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screen time

If your child is getting more than an hour of screen time a day, the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) says it’s too much. 

Leapteen can control screen time for children using cell phone...learn more: www.leapteen.com

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8 Tips For Raising Girls with Confidence BY GUEST WRITER

1. Lead by example and learn to like yourself. We have a tendency to compare ourselves to others, contrasting the worst things we know about ourselves to the best things we know about others. The inevitable outcome always leads to feelings of inadequacy and despair. Tell yourself that you can’t possibly be making a fair comparison. If you treat yourself well and believe in your capability, then your daughter will follow suit. By showing and teaching her to like herself and speak to herself kindly (no negative or self deprecating comments), she will feel better in her own skin.

2. Create leadership opportunities and help her believe she is capable. You don’t need to already have the ability to do something, you just have to believe that you can figure it out, learn, practice and not give up. A great way to help your daughter understand this concept is by creating leadership opportunities at home. Whether it is planning grandma’s birthday celebration or just involving her in everyday choices, simple occasions to lead herself and others can have a major impact on her budding self esteem.  Give your daughter the opportunity to practice decision-making skills. Let her choose which chores she wants to do for the week, what she wears to school, and how she wears her hair. When parents trust girls to make decisions, girls internalize the message that they are capable.

3. Remind her where to focus and let her follow her own dreams. This is not the “fake it ’til you make it” approach; rather, teach your daughter to focus on those things that she wants in her life, not the things that she doesn’t want. When she begins to shift her focus to her wants and goals, she will begin to attract more of “the good stuff” into her life. Encourage her to speak up for her beliefs. Commend her for her grit and resiliency. Above all, tell her that you believe in her. The more she hears it from you, the more she will believe in herself.

4. Show respect for her point of view and love her unconditionally.Listening to your daughter more than you lecture her and being open to changing your point of view based on what she has said will go a long way in building her confidence. She will see that what she thinks and says matters and has the power to change a situation. Girls will face ups and downs as they grow and will experience successes and failures. Whether or not they believe they can be successful and recover from their failures is largely determined by the amount of unconditional love and support they receive at home every single day.

5. Help someone. One of the most important steps to finding self-confidence is to give yourself to others. Serving another person almost always results in the healthy realization that you are important in this world, that you have something to offer, and that the world is more beautiful because of your presence. Research has shown that helping others can increase one’s self-esteem. Giving back often forces girls to get out of their comfort zone. When the only person that they have to disappoint is themselves, they are more likely to stay inside their shell. When their actions have a direct impact on the lives of others, they are more likely to step up – and as they do, they will see that they are capable of much more than they imagined.

6. Help her develop a strong emotional vocabulary. Many people lack the ability to communicate emotions, but it is the key to both understanding others and being understood. So much conflict and misunderstanding could be avoided if we knew how to express our emotions. Teach your daughter to share her feelings and ask for what she needs to resolve problems and challenges. To be able to tell a friend that she made you feel bad and that you’d like an apology is a skill that can resolve conflict and strengthen not only friendships, but self-esteem as well!

7. Force her to make mistakes and help her accept her weaknesses.The best way to build self-confidence and resilience in young girls is to give them the opportunity to fail and get back up again. Show her that she can survive whatever embarrassment or hurt she experiences. Many girls feel that they have to be “perfect,” so it’s important that girls fall and get back up over and over for them to get comfortable with the feelings that come with failure. They can’t do that if we don’t push them to try new things. Dwelling on failures and weaknesses leads to a lack of self-confidence, and accepting them is an important step in developing confidence.

8. Teach her how to communicate in real life. Being able to look someone in the eye and greet them or ask them a question is no small feat nowadays with screens taking over our lives. Teaching (and forcing) your daughter to do this when meeting someone new or talking to “grown ups” is a great way to help her get comfortable with the “real world” and confident in how she acts and presents herself in the world and to others.

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Getting your kids off screens and into nature is hard. Really hard. But it can be done and it can be fun. And it's worth it. #kids

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what you do shows your kid what to do. #kids #leapteen

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Put down your phone, go outside and move more with your kids. #kids

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Your kids imitate what you do, not what you tell them to do. #kids

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Getting kids off screens used to feel like a full-time job.

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five things you should say to your child every single day

five things you should say to your child every single day, whether they be scattered throughout or said in one fell swoop before bed:

1. Something they did that you're proud of. 2. Something you know they tried their best at. 3. Something you loved doing with them. 4. Something they said that made you laugh. 5. And no matter how you choose to say it: "I love you."

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5 Things You Should Try to Say to Your Child Every Single Day

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These are five things you should say to your child every single day, whether they be scattered throughout or said in one fell swoop before bed:

Something they did that you're proud of.

Something you know they tried their best at.

Something you loved doing with them.

Something they said that made you laugh.

And no matter how you choose to say it: "I love you."

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Research consistently shows that putting kids to bed early is beneficial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive development.

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Just How Important is an Early Rigid Sleep Schedule? More Than You Think!

Is your child sleeping too late? #kids #leapteen #parental control #monitor app

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To get a child's attention, parents must also give attention. It's easy for a parent to get stuck in a rut. Our attention is often scattered. But if our attention is scattered, and we can't bring ourselves back to the moment, we can't expect a child to be able to do so. Being in close physical proximity while giving clear and concise instructions helps children focus better on what is being said. 

The best way to get them to pay attention is to be physically close to the child.

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anticipation of positive experiences brings more happiness than the experiences themselves

Research shows that anticipation of positive experiences brings more happiness than the experiences themselves. Once your child is old enough to realize that tomorrow is not today, start instilling a habit of positive anticipation of small pleasures. A child who is excited all week to get frozen yogurt on the weekend is a happy child, just as an adult who plans a vacation six months in advance is happier during those six months.

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If you teach your child how to cope with his emotions now, that will help him for the rest of his life.

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Improve Children’s Attention Spans

How much attention a child gives a task also depends on whether he is enjoying himself. Many children struggle when asked to do something they don't want to do. The first time you introduce an activity that is more important to you than to your child, you are testing your creativity and flexibility as a parent and teacher.

A little creativity can go a long way in turning something dull into something fun. Instead of insisting that child write the letter "A" with a pencil in his workbook, we can ask him to write it with chalk, shape it with Play-Doh, or even trace it with paint on a big easel. And parents should take time to notice small and interesting details in their surroundings, which shows a child how to pay attention. During a walk, parents can stop and point out the colors of flowers they see or talk about the shape and feel of the rocks they pick up.

To get a child's attention, parents must also give attention. "It's easy for a parent to get stuck in a rut. Our attention is often scattered," Dr. Rojas says. "But if our attention is scattered, and we can't bring ourselves back to the moment, we can't expect a child to be able to do so." Being in close physical proximity while giving clear and concise instructions helps children focus better on what is being said. "The best way to get them to pay attention is to be physically close to the child. Don't shout requests from the kitchen to the living room," Dr. Nickels says. "Go into the living room, stand in front of your child, make eye contact, be at eye level or touch their shoulder, and say 'I need you to do this now.' "

Children can tune out and stop paying attention when they think a task is too hard for them. They may need instructions broken into small steps, Dr. Nickels says. For example, instead of telling a child to clean his room, it might be better to say, "First, please pick up all of your Legos and then I'll come back and tell you what you need to do next." Sometimes even illustrating a routine on paper and posting it on the wall can serve as one good visual reminder instead of constant missed verbal reminders, Dr. Rojas says. Keep in mind that that giving short reminders is more positive and works better than long-winded explanations, yelling, or guilt tripping. And remember to praise the children's efforts. "A lot of times in our culture, we praise the outcome. We say 'Great job, look what you can do.' We ? don't focus on how wonderful it is that the child put effort into something," Dr. Nickels says. "Instead of saying 'You didn't write your name quite right, or the letter 'H' goes like this, we should say 'You try so hard to hold your pen and stay within the line. That's wonderful.' "

Research has also shown that exercise can help kids pay attention. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research review from 2010 revealed that elementary school children who took breaks from classwork to be active during the day could concentrate better on schoolwork. Other studies have reported that parents who make exercise a priority in their family life will have more physically active kids; parents should help their children find a sport they like, provide outdoors toys such as balls and jump ropes, and set aside time each day for activities such as going on a walk or riding a bike together.

Another way to encourage children to be more active is by limiting TV time, which can sap a young child's attention span. A 2011 study published in Pediatrics found that SpongeBob SquarePants and other fast-paced cartoons shortened the attention spans of 4-year-olds. "Overstimulation and exposure to television, computers, and video games can really hurt attention spans," Doty says. "I can't tell you how many times I have had to stand on my head to get some of my students' attention because they had been babysat by the television." The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than one to two hours per day of total high-quality screen time, including TV, videos, computers, phones, and video games. (And kids under age 2 should not be exposed to any screen time and other entertainment media.)

Instead of turning on the TV or handing over the smartphone to your children, have them focus on other activities that will help increase attention spans. Children can read, work on a puzzle, help make dinner, build forts out of blocks and chairs, and help with household chores. Just turning the TV off and having a conversation with a young child can build attention; when parents focus on their child and listen, they model how to pay attention.

Mental health issues, such as depression, anger, and anxiety, can make it difficult for children to focus, and young children need help learning how to cope with these feelings. Parents should talk with their children about how they are feeling and help them put their feelings into words. For example, a parent could say, "You may be worried about Dad going away on a business trip." Once a conversation is started, the next step is to help the child do something that will make her feel better, such as drawing a picture to present as a gift for her dad's return.

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kids get sucked into cell phones

It's very easy for our kids to get sucked into their devices, but thankfully there are gadgets like Leapteen to help manage kids’ tech time. You can set time limits for kids, enable access (or block) certain websites and even shut off all Internet access at certain times. Perfect for parents who wants their children to stay away damages from cell phone and websites..