Many tweens enjoy picking up a book or a magazine every now and then. Some tweens are passionate about reading, and the stories they love. But reading literature — such as winners of the Newbery Medal — can aid your tween’s development in various ways, including academically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. Below are a few reasons why you may want to encourage your tween to embrace reading, and help make reading fun for him or her....
What Is Disenfranchised Grief? We grieve when we lose something important to us that we cared about. Grief can be difficult and painful to experience. Social support can play a major role in helping people cope with their grief and accept their loss. According to a 2020 study, having social support in a time of grief can improve well-being and help prevent depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and even suicide....
Focused meditation, also called focused attention meditation (FAM) can be a useful tool for people who want to try using meditation for stress relief. This meditation style allows you to focus your attention on an object, sound, or sensation rather than trying to achieve a clear mind without a specific focal point. Focused meditation is also feasible without an instructor or teacher, which makes it accessible to anyone with a few minutes of time, something to focus on, and a quiet place....
A diagnosis of gestational diabetes can feel confusing and scary. The good news is that there are more resources available to you now than ever before, and gestational diabetes is treatable. Learn more about this form of diabetes to empower you to have a safe and healthy pregnancy. Understanding Gestational Diabetes People who develop diabetes symptoms for the first time during pregnancy are considered to have gestational diabetes. In general, diabetes is characterized by blood sugar levels that are too high....
Battles between the sexes have been waged endlessly, but a 2009 study gave a definite edge to females. Researchers at the Helen Schneider Hospital for Women and the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel concluded that outcomes for twin pregnancy are enhanced when at least one of the twins is a girl. The study evaluated more than 2,500 twin pregnancies and contrasted the outcomes for girl-girl, boy-girl, and boy-boy twins....
Although it’s not usually a good idea to compare your sex life to what sex statistics say about others, it can be interesting to look at how often other couples have sex. For example, sometimes people believe they’re having less sex than their peers, but scientific study or survey results might prove them wrong. Other stats can offer insight on married couples’ sexual satisfaction, as well as relationship satisfaction and how it’s related to sex....
Many parents wonder what they can do to help their kids succeed in school. Knowing how much support to offer can be a delicate balance—and depends on your child’s age. Too much help can easily result in you taking over or doing it for them and too little can leave them struggling, frustrated, or overwhelmed. Learn more about the best ways to support your child’s academic endeavors, including when to offer help and how much to give, when to communicate with teachers, and how to foster your child’s self-advocacy, time management, and organizational skills....
Having positive peer relationships and friendships is important for all children. Unfortunately, many kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a hard time making and keeping friends and being accepted within the larger peer group. The impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and inattention associated with ADHD can wreak havoc on a child’s attempts to connect with others in positive ways. Not being accepted by one’s peer group, feeling isolated, different, unlikeable and alone—this is perhaps the most painful aspect of ADHD-related impairments and these experiences carry long-lasting effects....
Sex can be a pleasurable and wonderful experience to share with a partner. Every moment can be fun and enjoyable, from foreplay and teasing to the exploration of physical touch and sensations. The delightful details that you are seeing, feeling, touching, and tasing in each moment can be special and memorable for days and weeks to come. But the beginning of what may lead to sex can be a little daunting....
It’s a question nobody ever wants to ask: “How do you plan a funeral for a baby?” Planning a memorial service for a baby, however, is one way in which parents can step back a moment to remember their baby along with friends and family if they choose. Most people may have no idea where to begin to plan a funeral for an infant, and that’s okay. There is no specific organization that must be met for a service, and the only thing that is important is that it honors your baby in whatever way best meets the needs of you and your partner....
Codependency is often referred to as “relationship addiction.” It’s an emotional and behavioral condition that interferes with an individual’s ability to develop a healthy, mutually satisfying relationship. It can be frustrating and destructive, but there are things that you can do to learn how to stop being codependent. To start, you should: Look for signs of a healthy relationshipMaintain healthy boundariesCare for yourselfGet help from a mental health professional The term codependency was first used to describe the partner of someone with an addiction—whose unhealthy choices enable or encourage the addiction to continue....
Knowing what to do when your kids are sick can help them feel better faster and decrease unnecessary calls or visits to your pediatrician. The usual advice that most parents remember is that they should starve a fever and feed a cold. And although it doesn’t help to make your child better, that is usually what naturally happens. Kids with fever don’t usually want to eat much while children with a simple cold often don’t feel that bad and have a good appetite....
If your child is dissatisfied with her youth sports experience—or you are!—it’s important to talk to her coach. Rather than seeing him as the cause of your problems, look at him as an ally who can help improve your child’s sports experience. Most of the time, coaches really want to help their players succeed in the sport, and enjoy it too. So discuss problems honestly, and be sure to bring an open mind to the table....
Mentally strong kids understand that they can be in control of their emotions rather than allowing their emotions to control them. Kids who know how to regulate their feelings can manage their behavior and keep negative thoughts at bay. But, children aren’t born with an understanding of their emotions and they don’t inherently know how to express their feelings in socially appropriate ways. A child who doesn’t know how to manage his anger may exhibit aggressive behavior and frequent angry outbursts....
As your child grows up and experiences different phases of development, it might help to know what some of those phases are, and what they really mean in the long run to your tween and his or her adolescent experience. The definition of identity achievement isn’t a difficult concept to grasp. It simply refers to having found one’s true sense of self. It is a key element of personality development and a process that begins in childhood, most notably in the tween and teen years, and ends in adulthood....
Probiotics fall into a pretty gray area when it comes to health supplements: there don’t seem to be any real risks to taking them, but clear evidence of their benefits is still being researched. Plus, there are some other issues. Many aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. There is understandable confusion about which strains to use for certain health conditions. And speaking of strains, there are dozens of unpronounceable varieties on the market, each one promoting itself as a cure for a host of different problems....
Labeling your child’s belongings helps daycare providers, teachers, coaches, camp counselors, and other caregivers locate your child’s backpack, water bottle, shoes, and all the other items they carry day-to-day. However, some parents worry that labeling clothes, lunchboxes, or other items could make a child a target of a predator or potential abductor. Adults who prey on children use tricks to gain a child’s trust. One of these is calling a child by their name....
Everyone has their own opinions, views, and ideas about life and the world around them. But why is it often hard to understand and accept others’ take on the same matters? Key Takeaways A new study gives insight to the area of the brain that plays a part in how we understand others’ perspectives.Researchers discuss “naïve realism,” the assumption that your interpretation of people and events is accurate or true over others’ interpretations....
In simple terms, a phobic reaction is a reaction stemming from a phobia. Phobic reactions are symptoms of a phobia such as feeling intense anxiety or sweaty palms and may range from mild to severe. A mental health professional can use a person’s phobic reactions to help make an accurate diagnosis. What Is a Phobia? Phobias are classified as anxiety disorders. They are characterized by an irrational fear that is out of proportion to the actual threat of a specific object or situation....
Whether it is a presidential race, a cross-country race, or the race to be the school valedictorian, competition is everywhere. But is it really a good thing? Is it something we should be instilling in our children? There are mixed reviews when it comes to teaching kids about competitiveness. Some people feel exposing kids to competition teaches them real-life lessons about winning and losing. Others feel competition does more harm than good....
