children

Family Story Time

How many times your family end up telling stories when everyone gets together? It’s probably more often than you think.

Interestingly, November is National Family Stories Month. As we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving and recognize our Veterans in

Several generations of family gathered around a table.

November, telling stories is a wonderful way to keep your family history alive. Let’s take a look at a few ways to tell your story.

Personal Bedtime Stories – Share stories with children from when you and other family members were their age. Stories like these can help children realize that older family members may be more like them than they think and relate to them better.

Stories of Objects – Often our family history includes special objects. Sharing the stories of those items – how they came into your family and traditions that include them can prevent this bit of history from being lost over time.

Family Tree – Build or draw a family tree when a large group of family members are together. Allow each family to add their information to the tree. Add ancestors back as far as you can. The “tree” structure helps children see where they and their traditions come from.

Get Cooking! – Make a family recipe together. Gather multiple generations in the kitchen. Telling stories of making the foods together and the importance of the food to your family and culture.

A grouping of family photos

Picture Time – Break out the photo albums, the slides, the old video tapes, and film strips! Who are those people? Document names, dates, and locations whenever possible. Pictures, slides, tapes, and other film deteriorate over time. Digitizing these items not only protects them for the future but it also makes them easy to share.

The stories of our families, society, cultures, and nation are still being written. Start new traditions. Make new memories. Take more pictures. What will your story be?

Written by: Kate Shumaker, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Holmes County

Reviewed by: Laura Halladay, Family and Consumer Sciences Program Specialist, Ohio State University Extension. 

 

Beyond September, Recognizing Suicide Prevention for Children

sad child alone in dark

Dedicating an entire month to suicide prevention is a wonderful way to recognize the importance of this epidemic…but it is not enough. According to an article published in Pediatrics, suicide is the second leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year-olds in the United States. Which is why youth mental health education must be a daily investment. We tend to think about suicide as something affecting children only after they reach the tumultuous teen years, but studies show that while not as common, younger children are also at risk. Alarmingly, young children are experiencing high levels of stress exacerbated by negative influences such as social media, bullying, lack of resources, and poverty.

Children who have mental health illnesses such as depression, anxiety, or oppositional defiant disorder are at greater risk for dying by suicide. Other risk factors include substance use disorder, changes related to puberty, physical or sexual abuse, and exposure to other’s suicide.

According to SAMSA, parents should be familiar with the following warning signs that their child may be struggling:

  • Feeling very sad or withdrawn or easily irritated for more than two weeks
  • Seriously trying to harm or kill themselves, or making plans to do so
  • Experiencing sudden overwhelming fear for no reason, sometimes with a racing heart or fast breathing
  • Getting in many fights or wanting to hurt others
  • Showing severe out-of-control behavior that can hurt oneself or others
  • Not eating, throwing up, or using laxatives to make themselves lose weight
  • Having intense worries or fears that get in the way of daily activities
  • Experiencing extreme difficulty controlling behavior, putting themselves in physical danger or causing problems in school
  • Using drugs or alcohol
  • Having severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
  • Showing drastic changes in behavior or personality
  • A drop in their school performance

The Mayo Clinic urges parents who believe their child is considering suicide to call 911, their local emergency number, or a suicide hotline. In the United States, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Or use the Lifeline Chat. Services are free and confidential. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S. has a Spanish language phone line at 888-628-9454 (toll-free).

Author:  Heather Reister, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Butler County 

Reviewer:  Jenny Lobb, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Franklin County

Sources

For parents and caregivers of children. SAMHSA. (2023, April 23). https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/how-to-talk/parents-and-caregivers

Hua, L., Lee, J., Rahmandar, M., & Sigel, E. (2024, January). Suicide and suicide risk in adolescents | pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatrics. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/153/1/e2023064800/196189/Suicide-and-Suicide-Risk-in-Adolescents?autologincheck=redirected

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2023, May 5). What parents need to know about teen suicide. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teen-suicide/art-20044308

Under Our Wing: Connecting with the Next Generation of Birders

Three young people standing outside, one looking through binoculars and one pointing

Recently, I met an 11-year-old who likes birds. Since I self-identify as a bird nerd, we started talking and I quickly realized this young person had a genuine curiosity and passion for birds. She told me she had checked out Smithsonian Handbooks: Birds of North America from her school library and had no intention of returning it.

As a parent of teenagers, I struggle to get my kids off screens and out in nature, despite my constant reminders about the health benefits of getting outdoors. Here was a young person who wanted to get outside, so we made plans to go birding together.

And birding we did. The two of us spent 5 hours out in the cold on a gloomy, gray day and we had a blast. She brought (and I carried) the large, heavy Smithsonian library book with her. When we spotted a bird, she knew exactly where to find it in the book.

It was delightful to bird with a young person who was excited and engaged. I look forward to birding with her and other young people in the future. After spending time with a young birder, it became clear to me why we should take young birders under our wing:

  • They are connecting with nature: Our young people are disconnected from the natural world. Studies found that 8- to 12-years-old spend 4 to 6 hours on screens every day, while teens spend up to 9 hours. Time spent on screens almost always equates to time spent indoors, disconnected from nature.
  • They can showcase their strengths: Birdability is a non-profit organization that “ensures that birding truly is for everybody and every body, regardless of disability or other health concerns.” Their blog has stories from birders who are autistic, color-blind, hearing-impaired, and mobility-challenged. One young birder described her ADHD as her birding superpower since she saw and heard so many details around her!
  • They benefit from Vitamin N (Nature): There are decades of research that show the positive impact that spending time outdoors has on our mental and physical health. Nature has unique health benefits to young people, especially when it comes to kids with ADHD, allergies, asthma, weight issues, and mental health challenges.
  • They are becoming environmental stewards: Children who spend time in nature are more likely to feel connected to nature as adults, and therefore, more likely to care for and protect the natural world.

After our birding outing, I purchased my new birding buddy her own copy of the Smithsonian Handbook. I am selfishly hoping the returned library book will inspire another young birder at her school. I also added a Birds of Ohio Field Guide to her collection so the next time we’re out birding, neither of us has to lug a 752-page handbook.

Additional Birding Resources:

To find more information about birds and birding, please visit: go.osu.edu/nature-matters-birds

25th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count photo

Written by Laura M. Stanton, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Warren County, stanton.60.osu.edu

Reviewed by Shari Gallup, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Licking County, gallup.1@osu.edu

Photo Credit: Kindel Media from Pexels

References

Alsop, F. J. (2001). Smithsonian Handbooks: Birds of North America: Eastern Region. New York, NY: DK Publishing.

Wells, N. M. & Lekies, K. S. (2006). Nature and the Life Course: Pathways from Childhood Nature Experiences to Adult Environmentalism. Children, Youth and Environments, 16(1), 1–24. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.16.1.0001

Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Scripps Health. (2022, January 10). Do Your Kids Spend Too Much Time in Front of a Screen? https://www.scripps.org/news_items/4688-do-your-kids-spend-too-much-time-in-front-of-a-screen

Stanton, L. M. (2021, February 11). Benefits of Being a Bird Nerd. https://livehealthyosu.com/2021/02/11/benefits-of-being-a-bird-nerd

Stanton, L. M. (2021, April 19). Get Out! Celebrate Nature on Earth Day and Every Day. https://livehealthyosu.com/2021/04/19/get-out-celebrate-nature-on-earth-day-and-every-day

Stanton, L. M. (2021, November 30). Wonder and Wander in Nature this Winter. https://livehealthyosu.com/2021/11/30/wonder-and-wander-in-nature-this-winter

Tekiela, S. (2020). Birds of Ohio Field Guide. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications.

Thinking Outside the Box

a gift-wrapped box

With the holiday season comes gift-giving to our young people. Often, the gift box contains new technology for our teens and even younger children. The device could be a first cell phone, tablet, or even a laptop. When our young people exhaust playing with toys, we default to technology as the next level of gifts. My children are young adults now, but I can remember back to the iPod, laptops, Nintendo DS, Wii, and smartphones opened from the boxes at Christmas. For my son, we waited until 13 for his first phone, but for my daughter, we surprised her a year early at 12. As adults, we were in control, and we decided when they would get access. However, looking back, I would have delayed gifting some technology until later. 

It does not have control when it is in the box, but once you open Pandora’s technology box, devices can control a person. It is hard enough as adults to have the willpower to set down our devices. Young people struggle even more without fully developed will-power or self-regulation. Healthy boundaries are good to provide and can benefit children’s mental health. Setting technology boundaries before a device is out of the box or turned on for the first time is the best practice.

Some best practices include setting up data limits. If the data runs out, they can still use the device as a phone or in Wi-Fi, but they have just exhausted their “connected time”. Most phones now come with a screen time feature that limits time on certain apps, at certain times of the day, or which apps can be downloaded. Use these features to help enforce the guidelines, but do not depend on them alone. The Internet is a dangerous playground for youth to access unsupervised. Set restrictions on which types of websites they can visit and ensure all Internet use is done in public spaces.

Phones also have helpful features, like knowing your children’s location or contacting them after school. Some educational apps will help youth study and learn about different topics. Show your youth how they can be content creators rather than just consumers. Many apps teach youth coding to create the app versus just consuming the app. Ohio 4-H just launched a program called Clovers CODE, which helps youth in 4-H learn to create apps and the code behind the app.

Modeling guidelines is also important. If your family rule is no phones in bedrooms, then have a family charging station in a central place in the home. Introduce a “no phones at dinner time” rule and abide by that. Show your children that immediate responses to their friends are not urgent and can wait by delaying your own replies. And instead of spending time on devices, enjoy time together this holiday playing family games.

As you wrap up all your boxes this holiday season, do not forget to think outside the box and set your family boundaries before the technology is gifted to your children.

Written by Mark D. Light, Ph.D., Leader, Ohio 4-H STEM & Digital Engagement Innovations

Reviewed by Jenny Lobb, MPH, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension Franklin County

References:

Abi-Jaoude, E., Naylor, K. T., & Pignatiello, A. (2020). Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health. Canadian Medical Associaton Journal, 192(6), E136-E141. https://www.cmaj.ca/content/192/6/E136

Dempsey, S., Lyons, S., & McCoy, S. (2019). Later is better: Mobile phone ownership and child academic development. Economic and Social Research Institute. http://aei.pitt.edu/101971/1/RB201903_01.pdf

Wiles, B. B., Schachtner, L., & Pentz, J. L. (2016). The New Screen Time: Computers, Tablets, and Smartphones Enter the Equation. Journal of Extension, 54(2), 10. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol54/iss2/10/

Get Out! Celebrate Nature on Earth Day and Every Day

A great way to celebrate Earth Day is spending time outside and connecting with nature. Time in nature offers an easy and inexpensive way to increase your happiness, improve your mood, and feel part of something larger than yourself. Studies have shown that getting outside can:

  • Improve your memory and attention: After just an hour interacting with nature, memory performance and attention spans improved by 20%. In workplaces designed with nature in mind, employees are more productive and take less sick time.
  • Heal: Patients in hospital rooms with a view of trees had shorter stays and less need for pain medications compared to patients with views of brick.
  • Improve psychological well-being: Joggers who exercised in a natural green setting felt less anxious, angry, or depressed than people who jogged in an urban setting.
Child running outside under flowering trees

We also know from research that children who spend time outdoors are more likely to develop positive environmental attitudes and behaviors as adults. One of the best ways you can take care of our planet is to encourage children and youth to get outside.

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, has created an expansive list of activities to encourage children to spend more time outdoors. Here are just a few ideas you can try with your children or grandchildren:

  1. Maintain a birdbath, grow native plants, or build a bat house. For more ideas, read National Audubon Society’s Invitation to a Healthy Yard.
  2. Collect lightning bugs at dusk and release them at dawn.
  3. Keep a terrarium or aquarium and learn about the plants and animals you observe.
  4. Be a cloud spotter; build a backyard weather station. A young person just needs a view of the sky. Check out The Kid’s Book of Weather Forecasting for more ideas.
  5. Encourage a “green hour” every day. Give kids a daily green hour that includes time outside, unstructured play, and interaction with the natural world.
  6. Collect stones. Even the youngest children love gathering rocks, shells, and fossils. Read Rock and Fossil Hunter by Ben Morgan together.
  7. Learn about and raise butterflies. Consider purchasing a monarch rearing kit and growing milkweed so you can hatch and release your own butterflies.
  8. Hang up a bird feeder and watch birds. Have them close their eyes and just listen. For more tips, check out National Audubon Society’s Easy Ways to Get Kids Birding and Bird Sleuth Investigator from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

No matter what you do while you are outdoors, remember that simply going outside is the most important step. Despite all the positive benefits of being outdoors, according to the EPA, Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. On this Earth Day, make a pledge to get out more and bring some young people with you. Nurturing the next generation of our planet’s caretakers is a perfect way to celebrate!

References:

Bratman, G. N., Daily, G. C., Levy, B. J., & Gross, J. J. (2015). The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition. Landscape and Urban Planning, 138, 41-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.005

Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Taylor, A. & Kuo, M. (2006). Is contact with nature important for healthy child development? state of the evidence. Children and their Environments: Learning, Using and Designing Spaces. 124-140.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511521232.009

Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224 (4647), 420–421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402

Wells, N. M. & Lekies, K. S., (2006). Nature and the life course: Pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism. Children, Youth and Environments, 16 (1), 41663.

Written by: Laura M. Stanton, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Warren County, stanton.60.osu.edu.

Reviewed by: Shari Gallup, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Licking County, gallup.1@osu.edu.

My Son Has Two Belly Buttons

In our family we joke about our 2-year-old son having two belly buttons, when he has a feeding tube. When he was born, he struggled to learn how to breath, suck, and swallow a bottle due to a medical condition, and has had some sort of feeding tube since birth, and two years later he has what is called a G-Tube that is placed in his stomach to help supply him with nutritional foods.

Did you know that February is not only heart health month, but also feeding tube awareness month? There are almost 500,000 people that are on a feeding tube, and almost 200,000 of them are children in the United States. There are many medical complications that can lead to a person requiring a feeding tube, including ones that are often called “invisible illnesses” or ones that people cannot visibly see. In my son’s case it is his heart condition, that from birth caused him to struggle with learning to eat.

Common myths surrounding why children require feeding tubes:

  • They are picky eaters. Most children have had their feeding tube since birth.
  • If you wait long enough your child will eat. Many children will starve themselves due their complex medical condition before they learn to eat.
  • Your child looks too healthy for a feeding tube. The children with feeding tubes are healthy due to having a feeding tube providing them nutrition.

Education is key in raising awareness and support for those with feeding tubes. I often worry about my son’s future when his peers see him being fed through his feeding tube if he has it when he starts school. There are a few things one can do to support others.

  • Ask questions when you see someone using a feeding tube. As a mom to someone whose child has special needs. I wish more people would come up and ask questions instead of staring at us.
  • Research online more about the different types of feeding tubes like G-Tubes, NG Tubes, GJ Tubes, and J-Tubes, and understand how they work.
  • Be supportive and patient with friends and family who may have a tube fed child or family member. Learn more information about feeding tube awareness. It will mean the world to them.
  • Remember how important it is to instill kindness, love and support for others. Especially if someone has a disability or a feeding tube. We want the world to be a place where our child feels accepted in school so when tube fed children go to school, we are not worried about how others will perceive our child.

Written by: Bridget Britton, OSU Extension Educator, Carroll County, britton.191@osu.edu

Reviewed by: Michelle Treber, OSU Extension Educator, Pickaway County, treber.1@osu.edu

References:

https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/types/invisible/

https://www.feedingtubeawareness.org/

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-12-21/life-with-a-feeding-tube