2550 kids get called to detention at a Florida school. USA Today
How new parents adapt—or don’t adapt—their homes to fit their children. New York Times
82 children have died from playing a choking game, according to a CDC report. Chicago Tribune
How do kids become such expert liars? New York Magazine
New trend: Websites help families deal with health crises. Newsweek
Original photo via
The teenage birthrate has ticked upward for the first time since 1991. CNN
And the childhood cancer rate has gone down by 20% since 1990. Yahoo!
The Christmas/Haunkkah battle in interfaith marriages. New York Times
When amusement parks aren't amusing—but deadly. Washington Post
Scary fact: Most parents are only preparing to pay for ¼ of their children’s college tuitions. Sun-Sentinel
Original photo via
Not to be all up in China's business lately here at Goodyblog, but today another top-ranking Chinese food and drug agency official was sentenced to death for accepting bribes and approving counterfeit drugs, a reaction to the growing scandal about contaminated food and drugs. Wow. I'm not even going to get into the death penalty debate, and I'm just as upset as anyone over the fact that I have to be scared of basically everything I eat now, but does that seem a little harsh? From everything I've read, yes there are high-level people who are guilty of some really bad things, but it's also a seriously enormous infastructure problem. (Which is far scarier than a few bad guys, actually.) Part of me feels like this guy has been sentenced to death because of the entire (admittedly extremely scary) brou-ha-ha and not just his individual actions.
What do you guys think? Am I being too soft on people who helped perpetuate such a serious problem? Am I crazy to compare apples (our justice system) and oranges (theirs)? Are you doing anything differently at home in reaction to all these headlines?
[Photo via]
Forty years may have passed since Andy Warhol’s pop art took America by storm, but his use of bright colors and simple symmetry are timeless. Just check out the great new products below to see how his classic monoprints have translated to the world of kids fashion and entertainment!
This witty onesie from Le Sabon gave me a laugh when I spotted it at the Stationary Show last month.
A nod to the camera of yesteryear, this pop art color camera from fred flare lets your child take four different color pictures in one second, creating an instant monoprint.
Read Andy Warhols’ Colors to your little one and let famous artwork make an early impression.
How your baby’s sleep, or rather lack of it, brings you down. Slate
An 11-year-old boy kills the largest hog you’ve ever seen. Yahoo! News
What’s the deal with little girls and celebrity gossip? NY Times
Some schools are making efforts to go green and to teach children about the environment. CNN
A look at the new no-period pill. Newsweek
Trend report: Wet-nursing is making a comeback, as is cross-nursing, in which mothers share feeding duties. Time
After decades of decline, infant death rates in some southern states have gone back up. NY Times
What century are we living in? A Georgia high school has its first integrated prom. CNN
Even after controlling for parenthood and other factors, women still earn significantly less than men, a new study finds. USA Today
Visitors to Alec Baldwin's website criticize him for his shocking voicemail rant to his 11-year-old daughter. People
Like all of you, we were shocked, horrified, and deeply saddened by the events at Virginia Tech this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the community and all the families who were affected. It's hard to make sense out of a tragedy like this--and even harder to explain it to a child. Here are some simple tips on how to help your kids through a crisis.
* Focus on your children during this time. Tell them you love them and everything will be okay. Try to help them understand what has happened, keeping in mind their developmental level.
* Limit your child's television viewing of these events. If
they must watch, watch with them for a brief time; then turn the set
off. Don't sit mesmerized re-watching the same events over and over
again.
* Make time to talk with your children. Remember if you do not talk to your children about this incident someone else will. Take some time and determine what you wish to say.
* Keep your explanations age-appropriate. Early elementary school children need brief, simple information that should be balanced with reassurances that their daily lives will not change. Upper elementary and early middle school children are more likely to ask questions about whether they truly are safe and what is being done at their school. They may need help separating reality from fantasy. Upper middle school and high school students will have strong and varying opinions about the causes of violence and threats to safety in schools and society. They should be encouraged to share suggestions about how to make school safer and how to prevent tragedies in society. They may want to do something to help the victims and affected community. For all children, encourage them to talk about their thoughts and feelings. Be a good listener!
For more tips on how to help your child deal, read the full story at Parents.com.
A little over a month ago, we wanted to know if you thought Wild Republic's new Crocodile Hunter toy line was a good idea or in poor taste. Most posters agreed that it was a bit morbid in light of Steve Irwin's untimely death. Now the cool or creepy controversy is starting up again. This summer his daughter will star in her own TV show on the Discovery Kids Channel called Bindi: The Jungle Girl, complete with cameos from the late Croc Hunter himself. Taped early last year, Steve Irwin will pop up in several episodes to share his adventure stories. We're definitely on the fence about this one. What do you think? Is the show a nice tribute to him or a gross exploitation of his death?
Looks like you can strike Captain America off next year's list of Halloween costumes. Marvel has just killed off the classic super-hero after nearly 60 years of fighting evil. And they even connected his death to current-events and issues relating to 9/11. A little harsh, Marvel. So let's remember the good times with the ol' Cap—leave some parting words and thoughts.
Talking about death with kids is a topic most parents fumble with. Sometimes, though, especially when it someone close to a child is dying it becomes unavoidable. This picture is of a group of elementary school children, gathered around a coffin they have been building for their teacher who is has terminal cervical cancer.
This article explains: that she asked the woodwork teacher to build a coffin for her. He replied: "Why don't you let the children make it?"
Now pupils of the school in Someren, who normally plane wood for baskets and placemats, have been helping with the finishing touches. They have already sawed more than 100 narrow boards and glued them together.
The coffin now stands in the middle of one of the classrooms.
Although Miss van den Biggelaar can no longer teach, she has looked at sketches of the coffin and is being kept up to date about it by pupils, aged between four and 11, who visit her at home.
"Life and death belong together," she said. "The children realised that when I explained it to them. I didn't want to be morbid about it, I wanted them to help me. I told them: 'Where I will go is much nicer than this world.' "
As you would expect not everyone agrees with this approach. I have mixed feelings. Four seems a little young to be building a coffin, but I do think that death is way too much of a taboo, and that we err on the side of not integrating it enough our own daily lives, let alone in the lives of our kids. What do all of you think? Is this a good idea, or is the teacher taking things too far? How have you helped your kids understand death, or deal with the death of someone close to them? Please discuss and then go back the fun that is goodyblog. Link via neatorama
