17 things parents need to STOP doing for their kids

By Laura Callisen, FamilyShare

1. We give our kids creative names

Thor may have been your favorite superhero as a kid, but leave him where he belongs – in ancient Norse mythology and comic books. If you want to give your child an unusual name thinking s/he will be more noticed, choose a name that has fallen out of favor at the moment.

2. We teach them to be themselves, no matter what

What we believe is that we are teaching them not to bow to peer pressure when they get older. Your child may not listen to you about washing his/her hair more often, but let the kids at school say something and it'll be done. A University of Virginia study in 2009 showed that teens who bowed to small amounts of peer pressure were more socially adept as adults.

3. We force them into sports

You want your kid to get physical exercise; you want your kid to learn good sportsmanship and cooperation. Sometimes, they learn some not so good things too, depending on the coach, especially one that thinks, "Win at all costs."

4. We want them to be the brightest little preschoolers ever

We work, so off to daycare they go. And we are very careful about that daycare. Actually, studies show that we should pick a daycare environment for its loving and nurturing approach, and leave the academic program for when they actually start school. If learning is forced too early, it can turn kids off to school later on.

5. We helicopter

Kids need to fall down and skin their knees; they need to get more than 10 feet away from us. That may be an exaggeration, but letting them climb that piece of playground equipment all on their own, without hovering, is a good thing.

6. We do their homework

There is a difference between helping a child learn something and just finishing it out of frustration because it is bedtime or we have other things to do. And as we help, particularly with math and writing assignments, we can be pretty poor teachers. If we are not good at writing ourselves, then we need to get some resources and start learning.

7. We need to rescue them

No one wants to see his/her kid in pain or in trouble. Our first reaction is to step in. But we have to let them work through some things on their own. If we don't, they become dependent upon us to be their problem-solvers – not a good thing as they move into teenage years.

8. We hurry them

Our lives become busy and hectic, and often, we are in a hurry. We have deadlines; we need to get errands run; we are running late. And so, we impose that "hurry up" on our kids. Too many activities with schedules that are too tight for everyone in the family are destructive.

9. We are their social directors

Are they meeting and befriending the "right" kids? How can we manipulate things so that they do? God forbid they should have an empty weekend on their calendars. So we orchestrate social activities whether they like it or not. It's for their own good – not.

10. We force an introverted child to be outgoing

Introverted people have wonderful qualities – they are thinkers; they are creative; they often become movers and shakers as adults. We may be outgoing and extroverted, but we must never impose that mindset on our kids. When we have a kid who prefers a book to playing "Barbie's" with her friends, so be it.

11. We obsess over stranger-danger

In this age of predator awareness, of course, we must teach our kids about strangers and how they are to respond. We can go overboard, and our kids can grow up with the belief that anyone who looks different or acts differently is a danger. This narrows their perspectives at a time when the world is getting smaller.

12. We give too much praise

Those little egos need nurturing. And so we do all that we can to heap on a praise for even small accomplishments. Reasonable praise, given for definite improvement or accomplishment of a goal, is worthy praise.

13. We put our kids in front of educational videos as infants

The whole Baby Einstein video craze is finally over, thank goodness. We were sold a bill of goods actually, plopping our one-year-olds in front of a screen to be bombarded with new words. If we want our kids to be little Einstein's, then we have to take the personal time to engage with them.

14. We impose our interests on our kids

We may love working on cars; we may love painting, decorating; we may love football, etc. Trying to impose that interest on our kids, and acting offended or disappointed when they do not share it, is telling them that they are less valuable in our eyes.

15. We live vicariously through our kids (or try to)

We have baggage that we take into adulthood. Whatever it takes, we are bound and determined that our child will excel in those areas. This makes us "pushy" and focused on ourselves, not on our kids' strengths and talents.

16. We get too text-bookish about our child rearing

We need to rely on our instincts more than we currently do. If something that we are doing "feels" wrong, no matter what the experts say, then we need to follow our instincts.

17. We don't let our kids get bored

When kids complain about being bored, we hop to it and come up with solutions for them. It is during periods of boredom that kids are forced to use their creative problem-solving skills. If they depend on others to entertain them, they will never be content to just be by themselves, and be comfortable in their own skin.

Laura Callisen is an experienced writer and freelance journalist. She has a deep passion to share her diverse experience through guest posting and freelance blogging. @LauraCallisen

Source: 17 things parents need to STOP doing for their kids

PR Insight: #Blogs are the building blocks of social media

PR Insight: Blogs are the building blocks of social media Social media is a ubiquitous force in our society. It has evolved from a source of entertainment and a place to connect with friends and family to a trusted source of information that has the power to shape consumers' perceptions, influence their ideas ... read moreInvest-Tech: The Next Phase of Fintech Innovation Next-generation invest-tech has two main building blocks: artificial intelligence ... Predata and Orbital Insight. Predata is developing a tool to listen to social media and collaborative data (i.e., "big data") and extract metadata, which it mines ... read more

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Source: PR Insight: #Blogs are the building blocks of social media

PR Insight: Blogs are the building blocks of social media

Social media is a ubiquitous force in our society. It has evolved from a source of entertainment and a place to connect with friends and family to a trusted source of information that has the power to shape consumers' perceptions, influence their ideas and affect their behavior.

Credit unions recognize the significance of social media and, in response, a growing majority have established a presence on popular platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn. However, merely establishing a Facebook page or simply setting up a credit union-branded Twitter handle is not an effective marketing strategy, and as many credit unions have discovered, this static approach yields marginal results at best.

For credit unions, future success hinges on the ability to build long-term connections. This can be achieved through various marketing tools, including blogging and social media outreach, that independently are effective but, when combined, have an even more powerful impact. Compelling content combined with thoughtful outreach is the key to effectively engaging members, connecting with the community and, perhaps most importantly, attracting the next generation of account holders.

1.   Attracting an Audience

Blogging is an effective way to develop and deliver content, capture an audience and, in turn, fuel future social media outreach. The challenge for many credit union marketers is cutting through the noise in today's environment where consumers are inundated with information. Readers are more likely to engage with blogs that are visually appealing, and there is a growing trend amongst successful bloggers to use more graphical content. Incorporating infographics, high resolution images and interesting design elements will help capture the reader's attention. Clever headlines are increasingly important and tools like BuzzSumo can help rate and develop effective titles.

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Source: PR Insight: Blogs are the building blocks of social media

#Blogging: Therapy for the Millennial Generation

Blogging: Therapy for the Millennial Generation When I was 18, I left the "big city" in the Northeast to move nearly 800 miles away to attend a small private university in the South. While it was challenging to leave my family and friends behind, the allure of independence and a fresh start was too ... read moreMillennial Voters Reveal Potential Inroads for GOP Republicans have long struggled to attract younger voters, but with the millennial generation (adults ages 18 to 35) matching baby boomers as the largest share of the electorate, the College Republicans are trying to find places where the GOP can make ... read more

How to Decode Millennials for Fun and Profit People born in the 1980s and the 1990s now make up the largest single generation group in the workforce ... many watched mom or dad get fired. The millennials may get a bad wrap for expecting special treatment, but they're simply voicing the unspoken ... read moreBorn after 1980 and bucking the generation generalization Consider the millennials—one of these multidecade categories of people with the same birthdates, like Generation X and the baby boomers ... and hope to teach in Santa Fe sometime soon. I write blog posts and help create social media content for some ... read moreDesigning Learning for Millennials ... may want to consider what type of culture will attract Millennials in the first place to effectively recruit and retain this generation. Excerpted from "5 Things Millennials Need to Succeed in the Workforce," ATD Human Capital Blog, January 2016. read moreMillennial Consumers Vs Gen Z: Should Brands Plan Now? Millennials, or anyone born between 1980 and the late 1990's, are over 80 million strong and, according to a study put out by Accenture, spend over $600 billion each year. Millennials were the first digital generation and engaging with them was truly a ... read moreYour Move, Millennials If you've ever uttered to yourself, "Pft...this generation, I tell ya..." this one's for you. As with any generality about a group of people, it is broad sweeping, not universal...though it is really, REALLY funny! read more5 Tips To Reach Millennials For Christ Millennials are those who are the youngest generation today. They are the twenty-somethings and teens of our society. They are sometimes dubbed "Generation Y" and are those who followed "Generation X." There are actually no precise dates for these ... read moreMarketing to millennials: What agents need to know They use social media, watch video online and read blog content more than any other generation. Millennials also have significant differences financially from the other generations. They have more student debt and less income, which inevitably has led to a ... read moreA Generation of Crazy There is a fair amount of clinical data suggesting that millennials are more narcissistic than previous generations. Hard data is difficult to come by but from the perspective of a group character, millennials were the first generation raised with the ... read more

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Source: #Blogging: Therapy for the Millennial Generation

A Giants minor league catcher and his side project: video blogging

Matt Paré is making his way through the internet with the Homeless Minor Leaguer brand and YouTube channel.

On a baseball field, Matt Paré is dressed in a sweater, a button down and tie, and khakis. Behind him are two men playing catch.

He says to the camera, "Hi, I'm Matt Paré. Behind me are some very unfortunate minor league baseball players."

This video, parodying the ASPCA commercials you see on television that tugs at your heartstrings and tells you to adopt a pet in need, goes on to tell you that these are minor leaguers in need and today, you can adopt a minor leaguer yourself.

This is just one of the few videos that showcases Paré's skills as a content creator on YouTube. But this is just something Paré does on the side. For his day job? He's also a minor league baseball player.

Paré was an undrafted free agent after graduating from Boston College, where he earned a degree in Human Development and Organizational Studies. He found a place in the San Francisco Giants organization, now entering his fourth season in the team's farm system and playing in Low-A, with the Augusta GreenJackets.

In 2015, Paré started the blog Homeless Minor Leaguer to chronicle his journeys through the minor leagues. Partway through, he switched up the format, going from written blog posts to video blogs (or vlogs) and written sketches.

Now, Paré has built a following amongst fans of baseball. Those who don't know him for being a baseball player know him as the ballplayer behind the Homeless Minor Leaguer.

Paré says he switched from writing to video because he couldn't really convey what he wanted to say in words. Video did the trick.

"When you're reading it's tough for me to show my personality," Paré says, "and you can't figure out what my personality is like through writing, but you get to see it in action in video."

Paré uses the topic of packing for a road trip as an example. He says that sounds like a boring topic and writing about it could be as such. With video? Not so much.

"In video, you're watching this screen that's always changing and you have no idea what could pop up next," Paré says. "To me, that's what video does versus writing. It gives that burst out laughing moment versus the chuckle-on-the-inside laughter."

Paré notes that Steve Buckley, a columnist for the Boston Herald and someone Paré calls a friend and a mentor, said that his "writing wasn't [his] strong suit in comparison to the video."

Buckley says that Paré's writing is not bad, but it's not necessarily at a professional level. On the other hand, Buckley says that Paré has skills on the video side of things.

"You put him in front of a camera, it's a whole different thing," Buckley says. "He's a natural."

Courtesy of Matt Paré Adopt a minor leaguer today.

Paré taught himself how to shoot and edit, watching tutorial videos on YouTube to learn. "I never did it in college, anything like that," Paré says about that. "I was a human development major—not very close to video editing."

With the help of a friend who has her own YouTube channel, Paré made his entrance into the world of being a video content creator. Even with some quick rigging of equipment—Paré says he once took his phone's car mount and duct taped it to a cousin's floor stand and using that as a tripod—he makes do with what he has and picks things up along the way.

Paré's "Minor Leaguers Need Your Help...Sort Of" video has reached nearly 9,000 views on YouTube. Not only that, but it caught the eye of Alexis (Lexi) Cozombolidis, otherwise known as Giants outfielder Hunter Pence's fiancée.

Collaborating with both Cozombolidis and Pence, they created a short sketch in which Cozombolidis and Pence "adopt" a minor leaguer in need: Paré.

Paré says that Cozombolidis reached out to him and said they should collaborate. They brainstormed during Spring Training in Arizona, throwing out ideas until the script for the sketch formed.

"We created this video very organically," Paré says. "Oh, what if this happens and then that happens, what if Hunter is showing Matt how to swing, and then Hunter is recommending these things, you're going to take a really nice looking swing and then I'm going to show you how to swing and it's not going to be right."

As of May 26, the video, on Cozombolidis' YouTube channel, has nearly 16,000 views.

Buckley says about Paré's video with Pence, "Hunter Pence doesn't have to trifle with a player in the low minors. The fact that he feels comfortable with Matt and that Matt felt comfortable to build a rapport with him, that obviously speaks very well to Hunter Pence, but think about how well that speaks to Matt."

Paré says that in addition to collaborating with Cozombolidis and Pence, Cozombolidis has been giving Paré advice growing his channel. He also says Pence was a huge help and "a very self-aware guy, very funny."

Paré also has the support of the Giants organization, he says, relating a story from Spring Training when one of his videos, called "Minor League Love Commercial," was circulating amongst the team. He says he was taking batting practice when Shane Turner, the Giants' Director of Player Development, says to him, "I've been watching a lot of Youtube lately."

"Oh, yeah? What have you been watching?" Paré asks.

"Some video called… Minor League Love," Turner says. Paré asks what he thinks of it. "It's pretty funny. I didn't know we had an internet star in our organization."

It's not always fun and laughs in the minor leagues, though, which is why Paré says he's started blogging a little bit more.

"[It's] giving people a look at what life is like in the minor leagues and how exciting this journey can be, the different people that you meet, and how many interesting stories they have to tell," Paré says. "That's what I want to do, because there are so many guys who just play minor league baseball and that's it, but there are so many stories down here that are just lost."

Paré says that it's not a failure if minor leaguers don't make it to the big leagues, because most of these guys have faced so much adversity. But he stresses that videos such as "Minor Leaguers Need Your Help...Sort Of" are meant to be satirical.

"I mean it when I say Ty [Kelly, a minor leaguer who is now in the New York Mets organization] wasn't born into this life, he chose this life," Paré says. "That's something that I wanted to get across. I wanted people to know, because you do choose this life. No one is holding a gun to your head saying you have to play minor league baseball."

He also wants to keep it as lighthearted as he can, being able to joke around with fellow minor leaguers while showing what life is like in the league these days.

Buckley says Paré is a good reader of people and a good storyteller, saying that Paré listens to other people's stories. With blogs and social media, Buckley says there's so many places to take those stories.

"Imagine what it's like to play 22 years in the big leagues and play in the World Series and be MVP and all that," Buckley says. "All the stories that you have. But this guy, four minor league seasons and he's going to have a pot full of stories and anecdotes and adventures and memories. You can't buy that."

Paré has persevered, Buckley says, calling him a hard and earnest worker and a quick study who gives it his all.

"A lot of guys quit," Buckley says. "They can't hack it. … When you quit minor league baseball, you're done. You can cherry pick certain individuals [who quit] after a couple of years and then get back into it. But we all know that's few and far between. So Matt is sticking out, as I knew he would. That's just the kind of guy he is."

As for other last thoughts he has about content creation and what he wants people to know, he asks with a laugh, "Gosh, is this where I plug something?" He says he wants to fit a sketch into his schedule soon and feels like he can fit it in, but he can't promise anything.

And then, he settles for the YouTuber saying: "Like, share, subscribe, comment below?"

Source: A Giants minor league catcher and his side project: video blogging

#Tumblr for #iPhone becomes a meme generator with a new GIF captioning feature

Tumblr for iPhone becomes a meme generator with a new GIF captioning feature Tumblr for iPhone was updated this morning on the App Store with a much appreciated GIF-captioning feature which helps turn the popular micro-blogging software into an instant meme generator. In addition to the ability to post regular GIF images and ... read moreWatch Avatar and The Dark Knight — in Animated GIF Form A new site called ... of content as it becomes broadly distributed." "We turned movies into GIFs in order to push the format of the GIF blog to one absurdly logical conclusion," Idle Screenings co-creator Mitch Trale told Mashable on Tuesday. read more

Inside the Secret Technology that Makes 'The Daily Show' and 'Last Week Tonight' Work The way these shows compile montages and search through the vast wastelands of cable news every day has changed over the years, with a new technology ... or GIF your favorite moments and instantly share them online. You can even meme your screenshots ... read moreHow I quit worrying and learned to love Vine One of the first things I read about Vine, Twitter's new stand-alone video app for iPhone and iPod Touch ... It felt like something Tumblr should have built; and it offered a lot of appeal to teens, along the lines of Snapchat. "As much as I wanted ... read moreInternet giant: Forever-online PM Narendra Modi most accessible of all A New ... captioning his pictures with witty one-liners. READ ALSO: How some key ministers ensure job gets done Jha finds Modi the "most GIF-able, meme-able, re-tweetable person ever". As it is "irreverent" to make fun of a PM, jokes on him become even ... read morePrepare yourself for the best 'Star Wars Rebels' episode of the series Two clips have been released from the newest episode "Shroud of Darkness," and each one gives us new information on what we can expect. Listening to Ahsoka describing Yoda reminded me of The Clone Wars, which also brings this episode in line with the past. read more21 Startups and 4 Trends You Need to Know Now Founded by former photographer and video journalist Danfung Dennis, Condition One offers a video technology that changes how people create and view video for mobile devices. The software is designed to give viewers the feeling that they're "there," right ... read moreWe Need Help: Web Developer To Fix/Enhance Social Networking Hi! We're looking for a web developer who has experience with BuddyPress and CometChat (or a different WordPress-compatible social networking situation that you think we should use instead) who could make ours work in the way we want it to. This will ... read more12 Ways to Win an Argument on the Internet There are people out there who will tell you that it's impossible to win an argument on the Internet. Those people are wrong. Not only are they wrong, but they're stupid idiots who are basically Hitler and Kony mixed together and probably never get laid ... read more

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Source: #Tumblr for #iPhone becomes a meme generator with a new GIF captioning feature

LOL! This guy actually did a project on ‘Youth In Asia’ as his homework when he was asked to do on ‘Euthanasia’

There's no kid ever who's liked homework. Kids absolutely hate homework and keep looking at excuses at getting out of it. The dog ate my homework, I forgot my book at home, I didn't remember, I'll submit it tomorrow, I wasn't well, etc etc were all the excuses we all always gave for getting out of doing the homework. But then, can you imagine the tragedy of it if you actually did your homework – not only homework but actually an entire, well-researched project – and then turns out it was wrong? Can you believe the disappointment at realising your error? Well that is exactly what happened with a poor Irish youth and obviously, the results were not very good!

[ALSO READ: This basketball player who has the perfect response for every "white skin" lover will make every woman proud!]

So then, how exactly did it happen? Well, turns out it was a simple hearing error! The project was supposed to be on 'Euthanasia', the topic which the world is struggling to come to terms with. Also known as mercy killing, euthanasia is a human being asking to be put to death medically due to suffering from a life-threatening disability, physical disorder or at times just troublesome old age. So, the project was clearly supposed to be on the dead serious topic. But unfortunately John (as per his Twitter name) did not hear the topic correctly. He instead ended up doing an entire project on the similar sounding but completely different 'Youth in Asia'! The poor chap actually spent a complete 2 hours researching the youth in Asia and their lifestyle!

[ALSO READ: She was married off and raped by her husband when she was 15. But today, Geeta is the most famous Bollywood stuntswoman!]

 

 

John, with the Twitter handle @johnnnn_d posted his plight on the micro-blogging platform and the world went berserk laughing at his error. His tweet instantly got popular and so far, has received thousands retweets and likes for his tweet! Many people sympathised with him and even said that it was a genuine error. There was a complete discussion over Twitter over how people often say something but something else is heard and it creates complete confusion! Not just the common man but even many popular Twitter handles and parody Twitter channels began to share the tweet adding to its popularity! Well, we don't really blame you kid, a pretty honest mistake it seems to be! But then, we do hope your professor thought so too!

[ALSO READ: Born without hands, he wrote the Board exams with his toes, passed with 80 percent marks!]

 

 

 

 

Source: LOL! This guy actually did a project on 'Youth In Asia' as his homework when he was asked to do on 'Euthanasia'