ActRight

Take notes, campaign consultants.

Bret Stephens is a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and longtime, self-anointed Republican. The very same kind of Establishment Republican who cannot abide a candidate like Donald Trump who has bypassed conventional political ring-kissing normally required of presidential candidates. Now Mr. Stephens is openly advocating that Donald Trump lose so that his supporters will, …

Gee, can't understand why Latinos wouldn't like Trump.

It is as simple (and as scary as that)! And, everyone of us must now, immediately, begin or continue to educate ourselves about Islam and what the expanding Muslim population will do to Western Civ…

Via NY Post: A young, beautiful and educated woman who dropped out of university so she could fight against Islamic State has revealed how easy it is to kill militants. Danish woman Joanna Palani relived her time with Kurdish-led forces in Iraq and Syria fighting terrorists and Syrian Government forces last year. In an interview…

On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember those who sacrificed their lives for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Our thoughts and prayers are wi...

Nursing assistant Tom Alligood wears camouflage scrubs during his emergency room shifts at the Dorn VA hospital because he says it helps other veteran patients realize they've "walked over the same dirt," the 62-year-old former Army tanker says.

Many are under the impression that secular and progressive Western Europe is much more liberal with its access to abortion than the United States; surely, Americans are stronger protectors of life than counties like Germany and France. But this simply is untrue. As Prager University's Elisha Krauss points out. "American Progressives look to Western Europe as the model of what America should be," says Krauss, but when it comes to abortion--an area where the American Left far outflanks Europe--progressives ignore Westerns Europe's model. They shouldn't. 

Muslim wearing

Brian J. Mast: Memorial Day Is About Remembering Those Who Didn't Come Home

Islamic Republic of Iran: Students throw graduation dance party, get 99 lashes each Texas: Muslim assaults, spits on cops, says he's affiliated with the Islamic State

This week we learned that, for the first time in 130 years, more young adults ages 18-34 are living with their parents than in any other arrangement. We also learned (or were reminded) that student…

Taps performed by the United States Marine Corps Band. God Bless the United States Armed Forces and fallen veterans.

Obamacare is faltering. No matter who wins in November, the next president will face a genuine crisis of the current president's making.

"The system failed."

Do you feel strongly about Harambe, the hapless gorilla executed by Cincinnati zoo to protect the life of the four-year old child Isaiah?

Canada: Pro-Sharia, pro-Caliphate organization holds conference in Mississauga

Ryan Mauro: CAIR Official Stands By Memorial Day Criticism of US Troops

WSJ's Stephens: Trump Must Be 'Decisively Rebuked' So Republican Voters 'Learn Their Lesson'

Guest essay by Giordano Bruno Hopefully everybody remember Sallenger’s “hot spots” of sea level acceleration along the East Coast of the US. Asbury H. Sallenger Jr, Kara S. Doran & Peter A. How…

Share on Facebook 1 1 SHARES Ever since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the Senate has been in a holding pattern on allowing confirmation hearings for President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. The idea was that the voting public should get the option to chime in via the ballot box and then allow the next president to select the nominee. Regardless of how the party | Read More »

Hillary Clinton took another sniper shot at Donald Trump's tax reform plan last week by calling it "a tax cut for billionaires" like him. She even argued that Trump "spends" trillions of dollars on the tax cuts. Question: How do you spend money on a tax cut?

There is absolutely no difference between “democratic socialism” and “socialism.” The term “democratic socialism” is used solely to lull the average American int…

Vandals spraypainted the Freedom Rock at the Cedar Falls Veterans Park in Iowa late Saturday night. It almost looks like ...

  I am an occupational therapist with 10 years of experience working with children, parents, and teachers. I completely agree with this teacher’s message that our children getting worse and worse in many aspects. I hear the same consistent message from every teacher I meet. Clearly, throughout my ten years as an Occupational Therapist, I have seen and continue to see a decline in kids’ social, emotional, academic functioning, as well as a sharp increase in learning disabilities and other diagnoses.   Today’s children come to school emotionally unavailable for learning and there are many factors in our modern lifestyle that contribute to this. As we know, the brain is malleable. Through environment we can make the brain “stronger” or make it “weaker”. I truly believe that with all our greatest intentions, we unfortunately remold our children’s brains in the wrong direction. Here is why… 1. Technology “Free babysitting service… the payment is waiting for you just around the corner”.  We pay with our kids’ nervous system, with their attention, and ability for delayed gratification. Compared to virtual reality, everyday life is boring. When kids come to the classroom, they are exposed to human voices and adequate visual stimulation as opposed to being bombarded with graphic explosions and special effects that they are used to seeing on the screens. After hours of virtual reality, processing information in a classroom becomes increasingly challenging for our kids because their brains are getting used to the high levels of stimulation that video games provide. The inability to process lower levels of stimulation leaves kids vulnerable to academic challenges. Technology also disconnects us emotionally from our children and our families. Parental emotional availability is the main nutrient for child’s brain. Unfortunately, we are gradually depriving our children from that nutrient. 2. Kids get everything they want the moment they want “I am Hungry!!” “In a sec I will stop at drive thru” “I am Thirsty!” “Here is a vending machine”. “I am bored!” “Use my phone!”   The ability to delay gratification is one of the key factors for future success. We have all the greatest intention in mind to make our children happy, but unfortunately, we make them happy at the moment but miserable in a long term.  To be able to delay gratification means to be able to function under stress. Our children are gradually becoming less equipped to deal with even minor stressors which eventually become huge obstacles to their success in life. The inability to delay gratification is often seen in classrooms, malls, restaurants, and toy stores the moment the child hears “No” because parents have taught their“child’s brain” to get what it wants right away 3. Kids rule the world  “My son doesn’t like vegetables” “She doesn’t like going to bed early” “He doesn’t like to eat breakfast” “She doesn’t like toys, but she is very good at her IPAD” “He doesn’t want to get dressed on his own” “She is too lazy to eat on her own”. This is what I hear from parents all the time. Since when do children dictate to us how to parent them? If we leave it all up to them , all they are going to do is eat macaroni and cheese, bagel with cream cheese, watch TV, play on their tablets, and never go to bed. What good are we doing them by giving them what they WANT when we know that it is not GOOD for them? Without proper nutrition and a good night’s sleep, our kids come to school irritable, anxious, and inattentive.  In addition, we send them the wrong message.  They learn they can do what they want and not do what they don’t want. The concept of “need to do’ is absent. Unfortunately, in order to achieve our goals in our lives, we have to do what’s necessary which may not always be what we want to do.  For example, if a child wants to be an A student, he needs to study hard. If he wants to be a successful soccer player, he needs to practice every day. Our children know very well what they want but have very hard time to do what is necessary to achieve that goal. This results in unattainable goals and leaves the kids disappointed. 4. Endless Fun We created an artificial fun world for our children. There are no dull moments. The moment it becomes quiet, we run to entertain them again because otherwise we feel that we are not doing our parenting duty. We live in two separate worlds. They have their “fun “world and we have our “work” world. Why aren’t children helping us in the kitchen or with laundry? Why don’t they tidy up their toys? This is basic monotonous work that trains the brain to be workable and function under “boredom” which is the same “muscle” that is required to be eventually teachable at school.  When they come to school and it is time for printing, their answer is “I can’t. It is too hard. Too boring” Why? Because the workable “muscle” is not getting trained through endless fun. It gets trained through work. 5. Limited social interaction We are all busy, so we give our kids digital gadgets and make them “busy” too. Kids used to play outside, where in unstructured natural environments, they learned and practiced their social skills.  Unfortunately, technology replaced the outdoor time.  Also, technology made the parents less available to socially interact with their kids. Obviously, our kids fall behind…the babysitting gadget is not equipped for social skill development. Most successful people are the ones who have great social skills. This is the priority! The brain is just like a muscle that is trainable and re-trainable. If you want your child to be able to bike, you teach him biking skills. If you want your child to be able to wait, you need to teach him patience.  If you want your child to be able to socialize, you need to teach him social skills. The same applies to all the other skills. There is no difference!! You can make a difference though in your child’s life by training your child’s brain so that your child will successfully function on social, emotional, and academic levels. Here is how: 1. Limit technology, and instead re-connect with your kids emotionally * Surprise them with flowers, share a smile, tickle them, put a love note in backpack or under their pillow, surprise them by taking them out for lunch on a school day, dance together, crawl together, have pillow fights * Have family dinners,  board game nights, go biking, go to outdoor walks with flashlight in the evening 2. Train delay gratification * Make them wait!!! It is ok to have “I am bored “ time – this is the first step to creativity * Gradually increase the waiting time between “I want” and “I get” * Avoid technology use in cars and restaurants, and instead teach them waiting while talking and playing games * Limit constant snacking 3. Don’t be afraid to set the limits. Kids need limits to grow happy and healthy!! * Make a schedule for meal times, sleep times, technology time * Think of what is GOOD for them- not what they WANT/DON’T WANT. They are going to thank you for that later on in life. Parenting is a hard job. You need to be creative to make them do what is good for them because most of the time that is the exact opposite of what they want * Kids need breakfast and nutritious food. They need to spend time outdoor and go to bed at consistent time in order to come to school available for learning the next day! * Convert things that they don’t like doing/trying into fun, emotionally stimulating games 4. Teach your child to do monotonous work from early years as it is the foundation for future “workability” * Folding laundry, tidying up toys, hanging clothes, unpacking groceries, setting the table, making lunch, unpacking their lunch box, making their bed * Be creative. Initially make it stimulating and fun so that their brain associates it with something positive. 5. Teach social skills *  Teach them turn taking, sharing, losing/winning, compromising, complimenting others ,using “please and thank you” From my experience as an occupational therapist, children change the moment parents change their perspective on parenting.  Help your kids succeed in life by training and strengthening their brain sooner than later!!! Victoria Prooday Parenting Club RSS