June, 2015 | PulseonParenting

Video Games, the Priming Effect, and Kids

Jun 24 2015

When my husband told me that video games are good for hand-eye coordination (and therefore improving his career skills), I figured he was just vying for a Wii (or was it an Xbox? I’m pretty clueless on the difference). I didn’t buy it, literally or figuratively. Because I still can’t tie a sailor’s knot despite my hours of playing Pong and Pac Man back in-the-day. And yet, yet, despite that skepticism on the positive value of playing video games, I allow my kids to have daily access to their iPods. Is there guilt? Yes. Do I allow them more time than I…

Jun 16 2015

It’s summer. The local library has reading programs for toddlers, high schoolers and everyone in between. We parents know our kids should practice their reading skills for cognitive development, vocabulary expansion, and fluency . But the people who, believe it or not, study, the benefits of reading have much more to say about why not just our kids, but also adults, should indulge in a good read. Real Simple published an article in 2014 about this very topic, just in time for those summer reading programs. Some of the details may surprise you: 1) Ahhh, Oohhmm. Reading for just six minutes a day…

Jun 16 2015

A reader brought to my attention an error I made in my post Moms, Get Your Mammograms. The letter you receive with your mammogram results should come from the imaging center where you had your mammogram done, not from your practitioner (physician, etc.) who ordered it. That said, you may still receive a phone call or a letter from your physician’s office with the results. I apologize for the mistake!

Hooray for Summer (Exclamation Point): Steps to a Successful Break (Question Mark)

Jun 02 2015

A year ago, as the school year drew to an end, I wrote a post that received some flak. In Hooray for Summer? (In retrospect, Horrors, It’s Summer! would have been a fun title…) I described the difficult transition for parents, myself wholeheartedly included, to having the kiddos home for three months. I outlined my plan to keep us all from going crazy, which, it ends up, was a near-total flop. Disappointing, to say the least…I needed a solid strategy because I was really not looking forward to the loss of (forgive me) my freedom. But this year? I am…

Archive - June 2015

Video Games, the Priming Effect, and Kids

Why We Need to Read

Moms Get Your Mammos (With a Clarification)

Hooray for Summer (Exclamation Point): Steps to a Successful Break (Question Mark)