A national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people( especially minority youth) from 8 to 18 year old spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes a day with smart phone, computer, television or other electronic devices. This is more than 53 hours a week.
Also, the study found that heavy media use is associated with several negatives, including behavior problems and lower grades.
The study surveyed more than 2,000 students in grades 3 to 12 between October 2008 and May 2009. The report says that the heaviest media users are black and Hispanic youths and pre-teens (ages 11 to 14).
[ Study: Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds ]
Photo courtesy of sxc.hu
CircusFit is a fitness program from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
This program combines the fun of circus skills with stretching, strength building and aerobic exercise to encourage Kids to lead healthy, active lifestyle. It is a fun way for kids to learn a little bit about the circus and stay active and healthy.
These lessons and program materials have been written specifically for youth in grades 2-5 ( can be used by Children Of All Ages). Circus Fit has many downloadable materials you can print out .
Checkout the Circusfit games here
Often the parents feel that the kids adapt to the rude behavior in their early teen. This is a common problem and the parents need to handle it properly in order to save their kids from learning the negative behavior. The best thing to do is to show patience and to teach your kids the consequences of the behavior. Also, the parents will have to provide the kids with a positive alternate behavior and should work on the child psychology.
The very first thing that the parents need to cope with this behavior of their kids is to maintain their own parental status. If the kids are talking back and are becoming rude, the parents should not step down. They will have to become a little authoritative though this does not mean being over strict.
The parents will also need to be innovative. As every child goes through different situation and he or she gets a different atmosphere, there cannot be one general strategy to cope with this child behavior. The parents will have to be a little clever at this stage and they should come up with some positive and healthy strategies to mend their kids. The parents will have to create new rules according to the psychology of their kids. These new rules should be made by keeping the newly adapted behavior of the kids.
The most important thing is to tell your kids the consequences for their rude behavior. Remember that educating a child is your responsibility and you cannot run away from it. Once you have told the kids the right things, set punishment for their offences. Tell them they this will happen if they will not follow your directions. Make sure that the punishment is appropriate and is not very strict. Remember that being over strict will not help your kids. They will start becoming ruder. And at times they will talk back so badly that you will certainly doubt your parental position.
One more important thing is to tell your child that if he or she talks back, it hurts you. You should also tell the kids that rude behavior is never good. It has no positive rewards and that the best it can do is to hurt the other person. You will have to ask them for their cooperation when the time is right. Remember that you should never use this when your kid is in rude mode and is already talking back. You will have to use these techniques when you are sure that your kid wants to listen to you.
If you are talking to the kid on some point and the things go out of control, calm down and let your kid calm down as well. Wait for the waters to calm and then tell her what she has just said. Make sure that your talking back is always positive and is helpful for the kids.
Kids learn the new things everyday and might create problems for their parents. The parents are finding it hard to tackle the situation. This is a common stage which occurs through the discovery years of the kids (Early Learning) which extend to the end of their teen age. The parents need to be very careful at this time as the kids learn the attitude and social behavior from their parents. They will need proper attention and they will have to be guided properly.
Commonly the kids get into fights with one another and they do not share their things, these are the few difficulties you face when your child is learning. They are rarely at peace. They are always moving and the new things are inspiring them. The parents need to handle this carefully. If they are asking their kids to stop all this that means that they are interrupting heir natural learning process and at the same time the parents can not let the kids do whatever they want to do. The parents will have to create a balance and they will need to learn a lot about the kid behavior and the results of that behavior. If the parents are not focusing on educating themselves with the proper parenting techniques they will fail.
The parents will have to tell their kids how they should behave. It may seem difficult as the kids will not always listen to them and sometimes they will not follow anything. The parents will have to make sure that they are telling the kids the outcome of their behavior be it positive or negative. When the kids know the consequences, they will start behaving properly and will listen to their parents. Preventive teaching skills can be really handy at this time. The parents can find great help if they know the proper preventive teaching skills.
When your children are misbehaving and they are not doing the things the way they are supposed to do, then you will have to find a solution to this. The best thing to do is to teach them an alternative behavior. This alternative behavior has to be a positive behavior. The kids will then learn it slowly and will adapt to it. Remember that leaving the kids without an alternative positive behavior is a big mistake as this will make them frustrated and they will learn negative things.
If despite all your efforts, the kids are not listening to you, you will have to change the way you are doing the things. May be the consequences that you have set for them are not right. It may be the time to tighten up the things a little. You should always setup the consequences which will affect the child behavior. If this is not the case, then you will have to change the things a little.
The parents face their difficulties with the birth of the child. The excitement is so high in the beginning that the parents do not realize the difficulties but with the time they start realizing it and they start looking for the help. The toddlers create a mess when they start playing with the others. The parents are unable to understand them and they often lose their patience.
The greatest problem that the parents face is that the kids do not share things. They fight over them and they refuse to share them even with their own brothers and sisters. This is where the parents need to show a lot of patience because this is natural and with time the kids will improve and they will learn to share the things.
While your toddler has started playing, you may find it hard to understand how to play with him. The best solution is to make sure that you are having fun. No matter how you play, the toddler will get what he wants. It’s you who needs to enjoy it in order to make better connections and communication with your own kid.
While your child is playing, you will find it a great time to teach them the things. You can setup games for them which will involve sharing and cooperation. When the kids are a little grown up, try to get them into the team sports. This will develop the sharing and the cooperation sense in them. You will see that the things will start becoming easier with time. All you will need is a little patience and you will find great fun in parenting.
A major problem that is faced by many parents is that their kids fight and bully the other kids. The bullying behavior is normal to some extent but the line is very fine and you will have to be very careful. You should watch your kids and if they are crossing the line then try to teach them something which will replace their behavior. This is very important to do because if the bullying goes over the line then it will have a negative impact on the kid’s growth.
Many parents find it hard to manage when their kids start a new kind of behavior via clinging to their parents and not doing anything without them. This is somewhat normal. The kids do this as they feel more secure in the presence of their parents. They are also developing a bond at this stage. But this behavior can also trouble the parents especially if they have busy schedules to meet. The parents can teach their kids to play by themselves at times. They can specify their time with them and with the other kids. This will help them to manage the behavior of the kids in a much better way.
