James Rheine., Author at MathRider

How Useful are Educational Video Games?

Educational video games are big business. After all, you’re combining education and video games and it makes for a big break to market to both parents and children.

The question is, do they actually work? There hasn’t been that much research done to really answer that question, especially when it comes to games designed for children.

One small survey reported that kids who played educational video games were less likely to suffer from attention problems at school, in contrast to kids who played more violent or arcade-like video games.

But can educational video games offer more?

Children and teens find it easy to create and information online by means of social media sites. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can be accessible via their computers, tablets, and even mobile phones. They can also upload their audio and video files via websites like YouTube and Spotify.

With these social media sites, children and teens are given the opportunity to be creative and to stay connected with their friends, but with this gift, they have also become exposed to the dangers that accompany the use of these websites.

The social media landscape changes more quickly than you can change your shirt. In this article, I will go over the basic definition of social media, the functions of popular social media sites being patronized by children and teens alike, and most importantly, the risks that come with these sites.

We used to believe that once our bodies reach physical maturity, the brain no longer generates new brain tissue and because the brain no longer heals itself, we would eventually suffer dementia by the time we reach old age.

Thankfully, the belief that our brains are static organs has been proven wrong. The brain is one dynamic organ with the continuous capacity to regenerate new tissue. In other words, our brain continually heals over time.

Death is a very sensitive topic and will affect your family at some point, and it’s a subject that few parents know how to talk about with their children.

When do you know that you’ve explained too much?

When do you know that you’ve answered too little?

A lot of parents are always looking for advice on how to talk about death with their little ones – especially after the passing of a loved one.

Even if a family has not experienced loss, the presence of ghosts, tombstones, and specters during Halloween celebrations can often trigger a child’s curiosity for the afterlife.

With that said, here’s how you can talk about loss with your child.

Repeated addition is taught in the third grade in the US as part of the Common Core Problem.

Repeated addition, when applied, can be used to solve 5×3.

If you were to think it would be 3 groups of 5, you’re wrong. The correct answer would be 5 groups of 3, or 3+3+3+3+3.

Are hyperactive/depressed/apathetic/easily angered children and teenagers becoming more common?

Apparently, chronically irritable children are often in a state of abnormally high arousal, or rather, “wired and tired”. They are agitated but exhausted.

Chronically high arousal levels can have an impact on memory and the ability to relate, so these kids are more likely to have academic and social problems. And if an article by Dr. Victoria L. Dunckley for Psychology Today is to be believed, electronic gadgets have something to do with all these.

We want our kids to live a happy life, now and when they become adults. However, in a world as materialistic as this one we live in, we couldn’t help but worry that they might equate happiness with having money as they grow up. In many cases, kids already think that way. Then again, how children view happiness largely depends on the way they were raised. If you spoil them and give them whatever material stuff they want, they are likely to grow up believing money can make you happy. The funny thing is, can money really make us happy? If the findings of a recent study are to be believed, money can indeed make you happy, that is, if you spend it on therapy.

Does your child show great curiosity about objects, situations, or events? Have you ever found yourself stumped by provocative questions from your kid? Does learning come rapidly, easily and efficiently for your son or daughter? If your answer to all three questions is yes, then there’s a huge chance you have a gifted child, if the signs of a gifted child listed in an article by Barbara Rockwell for PopSugar are to be believed.

It is no secret that parents wish their kids stayed kids forever, but that, of course, isn’t going to happen. Whether we like it or not, our children are going to grow up, and will be faced with practically the same frustrations, failures and other situations that we went through ourselves, particularly during our 20s, that stage in our lives where we’ll be facing the realities of the real world.

Naturally, these tough lessons in life are best learned through experience, but it never hurts to give our kids a bit of a heads up while they’re still young. An article written by Richard Feloni for Business Insider Australia about 20 hard lessons everyone should learn by their 20s makes for a great reference for such a thing.

No one can deny that social media, as it stands today, is an essential part of our everyday lives. This is most especially true of our children, teenagers in particular. Practically all teenagers spend a lot of their time on social media sites, and that, per se, is not necessarily a bad thing. Social media sites, after all, have a lot of good things going for them. For one, they help kids stay connected with family. Social media can also help teach social responsibility to our kids to the point where they can join non-profit and charity campaigns. Their creativity may also be enhanced as ideas, music and art are freely shared and discussed on social media.

Social media, however, can get real addictive, and addictions of all forms are certainly not good for anyone, especially our children. It is our responsibility as parents to put some limits on their use of social media. Then again, how much social media is enough to force us to intervene and put our foot down? You’ll know your kids have had enough social media when:

How Useful are Educational Video Games?

Should I Allow my Child to Use Social Media?

How To Protect Your Child’s Brain Health (and Yours…)

How To Talk About Loss With Your Child

Multiplication – Is 5 x 3 not the same as 5 + 5 + 5?

Too Much Screentime Makes Children Lazy, Moody, Crazy

Money can make you happy – as long as you spend it on therapy

How To Tell If My Child Is Gifted

Hard Lessons Your Kids Should Learn in Their 20s

How Much Social Media Is Enough?

Does MathRider Really Work?

You Be The Judge!

Author: James Rheine. Archives