Saturday, April 4, 2020

What is the Best Option For Getting Higher Grades in School?

What is the Best Option For Getting Higher Grades in School?If you have been looking for the best option for getting better grades in school, or you are thinking of enrolling in a higher education program, you might think about applying for a EdU Board Tutoring Online course. But before making any decision, you have to first decide what your goals are for a college education.A good way to decide which online course to apply for is to figure out what your educational goals are. Are you willing to take on more classes? Do you want to get a master's degree?Or maybe you're simply trying to complete your high school education in less time? Whatever the reason, there are hundreds of choices available for you in a free online edu board tutoring online course. And these different courses can be tailored specifically to meet your individual needs.One thing that you will notice when browsing through these different course selections is that they offer a range of different offerings. For exampl e, some may offer just a few short-term options, while others may offer an entire semester, or more.Another great place to find out information about all the courses available is to visit the Internet sites of the schools offering these different courses. You can also find more information by visiting local schools, or any state college campus. When you go to one of these institutions, you will be able to speak to an admissions representative and determine which course is right for you.After deciding what course is right for you, you need to do the same thing with the schools offering the online course. This is because these schools know how important it is to have an educated student body. A student who has proper communication skills and general education has a better chance of succeeding in their chosen career.There are many benefits to going to a college education. If you want to keep up with the rest of the world and seek an education in a field that you love, then you should d efinitely consider enrolling in a college education.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Connotation and Denotation

Connotation and Denotation Connotation and Denotation Words have duel meaning, a straight forward or literal meaning and a hidden meaning that is connected to the emotions and imagination. In other words they have both denotative and connotative meanings. Denotation is the literal or dictionary meaning of a word and connotation meaning is related to the emotional association that we attach to a word. For example, the word snake has two meanings; the literal meaning is that of a scaly reptile that slithers on the ground. The connotative meaning is different when we refer to the snake we think of evil. Many words carry two meanings, an actual meaning which is known as denotation and an imaginative or emotional meaning, known as connotation. We will understand the concept better if we look at an example of connotation in a sentence and analyze it. Harry is a chicken; he cannot face his enemies face to face. Literal meaning of chicken is a small animal that tastes good, but the implied meaning of chicken is something else here. The connotative meaning of chicken means is somebody who is a coward or is afraid to face danger. Denotation in a sentence Denotation means literal or real meaning of a word that is given in a dictionary. To explain further let us look at a denotation in a sentence and analyze it thoroughly to get the literal meaning of a word. Example: I saw a white dove flying against a blue sky. Literal or actual meaning of the word dove a small bird that is docile and harmless. In this sentence dove refers to the actual bird. Connotation in a sentence Connotative meaning of the word is not so straight forward, it is imaginative, and relates to some idea, concept of emotion. Let us look at the earlier example, a white dove the symbolic meaning of a white dove is peace. So if we apply connotative meaning to the above sentence its meaning changes. The individual saw the emblem of peace in the sky. Connotation and Denotation Denotation is exactly what the dictionary says, many words have similar denotative meaning but their connotative means depends on the context in which they are used. Take the example of the word quest. The literal meaning of quest is in search of something. There are several other meanings of quest, these are hunt,seeking,journey,mission,enterprise. While quest sounds good, hunt that has the same meaning appears to be a little negative. Hunt is generally connected with an aggressive action, and gives negative meaning. Depending on the context a word conveys a negative or positive meaning. Let us look at the way the word hunt and the way it is used in three sentence I am going on a hunt with my friends The police has started a hunt for the perpetrators of the crime Let us hunt together for better opportunities. In the first sentence the word hunt is used in the neutral form, to catch or kill wild animals. The same word takes a negative shade in the second sentence, here it means pursuit in order to punish. The third sentence has more positive vibes, here the word means going on a mission or journey to seek better opportunities. The above example shows that there are three types of connotations, neutral, negative and positive, depending on the feelings associated with the word. Neutral The word neutral means that no feelings, positive or negative, are attached, so a neutral connotation means something that does not engage emotional feelings. Example: Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world The highest in this sentence is simply stating a fact, there are no feelings, positive or negative are attached to it. Negative and Positive Connotations Negative and positive connotations are related to feelings implied or expressed in a sentence. In other words, negative and positive feelings depend on the context in which the same word is used. The context changes the meaning of the same word. Let us use the same word highest we have used in the neutral sentence. Example: (1) Jim has become a CEO; he has reached the highest pinnacle of his career. (2) Jack deserves the highest punishment for the crime he has committed. The word highest is used to mean the top level in the first sentence to shows positive connotation. The same word highest is used in the second sentence to convey a negative meaning. List of some positive, negative and neutral connotations, generally used in every day language. Positive Connotation Neutral Connotation Negative Connotation Self-confident Arrogant Proud Dignified Snobby Reserved Modest Shy Mousy Venerable Elderly Old

Friday, March 6, 2020

The Benefits of Learning to Draw

The Benefits of Learning to Draw Why Learning How to Draw is so Important for Youngsters ChaptersThe Evolution of a Child’s DrawingsHow Drawing Benefits KidsPromoting Your Child’s Development through DrawingThe Beginnings of WritingFrom around the age of 18 months, tots love to scribble!Bit by bit, their drawings evolve to be more complex and thought-out. However, drawing is more than just an amusing activity â€" it plays a big role in a child’s development.As the years pass, children learn to properly use a pencil and drawing becomes easier.So, how do you help the little ones to progress artistically?Why is it important to let children draw?Colouring books are a good place to start, but there really is nothing better than a simple sheet of A4 and a selection of wax crayons to get them thinking creatively.So, what are the benefits of drawing lessons for kids?more controlled.In their own time, each child learns how to grip objects, move them and put them into their mouth, and this is all before they learn to hold a pencil and start creating their own works of art!Th is step is essential to any child’s development.Between the ages of 12 and 18 months, children are already capable of holding a pencil. And naturally, they start scribbling with anything they find!Scribbling helps children practice their fine motor skills and learn to control and coordinate their movements.As children become more mature, more thought goes into their work ¦ source: Pixabay - SkitterphotoFrom the age of 2, these scribbles start to take form and begin to look like proper drawings!At this age, children stop making spirals and through practicing  their pencil drawing, their shapes become more precise. They also get into the natural habit of drawing from left to right. As their muscles and imagination develop, children learn to move their art tools according to their vision of what they wish to draw.At the age of 4, art becomes more intentional for children, as they begin to act on their creative vision of a final piece. This is the point at which children start to att empt representing what they know in real life in their sketches.They start with the basic shapes that make up people, then go into further detail to draw faces.Children’s drawings evolve most dramatically during their primary school years, as they learn how to draw people and how to draw faces more realistically.Their first attempts at drawing people usually begin with child-like circles (to represent the torso, which has a face on it) and sticks (for the limbs).After this stage, the child adds a second circle which represents the head, and they may even add other details such as a neck, hair, eyes and feet, but it isn’t until the age of 6 that they begin to draw their stick figures wearing clothes.These steps in the evolution of drawing are common among the majority of the population, and show a progression in a child’s ability to reproduce what they see. Over the course of a few years, they go from sketching the idea of how something looks to them, to understanding space and representing real people more realistically.Before the age of 7, children may struggle with proportion in their drawings. This is due to their under-developed perspective on the real world, and is the reason that children may start  drawing houses with the occupants inside, as if the walls are transparent.So, scribbles turn into simple shapes as children learn to outline what they draw, and their free drawing becomes far more detailed as they learn about shading techniques, cross hatching, figure drawing, shadows, perspective drawing, digital drawing, rendering, textures, drawing freehand, negative space, realistic drawing, expressive emotion, charcoal drawing, cartooning, acrylic painting, realism, ink drawing, drawing portraits, still life drawing and gesture drawing.How Drawing Benefits KidsWould you like to know what happens in drawing lessons, and possibly even sign up to a sketch workshop?Drawing is an essential activity for young children, and it has many advantages. You can even find drawing lessons online now. Learn about drawing lessons on the web here.Offering children age-appropriate drawing materials and step-by-step drawing tutorials for creating their own art (such as graphite and colored pencils, charcoal, crayons, oil pastels, watercolor paint, pen and ink) will encourage them to learn to perfect their technique and develop as an artist.Drawing and painting promote:Cognitive Development: The child uses their own knowledge to aid the creation of their artwork, meaning that drawing stimulates observational skills and helps in the development of their brain.Coordination skills: By drawing geometric shapes, children learn to control the pencil as they aim towards a specific goal in how their picture should look.Fine motor skills: As a more specific part of coordination, the child learns to draw things in greater detail and can fit more elements into a limited drawing space.Learning to control a pencil lays the foundations for learning to write ¦ source: Pixabay - StockSnapDeveloping their personality: The child learns to express themselves through their art as they test different methods and find out what works best for them. You may notice these variations as their work evolves, and notice certain trends when they’re upset or particularly happy, as this could be expressed in their art.Developing their creativity: Drawing is a way to not only represent real-life people and objects, but to bring your imagination into reality. Children’s drawings usually have fantastical stories behind them â€" and if you’ve ever asked a child about what they’ve drawn, you’ll be well aware of this. What children don’t always realise, though, is that some people may see a different scene in their drawing to the one they intended. Listening to the opinions of others will broaden the child’s creative outlook and understanding of their own artistic skills.Expressing their emotions: Art provides an outlet for children to express the mselves without using words. Their creations are, therefore, likely to reflect their emotions and their state-of-mind through their use of colour and their choice of scene.Drawing is great for a child’s development as well as for their parents, who may use drawing as a way to better get to know their child through trying to understand why they express their art in such a way and how confident their child is.Promoting Your Child’s Development through DrawingHave you been encouraging your child to get creative by showing them how to use different media?If so, this can only be a good thing!It’s important that children feel able to experiment with different methods of creating art â€" after all, art is a form of play for kids, so they will be far more likely to want to get involved if you give them colourful drawing tools to work with. There are even some digital drawing resources out there for the little ones.Bear in mind that drawing should always be a fun activity, and if child ren don’t want to participate, their decision should be respected.Children shouldn’t have to draw things they don’t want to just because an adult tells them to do so.In general, very few children get bored of drawing, however, should this happen, there is no reason to worry.Parents should also let their children draw whenever they want to. Here are a few other rules you should abide by when it comes to encouraging your child to draw:Let them choose what they’d like to drawAdmire their finished workWrite the child’s name on their workAsk them to describe what they have drawnWith a healthy level of encouragement and support of their ideas, you’ll quickly see their art develop.Learning to paint is complementary to drawing and is equally as valuable.  If their interest in art continues, you can think about taking them to drawing lessons.Teach your child about all the materials they could use to draw! ¦ source: Pixabay - fietzfotosYoungsters love channelling their inner Van Gogh and drawing with a paintbrush.They enjoy painting with their hands, sponges and potato stamps even more!Building models also helps to develop children’s manual skills.It’s not difficult to see how creating art through drawing, painting and sculpting helps your child to grow in creativity and confidence.The Beginnings of WritingSimple drawing is an essential step towards learning to write.As they move through their sketchbook and their drawing progresses, children learn to create different types of lines. They begin with 2-dimensional shapes before moving onto curves, waves and spirals â€" which all help pave the way towards writing the alphabet.Shortly after their drawing skills develop this way, the artist learns to write capital letters and their name.Further down the line, after having mastered the capital and lower-case alphabet, children move onto cursive writing.This is why it is so important that the child is taught how to correctly grip their pencil. As long as pare nts and teachers are attentive to this, the child will be able to easily learn the right movements to form letters.Children in the UK usually learn to read and write at the age of 4, and this is an interesting point in every child’s learning.Some children almost abandon drawing once they learn to read, whereas others hold onto their passion for expressing themselves this way â€" it’s down to the personal interests of the child.As children get older, they learn progress from drawing lessons for beginners, start to perfect their drawing techniques and to produce even more complex and successful works.So, drawing lessons and art instruction can be an exciting and fulfilling extra-curricular activity for many children!Take an art class with Superprof's great drawing class London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and all over the UK.

How To Find Students as a Private Art Teacher

How To Find Students as a Private Art Teacher How to Become Known as a Private Art and Design Teacher? ChaptersAdvertising for your Drawing Courses: How to Find New StudentsTake Advantage of your Network to Win New Students!Create your own Website as an Art Teacher to reach out to New StudentsWhy Not create a special Youtube Channel for a Drawing Course?Finding new Students for Drawing Lessons with SuperprofYou have a gift in drawing or painting and you wish to round off your end of the month?You are a pro with watercolour, acrylic or soft pastel and want to pass on your drawing skills?You are a professional artist and you want to teach others to learn how to draw?Giving drawing courses or art lessons  to students can be an interesting path, but how to get there?In this article, we offer you ideas to increase the number of your students for your courses of drawing, whether they come to learn red chalk drawing, oil pastel or to prepare the option art for their secondary diploma.Let's put the brushes down and begin the reading.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Key Concepts in Physics

Key Concepts in Physics What Are Physics’ Key Concepts? ChaptersPhysics Concepts: Elementary InformationPhysics Concepts Relating to MeasurementPhysics Concepts: Key Laws and FormulaeKey concepts, in general, are main ideas that teachers go to great lengths to emphasise, with the intent of making them stick  for the duration â€" be it at least until exam time or for a lifetime.Each of us surely has key concepts embedded in our brains no matter how fresh our academic experience is.For example, we all know the rules of carrying when doing simple arithmetic and we all most likely remember the I before E grammar rule... right?Physics, as an academic subject, is no different with regard to rules and concepts.There are ground rules and ideas that provide the foundation upon which any further study of physics will be built on; concepts that must be internalised before any deeper understanding of the subject matter can be grasped.The good news is that, once these fundamentals are concretely understood, applying them in further studies is second n ature!To aid you on your quest for understanding key physics concepts, your Superprof highlights and explains them all.Take classes with a physics maths tutor now.four fundamental forces of nature that govern every single physical interaction, be it on the atomic or subatomic level.The fundamental forces are gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear forces both weak and strong.1. Of all the forces, gravity is the most prevalent but weakest in magnitude. The force of gravity acts between all bodies and its impact is dependent on whether the mass(es) are large or small.Our planet’s orbit around the sun and the moon’s orbit around the earth are driven by gravity.The rules and properties of this force are described in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.2. Weak Interaction relates to nuclear forces, in particular, describing the propensity to create beta decay.Beta decay is when a proton is transformed into a neutron or vice versa.Gaining or losing an electrical charge is vital because i t allows the atom to gravitate toward an optimal ratio of protons and neutrons, thus allowing it to become and remain stable â€" provided the reaction is controlled.The phenomenon is controlled through the next force on our list.3. Electromagnetism is the most prevalent force in our world; that is to say: we can notice its effects without necessarily resorting to testing equipment to see them.Electrostatic forces work on particles at rest, meaning they are not moving. Both magnetism and electricity work on moving particles.The term electromagnetism was coined in the mid-1800s when Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell proved (through equations) that light, electricity and magnetism all exist in the same medium.He further established that electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light.Learn more about groundbreaking physicists and their discoveries!4. The last of the four forces, the Strong force, keeps protons and neutrons bound together. So strong is it that, rather than permi tting repulsion of similarly charged particles, it keeps them together â€" even though they are pushing away from one another.Many physicists believe that these four forces are in fact manifestations of a larger, unifying force yet to be discovered and named.Electricity, magnetism and the weak force have been merged into the electroweak force, but incorporating gravity is proving to be a bit of a challenge, named quantum gravity.So far, none of the theories that might address quantum gravity has panned out.Get a maths physics tutor to understand the world better.Waves Carry EnergyHave you ever heard of sound waves? What about seismic waves?These and other waves have a direct, measurable effect. Sound waves can be heard, seismic waves travel through the ground causing earthquakes; even light travels in waves!Perhaps a more visible example is the waves you can see from the beach: they pound the ocean floor, reducing matter to fine sand.Gravitational waves are particularly exciting! Th ese ripples in spacetime are caused by the most explosive, energetic processes in our cosmos.Einstein predicted them over 100 years ago, through his General Relativity theory. Can you imagine the awe cosmologists felt when they were actually proven, after decades of being a mere idea?Look up for a  physics maths tutor  now.What About the Universe?Yes, planets and stars and dark matter are what the universe is made of, but on a more fundamental level, it is made up of matter and energy.Matter in space can be as tiny as dust particles or as large as a galaxy and energy takes many different forms: gravitational energy and the more recently postulated dark energy.In fact, it is this dark energy that is thought to be driving our universe’s expansion...We have matter and we have energy; now we add force and that is the recipe for every single celestial event!Every evolution of the universe, from the birth of a star to the collapse of a red giant comes down to those three factors.Our sun will become a red giant in a few billion years Source: Pixabay Credit: Katzenfee50Physics Concepts Relating to MeasurementThe main goal of physics is to understand how our universe works, at the subatomic level, on our planet and within the cosmos.Those studies involve fundamental concepts, such as how matter moves through space and time, their energy and forces’ effect on that matter.To capture variances in an observed matter  is one thing; to explain how and why they change, exact calculations must be made. However, one cannot use the same scale of measurement to record a planet’s orbit (kilometres) to note a temperature difference (Kelvin, Rankin, Celsius and Fahrenheit).Note: the US is the only major country that officially uses the Fahrenheit temperature scale!No matter what any country’s official standards of measurement are, the scientific community records any of their findings using an international system of measurement units called SI units.SI stands for Système I nternationale d’Unités â€" true, that is written in French but surely you can get it!This system includes baselines for each type of measurement:Length is expressed in metersTime is broken down into secondsWeight (mass) is designated in kilogramsTemperature is measured on the Kelvin scaleElectrical current is denoted in Amperesa Mole is a measure of substanceNaturally, not everything weighs at least a kilogram and electrical current does not always start at one ampere, so decimals and exponents come into play.Those are key concepts from maths! Come time to write down equations, rather than recording, say, a nanometer as 1 behind 8 zeros which come behind a decimal point (0.000000001), that measurement is simply denoted as ‘n’.There are eight standard prefixes with complementary abbreviations to denote exponential values:PrefixAbbreviationExponentHow many zeros?Tera-T121,000,000,000,000Giga-G91,000,000,000Mega-M61,000,000Kilo-k31,000centi-c-20.01milli-m-30.001micro- µ-60.0000 01nano-n-90.000000001One last illustration of measurement: derived units.Please note that, while the use of prefixes helps make equations manageable, each unit expressed by a prefix must be converted back into an actual numerical value in order to solve the equation.One can easily measure the mass of an object or the time it takes to travel a certain distance, but what about measuring the force that propels it, the energy it expends, the frequency of its waves or its electrical charge?In this next table, you can see all of these units: their name, what they represent and the abbreviation used to show how they are expressed.Unit of MeasureAbbreviationWhat it measuresJouleJEnergyWattWPowerPascalPaPressureNewtonNForceHertzHzFrequencyOhmOElectrical resistanceVoltVElectric potential differenceCoulombCElectrical chargeTeslaTMagnetic flux densityLearn more amazing physics facts that will brighten your day!Physics Concepts: Key Laws and FormulaeEvery action is followed by an equal and oppos ite reaction.That nifty phrase, commonly bandied about in everyday conversation â€" often as a statement of karmic retribution, is actually Newton’s Third Law of Motion.The other two are:An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless motivated to move by an external force.The rate of change in momentum is directly related to the force applied.Sir Isaac Newton, one of the architects of classical physics, established those laws more than 330 years ago after long observation of matter movement and the forces that act on it.Classical physics? Find out what that means in our glossary of physics terms!While they seem self-evident and even simplistic, at the time those laws were established, there were few fundamental rules governing anything physical, let alone a unifying standard for mass in motion.Albert Einstein, another cornerstone of the discipline we call physics, originated possibly the most famous equation of all time in his Theory of Special Relativity: E=mc2.As elegant and see mingly simple as it is, it harbours two physical truths:The Principle of Relativity states that physical laws apply equally, in all situations.In a vacuum, the speed of light is constant, regardless of any motion of the light source.What is absolutely amazing is that these laws have stood the test of time and have been proven again and again!What other great physicists have made such an impact on the discipline of physical science?The Zeroeth Law of thermodynamics accepts the notion of temperature Source: Pixabay Credit: 1258271The Laws of Thermodynamics are as follows:The Zeroeth Law makes possible the notion of temperature.The First Law illustrates the dynamic between a system’s internal energy, added heat, and its work.The Second Law outlines the natural flow of heat in a closed systemThe Third Law states that any created thermodynamic process will, by its very nature, suffer heat loss, thus never achieving perfect efficiency.These laws too originated in the mid-1600s and hold true still today â€" quite a testament to human curiosity and the brilliant minds that conceived them.Electrostatic LawsTwo laws govern electrically charged particles’ creation of electrostatic force and fields. They are:Coulomb’s Law, which states that like-charged objects repel each other and opposites attract, and describes the forces expressed from said attraction or repulsion.Gauss’ Law describes the distribution of an electrical charge through the electrical field it creates.They are named for their authors; Charles Coulomb being a French physicist and Carl Friedrich Gauss, a German mathematician.Stretching across every nationality and spanning centuries, the study of our physical world, even at the subatomic level, must necessarily follow rules and standards. Now you have an understanding of those key concepts upon which to build your physics studies on. Why not go on to learn all about physics?

Professores da LOI English Muireann Prendergast

Professores da LOI English Muireann Prendergast Aprender ou ensinar um idioma é sempre uma experiência cultural, pois a dinâmica de aprendizagem leva a uma interação com o estilo de vida e o modo de pensar do outro, mesmo que de forma indireta. Por isso, a possibilidade de conhecer diversas culturas através do ensino de línguas é uma das razões dadas por alguns dos professores da LOI English para terem enveredado no ensino de Inglês para estrangeiros, como é o caso de Muireann Prendergast, com quem conversei esta semana.Muireann é natural da Irlanda, mas vive na Argentina há mais de 8 anos, mais propriamente em Buenos Aires, onde trabalha como jornalista e está completando o seu doutorado em Cultura Latino-Americana. Embora seja professora de Inglês na LOI English apenas há dois anos, Muireann ensina o idioma há mais de 10.Durante a conversa, perguntei à professora se ela pensa que o seu conhecimento acadêmico proveniente do doutorado ajuda a lidar com alunos de países da América Latina e, segundo ela, não só aquilo que aprendeu nos seus estudos, mas também o fato de viver na Argentina, ajuda muito a que ela consiga lidar mais facilmente e ter conversas mais interessantes (sobre economia, história e cultura) com alunos dessa região do globo. Ela comentou também que  já visitou o Brasil, nomeadamente o Rio de Janeiro, e que pretende voltar. Inclusive, a professora está planejando aprender Português, pois acredita que sabendo o idioma a sua experiência como turista  será mais interessante.Como muitos dos seus alunos são brasileiros Muireann já deu aulas a pessoas de várias cidades dos estados do Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia e Ceará  não pude deixar de fazer a pergunta de praxe, sobre os problemas mais comuns. Tal como outros professores da LOI English com quem falei, Muireann citou a pronúncia como o expoente máximo das dificuldades dos alunos brasileiros. Também as preposições e os famosos phrasal verbs foram referidos, mas, como sempre, a pronúncia veio em primeiro lugar.Tendo em conta que Muireann trabalha como jornalista, além de dar aulas de Inglês por Skype, quis saber mais sobre o motivo que leva a que ela continue ensinando o idioma. De acordo com a professora, ensinar é uma paixão e, como a matéria é o Inglês, ela pode conhecer pessoas dos mais variados cantos do mundo enquanto ensina, algo que aprecia muito. Muireann  dá aulas de Inglês desde que se lembra, aos 18 anos, no seu primeiro ano de faculdade, ela recebeu o certificado que permitia ensinar e nunca mais parou.

ADHD and Smart Phones

ADHD and Smart Phones If you have a child or teen who does not already own a smartphone, then chances are that your child is asking (or begging!) you for a phone almost every day. Youve probably heard that everyone else has a smartphone, that there are apps that your child or teen just must have, or that their social life will be over if they dont get a smartphone soon. While kids and teens can be persuasive when it comes to making an argument for having a smartphone of their own, and it can be tempting to get one for your child if for no reason other than to put an end to the constant begging, getting a smartphone for your child is a big step and one that should not be taken lightly. As a general rule of thumb, experts recommend waiting until a child is 14 before giving them a smartphone. However, given the challenges that come with having ADHD, many 14-year-olds with ADHD may not be able to handle the distractions and responsibilities that come with owning a smartphone. The organization Wait Until 8th, which is dedicated to encouraging and empowering parents to wait until 8th grade to give their child a smartphone, provides factors for parents to consider when deciding whether or not to give their child a smartphone. Each of these factors represents an area of difficulty for most kids with ADHD: Does your child respect and obey rules? How are your childs social skills? Is your child responsible for his or her belongings? Does your child struggle with screen limits? If your child or teen struggles with any of these areas in their daily life without a smartphone, then the challenges will only be magnified once a smartphone is added into the picture. So, while many 14-year-olds may be ready for a smartphone, many (or most) 14-year-olds with ADHD will not be ready to handle this responsibility. In addition to the readiness of the child or teen, parents should also consider their readiness to monitor and set limits around smartphone use. Are you ready as a parent to teach your child how to use a phone responsibly, to monitor when, where, and how they are using their phone every day, and to enforce rules and consequences consistently? Parenting a child or teen with ADHD requires more effort and energy than parenting a child without ADHD we often say that parents of kids with ADHD are Super Parents given all that they take on in a day. With that in mind, consider whether you have the bandwidth to add smartphone management to your plate. If you decide that your child or teen is not ready for a smartphone, what should you do? How do you avoid giving in to the pressure from your child or feeling like you are somehow hurting your child by denying them something that so many of their friends already have? First, know that you are helping your child and not hurting them by holding out on giving them a smartphone. Many kids with ADHD need extra time to mature before they are ready for added responsibilities like having a smartphone, and it is your job as a parent to make some hard choices in order to set your child with ADHD up for success long-term. Second, let your child or teen know that they will not be getting a smartphone any time soon, and no amount of whining, negotiating, or begging will change this. If your child or teen thinks there is even the slightest possibility that you will give in and get them a phone soon, they will continue to push and push in the hopes that you will come around. If they continue to push on the issue, consistently respond by telling them it is not open for discussion and then walk away. The briefer and more consistent you are in your response, the less time your child or teen will spend negotiating. Lastly, if you and your teen need or want a way to stay in touch without a smartphone, purchase a simple flip phone. This will get the job done without introducing most of the risks and responsibilities that come with owning a smartphone. If you do think that your child or teen may be ready for a smartphone, then be strategic about how you introduce the phone and your rules for smartphone use ABOUT DR. MARY ROONEY Mary Rooney, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. Dr Rooney is a researcher and clinician specializing in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD and co-occurring behavioral, anxiety, and mood disorders. A strong advocate for those with attention and behavior problems, Dr. Rooney is committed to developing and providing comprehensive, cutting edge treatments tailored to meet the unique needs of each child and adolescent. Dr. Rooney's clinical interventions and research avenues emphasize working closely with parents and teachers to create supportive, structured home and school environments that enable children and adolescents to reach their full potential. In addition, Dr. Rooney serves as a consultant and ADHD expert to Huntington Learning Centers. ABOUT HUNTINGTON Huntington Learning Center is the tutoring and test prep leader. Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students of all levels succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntington's mission is to give every student the best education possible. Call us today at 1.800.CAN LEARN to discuss how Huntington can help your child. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com. This website does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The material on this site is provided for educational purposes only.