The Marble Jar Channel

Hi, everyone!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today's video, I'll share the rules that I developed to determine what information I can tell other parents while being careful not to break the expectation of confidence with my kids. I have teenagers -- and they are great kids.  But they ARE teenagers, which means, by definition, that they push the boundaries of what is allowed -- as do their friends.  Our code word for this is "risky behavior."  This is an umbrella term that covers everything from breaking major rules, to use of elicit substances, to pushing sexual boundaries, to straight up criminal behavior.  As much as I would like to just shut down all of this talk with a "never do that!", I know this isn't really realistic -- and would totally end any meaningful conversations that I might have with them about decision making and peer pressure.   I'd like to stay engaged with them so that I can contribute to the con...

Hi, everyone!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today’s video, I’ll talk about the latest viral video game, Fortnite: Battle Royale, why it is so addictive, and as parents, what we can do about it.  My son just turned 16.  Around last Halloween, he scraped some money together and bought himself an early Xmas present — a PlayStation console.  That’s when he fell over the Fortnite addiction cliff. I didn’t quite understand the impact, until a couple of months later when every single one of his grades has fallen by at least a full letter grade and he was walking around with huge bags under his eyes. It’s highly addictive, way more fun than schoolwork, and tough on a high school sleep schedule.  We had to make some changes. But before we talk about that, let’s talk about Fortnite and why it is so addictive.  Game Concept First let’s just cover the Fortnite basics.  It’s loosely based on the Hunger Games premise. You and 99...