THE SMART ZONE
Smart Families Be Smart Newsletter
Check out The Smart Zone: A collection of Be Smart Newsletters.
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2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR
Willpower and Habits
Many people have a tradition of setting resolutions at the start of the new year. If this sounds like you, you may have already noticed that your good intentions are not always leading to new or changed habits. Setting a new habit or changing an old one is more than just a matter of intention, it is often a combination of what we refer to as "willpower" – the mental energy required to do something that requires our self-control or other executive functioning skills – and identifying one or more tools and strategies that will help reinforce whatever behavior you're trying to change.
Check out the January issue of the Smart Families Be Smart to learn more about willpower, habits and the science behind achieving your goals!
Navigating Peer Pressure
In this issue, you will learn about peer pressure—what it is, how it happens, and, most importantly, why it’s so prevalent among adolescents today.
"children naturally turn to peers for validation and guidance—relationships that often depend on conditional acceptance and potential involvement in risky behaviors. Yet, today’s children increasingly form bonds with digital devices and peers over parents." December Be Smart
Learn how to support your child and guide them during these formative years. Engage in the PARENTS over PEERS movement!
Variable Reward, Social Media & Mental Health
The pervasive influence of social media is reflected in the 5 billion users worldwide. But what drives people to engage, sometimes obsessively, with others on social media?
In this issue, we talk about how reward impacts behaviors, cycles of repetitive actions and short form content.
"As parents, it's critical to understand that the constant exposure to this type of content may shape the way your child thinks, learns, and engages with the world."
Level Up: The Science of Addiction and Its Impact on Gaming
Remember when ‘one more game’ meant five more minutes? Now, it seems like five more hours is the case with gaming. There's a reason these video games are so hard for your child to put down, and it all points back to what’s unfolding in your child’s brain as they are playing these addictive games.
In this month's newsletter, we are breaking down the science behind gaming addiction and why it’s more important than ever to understand how gaming can affect your child’s brain. Many of the tactics used in gaming are also used in social media (particularly short form videos) so effects can be the same.
The Neuroscience Blueprint: Guiding The Smart Families Mission
We all want what’s best for our children. The #1 predictor of future success is not socioeconomic status or IQ, but the development of higher level executive functioning skills which are developed in the prefrontal cortex between 12-25 years old. These skills include organization, empathy, and self-control. We will show you how your brain develops naturally and how smartphones and certain online applications can permanently harm your child’s ability to develop these skills.
Smart Families: Uniting for a Stronger Community
Over the past 18 months there is growing awareness of the problems smartphones and social media are having on our health and well-being. There is a mental health and addiction crisis, especially amongst adolescents, and people are finally talking about it. For us parents, this is a personal issue that demands urgency and is too important to wait for regulatory change or voluntary corporate goodwill.
2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR
Green Time Summer
Bucket List
"The Green Time Summer Bucket List," a collaboration between Smart Families and Sarah Nielsen from SG Wellness and is designed to inspire families to embrace the outdoors and make the most of the summer season by spending more time outdoors soaking up the benefits of fresh air and physical activity.
April
Smart Zone Newsletter
It is never too late. The April issue, Turn Around: Don't Drown. How to survive the digital tide and embrace the outdoors shares research on the impact of the outdoors on mental health, sleep and more. Break down fears and gift children healthy outdoor play. Learn the importance of awe and wonder. Don't let children be prisoners in a tech saturated world.
March
Be Smart Guide
"Can you unplug? In our technology-driven world, it's easy to overlook how tethered we've become to devices, missing out on meaningful connections with the people and activities that truly enrich our lives.
Moreover, there's a pervasive notion that children must be constantly engaged, leaving little room for the simple, yet profound, moments of quiet and reflection. It's time to embrace a new mantra: Let's BRING BOREDOM BACK! Discover the Be Smart Guide for strategies on purposefully disconnecting and welcome boredom into your child's life.
March
Smart Zone Newsletter
Connected or Distracted? Dive into the complex world of smartphones and their effects on students and social dynamics. Read insights from an experienced Pre-K teacher who sheds light on the changes she has seen in the classroom. Learn the science of loneliness and the growing concern over children feeling increasingly isolated. Discover the intricate balance between digital connectivity and the need for meaningful personal interactions in our children's lives.
February
Be Smart Guide
The role that families play in positive peer pressure is invaluable - especially today when peer to peer influence has surpassed parent to child. Learn more about how you can maintain a parental role that embodies appropriate values and exerts a beneficial impact on your child!
As a bonus: Check out our Family Values worksheet here! Come together as a family to identify what it most important to you!
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January
Smart Zone Newsletter
Navigating peer pressure as parents
in today's world comes with unique challenges, and one prevalent concern is the impact of peer pressure on our children. Learn about the science of peer pressure and practical strategies to empower your child in the face of peer influences.
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