HaltonParents

Is it hormones or mental health? What every parent needs to know.

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Nicole O'Donnell, RN

Updated: January 14, 2025

I heard shouting down the hall… then crying. My daughter entered the room with an empty mug in her hand and she’s sobbing. “She spilled my hot chocolate.”

So we are crying over…. spilled hot chocolate?

Understandable behaviour if she was 5 but she is in her mid-teens and it took me off guard.

Hands of mother consoling sad teen daughter crying

I consoled her with a promise to make more and as I folded her into an embrace, I caught my husband’s eye across the room. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Continue reading →

Posted in Children & Tweens, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Child/Tween, Emotional Well-Being & Mental Health for Your Teen, Keeping Your Child/Tween Safe, Keeping Your Teen Safe, Parenting, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Teen, Teen Brain, Teens | Tagged development, emotional, emotions, hormones, Mental Health, Mental Illness, relationships, stress, Teen Brain, tweens, youth | 3 Comments

In an emergency, would your child know how to call 911?

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Andrea Scott RN

Boy in phone booth holding landline corded phone and cell phone to compare

A few years ago, we got rid of our landline phone. The only people calling us were telemarketers – even the baby boomer grandparents had moved on to texting us!

Our kids were babies at the time and to be honest, I didn’t think about them needing to use a phone. Who were they going to call anyways??

Wait… Even little three and four year-olds have called 911 and saved a caregiver’s life. Continue reading →

Posted in Children & Tweens, Keeping Your Child/Tween Safe, Keeping Your Toddler & Preschooler Safe, Parenting, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Play, Growth & Development, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged call 911, call 911 from cell phone, emergency, get help, landline, mobile, teach kids | 4 Comments

Who’s the boss? You or your phone?

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Nicole O'Donnell, RN

The dinner is on the table, the milk has been poured, and everyone dives in. Well, everyone except one. There is one person at the table checking their phone.

No. No. Not my daughters.

Like many households, we have a no-device-at-the-table rule. Apart from the occasional reminder my kids have done well to remember and even respect this guideline. It has long been established that the dinner table is a great time to regroup and connect as a family. I am embarrassed to say, however, that there is a rising star in this rule-breaking – my husband. Having recently started a next chapter in his career he is more in demand than ever. Add this to our societal shift of “all things must be answered now” philosophy and you have a dinner-time-device debacle.

Check out this hilarious video below from Commonsense Media:

Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Children & Tweens, Parenting, Parenting Your Baby, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Teen, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Teens, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged adult, cell phone, dinner time, families, family, family time, limiting screen time, Mental Health, mobile, phone, play, screen addiction, screen time, stress | 2 Comments

We went on a family vacation… Without any screens

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Andrea Scott RN

Mother and daughter happily making snow angels in the snow

2017 was an insane year for our family of four, so my husband and I decided to start the New Year off by taking the kids for a local getaway. I’m talking a small hotel room with a kitchenette for five nights and six days. And no screens.

When I told friends about our plan, the first question was a befuddled “WHY?!” Continue reading →

Posted in Babies, Children & Tweens, Parenting, Parenting Your Baby, Parenting Your Child/Tween, Parenting Your Teen, Parenting Your Toddler & Preschooler, Teens, Toddlers & Preschoolers | Tagged break, cell, cellphone, holiday, iPad, iphone, kids, Mental Health, no screens, phone addiction, Physical Health, preschoolers, screenfree, screentime, tablet, tv, tweens | 5 Comments

4 ways to inspire your teen to give back

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Tamara Kraszewski, RN

Teenagers outside cleaning up a park with quote: “If you give kids the inspiration and tools to change the world, it will change their own lives in the process” -Craig Kielburger of “Me to We”

When our sons were about 14 and 16, their lives revolved around friends, food, sports and girls. Pretty typical, right? They were kind, compassionate kids who had done some mandatory volunteering, but as their parents we wanted them to see the benefits of giving back. Continue reading →