Family and Consumer Sciences

Live Smart Ohio

Ohio State University Extension

Mind and Body

Seeking the Optimal Zone

Have you assessed your personal “comfort zone” lately? Comfort zones, and our attachment to them, have gotten a bad rap in the press lately. Media headlines scold us to “get out of our comfort zone,” but comfort zones are not necessarily good or bad. This blog post (and additional related ones) will look at how […]

WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Lucas County

REVIEWED BY: Donna Green, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Erie County, green.308@osu.edu

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • bike photo from pixabay

REFERENCES:

  • Seery, M. D., Holman, E. A., & Cohen Silver, R. (2010). Whatever does not kill us; cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99,6. 1025-1041.
  • Treber, M. (2015). Are there connections between stress and your heart health? The Ohio State University, Live Smart Ohio Blog. Retrieved from https://livesmartohio.osu.edu/mind-and-body/treber-1osu-edu/are-there-connections-between-stress-and-your-heart-health/
  • Tugend, A. (2011). Tiptoeing out of one’s comfort zone (and of course, back in). New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/your-money/12shortcuts.html
  • White, A. (2009). From comfort zone to performance management. Understanding development and performance. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228957278_From_Comfort_Zone_to_Performance_Management

Social Media Mania or Madness?

With summer here and most schools out of session, many youth are left to fend for themselves during the day while their parents or caregivers are at work. My husband calls it “the summer of sloth” at our house, because our kids sit around and play on their phones and computers or watch television for […]

WRITTEN BY: Misty Harmon, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Perry County, harmon.416@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Joseph Maiorano, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Harrison County, maiorano.2@osu.edu

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • https://pixabay.com/photos/snapchat-social-media-smartphone-2480959/
  • https://pixabay.com/photos/texting-mobile-phones-hands-two-1490691/

SOURCES:

  • American Academy of Pediatrics, (2018). Children and Media Tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Found at: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-safety-tips/Pages/Children-and-Media-Tips.aspx
  • Anderson, M. (2018). A Majority of Teens Have Experienced Some Form of Cyberbullying. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewinternet.org/2018/09/27/a-majority-of-teens-have-experienced-some-form-of-cyberbullying/
  • Digital Responsibility, (2019). Health and Technology. Found at: http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/health-and-technology
  • Hurley, K. (2019). Digital Self-Harm: Why Are Teens Cyber Bullying Themselves? Remedy Health Media, LLC. Found at: https://www.psycom.net/digital-self-harm
  • Jiang, J. (2018). How Teens and Parents Navigate Screen Time and Device Distractions. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewinternet.org/2018/08/22/how-teens-and-parents-navigate-screen-time-and-device-distractions/
  • Lobb, J. (2016). Time for a Technology Break? Live Healthy Live Well Blog. Retrieved from: https://livehealthyosu.com/tag/digital-detoxing/
  • Mir, E. and Novas, C. (2019). Social Media and Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Mental Health. National Center for Health Research. Found at: http://www.center4research.org/social-media-affects-mental-health/
  • Shafer, L., (2017). Social Media and Teen Anxiety. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved from: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/17/12/social-media-and-teen-anxiety
  • U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2018) Health Risks of an Inactive Lifestyle. MedlinePlus. Found at: https://medlineplus.gov/healthrisksofaninactivelifestyle.html

The Case for Paid Parental Leave

When my son was born earlier this year, I was fortunate to have six weeks of paid parental leave made available to me by my employer. And, once that time was exhausted, I was able to take an additional six weeks of paid leave using my accrued sick time. The twelve weeks I spent at […]

WRITTEN BY: Jenny Lobb, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Franklin County

REVIEWED BY: Whitney Gherman, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Marion County

SOURCES:

  • Allegheny Health Network (2019). The 4th Trimester: Time to Take Care of Mom. https://www.mywishformoms.org/postpartum-resource/
  • Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2019). Work Supports for Reducing Maternal Mortality: The Role of Paid Family and Medical Leave. https://iwpr.org/get-involved/events/work-supports-for-reducing-maternal-mortality-the-role-of-paid-family-and-medical-leave/
  • Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2019). Work Supports for Child Health: The Role of Paid Family and Medical Leave. https://iwpr.org/get-involved/events/work-supports-for-child-healththe-role-of-paid-family-and-medical-leave/
  • Klerman, J.A., Daley, K. & Pozniak, A. (2014). Family and Medical Leave in 2012: Technical Report. https://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/fmla/fmla-2012-technical-report.pdf

My Wish for Moms

Just in time for Mother’s Day this year, supermodel Chrissy Teigen launched the #MyWishForMoms campaign to bring awareness to postpartum depression and anxiety and to help break the stigma surrounding these conditions. While 1 in every 7 moms experience postpartum depression each year, only 15% receive treatment. Perhaps this is because our culture views giving […]

WRITTEN BY: Jenny Lobb, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Franklin County

REVIEWED BY: Whitney Gherman, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Marion County

SOURCES:

  • Allegheny Health Network (2019). The 4th Trimester: Time to Take Care of Mom. https://www.mywishformoms.org/postpartum-resource/
  • MedlinePlus (2019). Postpartum Depression. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007215.htm
  • TODAY Parenting Team (2018). Stay at Home Mom Depression. https://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/stay-at-home-mom-depression
  • Zillman, C. (2018). Childcare Costs More Than College Tuition in 28 U.S. States. Fortune. http://fortune.com/2018/10/22/childcare-costs-per-year-us/

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Yes, now you have that song stuck in your head, you’re welcome. As I hum the song, I can’t help but to smile and to reflect on things that make me happy. To give the definition of happiness may seem silly, since most of us understand what it is, but according to positive psychology researcher […]

WRITTEN BY: Misty Harmon, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Perry County, harmon.416@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Joseph Maiorano, PhD, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Harrison County, maiorano.2@osu.edu

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • https://pixabay.com/photos/family-sea-vacation-beach-summer-2432568/
  • https://pixabay.com/photos/african-african-american-afro-3797905/

SOURCES:

  • Greater Good Magazine. Happiness Defined: What is Happiness? Found on 4/10/19 at https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/happiness/definition
  • Greater Good Magazine. Happiness Defined: Why Practice It? Retrieved on 4/10/19 from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/happiness/definition#why-practice-happiness
  • Harmon, M. (2019). How to "buy" happiness and better health. Found at https://livesmartohio.osu.edu/money/harmon-416osu-edu/how-to-buy-happiness-and-better-health/
  • Harvard Men's Health Watch. (2017). The pursuit of happiness. Retrieved on 4/10/19 from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-pursuit-of-happiness
  • Ho, L. (2019). How to Be Happy: Why Pursuing Happiness Will Make You Unhappy https://www.lifehack.org/610387/why-its-impossible-to-be-consistently-happy
  • Kloppers, M. 10 Things To Stop Caring About If You Want To Be Happier. Found on 4/10/19 at https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/ten-things-stop-caring-about-you-want-happier.html
  • Locke, R. (2018). 10 Scientifically Proven Ways To Stay Happy All The Time. Retrieved from https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/10-scientifically-proven-ways-stay-happy-all-the-time.html
  • National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Mental Health Conditions. Retrieved on 4/10/19 from: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions
  • Suttie, J. (2019). How Understanding Evolution Can Help Us to Be Happy. Greater Good Magazine. Found at https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_understanding_evolution_can_help_us_to_be_happy

Love Thine Own Self

Many times when we talk about relationships we focus on those relationships we have with other people.  I think it is important to develop and maintain healthy relationships with friends, family, co-workers, etc.   I also believe having a healthy, positive, and loving relationship with yourself is crucial.  The type of relationship you have with yourself […]

WRITTEN BY: Lorissa Dunfee, Ohio State University Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences, Belmont County

REVIEWED BY: Shannon Carter, Ohio State University Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences, Fairfield County

SOURCES:

  • "Building Trust." California State University, Stanislaus. 2014.
  • Stephen, Asha, "Creating Healthy Relationships." Be Well Blog, University of Oregon. 2017.

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