Features Archives - Page 5 of 29

Music to our ears

By Emily On April 29, 2014 · Add Comment

Almost every afternoon, right before I start preparing dinner, I turn off the television and make the kids take a break from the computer or the iPad or whatever else it is that they’re doing, and we have a 15-minute dance party. I blast music on my little Bluetooth speaker and we all move around the house, getting rid of the day’s excess energy and engage in some silly, kinetic fun. Besides being the soundtrack for the World’s Funnest Dance Party, music plays a key role in early childhood development. It helps teach kids about the sounds of words and boosts vocabulary, and dancing can improve motor skills and fosters creative self-expression. Bonding over music can also bring you closer together as a family and create lasting memories. From nursery rhymes to hard rock, here are some suggestions to get you moving and grooving: Pandora – this [...]

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Putting your kids on a “media diet”

By Emily On April 24, 2014 · Add Comment

There’s a lot of buzz about screen time, with more and more research emerging that the time your children spend with technology isn’t quite as important as the quality of the technology they’re using. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a very clear and well-written recommendation for guidelines to follow when parents are struggling with how to approach children’s media usage. An underlying theme of the research from a variety of sources is that television isn’t as high in quality as, say, an educational app. Books, newspapers, and kid-centric magazines are even better than using mobile gaming devices, but I would wager that your household owns more electronic devices than issues of Highlights. Finding the right app for your little one isn’t easy, but if you’re trying to make the transition away from TV time to more engaging and interactive apps, it can be really hard to decide [...]

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Happy Earth Day!

By Emily On April 22, 2014 · Add Comment

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Screen-Free Week: May 5-11

By Emily On April 22, 2014 · Add Comment

Choosing screen time limits for your family is a wholly personal process based on the unique needs of you and your children. We are a tech-obsessed family so we have zero screen-time limits on mobile gaming devices or a small selection of computer-based games, but we do have required off-screen days here and there to take a break from technology and reconnect with each other. At first my kids whined like crazy about not being able to use the iPad and having to actually interact with my husband and I, but eventually they grew to look forward to the time without media distractions. Some parents and caregivers may be a little hesitant to practice screen-free time because they (like I) depend on the iPad or a quick game of Minecraft or a 30-minute episode of an animated TV show to engage the kids long enough to complete [...]

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Public libraries: beyond the book

By Emily On April 21, 2014 · Add Comment

Summer is closing in (even though the weather might not be a good indication) and for many parents and caregivers, that means a solid chunk of days potentially filled with “I’m booooored!” Sure, there’s summer camp, the pool, the playground, picnics – you get the idea – but some days are just too hot or too rainy to enjoy the Great Outdoors. Instead of sulking around the house and watching the same animated movie for the 82nd time in a row, how about checking out your local library? I know my local library has several storytimes throughout the week for a range of ages, as well as fun workshops and even field trips. What’s interesting, though, is the increased use of technology during activities that used to only include a “real live book” (my son’s terminology). One librarian I met used a SmartBoard to help show children the illustrations on [...]

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