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Monday, November 28, 2011

What If They Declared and Emergency and No One Came?

It's been three weeks since Attawapiskat First Nation took the extraordinary step of declaring a state of emergency.  Since then, not a single federal or provincial official has even bothered to visit the community. No aid agencies have stepped forward.  No disaster management teams have offered help.  Read the report by Charlie Angus that got everyone talking.

Marriage Discrimination

It's a short 2min video that has an interesting ending.  Recommended!

Canada Ranks Third in World for Number of Overweight Children

One in four Canadian children is considered overweight - among the highest rates in developed countries, according to a report published Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.  Read more..

"Break the Habit"

A strong, some might say too strong PSA drawing attention to the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Frankie Does the Dishes

Frankie asked if I could put "Smooth Criminal on while he did the dishes. Wasn't long before I heard the rustling coming from the kitchen.


Suicide and Mental Health First Aid 

The Jack Project will combat the massive stigma associated with mental illness and improve the services for young people struggling with anxiety, depression and thoughts of suicide.  You may have heard of Jack Windler before - we think this is worth watching more than once.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes on Part 2

"Guess why I smile a lot?  Because it's worth it." - Marcel the Philosopher

Canada Child Exploitation - Needs National Strategy

The federal government needs to take the lead in fighting child exploitation in Canada starting with a national databank on the problem, a Senate committee Huffington Post Item.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Child & Youth Participation

UNICEF Canada has released a new Handbook on Child Participation in Parliament, a joint effort of parliamentarians in the inter-Parliamentary Union and UNICEF.  It offers a range of ideas to appropriately seek and represent children's perspectives in public policy.  It's an excellent document but perhaps a little too long.

Teenagers Having Sex Are Now a Minority

About 43 percent of unmarried teenage girls and 42 percent of unmarried teenage boys have had sexual intercourse at least once, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.  In 2002, the last year such a report was published, 51.1 percent of girls and 60.4 percent of boys had had sex by 19.

Teasing pushed 10 year old to Suicide

The family of a 10-year-old Illinois girl found hanging in her closet believes teasing and bullying by classmates drove the little girl to kill herself.  Read article.

What is the Purpose of Education?

A short talk by internationally renowned education expert Barry MacDonald on "Making Sense of Learning for Boys"...Fascinating!

Cute Kid Videos: Where Real Life Meets the Internet Meets Parenting

What is the difference between those early"cute kid video stars" and the ones posted now?  Item from Huffington Post

A Wonderful Way to Calm a Crying Baby

Not Sure if all kiddie videos are bad ...it's 20 seconds at most but it's an ever so cute video.

Young Lives Bullied to Death

Recent child suicides illustrate anti-bullying initiatives are not working for everyone.  The Toronto District School Board recently had the most ridiculous and extravagant proposal to spend $100,000 on an entertainer  who does bullying prevention shows for students.  Are we really making any headway in this area?  Read the Full Article.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Hear 7 year old Adam speak the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child - a short animated video from the Children's Rights Alliance (www.childrensrights.ie on the (UNCRC).

Teen Sexting Linked to Psychological Distress

Teens involved in sexting are not only more likely to report a suicide attempt, they also have twice the odds of reporting depressive symptoms.

Online Bullying: Still Way Less Common than in Real Life

A just released study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that "69% of social media-using teens think that peers are mostly kind to each other on social networking sites."

Rick's Rant

For those who haven't had the opportunity to see Rick Mercer's rant on teen suicide.

US: Number of Gay Couples Who Adopt Nearly Tripled Over the Last 10 Years

The number of gays adopting children in the United States nearly tripled in the last decade, in part due to lessened restrictions and increased social acceptability, according to a report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.  About 21 740 same-sex couples adopted children in 2009, which was an enormous jump from 6,4777 in 2000, the report said.

My Friend Jason

"Live simply so others people can simply live." A simple and beautiful video.

Skype Postpones Sweet Sorrow

"We would usually Skype for about three hours a day," said Ms. Brown of the couples first months apart.  Once, she said, they both fell asleep on their beds next to their computers. "At one point I just listened to him sleep," she said.

Laughing Llamas

It's only 30 seconds...30 very funny seconds!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Dieppe

Thirty seconds and it requires no explanation.

Love is Louder - Kid's Voices

A simple and short poignant video made and presented by young people.

Children's Rights: New Report

The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children has just released its monitoring report about child right. After three years of work involving advocates, organizations and young people across the country.  It is an informative document about the situation of children in the country.  It's an interesting read.

Alberta's Youth and Child Advocate to Get Greater Independence

Following a disturbing number of deaths and injuries in government care, the Redford government is moving to give the province's child and youth advocate greater autonomy to speak out for Alberta's most vulnerable.  Read more here.

Britain's Children: Breaking with UN Convention

It has been three years since the UK was admonished for failing to comply with its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  The UN Committee responsible for the convention recommended that the UK government take 'urgent measures' to address a 'general climate of intolerance and negative public attitudes towards children, especially adolescents'.  Yet it is fair to say that, since then,  the UK has failed to act on the Committee's concerns.  Read More here.

Almost Half of all Britons Think Children are Becoming 'Feral"

British adults are turning their backs on children and young people and see them as violent animals who are beyond help, according to children's charity Barnardos. Here is the article.

Solving America's Teen Sex Problem

The Dutch have dramatically reduced adolescent pregnancies, abortions and STDs.  What do they know that we don't?

I Was a Drunk Mom

After my son was born, I told myself I was just trying to unwind.  But the truth was much darker than that.  Read full story here.

Welcome to Kitty City

Clever and very weird!