Category: Parenting

Keeping children active has become somewhat of a challenge nowadays. Everywhere you look, you may find a child sitting with a device in hand, no longer running and playing like in the old days. Another concern is that living spaces are becoming smaller by the minute as parents struggle to afford large houses with gardens.

People became painfully aware of how small their living quarters were during the pandemic.  Children need physical activity to strengthen their bodies and minds. And being able to play some fun games at home to do just that may be the perfect solution for parents.

Here are some indoor games your kids can play at home that could improve their physical health and more:

1. Do-It-Yourself Obstacle Course

The simplest things in life could turn out to be the best, as in the case of a roll of tape and string. These two uninteresting items could quickly turn a hallway into an obstacle course of note. Just tape some line in place from one wall to the other and watch the kids have hours of fun.

All major muscle groups are involved in navigating through the obstacles, and of all of them, the core muscles could get a great workout. The movement of the head in all directions could assist the body’s sense of balance to develop too.

This helpful site may have similar activities to try at home, and the valuable fitness information should spark even more ideas for the whole family.

 2. Rolling With The Nose

Crawling can be therapeutic and rehabilitative to the body and brain. The core muscles play a crucial role in supporting the body, and it makes sense to include many activities daily that’d promote this muscle group.

Children love to have races of any kind, and including some physical activity while doing it could give their wellness a significant boost. Tape a start and finish line on the floor, as long as it’s family-friendly flooring, give each child a tennis ball that they need to push to the finish line with their nose, and watch the action unfold.

There’ll be belly laughs for sure with this easy and fun physical activity. Everyone will soon see that crawling isn’t an activity reserved for babies only.

 3. Making Chores Fun

Ever wish you could have some help around the house? Why not give the kids some chores to do for the day while blasting some fun tunes to dance through them!

Doing chores usually wouldn’t get children excited, but the health benefits they get from doing them are incredible. Heavy work activities like pushing, pulling, and carrying could build muscle mass and develop their tactical sense. Focus on making it fun and dance the day away together.

4. Indoor Skating

Speaking of chores, a game that could be added to the fun day could be indoor skating. Get the children to skate around the room using old rags or dryer sheets, and you’ll have a perfectly polished floor as quickly as saying snap.

The skating motion is a great way to exercise the leg muscles and get them off the couch for more productive activity.

 5. ‘The Floor Is Lava’

This game is more than a funny trend on social media as it has health benefits. Put some cushions on the floor or tape some paper rocks in place for children to move over. Focus and attention are developed by finding the best route from one side of the room to the other while their bodies get a workout from stretching and reaching for that next safe spot.

 6. Bean Bag Toss

These versatile bags are easy to make at home with around 30 grams of dry rice, corn, or wheat sewn in-between two patches of fabric around 2 inches on all sides. Because they’re relatively harmless to home décor, the bags can easily be tossed around the room for various activities.

Improve upper body coordination and grip of the hand muscles by including this activity at home. Give children a target like a bucket to aim for and see how many bean bags they can successfully toss to the other end of the room.

Fine motor control of the hand muscles is necessary for their development and academic success. Without these tiny muscles and the coordination of their shoulders and arms, children would struggle to hold a pencil, let alone write.

 Bringing It Home

Physical activities don’t have to be a bore, and they can be fun for all ages. Instead of being couch potatoes, kids can get up and get their daily exercise and have fun while being at home. Mix it up by having a different activity each day, and children will never even notice that they’re getting a workout!

We’ve discussed indoor games at home.  Now, explore games kids can play in your backyard on a trampoline.

As parents, you want nothing but the best for your children, especially when it comes to matters that affect their future. But for that to happen, you’ll need to lay the foundations that will help them build a better life for themselves –  this includes financial literacy and building good money habits.

Your teenagers will already have a good grasp of what money is and what it can do; you may have already discussed with them how to use a debit card responsibly.   Still, you need to play a more proactive role in their financial education and ingrain in them money habits that will prepare them for the real world.

Teaching your children these eight money habits as early as possible will increase their chances of becoming financially-responsible adults: 

1. Creating a Budget

 It’s very important for your kids to learn about budgeting and money management while they’re young and the stakes are still very low.

If your teenager has some form of cash flow, either from an allowance or doing part-time jobs, you can start teaching them how to allocate money for their expenses and then document everything that’s coming in and out. You may also use your own household budget as a teaching tool or develop a fictional income-expenses scenario if you’re not comfortable with divulging your financial information to your children. 

2. Saving Money Regularly

Once your teen is familiar with the concept of cash flow and how to keep track of their expenses, it’s time to teach them the value of “paying yourself first” or setting aside a specific percentage of their allowance or earnings from side hustles.

You can encourage this habit with a savings account. They will be more motivated to save when they can see for themselves how their money grows the more they save. 

3. Financial Goal-Planning

Saving and spending money wisely are crucial factors to financial success, but goal planning is even more important.

Ask your teenager to write down their goals for the future – it could be a big purchase, travel plans, college or the kind of life they want to lead – and then educate them on what they need to do to achieve those goals. When they have a clear vision of where they want their money to go or what they plan to achieve with it, they’ll be able to plan their finances more effectively.

Teach budget skills for daily living as well as preparing for the cost of college.

4. Delayed gratification

The new generation is growing up in a buy-it-now society where people just go ahead and purchase whatever they want without second thoughts. This is why it is important to teach children the concept of delayed gratification, so they don’t just spend their money aimlessly.

It can be very hard to say no to your children, but making them save or work for the stuff they want will help them appreciate the value of things. Ask them to do extra chores for extra allowance or do odd jobs around the neighborhood for additional spending money. This way, they will understand the connection between working and money.

5. Distinguishing Good vs Bad Credit

As much as you want your kids to avoid debt at all costs, it’s important for them to understand that not all debts are bad.

Credit cards and other forms of consumer debts can be very risky when they borrow beyond your means. However, it is okay to take out a loan or a mortgage if they’re going to use it to acquire assets, develop your skills, or build wealth over time. But also teach your child how to get out of debt with a proper strategy as early as possible, as this will give you peace of mind.

6. Investing

 As they prepare for higher education, start talking to your teens about investing and the power of compounding interest.

One good way to kick off investing for kids is with a high-interest savings account, which they can use for funding short-term financial goals. From there, introduce them to stocks, bonds, Roth IRAs and how these investment options can grow their money faster and help them fulfill their more expensive and long-term financial goals.

About the Author:

Samantha Green is the Content Marketing Strategist for the MCA award-winning app, BusyKid, the first and only chore and allowance platform where kids can earn, save, share, spend, and invest their allowance. A mom of two, she enjoys spending time with her kids and reading books to them.

The risk of burnout is one of the primary threats of contemporary life. But it’s important to remember this isn’t an issue strictly limited to those of us of adult age. Kids are just as susceptible to the damaging effects of the stresses and expectations they’re faced with.  Among the contributors to burnout for kids in this way is their online behavior.

While the internet can be a positive tool, it is also one of the ways children are subjected to pressures and anxiety. While it is certainly a virtual environment, the threat is no less real. Indeed, with the prevalence of smart devices and online learning, your kids may find it somewhat inescapable, leaving them at greater risk of burnout.

Let’s take a look at how you can effectively teach your kids to mitigate the potential for online burnout.

Boundary Setting

One of the most important areas of knowledge you can pass onto kids regarding online burnout surrounds setting boundaries. Teach them about the various types of limits they should be setting for themselves throughout their online use. This can begin with something as simple as overall screen time. But it could also include keeping devices away from the bedroom at night so they’re not connected right up until bedtime. This helps to ensure good quality and quantity of sleep.

Another boundary can surround the safe use of social media platforms or online communities. This isn’t just about time spent on them. It’s also about the kind of content being consumed and the discussions they engage in. Peer pressure, trolling exposure, and even pop-cultural disagreements can get heated and stressful. Teach them to recognize the boundaries and when to separate from the negative influences.

Alongside recognizing and setting the boundaries, you should teach your kids how to respond to them effectively. It can be healthy to encourage a digital detox when social media use is becoming problematic in particular. Help them to make accurate assessments about how long this detox should be depending on the severity of the impact on their lives. This could be blocking social sites for a couple of hours each day, or even separating entirely for 24 hours.

Symptom Awareness

Burnout can sneak up and take the victim unawares. A key to mitigating burnout can be recognizing the symptoms early enough to make adjustments. By teaching your child what these are, you can work together to identify them before they get out of hand.

Some of the key signs of online burnout in kids include:

●     Slipping Grades

This can be especially prevalent when your child is experiencing the stress of remote learning. The relentless nature of performing their schooling online without casual interactions with their peers can make the situation especially difficult. When your child is unable to disconnect from this environment and struggles to cope with the stress, their schoolwork can start to suffer.

It’s important to encourage your child to speak up when they find their grades are slipping or they don’t enjoy the work as much as they would have in person. This allows you to make adjustments to their learning space or routine to better suit your child’s remote learning needs.

●     Isolating Behavior

It is not unusual for children to withdraw from the family space, particularly as they approach pre-teen years. But refusing to engage with family and friends can be a sign your child is experiencing online burnout. This is because the stress they’re living with is driving them to reduce the stimulus they’re exposed to in other areas of their life.

Talk to your child about recognizing when they feel they don’t want to spend time with other people in ways they would have otherwise enjoyed. Help them to see that feeling they’re too tired or too busy for social interactions can be a sign they’re burning out.

●     Anxiety

Online burnout creates a situation in which it becomes harder for your child to function comfortably each day. Sure, they may always have had challenges in their lives. But the constant stress and negative influences of their online spaces can result in them experiencing fear. Even their self-consciousness around their online presence or remote schoolwork may be more pronounced. As such, they can find themselves more emotionally distraught and crying more often. Even their sleep may begin to suffer.

Balance Maintenance

You should stress to your child that reducing and preventing online burnout can be about creating a balance in their life. Simply developing a positive attitude despite the difficulties they face isn’t enough. Rather, it’s about taking action to reduce the negative impact on their lives. With kids, this isn’t always an easy idea to get across, so it’s worth taking a practical and visual approach.

Work with them on a weekly basis to list all the essential online activities for each coming day. This may not be limited to schoolwork alone. A growing number of children are using online methods to stay close to their long-distance parents. This is a vital element to maintaining their wellbeing and forging strong bonds. Knowing clearly what these essential online activities are can help your child feel more in control and less overwhelmed.

You can then list all the non-essential online activities they can engage in. Don’t make them feel as though their gaming time or social media use isn’t important. It may be wise to create separate columns for online activities and offline activities each day. This gives a clear view of how successfully they’re achieving a balance. These columns don’t have to be equal each day. But it can be a good tool to help them recognize when their day is imbalanced to the point they’ll risk burnout.

Conclusion

It is important that you as a parent remain vigilant for when your child is displaying signs of online burnout. However, it can be more empowering for your child if you teach them about mitigating the risks themselves too. Talk them through the importance of setting boundaries and recognizing the symptoms of burnout. This, alongside activities to maintain a healthy balance, can help make sure your child approaches their online time in a healthy manner.

Is your teen ready for the freedom and responsibility of driving? Teens are more likely to crash than adults, as they have less experience behind the wheel and are more susceptible to peer pressure. Today, we’ll go through some ways you can help your teen become a safe driver.

Before Driver’s Ed and study guides, teaching your teen about cars and safe driving habits begins with you emulating them yourself.

Be the Driver You Want Them To Be

Be mindful of what you are showing them as okay to do when they drive- buckle up, don’t text and drive, don’t talk on their phone, watch the speed limits, and drive defensively. Also, take the time to explain to your teen why certain rules are so important as you drive.

Avoid Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is anything that takes your eyes off the road, like texting, fiddling with the radio, or turning to talk to someone in the back seat. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration explains the risk of distracted driving by stating “Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.”

Because of this risk, many driver laws restrict teens from using phones or hands-free devices until they reach a certain point in their Graduated Driver’s Licence (GDL) program. But this is not enough to keep kids from using their phones while driving – the use of mobile phones is common, and the problem only seems to be increasing.

Make sure your teen knows how to pull over for urgent calls, refrain from distracting them as they drive, and make sure they are comfortable keeping their attention on the road before letting them drive unsupervised with friends. Also, be a good role model and don’t drive distracted yourself.

Teach them about Drugs and Alcohol

All 50 states have laws that require teens to have an absolute zero alcohol level in their blood when they are in a vehicle. Teach your teen about the dangers of drunk driving and the best ways to arrange for alternate transportation. Although you don’t believe it’s something your kid would do, you never know what might happen. Teens make mistakes and are susceptible to peer pressure. Remember, about 10,000 Americans lose their lives each year due to drunk driving, many of those teens.

One way to help them understand the seriousness of impaired driving is to explain what a DUI screening involves and how it can affect a person’s record, insurance rates, and future opportunities.

In addition, it’s good to go through the effects of medicines and driving. Go through any medications they may take, such as allergy or cold medications, and explain that these can cause drowsiness and may need to be timed. If you don’t know the effects of their medications, you have the web readily available!

Consider the Use of Monitoring Tools

When you can’t be in the car with your teen, there are methods to monitor their driving at all times.  One way is through a parental control app that monitors driving through your teens phone.  These apps provide data on the use of the vehicle, including where it’s been and current location.  Other technology tool is the use of a GSP tracker, which is installed in the vehicle to monitor it’s use regardless of who the driver is.

Invest in Proper Driver’s Education

Driver’s education courses are designed to help teach your teen how to drive safely and follow your state laws. They help teenagers go through the Driver’s Handbook in an easy-to-understand format, which is very important when it later comes to driving. Make sure your teen takes a driver’s ed course even if your state does not mandate it for their permit and license.  You can also take this opportunity to teach them the basics of auto insurance and get them a learner’s permit insurance.

Remember, all drivers education it’s not good drivers education. Look for courses created by professionals or those that are taught by driving experts (generally the established sites), it will be worth the extra investment.

You should also make sure that your teen does at least a few online DMV practice tests like this one. These will help identify any weak areas that may have been overlooked in driver’s education.

Teach Them to Drive Under Many Circumstances

Once they have their permit, take them to drive in various weather conditions and times of the day.

• Help them troubleshoot how to deal with light in their eye.
• Point out safe places to stop if they get in wicked weather, need to answer a call, or find themselves drowsy driving.
• Coach them on driving speeds in rain and on highways.
• Have them park on hills.
• Explain the importance of adapting to the driving conditions and general guidelines for driving in poor weather conditions or at night.

When it’s time for your teen to drive alone, you want them to feel comfortable behind the wheel. Stress leads to mistakes, and mistakes lead to accidents. Try to go through as many different situations as possible.

Make Sure They Buckle Up

According to the National Highways Traffic Safety Administration, 45% of teens that died in road accidents in 2019 were not wearing a seatbelt. Seatbelts help save thousands of lives each year. If you don’t buckle up, even minor accidents can prove to be fatal.

Make sure to buckle up as soon as you get into the vehicle, no matter the distance of the trip. This will help create a strong habit that your teen will continue to follow.