I would like to make you aware of a helpful website for parents and teachers:  CONNECT WITH KIDS. Each week, different topics are addressed about learning, parenting, nutrition and safety – issues all of us try to stay informed about so we can continue to support the children in our lives.

The topics this week include:

Which Battles Should You Pick?:  Why do some kids take daring risks and choose dangerous games and pranks?  A new study from Temple University suggests that some kids have an unlucky combination in their brain: with thrills and dangers, a part of their brain gets stimulated while, at the same time, the self‑control part of the brain is less active.  The challenge for parents: knowing what risks are acceptable and which ones are not.

Teen Depression: Research from Columbia University finds that nearly half of all 19 to 25 year olds suffer from some type of psychiatric disorder: depression, anxiety, phobias, or addiction. Some of the disorders are mild and some are not. Why are so many kids suffering and what can parents do to help.

Too Much Multitasking: Researchers at UCLA analyzed more than 50 studies on learning and technology.  Among their many findings was one about multitasking‑ how much do students learn when they’re doing homework if they’re also texting, blogging, checking emails, and listening to their iPod? Their conclusion: not a whole lot.

The Junk Food Trap: Researchers at UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research report that a parent’s diet has a powerful influence on their kids’ diet. For example, when parents eat fruits and vegetables, their kids are sixteen times more likely to do the same, compared to kids whose parents seldom eat fruits and veggies. It seems you are what you eat … and so are your kids!

Foreign Body in Nose (ER):  Green peas, small toys, pieces of crayon, erasers, beads, wads of paper‑ little children can pick up any of these and in a fraction of a second, swallow it or stick it in their nose. And then a few hours later the child ends up in the ER.