: North Texas Kids : Your family guide to raising happy, healthy kids

Avoiding The Melt Downs

How to Avoid Melt Downs

by Amy Egan

So often I hear complaints from parents about their children’s reactions to limits and consequences. Parents are hurt, surprised, outraged, incensed, annoyed, insulted and/or angered that their child throws a fit when given a perfectly appropriate limit. Because the child’s or teen’s reaction causes discomfort to the parent, the parent, often unconsciously, avoids any situation in which they may have to experience a kid’s wrath. What ends up happening is the parent tries to present a limit to their child with kid gloves on – hoping to make the limit palatable to the child/teen. The mother knows she needs to hold the kid accountable but wants to avoid the charged emotions that usually follow. The father does not want to be walked on by his kids but hates drama.

Water Safety Tips for the Whole Family

Water Safety for the Whole Family this Memorial Day Weekend

With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, several will be drawn to all types of water whether it is a cool dip to cool off or just to sit around a pool, lake or river and enjoy the day. Water safety is an important consideration, especially when children are involved. According to information released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Pool Safely campaign on September 13, 2012, there were 137 instances of children younger than 15 drowning in a pool or spa from Memorial Day to Labor Day this year. The data also included an additional 168 children of that age who required emergency treatment for near-fatal accidents in spas or pools during that same period. This information was compiled from media reports, and figures show that 54 of the 137 drowning’s last summer occurred shortly after the child left the side of an adult in their immediate vicinity, and 31 children drowned despite the presence of other people at the pool. This does not count the number of adults and children in other bodies of water, lakes, rivers and oceans. Children under the age of 5 had the highest percentage and required 911 calls for near-drowning incidents.

Ohio Kidnappings: What Should We Teach Our Children?

How to Talk to Your Children About the Ohio Kidnappings

“Amanda Berry turned 17 on the day that she was abducted, Gina DeJesus just barely a teen at age 13, Michelle Knight, the oldest of the Ohio trio kidnapped and held captive for over a decade, was a mere 21,” Powell-Lunder wrote on GalTime.com.

“As a parent it is hard to know what to think, let alone what to say to your children. This story has many angles, many themes.

Discipline That Works

Types of Discipline for Your Child

Guest post by Kids ‘R’ Kids of Dallas/Fort Worth

The most frequently ask question among parents is, “When do I start disciplining?” and “How should I discipline?” Childcare experts wish there was an easy explanation to give desperate parents, but that’s just not the case. The answer is both simple and complex. Childcare professionals recommend you start disciplining a child as soon as he’s capable of understanding what you are doing, that way he can learn why you are doing it. Experts say this occurs usually around 18 months, although some children may be closer to 2 years of age before discipline can become effective.

Talking to Kids About the Tragic Events

Child Psychologist Offers Tips on How to Talk to Kids About Tragic Events

Making sense of the tragic events such as the Boston Marathon bombings and the West Texas Fertilizer Plant explosion can be quite a challenge for children and parents alike. Children are going to be asking difficult questions and parents need suggestions to help discuss the issue and address their concerns.

Below are some helpful tips from Child Psychologist Dr. Phyllis Ohr, the Director of the Child and Parent Psychological Services Clinic at Hofstra and the Assistant Director of the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program. Dr. Phyllis is also the official psychologist forPress4Kids’s News-O-Matic, the first educational news app for children 7 to 10 years old.

Girl Scouts Survey Results About Girls and Financial Literacy

New Girl Scout Research Uncovers Girls’ Lack of Confidence in Financial Decision Making, Illustrates Desire to Learn

The American dream is alive and well among girls, according to a new report by the Girl Scout Research Institute, which reveals that girls feel optimistic about their financial futures, yet are less than fully knowledgeable about essential financial principles and instruments, from using credit cards to establishing good credit. And just 12 percent of the girls surveyed say they feel confident in making financial decisions.

It’s never too late to start setting boundaries

Setting boundaries for grown kids too

by Amy Egan

Many times I have gotten the question, “Is it ever too late to start setting boundaries with children?” Parents wonder if they have missed the boat by the time their kids are tweens or teens. The truth is that it is never too late to set boundaries. Even if a parent has an adult child that is disrespectful, manipulative or takes advantage of them, the best time to begin setting and enforcing limits is this very moment!

We don’t do our kids any favors by putting up with that stuff when they are 2, 10 or 30. Anytime a child can mistreat a parent, the parent loses – and so does the child, in a very big way.