Dear Kerry: “Unwinding After School”
Dear Kerry, My first grader really needs some “down time” when he gets home from school or else he falls apart if we do any other activities. I’ve started letting him have half an hour to curl up and watch a show. It seems to be helping. Any reason that I shouldn’t be letting him […]
“I Want What’s On TV!”
My 4-year-old son wants everything he sees on TV so the other day when he said “Mom, I want that!” I used my “brain dead skills” and replied, “I know.” He finally stopped asking after 4-5 times of me saying “I know.” Then Daddy came home from work and my son looked at his […]
Some Thoughts on Video, Games, Computer Games, and TV
Over the past two decades, video and computer games have become dramatically more fast-paced, realistic, and stimulating. Not long after their introduction, I began to suspect that these games had the same addictive potential as drugs, alcohol, and gambling. Today, family therapists and researchers have confirmed my fears. Listed below are some tips for helping […]
The Love and Logic Vaccination Plan
Our world is getting more complex and dangerous for kids every day. How do we best protect them so that they will survive? Resist the urge to overprotect! Like vaccinations for physical disease, parents who apply Love and Logic allow their kids to develop decision-making “antibodies” by being exposed to plenty of small temptations, by […]
Limit Screen Time and Encourage the Act of “Doing” with Your Child
What does your child ask when bored? Is it, “I’m bored. What can I do?” or is it, “I’m bored. What can I watch?” If it is the latter, you are raising a future watcher, not a future doer. And if this is the case, my heart goes out to your child. Becoming a watcher […]