Get off the Couch! Keeping Your Family Healthy During the Summer (and Beyond)

As the dog days of summer set in, your child might want to burrow into his favorite spot on the couch with a bag of chips in one hand and a game controller in the other. While it might be tempting to join him, DON'T! Research shows that exercise isn't just good for your body, it's also good for your mind. This week we are focusing on ways you can help your child stay active during the summer and hopefully, for life.

Get off the Couch!
Keeping Your Family Healthy During the Summer

(and Beyond)

by Mikey Smith, M.Ed

 

It used to be that the start of summer meant that our parents would push us kids outside, lock the door and tell us not to come home until dinner unless someone was bleeding profusely. Nowadays, however, more and more kids are spending more and more of their summer sitting on the couch playing video games and watching TV. We all know that kids and adults and people in general are more sedentary. What can we do to reverse that trend in our own homes?



Make it a Family Affair

As with everything, parents can start by being positive examples. It's hard to expect your kids to go outside when you're sitting inside watching TV with a snack in one hand and the remote in the other hand. Go on family hikes or walk the dog together, or even get down and dirty with yardwork. Taking care of chores is a great way to make them go faster as well as to burn calories!



Be Adventurous

Let's face it, walking up and down the same old streets in your neighborhood can get a tad boring. Houston is home to dozens of sites great for exploring. Find parks, trails, campgrounds, outdoor places and events with -

 The National Wildlife Federation's Nature Find Website

The National Parks and Forests

and local playgrounds.

Social Media: How Much Do You REALLY Know?

Social Media:
How Much Do You REALLY Know?
by Mikey Keating Smith, M.Ed
   
Many parents are familiar with Facebook, the ubiquitous social networking site, and some also know about twitter (although they might not understand exactly how it works). Unfortunately, when it comes to social networking, Facebook and twitter are just the tip of the iceberg. Tumblr, Instagram, Keek, Vine, ask.fm. . . Social networking sites are exploding, and while there are many wonderful uses for each one of them, there are also many pitfalls and opportunities for kids to become targets. How can we keep our kids safe on websites we don't even know exist?

*Leigh Stewart thought she had covered all her bases when it came to keeping her 11-year-old son safe online. Her son's emails were forwarded to her cell phone, and she knew he had several social networking accounts, including one with ask.fm. What she didn't know, however, is that ask.fm, a seemingly harmless website where users can post questions and answers, has no privacy settings. That means that anyone, anywhere, is free to comment on anyone else's account, with no filter. Anonymously. The site, which has more than 40 million users, has come under fire in England recently, where it has been blamed for the suicides of several students who were reportedly bullied mercilessly thanks to ask.fm's anonymity.

Because ask.fm emails users when posts are made to the account, Stewart was able to see responses to her son's questions. She was shocked to see the responses grow more and more inappropriate, and worse, obscene. Her son was hurt and humiliated by the anonymous bullying. "I went in my son's room and he was crying under the covers so I wouldn't hear him," she says. "He was embarrassed but he showed me all the other comments that he never replied to - thank goodness he was smart enough to not reply."

House Rules! Set Expectations NOW to Ensure a Sane Summer

by Mikey Keating Smith, M. Ed

Summer is almost here, and with it may come the urge to throw rigid routines out the window. Research (and experience) shows, though, that most kids thrive when they have clear expectations and routines, even in the summer months. Parent Ellen Dunlap used to greet each summer vacation with mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was excited to be free of the grind of the school year and able to spend more relaxed, quality time with her son, Ryan. On the other hand, however, she dreaded the onset of Ryan’s summer ‘personality shift.’ “After 3 or 4 days I started to see that he was short-tempered and grumpy,” Ellen says. “Most of his responses had an underlying tone of annoyance and he appeared to look and feel frustrated and uncomfortable.”

As her son got older, the pattern of behavior continued. Each year after the initial excitement about the summer break wore off, her son’s personality would abruptly change. His increasingly surly behavior put a damper on summer fun for everyone in the household. Then, she says, she had an ‘aha moment’: “It took me a little while to figure out the root of his frustration. Although he will argue otherwise, my son really craves the comfort that structure brings.”

Ryan is not alone. Experts agree that while children and adolescents do benefit from the downtime the summer brings, downtime should be balanced with structured activities and clear expectations. While some children do fine without a set schedule, many others struggle with the excessive free time and lack of routine the summer break often brings with it. Otherwise happy and well-adjusted kids might begin acting defiant and downright rude, and you might notice arguments increasing among siblings. Kids with too much downtime also may experiment with risky behaviors and wind up getting into trouble both at home and with friends. 

Summer Reading. . . For PARENTS! by Mikey Keating Smith, M. Ed

On the last day of school, the one item in many kids’ backpacks is the dreaded summer homework packet. More and more schools are hoping to fight summer slide by assigning kids reading and math work over the summer, and usually several books to be read. What about parents, though? What better way to encourage our kids to be lifelong learners than by setting a positive example by taking on some summer reading ourselves?

Since summer tends to be a bit less stressful than the jam-packed school year, it’s a great time to pick up a new book. You can take one on vacation, suggest one for your book club, or, even better, read one as a family. This summer, though, how about making that book one that can help you better understand your child and the world he or she inhabits? There are hundreds of books on parenting and adolescents, but because everyone’s time is precious, below is a sampling of well-reviewed books on a variety of topics. Hopefully one will make your summer reading list!