PARENTING – Page 6

3 ways to promote social skills in homebound kids

11Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING

3 ways to promote social skills in homebound kids

With the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic getting worse in most of the country, a growing number of school districts from San Francisco to Atlanta have determined that a return to daily in-person instruction isn’t yet safe or viable. They aim to to stick with remote learning as the school year gets underway. Based on my research about the psychological effects of digital technology, I’ve seen that when children and teens spend a great deal of time isolated at home and gazing at screens their social skills and self-esteem can suffer and they may become lonelier. Fortunately, there are ways to lower those risks while young people spend way more time than usual at home. 1. Practice paying attention to other people One important social skill is the ability to pay attention to another person ...

Graduation Day More Than Just A Regular Day

9Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING

Graduation Day More Than Just A Regular Day

To some, graduation day is just a regular day, walking across a stage dressed in crazy attire only to be handed “a piece of paper” in front of a bunch of people. In my view, those rites of passages are so much more than that, especially for Black and Brown kids. We learned early and often that opportunities to be celebrated or positively acknowledged publicly are often fleeting at best for us in American society—especially when sports or entertainment are not involved. Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, May and June will be filled with prom and commencement cancellations instead of ceremonies, including my son’s kindergarten graduation. My heart aches for all class of 2020 graduates—from pre-K to graduate school and beyond, very few could honestly say t...

For parents of color, schooling at home can be an act of resistance

9Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING

For parents of color, schooling at home can be an act of resistance

My 6-year-old hates the British. To be more specific, the British Empire that ruled over up to a quarter of the world’s land by the early 1900s. Hates that one of the biggest diamonds in the world, found in India over 1,000 years ago, now sits in the queen’s set of crown jewels. Hates that they drew up borders quickly and exited South Asia in the 1940s, resulting in the death of millions, and making his grandfather and great-grandparents refugees in the newly formed nation of India. How does my 6-year-old know all about this? Well, because we talk about it and have a lot of books at home. We have always read books about South Asian culture and history. And now that we have more flexible schedules since we have to work at home – and the kiddo has to do school at home – we have even more ti...

Helping Pregnant Parents To Be With Addictions Navigate Aspects Of Life

11Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING

Helping Pregnant Parents To Be With Addictions Navigate Aspects Of Life

Coaches help pregnant people with addictions navigate all aspects of life, from doctor visits to finding housing. “Look at that little bald head,” Jewel Adams said. Moving toward Adams in the arms of her mother, and wearing a ruffled, magenta onesie, is 3-week-old Safiyah James. “Hi Sophia,” Adams said. “It’s Sah-fiyah,” said Kia Nassik, 27, as she allows Adams to hold her daughter in her apartment just south of Madison, Wisconsin. Safiyah sticks out her lower lip, squints her eyes and lets out a small cry. “She saying, ‘these ain’t my mama’s hands.’ I know, I know,” Adams said, rocking Safiyah for a few moments before handing her back to her mother. Though this is Nassik’s second child—she has a 5-year-old daughter as well—she feels like a first-time mom. During her first pregnancy, ...

The Kids Are All Right, But the Adults Are Struggling

9Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING

The Kids Are All Right, But the Adults Are Struggling

While much attention on the rising suicide rate focuses on youth, data shows that it's actually working-age adults who are being hit hardest. The rise of suicide and other self-destructive behavior in the U.S. raises questions both tragic and curious. Suicide rates are up for every age group over the past few years, and they tend to get attention when someone—usually a young person—takes their own life. What’s causing this upswing? The truth is complicated. But the short version is this: It’s not youth who are creating the crisis. It’s their parents’ generation. Americans have the worst levels of addiction, suicide, and self-destruction in the Western world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a record 120,000 Americans died from suicides and rela...

11Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING

Stop Ignoring Mothering as Work

No one should be forced to mother, but women who choose that journey deserve political, social, and structural support. Every year during Women’s History Month we reflect on the many accomplishments of women and their contributions to society. Now that the month is over, it’s time to face a glaring omission so that it’s not repeated next March. This year, I was particularly concerned that the month’s overfocus on the secular and professional accomplishments of women brought an unintended consequence to undermine mothering as valuable work equally worthy of high-fives, GIFs, reposting, and tweeting. Women’s History Month or any such celebration is not complete until women are honored for their productive work—and their reproductive work. That means acknowledging work that’...

11Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING

How Babies Adapt to Their Mother’s Physiological State

The classic image at New Year's where old Father Time represents the year just ended while the bannered New Year's baby emerges onstage, heralds the iconic star of a conference I attended in San Diego recently. Sponsored by the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH) the international congress addressed the scientific and psycho-social discoveries centered on "the conscious baby." Founded in 1983 by Canadian psychiatrist Thomas R. Verny MD, and David Chamberlain PhD, the APPPAH started as a small group of people who shared an interest in the sensitivity and consciousness of babies. Membership chair and parental educator Barbara Decker explains, "Their premise is that babies are having experiences in the womb-welcoming or not being welcomed, experiencing fear...

90% Of Being A Successful Father Is Showing Up

26May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

PARENTING, TOP FOUR

90% Of Being A Successful Father Is Showing Up

Woody Allen says 90% of success in life is showing up. That's definitely true for being a good father. Your wife delivers the baby, but the ball is in your end of the court, half of the time, after that. I was terrified when I brought my infant son home from the hospital. I looked at the tiny, six pound, six-ounce, boy and nearly panicked when I realized he was going to be living with me. I didn't know how to feed him, change him, or get him to stop crying. I was afraid to hold him. I was the ultimate newbie dad. I wasn't confident I'd be able to fill a father's shoes. I was a full-time, financially strapped, married, twenty-year old college student when my son was born. I had no money, and only one way to get any. I worked five part-time jobs during the day and into the night to pay the...