Write your first name, recognize numbers, know the sounds of the alphabet, pay attention and take turns…the list of kindergarten readiness tasks can be daunting. Summer success programs can be key to help kids prep for school, but when COVID-19 locked down the country last year, educators had to innovate.
Would a fully virtual readiness program work with four and five-year-olds? The Ohio State University decided to try it and researchers found that it was successful in theory and in practice. Their data showed that it was feasible to operate, it was popular with teachers and parents and it had success in teaching children literacy skills, early math skills and emotional regulation.
“The promising evidence is that a virtual problem like this can succeed, despite the challenges,” said Rebecca Dore, lead author of the study and senior research associate at Ohio State’s Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy.
Ninety-one families enrolled in the four-week virtual program last year and received storybooks plus a computer tablet preloaded with educational videos. It also included weekly individual video interactions between teachers and children and a weekly video or phone meeting with parents. The final result? Seventy-seven percent of families finished the program and teachers found that kids were engaged for more than half the lesson 90% of the time. Participating children were tested before and after the program and the final data showed an upswing in all testing categories.
Although life is returning to normal, the success of this virtual program is promising for other scenarios. Kids who live in very rural areas may not have ready access to resources and kids who must stay home due to extended illness could certainly benefit from future online offerings. Technology for the win!
––Sarah Shebek
Featured image courtesy of andrii Sinenkyi /Pixabay
I’m going on the record saying that “Instagram for Kids” might be the worst idea I’ve ever heard, and here’s why: a platform like that will have consequences. Facebook, as a company, makes very intentional decisions—and all the negative impacts from this decision are fairly easy to anticipate. I’ve even listed them out below. And, as surely as Instagram for Kids is a bad idea, Facebook will spin its inevitable issues as “unintended consequences.” Because I’m a parent and the founder of a tech company dedicated to improving technology for our children, the consequences feel obvious, not “unintended.”
A Platform Built on Comparison & Competition
Instagram is the poster child of striving for perfection. I’ve written before that social validation is the number one thing I worry about as a parent, especially in the context of rising depression and anxiety rates among youth. Unlike many, I don’t solely place the blame on smartphones or social media, and in general, I’m pretty pro-technology. We could argue correlation vs causation all day, but I’ve seen enough anecdotal evidence to change the way I view technology and how I parent. The fact is that likes and followers matter to kids, and many measure their self-worth this way. We’ve seen social validation mechanisms like this show up in apps for kids like PopJam, but Instagram takes that to a whole new level.
An Easy Target for Online Predators
This feels like stating the obvious, but a platform where children post pictures of themselves, their friends and their lives is ripe for online predation, and cases of children being groomed and abused via adult social media platforms are already well documented. A particularly disturbing documentary from Bark Technologies demonstrated how quickly it can happen. Their team collaborated with law enforcement to create fictional profiles of teens and tweens to see how quickly predators would reach out, and within one hour of posting a profile for a fake 15-year-old girl on Instagram, seven adult men attempted to contact her. After nine days, 92 potential predators had made contact. The team then launched an 11-year-old persona, and within minutes, multiple would-be abusers reached out. The dangers are real.
Usually, platforms designed for kids need to verify that an adult is an adult, but “Instagram for Kids” may pose the opposite. It could be difficult to prevent predators from posing as children to gain access and follow young users. The last thing I want to do is instill panic in parents, but the stats are grim: from January to September 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 30,236 reports of possible online enticement. And those are just the ones that were reported. I can’t help but feel that “Instagram for Kids” would be enticing to predators—and while that clearly isn’t Facebook’s intention, it’s certainly easy to predict.
The Trouble with Locking It down
Kids want to feel empowered. If Facebook severely limits what kids can do on “Instagram for Kids,” they’ll hate it. Just look at the example of YouTube. It’s the number one most-loved brand among kids—blowing YouTube Kids out of the water. Any parent will confirm that kids do NOT want to feel like babies. Adult platforms simply do not retrofit easily to serve kids. They’re built with specific goals and it’s very difficult to secure them in a way that’s appropriate for children. YouTube Kids had videos with sexual content and suicide instructions. Facebook Messenger Kids had a design flaw that allowed kids to connect with strangers. Retrofitting just doesn’t work.
Kidfluencers Version 2.0
Unless Instagram for Kids is a closed platform, I think we’ll see a rise of kidfluencers. Perhaps the most notable example of this phenomenon is Ryan Kaji, the kid behind the highest-earning YouTube channel in 2018 and 2019. As a platform for youth under 13, “Instagram for Kids” might restrict ads—but how will they manage influencing? These contracts are made outside of the platform, offering individuals compensation for featuring or mentioning certain products or services in videos, photos or comments. Even some adults can’t always tell when they are being sold to, and I suspect it will be all the more difficult for children. And there’s precedent for this kind of thing: Walmart, Staples and Mattel have bankrolled endorsement deals for kids and tweens in the past. While kids who star in television and movies are protected by legislation requiring that their earnings be placed in a trust, there is nothing to protect income generated by kidfluencers—leaving kids potentially exposed to exploitation.
Should We Create Kids Cigarettes While We’re at It?
For all the reasons listed above, “Instagram for Kids” is a “hard no” for me. But you often hear people argue that kids are using the platform anyhow, so why not create a separate platform with a few more parental controls? To me, this argument is fundamentally flawed. After all, kids are often attracted to things that aren’t safe or healthy for them. Many are intrigued by smoking, drinking and drugs, but there’s a reason we don’t just lower the drinking and smoking age. As a society, we’ve agreed that some things are best left until kids grow up a bit—and I think Instagram is one of them.
The answer to children using Instagram isn’t to put up a few guardrails. It doesn’t address the root problem at all. The effects of these platforms on youth are still largely unknown, but the anecdotal evidence points to the fact that they probably do more harm than good. Using our kids as guinea pigs in a real-life experiment isn’t the answer. Kids are the fastest-growing group of internet users and have unique needs that have to be protected—not exploited by Big Tech.
Sean Herman is the founder and CEO of Kinzoo, an exciting new company that helps parents turn screen time into family time. His first book, "Screen Captured," debuted at number one in Amazon's parenting category, and his writing separates technology fact from fiction for his fellow parents.
Recently published research from the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus shows that therapy dogs can help children to build social skills.
The study, which was published in the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, looked at the impact that working with therapy dogs had on 22 children from the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club over the course of six weeks. Researchers utilized therapy animals from the Building Academic Retention through K9s, or BARK program, to learn more about how the children could learn from and with the dogs.
During the six-week program the children were taught new social skills, such as giving directions to other people. Each child practiced their new skill with a therapy dog—and then with the rest of the participant group. Following practice with the dogs and the other children, the participants then tried out their new skills with university students.
Dr. John-Tyler Binfet, associate professor in the School of Education and director of BARK, said of the program, “Therapy dogs are often able to reach children and facilitate their growth in surprising ways. We saw evidence of this in the social skills of children when they were paired with a therapy dog.”
Researcher and master’s student in the School of Education, Nicole Harris, said, “Findings from our observations suggested that canine-assisted social and emotional learning initiatives can provide unique advantages. Our team saw that by interacting with the therapy dogs, the children’s moods improved and their engagement in their lessons increased.”
After the program ended, Harris interviewed eight of the children. The researcher found that each child felt the social skills training program was enjoyable. The children also said the dogs were a meaningful part of the training program.
Love pets as much as we do?
Tinybeans, the app that allows you to upload and share photos and videos of your little ones with anyone you choose and no one you don’t, has teamed up with Hill's Pet Nutrition to allow users to add a pet! You can create a profile for your four-legged friend, share their photos and videos, receive milestone markers for them and see recommended articles based on your pet’s age and stage.
Up for a challenge? Create a pet profile today, and see if you can add a new memory each day this month. Your furball will love the added attention, and you'll love the fun photos you can look back on!
Many schools have done a great job raising awareness about bullying. Bullying is never okay and needs to be addressed immediately. With this heightened awareness, kids may have a hard time differentiating between bullying and mean behavior. Here are some definitions to help.
Mean versus Bullying Behavior
Mean behavior is saying or doing something to hurt a person.
Bullying is a cruel act done on purpose and repeatedly that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power.
Quick Quiz: Is it Mean or Bullying?
1. JD tells Marco that he can’t play basketball at recess because he’s the worst player in the whole grade. Mean or bullying?
Answer: It appears that JD is being mean. His words are intended to hurt Marco, but there’s no evidence of repetitive behavior or a power imbalance.
2. Molly makes fun of Piper for wearing the same pants to school every day. In gym class, Molly says Piper smells and later, she writes the words “You stink” on her desk. Mean or bullying?
Answer: Molly’s acting like a bully. She’s making fun of Piper repeatedly with the intention to cause harm. There’s also evidence of a power imbalance.
Context is important to understand meanness versus bullying. When it comes to mean behavior, there is often an underlying conflict between those involved. Regardless, both behaviors are not okay and can be painful for kids as well as parents. So how do parents respond to best support their kids?
Responding to Mean Behavior
Dealing with mean behavior is a part of life that we all learn how to handle. With guidance and support, kids develop skills to deal with meanness, such as speaking up, learning resilience, getting help, and putting energy into kind friendships instead.
Signe Whitson, author and national educator on bullying, has seen a rise in situations of mean or rude behavior incorrectly classified as bullying. She says, “I have already begun to see that gratuitous references to bullying are creating a bit of a “little boy who cried wolf” phenomena. In other words, if kids and parents improperly classify rudeness and mean behavior as bullying—whether to simply make conversation or to bring attention to their short-term discomfort—we all run the risk of becoming so sick and tired of hearing the word that this actual life-and-death issue among young people loses its urgency as quickly as it rose to prominence.”
Responding to Bullying Behavior
Bullying, on the other hand, is a different matter and needs to be addressed. Experts agree that bullying entails three key elements: an intent to harm, a power imbalance, and repeated acts or threats of aggressive behavior. Bullies try to have more social or physical power over their targets. They try to make their targets cry, feel scared or lose their temper. And bullying has lasting negative effects.
Even though it may be hard, encourage kids not to give bullies their power. Help them practice standing tall and pretending to be bored or unimpressed. Then walk away and get help from a trusted adult.
Kids develop healthy social and emotional skills at different stages, so unkind behavior is unfortunately common. These painful moments provide families an opportunity to revisit conversations about meanness and bullying and how to navigate situations. They also offer parents an opportunity to make sure their kids feel loved, heard and help them navigate uncomfortable emotions. If your child is feeling overwhelmed by mean or bullying behavior, be sure to get support from the school or a professional as well.
Jessica Speer is the author of BFF or NRF (Not Really Friends)? Girls Guide to Happy Friendships. Combining humor, the voices of kids, and research-based explanations, Jessica unpacks topics in ways that connect with tweens and teens. She’s the mother of two and has a Master’s Degree in Social Sciences.
An apple a day may do more than just keep the doctor away. That is, if you add another apple and three serving of veggies!
According to recent research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, eating two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables daily may prolong your life.
The study included data from almost two million adults across the globe. The 1.9 million participants hailed from 29 countries and territories in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. An analysis of the data showed an association between longevity and eating two servings of fruit and two of veggies every day.
Even though the combined five servings extended the overall lifespan, no evidence was found that eating more fruits and vegetables could or would have an additional impact.
Lead study author Dong D. Wang, M.D., Sc.D., an epidemiologist, nutritionist and a member of the medical faculty at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said, “While groups like the American Heart Association recommend four to five servings each of fruits and vegetables daily, consumers likely get inconsistent messages about what defines optimal daily intake of fruits and vegetables such as the recommended amount, and which foods to include and avoid.”
Wang added insight into the research, noting, “This amount likely offers the most benefit in terms of prevention of major chronic disease and is a relatively achievable intake for the general public.”
If you’re wondering what types of fruits and veggies to eat, Wang cautions adults that these would-be healthy foods aren’t all equal, “We also found that not all fruits and vegetables offer the same degree of benefit, even though current dietary recommendations generally treat all types of fruits and vegetables, including starchy vegetables, fruit juices and potatoes, the same.”
COVID-19 has revealed many failings, including the uneven distribution of responsibilities in the family unit, overall public health vulnerabilities in school populations, and the government itself. Education policymakers have shown a refusal (or outright inability) to modernize and evolve. However, one positive that could emerge from this wreckage is that parents have no choice but to take command of their children’s education as the de facto classroom has relocated to the kitchen table. Perhaps no area is more primed for innovation and disruption than K-12 education, particularly the one-in-five children who have learning differences.
Enacted in 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Act establishes a substantive right to a “free appropriate public education” for eligible children with disabilities in the public school system, which includes special education and related services. The law requires that schools offer students individualized education programs that are reasonably calculated to result in progress. These individualized and specialized plans are supposed to be prepared by the child’s teachers, school officials, and parents in order to measure academic and functional goals for the child. But be forewarned, the individualized plans are far from a panacea. Instead, they are the first step in a Kafka-esque journey for families fighting for their educational betterment that they are entitled to by law.
Why is it then that so many inconsistently performing students are overlooked and unexamined? Schools and teachers deliberately by-design refuse to label certain learning conditions by what they actually are because they know that they will then be responsible for trying to remediate them. They recognize that they lack the resources, the expertise, and, frankly, the will to try to address these problems. As a result, these problems often go unaddressed for far longer than they should and cause far more emotional and academic damage than would be the case with early intervention. The burden of child advocate rests entirely on the parents to cajole, nag, and become a well-versed education policy expert in order to eke out a suitable education support plan that is legally-owed the student. Unsurprisingly, many IEP plans are anemic and devoid of real remediation.
Nine years ago, I distinctly remember meeting with my daughter’s first-grade public school teacher regarding her slight, but perceptible and growing, academic struggles relative to her peers. A no-nonsense veteran teacher leaned over and said in an unsettlingly hushed voice, “I think she may have a language issue.” I did not realize it then, but even that level of candor is verboten in the education world. It was not until several years later after various assessments and many thousands of dollars that we confirmed my daughter was exhibiting signs of a language-based learning disorder dyslexia.
Like similar learning disabilities, such as ADD and ADHD, dyslexia is known and unfamiliar at once, shrouded in misperceptions, and cloaked in mysterious-sounding euphemisms, like “processing issues.” Similar to other disabilities, it can wreak havoc on a young person’s life, affecting self-esteem both in and out of the classroom. For families of those with learning disorders, of course, there are also the economic costs of bringing one’s child to various specialists for examinations that do not come cheap. And those are the fortunate families who can afford to seek assistance. Many cannot.
This is where the parent advocates can make a huge difference, particularly in the current environment where almost all students will suffer from not receiving needed attention in the classroom setting. Of course, in the time of COVID, the burden may lie squarely with the parents to support their child’s learning differences and get up to speed. Online communities can be a great place to start. The National Association of Dyslexia, Understood.org and Child Mind Institute will arm you with a much-needed new vocabulary. But buyer beware: simply hiring “tutors” is not likely to close the widening knowledge gap. Evidence-based literacy programs, very particular teacher training, and certifications are necessary. Objective benchmarks must be employed to measure and gauge where your child is progressing.
COVID or not, our current education solutions for different learners are disgracefully two-tiered and malnourished. However, as society pivots, we have an opportunity to create break-the-mold solutions that leverage evidence-based programs and technology, along with the lessons of decades of failed public interventionist programs. It just so happens that this might be the perfect confluence of events to take these risks. Wouldn’t that be a teachable moment?
After struggling with her child's Dyslexia diagnosis in 2014, Jen partnered with her former tutor to address and repair material deficiencies in the specialized learning marketplace.Braintrust seeks to remove traditional barriers between pupil and teacher while offering academic transparency, metric-driven results, and accountability for everyone in a scalable product.
My son was 17 months old when my twins were born. Like many moms of multiples, I had complications giving birth to the girls and was sent home on bedrest after a long stay in the hospital. My husband is self-employed which basically means if you don’t go, you don’t make money so paternity leave wasn’t on the table for us. My mom was a great help, but caring for twins who eat every 2 hours (24 feeds in 24 hours!) and a young toddler was wearing on her to say the least.
Because of my long recovery time and basically feeling shit-scared most days, I sort of felt robbed of the joyful parts of bringing our babies home for the first time. I thought it was just my family that had this kind of experience. I started Let Mommy Sleep to help new parents like us and since the first day we opened 7 years ago, our phones haven’t stopped ringing. Turns out it’s not just me. It’s a LOT of us, maybe even most of us.
For this reason, In Home Postpartum Visits by a Registered Nurse should be a national healthcare standard for US families. They’re a standard in many other countries and the benefits to families include better safety, lowered readmissions and evidence based education for new parents. Two Hour In Home Visits aren’t paid leave and they might not change things for some families. But for moms on the cusp of postpartum depression, parents who are drowning in the sea of misinformation and families who don’t have help of friends or family, the care of a nurse might be the difference between sickness and health.
With twin girls and a boy born 17 months apart, I'm the owner of the world's most ironically named business, Let Mommy Sleep. Let Mommy Sleep provides nurturing postpartum care to newborns and evidence based education to parents by Registered Nurses and Newborn Care Providers.
My son was 17 months old when my twins were born. Like many moms of multiples, I had complications giving birth to the girls and was sent home on bedrest after a long stay in the hospital. My husband is self-employed which basically means if you don’t go, you don’t make money so paternity leave wasn’t on the table for us. My mom was a great help, but caring for twins who eat every 2 hours (24 feeds in 24 hours!) and a young toddler was wearing on her to say the least.
Because of my long recovery time and basically feeling shit-scared most days, I sort of felt robbed of the joyful parts of bringing our babies home for the first time. I thought it was just my family that had this kind of experience. I started Let Mommy Sleep to help new parents like us and since the first day we opened 7 years ago, our phones haven’t stopped ringing. Turns out it’s not just me. It’s a LOT of us, maybe even most of us.
For this reason, In Home Postpartum Visits by a Registered Nurse should be a national healthcare standard for US families. They’re a standard in many other countries and the benefits to families include better safety, lowered readmissions and evidence based education for new parents. Lactation Consultations are already covered by most plans so it makes sense that a less expensive, more comprehensive service can be available.
In Home Postpartum Visits might not be needed by everyone. But for moms on the cusp of postpartum depression, parents who are drowning in the sea of misinformation and families who don’t have help of friends or family, the care of a nurse might be the difference between sickness and health.
With twin girls and a boy born 17 months apart, I'm the owner of the world's most ironically named business, Let Mommy Sleep. Let Mommy Sleep provides nurturing postpartum care to newborns and evidence based education to parents by Registered Nurses and Newborn Care Providers.
Movember recently debuted the Family Man platform—and it’s the parenting resource dad didn’t even know he needed.
According to Movember, 51 percent of men say they’re not aware of fatherhood-specific resources. Here’s where Family Man comes in: the new platform is devoted to dads and everything they’ll experience with their littles.
The platform features animated choose-your-own-adventure style episodes that let dad work his way through common situations they may encounter with their kiddos. The three episodes all feature a dad as the main character, giving fathers everywhere the chance to see what fathers experience and the challenges they may face.
As the Family Man dad makes his way through each challenge, the IRL dad platform-user can respond in their own way. The program responds to the user’s choices, gives feedback, and helps dad learn how he can take what he learns on Family Man and put it to work in real life.
Family Man provides dads with evidence-based strategies that work for real families—and not just theoretical child development or parenting ideas. The tools dad is given through the site are designed to work for children of all ages (especially those between ages two and eight) and kids of differing abilities or with different needs.
Dads everywhere can access the new platform at the Family Man website.
Last week, Cheetos fans saw Ashton Kutcher discover some mysterious evidence tied to the disappearance of his Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix as a part of its Super Bowl LV campaign. Now the brand is shaking more clues with the reveal of a second teaser ahead of the Super Bowl commercial, featuring Mila Kunis and Shaggy.
In one of the only times working together since That 70’s Show, Kutcher and Kunis have teamed up with Cheetos to star in the brand’s Super Bowl commercial. In the second teaser ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, Kunis delivers a passionate monologue hinting that she was accused of something horrible. The camera cuts to Shaggy and you realize he’s giving her pointers. While not impressed with her take, he offers the insight to “just stick to the line I gave you” as the commercial fades out to the melody of his iconic song, “It Wasn’t Me.” The song celebrates its 20th anniversary this February.
