5 Ways to Get Your Teen Off Their Screens
5 Ways to Get Your Teen Off Their ScreensBy Rayyan El-Baf Do you have bored teenagers roaming around the house? Without other activities like sports and clubs that normally keep them busy, their go-to boredom beater is probably being on their phones or playing video games. And, let’s be honest, we are likely on our phones more than we should be ourselves, simply because we are bored too. So what else can teenagers do to beat those boredom blues? For some inspiration, here are five activities that your teens (and you) can enjoy without looking at a screen.Learn a new Skill Teenagers typically run on a very specific schedule between school, extracurriculars, homework, socializing and hobbies. Amid the heavy schedule of their lives, it may be difficult for teens to engage in current or new hobbies. The pandemic and lockdowns have given everyone a lot of newfound free time; so why not learn a new skill? Hobbies that don’t include screen time could vary from painting, drawing, learning how to play an instrument, knitting, cooking, or learning a new language. Learning a new skill is a great way to engage your teens’ minds while stuck at home.Complete a puzzle Puzzles are great for the sake of passing time. Lockdowns may make the day seem laboriously long and completing a puzzle is a great way to make time fly and activate your critical thinking skills. These puzzles can be done individually or together as a family if you want to make a day out of it. Family members can also complete different puzzles and then compare them after completion. Puzzles can vary from classic 1000-piece jigsaw-themed puzzles or Rubik’s puzzles.Get Moving If you have access to a front yard or a backyard, this is an excellent opportunity for teens to get exercise with outdoor sports and activities. Shooting basketballs or kicking a soccer ball is a fun activity to get their bodies moving. Other sports such as football and softball can be played among siblings or between parent and teen. If your teen doesn’t feel like exerting themselves, why not do some chalk art on the pavement!Family Games Being in lockdowns creates a strong sense of loneliness and isolation. Engaging as a family to play board games, card games, and other family games is a fun way to pass time, socialize, and curb the cycle of isolation. You can engage in classic card games and other
Special Report with Bret Baier
Special Report with Bret Baier
What Every Parent of a Boy Needs to Know
What Every Parent of a Boy Needs to Know There’s no denying that raising kids is the hardest job out there. It can be especially challenging to raise boys as we navigate certain challenges that we haven’t really talked about as a society. That’s why we chatted with Investigative Journalist, Emma Brown, author of To Raise A Boy about what it means to be a boy and a parent of a boy circa 2021. By Julyanna Trickey What prompted your idea to write To Raise A Boy? I was home with my six-week-old son when the first Harvey Weinstein story broke. As I was nursing my son, I was scrolling through all of those stories and the flood of stories that came out after about men mistreating women. I asked myself how can I raise my son to be different? This question set me on a journey to talk with people from different parts of the country. I talked to hundreds of researchers, coaches, teachers, parents, and boys and men themselves. And what I learned was unexpected.From start to finish, was there anything that changed your original hypothesis about raising boys? Starting this journey, I thought that life’s a lot harder for girls growing up because of all the messages being aimed at girls about girlhood and being a woman. But what I learned was that this was an overly simplistic view and things are pretty tough for boys, too. They face a ton of messages about who they’re supposed to be, which can be really difficult for them to navigate. I was really astonished at the amount of shame boys feel when they try to break out of what we have traditionally told them about how to be a boy. I was also shocked to learn that this produces not-so-great outcomes for men and their mental health. In my book, I quoted a scholar who studies the gender of adolescents aged 10-14 all over the world and his work showed that boys in that age group face more neglect, physical violence, and sexual abuse by adults than girls do, which was so shocking to me. It upended the way I thought about how boys and girls live through the world. The most profound shift for me was coming to feel huge empathy for what boys deal with and a huge desire for when it comes to my son and other boys to do better by
9 Spring Boredom Busters You Need Today
9 Spring Boredom Busters You Need TodayNow that’s been a full year since the pandemic started, you might be getting sick of the same old, same old. Why not try something new with your family to break free of the boredom and have fun together as a family? Need some inspiration? I have plenty of ideas! By Rachel Naud Liva Raw Date SugarAre you bored of the same breakfast you’ve been having since the pandemic started? Well, we were, so my teen son and I looked up a bunch of new recipes and we came across an energy ball recipe full of delicious oats, peanut butter and honey. We used Liva Date Sugar in this recipe as it’s an organic, all-natural whole-food sugar alternative. You can pick it up at select grocery and health food stores and it has fewer calories than refined sugar. It even has fibre in it, which is awesome. We also toss the Liva Date Sugar in our green smoothies in the morning for some added sweetness, but these energy balls are so delicious – we just keep them in the fridge and they make a great grab-and-go snack.Clorox On-The-Go Disinfecting WipesAs life starts to open up a bit, we may start venturing out a little bit more even if it’s just in our own cities. To do it safely, I keep Clorox On-the-Go Disinfecting Wipes in my purse at all times. I keep some in my car and I make sure to throw some in my son’s knapsack as well. They’re such a convenient way to kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses on the surfaces you encounter while you’re on the go, like subway and bus poles, door handles and cellphones. They’re also bleach-free, which I love, because I find they’re not harsh on my skin. But mainly, they help me explore just a little bit more in a safe manner, which is so important to me and my family right now.YETI NHL CollectionWhile you’re out exploring, you might want to bring your own drink along. Thanks to the new YETI NHL® collection, you can cheer on your favourite hockey team wherever you go! The stainless-steel drinkware reps all NHL teams from coast to coast in the iconic and sleek YETI design. Built with thick gauge steel, YETI combines the toughness of Tkachuk and the elite performance of McDavid to ensure maximum durability and enjoyment. There are five styles to choose