Parenting Journals

Category: Environment

  • Program to Prevent Teen Pregnancy with Virtual Babies Backfires

    By Lisa Pecos It may seem like something out of an 80s sitcom, but giving teen girls lifelike baby dolls to care for as a way to dissuade them from getting pregnant is something that has been going on for years. A recent study out of Australia, however, has found that this may actually have […]

  • Drinking in Movies and Teenage Drinking

    Teenagers Who Watch Actors Drinking Alcohol in Movies More Likely to Drink Themselves A study published earlier this year in the journal Pediatrics found that young European teens who watched more scenes of actors drinking in Hollywood movies were more likely to binge-drink and otherwise abuse alcohol. Researchers gave questionnaires to more than 5,000 15-year-olds […]

  • Reducing Exposure to Environmental Allergens

    Control Your Child’s Allergies Naturally Part 2 of 2 In Part 1 of our allergy prevention report, we discussed the importance of feeding our children foods that are known to strengthen the immune system and cleanse the body, which will help prevent or lessen allergy symptoms. That is preventing allergies from the inside out, which […]

  • 5 Ways to Keep Your Children Healthy — Naturally!

    It’s good to know that in our day and age, medical knowledge and the ability to obtain information have increased so vastly, compared to even just a few decades ago. But even now, prevention is a fundamentally important way to maintain our health and that of our children, so that we won’t need medical interventions […]

  • Many U.S. Kids Still Getting Too Much Daily Screen Time, Says CDC

    For years, doctors have been advising parents to limit the time their children spend daily watching television or on a computer — the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children get no more than two hours a day of non-school-related ‘screen time.’ But the message isn’t getting through to all families. The Centers for Disease […]

  • Having a Dog Can Help Ease Symptoms, Improve Behavior in Children with Autism

    Parents of autistic children know how difficult it is at times to manage all of life’s responsibilities, and to care for a child with special needs. Autism has aspects that can make parenting and teaching autistic children that much harder. Many parents are turning to dogs to help their autistic children: dogs can make an […]

  • Natural Remedies for Children’s Allergies

    If you are the parent of a child who suffers from allergies, eczema or asthma, you look for ways to bring relief and comfort to your son or daughter — but you want natural, better alternatives to antihistamines, skin-altering cortisone creams, chemical inhalers, or even nasal rinses (the latter could be too much to expect […]

  • Today’s Children Are Less Fit than Their Parents: Study

    A review of global studies measuring fitness levels among children found that today’s kids have become progressively less fit than children from the last previous decades. The studies, which examined the fitness levels of 25 million youths, found that modern kids can’t run as fast or as far as kids from as recently as a […]

  • Post-Concussion Care Recommendations for Children’s Sports Injuries Are Often Inadequate

    In tandem with recent media attention to concussions in professional sports, the American Academy of Pediatrics presented a detailed report on concussions in youth sports at its recent national conference in Orlando. The report, titled “Returning to Learning Following a Concussion,” discusses results from various studies, and its authors call for cognitive (mind) rest following […]

  • Are Hand Sanitizers Dangerous?

    Many of us heard the sad story recently about the Klamath Falls, OR 12-year-old girl who received second- and third-degree burns to one-fifth of her body while inside a hospital, after static charge sparks ignited the hand sanitizer she had just used to clean her hands and a bedside table. The sanitizer then burned olive […]

  • Are Your Children Needlessly Being Poisoned by Flame Retardants?

    In the 1970’s, the United States government implemented fire safety standards that now have manufacturers of many types of furnishings and household goods using toxic flame-retardant chemicals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. PBDEs are similar in chemical structure to PCBs, which were banned after they were found to be linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and […]

  • Teaching Kids to Love Nature

    In an age of growing disconnection between people and nature, many parents find it challenging to instill in their children a sense of appreciation for all that the earth has to offer. In many cases, nature is remote and not easily accessible, while electronics and media are immediately available, and many busy parents understandably go […]

  • Playground Safety: Not Just for Overprotective Parents

    For both parents and children, there is something magical about a playground. It gives the child an opportunity to play freely in a safe outdoor environment and to interact with other kids, and it gives parents the chance to sit back and relax in the fresh air while the child plays. But of course, while […]

  • Parenting Tactics That Damage Your Child’s Self Esteem

    Be aware that even though you feel you are doing your very best raising your child, sometimes your parenting strategies can be damaging to your child’s self-esteem and the parent-child relationship. Your child needs to grow up with a healthy level of self-esteem to be more resilient to the lessons learnt and the knocks taken […]

  • Is My Child A Bully?

    In the UK alone approximately sixteen children a year commit suicide because of the trauma they endure due to bullying. The offending children who have tirelessly bullied their victims know exactly what they are doing but it seems that sometimes, the people in authority such as school teachers claim they did not know the bullying […]

  • Amber Alerts – What to Do in Case Your Child Goes Missing

    It is one of every parent’s worse nightmares. You take your eye off your child for a minute only to find her gone when you turn around. Or one day he does not get home from school at the normal time. Or she goes outside to play and does not come back in. Scenarios like […]

  • How to Raise a Musical Child

    When it comes to educating children, a lot of focus is placed on practical skills like reading and math, which are undoubtedly important. But we should raise our children to be well-rounded individuals, and this involves teaching them forms of creative self-expression. While different kids have different talents-some are good at drawing, some can dance […]

  • Welcoming a Second Child: How to Handle the Change

    By Lisa Pecos Having a first child is one of the most difficult things you will ever have to do. From the middle stages of pregnancy until those blessed later months of the first year when the baby gets less fussy and more predictable, you are put through a series of challenges that test every […]

  • Setting and Enforcing Kids’ Bedtime

    By Jamell Andrews For parents, getting kids to go to bed at certain times is one of those ongoing struggles that over the years can reach epic proportions. Kids have a powerful, seemingly inborn desire to guide their own sleeping patterns, and for parents there is just no easy way to subvert this force. Granted, […]

  • A Parents’ Guide to Childhood Stress

    We like to think that a child’s world is all lightness and fun, but there are dark sides to the childhood experience. Especially in this age of increased expectations, rigorous study, and intense competition for educational opportunities, kids are increasingly dealing with stress in addition to all the traditional sources of bad feelings in children. […]

  • How To Keep The Internet Safe For Your Kids And Home

    By Liz Krause When it comes to the internet, gone are the days when parents know more than the kids – or so it seems. The fact of the matter is, although a child may know how to use the internet faster and quicker, it is the parents’ responsibility to protect them from the dark […]

  • Understanding Asthma in Children

    Asthma affects the small tubes (airways) that carry air in and out of the lungs, also known as the bronchi. The airways of the lungs are more sensitive in children with asthma. Something that irritates your child’s lungs is a called a trigger. Triggers cause the airways to narrow, inflame the lining of the airways […]

  • A Parent’s Guide to Cyberbullying

    By Lisa Pecos There have always been bullies, but the internet has given mean kids a whole new platform to bully others, and this new platform comes with some serious concerns that parents need to be aware of. Many people tend to think that being on the receiving end of occasional bullying is a normal […]

  • Old and New Natural Ways to Prevent Colds

    By Marc Courtiol If you are a parent to a baby or toddler, you are undoubtedly used to your little one having several colds each year. In fact, it may even seem like as soon as your child has finally gotten over a cold, another one mysteriously appears not far behind. While your first instinct […]

  • Parents! Rid your Home of Harmful Allergens

    For those of us who suffer from allergies, sometimes getting through the day can be a daunting task. Symptoms ranging from itchy, watery eyes to a constantly runny nose contribute to making our lives miserable when our bodies are assaulted by allergens that they simply cannot deal with.