Category: Well-Being

Is your child a little shy? Do they suffer from a lack of self-esteem? It’s a difficult time to be a child. With so many distractions, it can be easy to put personal relationships on the back burner.  Children can dive down a black hole into the internet void, spend countless hours completing video game campaigns, and plug into the virtual world.

While they’re doing this, they can tune out others and lose grasp of meaningful relationships. Once these relationships disappear, the impact can translate into other realms of your child’s life. They may lose the confidence to talk freely and openly to others or second guess their ability to do well in other aspects of their life such as schoolwork. 

Another factor that contributes to a lack of confidence in kids is lawnmower parenting. When parents are too overprotective they don’t allow their children to face the natural adversity that life brings. This results in a lack of problem solving skills down the road.

Sometimes the internet, a place designed to connect individuals across the globe, can feel daunting and dividing. When this transposes itself into ordinary life, it can become a problem and a burden. That is why I put together a list of online activities that stray from the gloom and doom and promote healthy habits and elevate self-esteem. 

Afterschool Gaming Clubs

Does your child’s school offer after school programming? If they do, odds are that they may have a program specific to online gaming or video game creation. If not, then try checking out local community centers. If all else fails, these resources will help you create your own after school program. 

These types of clubs are becoming more and more prevalent and can create a sense of community with your child. Not all kids are into sports, art or chess clubs where they can advance their chess skills. These clubs are the perfect option for the video game obsessed youth and can offer more than just a community of fellow gamers.

Some clubs dive into video game creation and actually allow the students to create their own games, teaching meaningful skills while enjoying games with peers. This sense of community can be extremely important for boosting the learning and the self-esteem of your child. 

Playing Card Games

Unsurprisingly, card games have become extremely popular online. The dozens of games available give kids an opportunity to challenge their critical thinking skills, memory recall, and strategy implementation. Below are two excellent choices that will not only challenge but entertain kids (and even adults).

Hearts is a trick-taking card game typically played with four players, where the objective is to avoid taking certain cards that carry penalty points, leading to strategic play and careful card management. The online version offers the game in single and multiplayer modes, and comes with a helpful guide for newcomers to the game.

Spades is a popular four-player card game (available in single player online), where the goal is to accurately predict and win the number of tricks bid by each player’s partnership in each round. This card game blends strategy and luck, leading to a fun, competitive gaming experience.

Kid-Friendly Social Media Sites

Social media is a scary place, even for adults. But, there are platforms out there specifically for kids. At first you may think that this sounds like a terrible idea and an easy way for strangers to interact with your child. But, these sites take safety seriously. Unlike the Myspace and Facebook’s of the world, these sites are focused on safety and provide a great introduction to social media for kids of various ages.

Most of these sites allow parents to control their child’s overall usage and monitor their accounts. This means that your child can enjoy the interaction with peers, while you assure they don’t go overboard with it. Some sites are extremely basic and only offer the simplest of features, while some are in-depth and showcase some top-notch safety features, such as required background checks. It may be best to monitor your child’s presence on these sites at first, but eventually these social media sites should provide your child with communication skills that will transfer to the real world. 

Geocaching

Have you heard of geocaching? This is a great activity for young kids to do with the rest of the family or a wholesome activity for older kids to take part in with friends. Not only does this activity get you outside, but through their easy to use app you join an online community of treasure hunters.

So, what is geocaching? Geocaching utilizes GPS coordinates to show the locations of various geocaches (containers/treasure chests). Individuals then navigate to the geocache and find hidden goods. There are several different categories of geocaches that keep the search interesting every time. You can solve a puzzle to discover coordinates or find geocaches specific to major landmarks. This interactive community allows you to utilize your online skills to navigate the real world. 

While it is great for children to be outside exploring, it can also be very stressful for a parent. If you have older children and want to keep track of their whereabouts while they’re out and about exploring, then I suggest investing in a GPS-based tracker to ease your worries. 

iNaturalist

This is an environmentally-focused parent’s best friend. Not only does this app (also web-based) offer the opportunity to learn about different species, but similar to geocaching, it also gets kids outside. Look out for something called a “bioblitz” in your area. The National Park System, as well as numerous State Park Systems and non-profits hold these events to gather as many observations as possible in a specific period of time. For instance, while I worked for Tennessee State Parks, we developed a statewide bioblitz and created a variety of family-friendly programming around the event. This can be a great way to get out with the family and explore an area otherwise not accessible. 

The feeling of discovery can be a tremendous joy for children and adults alike. By discovering different plant and animal species, children learn about the natural world and increase their observational skills. This can translate directly to social and academic situations. The informal understanding children gain through experimentation, observation, and comparison in play lays the foundation for higher-order thinking and later learning of formal STEM concepts.  For more information on iNaturalist and how it can benefit your child’s learning inaturalist.org. 

Trampoline Fun

Athletic activities do not come naturally to all kids.  In fact, their lack of confidence may be heightened because of a bad experience playing sports or feeling like they don’t measure up to other kids in gym class at school.  Yet, every child is instilled with desire to have fun physically from a young age. You don’t have to be super coordinated  to have fun playing games outdoors.  Playing games on a trampoline in the backyard is another way to bring a sports like activity into your child’s regular routine without them even thinking about their level of physical ability.  It can be great fun for everyone in the family.

Regardless of which avenue you and your child take, the most important thing for improving self-esteem is the feeling of inclusion. These activities provide a community for your child to become a part of and share experiences. Those experiences will help define your child as an individual and grant them an identity to believe in. Hopefully, after discovering themselves and learning to believe in their abilities, your children will transfer this new, increased self-esteem into every aspect of their lives. So, get them involved and start building those memories.

Author Bio: Chandler Clayton is a freelance writer, specializing in education and safety. He draws upon his years of teaching environmental education to empower learning in children and adults of all backgrounds. He has been featured on sites such as SafeWise, USA Today, and Newsday.

Giving your child opportunities to engage with others in the community and outdoors leads to a well balanced life. There are also plenty of things you can introduce your family to keep away from excessive Internet use. 

Technology definitely has a time and place in our schools and we owe it to our pupils to teach them proper ways to use their devices for learning and communicating. However, we can also probably agree there are some downsides to all of this tech in our student’s lives.

Technology which opens our students up to a variety of pitfalls of dangers that range anywhere from cyberbullying to the health consequences of inactive lifestyles.

As educators, it’s no great surprise today’s technology is changing the way we monitor our children, communicate, interact, and engage with our students and, everyday we are on the frontlines watching and coping with the consequences as they unfold.

This makes it essential that we slow down and re-evaluate the role we allow technology to play in our classrooms. This is especially vital when we consider teens are digitally connected for 9 hours everyday! Yes, that is almost the same amount of time spent in school. If that statistic isn’t jaw dropping enough, we need to factor in that their younger counterparts clock in over 6 daily hours and children younger than 8 net nearly 3 hours a day!.

This data inevitably means that our children are missing out on important opportunities and activities to interact, explore, observe, and learn about the world around them. Instead of building new relationships or mastering valuable life skills, our boys and girls are inevitably living a distracted life. This is difficult for us to face, because we can only control what our students do during the hours we have them entrusted to our care. One simple way we can counteract too much technology is by examining the importance of outdoor activities and find ways for kids to strike a happy balance.     

Why Outdoor Activities are Essential for Kids

Over the course of the last few decades, a lot has changed in education as we strive to include more technology and teach for the test. While this has helped push in more STEAM activities and HAL opportunities, it has also led to a significant decrease in the amount of time allocated for recess, physical education, and the fine arts. To put this trend into perspective, according to the National Wildlife Foundation, today’s children are spending approximately half the amount of time outside than we did when we were kids.

Why outdoor activities are essential for kids:

• Poor indoor air quality is common in many schools. Fresh air is healthy!

• There is an increased risk for obesity, hypertension, and more that comes with reduced exercise and sedentary lifestyles.

• Green spaces have been proven to reduce stress and anxiety levels in children- and even adults. 

• The outdoors provide exposure to dirt, germs, and bacteria which boost a child’s immune system.

• Activities like gardening in the outdoors can help students develop observational skills and learn science concepts.

• Sunlight provides beneficial vitamin D which can help energy levels and strengthen bones.

• Adequate exposure to sunlight also helps set a child’s circadian rhythms, which will help them develop a proper sleep schedule to enhance social and educational performance in school.

• Outdoor activities and green spaces naturally improve many of the symptoms related to ADHD in children.

The Dangers of Too Much Technology

The reasons why outdoor activities are essential for kids is pretty solid, but we can’t overlook the possible dangers associated with too much technology. Our students’ devices might be entertaining, but there are real reasons educators need to be concerned. The following list shows why we need to help students find a healthy balance with technology in their lives:

• Direct links between overuse of social media and increases in depression, feelings of low self-esteem, and anxiety have been documented in young people.

• Devices can interrupt or cause distraction during key learning times in a classroom.

• Our kids might be set up for a lifetime of joint and neck pain if they don’t embrace proper ergonomics.

• Digital devices and fast paced stimuli can actually physically alter a child’s brain.

• The glow from our screens and constant notifications can disrupt circadian rhythms and sleep schedules leading to poor sleep.

• Overusing technology limits one-on-one communication opportunities for kids which may inhibit relationship and social skills development.

Benefits of Being Outside

Technology is obviously here to stay, and we can’t feasibly ban all devices from our schools. However, a little mindfulness and proactive planning can go a long way. With a little creative thinking we can help students find a healthy balance with technology and nature. Encouraging your children to play outdoors regularly needs to be more then just talk.  Give them ideas and take part in the fun as often as possible.

 

Being stuck at home for weeks in a time when everything feels uncertain and out of control can be mood-dipping experience. We all want to feel safe and hopeful for tomorrow, Fortunately, there are practical things we can all do to maintain a positive attitude.

Anxiety doesn’t have to be your friend, just as you don’t have to let loneliness move in to be your roommate or neighbor. With a focus on mood-boosting activities we will be able to keep our sanity through long periods of time at home.

Psychologists say that it may be possible to beat depression, anxiety, and loneliness through physical exercise. According to a study that was published by JAMA Psychiatry in January 2020, regular physical activity can independently alleviate depression disorder and boost a person’s overall mood.

For students in school, there is the added benefits that exercise brings to the brain.  More oxygen, more blood flow, and the simple fact that a break from braining draining studies is healthy to avoid burnout.

But how exactly does exercising boost our mood, especially while home-isolated? Here is how:

1.  It is a Good Excuse to get Natural Light Exposure

Increased exposure to natural light will boost your energy and mood levels, and consequently, improve your sleep and overall quality of life. That is why people who stay indoors for too long suffer irritability, distraction, and depression. Unfortunately, we aren’t getting enough natural light these day, especially for those living in harsh winter climates.

Outdoor exercising is one of the few valid reasons for anyone to get out these days. So, if you have space on your balcony, backyard, or if you live in a scarcely-populated neighborhood, go out there and run. Do all forms of cardio and get your heart racing. If you can’t go to far from home, ride a bicycle around your garden for an hour daily. It is a great way not just to burn fat and lose weight but to boost your spirits as well.

Riding a bike is something then entire family can enjoy together outdoors.  If you have kids who are just learning how to ride, teaching them is an activity in itself. 

2.  Helps You Beat Insomnia

Being stuck indoors means that everyone is now getting the time to sleep during the day. The disadvantage of that: Severe insomnia for people who struggle to catch sleep at night. One of the effects of insufficient sleep at night is lowered spirits during the day. The good thing is that studies point to the possibilities of regular exercise being a remedy for severe insomnia. Here are 2 arguments in support of this claim:

• Intense physical activity has undisputed body-heating effects. When you increase your body temperature by exercising a few hours to bedtime, your body reacts by lowering its temperature back to normal. That post-exercise temperature dip may make you fall asleep faster.

• Most people with severe insomnia suffer from anxiety and depression. Exercising is a proven way of alleviating these symptoms so you sleep better.

3.  It makes you drink more water

Research has shown that people who drink at least 8 glasses of water per day are calmer, more content, and have way lesser physical and mental fatigue compared to people who intake less than 6 glasses per day. That is reliable evidence that drinking more water might result in a better mood.

But then, drinking water regularly might seem like extra work for people who aren’t keen on their hydration needs. That is where physical exercise comes in. When you work out, you will always feel the urge to drink more water and, knowingly or not, you will fundamentally be boosting your mood.

4.  Helps you cultivate healthy relationships

Many couples are fighting all the time because for the first time since they have known each other, they are now spending 24 hours together, up from 3-5 hours tops on normal days. When you fight, your mood deteriorates. When you work out together as a couple or as a family, your mood improves.

5.  It is a good way of alleviating emotional exhaustion

Emotional exhaustion results from prolonged stress. Most people are feeling emotionally worn-out and drained due to the uncertainties shared by people worldwide. People are feeling trapped; it seems like no one is in control of their lives or careers anymore.

Increased physical activity raises endorphins and serotonin levels in your body, which in turn can boost your emotional state. It helps take your mind off the news and the constant feeling of hopelessness.

Conclusion

Physical inactivity during this time can have detrimental impacts on both your mental and physical health. Make a point of exercising for at least 30 minutes per day, especially given that there are plenty of at-home workout ideas online. What’s more, even after the quarantine season is over, you will have developed a healthy fitness routine for the rest of your life.

Encouraging Your Kids Through Seasonal Affective Disorder

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of 7.5 hours per day in front of screens.  It may be on social media or watching TV or playing videos games.  Even adults will agree that the hours “fly by” when engaging with the digital world.  Don’t worry, the 7 Day Digital Detox is not asking you to go offline for 7 Days.

Rather, it’s 7 days of tech-free family activities and conversation starters delivered to your inbox.   It’s a chance for your family to reconnect without looking at a screen.  Life is about balance.  It’s about developing healthy habits that doesn’t necessarily mean stopping something you love to do altogether.

Why The Digital Detox?

It’s not uncommon to see a group of teens sitting together, each of them on their phones on social media or texting, but none of them interacting with each other.  The same thing happens with families at home.  Let’s face it.  Watching TV kills time.  Surfing the web or scroll posts on social media can eat up hours. The temptation for distraction from life is great but ‘so called’ relaxing time can also lead to online burnout.

There is also the time reading online news, most of which is negative. It can bring a person down without a balance of reading stories that are positive and uplifting.

No one denies the benefits of being able to keep in touch with family and friends miles away, especially in this time of social distancing.  But even when you look at the hours we spend on screens, how much of it is actually having a digital conversation compared with reading and viewing information in silence.   Studies have claimed too much screen time can cause social and family dysfunction, as well as development delays and depression.

Human Interaction Takes Planning

If we don’t set time aside to do things as a family, it won’t happen.  It’s the difference between cooking dinner and having family members just take their food from the stove to eat wherever they like, or saying “tonight, we’re going to have a sit-down meal together”.  It takes a simple commitment.  A meal together is one activity a family can do to have a conversation, as long as everyone doesn’t bring their phones to the table.

Planning to do something can be easy to talk about.  It’s much more difficult to follow through on unless at time is set.  For example, at 5 o’clock today we’re all going for a walk.  Friday nights are game night.  Keep it interesting by exploring fresh new activities like new language games the whole family can enjoy.   Or how about a family drive to a scenic outdoor viewpoint in your local area.

Get ideas for activities and conversations starters
to bond with your family without tech!

And there’s nothing wrong with a movie night.  True, it’s more time in front of a screen but can be a fun time to spend time together compared with everyone just watching their own favorite show in solitude.  The same can be said for videos games done together on one screen as a family. It’s certainly better than when kids individually looking at their screens with no interaction with those around them.

As mentioned, it’s not about eliminating screen time, only reducing screen time it in our daily lives while connecting in a personal way with our family.  Puzzles anyone?  It may not be everyone’s preference.  In that case, break up your activities in groups.  Some work on a puzzle while others play a game or build a connectable toy.

You can also use the time to evaluate if there are any online accounts you don’t really need.  Detoxing your digital life can also mean reclaiming your online privacy and doing away with excess use to simplify your digital management.

So why not give it a try?

Sign up for the 7 Day Digital Detox and you’ll receive one email per day for 7 days.  Each email will consist of fun ideas to help you reconnect as a family in fun way.

Start Your Free Digital Detox Here!

The Digital Detox is inspired by the same parental control software company that developed Covenant Eyes, the program that also teaches kids how to be responsible internet users. Screen time monitoring is just one of the features that parental controls offer, in addition to preventing the much worse consequences of when kids come into contact with explicit material online.

Any attempt to reduce screen time, avoid screen time addiction, or protect families from harm online begins with a conversation.  The 7 Day Digital Detox is great way to open the lines of communication between family members so that having those important conversations happen naturally.