Tag Archive for kids

Recommendation: Crip Camp

I don’t often recommend movies or documentaries, but I think this one is worth watching. Full disclosure: I grew up with a disability (post polio), and this documentary is about kids with disabilities.

I identify with some of the kids at the camp (10 years earlier I attended Easter Seal Camp) and at the protests (I participated in anti-Nam protests). But some of what the film presents was new to me — like us “Polios” being considered at the top of the disability ladder and “Cerebral Palsies” being at the bottom.

Whether or not you have a disabled child among your friends or family, this is a worthwhile film to watch. The kids aren’t “brave” or “admirable” or “inspiring” or any of the other terms people use that grate on our nerves. They’re just what we all are — people standing up for their rights.

(Warning: sex, smoking, and pot are involved.)

If you, like me, grew up with a disability, you should watch this, too. And, by the way, fellow “crips,” remember that our group is among the lowest in voter turn-out, and nobody else will push for our rights, so VOTE!

And watch “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” on NetFlix,

We Know Not What We Say

We try not to be racist, and we may not accept the concept of white privilege. But sometimes we say things that are racist and privileged. Those ideas are so ingrained in us that we don’t notice or understand the significance of what we’re saying. That’s why I found the Huffington Post article 6 Things White People Say That Highlight Their Privilege enlightening. I’ll list them here and you can go the article for an explanation of each.

1. “It’s not my job to fix racism because I’m not racist.”

2. “I don’t see color.” [Or, I might add, “I’m color-blind.”]

3. “There’s no need to worry about the police if you’re not doing anything illegal.”

4. “I don’t want to post about racism on social media because I’m scared of the backlash.”

 5. “I don’t have white privilege.”

6. “I’m not sure when I should start talking to my kids about racism.”

For a Healthy Marriage

“AFTER the kids are grown and we retire, THEN we’ll have time for us!” Too many couples put their relationship last.  Wouldn’t it be better if our kids grew up with a different outlook, that Marriage, as the heart of Family, is important enough to nourish?  We can do this in our own homes and among friends.  Find out about Marriage Encounter weekends and couples’ group activities. Do a date-night exchange, taking turns watching the kids while one couple goes out on a date—or just goes back home alone for a few hours.  Give that extra set of tickets to friends who need a night out.  Or take their kids with yours to the Children’s Discovery Museum and turn over your pool or hot tub to the parents for an afternoon.  All these things are inexpensive or free to you but priceless to your friends.  Your reward comes when they return the favor, and the community benefits from healthier marriages, both yours and your children’s!

Free Book to Help Kids Deal with the Covidvirus

What a great idea! Adults are struggling with answering the questions from kids and explaining what they can do to be a Superhero in this pandemic. Because children respond better to stories than they often do to parental explanations and dictates, a creature named Arlo was created. He captivates a child’s attention, explaining this confusing world and what the child can do to become a superhero (always a child’s big dream).

This storybook was put together by a United Nations group after finding out what kids are thinking and feeling. It has been translated into multiple languages and distributed throughout the world. It’s available for free as a PDF. Go to https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/2020-04/My%20Hero%20is%20You%2C%20Storybook%20for%20Children%20on%20COVID-19.pdf and download My Hero is You right now.

Teaching Charity

A fellow parishioner decided when her kids were very young that they needed to learn charity.  She taught them to give something to every person who asked.  Each time that they were approached by the disabled vet outside the drug store, the homeless man on the street, the uniformed woman from the food-providing agency, the Salvation Army man with the Christmas kettle—anyone asking for help or for their aid in helping others—they would give a little something.  I asked, “What if the person’s a fake or will spend the dollar on alcohol or drugs?”  Her answer was another question: “What if they really do spend it on food for themselves or their family?”  This woman was teaching her children an important fact.  That is, it’s our job to be charitable; it’s God’s job to decide who He sends our way and why.

Are You Making Yourself & Family Sick?

Where’s the germiest place in your home?  No, it isn’t the bathroom.  Where does E. Coli lurk, waiting for you to apply it to your face, which you will do daily? Why does the old argument about PUT THAT LID BACK DOWN matter to your health? How can cutting up your salad and veggies in your kitchen sink be a health hazard?  Should you be concerned about your kids’ toys? These and similar questions are answered in this CNN Health article, The germiest place in your home and the best way to combat those microbes.

Love, Criticism, & Kids

Parenting is hard! We want our kids to grow up right. But, because we’re human, we get tired of repeating the same things again and again–like how dirty their room is, they forgot to do their chores, why we constantly have to remind them to do their homework, that they broke their promise to do something…. Today’s Thursday Thought quote gives us good reason to try to be more patient with our precious children.

Kids who Hide in Plain Sight

Over four million KIDS are on the streets, unaccompanied by an adult, in the U.S. each year. At least a million kids either couch-surf at friends’ homes or sleep on the streets every night. Why don’t we see them? We see the adults loitering, sleeping, or asking for hand-outs, but why not the kids?

Because they try to melt into the population. They hide in plain sight, maybe attending school regularly and/or working at low-paying jobs. They try hard to be invisible. They want to be invisible so they can avoid the shame and stigma associated with homelessness.

We must recognize that the homeless are not just the drunks, the dirty scavengers, the beggars on the street corners. The problem is much larger than that. It’s the adults hiding in plain sight. And it’s the kids. The kids.

“I DO”–Now Get Started on a Family!

One of the first things a newlywed couple is asked is, “When are you going to start having kids?” It’s seldom, “Do you plan to have kids?” This is, after all, a personal choice. Yet our society tends to think of childless couples as incapable of producing a child or selfish or giving up happiness and a more secure old age.

Why aren’t millennials having kids? 8 insights into the child-free life debunks eight of these perceptions. It’s an interesting viewpoint from the non-parents’ point of view. Take a look.

Honoring Our Military

Tomorrow is Armed Forces Day. President Harry S. Truman ushered in this day in which we recognize and honor the military women and men who have, do, and will protect our country and way of life. The observance became official on Aug. 31, 1949, replacing days honoring the different branches of the service now that they were all combined under the Dept. of Defense.

Let’s stop and think what these people and their families give up for us and express our gratitude in some small way. “Thank you for your service” has become an automatic response, often with little or no feeling behind it. Say or do something different. Buy a current or ex military person a cup of coffee, visit their family and help with household repairs, or take care of their kids while the parents have a “date night.” I’m sure you’ll think of something that will let them know how much you appreciate them.