No one can blame parents for being spooked by new research finding that tweens’ risk of suicidal behavior increases with their amount of screen time. However, lead researcher Jason Nagata, MD, of UCSF Benioff Children Hospitals, says that caregivers should view these findings mostly as a reminder to ingrain healthy screen use habits in their kids as early… Continue reading Screen Time Tied to Suicide Risk for Tweens – But Don’t Panic
Tag: Parenting
What 5.6 million Young Americans Have in Common with Prince Harry – and Why It Matters
Like Prince Harry, one in thirteen US children – 5.6 million, or 7.7% – will experience the death of a parent or sibling before age 18. This 2022 calculation from the Children’s Bereavement Estimation Model marks an increase of 700,000 since it was first developed in 2018, reflecting higher death rates among people aged 27-46 from multiple… Continue reading What 5.6 million Young Americans Have in Common with Prince Harry – and Why It Matters
11 Tips for Building Grit, Resilience, and Socioemotional Skills in a Digital World
Grit, resilience, perseverance, and emotional intelligence are all crucial for success, but how can parents help their children develop these character traits at a time when the whole world is only a click away and everything comes with instant gratification? We asked a distinguished panel of researchers, clinicians, educators, and parenting experts to share their… Continue reading 11 Tips for Building Grit, Resilience, and Socioemotional Skills in a Digital World
Tips to Help Parents Reduce Food Waste Due to Picky Eaters
When it comes to teaching children to eat a healthy diet, patience is necessary. Kids may love a food one day and hate it the next. Some foods may need to be presented 15-20 times before a child takes a liking to it. For pickier eaters, they many need even more tries before accepting an… Continue reading Tips to Help Parents Reduce Food Waste Due to Picky Eaters
Parents Not Confident Schools Can Assist Children with Chronic Diseases & Mental Health Issues
If your child had an asthma attack during the school day, would school personnel know how to respond? Which staff at your child’s school would recognize and assist an elementary student with prolonged sadness over his parents’ divorce? Or a teen who was struggling with anxiety about academic pressure? Just 38 percent of parents are… Continue reading Parents Not Confident Schools Can Assist Children with Chronic Diseases & Mental Health Issues
Co-Parenting Communication: Rebuild Trust With Your Ex
You and your ex may have had your differences in the past, but let’s face it—you’ll never really “get along” now or anytime soon. Despite your differences, the fact is, while you two no longer have a romantic relationship, you do have children together. Which means you both need to put your differences aside and… Continue reading Co-Parenting Communication: Rebuild Trust With Your Ex
Virtual Reality Helps Autistic Adults Get Jobs
If you’re the parent of a grown or teenage child on the autism spectrum, you may have concerns about your offspring’s possibilities for employment and independent living. (See our ThirdAge article entitled “My Adult Son Has Asperger’s Syndrome.”) Now researchers at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago have created a new interactive computer program using human-based simulation that gives autistic adults repeated practice and feedback on their interviewing skills.
Helping Grown Kids Can Boost Mental Health
All the negative press about “boomerang kids” aside, helping your adult children in various ways may actually be an antidote to depression as you age. That’s the finding of a team of researchers at Penn State, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan. The results are published in the February 2014 issue of The Gerontologist.
The Unspeakable Pain of Losing a Child
The wrenching news of the three teenage boys whose lives were cut short during the recent school shootings in a little Ohio town touched us deeply here at ThirdAge. Like parents and grandparents across the nation, we were riveted by sorrow and horror as the coverage unfolded. The poignant statement by 16-year-old Demetrius Hewlin's mother and father seemed to us especially moving: "We are very saddened by the loss of our son and others in our Chardon community. Demetrius was a happy young man who loved life and his family and friends.