Natalie

With the holidays upon us it’s easy to fall back on the latest gadget to gift teens or young adults. And, while that isn’t necessarily a bad idea, we’d like to offer some suggestions for non-tech gifts to give. We also encourage you to challenge your kids' tech-heavy wish list by asking them what non-electronic items they might want, or prompt siblings, grandparents, and other family members to purchase items that don't involve a screen. Tickets – Does your daughter love musicals? Is your son’s favorite band playing in your area in the next few months? Tickets to go to an event make a great holiday gift, and create memories along the way. Even better – get tickets for the two of you (or your entire family!) to do something together. Memory book – While [...]

The holidays are a wonderful time of year. However, they often come with high personal expectations of buying the perfect gifts, participating in holiday parties and seeing family members not frequently seen. The prospect of facing the holidays can be daunting for everyone – and even more so for people who struggle with depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other mental health concerns. As the holiday season is upon us, it is important to remember that you might not always be able to control what happens during the holidays but you can control your reaction to the events by managing your holiday expectations. We’d like to share five ways to keep your holiday expectations in check, from a blog written by Lucida Treatment Center. How to Keep Your Holiday Expectations in Check 1. Don’t buy into [...]

Is it possible for kids to play video games so much that it can actually change how their brain works? New research is showing that the influx of technology is affecting kids, and even adults, to the point of changing the way brain chemistry works. The following article, written by Cris Rowan, a pediatric occupational therapist, international speaker, and author of “Virtual Child” looks at how video games are rewiring children’s brains, and the scary physical and social repercussions that are happening because of this. Gamer Brain – How video games are wiring your child’s brain for failure. Meet Joe. Exhausted, Joe hauls himself out of bed after a night of gaming, following his Mom’s third attempt to get him up. If she’d just quit ragging on him, and let him sleep in. It’s not [...]

It seems that to each generation of adults, the current generation of teens is far more daring than they were and much less prepared to handle “real” life. Now, with teens having access to prolific amounts of technology, adults are also concerned that the upcoming generation is also going to struggle with face to face communication skills. At Screenagers, they focus on what technology means for teenagers today. Recently, in their Tech Talk Tuesday, they focus on interpersonal communications, and how teachable of a skill it is. It’s up to us, as adults, to help teens practice these skills. Below is helpful information about communication from Dr. Delaney Ruston, Screenagers' filmmaker. Last week I was talking with a counselor at a high school who told me about how the students immediately go on their cell [...]

Throughout time we have seen young men demonstrate “becoming a man” in a variety of ways; whether they went off to war, married their high school sweetheart and settled down to start a family, or left home and moved to college for the first time, historically boys actively sought out ways to become men and move on with their lives. However, we’re now seeing disturbing trends of boys “remaining directionless, devastated and scared children.” In the article below, written by Benjamin Hardy, a writer for Medium.com and a Ph.D. candidate, the concepts of male identity are explored. Hardy gives a list of ways the young men can make the transition into adulthood more smoothly and take charge of their lives. 10 Habits that Change Boys into Men by Benjamin Hardy The demise of our culture [...]