This column continues the series on setting limits on your kid’s access to and use of social media and the internet at different ages. The focus of this column is on the expectations for kids in grades 5 and 6. The focus of this column will be on recommendations for kids this age. When particular strategies or information have been …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 1-4 (part 2)
Video games. Pay very close attention to the messages your kid will get from the video games they play. Video games are programmed. That means someone has decided what the appropriate, reasonable or desirable response should be to each and every situation the character encounters. Someone else is shaping your kid’s values, over and over again. Kids should only play …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 1-4 (part 1)
It’s 2013, do you know how where your kid is (on the world wide web)? Elementary school children are not ready for full and unfettered access to the internet or social media. Their judgment is limited. They are cognitively, social and psychologically naïve. They are susceptible to flawed logic and deception by others. This makes them gullible. They need to …
Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media
OK, I’m going out on a limb here. There is a lot being said and written about kids and social media. The problem is that there is precious little specific guidance given on how to decide what is best for kids of different ages. Here is my attempt to wade into the discussion. This column will propose a system for …
More Questions (for your teenager) from Steubenville, Ohio
The previous column presented questions to generate a conversation between you and your teenager about issues raised by the rape of a teenage girl in Steubenville, Ohio. The questions continue. Responsibility Whose fault is it when someone is attacked? What if they were saying really insulting things to the person who attacked them? What if they were walking around in …
Questions (for your teenager) from Steubenville, Ohio
“Many of the things we learned during this trial that our children were saying and doing were profane, were ugly . . .[Parents need] to have discussions about how you talk to your friends, how you record things on the social media so prevalent today and how you conduct yourself when drinking is put upon you by your friends.” Judge …
Respect, Consent and Teenage Sex Reflections on the Stuebenville, Ohio Teenage Rape Case
“Many of the things we learned during this trial that our children were saying and doing were profane, were ugly . . .[Parents need] to have discussions about how you talk to your friends, how you record things on the social media so prevalent today and how you conduct yourself when drinking is put upon you by your friends.” Judge …
What To Do If You Catch Your Kid Drinking?
Most teens are going to drink before they get out of high school. By 18, 69.4% of teens have tried alcohol, 41.5% drank within the last month. Some of these kids will abuse it (15.8% binge drink) and get lost in it (4.4% heavy drinking). (Monitoring the Future Study) As parents even single instances of your kid drinking should be …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Responsibility (cont.)
Teach it. Being a Responsible person requires a number of specific skills. Your kid will need help developing them. Self control. Responsibility requires the ability to resist impulses and delay gratification in the service of longer term goals. Your kid will need practice dealing with frustration and remaining calm and focused under stress. Make your kid wait. Require them to …
Fostering Character Development in Teens: Responsibility
def. (noun) accountable or answerable for your actions If your kid is going to accomplish anything, they have to take personal responsibility for making it happen. Responsibility is directly tied to success. Responsible people are both proactive in addressing issues and hold themselves accountable for the consequences of their actions. Responsible people are trusted, they are given greater opportunities and …