Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2018 i MASK The Magazine

Strong families are built on a foundation of love—and love, as you probably know, doesn’t simply just happen. Love takes work, especially when the details of the day-to-day grind seem to crowd out everything else and leave you short on time and sapped of energy. When schedules are jammed with activities, it’s easy to lose sight of life’s little pleasures. But if you take the time to notice those pleasures, dwell on them and bring them into focus, you’ll find that you’ve already taken a huge step in the direction of cementing meaningful, lifelong relationships with your children. Making memories is one way to create a lasting sense of common identity and shared family heritage among the members of your household. If you’re a parent, there are many simple things…

Some of the most meaningful conversations I’ve had with my kids have happened while driving together to and from after-school activities or during long road trips to sports competitions. Driving in a car creates a comfortable, laidback environment that allows conversations to flow freely. And because you’re focused on the road, there’s no direct eye contact, which can make kids feel more at ease. Long drives are the ideal time to dive into deeper, more sensitive topics where you won’t be interrupted. If you only have a 5- or 10-minute drive together, keep the conversation light and upbeat. Ask about their day and what plans they may have for the weekend. “The last thing you want is to start a conversation that you don’t get to finish because you have…

To a visiting outsider, my classroom would seem to be the epitome of a digital playground. The space has an HD overhead projector with digital surround sound, a shared iPad cart, AppleTV, document camera and scanner, and a desktop computer. I also recently took possession of a cart of 37 brand new, HP laptops. These new laptops are in addition to the 37 fully-functioning Google Chromebook laptops already in my classroom. (Also, 80 percent of my students have personal smartphones). All of these devices and my research on academic performance gave me the idea for an intriguing experiment with my students. I have written about the alarming degradation of my students’ attention spans. My opinion has always been that the increasing shallowness of their academic performance is the result of…

I was born in New Jersey, but have always considered the Valley of the Sun my home. This is where I was raised by the best parents in the world and spent the last 40 years of my life. After graduating from Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, I attended and graduated from the University of Arizona. Then I set my sights on law school and received my law degree from the University of San Diego and then my Masters in Tax Law from Georgetown. It didn’t take long for me to once again return to Arizona, where I met the love of my life, my wife Jodi, and started our own family. We have three boys, all incredible and all nuts in their own way. After practicing law for a…

In spring 2016, Jessica Swarner, then an Arizona State University junior majoring in political science and journalism, saw an alarming story about a young girl’s use of a messaging app. According to the story, a 13-year-old girl from Virginia was killed by an 18-year-old man she had met on Kik, a mobile instant messaging app. Her parents had been unaware of their daughter’s use of the app and the dangers that could lurk there. “It really scared me because I had a younger sister in high school at the time who was using Kik,” said Swarner, who graduated in May 2017 with a bachelor’s degree and honors from Barrett, The Honors College at ASU. Swarner already was doing research on cyberpsychology in a lab at ASU focusing on people’s attachment…

Did you know that we not only have one brain, but rather two? The second brain is located in our GI tract and is referred to as the “gut brain.” It functions much like our “big brain,” releasing mood-stabilizing hormones such as serotonin. In fact, it’s estimated that 90 percent of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut brain. It’s long been known that our big brain communicates with the gut—think of the sayings “follow your gut” or “feeling butterflies in my stomach.” But recent research suggests the brain-gut connection actually goes both ways, and that your gut brain has a direct effect on your big brain! For decades, researchers believed that mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, triggered stomach ailments like constipation and diarrhea. Today, they’ve…

In this day of endless app-tions, here are seven that will help keep you organized, manage your family’s schedule, and keep your children safe. 1|DASHLANE NEVER FORGET ANOTHER PASSWORD Your digital life leaves an unsecure trail of logins, passwords, payment information, and other sensitive data on the web. To manage and protect everything that matters, try Dashlane, an easy-to-use app that stores all your passwords, protects sensitive information, and securely autofills forms and logins with stored passwords and personal info. dashlane.com 2|KEEPY SAVE PRECIOUS KEEPSAKES Organize and save your child’s artwork, schoolwork and crafts with Keepy, a guiltfree way to reduce piles of papers while still capturing special moments. You can organize memories in a private timeline, enrich photos with video and voice, invite family members to be a “fan,”…

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 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. Through these platforms MASK aims to…

DRUG Drugs don’t just exist in the hidden parts of the Internet. Buying and selling drugs and drug paraphernalia can be easily accomplished through platforms like kik and Instagram, using hashtags and direct messages. Monitoring your child’s social media use, in addition to talking to them about the dangers of drugs and online threats, is the most important step in stopping a problem before it starts. BULLY Allowing your child to have access to social media is a choice. If you do let them, there are precautions you can take to make sure their online use is healthy and bully-free. Instagram allows users to block others, censor negative comments, and make a profile private from those who do not follow them. Social media should be for positive interaction, and these…

CELEBRATE READING Children’s book author Judy Egett Laufer delights kids of all ages with her creative and inspiring stories about life events and the lessons we learn from them. Prices vary. littleeggpublishing.com LIGHT THE NIGHT Make it easier for your kids to see and, more importantly, be seen with RunLites gloves. They provide a 135-degree arc of light up to 40 feet ahead. Gloves, $24.95; lights, $19.95. gorunlights.com JUST SAY OHM Share your love of yoga with your toddler thanks to the Yoga Tot by Woombie. Available in a variety of colors, it can also be used as a changing mat and for tummy time. $16. woombie.com PERFECT POSTURE Slouch no more, thanks to Upright, a wearable device and app that improves posture, strengthens core muscles, and reduces back strain and pain.…

Cell phones and other devices offer many benefits to travelers. The luxury of having directions, admission prices and a convenient camera handy can’t be underestimated when you and your family are exploring new or favorite destinations. But electronic gadgets can also keep tech-addicted travelers in a digital daze, more focused on what’s happening via text or social media than in some of the world’s most exciting places. Thus the trend toward tech-free trips that have families disconnecting from their devices – to reconnect with each other. Tech-free travel you say? With kids? With WiFi, cell service and satellite TV now being beamed to even some of the world’s most remote locations, pulling off an unplugged getaway can be easier said than done. But it is possible. And you don’t necessarily…

Q: I have set up a lot of social media accounts that my parents don’t know about and now I want to delete them but I can’t remember the passwords. How can I fix this? — Christy, 7th grade, Beaumont, Texas A: Protecting your digital imprint is really important. Setting up accounts usually requires an email. Try resetting your password, which will send a link to the email account linked to the site. You can also reach out to the site online and ask for help. Q: My mom sends pictures of me to family and then they post them on social media. It makes me so mad want them doing that. What should I do? — Alexis, 8th grade, St. Paul, Minnesota A: Alexis, this must be frustrating. Unfortunately,…

To help parents navigate the world of online resources and apps designed to help their college-aged child, we asked Jason Manning, Executive Director of Strategic Communication at Arizona State University, to provide some insight and advice. Here’s what he shared. How can college students best manage their time? Managing time, tasks and stress can be a challenge for new college students. Here are some practices and apps that can help: • Carefully manage busy class and extracurricular schedules, as well as large chunks of unstructured time: • Enter class schedules, due dates, extracurricular activities, study time and social events into a single calendar. • Schedule weekly sessions for updating your calendar and planning for the week ahead. • Check your calendar every day, including your daily, weekly and monthly schedule.…

If digital media use is interfering with school or work, one program wants to help people “connect with life, not your device.” Founded in 2009 by Cosette Rae, MSW, and Hilarie Cash, PhD., reSTART began as a 45-day program designed to specifically help Internet and video game addicts overcome their dependence on gaming, gambling, chatting, texting and other aspects of Internet addiction. It provides a family-style retreat where participants can have an Internet and video game-free experience. The mission of this innovative program is to help people addicted to video games and the Internet, detach from their high-tech distractions, find balance and reconnect to the real world. ReSTART is structured to include individual and group therapy, life-skills coaching, cooperative living, physical and nutritional education, mindfulness training, work and home-maintenance skill-building,…

COQ AU VIN Brine 1 cup dry red wine4 tsp. brown sugar2 tbsp. kosher salt½ tsp. allspice berries4 large cloves garlic, crushed1 cinnamon stick2 tsp. fresh thyme1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper3 bay leaves Chicken 4 pcs. boneless chicken breasts with drumette attached, skin on2 oz. bacon slab1 sprig thyme1 garlic glove, crushed4 baby carrots4 king trumpet mushroom (cut each in 4 sections)12 oz. fingerling potatoes, cut into coins8 red pearl onionsKosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste Prepare the brine by combining all ingredients in a pot; bring to a boil. Refrigerate until completely cooled. Pour over chicken, making sure the chicken is submerged. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove chicken from the brine, pat dry and air dry for 15 minutes.…

As flu season approaches, it feels as though almost everyone is getting sick. In fact, anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of people in the U.S.—about 16 to 65 million— get the flu each year. And, on average, adults come down with the common cold, which can last over a week, two to three times a year. December to February are peak times for these illnesses. There are many ways to become ill, especially if you aren’t careful. The flu virus travels through droplets released during coughing, sneezing or talking, and is transmitted if a person touches a surface with these droplets and then rubs their eyes, nose or mouth. Almost 70 percent of common illnesses are actually spread by touch. This is not all that surprising, considering there are…

Forget the medical marijuana dispensaries popping up on every street corner in California and Colorado. There’s a new way kids are getting “high” and it’s called i-dosing. First introduced in the 2010s, i-dosing is the attempt to achieve a perceived drug high from listening to specially-engineered sounds and music. People who i-dose claim that different digital “drug recordings” can simulate the euphoric effects of marijuana, anti-depressant prescription drugs, LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, etc. The sounds available at i-dosing websites are called binaural beats. When listened to on headphones, they present one sound to one ear and a subtly different sound to the other ear. But when heard together, the human brain hears something different from the original sounds. While some medical experts say there are no effects on a person’s perception…

There’s no question that digital technology has significantly transformed our—and our children’s—lives. Thanks to the Internet, children are learning in ways unheard of mere decades ago; they’re making and maintaining friendships with more people and more often; and they’re engaging with a wider and more diverse society. UNICEF’s “State of the World’s Children 2017: Children in a Digital World” report reveals that one in three Internet users is younger than 18 years old and 71 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds are online, making them the most connected age group worldwide. While this connectivity is filled with educational, career and interpersonal opportunities and benefits, it can also bring risks. For any parent raising a child in the digital age, it’s important to know what those dangers are and how to not…

This nation is experiencing an epidemic of violence against children. The thought of your child going missing is a difficult subject for parents, but it’s one that needs to be addressed for the protection of our children. We’ve all heard that predators are targeting children online. Most parents have warned their children about the dangers of these predators, so how do they still get to our kids? Here are a few ways: • Kids are bored, curious and looking for ways to make friends.• Kids don’t believe there are people out to hurt them.• Predators are on every social media and gaming app available.• Predators are “hunting” online for your children.• Predators are looking for voids in your child’s life.• By mirroring the child’s social media profile and interests.• Predators…

After moving to Arizona 35 years ago, I now call the desert home. I’m a Midwest girl, born and bred, and on Saturdays you will find me up to my eyeballs in red rooting for my beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers. My husband Jeff and I met and fell in love right here in Phoenix and we love our community. One of my greatest joys is being his daily cheerleader in supporting the rapid growth of our restaurant brands Dominick’s Steakhouse, Steak 44, Steak 48 and Ocean 44. Jeff and I have three boys and they keep us on our toes. They are all boy, all the time, and we are either at their sporting events at Notre Dame Preparatory or running over to Los Angeles to support our oldest son’s dream…

Being online has become such a part of our daily routines that it’s hard to imagine what life was like before the Internet. The digital frontier is a wide-open space for anything to happen, and helping our kids learn how to navigate the digital highway is a critical step to ensuring their physical and digital safety. “The pros and cons of being online at any age is something parents and children should talk about in order to decide what level of Internet engagement is best for your family,” says Dr. Shefali Gandhi, a licensed psychologist in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Identifying areas of risk when using digital and online media is another decision that parents should make with their kids before allowing online access.” Whether you have an elementary, junior high, high…

As one of Arizona’s premier luxury resorts, what is the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess’s overall mission in providing guests with an unparalleled experience? The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is an iconic destination resort where magic happens, memories are made and traditions are born. Jack Miller, General Manager and Regional Vice President for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, leads a team of almost 900 local hospitality professionals who are hired for their genuinely friendly personalities and authentic joy in making people happy. At the Princess, we want every guest to feel welcome, comfortable and special. The resort has consistently been ranked one of the top performing resorts in the Valley and in the Accor Hotels, Fairmont Hotels and Strategic Hotels and Resorts over the past decade proving that profitability, great customer service and community…

MASK celebrated its 11th year with a ‘Phantom’-themed MASKer Aide Ball. The elegant black-tie affair was held at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess on Saturday, October 20th. Event Partner the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess creatively captured the ‘Phantom’ theme for this year’s ball. Guests entered the candelabra-lit ballroom through an elegant black and white-draped doorway and were immediately transported to the romantic feel of a Parisian Opera House. Once inside, attendees were treated to a show-stopping opera performance of the iconic title song from Phantom of the Opera by three incredible singers. While one singing ‘phantom’ played the baby grand piano, another ‘phantom’ appeared mysteriously in different locations around the room. The dramatic crescendo of the performance concluded with the descending of a stunning crystal chandelier. The festive fundraiser was kicked off…

Rev. Teresa Logue is the center director of Home of Hope (HOH), Teen Challenge of Arizona where she has been for eight years. She came to HOH after 20 years in manufacturing quality management and is certified in Lean Processing and Six Sigma. She is a graduate of Western Bible College and licensed by the Assembly of God. A single mother for many years, her desire has been to make a difference in the lives of women and children. She teaches women to find fulfillment in Christ, to properly parent their children, and to be equipped to manage the daily stresses of everyday life. She has been married to her husband Dave for 12 years, and together they have nine children and 12 grandchildren. JOIN A PASSION-PURPOSED COMMUNITY event where…