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5K Run as Family Fun

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Every month of the year, there is at least one 5K run in the greater Nashville metropolitan area (as there is in any moderate to large city). Take a look. These events are a great opportunity to get the collective family butt up and moving. In the interest of full disclosure, I hate running. I also hate exercise but I …

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Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 1-4 (part 2)

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

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 …

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Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 1-4 (part 1)

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

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 …

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Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

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 …

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More Questions (for your teenager) from Steubenville, Ohio

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

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 …

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Fostering Sibling Relationships: Part 3

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Require siblings to be a role model. As people enter adulthood, they automatically (though not always willingly or positively) move into the position of being an example to others. That is particularly true for members of a family or community. Make it clear that all older teens are expected to be a role model to any younger kids. The youngest …

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Fostering Sibling Relationships: Part 2

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Family activities. Having a relationship requires interacting with each other. If your kids don’t get along well or easily, do things as a family (movies, trips, board games, cooking, volunteering, etc.). Everyone has to interact but there isn’t a spotlight on the kids’ relationships with each other. Remind them they must be pleasant and act like they are getting along …

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Fostering Sibling Relationships: Part 1

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Oh, the arguing and bickering; the screaming and shoving! And that’s just what’s required to get everyone to school in the morning. When you add how brothers and sisters go at each other, the house can become an urban war zone, complete with insurgents and intermittent explosive devices. For all this, sibling relationships provide the context for your kids to …

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Talking About Teenage Love, part 3

In There's a Stranger in My House by Dr James Wellborn

Shaping expectations. How you talk about love and relationships will have a significant influence on what your kid expects out of their beloved. Young love-ers are romantic idealists. Their model for love will be fairy tales, cartoons and a naïve, superficial view of dating and dating partners. (We won’t even get into what happens if they have already been watching …