Friday, December 30, 2011

News You Can Use: Young Children and the Media

I am sure that many of the children in your life were thrilled to find the latest technology waiting for them under the tree this holiday season. From DSI's to Leap Frogs, ipads to Playstations, media and technology are evolving at a rapid pace, affecting our children in both positive and negative ways.

Earlier this month, Common Sense Media released a report, Zero to Eight: Children's Media Use in America. Here are just a few of the interesting facts that they found:

Even very young children are frequent digital media users: Of all children who have a computer in the home, the average age of first use was just 3 1/2.

Children under 2 spend twice as much time watching TV and videos as they do reading books: In a typical day, 47% of babies and toddlers under age one watch an average of nearly two hours per day of TV or DVDs. The number of hours using media for school-aged children tops out at 5.25 hours each day.

Broadcast television is the most accessible and widely used platform for educational content among lower income children: Educational TV is the ONLY type of educational content that lower-income children are more likely to consume than higher-income children. This includes pre-school, libraries, reading, early games, computers, and education technology (Leap Frogs, etc).


While Building Healthy Families realizes that in today's technologically driven world, media literacy plays an important role in school readiness and success, we know that positive interaction and direct instruction from a PARENT or CAREGIVER is the most important factor in determining school readiness and positive development. We encourage you to monitor technology time with your children and families and make a conscious effort to spend time together each day that is media free for the entire family!

For more information visit www.commonsensemedia.org

Monday, December 26, 2011

New Year's Resolution Family Style

As we enjoy the last, often relaxing week of 2011, it is nearly impossible to not look ahead to 2012. In addition to setting personal goals for the months to come, why not also include a resolution or two to build a stronger, healthier family?!?! Here are some easy, fun ideas to get you started:

#1. Make Family Meals a Priority: Not only is the kitchen table a great place to eat, dozens of studies highlight the positive impact family meals have on reducing risky behaviors. From teen pregnancy, to drug use, kids who eat with their parents multiple times each week are at a lower risk for making unhealthy lifestyle choices.

#2. Start a Tradition: Children of all ages thrive with structure and support. What better way to provide this time than with a weekly family tradition. From a weekday game night, to a pancake breakfast Saturday morning, 20 or 30 minutes of positive family time often makes a world of difference.

#3. Take a Parenting Class: From Pre-School playgroups, to one-time workshops, Building Healthy Families has a variety of opportunities that will help you connect wiht other parents and take time to focus on the joys and challenges of being involved in the life of a child. Stay tuned to the blog and our monthly newsletter to find an opportunity that best fits your family!

Have some great ideas for families this New Year?!? Leave a comment below or visit the BHF Facebook page to post your tips to starting 2012 out right!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Positive Discipline Tip for Parents: Secret Signals

Jane Nelson's evidence based Parenting with Positive Discipline curriculum offers time-tested tools for parents, teachers and caregivers to develop valauble life skills and good character in a mannor that is encourging and respectful for both children and adults. As we are all faced with the choas and often over-stimulating holiday season, we thought this tip from an Positive Discipline Podcast was a great strategy to keep in mind!

"Newsflash: Parents often talk too much. They lecture, they scold; sometimes they even scream and yell.

Newsflash: When parents talk too much, children often shut down and stop listening. Then parents wonder, “Why does everything I say seem to go in one ear and out the other?”

Idea: Try a silent (secret) signal. (Kids love the secret part—especially when they have helped create it.) Creating silent signals can be part of communication strategy when visiting family, sitting in resteraunts or battling the busy mall traffic.

Perhaps you feel annoyed when family members don’t come to dinner when you call. You might all decide to take turns banging a little gong. (Not exactly silent, but at least minus words.

The whole family could decide on a signal that shows respect for what the other person is doing while asking for signal back as to how long it might take. Maybe sign language for, “I would like to speak with you, show me with your fingers how long I need to wait.”

You get the idea. Go on a treasure hunt to find areas of conflict, and then conspire together to find a secret signal that will end the conflict while having fun—with the bonus of creating a loving connection."

Source: www.blog.positivediscipline.com

Monday, December 19, 2011

Give a Gift that Keeps Giving.....and Inspires a Love for Reading

Still needing a last minute gift? Trying to veer away from the bright lights, loud noises and overly stimulating gifts that often are discarded before the first set of batteries even fade out. Try a subscription to a magazine that targets your child's interests. From toddlers to teens, Sesame Street to Video Games, there are dozens of interesting, educational and age-appropriate options on-line or lining the shelves of Safeway's magazine aisle. The greatest benefit of a gift subscription........12 months of reading for one fairly inexpensive price (the ideas below range from $12-25)!

The options below have received rave reviews from staff, grandparents and kids themselves. Happy Holiday, Happy Shopping....Happy Reading!


The National Wildlife Federation:
Offering the classic Ranger Rick for school-aged children, the organization has expanded their selection to include titles for toddlers and preschool aged children. www.nwf.org

National Geographic: With vivid photos, games, puzzles and engaging stories, animal lovers and blooming scientists will rush to the mailbox looking for these amazing magazines. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/shop/

Highlights for Children:
Another classic, Highlights has added early literacy options for children under 6, as well as the traditional magazine featuring comics, crafts, and recipes for older kids. www.highlights.com

Major Magazine Companies: Most news stand classics, from Sports Illustrated to Time, offer a kids version of their magazine. Targeted at middle schoolers and teens, these magazines offer high interest stories at a 5-8th grade reading level and often include activities that help kids comprehend the material and build a larger vocabulary!

Know another great kids magazine? Love one the choices above? Please add to our list by pressing the COMMENT button below!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Your Input Matters!

While we feel strongly that a blog is an outstanding tool for sharing information and connecting families, we are eager to hear WHY you would be drawn to read the Building Healthy Families blog! Please respond to our survey by the end of December, to help shape and influence the material being delivered to the families of Northeastern Oregon. All voters will be entered to win a Winter Family Fun pack full of treats and ideas for children of all ages. Thank you in advance for your valuable ideas and feedback....we look forward to providing the information that is most helpful and interesting to each of you!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Welcome to the Building Healthy Families Blog!

Whether you've attended a parent/child playgroup, opened your doors to a home visitor, dropped your child of at our Early Learning Center or were greeted at the end of the day with exciting stories from the after-school program, we hope every family in Wallowa County has had a chance to connect with Building Healthy Families!

With the mission of strengthening families through support and education, we are excited to add a blog to our list of growing resources with the goals of connecting families, facilitating discussion, providing positive discipline strategies. promoting school success and inspiring positive, enjoyable time with your children!

As we start this blogging adventure, we look forward to your comments, input and ideas on how to create the best resources possible and meet the individual needs of your family. We encourage you to share the link with friends and community members to help us continue to build an amazing network of positive, thriving Wallowa County families. Welcome to the Building Healthy Families Blog!