ML Interest Tag: autonomy

Is Working from Home Really Less Stressful Than Commuting to Work?

by Shahrzad Warkentin

Remote positions have gained in popularity in the last few years, especially among parents looking for more flexible schedules. While working from home is often touted as more convenient, a recent study questions whether or not it’s actually less stressful than commuting into an office for work.

According to the study out of Baylor University, working from home is best suited towards people with certain personalities. While remote positions can offer some people lower stress, for others it might have the opposite effect. The researchers found that employees best suited to working from home were those that had autonomy, or the ability to work well independently, as well as emotional stability.

photo: Thought Catalog via Pixabay

As lead author Sara Perry, Ph.D., assistant professor of management in Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business explains, emotional stability “captures how even keeled someone is or, on the opposite end, how malleable their emotions are.” Perry went on to say that people with high emotional stability can take stressful situations at work “in stride” while “a person low on emotional stability might get frustrated and discouraged, expending energy with those emotions instead of on the issue at hand.”

Surveying over 400 working adults, the researchers measured each person’s levels of strain (meaning exhaustion and dissatisfaction), autonomy and emotional stability at work. They concluded that those who had the highest levels of both autonomy and emotional stability were more likely to thrive in remote positions.

While autonomy was critical to being successful in a work-from-home position, if an employee had low levels of emotional stability they would be at higher risk of suffering from job-related strain or stress.

Bottom line? Working from home isn’t for everyone—but it has proven to be a huge help for working parents who need the flexibility.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

 

 

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​5 Easy Ways Parents Can Teach & Model Consent to Their Kids

By Tyler Jacobson

An interesting article was released by the Girl Scouts of America late last year. In it, they discuss consent and why physical affection should be within the control of their children, not demanded by adults. The article prompted this brilliant piece about consent needed to hug a parent’s child and it really drove home to me how often consent is ignored and the lesson that teaches our children.

“I Don’t Like That”

The words uttered by my youngest daughter after my wife leaned down to give her a kiss. It was surprising, this protest. Yet as I considered it, I realized that maybe it wasn’t so surprising after all. For months when we had given her kisses on the cheeks she had made a face, or squirmed away, or cringed.

Now she was being blunt: she didn’t like kisses. That was the last time we ever kissed her cheek, opting instead for a playful nuzzle of her chin before bed, something she appeared much more comfortable with,

Clearly, consent is an important topic to consider with children, including younger ones. So how can we model and teach consent to our children? Here are some ideas:

Be Clear About Feelings

Feelings are good but children can struggle to manage their own, or consider others. Giving them a framework to not only understand how they are feeling but to express it can give them the language and self-awareness they need to refuse consent when they want to. Teaching to recognize it in others can teach them to have empathy and respect others.

Teach Your Kids to Speak Up

My daughter has always been told that if she doesn’t like something or if it doesn’t feel right to speak up. I am grateful now that my wife and I worked so hard to instill that idea in all of our kids. She knew she could say no.

Let Them Know That Their Boundaries Are Okay

Everyone should have boundaries. Children are no exception but they may feel like they can’t establish them because they are powerless. Letting them know that they have autonomy over their own bodies and actions can be a very affirming lesson that will stay with them through their lives.

Disavow the Idea of Rudeness

Women have routinely found themselves in dangerous situations because they fear being “rude”. But could we be teaching our children to do the same? Disavowing the idea that saying no is somehow impolite could actually save their life one day.

Don’t Make Affection an Order

“Go give your grandma a hug.” I think we have all said the same thing before, related to someone in our child’s life, But it may be time to avoid that phrase and stop making affection an order they have to follow.

How do you teach and model consent with your kids?

Featured Photo Courtesy: ales_kartel via Pixabay

Tyler Jacobson is a happy husband, father of three, writer and outreach specialist with experience with organizations that help troubled teens and parents. His areas of focus include: parenting, social media, addiction, mental illness, and issues facing teenagers today.

 
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6 Steps to Loving School Lunch

by Jennifer Massoni Pardini

It’s your job to provide meals and snacks and your kid’s job to eat them. Sometimes you need help with the in-between, especially for school lunch—when you aren’t there to ensure your little learner fuels up for the afternoon. When it’s hard to get choosy clientele to love their lunch, read on for six ways to spice things up.

photo: Yoshiyasu Nishikawa via Flickr

1. Involve them in the process. Ever consider how it feels to have every. single. meal. presented to you (I know, that actually sounds amazing.)? But your little may have a big appetite for autonomy. This can be as simple as cutting up melon or mixing dough (good fine motor practice and sensory play for preschoolers, BTW) or as unique as subscribing to a monthly cooking kit, like Baby Boy Bakery’s We Cook kits. We love that the inspiration is to create childhood memories while benefiting kids’ charities. Your sous chefs will take pride in what they eat if they’re involved from the get-go.

2. Get to know the lunch staff. Part of appreciating what’s on our plate is appreciating those who help prepare and serve it. If your kids have a school lunch account, encourage them to talk to their lunch ladies and gents. They can ask questions about the local fresh option their school may have or if a garden project is in the works (or maybe help start one!).

photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr

3. Add a little perspective to the recipe. So your kid turns down your homemade minestrone for another bowl of goldfish? If only she knew how lucky she was to have fresh, healthy ingredients, right? Well, it may be a good time for grade schoolers to start volunteering. Feeding America’s Hungry to Help Project fills in the summer gap for families who rely on school lunches and serves up a Family Action Plan to help end hunger.

4. Serve age-appropriate portions. It can be daunting to finish everything on your plate (or to be asked if you did at school). And added pressure usually backfires anyway. If it’s extra hard to get your child to chow down at school, set him up for success with smaller portions. Include an after-school snack if hunger strikes later. Check out these recommended portions for each age range from HealthyChildren.org.

photo: Tonya Staab via Flickr

5. Add a surprise. Whether it’s a cookie-cut puzzle sandwich or a little note slipped in the lunchbox (here are 12 sweet ideas for the midday meal), the element of surprise reminds them they may be out of sight but never out of mind—or heart. That little extra prep may reap big lunchtime returns.

6. Practice food positivity at home. The way we talk about food with (and around) our kids makes a big impression. Each family may have its cultures, allergies, and preferences to contend with—at home and at school. Helping our kids understand how food energizes our bodies so we can keep learning, playing, and feeling good, helps them take that respect back to the lunch table, too.

What are your ideas for getting kids to love their lunch? Share with us in the Comments below!

—Jennifer Massoni Pardini

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Coming Soon: A Playground Like No Other (Don’t Miss It!)

by Mimi O'Connor

NYC is flush with literally dozens of wonderful playgrounds. But even the best ones can feel a little stale after visit 823 — same slide, same sandbox, same crazy climbing structure. Good news! A new, ever-changing, kid-imagined and kid-built playground is popping up on Governors Island this summer, and it’s a must-do for families looking to change up the playground routine and let kids’ imaginations (and autonomy) run wild.

photo: play: ground

One Adult’s Trash…
You already know that an empty refrigerator box is infinitely more appealing to any child than a pristine, plastic superfort from a big box store; this play scape, dubbed “play:ground” and created in the tradition of what’s called an “adventure playground,” takes that concept to the nth degree.

With origins reaching as far back as the 1940s, adventure playgrounds are modeled after a junkyard, and let children shape their environment using an assortment of materials, tools, duct tape, water, dirt and things that others typically describe as trash.

The 5,000-square-foot adventure playground play:ground is coming to Governors Island on May 28, and the free form (and free) play space will be open from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekends to kids and families all summer long, through September 25.

photo: play: ground

The First Rule of play:ground: There Are No Rules
Ok, that’s not completely true — in fact, all play is supervised by trained playworkers, who are on hand to provide assistance when asked or needed and to make sure kids are safe.

But beyond that, it’s a kid-ruled space, where kids are free to self-organize, independently create, take chances and experiment. That might mean creating a fort out of pallets and hay bales, scribbling all over a box, crafting a see-saw from wood planks…really, anything a kid might dream up.

photo: play: ground

Live the Adventure This Summer!
If you know a child for whom one day of this free-form play would be a torturous tease, listen up: kids can also attend play:ground Summer Camp!

Open to children ages 7 to 13, play:ground NYC Sumer Camp Adventure runs weekly sessions from July 7 to August 19, and can be attended for as little as one week or as many as all six. Under the supervision of seasoned head playworker Morgan Leichter-Saxby of Pop-Up Adventure Play, campers will learn to work with hand tools such as saws and hammers, and use everything from planks of wood, old tires, discarded strollers, industrial wooden spools, crutches and more to craft whatever their imaginations can conjure.

It’s not all building and making. Campers will also have the opportunity to learn about gardening and animal care through a partnership with another Governors Island resident, Earth Matter. On Mondays and Fridays, campers can visit the Earth Matter site, which is home to a garden, as well as chickens and goats, to learn about caring for plants and animals.

Rates are $550 per week, with a 10% sibling discount, and financial aid is available on a first come, first served basis. Camper drop-off is at the Governors Island Manhattan Ferry Terminal. Click here to enroll.

play:ground on Governors Island
Weekends, May 28 – Sept. 25, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Governors Island
347-470-4238
Online: play-ground.nyc

Has your family ever visited an Adventure Playground? Tell us about it in the comments!

— Mimi O’Connor

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