On special occasions, like birthdays, my parents would let my sister and me share a can of soda with our dinner. I remember how we would put two identical glasses side-by-side on the table and take turns pouring a little soda into each of them,...
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June 28, 2018
How to Set Screen Rules That Stick
By Caroline Knorr, Parenting Editor, Common Sense Media
In many homes, getting kids to turn off their cell phones, shut down the video games, or quit YouTube can incite a revolt. And if your kids say they need to be online for schoolwork,...
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June 21, 2018
How to Raise a Farm-to-Table Eater
by Pam Abrams
One thing that’s better about raising kids today is the access we have to locally grown food—and a growing awareness of its benefits. The number of farmers’ markets has increased dramatically across the country in the last decade, from under 2,...
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June 14, 2018
Take the Summer Slide into Fun and Learning
School’s out. That big whooshing sound you hear? That’s the collective exhale of parents everywhere, who were, at the end, hanging on by their fingernails.
Now, it’s summertime, and the living is, if not exactly easy, easier. No more...
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June 07, 2018
5 Ways to Make Summer Reading Fun
The summer months offer a great opportunity to show your child how fun and engaging reading can be. Looking to strengthen your child’s reading skills while simultaneously getting him excited about reading? Here are five ways to do just that:
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May 24, 2018
Why the Best Parental Control Is You
By Christine Elgersma, Senior Editor, Parent Education at Common Sense Media
If your kid's online, there have probably been times when you've wanted to track everything they've texted, see their entire social media history, or...
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May 17, 2018
The Goldfish That Went to Sea
by Bob Brody
“I want a dog,” Caroline begged. “Please.” Our daughter was seven years old and had made up her mind.
“Someone will have to take care of the dog,” we told her. “It’s a lot of responsibility.” I had a full-time job and we had two children....
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May 10, 2018
Just the Two of Us
Every week, starting when I was ten, my mother took me on a forty-five-minute drive to ballet school. We kept up this routine for two years, until it became clear that no amount of lessons would ever turn graceless, waistless me into the Sugar...
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May 03, 2018
How I Got My Toddler Back on Books After She Got a Taste of Screen Time
By Angela Zimmerman, Common Sense Media
When I opened the gates to screen time for my 2-year-old daughter, I was planning to limit it to airplanes and sick days. But with TV and tablets came a whole new colorful world that hooked my tot...
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April 26, 2018
How to Raise a Motivated Reader
by Pam Abrams
It’s an easy trap to fall into: You tell your kid to read for 20 minutes and he can have extra video-game time. Or ice cream. Or something new and shiny. Yet when we reward our children for spending time with a book, we are focusing their...
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