Set screen rules that stick, keep school motivation alive, and discuss tough topics.
Screen time & online safety
You don’t have to ban screens, but create limits that children and grownups follow.
“Establece algunas reglas básicas sobre el tiempo de pantallas. Observa señales como que dejen de participar en otras actividades o tengan cambios de humor, que podrían indicar que es momento de reducir el tiempo digital.”
— Child Mind Institute, guía para imprimir (español)
“Model healthy use. You can talk about healthy screen limits all you like, but if your kids see you on screens 24/7, they’ll be less likely to listen.”
— Child Mind Institute, printable guide (English)
En español · ¿Cómo promuevo el uso saludable de la tecnología en mi hijo?
In English · How do I promote my child’s healthy use of technology?
Both episodes from Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids by the Child Mind Institute, funded by the State of California — every episode filmed separately in Spanish and in English, made for parents.
- Print this guide so you don’t have to look at it on a screen. 8 Tips for Helping Kids Develop a Healthy Relationship With Technology: English · español
- Write your family’s rules down — the American Academy of Pediatrics’ free Family Media Plan: in English · en español — pick device-free times, screen-free zones, and online-safety rules together, then print them
- En español, de los pediatras — Los niños y la tecnología: consejos para los padres en la era digital (HealthyChildren.org)
Motivation — older kids & early teens
Pressure backfires; presence works — stay involved in your older kid’s school life, praise the effort instead of the grade, and give them room to own their work.
“Con los niños mayores, asegúrate también de darles espacio. Si perciben que tú estás tratando de presionar, se pueden resentir y terminar sintiendo menos motivación.”
— Child Mind Institute, Cómo ayudar a tu hijo a mantener la motivación en la escuela
“Praising kids for following through when things get difficult, for making a sustained effort, and for trying things they’re not sure they can do successfully can all help teach them the pleasure of pushing themselves.”
— Child Mind Institute, How to Help Your Child Get Motivated in School
En español · ¿Cómo ayudo a mi hijo a que le vaya bien en la escuela?
In English · How do I help my child do well in school?
Both episodes from Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids by the Child Mind Institute — filmed separately in Spanish and in English.
- Effort not outcome — 9 Tips for Helping Kids Succeed in School (“Encourage but don’t stress” · “Focus on effort, not outcome”): English · español
- Why “lazy” is almost never the real story — Child Mind’s motivation guide in English · español
- When the teen years hit — the same series’ episode on teen challenges, filmed in English · español
Building confidence & self-esteem
Confidence is built, not born — praise the effort instead of the talent, let mistakes be lessons, and make sure your child knows your love doesn’t depend on the result.
“Enfócate en el esfuerzo y en el proceso. En lugar de premiar las habilidades naturales de tu hijo (‘¡qué inteligente eres!’), reconoce y celebra su esfuerzo (‘¡fue impresionante cómo lograste enfocarte en ese problema de matemáticas!’).”
— Child Mind Institute, guía para imprimir (español)
“Show your love, no matter what. Win or lose, good grades or bad, and even when you’re mad at them — make sure your child knows that you think they’re great. It will build their self-worth even when they’re struggling.”
— Child Mind Institute, printable guide (English)
En español · ¿Cómo ayudo a mi hijo a desarrollar una autoestima saludable?
In English · How do I help my child build healthy self-esteem?
Both episodes from Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids by the Child Mind Institute — filmed separately in Spanish and in English.
- Print & take home — the 2-page guide 7 Tips for Raising Confident Kids: English · español
- The longer list — Child Mind’s 12 Tips for Raising Confident Kids in English · español
- From the pediatricians — AAP’s Helping Your Child Develop a Healthy Sense of Self-Esteem: in English · en español
Housing insecurity
If your family is staying with relatives, in a shelter, or between homes — you are not alone. School can stay steady even when housing isn’t, and CPS owes your child that stability by law. (And if your child is asking about homelessness they see around Uptown, the same guides help with that talk too.)
“Cuando hable sobre qué es hogar, enfatice que hogar es mucho más que una estructura física.”
— Sesame Workshop, Conversen: para niños que están sin hogar
“When talking about home, stress that home is more than a building — home is about the love and care you have from the grown-ups around you.”
— Sesame Workshop, Talk About It: For Children Experiencing Homelessness
En español · Un hogar es
In English · Home Is…
Meet Lily · Dot to Dot
All three from Sesame Workshop’s Tough Topics, made with families in shelters — the same little film about what makes a home, in Spanish and in English, then Dot to Dot: Lily, age 7, tells Elmo her family is staying with friends for a while. “Together, we got this.”
Ages 1–6 · more from Sesame Street
- Answering the hard questions (“Why did we lose our home?”) — Sesame’s parent guide for families going through it: in English · en español
- When your child asks about homelessness they see — the same guide, for families who aren’t going through it: in English · en español
- Read together — the storybook We Got This! (feeling safe wherever you sleep) and the printable rhyme ¡Manos a la obra!
Bigger kids & middle schoolers
- What’s typical, age by age — how school-age kids and young teens show stress (sleep, anger, grades, withdrawal) and what helps, from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network: in English · en español
- Keep one thing steady: school — routines do a lot of the healing, and the rights below exist so your child’s school, teachers, and friends don’t have to change when your address does
- Free homework help, right in the shelter — Chicago HOPES for Kids tutors CPS students living in shelters every weekday afternoon, including at Cornerstone Community Outreach here in Uptown
Watch together · why nobody “looks homeless”
From Above the Noise, KQED’s PBS series made for students in grades 6–12 — most classmates without stable housing are invisible because “staying with friends” doesn’t look like homelessness, but it counts, and school help comes with it. Good to watch with your middle schooler.
Your rights at CPS, starting today
CPS’s Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS) program is federal law working for you. Staying with others after losing housing, or living in a shelter, motel, or car — all of it counts:
- Enroll immediately — no proof of address, school records, or immunization papers needed to start
- Keep your school — your child can stay at Courtenay with free transportation, even if you move out of the neighborhood
- Pay nothing — free meals, waived fees (field trips, sports, uniforms), school supplies, and extra tutoring
- Ask for the STLS liaison — every CPS school has one (the front office can point you), or use the STLS office’s liaison search and assistance form
- Print & keep — CPS’s notice of your rights, one page: English · español
- Free legal help — the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness Law Project: free legal aid for school enrollment, busing, fee waivers, and benefits — the helpline and its hours are on that page
- Shelter in Uptown — Cornerstone Community Outreach — beds for families, single parents, women, and men; address and intake details are on their site