With the #MeToo movement all over social media and Valentine’s Day coming up, it is a good opportunity to have a discussion with your teen about relationships. February is also National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Today’s guest post comes from youth.gov and covers the characteristics healthy and unhealthy relationships. It is part of their … Continue reading Characteristics of Healthy & Unhealthy Relationships
How to Make Family Dinners Happen More Often
You’ve probably seen news stories sharing the benefits of family dinners. Maybe you’ve even made a New Year’s resolution to eat more dinners together. Perhaps you’d like to eat more family dinners, but don’t feel like you have the time to make it happen. The Family Dinner Project was created to help families take advantage … Continue reading How to Make Family Dinners Happen More Often
Organizing an IEP Binder
Any parent who has attended an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting for their child can tell you what an overwhelming and confusing experience it can be. Understood, a website in English and Spanish dedicated to helping parents support their child with special needs, has resources to create an IEP binder. An IEP binder provides parents … Continue reading Organizing an IEP Binder
What Kids Wish Their Parents Knew About Their Online Life
Ana Homayoun, author of Social Media Wellness: Helping Tweens and Teens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World, shared the results of her interviews with middle and high school students about the things they don’t feel they can tell their parents about their online life, but wished their parents knew in a recent Washington Post article. … Continue reading What Kids Wish Their Parents Knew About Their Online Life
Eating Laundry Pods Really is a Thing Kids are Doing
Today’s post is taken in part from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), highlighting their latest warning about laundry pods. You might have heard the recent reports of an online challenge for teens which is dangerous and can be deadly. The challenge shows teenagers filming themselves while ingesting laundry pods. Already in 2018, … Continue reading Eating Laundry Pods Really is a Thing Kids are Doing
Be Prepared for Winter Weather
Today’s guest post comes from Ready.gov, the government’s preparedness website and covers how to be prepared for snowstorms and extreme cold. This page explains what actions to take when you receive a winter weather storm alert from the National Weather Service for your local area and what to do before, during, and after a snowstorm … Continue reading Be Prepared for Winter Weather
13 Necessary Next Steps for Parents After an Autism Diagnosis
According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), about 1 in 68 children has been identified as being autistic, with boys being approximately 4.5 times more likely to be diagnosed than girls. The latter detail is still being debated, as autism diagnosis criteria were developed primarily with data from boys, autism presents differently … Continue reading 13 Necessary Next Steps for Parents After an Autism Diagnosis
NASA’s Kids’ Club
STEM education—focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math—has received a lot of attention in recent years. Part of the reason for that is STEM jobs are experiencing significant growth and are expected to continue to do so, but the number of STEM workers our education system is producing is not keeping up with that growth, … Continue reading NASA’s Kids’ Club
Helping Your Child with Math Homework
Math homework has been a challenge for families at least since the “New Math” curriculum was introduced in the 1970s. With math standards and curriculum changing in recent years, many parents are discovering that how they learned to do math is no longer how it is being taught. That frustration helped one Ohio father’s Facebook … Continue reading Helping Your Child with Math Homework
Youth Concussions: What Parents Need to Know
In 2014, Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill into law to provide new protections for high school athletes regarding concussions. A recent NPR Illinois story indicates that while reporting of student concussions has increased in recent years, not every Illinois high school has the resources to fully implement the law. What is a Concussion? A … Continue reading Youth Concussions: What Parents Need to Know
What Parents Should Know About Distracted Driving
Today’s post is courtesy of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The information is also available as a PDF infographic that you can share. Driver inattention is the number one cause of motor vehicle crashes. Drivers are distracted about 10% of the time they are behind the wheel. Distracting … Continue reading What Parents Should Know About Distracted Driving
20 John Wooden Quotes to Share with Your Child
Legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden accomplished a lot on the court—10 NCAA championships in 12 years, including an unprecedented seven in a row, and being named national coach of the year six times. For his players, though, it was what he taught them off the court that had a greater effect on their … Continue reading 20 John Wooden Quotes to Share with Your Child
Go on a Painted Rock Hunt
Have you heard about the painted rock craze yet? It's a nationwide scavenger hunt meant to promote kindness and encourage art, creativity, and community spirit. From western Washington to the Florida panhandle, rock painting groups are brightening the days of strangers, one colorful rock at a time. I was first introduced to hiding and seeking painted rocks … Continue reading Go on a Painted Rock Hunt
College-Bound Student? Fill Out FAFSA Now
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application period began October 1, and families in Illinois with a college-bound student should fill out the form as quickly as possible. The reason for that is that Illinois’s Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants are provided on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are depleted, and … Continue reading College-Bound Student? Fill Out FAFSA Now
Help Your Child Develop Financial Literacy
As part of Illinois PTA’s continuing effort to implement the Resolution on Financial Literacy passed at the 2017 Illinois PTA Convention, we have been providing local units and councils with information to share with their families on the topic. A new financial literacy resource, Better Money Habits, has been created through a partnership of Bank … Continue reading Help Your Child Develop Financial Literacy
September 20 is National School Backpack Awareness Day
Backpacks that are too heavy or worn incorrectly can cause problems for children and teenagers. Improperly used backpacks may injure muscles and joints which can lead to more severe back, neck and shoulder pain as well as posture problems. However, when used correctly they are a good way to carry the necessities of the school … Continue reading September 20 is National School Backpack Awareness Day
Keeping Kids Safe in the Car
Next week, September 17-23, is Child Passenger Safety Week, with September 23 being National Seat Check Saturday. Here’s some information on how to keep your child safe in the car and what PTAs can do to support child car safety. Did You Know? Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 … Continue reading Keeping Kids Safe in the Car
Student Banking 101
Starting a first bank account is an important part of growing up. Whether it is to handle money from a summer job or to have local banking when going away to college, such accounts often last longer than originally anticipated. The US Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has some tips for setting up that first bank … Continue reading Student Banking 101
Safely Watching Monday’s Solar Eclipse
On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the country from Oregon to South Carolina, passing through southern Illinois during its journey. While the total eclipse will only be visible in a narrow path and only for about two and a half minutes, all of Illinois will see a partial solar eclipse. … Continue reading Safely Watching Monday’s Solar Eclipse
9 Back to School Pro Tips
This article was originally published on the US Department of Education’s Home Room blog by Dorothy Amatucci. The photo is copyright 2015 by Geoff Livingston under Creative Commons license, provided and modified by Illinois PTA. Back to school time can be a hectic time for both you and the kiddos. These are some of our … Continue reading 9 Back to School Pro Tips
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