Summer vacation is half over and the natives might be getting a little restless. I was shocked to see Back to School items in the stores already and the latest Lands End catalog is showing new packs, book bags and cool weather outfits for kids.
Here’s a couple ideas if your child is complaining of boredom:
At Fun Brain Kid Center you child will find all sorts of activities and games that target science, music, geography, art and technology. The games in each category are ranked by age appropriatness.
Gamequaruim offers dozens of free online videos. There is everything from Berenstain Bears and Curious George to videos on the presidents and black history. You can learn sign language or take a tour of the human body.
If the computer isn’t an option your child can read, read, read! It doesn’t matter what they read really-the sports page, nonfiction on butterflies, a cookbook or a challenging novel. The American Library Assoication has a list of suggested titles for 8-11 year olds and a list for 12-14 year olds. Reading fills your brain with facts and expands your vocabulary AND there are so many good books!
As you first log on to the Internet the first page you see is your home page. With Internet Explorer, you can set a number of home pages that your children can navigate and enjoy-you just might enjoy them too. Many adults set their home page to read the latest news, play games and check the weather. Kids can do this too. They can start surfing at a site they like right away and parents can relax and know it’s okay.
*ScholasticNews Online, is a great site where you can read the dayily news, catch up on a campaign and election updates or participate in a poll. They let your child give their opinion too regarding current topics. The Kids Press is a news column written for kids by kids. You can test your IQ with games and quizzes and read the latest sports, television and music news. You can have news downloaded to your desktop five days a week and all of it is timely but geared to kids.
*Science News for Kids, is the place to go to read about all the latest science news. From there you can link to the game zone and puzzle zone. Read and have fun with animals, chemistry, the environment, space, math, technology and the weather. If your child is crazy for anything science than this a particularly good one. features the latest news, a poll zone, kid scoop, games and a homework helper.
*Kids Yahoo, is more commercial but it has a lot of bells and whistles that kids like. They can heck out the latest music and games, send e-cards, read your horoscope and it’s a good place to access reference materials for reports and homework.
*At PBS Kids News Flash Five, animated characters report on art, technology, science, sports and national and world news. You can even write and submit your own story.
One nice thing about these homepages for your kids-you know they are safe and they won’t be seeing anything you’d rather them not see or read.
If your child is spending more than two hours a day with video games, videos/DVD’s, computer games or television it is probably too much. With summer coming, you’ll want to put a plan in place to set a few limits. Here are some suggestions:
*Bring hand held video games to social events only on special occasions. If the gameboy or DS Lite is accompanying every trip to a friend’s house or on each errand you run, your child might be racking up quite a few hours of play and missing opportunities to mingle socially.
*Allow your child to play for a predetermined amount of time and designate certain days as “game” free. Consider doing the same thing with the computer and television. This does not have to be painful or drastic…every family is different and any limit you set will help.
*When friends come to visit limit the group’s game time and suggest they do something more active after a period of time.
*Most important is communicating to your child why you are setting limits and why you are reducing their screen time. Be flexible and go slowly, especially if you’ve never had limits before. You need to do what feels right for your home and your child.
*There are many good things about all this technology and this is the world your child will live in so give all of this careful thought. Don’t use video games or television as a babysitter all the time but don’t let this become a huge issue or tug of war in your family. A happy medium can be reached with some thoughtful parenting.
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