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THE POWER OF PARENTING

Protecting Your Children Online Parent Event

8/23/2019

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"We are trying to protect people who don't understand they are in danger and who know more about technology than we do."

-Detective Sean Taylor
LVMPD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
The Power2Parent Internet Safety Night at the Vistas Community Center was a success! Detective Sean Taylor of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Chelsea Brown of Digital Mom Talk gave outstanding presentations on how predators are targeting your kids in the digital age and what you as a parent can do about it. Apps and filters are a common first response, but both Detective Taylor and Chelsea Brown made it clear that there is no substitute for good parenting.
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Did you miss the class? Here are some highlights:
Who is most at risk for being preyed upon?
-Ages 8-14
-Prolonged/Frequent use of technology
-No standards or expectations set by the parents
-No limitations set by the parents
 

What are the hazardous characteristics of apps that prey on children:
-Chat and/or Video Chat Feature
-No Verification
-Vanishing Content
-Foreign
-Interactive with Other Apps
-Location Software
-Encryption
What can you do to help keep your children safe?-Keep the communication lines open
-Set Expectations and enforce consequences
-Set limitation - access, location, time & frequency
-Charge devices at night in the parent's room
-Empathize
-Hover, but don't stalk - otherwise they will get a new profile that you don't know about 
-Install filters - ***But there is no substitute for a good parent monitoring that device****
-Discuss proper relationships - "mutual friends" does not establish credibility
-Don't post vacation pictures when you're on vacation
-No devices in the bathroom or bedroom
-No one should have access to your network/internet if you don't own the device
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Chelsea Brown, of Digital Mom Talk, is a Certified Security Professional whose mission is to provide families with the complete tools to teach their kids how to survive and thrive in a digital world. Check out her Free Family Tech Plan here. 

Use code ParentPower to get 10% off any product on her site!
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​Thank you Richards Cosmetic Surgery and Digital Mom Talk for sponsoring this message and event!
For more information on keeping your kids safe online visit: 
POWER2PARENT PARENTING TOOLS
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The Power of Play!

8/1/2019

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"Play is often talked about as if were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning." 
-Mr. Rogers

What can we do to improve our children’s academic success? Play with them!

Sergio Pellis, a researcher at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada says  "The experience of play changes the connections of the neurons at the front end of your brain, and without play experience, those neurons aren't changed," Those changes in the prefrontal cortex help wire the brain regulate emotions, problem solve and making plans. So, according to Pellis, “Play is what prepares a young brain for life, love, and even schoolwork...the skills associated with play ultimately lead to better grades.”

​Playing with our children can also strengthen family bonds. “Spending quality family time together strengthens family bonds and provides each family member with a sense of belonging,” says Shannon Cromwell, M.A. Extension Assistant Professor, Family & Consumer Sciences at Utah State University. “When it comes to children, one of the most important things you can do to positively influence their development is spend time with them," says allforkids.org.

With all the research being done on the importance of playing with our children, let’s make it a point to have just a little more fun with them.
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Thank you to SeaQuest for sponsoring this message!
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"The simplest positive action is a smile." -Maxime Lagacé

8/1/2019

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Have you ever tried to keep a straight face, or even frown, when someone smiled at you? Chances are you cracked a smile because that’s what we’re biologically programmed to do. Researchers Ulf Dimberg and Sven Söderkvist in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, March 2011 found that we are programmed to imitate the behavior we see. So, when we see another person smile, our biological response is to smile.
Even more importantly, these same researchers found that facial muscles have the ability to initiate emotion. So, when we smile, even a forced smile, we stimulate endorphins in our system that tell us we are happy. This is significant because it produces a positive feedback loop of happiness. When we smile we feel good, so we smile some more, which makes us feel happy, we smile more, and so on. 

How significant can a smile be? According to Ron Gutman in his book, Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, “[British] researchers found that one smile can be as pleasurable and stimulating as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate.” These same researchers measured brain activity to see what amount of money it would take to generate the same level of brain stimulation as one smile. They found that it took a person receiving $25,000 to match the same level of pleasure from one rewarding smile! Smiling can also help us reduce stress, lower blood pressure and makes us appear more likable and courteous.

So, it turns out, one of the best, easiest, fastest ways to improve our homes and families is to smile more. It’s calorie-free, cost-free, takes up no space and is with us all the time. We have the power to create feelings of joy in ourselves and others by the simple act of smiling.  If we want to feel better ourselves we should smile. If we want our children to feel better and be happier, we should smile at them. Since they're biologically conditioned to mimic what they see, we'll trigger a positive feedback loop in them that can truly help us to raise happy children.
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Thank you Peccole Family Dental for sponsoring this message!Dr. Shih, Dr. Funamoto and Dr. Moore specialize in General, Cosmetic, Implant, and Orthodontic Dentistry. ​
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Grandparents Rock!

8/1/2019

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“Sometimes our grandmas and grandpas are like grand-angels.” -Lexie Saige

We've long known that a parent is the most influential person in a child's life and that the relationship between parent and child is the most important relationship a child can have. So it's not surprising, according to Dr. Karl Pillemer of Cornell University, that the emotional relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren is the second most important relationship a child can have.

Grandparents serve many important roles in the lives of children and since roughly three-quarters of parents will become grandparents, it's important to examine the role grandparents play in the family.
 Grandparents are invaluable in raising their grandchildren. Increasingly, grandparents find themselves providing part-time care for their grandchildren and even full legal custody. As a result, they help teach life skills such as cooking, cleaning, gardening and repairs that help build the character of their grandchildren. Knowing family history, which is often passed down by grandparents, is also important to the emotional development of grandchildren. In a study from Emory University, researchers measured children’s knowledge about their family history and found that the more that children knew about their families, the higher their self-esteem and sense of control over their lives. Sara Duke is a psychologist who specializes in children with learning disabilities and further explains that, “The ones who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges.” Her husband, Dr. Marshall Duke - a prominent psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta said, “Children who have the most self-confidence have a strong ‘intergenerational self.’ They know they belong to something bigger than themselves.” Even if one or more of the grandparents of a family may have passed, we can still honor their legacy by telling family stories.  it's important to remember them and their rich history.

It's important that we foster the grandparent-grandchild relationship even into adulthood. Sara M. Moorman, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and the Institute on Aging at Boston College explains, "We found that an emotionally close grandparent-adult grandchild relationship was associated with fewer symptoms of depression for both generations. The greater emotional support grandparents and adult grandchildren received from one another, the better their psychological health."

When distance is a factor, letters, phone calls, and video chats can help build the grandparent-grandchild relationship. Building the love and friendship between the generations has significant benefits to both generations.

“A grandparent is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.” -- Unknown
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Thank you to BrightStar and to J&J Air Duct Cleaning for sponsoring this message!
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BrightStar provides expert, compassionate, and personal in-home care services. 
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The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.-Peggy O'Mara

8/1/2019

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What's the first thing our children hear from us in the morning? Do they feel greeted with cheer and optimism, or do they feel hurried along to get to school on time? When our children get home from school do we tell them we missed them, or do we chastise them for getting dirty at recess?  What's the last thing our children hear from us at the end of the day?

If we forget to praise our children for the good we see them do, we may find that the only feedback they get from us is when something needs to be fixed. Children and adolescents interpret this kind of feedback as something is wrong with them. They then internalize these negative labels and begin to see themselves as "not good enough."  

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None of us is a perfect parent. Sometimes we might get upset or yell. Sometimes we are going to be rushed, and sometimes we are going to let our frustration show. But, according to Affective Neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp, there is a way to make up for the times when we're not on our best parenting behavior. Panksepp says there are 3 key times during the day that have the biggest impact on children and if we can have positive interactions during these times, it will have a substantial impact on their emotional well-being.
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The 9 most important minutes of a child's day are:
  • the first 3 minutes of their day-right after they wake up
  • the 3 minutes after they come home from daycare or school
  • the last 3 minutes of the day–right before they go to bed.
Having meaningful conversations with our children during these times and giving specific praise not only helps our children feel loved, but it also lays the foundation for what they think about themselves.

"Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become."- Brooke Hampton

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Thank you Earl Plastic Surgery for sponsoring this message.
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You Are Your Child's Most Important App

8/1/2019

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"Showing your kids you love them is 2% effort and 98% putting down your phone."

-Collin Kartchner
Internet Crusader, Collin Kartchner, visited Las Vegas last week to discuss the effects of Social Media on our kids' mental health.  At the end of a life-changing Parent Education Night at American Preparatory Academy, which included a panel discussion from local experts, the attention turned to what parents could do in the face of a startling reality. When a few "oversight" apps were mentioned, like Bark and OurPact, which will help you monitor what is on your child's phone, Collin got up and very frankly said, "You are your kids best monitoring app." In the face of current political trends and proposed legislation his message could not have been more urgent for us to hear. No app, no piece of legislation, no school and no teacher can take the place of a parent.

There is no substitute for good parenting. Children need love, affection, attention and, according to Collin and his team, they need 8 hugs, for 8 seconds each, every day. We can't turn that over to the school, the government, or an app, hoping our kids will turn out emotionally stable and socially adjusted. Parents are the people who know their kids the best and who know what is best for them. Schools and science both tell us that number one factor in whether or not our children succeed is us. If we consider we are raising the next generation of leaders who will shape society, there could be no better perspective than from Harold B. Lee who says, "
The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home."
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Thank you Ginger Oghigian for helping us sponsor this message. Ginger works with buyers and sellers and specializes in single family homes, townhomes and condos in the West, NW, and SW parts of Las Vegas.
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  • Home
  • ABOUT US
    • P2P in the News
    • What We Do
    • HOW WE GOT STARTED
    • EXECUTIVE BOARD
  • Current Issues
    • Sex Education Reform
    • School Choice
    • State Legislation
  • NEVADA EDUCATION
    • NV SCHOOLS DIRECTORY
    • CCSD Public School
    • WCSD Public School
    • Homeschool Info
    • POWER2TEACH
    • COVID-19 >
      • FOOD PANTRY & MEAL RESOURCES
      • AT HOME EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
      • FAMILY ACTIVITIES
  • PARENT RESOURCES
    • PARENT ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS
    • FAMILY ACTIVITIES
    • COMMUNITY SERVICE IDEAS
    • INTERNET SAFETY
    • NEWSLETTER
  • CONTACT US
  • P2P Parent Union