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9 Ways to Keep Family Hikes Fun
“Another bridge!” my daughter yells and rushes up to bounce across the boards over the creek. Bridges are a favorite on our family hikes — that and the chocolate in the trail mix. We hike a lot as a family. Some days, it’s tough to get the kids going, but then they...
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Eat Local and Grow Local with Help from the Sustainable Food Center
With roots going back to 1975, when it operated as Austin Community Gardens, the Sustainable Food Center has worked to strengthen our local food system and teach the community how to grow and eat healthy food. If you think of the Sustainable Food Center as a farmers’...
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Put a Spark in Your Family Campfire
Whether you’re nestled deep in the woods sitting on logs beside your tent or chilling out on chairs in your backyard, gathering around a campfire is often a highlight of fall and winter nights. The warmth of a crackling campfire creates the perfect setting for...
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Helping kids find their passion
Your daughter wants to be a rock star one minute, a doctor the next. How can you help her find direction without stifling her inquisitive spirit? The career counselors at Austin Community College (ACC) have some tips for explorers. Each year, they help thousands of...
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Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones from Domestic Violence
Domestic violence can happen to anyone in an intimate relationship — regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age or race. Also called “intimate partner violence,” domestic violence can happen in all types of intimate relationships, whether married, living together...
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RSV: What You Need to Know
Every year, respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV, an illness in the lungs and breathing passages) causes over 2 million doctor’s visits among young children in the US. About 57,000 of these children are so sick, they need to be treated in a hospital. The American...
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Does Your Child’s School Support Health and Wellness?
We want our children to be healthy. When they’re at home, we offer nutritious food, encourage exercise and promote wellness. But once school begins, our kids spend many of their waking hours at school. So, does your child’s school support or sabotage health and...
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UV Exposure — Are You at Risk in Your Car?
You probably know it’s important to protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays at the pool or beach. But did you know you’re at increased risk from ultraviolet (UV) radiation in your car? About 53 percent of skin cancers in the US occur on the left side of the...
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Why Technology in the Classroom Deserves a Closer Look
I’m revealing my age by saying that I can remember getting our first black and white home computer, which took pride of place in the dining room for the whole family to use. My first cell phone didn’t come until college, when social media was non-existent. Our...
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529 College Savings Plans, Explained
Saving for college can be overwhelming - the savings options alone can make your head spin! The 529 plan is arguably the most well-known college savings vehicle. This overview will give you a better understanding of the popular plan and can help you make the best...
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How I Learned to Love Collaborative Classrooms
It's hard to believe summer is almost over and our kiddos will soon be heading back to school! I still remember those final summer days when I nervously waited to learn which teacher would be mine and which friends would be in my class. Now that I'm a parent, the...
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Weird Science: Three Projects for Home Exploration
You can’t read a parenting magazine these days without coming across the acronym STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We all know it’s important to expose our children to these disciplines, but do you ever find yourself feeling a little intimidated...
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Even Young Kids Can Be Affected by Domestic Abuse
Q. I’m in a bad situation. My husband yells at me in front of our children (2 and 7 years old). He says I’m fat and lazy. He says he hates me. Once in a while, he hits me, but not where anyone could see. I’m staying with him for now because I have nowhere to go and...
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Not Perfect, But Good Enough
Q. We were eating in a restaurant when my 16-year-old son blurted out “You’re bad parents!” This presumably because we took away his cell phone during the meal. He said he was expecting an important text from his girlfriend. He and his sister left and started walking...
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11 Things to Try When Your Child Refuses to Go to School
Q. My son is 14 and often refuses to go to school. Sometimes, I can convince him to get in the car, but then he’ll refuse to go inside. If I walk him into the school, later he’ll have a physical complaint such as a stomachache or headache, and I’ll get a call from the...
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Little by Little, Work on Skills All Summer
Q. This summer, all my kids want to do is have fun. They ask to swim and play all day. They ask to eat junk food while skipping vegetables and fruit. I enjoy the summer break too, but when do I need to get them ready for the next school year? A. I’m all in for summer...
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Awareness and Action on Domestic Violence Paves the Way to Healing
Over the years, the focus of this column has been on technology, with healthy family engagement at the center of that orbit. We turn from technology this month, and place our focus squarely on family — specifically, those survivors who find themselves in the throes of...
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Shield Your College Student from Identity Theft
Back to school. Every year is more surreal as our kids seem to age at warp speed. This is especially true for parents faced with tearfully remembering the first day of kindergarten as they drive away from newly furnished dorm rooms with college-level well-wishes...
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3 Apps (and More) for Learning to Read
This is the first sentence of this article, and the fact that you can read it isn’t to be taken for granted. According to research noted by ourworldindata.org, only 12 percent of the world population was literate in 1800. 12 percent! How mind-blowing is that? ...
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Top Tools for Your Family Game Night
Some of my earliest childhood memories are of my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles huddled around a game table set up in the living room. Games went on for hours. There was banter, laughter and strategy. They lived in a rural, poverty stricken community. There...
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