THE PREMIER PARENTING MAGAZINE FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA
FREE
AUGUST 2015
BACKSEAT BICKERING: How to Cope on the Way to School Rock the Next FUNDRAISER
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Product Picks for Parents
LITERATURE RESOURCES To Keep Your Kids Reading
WHAT’S IN YOUR CHILD’S
happyhe HAPPY althy HEALTHY kidsfair KIDS
EDUCATION GUIDE PAGE 10
LUNCHBOX? How to Keep Lunch Healthy and Be Sure They Eat It
table of contents FREE
THE PREMIER PARENTING MAGAZINE FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA
HAPPY HEALTHY KIDS EDUCATION GUIDE
22 28 36 34 10
AUGUST 2015
BACKSEAT BICKERING: How to Cope on the Way to School Rock the Next FUNDRAISER Product Picks Parents 20 for LITERATURE RESOURCES To Keep Your Kids Reading
WHAT’S IN YOUR CHILD’S
happyhe HAPPY althy HEALTHY kidsfair KIDS
EDUCATION GUIDE PAGE 10
LUNCHBOX? How to Keep Lunch Healthy and Be Sure They Eat It
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departments Note 04 Editor’s Education for Life
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Parenting with Dr. Friedman
8 Short Stuff 0 in a Book 40 AThePage Night Sky Unfolds in Books
the Specialist: 42 Ask Are You Ready for Another Child?
Perfect: 44 Party The Greatest Baby Shower of Them All!
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August 2015 Calendar of Events
Party: 54 Poetry Funny Animal Poems
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34
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features Happy Healthy Kids 10 The Education Guide 2015 to Prepare for the 26 How English Section of the Redesigned SAT
8 2 30 What’s in Your Child’s Lunch box? How to Keep Lunch Healthy and Be Sure They Eat It
Homeschool Corner: Literature Resources to Keep Your Kids Reading
Bickering in the Backseat: How to Cope on the Way to School
ON THE COVER: Micah, one of our 2014-2015 Cover Kids winners, age 8, of Birmingham, is getting ready to help pack his back to school lunches by shopping with his mom and sister at Durbin Farms in Clanton for healthy lunch box items. Photo by Meredith Bridgewater and Kim Brantley. Learn more about Durbin Farms at http://www.durbinfarms.info.
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Rock the Next Fundraiser! Back to School Food Safety Tips
Top Product Picks 36 20 for Parents Rare Disease in the 38 ANEMO Gene Affects One Local Child
parenting
Parenting with Dr. Friedman
Q:
Our 16-year-old son is an honor roll student and has never been a behavior problem at home or school. He does his chores. He helps take care of his two younger siblings when asked. He drives responsibly and has a part-time job. Other than his job he does not have any interests beyond school. He would like to spend all his time playing computer and video games. If we did not urge him to shut off the games several hours each day, he would play from the time he wakes up until late at night when he finally goes to sleep. We have talked to his friends’ parents and they are all struggling with the same issue. What is a reasonable amount of time for a teenager to spend playing computer and video games each day? Video and computer games are both relaxing and stimulating. They are also habit forming. When you become accustomed to playing computer games, you tend to go back to them. When you spend hours of your life playing games, you are not spending that time in other, more productive ways. Most of the games that teens play are “epic” games with elaborate characters and story lines. Unlike short games like Solitaire or Hearts, which can be used as a brief, relaxing break from work, these epic games promote hours of play, consuming large amounts of time. The task of childhood, from birth to age 19, is to master cognitive, social, fine motor and large motor skills. The problem is not only that your son is playing computer games for many hours but also that he is not engaged in physical or social activity for those hours he plays. The games do not have the play value of a board game where
social interaction is a key part of the play. Many computer games allow you to win all the time. If you don’t win, you can simply reset the game. This does not prepare children for life. There is no give and take. There is no win and lose. (Some role play games have a social aspect.)
Teenagers are more difficult to change. The simplest way to retrieve control is to firmly set a schedule for computer use. Decide how much time you feel is reasonable and design a schedule around his other games and activities. Yet do recognize that he needs some recreational time. No one
If you don’t win, you can simply reset the game. This does not prepare children for life. There is no give and take. There is no win and lose. Most parents agree that computer game time needs to be limited. Like most issues of discipline, this one is best addressed in the early years of life when the child wants to please the parent. By spending time with young children, you can shape their interests and activities. The child who is in band, theater or on a soccer or debate team is not playing games on the computer very often.
can be productive every minute of the day, and he is doing his schoolwork and chores, plus holding a job. It is hard to say exactly how many hours he can safely play games. That really depends upon how much free time is left after his other activities. The key is to balance this passive recreation with development in other areas.
Vivian K. Friedman Ph. D. is a child and family psychologist at UAB, Department of Psychiatry. Send questions for response in this column to Viviankf@gmail.com. No personal replies are sent.
F ASA aspire to
Open house for prospective students
Saturday, November 7
• Attend a session at 9 AM, 10 AM or 11 AM • Learn what ASFA is all about and how to apply • Tuition-free public education in Creative Writing, Dance, Math/Science, Music, Theatre Arts and Visual Arts • Current 6th -10th graders can apply for grades 7-11 • Admission by audition only for the 2016-2017 school year • Questions? Call Jaronda Little at 205-252-9241
ALABAMA SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS 1800 Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr. Blvd. Birmingham, AL 35203 205-252-9241 www.asfa.k12.al.us birminghamparent.com | 7