Parent Network

Children today lead busy lives. They often have after-school programs, soccer practice, little league baseball, gymnastics, and private music lessons. Given their schedules, kids often need adults to help them schedule and structure music practice time after their music teacher wraps up their weekly private lesson.

Schedule a Time

The first challenge is scheduling instrument practice time. Any child who goes to school all day, then goes to a scout meeting after school, then straight to a soccer match, before arriving home at 6:30 is going to be exhausted, and unlikely to want to practice for their beginner guitar lessons. One solution might be to schedule a practice time before they leave for school each day. Even 15 minutes of efficient practice time before school, if carefully structured, may be more effective than a half-hour or more of practice time on the guitar or piano in the evening after a full, tiring day.  If this is not feasible, then a set practice time each day is also an effective solution. Most children like to have some input in such decisions, so allowing them to set their music practice time is often motivating to them.

Set a Structure

Once a practice time is set, children may need assistance with allocating their practice time between songs, scales, or exercises in their music books. Developing a specific plan for their practice time is akin to goal-setting, a great lifelong skill. Be sure to get a recommendation from your music teacher, he/she will be a fantastic resource.

For younger kids, it is also best to help them structure practice into small increments. A child in the 2nd grade might have a 10-minute piano practice time, while a child in 5th grade might practice 30 minutes on his or her guitar. Be mindful that many young children would rather play scales or a song a certain number of times rather than for a given duration, so feel free to mix up your approach.  Read more... (397 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

In 2010, cinema-goers have seen a lot of action movies and blockbusters among which “Karate Kid, “Kick Ass” and “The Last Airbender” witness the presence of talented teen stars. Jaden Smith, Chloe Moretz and Noah Ringer not only have lovely appearances but also perform action scenes excellently. These teen stars will soon become martial artists in the future.

Jaden Smith in “Karate Kid”

In the role of a 12-year-old American boy moving to Beijing, Dre Parker is usually bullied at school by Cheng. Then he is taught kung fu by Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). Two of them attempt to train hard in order to attend the most important competition of Dre’s life. During the film procedure, Jaden have to adjust to the temperature extreme between day and night in Beijing, practice martial scenes like running along the Great Wall every morning and balancing on the terrace. Above all, Jaden overcomes difficulties to make his role perfect in “Karate Kid”.

“Karate Kid” was released on June 11, 2010 topping the box office on its opening day

Jaden Smith acts the role of Dre Parker who is taught kung fu by Mr. Han (performed by Jackie Chan)

Jaden Smith is the son of Will Smith, famous American actor in “Men in Black”

Chloe Moretz in “Kick Ass”

Chloe Moretz is best known for her role as Hit Girl in the 2010 superhero film “Kick Ass”. In this role, Hit Girl with purple hair wearing Zorro mask is good at knife using and shooting. She has strong-willed and brave characteristics. Chloe Moretz’s acting in this movie is reviewed to be rather outstanding in comparison with Aaron Johnson and Nicolas Cage.

During teenage years your skeleton is actively growing and getting bigger and stronger. At the end of your teenage years, bone growth is complete and bones have achieved “peak bone mass.”

Up to 90 percent of peak bone mass is acquired by age 18 in girls and age 20 in boys, so youth is the best time to invest in bone health. Peak bone mass generally means your bones are at their strongest. During the teen years, almost half of the adult skeleton is formed, yet less than half of all teens get enough calcium every day. Only 15 percent of teenage girls get enough calcium. As a result, females are four times more likely than males to develop osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis has been called a “pediatric disease with geriatric consequences” because the bone mass attained in childhood and adolescence determines lifelong skeletal health.

Habits kids form now can make or “break” their bones as they age. The higher the peak bone mass, the greater protection your skeleton has against the effects of aging. Pediatric checkups can help uncover any potential precursors along the way.

Risk Factors

Some risk factors in the teenage years which may result in osteoporosis in later years include:

Not getting enough calcium.
Drinking carbonated beverages. Teens who drink soda drink less milk. Additionally, drinking soft drinks like Coke and Pepsi have been thought to lower calcium levels because of the high phosphate levels in those drinks.
Not enough physical activity.
Smoking cigarettes.
Heredity.
Race – Caucasians and Asians are at higher risk for osteoporosis.
Being below normal weight or, if female, having irregular periods. Sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone are essential for development of bone mass. Girls who start to menstruate at an early age typically have greater bone density.
Those who frequently miss their periods sometimes have lower bone density.
Heavy intake of alcohol.  Read more... (814 words, 1 image, estimated 3:15 mins reading time)

In a time where child abuse is reported every ten seconds, domestic violence claims the lives of three women every day, and senior citizens are abused by a member of their own family, it is becoming more and more important for parents to take control of their children and pacify their angry teens. One in nine murders is committed by youth under the age of 18. This statistic leads to the assumption that most perpetrators of violent crimes are – or once were – angry teens.

Recently a survey was conducted among a large group of teenage boys that revealed some disturbing information. Three out of four teenage boys admitted to hitting someone in the past year because they were angry. Nearly half of them believe it is okay to hit or threaten someone who makes them angry, and have carried a weapon in the past month. One third admitted to not being able to control themselves when they become angry.

It is essential that teens learn to control their anger, especially if they use that anger as a response to frustrating or stressful situations.

Studies have shown that when a teenager becomes angry, they use that anger to try and “self-medicate” themselves, using it to compensate for the pressures and strains that they have not yet learned to cope with yet. Anger becomes their coping mechanism because it allows them to exert power and control over their environment. This is a dangerous substitute for healthier anger management strategies. If the habit of using anger to cope with life is not rectified, teens will soon find that it inevitably interferes with normal functioning, and can eventually destroy any opportunity for happiness in life.  Read more... (441 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Having an open communication between parents and their teenage is crucial. But it should be the kind of communication that is not judgmental or advice-oriented. Instead, it should encourage teens to talk more and, in doing so, reveal the way they see themselves and their place in the world. This approach lets you to gain valuable insight into the identity that is developing within your teenager.

You must still impose certain limits on your child, and communicate your expectations, but if this is done effectively earlier on, beginning at the age of three, it becomes less critical during adolescence. Still, it is not really possible to avoid all conflict with teens, so dont think your family is abnormal or “dysfunctional” if you find yourself in a position of being the family “cop” at times. That will still leave plenty of opportunities for the kind of communication that will give you a window onto your teens developing identity.

If you had a typical adolescence, you probably remember one or both of your parents questioning your actions and decisions.

Maybe this happened often, or maybe just occasionally. How did you deal with it? If you did not mind being questioned, chances are that your parents questioned you responsibly, and that you realize that they were right to do so, even if you didnt want to admit it. On the other hand, if you resented the questioning, closed down, or even blew up whenever it came to having a dialogue with your parents, chance are that your parents either asked the wrong questions or asked the right questions in the wrong way.

Teens love to argue in a way that you might come to think of this as an innate part of their development, just as infants gurgle and toddlers invent playmates.  Read more... (539 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)