WORDS: Josh Moore

When choosing an affordable gift for a child, you may be tempted to purchase the latest electronic gadget or media player—especially if they’ve been asking for it. However, the positive effects of experiential gifts are far more powerful than material goods. Giving experiences encourages social connection and helps improve personal relationships. Here is a variety of budget-friendly gifts that check off these essential aspects!

Look for Ways …

WORDS: Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Strong communities thrive in the face of adversity and work together to achieve shared aspirations. Our region is strong, and we are not alone. We are one of 390 Grade-Level Reading (GLR) communities embracing the journey to address common obstacles impacting a child’s reading ability.  

Attendance Works, an ally helping the GLR Network jump the hurdle of chronic absenteeism, is helping communities like ours …

WORDS: Christa Hardin, MA

Not taking tech breaks is one surefire way that summer will come and go in the blink of an eye. This isn’t news to you, of course. We all KNOW we need them.  

We’ve seen the stats as well. Too much screen time poses several potential negative consequences, including vision impairment, sleeplessness, anxiety, and even addiction to the device itself (regiscollege.edu). 

And yet virtually everyone uses …

WORDS: Christa Hardin, MA

“Mom, did you email my teacher back about the survey?” One of my teens was asking me while another one was simultaneously pulling on me to print something their other teacher wanted them to have before lessons began. The third child was giving me that painstaking look of trying to be patient while I tended to the other two.  

I loved that they wanted my …

WORDS: www.parents.com

Eating meals together just might be the ultimate parenting hack. What else can you do in an hour that will improve your kids’ academic performance, increase their self-esteem, and reduce their risk of substance abuse, depression, teen pregnancy, and obesity? 

Over the last two decades, study after study has shown that simply taking a few minutes each day to turn off screens and genuinely connect with each other …

WORDS: Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, PBS KIDS for Parents

It’s so hard to watch our children struggle, fall, and even fail. However, for learning to take place, struggling and failing are part of the process. As parents, we want to protect our children from hardships, so we may think hovering and plowing through dangers up ahead will somehow help them.  

However, removing every potential obstacle takes away opportunities for our children …

WORDS: Kristin Louis

Summer is a great time to throw a party. You can have it inside or outside and draw from a wide range of menu possibilities and potential activities, from swimming to outdoor games. And there’s no need to worry about the size of your budget — you can have a great summer get-together without breaking the bank. Fire up the grill, lay out some delicious summer food, …

WORDS: Kristin Louis

The majority of us work hard for our futures, with the overarching attention on survival, followed by happiness. Owning a house, starting a family, and paying off your student debt are all benchmarks that can help set you on the path toward future success. However, life has an unpredictable way of occurring, which is why it’s important to have contingencies in place for when the unexpected arises.…

WORDS: Kristin Louis

The holidays are supposed to be about enjoying time off with the ones you love. But for many parents, holiday cheer gets overshadowed by the financial stress of affording gifts for the whole family. As much as you don’t want to disappoint your children, you also don’t want to be paying off holiday debt well into the new year.

There’s no need to choose between a great …

WORDS: Christa Hardin, MA

It’s not every day that families get to eat together anymore, but should it be? While some families manage to dine around the table together for everyday grub, so many more are finding the attempts to eat together all but futile. One parent is working late, perhaps both, there are complicated schedules in the week when one child visits another parent, or perhaps there’s a sport …