Page 4 – Kidzu

7 Reasons Marching Band is Good for Kids

Band
Music

Doug

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January 5, 2018

7 Reasons Marching Band is Good for Kids

Next time you’re at a high school football game, ask yourself which of the kids on the field are likely to do best in life after school. The star running back? Maybe that lightning-quick linebacker? How about the quarterback with the cannon for an arm?

If, instead, you answered ‘the marching band,’ you win. In fact, you’re smart enough to have been in the marching band.

For while just .08 percent of high school football players go on to make a living in the NFL, it turns out that a huge number of the world’s academic and professional overachievers were in marching band, including:

Aretha Franklin (Queen of Soul)
Samuel L. Jackson (highest grossing movie star of all time)
Steven Spielberg (winner of Presidential Medal of Freedom, 3 Oscars, and various lifetime achievement awards)
Bill Clinton (Rhodes Scholar, U.S. President, Arkansas governor, etc.)
Neil Armstrong (first human on the moon, enough said)

With these lofty figures in mind, let’s look at just 7 of the most notable reasons marching band is good for kids.

#1. A Brighter Future

According to a Harris poll, musically inclined kids tend to go farther in their education:

Two-thirds of high school graduates participated in a music program
That figure climbs to 86% for college graduates
It reaches nearly 90% for post-graduates

And if income matters to you, it’s worth noting that 83% of people earning at least $150,000 per year participated in music programs.

So the next time you’re thinking ‘athletic scholarship’ for your child, it might be worth considering how much more likely your child will prosper from a stint in band (far fewer concussions and ACL tears as well).

#2. Music is Brain Food

Did you know your brain is wired for music in the same way it’s wired for language? Numerous studies demonstrate that kids who learn music also do well in mathematics (the language of the universe), foreign languages, speech recognition, memory, speech and reading comprehension and more. They also do better on verbal IQ scores.

In fact, a five-year study by USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute found that children’s brains develop faster when they learn an instrument. Throw in the added complexity of marching while you play and you can just picture brain development in overdrive.

Music also relieves stress, depression and anxiety, which is especially important for teens in an era when depression and suicide rates are climbing rapidly.

(Oh, and mom and dad, it’s not just for kids. Music is known to slow the brain’s aging process, help with sleep, and give the immune system a boost. Yeah, music is like broccoli.)

#3. Life Skills Galore

Think of all that is involved in becoming a member of a marching band and you’ll understand why its a veritable smorgasbord of life lessons.

First, the child needs to learn an instrument, which requires dedication and self-discipline.

Second, he needs to be open to failure, because she’ll fail – a lot – before she gets better. Remember, failure is one of life’s greatest teachers and a trait history’s most successful people point to as instrumental (heh heh) to their success.

Third, she’s going to develop confidence and humility at the same time. Play the wrong note or turn right when the rest of the band is turning left, she’s in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons (humility). Master the piece and the movement, confidence enters the picture.

Fourth, he’s going to learn teamwork because she’s got to learn to play well with others (pun intended). Playing an instrument while marching requires both musical and physical coordination – traits that are difficult enough on their own, let alone in combination.

#4. Athleticism, Coordination, and Grace

Ever learn an instrument? If so, you know how challenging it can be, particularly if you’re also reading sheet music while you’re doing it.

Now add in coordinated marching, often with sophisticated dance steps and multiple marching patterns. (It’s like that old gem about Ginger Rogers being able to do everything her dance partner, Fred Astaire did, except backwards, and wearing heels.)

Not surprisingly, band members who must march and play to different tempos and cadences are often graceful athletes in their own right.

#5. True Grit

Back to that football game or, for that matter, baseball, basketball – any sport. Notice how many kids are on the sidelines while only a handful of athletes are participating.

Not so marching band, where every child is out there, playing, marching, doing. So if you want your child actively participating 100 percent of the time and learning that there are no easy outs, band is the place to do it.

Fortunately, participation in extracurricular activities like band – with their constant requirement for kids to fail and try again until they at last succeed – teaches kids grit and determination. And better than most, those two qualities predict how well kids will do in life.

#6. Networking

Although most of the evidence is anecdotal, kids who play together for years in an orchestra or band report developing lifelong friendships. Combine that with their propensity for higher academic and professional achievement and band becomes a unique fraternity through which critical connections are made (remember, most people get jobs through personal connections).

#7. Patience

In a culture defined (plagued?) by the demand for immediate gratification, learning music as well as marching to it requires patience – lots of it. Kids must work hard on mastering music and the instrument that plays it.

At the same time they must spend hours practicing precision marching drills for the entertainment of an audience. And because it’s a large group, the kids must learn to be patient while they or other members of the band receive extra help for a particular challenge. The larger the band, the more patience required.

The bottom line: marching band offers kids an extraordinary opportunity to grow in ways they can scarcely imagine (but you, as mom or dad, can), and it will pay dividends long after your child has moved on from the band.

How Theatre Builds Healthy Kids

Art
Theatre

Doug

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January 18, 2018

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Your son is more comfortable staring at the smartphone in his hand than making eye contact or verbally communicating with others. Your bright, intelligent daughter generates, at best, average grades in school and shows little passion or interest in anything.

While challenges like these are not unfamiliar to parents, what may be is how much theatre can help their kids address and overcome those same challenges. As in, theatre builds healthy kids by forcing them to reimagine themselves in the lives of others.

Self-Discovery by Playing Another

Yes, theatre is all about pretending to be another person. But the process through which your child becomes that person is actually an ideal path into learning about themselves as well.

“You go to acting school thinking you’re going to learn how to be other people,” says Lupita Nyong’o, a Kenyan-Mexican actress famed for her role in the Oscar-winning film, 12 Years a Slave. “But really it taught me how to be myself. Because it’s in understanding yourself deeply that you can lend yourself to another person’s circumstances and another person’s experience.”

Numerous experts echo the experience of Nyong’o, pointing out that kids who learn to walk in the shoes of another learn a ton about themselves and, just as important, how much they have in common with those even from different backgrounds.

Another benefit of acting, says Nyong’o: testing one’s limits. “That’s why I’m an actor. Because there’s nothing comfortable about being an actor. You’re always out on a ledge, you know?”

Public Speaking and Presentation

Speaking of discomfort, few activities agitate kids (or adults, for that matter) more than getting up in front of an audience to speak. Yet is there anything more theatre-like than that?

Theatre helps kids overcome this fear by enabling them to practice, and not just their lines. “Theatre allows students to practice their emotional range while experimenting with pitch, projection, cadence, and dramatics,” writes Jennifer Oleniczak, founder and artistic director of The Engaging Educator.

Theatre helps kids master the fine art – and make no mistake, it IS an art – of communicating in ways that will serve them well later in life. As an adult, for example, that one-time child actor can summon those same speaking skills to wow an audience, secure a job offer, win a promotion from the boss, or land a date with a potential mate.

Developing Empathy

The capacity to put oneself in the shoes of another and understand why they do what they do is not only instrumental to a happier life, it’s also a central requirement of acting.

“Theatre is an empathy gym.”

Few are aware that empathy is a core trait of most successful leaders, is the cornerstone to healthy relationships, and is considered a key to a happy life.

“Theatre is an empathy gym where we come to practice our powers of compassion,” says San Francisco Playhouse’s Bill English. And empathy is a critical trait for children in a world increasingly divided along political, cultural, and ethnic lines.

Theatre as Therapy

By the time they reach their teens, most kids find themselves struggling with one or two issues that, due to inexperience and immature speech centers, they may not know how to articulate.

Turns out, theatre makes an excellent vehicle for therapy precisely because it enables kids to view themselves and their particular plight from an outside perspective.

Known formally as ‘psychodrama’ based on the work of psychiatrist Jacob Moreno in the early 1900s, this brand of role playing is an excellent instrument for letting people explore new solutions to their challenges by playing other people.

Communication Skills A’Plenty

We already touched on public speaking, but most of our lives is spent in simpler – yet equally important forms of communication: talking to a spouse or children or the clerk in the store.

“In a good conversation, the words we say are only one small part of the meaning that we convey.”

One of the most serious challenges facing today’s screen-addicted kids is communication. Lost amidst a sea of texts and social messages are the facial clues, body language, voice inflection, and other tools critical to effective communication.

“In a good conversation, the words we say are only one small part of the meaning that we convey,” says James Roberts, Professor of Marketing at Baylor University and author of Too Much of a Good Thing: Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone? “When we send a text or email, or we post or tweet, we lose all but what is being said and so there is a lot of misinformation, miscommunication, and hurt feelings.”

Theatre, of course, forces a child to develop all of these skills in ways that exceed anything they’ll pick up even in the classroom (or daily life, for that matter).

So if you, dear parent, are struggling with a child unable or unwilling to embrace the world around him, find a local theatre group and see if the stage doesn’t help him to “engage and start changing the world for the better.”

Growing with Kids: The Magic of Gardening

Doug

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January 30, 2018

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Growing with Kids: The Magic of Gardening

Spring is just two months away, which is why now is the time to start planning for one of the easiest, most educational, and truly satisfying of parent-child activities: the family garden.

Now, before your brain gets in the way and says, “I’ve never planted a garden and it sounds difficult!” or, “I don’t have enough yard for a garden,” or, “I tried a garden before and it didn’t work,” read on and we’ll ease your mind.

More important, we’ll show how the magic of family gardening builds bonds between kids and parents, teaches kids a thing or two about their food (and even convinces them to eat it), builds healthier kids through outdoor fun, and more.

Overcoming Your Concerns

Butterfly Garden — A garden can be anything you want it to be, including pollinators for attracting butterflies.

You’ve never grown a garden and it sounds like an awful lot of hard, dirty work. Not so, say gardening experts galore.

The key is to start small and simple and make it personal. Not ready to grow food but love the annual visit of butterflies? Consider a pollinator garden, which not only attracts your colorful friends but teaches your kids about the complete lifecycle of a butterfly.

Do your kids love digging in the dirt? Put in an edible garden consisting of 2-3 rows of vegetables. Let your kids do the digging – sanctioned dirtiness! – and watch them marvel at where their food actually originates.

No lawn for a garden? Don’t sweat it, there are still ways to grow with your kids, including growing tomatoes or herbs in window pots.

Seriously folks, there are literally no downsides to gardening, but tons of benefits. Now let’s dig into (pun intended) that upside.

Growing the Parent-Child Bond

Most of us have particularly strong childhood memories of a parent, grandparent, or other adult. For Jim Flint, executive director of Friends of Burlington Gardens, there are memories of planting with his father and preparing the harvest in the kitchen with his mother.

But Flint’s strongest memory? Simply working the garden with his grandmother: “She talked and explained things – and not just gardening.” Indeed, gardening with a child is one of those ultra-rare activities that both child and parent engage in as one and where conversation and connection can flow, organically if you will.

Incredible Edible Education

Every parent has a war story or two about convincing a child to eat a vegetable. That narrative changes, however, if the vegetable in question was grown by your child.

“Kids definitely get more excited about the foods they grow themselves.”

“Kids definitely get more excited about the foods they grow themselves,” says Sarah Pounder, senior education specialist for Kids Gardening. “And because we know it takes about 10 separate exposures for a child to adopt something into their diet, a garden is a great way to build that exposure since it takes a lot of time to grow most vegetables.”

And let’s not forget how much tastier homegrown produce is than the store-bought stuff, most of which is prematurely harvested so it can be shipped without damage. It’s also healthier – win-win!

Planting Seeds of Patience

Mother Nature remains stubbornly resistant to humankind’s growing demand for instant gratification. Which is why gardens are fantastic ways to teach kids patience.

“If you put too many rules or restrictions in place, it’s not going to be a good experience.”

Depending on what you choose to grow, weeks or even months can transpire from planting seeds to harvesting actual food. Brussels sprouts can take up to 110 days, while radishes come in at a blistering 21 days.

“A garden is a great way to instill patience in kids while also demonstrating just how much hard work goes into growing the food we eat,” says Pounder. “Kids come away with a whole new appreciation for farmers.”

Getting Down and Dirty

Kids – particularly young ones – love to dig in the dirt, right? So here’s your chance not just to let them get dirty, but to actually encourage it.

Pounder urges parents to give particularly young kids an area of the garden “that is just theirs and let them do what they want, even if it’s just digging in the soil. If you put too many rules or restrictions in place, it’s not going to be a good experience.”

Garden dirt — Gardens offer a rare opportunity for kids to get as dirty as they want with their parents’ permission.

The key is to get your child accustomed to being in the garden and tending to it. Assign responsibilities based on their ages – one child may be old enough to weed while another might be limited to watering.

As an added benefit, teaching a child to tend a garden is a terrific stepping stone to caring for a pet.

The Fun of Gardening

Perhaps the most important benefit of all is time shared by mom, dad, and the kids in an activity that all truly enjoy. Indeed, gardening is one of those unique activities that just about everyone enjoys, regardless of age or gender.

“I’ve never heard anyone tell me that gardening was a bad experience,” says Pounder. “It can be done at all sizes and scales and there’s something for everyone.”

So as winter moves toward spring, start noodling the kind of garden that’s right for you and your family. It’s good for you, the environment, and it will plant memories in the minds of your children far into the future.

Don't Blame Extracurricular Activities for Bad Grades

Doug

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February 8, 2018

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Don't Blame Extracurricular Activities for Bad Grades

Parents and school officials who keep kids out of extracurricular activities because of poor grades may be making the problem even worse.

That’s the consensus of researchers, who for years have drawn a direct correlation between participation in extracurricular activities such as sports, art, theatre, and dance, and academic achievement.

“The issue about children who fail academics and are not allowed to participate [in extracurriculars] makes sense, but we really need to question whether that’s working,” said Dr. Jan Hughes, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University who has extensively studied the connection between extracurricular activities and academic success.

“When children are struggling academically and extracurricular activity might be the only bright spot in their lives, how does that impact them?” added Hughes. “Catching youth who begin to struggle academically early is important, so they can maintain passing grades necessary for participation.”

When children are struggling academically, extracurricular activitIES might be the only bright spot in their lives.

Hughes is not alone. Over the years countless studies have emerged to show the value of extracurricular activities and their connection to kids’ health, sense of wellbeing, confidence, relationship skills, physical health, and academic performance.

The National Center for Education Statistics concluded: “Extracurricular activities provide a channel for reinforcing the lessons learned in the classroom, offering students the opportunity to apply academic skills in a real-world context, and are thus considered part of a well-rounded education.”

Another study by Modi, Konstantopoulos, and Hedge, demonstrated that gifted students were 50% more likely to “spend their time out of school participating in constructive activities.” Further, the authors found that “extracurricular activities also help at-risk students.”

A Positive Self Image

Why the correlation between extracurriculars and academic success?

Experts believe in part it is because these activities give kids something to look forward to beyond the drudgery of academics, particularly in this era of intensive testing and academic measurements.

These clubs and groups also give kids access to a ready-made network of friends all engaged in the same activity – something that becomes increasingly important as kids age and peers take on more and more importance.

Lastly, extracurricular activities enable kids to put into practice many of the skills and knowledge they’re learning in school.

Extracurriculars Help, Rather than Hurt

Ironically, many of the programs aimed at helping at-risk students, such as dropout prevention programs and remedial education, “focus on the deficits of students and serve as a catalyst in the formation of deviant groups.” Translation: treating troubled kids as troubled kids reinforces in them the notion that they are troubled kids, making it more likely they will band (gang) together.

Conversely, research by Ralph McNeal showed that “students who participate in athletics, fine-arts activities, and academic organizations” were a whopping 40% less likely to drop out of school.

Students engaged in extracurriculars are far less likely to drop out, and far more likely to have high GPAs

Similarly, a study by Silliker and Quirk revealed that boys and girls who participated in extracurricular sports had significantly higher GPAs while in season compared to out of season.

It’s worth noting that while most studies show that the type of activity is less important than a child’s consistent commitment to it, researchers have found that participation in sports shows particular promise when it comes to academic success.

“If you’re looking at children’s change in school involvement and achievement, it is kids who are in athletics and sports that are most likely to benefit in terms of their being engaged in or part of a peer group that will support their academic achievement,” said Hughes.

And, of course, kids who are physically active are likely to be healthier and less likely to engage in reckless, illegal, or even dangerous behavior.

So if your child is struggling with academics, don’t blame extracurriculars. Research says those activities are helping, and the problem lies elsewhere. Where?

For starters, remember that every child is different. Where one child may be able to participate in lacrosse, student government, and a STEM club while carrying a full class load, for another a single activity is sufficient. As the researchers showed, it isn’t the type of activity or number of activities that matter so much as ongoing participation in one.

5 Big Benefits of Extracurriculars for Kids

Cindy

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February 15, 2018

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5 Big Benefits of Extracurriculars for Kids

One of the principal reasons we launched Kidzu was because we know, both from firsthand experience and from the research we’ve collected, that extracurricular activities are good for kids. Indeed, Iceland managed to rescue virtually its entire youth population with such programs.

Specifically, kids who engage in sports, theatre, art, dance, chess, robotics, outdoor adventure – you name it – are happier, healthier, more confident, and enjoy stronger social connections. And these attributes carry over into adult life, in the form of healthy relationships, educational achievements, stronger leadership skills, better income and much, much more.

But why, precisely, are extracurriculars so crucial to a child’s wellbeing? What is it about being on a team, in a club, or part of a youth group, that is so good for kids?

Social Skills

The U.S. and other developed countries face a growing epidemic in loneliness, spurred in large part – at least in the young – by addictions to social media and mobile phones. Rather than engaging with each other, kids too often are turning to, and trusting in, the digital world.

But by engaging with groups of like-minded kids outside the classroom and home, children learn valuable socialization skills that, with time and practice, help them learn to navigate that same outside world with more confidence. Bonus: places like summer camp usually are digital-free zones, meaning the kids must leave the phones and social media at home.

Self-Confidence

Because extracurricular activities are more fun than the classroom and (usually) are chosen by the kids themselves, they’re more likely to excel at them for the simple reason that they enjoy them.

This is particularly important for kids who may be struggling in the classroom, since it gives them a badly needed boost in confidence. But all children ultimately can benefit from working as part of a group, be it on an athletic team, at camp, in a music band, etc.

Adult Interactions

An often overlooked benefit to extracurriculars is the opportunity for kids to spend some quality time with adults outside the home or classroom and engaged in activities they truly care about. This is particularly true of teens, who are at an age where those same adult interactions can be difficult. A coach or club director can still leave that child feeling valued, respected, and loved.

And, of course, these adults volunteers are even more important for kids from single-family homes – kids who may have little to no quality interaction with adults.

Academics

After years of extensive research into the subject, it is indisputable that kids who engage in extracurricular activities make better students and enjoy better grades.

Why? Well, for starters, because of all the reasons we’ve already listed here. The kids feel more confident, mingle and mix more easily, and feel respected by peers and adults alike. Additionally, these kids are generally happier because they’ve got an outlet in a sport or activity they genuinely enjoy beyond the classroom.

Teamwork

Not to be confused with improved socialization skills, the ability to work well with others is incredibly important not just to a child’s academic success, but also his or her chances for healthy adult relationships as well as professional success.

Whether a child is part of an athletic team, a marching band or orchestra, a dance or theatre group, or engaged in an arts class, the required teamwork translates to classroom projects today and complex professional and interpersonal interactions later in life.

So if you’re on the fence about extracurriculars for your kids, jump on down and let you kids dive into an activity they will enjoy – and benefit from.

Sleep Deprivation in Kids and How to Avoid It

Health & Wellbeing

Cindy

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March 9, 2018

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Sleep Deprivation in Kids and How to Avoid It

Kids are not getting enough sleep. That’s the consensus of multiple research teams, who point out that this sleep deprivation is hurting kids academically, mentally, emotionally and physically.

Because so many parents have their own struggles with sleep yet somehow manage to make it through the day, they may be unaware of the far bigger risks sleeplessness poises for their kids. (And before any parent out there says, “We struggled with sleep in our era too,” note that since the 1940s Americans on average have lost more than an hour of sleep per night.)

Kids making Cs, Ds, and Fs in school are getting 25-30 fewer minutes of sleep at night.

Just how important is sleep with kids? Child development experts believe sleep is no less important than nutrition or physical safety. Before age two, a child will have spent the majority of his life sleeping. And healthy kids will spend 40% of their childhoods sleeping. Yeah, sleep is that important.

So what happens when you start reducing those hours of sleep? Research shows that the loss of just one hour of sleep can pose real, long-term risks to a developing brain. One study found that such losses in the first three years of life “was associated with hyperactivity / impulsivity and lower cognitive performance on neurodevelopment tests at age six.”

In other words, if your child isn’t getting enough sleep today, not only is it harming her in the near-term, it could lead to longer-term problems. Let’s look at some of those consequences.

Obesity & Diabetes

Studies have demonstrated that sleep deprivation in kids (and adults, for that matter) leads to metabolic changes that can result in insulin resistance. One study by Johns Hopkins University showed that for each additional hour of sleep, the risk of a child being overweight dropped by 9% – something to ponder given our current twin epidemics in childhood obesity and diabetes.

Academics

Kids who don’t get enough sleep struggle with poor memory, decision-making skills, and attention spans. One study showed that the kids making Cs, Ds, and Fs in school were getting, on average, 25-30 fewer minutes of sleep at night.

Young athletes who get fewer than eight hours of sleep per night are twice as likely to suffer an injury.

Stress

A sleep-deprived body is likely to see its amygdala kick into gear. This ‘old brain’ function is responsible for the classic fight or flight response, which is good when someone needs to, you know, fight or flee. But the same stress hormones that cause that response – cortisol, primarily – can be hard on the body in big or recurring doses (inflammation, heart disease, you name it).

Performance & Pain

Does your child enjoy sports? Well, his performance is going to be impacted by sleep deprivation. And research also shows he’s far more likely to be injured. One study showed young athletes who get fewer than eight hours of sleep per night are twice as likely to suffer an injury.

Immunity

Sleep is central to a strong immune system. As most parents know, schools are breeding grounds for illness, and sleep deprivation makes it more difficult for their kids to fight off infections. If your child is succumbing to one cold after another, consider his or her sleep habits. Helping our kids get enough sleep is “almost like another vaccine we can give our kids to help them fight off illness and promote physical wellbeing,” says Dr. Cora Breuner of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Moodiness

Parents of teens in particular know just how moody a child can get. But inadequate sleep has been shown to exacerbate these negative effects on mood, while also contributing to decreased attention spans and loss of memory. Sleep deprivation also leads to potentially dangerous behaviors, lick impulsiveness – something that gets kids in trouble far too often.

Helping Kids Sleep

So how, precisely, do parents ensure their kids are getting enough sleep?

Because every child is different and factors like age, growth spurts, rigorous athletic schedules, extracurricular activities, and after school jobs must also be taken into account, experts recommend that parents create a sleep baseline for their child. You can start with existing baselines for each age group.

Remember, no televisions, tablets, computers or smartphones in the bedroom!

How? By keeping track of how many hours your child sleeps uninterrupted during a prolonged break in normal activities (i.e. during a holiday, summer vacation, spring break, etc.). Work with your child to confirm when he or she hits the sack and what time they rise. Within a few days you’ll have your baseline.

Then, create a sleep schedule and environment conducive to that schedule. For starters, kids need exercise. With schools cutting physical education and gym classes, it’s more important than ever that kids get outside and play or join a local athletic league.

Also, ensure your child’s environment is conducive to sleep. The room should be quiet, dark, and physically comfortable. Common sense, right?

But remember, too – and this is a biggie – that a child’s room is no place for televisions, tablets, computers, and other devices with electronic screens! As the body tires and its normal circadian rhythms tell it the end of the day is near, the human brain releases hormones to help us sleep. But digital screens confuse that process, creating agitation and leading to sleeplessness. No screens!

The Big Benefits of Summer Camp

Doug

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March 15, 2018

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Mention the words ‘summer camp’ and most people think of campfire ghost stories, tug-of-war competitions, horseback riding, water sports, and hikes through the woods. But how many parents recognize the big benefits of summer camp and the important life lessons and that come with packing your kids off to camp?

If you’re on the fence about summer camp for your child or are a fan of camps and want to feel even better about your choices, we’ve compiled a list of the top benefits your child will get out of this year’s summer camp experience.

Resilience

It’s often said that today’s children are overly coddled by helicopter parents who seek to bubblewrap all of the world’s hard edges lest their children suffer injury or misfortune. The result is a generation of kids who too easily crumble when life inevitably proves itself unfair.

Psychologist Michael Ungar suggests that the best summer camps are veritable gold mines for teaching kids – particularly teens – to be resilient. In particular, he says camps that make kids “put away the makeup, stash the [smartphones], get a little dirty and even a little frustrated while having fun and making new friends, are the kinds of camps that offer children the best of what they need.”

Digital Detox

We’ve hit on this one before, but given the growing concerns over kids’ addiction to digital screens and social media, summer camp is one of the very few places parents can send their kids confident they’ll be separated from their smartphones and the Internet. The key is to choose a camp with a strict digital-free mindset.

According to Tom Rosenberg, director of the American Camp Association (ACA), “only 17 percent of ACA-accredited camps allow access to the Internet on a scheduled basis, and only 10 percent allow access to cellphones.” And given that even parents are now attending ‘digital detox’ camps, it goes without saying that younger minds could use the same help.

It’s worth noting that the biggest challenge to the no-smartphone camp rules are parents themselves. (See helicopter parenting above.)

No More Comfort Zones

Removed from the familiar confines of their homes, neighborhoods, and digital domains, kids at summer camp are forced to adapt and attempt new experiences. For many kids, summer camp may be the first time they’ve paddled a boat, ridden a horse, climbed a rope ladder, built a campfire, or even hiked through an unfamiliar forest.

“An unpleasant or unfamiliar situation at camp gives a child the opportunity to grow in ways he never would in his comfort zone,” says teen mentor, Todd Kestin. And when kids, particularly teens, “learn to push themselves, they begin to accumulate understanding of what it takes to be a productive, independent adult.”

Social Skills

Today’s children come of age with a skewed belief that ‘social networking’ is something that is done online, without actual eye contact or mental or physical collaboration. Summer camp corrects this by removing kids from their familiar networks and forcing them to forge new relationships without digital devices.

Specifically, kids in summer camp “learn to navigate through group dynamics, to barter, to keep one another happy, to be sensitive and support a friend who’s sad,” says James Spearin, YMCA’s senior vice president of youth development. “These skills transfer and build adults with strong character and leadership.”

Appreciate a 24-Hour Day

We couldn’t find much in the way of research on this one, but we’re going to add that summer camp – much like any form of disconnected, outdoor camping or hiking – teaches kids the value of a full 24-hour day. Without the endless distractions of the Internet, smartphones, and television, the day stretches out broad and seemingly endless, allowing kids to rediscover the world around them and how much more can be packed into a day.

From the moment a young camper wakes, he is forced to make eye contact and communicate with his fellow campers and counselors. She will eat a communal breakfast, then head out for a full day of activities that might include games, water sports, theatre, arts and crafts, and campfires.

And at day’s end, campers will collapse into bed, exhausted, the promise of another day’s infinite possibilities awaiting.

What’s not to like about that?

Adults Are Breaking Kids

Doug

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March 19, 2018

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Overzealous, yet well-intentioned adults are breaking kids. That’s the consensus of a growing number of pediatric specialists pointing to dramatic increases in sports-related injuries that were once rare or even unheard of in young bodies.

Stress fractures in the lumbar (lower back); avulsion fractures of the hip socket; ulnar collateral ligament damage requiring ‘Tommy John‘ surgery; an epidemic in ACL tears (especially in girls) – these are just some of the once-rare injuries now commonplace in kids.

Just how bad is it? More than 3.5 million kids under the age of 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries, and nearly half of those are due to overuse.

Of particular concern is that many of these injuries, if not properly treated or allowed to heal, could lead to lifelong problems, including “growth disturbance and deformity” in affected limbs and arthritis as early as their 30s.

“We are seeing quite a higher number of [lumbar fractures], especially as kids become more active in sports and they’re playing for longer hours and are having more demands on them,” says Dr. Roger Saldana, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.

Tommy John surgery – once limited to pro baseball players – is now more common in 15-19-year-old kids than any other age group. That’s right: a high school baseball hurler is more likely to have reconstruction surgery than a professional who plays the game for a living. Since 2000 there has been a fivefold increase in the number of injuries to elbows and shoulders in youth baseball and softball players.

Similarly, tears and ruptures of the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), are at epidemic levels in all youth, but particularly girls (studies suggest girls are anywhere from two to eight times more likely to suffer an ACL tear).

A study published in the Journal of American Medical Association found an incredible 59 percent increase in the number of reconstructive ACL surgeries for girls aged 13-17 over the past 13 years.

Epidemic in ACL injuries in kids — Graph showing huge increase in ACL injuries to kids – particularly girls. Courtesy JAMA Pediatrics, August 2017

What’s Going On?

Adults – specifically, parents, coaches, and trainers – are asking too much of young bodies ill-prepared for the athletic stresses placed on them. Where not so many years ago a child could be expected to play a single-season sport, then take a season off or move on to an entirely different sport, today kids are specializing in one sport or engaged in year-round athletics. The result: overuse of specific body parts or outright exhaustion.

Combine these with increasingly strenuous workout regimens, poor practice and game warmup routines, and too many trainers/coaches without an adequate understanding of what’s age-appropriate for young bodies, and you’ve got the perfect storm for the very epidemic in injuries we’re seeing.

“we all need to think more deeply about the insanity of our youth sports culture….”

At the root of all of these issues? A cultural mindset placing too great an emphasis on competition and athletic success while overlooking the toll it takes on children’s bodies and minds. “We all need to think more deeply about the insanity of our youth sports culture, with its focus on early specialization in one sport and, especially, its seasons without end,” says Michael Sokolove, author of Warrior Girls.

Sokolove and others like him believe too many adults have lost sight of the purpose of sports for kids and the benefits they are designed to confer – e.g. better physical and mental health, self-confidence, stronger socialization skills, the ability to play well with others and, of course, fun.

Instead, a society that prides itself on competitiveness is passing down that trick to younger and younger kids who, naturally, want to please parents and coaches alike.

“the toughest thing kids have to face is the unfulfilled lives of their parents.”

“A lot of parents have a belief that says, ‘How well my kid does on the field reflects on me as a parent,'” says Jim Thompson, founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance. “One of my mentors, John Gardner, once said, ‘The toughest thing kids have to face is the unfulfilled lives of their parents.’ I think there’s a lot of truth in that.”

Adds Ken Reed, author of Ego vs. Soul in Sports: “Today our kids’ games have been hijacked by adults who professionalize them and attempt to meet their own needs through youth sports. Even when parents and coaches have good intentions the damage to our young people is real nonetheless.”

Ironies Abound

Ironically, a lot of those good intentions are based in fiction. Despite what parents believe, for example, specialization in one sport means a child actually is less likely to succeed in that sport at higher levels. And let’s not even get into the ultra-remote chance of actually securing a college scholarship, let alone a career in the pros.

A study published in the Journal of Sports Sciences demonstrated that kids who competed in at least three sports between the ages of 11 and 15 were significantly more likely to compete at an elite national level than those who only specialized in one sport.

Similarly, kids who train exclusively in one sport or never take a break are at a significantly greater risk of injury. “We found that kids who had higher levels of specialization were at about a 50 percent greater risk of having an injury,” said study author Timothy McGuine, a senior scientist and research coordinator at the University of Wisconsin Health Sports Medicine Center.

Kids who specialize in one sport or compete year-round are more likely to be injured, to burnout, and quit sports altogether.

Perhaps the greatest irony is that kids who are pushed to be stars in a particular sport are, instead, more likely to burn out and, as a result, quit sports altogether. That bears repeating: today’s incredibly athletic child or star athlete is more likely to become tomorrow’s sedentary couch potato.

A recent Canadian survey sent to the same 756 kids every five years beginning at age 10 found that kids who played multiple sports were 55% more likely to continue participating in recreational athletics after each five year period versus those who specialized only in one sport (or never took up a sport at all).

Resetting Our Sights

So what’s a parent to do? Based on our research, here are a few things every adult can do to keep kids healthy, happy, and whole.

Ensure your child participates in more than one sport until at least the age of 16. Experts point out that legendary baseball ironman Cal Ripken didn’t play baseball exclusively until he was drafted as a professional.
Give your child at least one full season of rest where he/she can regenerate. Exercise is still important, but make sure it’s outside the competitive realm (i.e. going out and simply playing with friends, taking hikes, trying a different extracurricular like theatre, painting or pottery).
Make sure your child’s coaches are versed in proper warmup procedures for both games and practices (a quarter of sports injuries occur during practice). For example, FIFA 11+ has an outstanding 20-minute warmup routine that excels at preventing unnecessary injuries in soccer players.
Parents need to practice a little self-inquiry to ensure they aren’t living vicariously through their children. If your child is resisting attending practice or showing little to no joy or happiness in a sport, it’s likely time to ask why you’re pushing it.
Check your priorities. If your goal for your child is an athletic scholarship or a career in the pros, do some research and recognize that you might, in fact, be setting up your child for years of frustration and, worse, physical injury.

We’ll close with a quote from Dr. Cynthia LaBella, medical director of the Institute for Sports Medicine at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago: “Kids are now subject to adult schedules and organizational formats for adult-driven sports. In the past, kids directed the activities in the backyard. Where adults provide schedule and structure, kids may be pushed beyond what they would do on their own. When they play on their own, they take breaks and moderate themselves.”

Gardening with Kids

Doug

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April 11, 2018

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With warmer temperatures finally (FINALLY!) here, it’s time to get serious about gardening. And similar to our earlier post on the magic of gardening with kids, this is a reminder of just how fun, educational, and eye-opening gardening with kids can be (for both parent and child alike).

For many of us, the prospect of putting in a first-time garden is daunting, even intimidating, and worries abound: Do I have enough room for a garden? How much time will it take to put in and maintain? How can I teach my child something I don’t even know?

Family gardening — Gardening with kids is one of the most enjoyable activities parents (or grandparents) can share.

The good news? Gardening is actually relatively painless, easy, and, again, a heck of a lot of fun. If you aren’t clear how to do it, admit that to your children and tackle the learning process together (humility + self-education = important life lesson).

Remember, gardening teaches kids a ton about the natural world, the interrelationship between soil and water and sun, the critical importance of pollinators in the food chain (more on that in a second), where their food comes from, and more.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

Perhaps best of all, gardening is something you can actually do with your kids – no watching from the sidelines, you’re up to your elbows (literally) in it with your child (and what kid doesn’t want to dig in the dirt a bit?).

Let’s briefly look at some garden types and how to get started.

Pollinator Gardens

Building a pollinator garden is probably the easiest way to practice gardening with kids. Whether you’re using a simple pot on the porch or patio or putting in a full garden, a pollinator garden is a fantastic way to teach your kids the critical relationship between bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators to our food supply. They also can make for an incredibly beautiful addition to your home’s landscape.

To get started with your own pollinator garden, determine which plants and flowers are native to your particular region of the country. You can use your ZIP to find the answer as well as a convenient planting guide.

Our friends at Kids Gardening asked us to remind everyone of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a nationwide campaign aimed at creating gardens and habitats for pollinators under siege from rampant development and the use of pesticides, herbicides, etc.

As of this post, the campaign has registered 674,512 pollinator sites and counting. Why not add your garden to the list?

Once you know what to plant, the rest is just a matter of tilling and fertilizing a spot or creating a container for your pollinator garden. The image below is a small mobile container garden created by Kids Gardening. The advantage of a mobile container is that you can wheel it to different locations for improved sun management.

Mobile Container Pollinator Garden — Container gardens can be any size, fixed or mobile.

Container Gardens

Container gardens (also known as raised bed gardens) can be a fast and reasonably easy way to garden with a child. From pots to pre-fabricated kits to full-blown DIY-built containers, these gardens are a convenient way to grow vegetables, flowers, and other plants.

Here at Kidzu we just put the finishing wraps on our own container – yes, with one of our kids, who thoroughly enjoyed the building process (power tools and dirt, woo-hoo!).

For our 6 x 8 container garden, we followed a simple video instructional, using cedar boards, pine braces, plastic bags for interior lining, and lots and lots of dirt. For our finishing touches, we added a generous layer of cow manure and two inches of rich, organic container soil. We’ll follow up later with the harvest.

The key, for us, was to empower our teenaged son to do as much of the work as he wanted, including sawing the pine braces (cheap 2x4s), pre-drilling and then power-screwing the braces to the cedar walls, and adding the soil.

Planting comes next, with plans to plant tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, scallions, carrots, summer squash, and sugar snap peas. At the same time we will surround the container with pollinator plants to attract butterflies, bees, and other garden friends.

In-Ground Gardens

The most traditional of gardens is, of course, an actual in-ground garden where you till the soil, fertilize, plant, water, nurture and wait. These gardens require a bit of room but, if you’ve got it, why not use it?

And if you don’t have the room? Why not try a community garden, where you can work a spot of land amongst your neighbors. Use this handy resource to locate community gardens near you.

Putting in your own? We found this resource to be particularly useful, in part because it speaks to the many issues that impact a successful garden (neighboring vegetation, root systems, sun exposure, water, size, soil types, and more).

The bottom line: put in a garden with your child. It will be one of the most rewarding activities you can share and one that you will enjoy for weeks and months to come.

Rock Climbing for Kids: Reaching New Heights

Doug

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April 13, 2018

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Rock Climbing for Kids: Reaching New Heights

Your daughter is struggling with her self-confidence; your son is trying to get into shape (or worried about his weight); your teen is stressing out over school, work, or some other mystery of the teenage mind. What to do? Get them on the wall. Yes, rock climbing for kids is a potent solution for just about everything that ails our kids.

It’s no surprise that most motivational posters include an image of someone climbing or summiting a peak. Climbing is an especially demanding sport that challenges – and rewards adults and kids alike – on so many levels. Here are just a few.

Strength

Anyone who has climbed a tree or wall knows just how physically demanding it can be. Less well known, however, is that it’s not just the arms that get a workout. Climbing will test (and grow) your child’s abdominals, obliques, deltoids, trapezoids, biceps, lats, quads, calves, and forearms. Numerous studies have shown that climbers are among the strongest, best-conditioned, most agile, and leanest of athletes.

Conditioning

It’s easy to mistake climbing as a sport for muscle but not conditioning. In reality, however, a child climbing a wall will burn the same number of calories as a reasonably fast jogger (up to 8-minute miles). Moreover, Harvard Medical School will tell you that a climber is using just as much energy as a swimmer doing the crawl or butterfly stroke, and will burn more than 800 calories during a one-hour climb.

Stress Reduction

By combining complex problem-solving skills with intense focus, climbing increases the body’s levels of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that reduces stress. And just like their adult counterparts, children will experience euphoria when they finally master a climbing challenge (along with a healthy dose of self-confidence to go with it).

Self-Confidence

Speaking of which, this is a big one (ergo all those motivational posters), because a climber literally is on his or her own up there. Marco Laiti, a USAC-certified coach at Charlotte-based Inner Peaks (pictured below), points out that when it comes to climbing, “you are by yourself on the wall, no one else is there to help you, and you are responsible for your successes and failures.”

Marco Laiti practicing bouldering techniques.

As a result, child climbers are taught to face their fears and discover for themselves the immense value of overcoming challenges on their own. [Read this piece for an example of how climbing even helps adults overcome their fears of failure.]

Problem-Solving/Academics

For many kids, climbing is akin to a vertical chessboard, requiring the development of complex problem-solving skills if they’re to overcome obstacles and reach the top. In recent years, a number of schools across the country have replaced traditional gym class activities with climbing, dancing, and bicycling and seen dramatic increases in academic achievement and corresponding decreases in suspensions. A study by the University of North Florida found that “climbing a tree or balancing on a beam can dramatically improve the cognitive skills” of children.

Gender-Neutral

Climbing is unique in that both sexes are more or less able to participate and compete equally. “At the highest level there isn’t a huge difference from what men and women can achieve,” says Laiti. “Men are still pushing the sport further, but the gap definitely is closing.” So if you’re tired of driving in separate directions for your son and daughter, consider climbing for both.

Competitive

Lots of kids love to compete and climbing has them covered. USA Climbing hosts regional, divisional, and national championship competitions that test kids on a variety of levels. Laiti says fall climbing is for bouldering competitions, where kids will climb without ropes up to 17 feet and focus on “tricky and extremely difficult movement.” Come spring, and the kids are competing with ropes (up to 70 feet) and speed climbing.

All Ages

Kids can start climbing as young as 2 and no equipment is needed. Kids are considered for teams by age 7 and for competition by age 9. “In rope season kids are asked to belay and are responsible for another climber’s safety,” says Laiti, “so if they do not have the focus or maturity for us as coaches to trust them with that then we do not let them move on.”

Fun

It’s well known that by age 13 more than 70% of kids abandon sports. Climbing, on the other hand, is experiencing a boom, and today ranks as one of the fastest growing sports for both adults and children alike (helped in part by the boom in rock walls at gyms and health clubs).

Outdoors

As kids master the intricacies of climbing a wall, they’ll naturally evolve to outdoor climbing, which introduces them not just to the art of ascending a ‘real’ rock wall or mountain, but also the joys and benefits of camping, hiking, and simply spending time outside (and away from those pesky digital devices).

The bottom line: climbing is an outstanding sport for young people eager to get in shape, grow self-confidence, relieve some stress, and have fun. For parents, it’s a great way to help their kids, regardless of age or gender. We call this a win-win.

Find a rock climbing club near you here.