A new study by Yale University School of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, and California Pacific Medical Center finds that exposure to media damages children’s long-term health.
80% of the studies reviewed link greater exposure to media with negative health effects for kids and adolescents.
Common Sense Media published the report, Media and Child and Adolescent Health: A Systematic Review, which reviewed 173 of the best studies from the last 30 years which examine the connection between media exposure and negative health effects on children.
The average modern child spends nearly 45 hours a week with television, movies, magazines, music, the Internet, cellphones and video games, the study reported. By comparison, children spend 17 hours a week with their parents on average and 30 hours a week in school, the study said.
USA Today reports, that a San Diego teacher faced with budget cuts has allowed local businesses to advertise on his tests.
Tom Farber gives a lot of tests. He’s a calculus teacher, after all.
So when administrators at Rancho Bernardo, his suburban San Diego high school, announced the district was cutting spending on supplies by nearly a third, Farber had a problem. At 3 cents a page, his tests would cost more than $500 a year. His copying budget: $316. But he wanted to give students enough practice for the big tests they’ll face in the spring, such as the Advanced Placement exam.
“Tough times call for tough actions,” he says. So he started selling ads on his test papers: $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, $30 for a semester final.
The article is quick to point out that most of the ads are inspirational ones from parents, though some are from local businesses, the sort of ad you’d see on your daughter’s soccer team jersey.
Principal Paul Robinson says reaction has been “mixed,” but he notes, “It’s not like, ‘This test is brought to you by McDonald’s or Nike.’ “
To that I would say…not yet. Once the cat is let out of the bag, who knows who will be advertising on children’s tests. Read the rest of this entry »
Before we had a preschool/playgroup in our community, we used to take turns gathering in each other’s homes for “mommy/daddy and me” socialization gatherings. On one occasion, a mother brought a bag full of toy soldiers to the play date at my house. I was extremely uncomfortable as the shooting and killing of these little plastic guys ensued. As a child, I never played with toy soldiers or guns, as typically these toys are reserved for boys. As a parent, I have consciously chosen to avoid such toys for my son, as I believe “peace begins in the home”. Why would I want to promote violence in my child’s play time?
One example of La’Onf efforts to apply nonviolent principles in practical ways in the interests of children is the campaign against war toys.
In too many instances soldiers shot and killed children who were carrying toy guns that looked like real guns.
The campaign began with programs in which children could trade in their toy guns for soccer balls. It then expanded into lobbying efforts. La’Onf’s campaign has now resulted in legislation banning the sale of war toys in the province of Muthanna. La’Onf activists hope to see national legislation passed in the near future.
Every December I am stumped on what to gift my children’s teachers with. Last year, with one child in daycare for the first time I was doubly stumped. Knowing just what to buy and how much to spend (or not spend) is always a hot topic among my parent groups. As the Parent Teacher President at our school, I’ve gained a bit of insight as to what our staff enjoys.
It is important for the children to be involved in the decision making and gift creation, I enjoy gathering the kids around the table for a gift giving huddle. Together, we brainstorm. What does each teacher/caregiver like? It always amazes me how many artists & crafters are found among the school staff and doesn’t shock me one bit how many drink coffee all day long. Once we’ve decided, the kids get to work assembling and creating their gifts.
Here are some ideas, please feel free to add yours in the comments. If you are a teacher, what gifts do you especially enjoy? Read the rest of this entry »
When I was a kid we had a felt advent calendar. My mom always packed it away with the Christmas tree decorations, so every year when we put up our tree in mid December it was my job to pin the first two weeks of ornaments on the felt tree. For the rest of the month whoever got to the calendar first would pin up a new ornament. Not only was it part of our tradition, it was a handmade craft that my grandmother made.
Of course there isn’t a safe level, look what happened in China. (Melamine was added in China Formulas to fool protein content tests and was at a much higher level than what was found in U.S. Formula Brands. At least 3 infants died from contaminated formula in China.)
While watching CBS news this evening, I was SHOCKED to hear Dr. Daniel Rauch, a pediatrician at New York University’s Langone Medical Center state “We think it’s safe.” Since when is THINKING something is safe okay? Is this an innocent until proven guilty situation? Do CHILDREN HAVE TO DIE before our government steps up to the plate? Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a phenomenon in the blogging community that I like to refer to as The Artful Parent: in this blog, parenting and the booming DIY/handmade/arts and crafts movement interconnect. Both activities are discussed in equal measures, although the real emphasis is more, perhaps, on the status of both parenting and crafting as meaningful (if usually unpaid) work, the lessons that can be taught to and learned from children while crafting for and with them, and how creativity and inspiration are rewarding mindsets that can be taken from and brought to both parenting and crafting.
Most of these blogs also share a focus on the handmade over the store-bought; the use of natural, found, and/or recycled materials over brand-new and/or synthetic ones; and the act of parenting as a gentle, positive, attached life’s work. Here are a few of my favorites of these blogs:
There are starving children all over the world. As a parent, I am not above reminding my children of this when they complain about their full plates of food or daily snacks. To which they have been known to respond, “well, send it to Africa then.”
One man is doing just that. Richard Proudfit is a retiree from Minnesota and he is a man with a mission. Proudfit founded Kids Against Hunger, an organization that is bringing 40 million meals to starving children around the world.
The meals consist of 52% soy protein, 6 vegetables, flavoring and 22 vitamins/minerals. It is a simple, dehydrated food that is highly nutritious and can help reverse the effects of starvation. The main ingredients are rice, soy beans, vegetables and vitamins. It took a team of food scientists three years to find the right formulation of food for these malnourished children.
Proudfit says, “God has called me to feed starving children” and has also said that he won’t retire from this job until all the world’s starving children are fed. He has been helping fulfill that calling since 1999 with Kids Against Hunger. Read the rest of this entry »
CurrClick is running a super sale on homeschool and holiday titles, with prices as low as 85% off and your choice of 28 free items through December 1st.
How can you argue with free?
CurrClick was started (conceived) by two homeschooling moms, and their vision of ebooks for homeschoolers has a great mission at heart:
Our mission is to make homeschooling more convenient and more affordable to homeschoolers all over the world. We are committed to promoting homeschooling as a viable alternative to traditional schools in both America and abroad. We strive to offer excellent customer service, a stress-free shopping experience, and to providing a marketplace that rewards authors and publishers who create good quality education materials.
There’s a lot of controversy right now about over-medicating children for both medical and mental/emotional reasons. Before you let your doctor prescribe any medications for your child, please do some research. Ask questions. Lots of them.
I’m not a doctor or a psychiatrist, but as a parent, I am very protective about my kids. Messing with their brain chemistry or masking symptoms while the root causes go untreated seems like it will come back to haunt us later.
First, a clip from the new movie GenerationRX:
For decades, scores of doctors, government officials, journalists, and others have extolled the benefits of psychiatric medicines for children. GENERATION RX presents “the rest of the story” and unveils how this era of unprecedented change in Western culture really occurred - and what price has been paid by our society.
Here’s where I draw the line!
There’s a phenomenon in the blogging community that I like to refer to as The Artful Parent: in this blog, parenting and the booming 
