TV, Video Games, and Your Kids by Mark Brandenburg MA,, CPCC

There’s been a great debate in our country for thelast number of years
concerning violent TV andvideo games.

There are thousands of studies indicating thatthere’s a link between
violent video images andincreased aggressiveness and violence in children.

There are also studies that say there’s littlerelationship between the
two, and that there mayeven be some visual/spatial benefits that kidsreceive
from video games.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,the average child in
this country will see 200,000acts of violence by the time they’re eighteen.

Common sense tells me this is probably notbenefiting them.

But the truth is that it’s difficult to prove theexact impact that these
images have on kids.

For parents, this may be the wrong question to beasking. Perhaps there
are other issues here thatwould be useful to consider.

As a coach who works with parents, I see thefrequent power struggles
that come up around videogames and TV watching. When I see young kids infront
of a screen, I wonder about all of the otherthings those kids might be doing.

But it’s extremely difficult to be a parentwithout the “electric babysitter”
these days,especially considering how busy parents are today.There is also
the added complication of otherparents who allow greater access to video
gamesand TV to their kids.

So what do you do about this issue?

How about using your gut instinct and taking afirm stand?

A while back my wife and I decided that when ourkids were young we’d
like them to spend the largemajority of their time interacting with otherhuman
beings, not screens. We also realized thatat some point in the future this
may change. Butbecause of this decision, we’re sometimes lookedat as peculiar
by people we know.

And while it does cause some hardship, we haven’tregretted it for a
moment.

It simply seemed like the right thing to do.

I would challenge all parents to look at this issueand to make a decision
about what kind of familyculture you want. And don’t base it on what theJones’
are doing across the street or what popularculture tells you to do.

Make your decision, set your limits, and do yourkids an enormous service
by standing by yourlimits, no matter what. Firmly and respectfullystate
that, “this is what we do in our house” andthen stand by it.

I don’t know if video games and violent TV makekids more violent. And
I don’t think TV or videogames are inherently evil.

I just want the best for my kids, because they’llonly be kids once in
their life.

About the Author

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC, is the author of 25 Secrets of Emotionally
Intelligent Fathers (http://www.markbrandenburg.com/e_book.htm#secrets.
For more great tips and action steps for fathers, sign up for his FREE bi-weekly

newsletter, Dads, Don’t Fix Your Kids, at http://www.markbrandenburg.com

Nanny caution

What types of things should you look out for when you are about to accept any nanny jobs?

Well one important thing that I always look at is the contract in detail. Why? If you are knew to nanning then you could be in for a rude awaking because most contracts do not fully benefit the nanny. Most contracts try to sweeze in extra work and not detailed work descriptions living it very open to what your real duties and work responsibility is.

I was hit once with a contract that said well this is just here in case. From what I was told previously it seemed like this particular situation rarely happened if ever and what do you know. It happened more frequently than I anticipated so I worked more and got paid less. Avoid all contracts that don’t say in detailed what work is considered extra. You should ask for extra money for work during overnight periods. Each hour should result in overtime salary which in most cases is higher than your normal salary.

Next, I see what type of children I will be taking care of and full attention to the relationship with their parents. If the children seem like they have no hope and you know your capacity with children don’t accept it. Or you will be left with a very stressful job. I do think all children are innocent and just need to be loved but if they have been bad situations earlier it may not be any hope at all.

These are all of my cautions for now. I will update this page soon.

Do you have any questions?

Ask me anything and I will answer as fast as I can Click here to ask

Nanny Education

A degree is great for some jobs, but for a nanny, I think experience coupled with some classes is ideal. For raising kids there is nothing like some hands-on experience, but I think the training part is very important. Everyone looking for a nanny position should at least take the time to get CPR certified. Doing some sort of enrichment activity (taking classes, reading child development books or magazines, browsing websites for learning activities, etc) shows that not only do you care about children, but that you are interested in being the best you can be.

I actually earned my BA as a Child Life Specialist. However, I have worked as a preschool teacher as my first job. I believe that experience is VERY important and that I wouldn’t be worth my wage without it. However, I also have to give TONS of credit to my educational background. It’s an extra bonus.

Having a degree proves to many employers that you have taken your love of children very seriously. It shows that you have put extra time and effort into learning about child developmental theories, etc.

Hi!! Welcome to my new site. I hope to help you and your nanny job seeking times. Please post all and any comments that you may have!