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Yes, we're a tutoring company. But our kid's health blog is exactly the type of thing we care about, because it affects a child's growth, human experience, and even their education. Visit this section of our education blog for more on topics relating to the physical and mental health of kids and teens.
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Summer’s here, and we know you’re looking for ways to keep your teens engaged, learning, and having fun. While relaxation is important, maintaining some level of mental engagement can prevent the “summer slide” and provide opportunities for personal growth. Here’s a list of 10 exciting activities that combine fun with learning, perfect for middle and high school students. Let’s dive in!
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In this era of technology, it’s becoming increasingly common for children to spend a significant amount of time on devices like computers, iPads, and phones. They even use technology for educational purposes, both in school and at home. While there are numerous educational websites and apps that can enhance your child’s learning, it’s crucial to remember that excessive screen time, particularly in the evening, can have adverse effects on your child’s health. As a parent, your involvement in managing your child’s screen time is key to ensuring their well-being.
A common myth is that if a child spends too much time in front of a screen, their eyes will be damaged, and they will need glasses eventually. This is false! As explained in a video by DNews, computers and other screens cannot permanently damage the eyes. However, staring at a screen can cause eyestrain, headaches, and a few other minor symptoms. Encourage your children to take a break from studying on a screen every twenty minutes or so. One good thing to do is to try focusing on something far away (30 feet or more), as it will give your kid’s eyes a break. Plus, taking a study break can improve your child’s creativity, so it’s a win-win situation.
Many students have late-night tendencies and trouble waking up in the morning. But is this just because they can focus better on their studies at night and stay up late because of it? According to Harvard Health, although teenagers naturally feel more awake later at night, staring at a screen before bedtime will push off their sleepiness even later. This is because teenagers are susceptible to what is called blue light. The blue light in screens mimics sunlight and causes low melatonin levels. This is why many teenagers might not get a very good sleep or have trouble waking up in the morning. They are on their phones right up until they go to sleep!
Sometimes, studying at night is unavoidable. If your child needs to use the computer before bed, try having them use a sleeping app like F.lux. This app is meant to reduce the color of blue light on screens after the sun goes down, helping your child’s body know when to go to bed.
Taking breaks from staring at a screen, limiting blue light, and limiting screen time after dark will all help your child’s eye health. Plus, it will help them get a better sleep at night! So follow these tips to study still bright but keep track of health.
As parents, we have to understand that there are a variety of hurdles children face in school, and one of these potential obstacles in the classroom is colour blindness. While it might not be as high-profile in the media as learning challenges such as autism or attention deficit disorder, colour blindness can be a problem that parents and teachers should be aware of. So today, we’ll discuss some ideas on how to help kids with colour blindness.
We often don’t notice it because we take it for granted, but colours are often a key tool used for learning in the classroom. Many images, notes and charts often have a colour key or use different shades of colour to demonstrate a lesson. For example, subjects such as biology can be quite reliant on using diagrams to communicate complex concepts. A task as simple as creating labels for a science project can become a daunting and complex exercise for someone who is colourblind. If children are following along with a set of colour-coded instructions, they can easily fall behind if they cannot differentiate between colours; that is why it is a good idea to lend an extra hand to kids with colour blindness.
That’s because you may be the only one on the lookout for this condition. According to colourblindawareness.org, most teachers do not receive any training to spot colour-blind children. In fact, the same article says it is probable at least one child per classroom in the United Kingdom is colourblind, averaging about 450,000 students in that country.
Try examining the areas in which your children might be struggling. For example, if you notice that one of your kids seems to always be behind in a class that is heavily reliant on visual learning, you may want to observe him or her more closely. As a quick side note, we’ve covered learning styles before in this blog, so you can check that out if you want to know exactly what we mean by visual learning.
Also, keep in mind that there are different types of colourblindness, which you should be familiar with. We suggest reading the above article to get familiar with the different ‘families’ of this condition which include — but may not be limited to — red-green colourblindness, blue-yellow colourblindness, and complete colourblindness. This knowledge will help you understand that depending on the colours being shown, your child may or may not exhibit signs of colourblindness.
There are also online tests which can help you figure what, if any, type of colourblindness your child may have. However, please keep in mind that these tools are not intended to replace professional advice from a family doctor or optometrist. If you suspect your child has this condition, do not diagnose him or her yourself. See a professional.
If you have children diagnosed with this condition, it would probably be best to consult with the school they are attending. For instance, on their website, the provincial government suggests asking teachers to seat students who are colourblind in glare-free spots in the classroom. Another idea suggested by the site is to use chalk that will ‘stand out’ better to a person with colour blindness. Perhaps most important is to realize that the difficulties that colourblind kids encounter can be alleviated by adapting their environments. For example, written instead of colour-coded labels would be of better use to a colourblind child.
Is it safe to return to school on June 1st? Mixed feelings run high as K-12 students and staff head back to school part-time next week. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It is important for you to weigh all factors and to make the decision you believe is best for your family. [Read more…]
Parents and students alike frequently have a tough time dragging their exhausted bodies out of bed on a Monday morning. Feeling fresh, awake and rejuvenated for the upcoming school week is vital to a student’s success. We hope to help them achieve this by offering these 5 tips on beating the Monday Blues. [Read more…]
If you thought child beauty pageants happened mostly in United States, you may be surprised to know that they are actually quite popular in Canada too. Miss All Canadian Pageant is one of the biggest in the country. As indicated on their website, anyone from 0 to 20+ years old can be registered in their beauty pageant. Self-esteem, confidence and social growth are some of the core values they say children will walk away with after participating in their beauty pageant. So do kids actually benefit from participating in beauty pageants or are there more negative effects associated with this practice?
Based on a short documentary by CBC, ‘natural beauty’ may not be enough for a child to win a beauty pageant. Yes, there are dresses, costumes, and makeup, as we’d expect. But children may also get wigs, spray-tans, and even get their pictures re-touched. The message children may get is that, in order to be liked, they need to be beautiful. But in order to be beautiful enough, they need to accentuate how they naturally look. They are not being taught that all children can be beautiful based on many other reasons other than physical appearance.
Psychology Today points out that any activity focusing on what a child looks like, can have a long-lasting effect on body image once they get to their teens. Issues may be carried even into adulthood. Some may suffer from eating disorders, perfectionism, and depression.
One view on beauty pageants is that they teach children that success (winning a trophy or a crown in this case), is very much related to how they look. Yes, there is a talent portion to the pageant. But they still need to look beautiful while performing. And even showcasing a talent may not truly be what the child is good at. It may be what the parent thinks will win the judges over.
So in the end, the child’s view on success may not even be related to who they are, what they like, or what they are good at. Instead success becomes attainable only when parents and in some cases coaches shape them to their liking.
Children may also internalize the concept of perfectionism. They are trained to perform in a certain way and to not only do their best, but do it perfectly. Not only does this put huge pressure on kids, but it may teach them that whatever they do is not good enough, unless they win.
From the CBC documentary on child beauty pageants linked to above, we can see some parents who choose their girls’ costumes appropriate to their age. However, as some note, the overall trend of these beauty pageants is on portraying sexy rather than cute. So, we end up seeing little girls dressed in skimpy clothing that hardly covers their underdeveloped body. They will then parade like ‘sexy’ super-models. They may even showcase provocative routines during the talent show. According to the American Psychological Association, sexualizing girls can lead to depression, low-self esteem, shame and anxiety, and eating disorders, among others.
As stirred up by the comedian John Oliver, the idea of beauty pageants still being in existence is dated and one of the “weirdest” things on television (as he says it). In his video, he rants with the undertone that we should acknowledge strides feminism has taken in the last couple of decades. Are we still living in a world where we give women points, and have men judge them, based on their physical image?
Admittedly, John Oliver’s other major point in his rant was about the financial management of the Miss America Pageant rewards. But the point in this article is that his talk was about adult pageants. Taking his points and applying them to child pageants could multiply the seriousness of the situation to some skeptics.
When contemplating the decision of enrolling children in beauty pageants, it is important to take into account the potential long-term consequences discussed in this article. Specifically, it is crucial to consider how beauty pageants can impact the mental well-being of our children, as we are deeply concerned about their overall healthy development.