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Kids across the country are returning to virtual learning during quarantine periods. They may have forgotten some of the nuances of the Zoom call, so take time to brush up on video chat etiquette and tips with your child before they log onto their first call. 

Gentle parenting. Visible child parenting. Peaceful parenting. Attuned parenting. Relational parenting. Respectful parenting. All these phrases may describe your parenting style — even if you've never heard of any of them.

Through the eyes of a child, we witness new perspectives that often our adults eyes can't see. In this blog, a child opens up about why she likes her Pinwheel, the rules that came with her owning a kid phone, and how it has impacted her daily routine. Her mother is a blogger you might know, so stay till the end to explore more helpful parenting resources! 

The word "screentime" sends up red flags to parents around the world. We question how our kids are impacted, what they should be viewing, and we struggle to keep up with the latest features. But let's take a step back.

Digital mastery means more than being able to tap around on a screen and make a device respond. Digital mastery is the skillset required to achieve Pinwheel's vision. That vision is a future in which human beings are the masters of technology, not captive to it. 

The book "Hold Onto Your Kids"  by Dr. Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate, contains so much wisdom about why parents are of such vital importance to kids. The book explains all that is lost when children learn about life primarily from other kids. Peer-orientation and parental attachment are so important to understand. As a parent, it took my breath away.

By creating a screen time contract, you're setting clear boundaries for tech use. By crafting it into a spinning pinwheel, you're creating a kinder environment for this conversation to take place.

Working from home while raising kids during a pandemic is challenging. Stop right here to take a breathe; you earned that and much more. The balance of parenting and working is hard to strike, but I'll always cling to the message that journalist Jennifer Griffin told me almost a decade ago.

My favorite memories growing up were the ones spent in nature. You could find me with dirty bare feet up some tree in just about every season. A couple days out of the week, Mama would take my siblings and I out on hiking trails or on walks in the park. We had a thing for venturing off the beaten path, making our way through the trees and little bits of open field to find all kinds of plants, rocks, and animals. Looking back on my childhood, I remember more joy and peace in those moments of soaking up nature than the memories spent indoors on my phone.