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Ikigai

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

We live in a society where experiences are served up pre-determined, pre-selected, pre-processed, pre-digested, pre-programmed, pre-packaged and pre-scheduled.  While convenient, there are a few problems this can present for your kid.  They can forget or never learn how to recognize authentic personal interests.  They begin to wait passively for experiences to be presented.  They consider temporary excitement and surprise to …

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Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 11-12, Part I

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

Well, we’ve come to the final developmental stage in this series on access to and use of social media and the internet.  Much of the heavy lifting in parenting should have been occurring in the years before your teenager reaches the 11th and 12th grade.  By staying on top of things, building in important values, requiring self-restraint and repeatedly addressing …

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Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 9-10, Part III

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

This column continues the series about setting limits on your kid’s access to and use of social media and the internet.  The topic for this column is video games and social media accounts.  It is the third part of the expectations and recommendations for kids in grades 9 and 10.  (If strategies or information have been covered in previous columns …

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Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 9-10, Part I

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

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 and recommendations for kids in grades 9 and 10. Levels of Parental Monitoring Ninth and tenth grade kids should begin to require less parental monitoring than younger …

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Developmental Stages of Access to Social Media Grades 7-8, Part III

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

This column continues the series about setting limits on your kid’s access to and use of social media and the internet.  The topic for this column is video games and social media accounts.  It is the third part of the expectations and recommendations for kids in grades 7 and 8.  If strategies or information have been covered in previous columns …

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What is a reasonable curfew?

In The Blog by Dr James Wellborn

If you ask your kid, they are likely to say: I am old enough to decide for myself when it is time to come home. You should trust me. My friend’s parents let them stay out really late all the time. And besides, this isn’t some fascist state like . . . like . . . somewhere else.  This is …