MASK The Magazine Winter 2017

We have a squad of five at our home, with a decade between oldest to youngest. Needless to say, I’ve always said I have my MASK “test lab” at home. The way I parent has stayed consistent, but the times have changed. Over the years, there have been more and more things to think about, and more and more available at the fingertips of our children. I’ve had conversations with my oldest son about technology and social media, and he’s always said how glad he is that he got a chance to be a kid growing up. He played outside and got dirty. He didn’t have all of that static. Today, children are being robbed and taken hostage by a device that fits in the palm of their hand. Honestly, whose fault…

MASK (Mothers Awareness on School-age Kids) is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization created in 2007 by a group of dedicated mothers who recognized the need to consistently educate families on rapidly changing issues. The MASK mission is to engage and educate parents, children and the community about the issues facing our youth and to empower children to make safe, healthy choices. MASK fulfills its mission by engaging, educating and empowering families through the MASK E3 Institute, MASK The Magazine and our vastly informative website. The MASK E3 Institute is a comprehensive year long multi-year approach to building and strengthening life skills for children, including MASK Storytime (Pre-K), MASK Academy (kindergarten to 6th grade), MASK Prep (middle and high school), MASK Leadership (college) and Parent University. MASK addresses important topics and gives parents the…

Clue Let’s be real. For women, keeping track of your menstrual cycle is essential to their health. Making sure your cycle is regular and knowing when your period will start gives you peace of mind. However, keeping a log of your menstruation, symptoms and other related changes can be tedious. Having to physically write it in your calendar, in a notebook, or on a notes app just takes too long and isn’t very efficient. Fortunately, there’s a very simple solution that can be found right in your phone. The Clue app offers an easy-to-use logging system that makes note of your period, symptoms and, for women planning to get pregnant, your fertile window. Simply tap the date your period starts and keep a daily log until it ends. The app will then calculate…

DRUG “Just say no” doesn’t work. If your child is friends with someone who is trying to pressure them to do something they don’t agree with, help them see this person is clearly not being a good friend. Have your child find new friends with similar interests. TECH During the holidays, the kids are home from school and some may get new devices as gifts. Technology is fun, but remember that family time is more important. Take a break from your busy routine and spend tech-free quality time with your kids. BULLY Bullying no longer happens just on the playground. Cyberbullying can happen anywhere, anytime. Protect your child by monitoring their Internet usage. Know who they’re friends with online and teach them to fill their online profiles with positives instead of negatives. SAFETY Anyone can pretend to…

REAL (LEFT) VS. FAKE (RIGHT) With so much to worry about in the world today, a new drug being exposed to our children shouldn’t be one of them. Unfortunately, fake Oxycodone, or “fake Oxy,” has made its way into the United States, affecting communities across the nation. Fake Oxy is affecting young people nationwide. In Phoenix alone, the drug has led to 32 deaths in the last 18 months. The average age of those who have died is 35, and 75 percent of those deaths are male. Because the pills are being sold as Oxycodone, users aren’t aware of the heightened risks they face. Fake Oxy is made with fentanyl, the strongest prescription opiate painkiller on the market. It is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, and 100 times more potent…

In an age in which texting is quickly replacing the good, old phone call, it’s good to tout the benefits of tapping away at our phones every once in a while. In an article for MEL magazine, New York-based writer Caroline Moss shares her family’s way of staying in touch: the family group chat. “It used to be a conversation had around the dinner table, but now my siblings and I are out of the house,” she wrote. “When my mom got an iPhone about a year ago, the family group text became the dinner table chatter we no longer had and desperately missed—a way for us to provide mini, often banal updates about the intricacies of our lives without having to schedule a family dinner.” In between the occasional GIFs, emojis…