With the COVID-19 pandemic having closed schools, stopped children playing in parks and isolated them away from friends and family, it is perhaps no surprise that the reliance on technology has accelerated. One month into the pandemic showed a 70% increase in US traffic on apps and online services that are targeted at kids.

For many teachers and carers, managing a child’s screen time was an already pressing concern prior to COVID-19, with negative effects of screen time disrupting early childhood development. Here are a few ways to manage children’s screen times effectively, with the constraints and limitations of the ongoing pandemic in mind.

Creating a Schedule

It is important to be realistic when setting targets and managing the amount of time that your child will use technology, given that some schools are delivering lessons online and a video call to friends or family could be the only way for your child to keep in touch with others beyond the household. When deciding a screen time schedule, keep in mind the ‘essential’ tasks that must be completed online, and ensure that there is still time for your child to have their own ‘personal’ time on the device. Your child should feel that they are still able to have some access to play a game, stream a video or talk to friends because they could instead do these activities during a time that has been designated for online school activities. With this in mind, make sure that the schedule includes plenty of breaks and pauses between each screen time session.

Organizing Activities Offline

During the pandemic, working from home has become normalized, and so many families have added childcare and teaching to their job description. Whilst it is necessary to create boundaries with your children during working hours so that you can still earn money, consider spending your breaks or lunch hours outside in the garden or on a walk. This will encourage your child to put down their device, engage in physical activity, and ensure that they are still interacting and engaging in conversations offline. Where possible, try to organize a different offline activity each day with your child, once you have finished work. This could actually help you use your own time more efficiently, with activities such as making dinner together, playing a sport or washing the dishes. By doing such activities together, your child will feel more engaged and less likely to pick up their device.

Using Online Time Effectively

Even if screen time usage is not a problem for your child, you may wish to ensure that this time spent online is being used efficiently, by encouraging them to use educational apps or games that will mentally stimulate them. This technique can also be applied to video streaming devices, by finding engaging programs that will help your child learn new skills or develop their existing skills, whether this is numeracy or language.

Above all, you should be realistic in implementing any measures or attempts to manage screen time. As a parent or carer, you know how best your child learns new habits. Like with most things, you may need to implement changes gradually, so that your child can adapt and integrate the new changes into their lifestyle on a permanent basis.

 

At a certain age, every parent begins to wonder if it’s time that they can start leaving their child home alone for a short period of time. Generally, the most serious concerns from parents are whether their child will be safe and whether their child will be able to keep their home safe. But while adults may have certain tools that they can use to protect themselves, kids need to be taught how to be safe and responsible before they can be left without parental supervision.

To help your kids get ready for this time, here are three tips for leaving your kids home alone.

Start Small

Once the time comes that you think your child is ready to spend some time on their own, meaning they’re both old enough and mature enough, you should ease your way into making this change and adding on this responsibility.

According to ChildWelfare.gov, the very first time you leave your child home alone should only be for a very short time. This will allow your child to see what it’s like for them to be at home by themselves or with the responsibility of younger siblings without a parent there to supervise. After just a short time, you should return home to see how things went for your child. This could unearth issues with spending time alone that you hadn’t thought of before and can help your child better prepare for longer periods of time that they might need to be on their own.

Teach Them How To Handle Certain Unexpected Situations

Ideally, nothing exciting would ever happen while your child was home by themselves. However, because that’s not the reality of the world we live in, there are certain unexpected situations that your child should know how to handle if they’re going to be left on their own.

Some scenarios that you should go over with your child before leaving them alone, according to Dr. Steven Dowshen, a contributor to KidsHealth.org, could include things like calling and speaking to a 911 operator, how to arm and disarm your home security system, how to use a fire extinguisher, what to do if a stranger comes to the door, and other situations.

Build Up Their Confidence

While your child might be excited about the idea of being in charge, being on their own can also be scary.

Although you might be feeling nervous about the thought of them being unsupervised and on their own as well, Lynn Perkins, a contributor to the Huffington Post, recommends that you do what you can to build up their confidence before you leave them. Share with them how you know they’ll be fine, will make wise choices, and have the knowledge and ability to keep themselves safe.

If you think your child is ready to be left home alone now, consider using the tips mentioned above to prepare everyone involved for this big step.

Currently, about 2 million children are learning from home. Homeschooling is a millennia practice backed by employers, college administrators, scholars, and even government officials. In America, about 55 million students in grades K-12 are on homeschooling. Scholars from Harvard University planned a meeting to discuss challenges of children’s education deprivation and mistreatment that occur beneath the guise of homeschooling with no or minimal oversight. From Harvard magazine, a columnist penned a controversial article in favor of banning homeschooling. The majority of homeschooling reviews reveal encouraging learning aftermaths for children. An analysis of peer-reviewed research papers revealed exciting results. According to Writer for my paper, from the 14 studies of academic performance, most 11 showed that homeschooled children importantly outperformed traditionally schooled children. Available public state data shows that more than average examination scores for homeschooling students.

On the same breath, students’ psychological development, emotional, and emotional achievement follow the same pattern.

Most peer-reviewed papers show that homeschooled children have the best parent-child friendships and relationships than ordinary schooled students. Studies note that homeschooled children get satisfied, civically engaged, and happy.

Research findings consistently indicate that homeschooled graduates make their life compared to their counterparts. From a sample of 16 peer-reviewed papers on the transition to adulthood success, 11 of them point that homeschooled students were better in college retention, college GPA, and political tolerance than students who went through conventional schooling. In their review, Jones and Gloeckner concluded that the research’s comparative findings, together with data from college admission officers, show that homeschooling is a dependable alternative route for many students.

Therefore, homeschooled children aren’t abused, mistreated, or educationally deprived. However, research literature indicates that abuse rates such as neglect, sexual abuse, and physical abuse is high amongst institutional schooled students than homeschoolers. While there are cases of abuse in homeschooled children, such incidences should attract prosecution; however, abolishing homeschooling is not a solution nor makes students safe or improves education standards.

Society tends to shut public schools if students get abused. Scholars, who advocate for the abolishment of homeschooling, do so no support from the empirical literature. Besides, those scholars who promote forcing children to attend public schools, ignore evidence that about 40 percent of healthy schooled children are at least or above in mathematics and reading.

Many teachers endeavor to give students a quality education, but public school systems have notable limitations. Scholars who approve more government restrictions and control on homeschooling do so because they do not favor parents’ beliefs and values to select a home school. Studies have identified four types of hostility toward homeschooling. First, few scholars make imaginary arguments that public schools have standards that promote the common good, unlike private schools. The second category believes that homeschooling tries to cocoon children from people and ideas that parents do not like. The third group argues that homeschooling injures children educationally, physically, religiously, psychologically, and philosophically. The last group theorizes that the government must have domination over parents and children.

Scholar’s ideas and beliefs emanate from their religious and philosophical worldviews. It is within their rights to conclude that the government should control how we teach, influence, and train children.

In summary, the antagonists of homeschooling have no empirical information to support their arguments. Government officials dependably argue that parents are within their rights to teach and train their children at home. It is then upon them to decide which strategy will work best for the kids.

Disneyland is cautiously prepping for a grand reopening, with restrictions. Everyone over the age of two will have to wear a mask. The cast members (AKA the crew) have a rotation to regularly sanitize surfaces. The number of guests admitted will be limited, so everyone will be required to make a reservation and the staff will be testing guests for a fever before they can enter the park. Basically, it comes down to this: when COVID-19 has dwindled down and the powers that be at Disneyland think it’s safe to reopen, they will. But they’re being careful, which is encouraging.

Here’s what we can do.

Make the Trip Special

If you and the kids have been waiting, waiting, and waiting until it’s safe to go back to the Happiest Place on Earth, make it an event! Especially if you’re scheduling your vacation during the resort’s early days of reopening, with masks and hand sanitizer galore. Plan now to do what you can to make your Disney adventure exceptional. First of all, bring plenty of masks so you can replace them as they get soiled and sweaty. Explain to your children ahead of time what it will be like to wear a mask all day, and then practice at home to help better meet their expectations. But don’t use just any face mask for your trip to the Magic Kingdom – buy special Disney Face masks! Present the masks with some fanfare and ramp up the anticipation by reserving them for your trip.

You can also prepare for your visit to Disneyland, and make it less COVID-centric, by planning what the kids are going to wear. Presley Couture has an army of unique mouse ears all geared towards the kids in your life. And check out their reasonably priced princess dresses while you’re there!

For little fans who are more galaxy-inspired, their outfits can go full Star Wars. I wouldn’t recommend bringing lightsabers, because someone’s getting whacked if you make that mistake (there’s a reason people buy them on the way out of the park). But you can still show up ready to have the Force with you. There are also Pixar options if your family leans towards that side of the fandom. So many choices!

Prepare the Kids, and Yourself, for the New Normal

It will probably be a while before Disney goes back to the epic crowds we know from the past. Bring your masks and keep up on the latest guidelines. Explain social distancing to your kids, keeping the information geared towards their age group. There are lots of YouTube videos, such as this one, that explain the virus and how to keep safe. Even if you disagree with Disney’s restrictions, obey the rules so other families feel safe in the park and you can all have a pleasant experience. The last thing you want is for your kids to see you arguing with Disney cast members or, even worse, being asked to leave.

If we all work together, we can get through this difficult time and still have memorable experiences with our families. Be safe and have fun!

 

While you may have had a good system and routine when it came to visiting your loved one in an assisted living care facility before the coronavirus got so widespread, almost all senior living facilities have since closed their doors to outside visitors for the safety of their residents. But while this means that your loved one is able to stay away from those who may unknowingly expose them to COVID-19, it also means that they aren’t able to get the visits they so looked forward to in the past.

Luckily, there are still plenty of ways that you can show your elderly friends or family members that you still care for them, even if you’re not able to see them in person. To show you how this can be done, here are three tips for staying connected to loved ones in assisted living during the coronavirus.

Make A Schedule For Communication

Because you’re not able to see your loved one face-to-face, you’ve got to find other ways that you can speak and see each other. But before you do this, you should try to speak with your loved one about how much communication they want and how much communication you can give.

According to DailyCaring.com, setting up a schedule of when you’ll get in contact with your loved one will help them to continue to feel loved and supported during this time. Especially since the elderly are some of the most vulnerable populations for negative impact from the coronavirus, getting to hear from the people they love can go a long way toward helping your loved one find positivity and security in these uncertain times.

Ask For Help With Technology

While you might know of all kinds of ways that you can get in contact with people that you’re not able to see in person, your elderly loved one might not be as aware of the technology that exists and how to use it.

To help bridge this gap, you may want to ask those who work in the assisted living facility if they can help your loved one set up devices and apps so you can get in touch with them easier. You may also want to ask if they could do a brief training on how to use certain apps or devices for things other than just talking to friends or family. For example, Ashley Austrew, a contributor to Care.com, you can also find ways to take virtual tours of places like museums and national parks.

Rediscover Care Packages

At a time where very little in coming in and out of your loved one’s care facility, getting anything new can be exciting. So as long as their facility is allowing care packages, Aaron Kassraie, a contributor to AARP, suggests that you try to get together a care package to send every so often. In this package, you can include things like letters, photos, and favorite items.

If the time away from your loved one has been challenging, consider using the tips mentioned above to stay connected even when you can’t be together.

If you are interested in your ancestry, you’re not alone. Genealogy is only surpassed in popularity by gardening in the United States. In fact, genealogy websites are the second most popular sites on the internet too.

You’ve always wanted to learn about your genealogy? Well, start now. Read on to learn about the top 12 websites for building your family tree and start discovering your roots today.

Interest in Genealogy

There’s been a surge in interest in genealogy and the demand for DNA ancestry tests is a strong indicator of this. With over 26 million people having purchased DNA tests to discover their ancestry there’s now a massive resource of data available.

DNA testing can be revealing about your genetic signature, revealing where in the world your ancestors came from. Even your risk of various diseases can be indicated.

For many Americans heritage is bound up with the immigrant experience. The resources you need to achieve this are just a click away.

Whether your interest in genealogy has been stimulated by the technology of DNA sequencing, concerns about medical conditions or your family heritage, there are amazing website resources available to you.

1. Ancestry.com

Not all genealogy website resources charge a subscription but those that do, generally give added value. Ancestry.com is in that category. The key benefit is a huge database with over 20 billion records.

Ancestry.com is also a DNA testing service. It’s the largest player in this rapidly growing market. This high technology approach to genealogical research can provide you with an ancestral history spanning 250 ethnic regions.

2. AfriGeneas

If your roots are African-American then AfriGeneas may be a useful website for you. As well as providing information about names, marriages, and deaths this website has databases of slavery records.

AfriGeneas enables users to communicate with others. These forums can enable family reunions, mutual learning and even socializing.

3. Archives.com

Databases are at the heart of much of your research when you are into genealogy. Archives.com is a massive database with more than 11 billion records.

Unlike other databases that are limited to basic demographic information such as births, deaths, and marriages, the Archives website is wider-ranging. The site allows you to access images, maps, and drawings too.

The subscription service offers you a free trial period before you have to pay for their service.

4. FamilySearch.org

This free website is surprisingly feature-rich. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormon church runs this website. You can access their 5 billion records without paying a penny and there’s no need to get involved in the religious aspects of the Mormon church either.

Births, deaths, and marriages are included in the records. Additional information includes military records and census data. You can access other family trees and several directories.

5. Google.com

Many people’s go-to resource to search for anything from shopping to entertainment is Google. It’s a powerful tool and not least in the field of genealogy. Use it to search for names, places, and other records.

Google can connect you to online libraries and the work of other genealogists. Sometimes a virtual visit to a location using Google maps can bring your text-based research to life.

6. FindAGrave.com

For many students of genealogy, visiting a cemetery is a fascinating activity.

FindAGrave.com offers you the opportunity to visit the graves of millions of people, virtually. There are even images of tombstones. You can research specific cemeteries or named individuals.

7. Find My Past

Some websites are better suited to some researchers than others. If your heritage is Irish or from the United Kingdom, then Findmypast is the website for you.

This is a niche player in the ancestry market with only around 2 billion records but there’s an upside to this. Findmypast is focused. The narrow field of research means that they can go into a great deal of depth.

There’s a subscription to pay but only after a free trial period. You can use their DNA testing service for an additional fee.

8. MyHeritage.com

A twist on many of the global ancestry websites is MyHeritage’s local focus. You can conduct research in your local area. Perhaps you have neighbors who you have connections with.

If you’re interested in the macro scale of 10 billion global records that’s fine too. MyHeritage can handle that.

This is a subscription service but you can start using some features for free. DNA testing is available.

9. ThoughtCo.com

If your interest in genealogy is still at an introductory level, check out ThoughtCo.com. It’s well worthwhile learning about the subject of genealogical research before starting to do your own research.

ThoughtCo.com has free articles than explain how to get into this fascinating hobby. They will explain how to research online, do offline research and how to use the network of other enthusiasts.

10. USGenWeb Project

Free resources are a great way into the hobby of genealogy and the USGenWeb project seeks to support your interest. It’s run by volunteers and it emphasizes the fun aspects of genealogy.

The site gathers information and engages in projects driven by the interests of its volunteers and users. It’s free and fun so what’s not to like about it.

11. JewishGen.org

Researchers looking for Jewish ancestors will find the JewishGen.org website a helpful source. They provide research tools and databases. The site is run by volunteers and invites donations rather than charging a subscription.

12. 23andMe

For some students of genealogy, research is driven by an interest in the health of their ancestors. Health records can be helpful in understanding the illnesses today.

23andMe is one of the largest DNA testing services. The health reports provide a more genetically based approach to the study of your ancestors. Buy a kit and learn about your health and ancestry.

Your Genealogy

No matter how your interest in genealogy has arisen, there are web resources you can access. Other people share your interest and you can engage with them too. Build your family tree and discover your roots.

Browse our blog for more articles about family and hobbies.

Have you ever heard the old saying, “families that play together, stay together?” Getting quality time in with your family is vital for building a strong and lasting relationship.

You might be looking for more fun and exciting things to do with your family that involves getting up and getting outside of your house. Well, you’re in luck because there are plenty of awesome outdoor hobbies that your entire family will be sure to love.

Keep reading for our guide to three outdoor hobbies that your entire family can pick up this summer to get out of the house.

1. Go on a Hike

One awesome outdoor recreation hobby that you and your family might be interested in is hiking. Especially if you live in an area with plenty of great trails that you can explore, then hiking is an awesome weekend activity. On the other hand, you might want to take a road trip and find some fun hiking trails for you and the family if you don’t live near any.

Hiking with your children can be done as long as you take it slow! Make sure to pack your bag with anything that they might need. Start with smaller hikes and work your way up each time.

2. Take Everyone Camping

Another one of our favorite outdoor activities is camping! Going camping can be done anywhere and everywhere but it is something that your family will really love.

Plus, going camping is a great way to build a bond with your family. Tell everyone to leave all their electronics at home so that you can all just hang out with one another on your camping trip.

If you don’t want to go too far for camping, then just pitch a tent in your backyard for the night. It’s a new experience for your family and a great way for them to get outdoors.

3. Hit the Stables

Do you have a little equestrian on your hands? If your family has ever shown any interest in riding horses, then you might want to take them to the horse stalls for the afternoon to see if this hobby is right for you.

Horseback riding can be for children as young as seven years old depending on their size and maturity. Make sure to introduce horseback riding to your child slowly as it could be a process.

Take them to meet the horses first to see how they will react and then work your way up to them riding them. As long as your children react in a positive way, then this could be your new outside family hobby.

Outdoor Hobbies for Your Family

It is clear that spending time with your family is important and getting outside and doing some physical activity can benefit you all too! Be sure to pick up some awesome outdoor hobbies while the weather is still nice.

Getting outside and experiencing the sun on your face, the breeze in your hair, and the grass between your toes is the perfect mixture for a great day with your family.

If you have children and you’re looking for more parenting advice or tips and tricks on how to deal with your kids, then make sure to keep scrolling through our blog for tons of great help!

When you’re in any kind of relationship, you’re bound to have disagreements every once in a while. But in many relationships, disagreements can easily devolve into arguments if each person in the relationship isn’t careful with how they speak to one another.

While getting into arguments may not seem like that big of a deal to you, if you have children, having them see you fight with your spouse can be very stressful for them. However, seeing you and your spouse argue in a healthy way can also be very beneficial for them as they get into their own relationships later on in life.

To help you make your disagreements with your spouse be helpful instead of harmful for everyone in your home so that you can develop stronger relationships rather than eventually filing for divorce, here are three tips for having disagreements with your spouse when your kids are around.

Practice Better Listening

To have effective communication, including during a disagreement with your spouse, your main priority should be to practice better listening so you can gain greater understanding of how your spouse is feeling.

According to Nicole Fabian-Weber, a contributor to Care.com, if you can learn to accept what your spouse is saying to you during a disagreement without lashing out and having your conversation become an argument, you’ll be teaching your children how to be better listeners as well.

Look For Signs Of Stress In Your Kids

While it can be helpful for your kids to see how a healthy discussion and disagreement should be handled, having any kind of stress in your relationship and conversation with your spouse can easily bleed over into your child’s life.

To help you in recognizing when your disagreement is becoming too stressful to have around your kids, Parents.com advises that you keep an eye out for signs of stress in your kids. Stress can manifest itself in things like withdrawn behavior, acting out, or physical illness.

Know When To End The Discussion

At times, you might begin having a conversation with your spouse that starts innocently enough but quickly becomes more of an argument than a conversation. In situations such as this, it’s usually best to have these discussions away from your kids.

According to AhaParenting.com, you and your spouse should know your own limitations of when you should stop a conversation and pick it back up later when you’re not with your kids. As a good rule of thumb, if you notice that you or your spouse begin to be triggered emotionally in any way, you should accept that this conversation should not happen with your kids around.

To help protect your relationships with your spouse and your children, consider using the tips mentioned above to learn how to have a disagreement with your spouse when your children are present.

 

When you become a mom, your nights of restful sleep are over. It’s not only the baby years where you’re getting up at night with your little one, but also the elementary years where you’re worried about your kids and the teenage years where you’re waiting up for your kids to get home at night. And now, worries over the pandemic and social injustices may be making it harder than ever to get good sleep.

With all this loss of sleep, it doesn’t take long for your face to start showing the evidence of your lack of rest. But luckily, there are some things you can do to hide the wear and tear. To show you how this can be done, here are three tricks for moms to look like they’ve been getting great sleep.

Do An Extra Wash On Your Face

If you haven’t been able to do your complexion any favors by getting enough sleep, the next best thing you can do is to ensure that your face is bright and clean by doing any extra wash in the morning.

According to Deanna Pai, a contributor to Glamour, by cleansing your face twice after you’ve gotten little sleep the night before, you’ll serve to perk up your skin, wash away any imperfections, and really get the circulation moving. And after you’ve double washed your face, be sure you moisturize well so that your skin looks soft and supple rather than tight and tired.

Keep Your Eye Makeup Light

If you feel like your eyes are looking tired, your gut reaction might be to put on more makeup than usual in order to hide whatever it is you don’t like. However, putting on a lot of eye makeup can often have the opposite effect by making your eyes look smaller and more tired.

As opposed to doing this, W3LL PEOPLE and Mind Body Green suggest that you try to keep your eye makeup light if you’re wanting to look bright eyed and bushy tailed. By applying just a moderate amount of mascara and eyeliner, you help make your eyes look bigger and more awake. For even more of this effect, you may even want to switch out your black or brown eyeliner with white in the days where you need some extra help making your eyes pop.

Break Out Your Concealer

One of the classic signs of not getting enough sleep is having dark circles under your eyes. But if you apply your concealer correctly, you can easily camouflage these bags.

To do this most effectively, Lindsey Rose Black, a contributor to Bustle.com, shares that you should apply your concealer in a triangle shape underneath your eyes. By doing this rather than just applying the makeup right beneath your eye, you can brighten up your entire face.

If you’ve been struggling to get a full night’s sleep ever since you became a mom, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you keep your appearance from reflecting this.

For some people, working from home comes easy. But for others, having the freedom to work when and how you want can sometimes make it hard to buckle down and focus. And if you have kids to throw into the mix, it may feel like you’re never able to get the work done that you really need to.

Since this has been an issue for many people during the coronavirus and quarantine environment, here are three tips to help if you’re working from home when you have little kids.

Make The Best Use Of Downtime

Ideally, there should be at least a few hours each day where your kids aren’t needing your constant attention. For some people, this is during nap times. For others, meal times or strategic screen time can help with this. So if there are ever times where your kids are busy or preoccupied, this is when you should try to get as much work done as possible.

While it can be easy to want to use this time as a break for yourself, Brooke Lea Foster, a contributor to Parents.com, shares that this is when you should really try to be as efficient as possible and get your most important work done. Even if you’re not able to actually slip off to your home office, any time that you’re able to give your work your full and undivided attention should be taken complete advantage of.

Help Your Kids Help Themselves

If there isn’t naturally a lot of time during the day where you kids are going to be distracted by something other than you, you should work to teach your children how to be more independent throughout the day so they need less of your help and attention.

To do this, Nadine Silverthorne, a contributor to Today’s Parent, suggests that you set up a snack and drink station in your home. Here, you should make it so your kids can get themselves drinks and simple snacks without needing your help. By doing this, you could be giving yourself a lot more time to sit and work in dedicated chunks of time.

Try Working In Blocks Of Time

Sometimes, working from home means that you’re going to have to explain to your kids that you simply can’t play with them or give them a lot of your attention at the moment. But since your kids will still need your assistance and interaction, Teresa Douglas, a contributor to The Muse, recommends that you try to do everything in blocks of time.

By setting up a schedule where you’ll work for a block of time and then spend some time playing with or helping your kids before getting back to work, you’ll hopefully be able to get everything done that you need to accomplish, even if it takes you a bit longer.

If you’re going to be working from home for the foreseeable future while your kids are going to be stuck at home as well, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you figure out how to be productive professionally while also taking care of your domestic responsibilities.