How to Manage Parental Control Over Your Child’s Screen Time

Time – Alan Kazdin

If you are wondering when to start setting up parental controls to limit your child’s access to technology, now might be a pretty good time. One survey of parents and children noted that parents allow access to the Internet on average when their child is three years old. Moreover, children spend twice as much time online as their parents believe. Despite the wealth of parental control apps for phones and other digital devices, young children note their screen time averages about two hours per day. (more)

The quick guide to playing outdoors

The Hindu – Badrinath Prathi

Summer brings with it training camps and competitions. By keeping a close watch on hydration and heat conditions, kids can participate without the stress of illness and injury. Here are tips to avoid the ill effects of the heat, because children are that much more vulnerable. (more)

Raise Self Esteem In Your Kids

The Daily Pioneer – Dr Sona Kaushal Gupta

The damage done by our well-meaning ‘Education System’ on the young, impressionable mind was evident! Instead of encouraging him and appreciating his efforts and achievements, they had highlighted the fact that he was a failure and hurt him emotionally.The boy had lost all hope and his self-esteem had plummeted below zero. The need of the hour was for the child to regain his belief in himself and his abilities, which would provide emotional nourishment for his drowned self-esteem. He needed parental support, love and reassurance that he was not to blame for the callousness shown by the school. He needed someone to tell him that he was a good student and had worked hard and done well and to show him the light at the end of the tunnel. He needed reassurance that all would be well again. The way parents talk to their children becomes their inner voice. (more)

Do our children need to manage their relationship with tech?

The Khaleej Times – Purva Grover

As adults, we’re often found guilty of overprotecting our children. Until recently, we could bubble wrap them to make sure nothing untoward and inappropriate reached them until the time they were ready to receive it. We can’t do that anymore. Yes, there are parental control settings on iPads, passcodes on mobiles and the child lock option on televisions. Yet, they’re exposed – to conversations interspersed with foul words, discussions on sensitive topics, episodes of adult humour, inappropriate forwards on WhatsApp, adultrated shows on YouTube, and more. And, it’s not just cyber exposure for which we need to be wary – our environment, in general, has changed; it’s more casual, open and relaxed. Add to it the fact that the young adults today have a mind of their own – leaving us with limited decision-making powers to help them make correct, age-appropriate choices. (more)

‘Healthy’ yogurts can send children over their daily sugar limit in one helping, say experts

The Independent – Josie Clarke

Yoghurts that appear to be healthy can come close to sending children over their daily sugar limit in a single helping, campaigners have warned. Public Health Liverpool said its own analysis found that some of them contain the equivalent of almost five sugar cubes. NHS guidelines say children aged between four and six should have no more than 19g or five cubes of free sugar, which is not locked in naturally to products, a day. Seven-to-10-year-olds should have no more than six cubes. (more)