Mostly, the media covers men in the military, showing their kids running into their arms when their dad suddenly appears home on leave. Imagine being a mother deployed far away from your kids, and imagine her feelings on Mother’s Day.
I invite you to remember these military moms by signing this thank-you card sponsored by the USO. They won’t be able to be with their kids this coming Sunday, but at least they’ll know that we care about and appreciate them.
One in every 110 U.S. kids has it, and 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder. Between 2000 and 2010, autism in our nation’s children increased by 119.4%, and it’s still increasing. In fact, autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S.
You probably know someone with it but think of the person as “a little off” because you don’t recognize his or her autism. Today is World Autism Awareness Day, and April is National Autism Awareness Month–a great time to learn about it.
http://www.whathealth.com/awareness/event/nationalautismmonth.html gives an excellent summary of how autism affects a person, the characteristics you might notice, and how the American Autism Society is trying to spread the word about this condition with no known cause (no, vaccines don’t bring it on).
Another very good site is offered by Easter Seals, “Autism Signs and Symptoms,” including a list of behaviors with which you can evaluate your own child.
These sites are worth looking at, if for no other reason than they may lead people to be more tolerant and understanding rather than writing someone off as “odd,” “cold,” or “stand-offish.”
I’ve been listening to elementary school kids and teenagers as they talk to each other. Two terms are now ‘way too common for my comfort. No, not the usual profanity. These are terms that are more disturbing because they reflect a loss of innocence that should not be happening.
One is “active shooter,” which was once a term used only by SWAT.
The other one I thought I left back in my childhood–“duck and cover.”
Kids marching peacefully. Kids respectfully making demands of lawmakers. Kids standing up for what is right and just and humanitarian and common sense. They already understand what Bishop Belo means by today’s Thursday Thought quote.
Here’s a fact about homeless kids that shocked and deeply saddened me. The last line tells a vital truth.
Today’s Thursday Thought responds to tax-weary people who don’t have kids but have to pay school taxes.
No kidding. A recent study on teenagers and cell phones showed that when kids hear a ring tone or text alert their brains release dopamine. Yes, that’s the same reaction they have to taking drugs.
50% of teens admit to being addicted to their cell phones. And the addition is real, because when they can’t use them they experience actual physiological withdrawal symptoms, like nausea, sweating, and shaking.
Okay, parents. Here’s what to do. Limit kids’ data. Program the phone to cut off at certain times (like bedtime). Model not being glued to your own phone. Have family times (dinner?) when no phones are allowed. Maybe even have a day or an evening each week when no one in the family uses a cell phone.
The idea is to have breaks in the cell-phone use so the habit can be broken and so kids can learn that it’s okay not to be tied to it 24/7.
Worth a try? For our kids’ sake…and maybe our own?
I was delighted to see this video on hows one mom handles the issue of Santa with her kids.
Read the story behind this video in the article in the Washington Post.
He’s 10 and she’s 7. Together–they are make beautiful, uplifting music!
What is the cause of 20 kids a day being sent to the hospital? Injuries related to guns, according to a new study. People try to use safety locks and put the guns out of reach of children, but kids are smarter and more aware than we give them credit for and know exactly where the guns are kept.
Until the middle of 2016 gun ownership was declining–from 51% in Jan. 1978 to 36% in June 216. Today it’s up to 44%, I’d guess because of all the turmoil, violence, and uncertainty we’re currently facing.
No, it’s not the guns themselves that injure our kids because, after all, they’re inanimate objects. But more of them around increases the likelihood of more hurt children because there are more opportunities for them to gain access to these forbidden “toys.” And more situations in which they’re innocent victims of drive-by shootings, as well as shootings related to vengeance, race, and domestic disputes.
I don’t know what the answer is. There are pros and cons to stricter gun regulations. Parents love their kids but are sometimes unthinking people, therefore not always totally careful locking and hiding firearms. Eliminating crime, domestic violence, gangs, and terrorism isn’t something we’ll be able to do soon. As I say, I don’t know what the answer is. But I do know that more has to be done bring that twenty a day down to zero.