As a single parent, I find it hard to find time in my busy schedule to shop for my child’s Christmas gifts, grocery shop for our family events, or even just time to simply relax. My main issue every year is finding a couple of hours AWAY from my daughter to buy her Christmas gifts. I would hate for her to realize that I am the one who goes out and buys her gifts and not Santa. I am sure that there are many other parents out there that find this a difficult task as well. As a service to the parents of our community, EMFC has decided to organize a movie date for children. This is a great opportunity for other busy parents like me in the way that it helps by getting the children off their parents’ hands for a couple hours. We plan on showing a Christmas movie that is age appropriate for a wide range of children that includes a great moral. The movie we have decided on is Charlie Brown’s Christmas. This movie is a great way to show the children the true meaning of Christmas. We will also be in charge of decorations and other sources of entertainment for the little ones that get distracted from the movie. As the public relations leader, I will be putting together a menu that is nutritious, age appropriate, and meets the needs of children with any types of food allergies. I am excited to collaborate with my organization to make this even a memorable one!
The Holiday Blues Most people think of the holidays as being the most cheerful times of the year, but that may not be the case for some people. Some people may be going through a personal rough time, dealing with the loss of a loved one, be lonely, or just not the holiday spirit type of person. Personally, this year has been a tough holiday season for me. When I think of the holidays, the first thing that comes to my mind is stress. I automatically feel the stress of making time. I am a full time student, have a part time job, and my four year old, Allison. Since my schedule is pretty crazy, especially during the holidays, I find it very difficult to find time to excel at work, school, prepare, and of course shop for gifts. The next subject that comes to mind when I think of the holidays is being with loved ones. I have recently parted ways with some family and it is difficult to realize that we may not be together this time around. In addition, my significant other is in the military and will be spending all the holidays in Afghanistan. This is the first year that I would be spending my holidays alone with my daughter Allison. The final thing that comes to mind when I think about the holidays is money. It is hard for me, and I’m sure for many others, to manage the spending of money during the holidays. Gifts need to be bought, outfits for gatherings, food, decorations and the list goes on. Wouldn’t it be great if the bills took a break for the holidays? My Solution for the Holiday Blues I cannot change the fact that I have a lot on my plate, but I could try and deal with the stress. Some ways I will keep the stress at a minimum is by exercising, going for a run, and spending as much time with my daughter as possible. Exercise makes me feel good about myself and helps me relive some stress. There is something about a good run that helps me think and straighten out my mind. After I am done with a good run, my mind is always at ease. The biggest stress reliever of all is my daughter. It does not matter how bad my day has gone, she reminds me of why I work so hard and makes it all worthwhile. Just seeing Allison’s smile reminds me of how beautiful life is. Although some family members may not see eye to eye, I believe we should put it behind us and appreciate each other for who we are. This holiday season I will encourage myself to forgive, forget the bad and remember the good times we share. I defiantly will make the best of the family that I do have, because we are only here for a little while. As for my boyfriend, we will keep in touch through Skype. Not only is it difficult for me, but it is even more difficult for him to spend the holidays alone, without any family. I have created him a care package with pictures, goodies, and a gift to make him feel a little closer to home during this rough time. As for my financial difficulties, I will start making a budget that I will follow and set aside money for gifts little by little. I usually wait to the last minute to pay my bills. This holiday season I plan on paying the bills ahead of time so they don’t all pile up at the same time. Since the bills will be paid I could also create a budget for my Christmas shopping. Money is not everything and as long as family is together, then that’s a gift all in its own. What comes to mind when you hear the term “secondhand TV”? As I had CNN playing on television while I helped my daughter, Allison, with her homework, I heard this term for the first time. I continued to watch and learned that “secondhand TV” or background television, is the indirect exposure of TV while the children are doing other activities. I thought to myself, “This is exactly what I am doing to Allison this very moment”. I was guilty of exposing my child to “secondhand TV”. So of course, I continued watching the CNN segment to get to the bottom of this horrible thing. Matthew Lapierre, an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, explained how the high number of background television is surprisingly high and we should be very concerned. This is the first study of background TV and Lapierre believes, “background TV is something that researchers need to spend more attention to, to understand and unpack.” After interviewing a national representative sample of parents about their household’s TV habits on a regular weekday and weekend, Lapierre and his colleagues learned that background TV was especially common in certain populations. The Children under the age of two, African-American children, children living in poverty and kids with less-educated parents had at least five hours of background television a day. The children in the white population and more affluent families only acquired two and half to three hours a day. Now, after hearing Lapierre’s outcome I couldn’t help but ask myself where Allison fell in that research. She is four years old, not African-American, not living in poverty, and I like to consider myself very well educated. So where did that leave us? Although there are no known side effects of secondhand TV, Lapierre and his colleagues have done a few small studies that have shown some differences. Background TV was linked to shorter attention spans, a lower quality of parent-child interactions, and some poorer academic performance. These are some behaviors shown in children who are exposed to secondhand TV but the research is still in its early stages so they have not been fully proven yet. Sara Rivero-Conil, a pediatric psychologist at Miami Children's Hospital, adds, that the impact may be different for different ages and activities the children are doing while exposed to the background TV. Rivero-Conil also states, “The constant flickering and sound of a nearby TV may be even more distracting to school-age children and as kids get older, they're more likely to be drawn to the actual content on the screen, at the expense of their homework or other tasks.” I agree with Rivero-Conil, I also believe what is actually playing on the TV while the child is conducting the activity may make a difference as well. In our case, I had CNN on and Allison paid no attention to the TV. If I were to change the channel to Nickelodeon, I’m sure her attention would drift from her homework to the TV. Pediatricians have gotten word of this research and are concerned as well. The American Academy of Pediatrics made a policy statement in 2011 about the secondhand TV. The published pediatrics are urging to inform the parents of children under the age of two to be aware that what they are watching on TV can negatively affect their children and may distract both, the child and the parent. After viewing this CNN story, I plan on making some changes to our TV viewing habits in our household. Even though this may not be a major issue, but I would not take any risks in my daughters’ health or educations. With some simple changes, I believe the problem can be easily fixed. We no longer have the TV on while Allison, or I, am studying or doing homework. I have also decided to leave the TV off during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bed time. I now only allow the TV on while all homework and studies are done, and it is no longer left on when no one is watching. Not only will this rid of our “secondhand TV” problem, it will lower the cost of my light bill. “Killing two birds with one stone”. If you happen to be another concerned parent and would like more info on "secondhand TV", the story is available on the CNN website. |
Cristina Gonzalez"To be in you children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today" |