and how it pops into the culture through the ages.

Let’s reveal the facts of origin of Halloween.

Religious origin

Halloween is believed to be tracked by the dogma and practices of Christianity. The root word of Halloween derives from All Hallows’ Eve which is the commingled Scottish word of “All Hallows” meaning “to make holy” and “Even,” or “E’en,” meaning evening.

Thus Halloween (31^st October) means the evening before All Saints Day on November 1, and the two days earlier All Souls Day on November 2. These three days are called Allhallowtide together.

At this triple-day festival, Western Christians like the Roman Catholic and a large number of Protestant denominations of Christianity commemorate the saints as well as pray for the recently departed souls and martyrs.

Halloween is basically preparing themselves for All Saints Day on the evening of October 31 on Halloween with prayer vigils with other honorary events. After harvest, when there is plentiful food, the Halloween festival becomes more celebratory too.

On the other hand, Historians say that Halloween or Hallowe’en originated from Celt culture as early as AD 270. But my opinion is today’s Halloween has both Celt and Christian influences. To understand the fact read out the history.

Celtic Tradition

The Celts lived almost 2000 years ago in different locations of the world that now lie in the United Kingdom, northern France, and Ireland mostly. Ancient Celts of Ireland arranged the annual feast of ‘Samhain’ a special costume party on 31^st October.

They believed that between summer and winter, there is a boundary night when the limit between the living people and the dead is blurred. They also thought that the deceased ghosts came back to the earth on October 31, which was the last day of the year as Celts observed November 1 as their new year.

A fallacy is that evil spirits are released on 31^st October in the world to attract the festival and ‘eve’ returns to ward off the demons. Thus, people wore costumes on Halloween to disguise themselves so evil spirits can’t harm them.

According to Christian history of Halloween, a group of missionaries came to the Celt in England and Ireland. After hearing Gospel, most people of Celt accepted Christianity. After that Celt added Gospel with the All Hallows Eve festival.

According to a study by National Geographic Channel, Catholic churches were influenced by Celts Samhain. Thus, the Vatican sanctioned November 1 as a holiday and designated the day as All Saints Day to honor martyrs (saints) and departed souls.

And afterward, October 31 and November 2 were announced as All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) and All Souls Day respectively. Generations passed by and Halloween transformed into today’s rituals.

How the rituals of Halloween are changing over the years?

Celtic celebrated the festival of Samhain on October 31 where they lit bonfires and dressed in costumes. They did it so that ghosts can’t recognize and harm them. But how did it come into America?

The rituals of Halloween were brought to the United States by some Irish immigrants in the 1840s for fleeing a potato famine. Thus, it got popularity first among the farm communities. They gathered together at the season’s end and used different natural elements as costumes.

Let’s talk about some Halloween rituals that are changing rapidly.

Pranks leading the way

In the last centuries, there were lots of pranks integrated with Halloween. Stealing garden gates and throwing cabbages are the two most popular among them. But now the style of Halloween pranks is changed. Hanging toilet paper in tree branches or egging houses are now popular.

Halloween parties are gaining popularity

Between the 1930s to 1950s, most Halloween parties were held at homes rather than parties in downtown centers. But now Halloween parties are very common even in school classrooms.   Celebrations have especially increased due to the involvement of mass people.

Store-bought treats are replaced by homemade food

What children expect now in trick-or-treating, is candy, right? But before the 1970s, children get nuts, fruits, popcorn, ball, or money. In the past, parents and senior citizens were very much concerned about children’s health.

Halloween Costumes

Halloween costumes are changing every year. According to the National Retail Foundation report of 2019, superheroes were the most popular children’s costumes for Halloween over princesses.

But this changed in 2021, Foundation was the most desired children’s costume to be superman, whereas princess and witch positioned runners up and third place respectively. Fake blood is now also a trending costume option.

Rise of Halloween TV specials and Halloween-themed parks

To spread Halloween popularity, most TV broadcasts Halloween-themed special programs. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” launched in 1966 and that was a beginning of a trend. Afterward, as a continuation of the “Halloweentown”, “The Simpsons”, and “Hocus Pocus” were developed.

On the other hand, seasonal theme parks decorate the parks with Halloween themes and arrange special attractions and facilities during this time to attract people.

Halloween Games:  Play the Google Doodle Halloween game.

Where is Halloween celebrated?

Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated around the world but it’s most popular in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. In some countries, it’s gaining popularity such as Australia, Belgium, Greece, France, New Zealand, Italy, Singapore, Japan, South Kore, Malaysia, and many more.

And Halloween is observed alongside traditional holidays in many other countries like Brazil, Germany, Ireland (alongside Samhain), Philippines, Columbia, China, Netherlands, and so on.

Summary

Halloween originated from the Celt Samhain festival. Celts celebrated the event in the memorial of their dead relatives and to thanksgiving between the end of summer and the long dark winter. Influenced by Celts, Halloween is observed on 31 October every year around the world either as a religious or non-religious event.

Twitch has gained popularity over the years as a place where everyone can entertain and express themselves through live content and interact with others who share the same interests. With the continued popularity of the streaming platform, the risks for its younger users also run high.

Even with Twitch’s tireless efforts to filter inappropriate content, it is nearly impossible to monitor all live streams. Much less monitor every interaction between users, both public and private.

In this guide, we’ll look at how Twitch works, the possible risks one might encounter while on Twitch, and whether it’s safe to entrust your teens with staying on this social streaming platform.

What is Twitch?

Twitch TV started as a social network for gamers where users could stream content and discuss their favorite games. Here, those on the site can stream gameplay, and others can watch and interact with them live through chat.

Today, it has grown from a game streaming platform to a place for people interested in music, esports, arts and crafts, food, and In Real Life (IRL) content.

There are two ways a user can participate in Twitch – as a streamer or as a viewer. Twitch Creators, also called Streamers, are the ones who do a variety of activities in front of the camera, like playing games, cooking, hosting a talk show, or creating artwork.

Those on the other side of the livestream who choose to watch and interact instead are called the Viewers.

How does Twitch work?

The highlight of Twitch is the streaming feature, where creators share gameplay and other activities live while making commentary. Their followers interact with them in real-time through chat.

Viewers can show their support to streamers by:

• Subscribing to their channel
• Making donations
• Sending them cheers (can be purchased with Bits, the in-house currency of Twitch)

All of these require real money.

The minimum age requirement to create an account on Twitch is 13, but parental guidance is highly encouraged for users between 13 and 18 years old.

Some kids will be adamant and won’t listen to their parents regarding being supervised, saying that they’re already “already grown up” or “old enough” to watch Twitch alone. If this happens, stay strong and stand your ground.

Is Twitch TV safe?

Here are the potential dangers of using Twitch that you should watch out for:

Scammers

Several Twitch users and fellow streamers have reported scammers claiming to be suffering from personal problems or helping a charity.

Unfortunately, many users fall for this, and some scammers have gotten away with it, especially from their younger fans.

Online predators

Anyone on Twitch can freely send direct messages or whisper to fellow users, including online predators looking to fish out sensitive information or ask kids to do something inappropriate.

Adult content

Because of the challenge of monitoring every livestream happening on Twitch, your kid may likely encounter a stream with themes of harassment, bullying, hate speech, and other displays of inappropriate behavior online.

Violence in games played by streamers.

Some of the games streamers play may contain violence or heavy themes. Since censorship is nearly impossible in a livestream, streamers can’t do much to prevent their younger audience from seeing these violent scenarios.

Accidental spending

There have been cases of accidental spending on Twitch by younger users, where they have spent thousands of dollars on their parents’ accounts to donate or subscribe to a streamer.

Link scams

Some users may send links to fellow users that are actually phishing websites where they steal sensitive info such as personal details and credit card numbers.

How to make Twitch TV a safe digital space for your child

The Amazon-owned platform is enforcing age restrictions for new users and is constantly updating its policies to keep it safe for users of all ages.

On the other hand, here’s what you can do to keep Twitch a safe space of entertainment for your kids:

1. Co-watching

Twitch’s guideline mentions that users under 18 must have a parent or a guardian supervising them while using the streaming platform. Parents can thus monitor what their children watch and what content they’re exposed to.

2. Turn on chat filters.

When on a live stream, scroll down to the bottom of the chat box, click Settings (the gear icon next to the Chat button), and toggle the Enable filtering in chat option. You can also select the specific filters you want to block on chat.

3. Block private messages (or Whispers)

Go to Settings, then Security and Privacy, and select block whispers from strangers.

Anyone who is not a friend or follower, a moderator from a channel they follow, or a Twitch partner or staff will not be able to message your child.

4. Implement Parental Controls

As of writing, there are no specific parental controls for streaming on Twitch.  However, you can use third-party software as a band-aid solution to help you set screen time for your children, filter messages, and monitor their online activities.

If your teen plans to stream on Twitch, you can edit the Moderation settings on the Creator Dashboard.

5. Tell Twitch “you’re not interested” in mature content

If you encounter a stream on your child’s Twitch feed with mature or questionable content, select the three vertical dots on the upper right side of the video. Then, choose I am not interested in this recommendation.

6. Restrict access to your bank account

As mentioned before, accidental spending happens. You never know when your teen might get carried away with donating or subscribing without knowing they’re charging it to your account.

7. Have an open discussion about the risks of being online and watching livestreams

Tell them not to share personal information with strangers, even with online friends. And if they feel like they’re encountering something suspicious or inappropriate, assure them they can come to you for help.

Is Twitch Safe?

Twitch is safe to use as long as your child exercises caution and is extra mindful of their online behavior. Continuous monitoring of their activities, messages, and the content they consume on Twitch is imperative to ensure their safety.

On the other hand, Twitch is determined to implement its Community Guidelines and rules. If a user violates these rules and guidelines, Twitch will impose a temporary or permanent ban, depending on their offense. The platform is also updating its policies from time to time to protect its users from malicious behaviors and activities.

Read about the safety issues on other social media platform, such as Reddit.