Kircia.D

Eating What You Want

By kircia Derasin

“When people are hungry they will be able to maintain their energy level by eating" (“Normal Diet for Children 1-11 Years of Age”). When people are limited to eating certain foods, they may not want to eat. This might affect their energy level. So, we should be able to eat what we want. Eating what you want can help you try different foods, it also helps you stay healthy, and last, it can make you have different perspectives about certain foods.

We should be able to eat what we want because when people eat what they want, but within limits, then they can stay healthy (Daily Mail 2013). Also according to this article, “As millions of Americans resolve to trim down for 2013 a new book claimed that you can lose weight by eating between a set eight hour time period. Also, according to the article “Normal Diet for Children 1-11 Years of Age” some children may not want to eat at times, or they might eat too much of certain foods. But, parents shouldn't punish or reward their children with food.

Eating what we want can help us to try different foods because according to the article “ Normal Diet for Children 1-11 of Age”  parents should offer children snacks so that they can try different foods. Also, according to the same article it states that our parents shouldn't force us to eat certain foods.

Eating what you want can make you have a different perspective on some foods because according to “Parental Influences on Children's Food Choices” states that children are usually influenced on what they like or dislike. This means that most children end up with the same eating habits as their parents, so it's good that parents make good choices. Also, according to the same article children should not go on a diet because it makes it harder for them to try different foods.

Some people might claim that eating what you want can make you gain weight. However, eating what you want at a limit can actually help you lose weight. For example there's a book called 8 Hour Diet and it states that if you eat what you want, but at a limit, it can help you lose weight. The book's example was that if you eat what  you want but within an 8 hour time period you are able to lose weight. Eating what you want can can help you lose weight without having to lower the varieties of food you eat.

If you don't eat what you want you will never be happy. Eating what you want can make you happy because then you are able to eat delicious foods. Eating what you want can make you happy because you can eat sweets also. Eating what you want can also help you to stay healthy because you are not limiting the choices you have. So, you can get all the proteins, vitamins and nutrients you need. So eating what you want can make you happy.

Jadin C.

Video Games Can Help Kids With Life Skills

by Jadin C.

Video games can help kids in life. They can build kids strengths with skills. They can develop by gaming and learning new techniques. Gaming also improves kids skills in life because of the video games they play. According to researchers, they agree as they discover the benefits of video games. Researchers are emphasizing the potential of video games to teach children and give them the skills they need to succeed.

First, video games are social because friends can invite their friends over to play with them. Kids want to play online to interact with others, which creates conversations and new friends. When a group plays together, different kids need to take the lead. This can lead to motivating others or persuading others to follow a strategy. As kids start to play more games, they develop language and thinking skills. This can even lead to visiting museums, parks and websites where kids can learn new things. According to research there are many benefits to playing video games (4 Reasons Video Games Can Help Kids).

Video games can help parents choose the right leisure-time, help educators find ways to have addictive classroom teaching, and help game creators create games that teach. Gaming can boost your memory, increase coordination, help with thinking, reduces stress and depression, and can improve your decision making (Olson).

Video games are complete programs used to develop kids skills. Children who have serious problems like autism can learn through gaming. For example, a 7-year old boy has difficulties with language and understanding and social things. Video games help him to succeed. Gaming helped to boost him and calm him (Griffiths).

Some people might argue that video games will lower grades and decrease learning from school. However, according to researchers kids can benefit from playing video games. Researchers say that it can lead to motivating and persuading others.

Kids play video games to express their emotions or just to have fun with their friends. For example, video games have awards to make you feel that you have achieved something in the game. By completing achievements it makes the gamer feel accomplished. Now, what are people waiting around for, buy those video games now!

Siddalee A.

Let Kids Cook

By Siddalee

According to actress Cindy Morgan, “I love spending time with my friends and family. The simplest things in life give me the most pleasure: cooking a good meal, enjoying my friends.” This quote by actress Cindy Morgan applies to everyone not only adults. Children should be able to cook freely. Cooking helps kids become exposed to different foods, it helps them want to eat different foods, and it helps build  necessary skills. To get all this you just need to let children cook.

Cooking helps children become exposed to different foods. According to Julie Negrin, M.S. and M.N. “Exposure to scratch cooking helps kids develop a mature palate and a taste for fresh wholesome ingredients” (2010-2016). In other words, when kids cook with natural ingredients, they will become exposed to different, natural, and wholesome foods and want to eat them.

Don't all parents want their kids to learn and develop necessary life skills. Well…cooking does this. Children develop senses while cooking. They come to know the senses of sight and sound, while working with fresh natural ingredients. Additionally, they start to know types of textures. They learn this when they play or work with the different types of ingredients (Callahan). Since parents want the best for their children, let them cook! They will learn all the necessary life skills that come from cooking.

Don't you hate it when your kid doesn't eat what you make and you need to make something else? Well… if you want your kids to eat something easy, without having to spend all your time cooking, let them make it! When kids cook they are most likely to eat what they make. Did you know when kids cook they feel a sense of ownership (Negrin)? Cooking will also help children eat different foods, you could easily trick them into cooking something way more healthy different and tasty than McDonald's all in the convenience of your own home. If you want your child to eat new and different foods, let them make it.

Some people may say cooking is dangerous and that kids could get hurt. Well there is one simple solution to that even simpler problem, watch them while they cook. When you watch kids cook, you can make sure they don't hurt themselves while you can relax a little, since you won't be the one actually cooking. If you don't let children cook you are taking away multiple life skills that they will need in the future.

Think of cooking and of all the skills like math, reading, and even some geography...when kids aren't able to cook they get deprived of necessary life skills that they also need. Now think of your favorite place to eat without the chefs, or food. It would basically be a place with a bunch of tables and chairs, no food, and that would be honestly sad. In other words let kids cook because not only will they learn the necessary life skills that come with cooking, you get a good meal out of it as well.

Alexis A

Technology Should Not be Taken Away by Parents

by Alexis A.

A new Pew Research Center report found that 65% of parents take away cell phones and internet privileges as punishment. However, there are so many apps that assist with skills that are challenging. Technology can benefit children's schoolwork, which is a reason not to take it away. How is taking technology away helpful? Why do parents take technology away if it only lasts a little while? Don't you think that taking technology away will just make the situation worse? Maybe, instead of taking technology away, we should find a solution for kids to use technology more appropriately.

One study by Max Ufberg of Pacific Standard shows that encouraging honesty without the fear of punishment results in more kids telling the truth. This means that children who don't have a fear of punishment are more likely to tell the truth. Being honest can often prevent parents from taking electronics away because of the better feeling of not being lied to (Samuel).

Many parents either don't know or don't believe that technology actually offers many educational benefits as well. There are many apps that can really assist in skills that are challenging. So, depending on certain age groups, technology can offer a good amount of learning (Norman).

Many parents believe that using technology can delay their children's ability to interact with other people around them. This is actually completely wrong because studies from Pew Research Center also say that messaging, chatting, and other one-on-one group conversations online can actually help kids feel better about communicating with other people in real life (loop). Maybe, encouraging texting is a good thing that all parents should consider, also being sure to set rules on when and where to do it.

Although many parents believe that electronics and handheld devices should be banned for kids because of the possible effects of sleep deprivation, mental illnesses, and lack of sociability, technology offers more good than harm.  Some of which includes its ability to give people practice who are uncomfortable socially.  

Today I explained a few reasons why parents shouldn't take electronics away. Technology can boost social skills, assist in education, and can be used as a way to encourage more honesty. In many cases, technology can be seen as a good thing, and in many cases it can also be seen as a not-so-good thing, but it really depends on personal preference and what rules are set into place in your own home.

Rion C

Why Games?

By: Rion Chong

It has been said that gaming is bad for you. However, gamers actually have better vision, more flexible brains, and less depression!

A 2009 study involved having a group of experienced first-person shooter gamers play Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament 2004 while other gamers played slow games like The Sims 2. When tested, those who played the first-person shooters showed signs of having better vision than the others. Daphne Bavelier, the leader of the study, discovered that playing action games improves an ability called contrast sensitivity function. This ability helps us notice changes in shades of gray against a colored backdrop, which is very beneficial while driving at night. (“Why Video Games Can Be Good For You”).

Over 165 teenagers (average age of 16) who showed signs of depression, participated in a study. Half of the group underwent traditional counseling, while the other half got to play a video game called SPARX. The group that played SPARX showed a higher decrease in depression than the group that received counseling. (“10 Reasons Why Video Games Are Good For Your Health!”)

Video games can also heighten brain versatility. This is because games require continuous thinking and involvement. You learn while you play. You have to figure things out while you play. Games offer a changing environment so your brain must evolve with the changes. These attributes train your brain to learn better! Therefore, gamers are more likely to use these learning skills in real life circumstances like in school or at work (“10 Reasons Why Video Games Are Good For Your Health!”).

Some may say that gaming is bad for you if play too long. However, it all depends how frequently you do it, and what kind of games you play.

Gaming has many health benefits such as better vision, more flexible brains, and less depression.

Jayden AE

Video Games Aren't as Bad as You Think 

by Jayden AE

Imagine, you just got fired from work, got dumped by your girlfriend, and you dropped your dry-cleaning in the mud. You sit down on your couch and cry for a bit. Then you start up your PS4 and start playing some games. Boom! One goal. Boom! Two goals. Boom! Three goals. Hattrick. All of a sudden you feel like a boss. Stop imagining. This is why we should play video games longer and more often. Not only do video games help you with your self-esteem, but they are not a bad influence, and can get you some serious money.

Getting old? Or just feeling old? Well there is a way to slow that down. Play games! That’s what students of The University of Iowa said (Gallaway). If you’ve ever played a game, you know the feeling of being captured by a game. You are so focused and concentrated that you don’t want to do anything but play that game. When you are in that state, your mind slows and is in a pure focused mode.

Do you have that person in your family that does nothing but game all day and night? You would think that he is poor and has no friends, but he might be the opposite of what you think? “Why do you think that?” I hear you saying. Well let me tell you. It’s something called E-Sports. E-Sports is basically playing a game in front of the whole world. Not only is it fun, but it doles out lots of money. Since people love video games they come from all over the world to see ESports (Matt Peckham). All that money people spend to see the game being played gets poured into the winning pot of money. If you need some extra cash and you're good at video games, think about joining the E-Sports gang.

Feeling down? Or just bored? Video games can help with that (Guarini). If you have ever finished a game you know that feeling of beating the boss, capturing that criminal, or slaying that dragon...it feels awesome. If you have never played a game you are missing out.

I bet a lot of people are out there saying, “Video Games are bad for your eyes and make you lazy.” Yes that is true. Video Games can make you lazy, but that’s all up to you. For the bad eyes part it takes 3 hours to even have an effect on you (Game Skinny). So unless you have nothing but video games scheduled for the day, you’re not going to have your eyes melt out of their sockets.

If people don’t play games the world will be dull and boring. People won’t have a safe spot in this hectic world. Imagine all those hardcore gamers, tens of thousands of people going into bankruptcy. Now I am not saying to play games for 10 hours a day (your choice), but I am saying to try and incorporate gaming into your life.

Video Games are Good by Adam D

Video Games are Good

By Adam D.

    George bursts through his front door excited to play video games. He had a rough day at school and he was hoping that he could play some games to compensate for that. As he turns on his video game console his mom walks into his room. She says, “You can't play video games because it is unhealthy for your brain." George walks out of his room sad that he can't play his favorite game. When in reality, video games are actually good for you, your brain, and emotionally in various ways.

    Video games can improve your life in many different ways ranging from socially to emotionally. One example is that video games can improve perception. According to the article “Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games” virtual gaming can improve situational awareness in real life. Also, gaming can improve creativity. Games like Minecraft are made around building cool structures, which develops creativity as you adventure through the game. On top of this, video games can improve your memory span, concentration, perseverance, and strategy. Video games can help you out socially too. Using the multi-player mode in video games promotes communication between players. This can help you make new friends with fellow gamers and at the same time feel good because you're doing something that you like. Yes, granted you can run into some weirdos online, but there are more good honest players willing to converse and collaborate with others than weirdos.

     Gaming can help you make logical theories and educated guesses. These will help you make smart estimations in the future.  Gaming is recommended if you're in a bad mood as it can cheer you up and have some fun. Playing with family can improve social bonds between each other and it can be a fun way to fill in the boring gaps of your day. Social bonds in video games are not just limited to family. You can expand friendships by playing with people online which is also fun.

    Although video games can be fun and healthy, too much of it is pretty overwhelming. Controlling your desire to play can be challenging. You might want to stick around a few more hours playing in order to finish a certain level or beat the final boss. Going outside for a walk or doing boardgames with your family are just some ways that you can get away from the screen for a bit. Balancing your time is important and you should practice this daily (Gavin).

    Some parents or people might state that video games are melting your brain and are bad for your health. Well, actually video games are helping it. Video games that require math and estimation skills can benefit your brain by practicing it for the real world. For example, the game SimCity has you build your own town or city with the resources given. The game constantly pulls up tasks and problems that your city faces and you need to find a way around these problems with what you have. Games can stimulate the brain to get around obstacles that you would have never faced before in real life. So all those people that are saying that video games are bad should stop (“Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games”)

    Some people say video games are good, some say they are bad. Well, I say they are healthy. Playing video games can expand your social life to other people while strengthening bonds with family and friends. Not to mention video games have multiple ways of stimulating and strengthening the brain. They can also be restorative in some ways. In conclusion people should play more video games and more people should play video games.