tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86379978739616709052023-07-17T23:05:58.650-06:00Child-Safety-NewsGlobal Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-86803570227379828222015-05-15T20:18:00.000-06:002015-05-15T20:18:25.408-06:00Cancer From Soda?A new report from Johns Hopkins University found that dark sodas may contain a carcinogenic compound known as 4-methylimidazole, or 4-MEI. The agent is known to cause cancer, and researchers found that a single 12 ounces may contain as much as 353 micrograms of 4-MEI. Though the FDA has no official guidelines on what is considered safe, California passed a law requiring any product with 29 micrograms or more to carry a cancer warning.<br />
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Click here for more <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-health-medical-issues.html">health and medical information</a>.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-54561112256113280722015-05-04T18:42:00.000-06:002015-05-04T18:42:25.773-06:00Bits of Wisdom:<b>What it means to be free </b><br />
“Freedom ultimately means the right of other people to do things that you do not approve of. Nazis were free to be Nazis under Hitler. It is only when you are able to do things that other people don't approve that you are free.” <br />
- Thomas Sowell, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, writing the The Las Vegas Review Journal (12-5-08)<br />
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<b>Importance of Parental Acceptance</b> <br />
“A child needs to see a parent in the most positive light possible, even if you have to cushion the blows - just because you know better. ...Every child wants – needs - to feel loved by both parents; that is the way a human being comes to know that he is lovable, worthy of inhaling and exhaling, of walking the face of the Earth.”<br />
- Hara Estroff Marano, responding to a letter about why a child would continually seek the affection and attention of an abusive and neglectful mother, in Psychology Today (April 2008)<br />
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<b>Letting your guard down</b> <br />
“When a situation feels dangerous to you, it's probably more safe than you know; when a situation feels safe, that is precisely when you should feel on guard.”<br />
- Tom Vanderbilt in ‘Traffic: Why we Drive the Way We Do’<br />
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<b>Cell Phones & Drivin</b>g <br />
“In 2004, a young woman, distracted by her cellphone, ran a red light and killed my 12-year-old son, Joe. The driver, a good person, was on the phone with her church, where she volunteered with kids Joe's age. I am convinced if she knew of the danger, or if there was a law in place, she would not have been using her phone while driving and my son would be alive today." <br />
-David Teater, writing in USA Today (7-29-09)<br />
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<b>Marital Partnership</b> <br />
“We expect one person to give us what an entire community used to-family life and stability and economic support and be a trusted confidant and a passionate lover and experience adventure with the same person.” <br />
- Esther Perel, a couples and family therapist in New York City, writing on unrealistic ideals that get many couples into trouble, in USA Today (7-1-08)Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-27564563503525882352015-04-20T16:14:00.001-06:002015-04-20T16:14:32.317-06:00E-cigaret Danger to TeensE-cigarets have surged in popularity over recent years. Largely because people assume them to be a safe alternative to cigarets. Yet a recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine casts serious doubts on the claim: it found that e-cigaret vapor often contains formaldehyde levels that are up to 15 times greater than that found in traditional cigarets.<br />
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"It has the potential to distribute deeply into the lungs and collect there," say lead researcher David Peyton, nor are e-cigs likely to help you stop smoking. Since they deliver such high concentrations of nicotine, it's very easy for people to become addicted.<br />
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This may help explain the sky-rocking use of e-cigarets among young people, many of whom try "vaping" at a party or from a friend who smokes. E-cigs have an added technological lure to them, making them seem interesting, and potentially driving many more kids to experiment.<br />
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According to a new report from the CDC, the percentage of teens using these cigarets tripled between 2014 and 2014. Overall, the study found that 13.4% of high school students used e-cigarets in 2014, up from 4.5% in 2013 and just 1.5% in 2011. Use by middle-schoolers increased from 1.1% in 2013 to 3.9% in 2014. Since 90% of addicted smokers first started in adolescence, have a frank talk with you child about smoking -- no matter what form it takes.<br />
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Learn more about <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/parents-and-teens.html">teen life issues</a>.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-78671534811687205102015-04-18T20:01:00.003-06:002015-04-18T20:01:42.146-06:00Missing Kids Found Chilling Out in Front of a TVIn Johnston, Iowa, the frantic search for two young boys that were reported missing on Tuesday ended when the youngsters were found . . . watching TV by themselves in a neighbor's house. The kids admitted they had let themselves in through an unlocked back door. If only all missing child stories could end like this -- with parents being the ones wanting to strangle the child.<br />
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For tips on <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-abduction-prevention.html">child abduction prevention</a> visit <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/">www.keepyourchildsafe.org</a>Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-67770976256094541282015-04-16T15:59:00.001-06:002015-04-16T15:59:36.182-06:00Carbon Monoxide Kills FamilyA lack of power may have led to the deaths of seven children from carbon monoxide poisoning. Police discovered the bodies of Eric Todd, 36, along with his seven children on April 6, 2015, all dead of apparent Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Police found a gas generator in the kitchen that had run out of fuel. The two boys and five girls ranged in ages from 6 to 13, and appeared to have died in their sleep.<br />
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Let this be a reminder to everyone else: make sure your home has carbon monoxide detectors, since this orderless invisible gas kills between 400 and 500 people each year. You can find additional tips on protecting your family from this threat in our section on <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/online_parents_guide_safety/safety_book_page32.asp">carbon monoxide poisoning</a> in our online child safety book.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-61734122454236715712015-04-15T15:39:00.001-06:002015-04-16T15:53:10.723-06:00Police Stalk Free Range KidsDanielle & Sasha Meitiv, a free range parent who had previously made headlines when the came under CPS scrutiny for letting their two kids, ages 6 and 10, walk through the park alone are back in the news again. Several weeks ago the state had ruled them responsible for "unsubstaniated child neglect" in the original incident. On Sunday afternoon Montongomery County Police found the kids at the park again and turned them over to CPS. Apparently, when the police aren't busy engaging in target practice with unarmed black men, they have nothing better to do than stalk children in the park to make sure that free range parents aren't letting their youngsters have any fun independent of adult supervision. After being held prisoner for 1/2 a day, the children were released to their parents at 10:30 pm that night.<br />
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We'll say it once again: by harassing and traumatizing children for doing what we all did just a couple of decades ago, the Montgomery County Human Services Department has shown themselves to be a group of sociopath child molesters who care nothing about the actual welfare of children. (Read our previous article on <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/attack-on-free-range-parenting.html">free range parenting</a>, which discusses this case, and read our previous blog post in January.)Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-75639334094230107722015-04-13T14:44:00.001-06:002015-04-13T15:25:04.754-06:00Tainted Breast MilkA study by Sara Keim published in the April 6th issues of <i>Pediatrics</i> found that 10 out of 102 breast milk samples that were purchased online contained 10% or more cow's milk, potentially putting lactose intolerant infants at risk. The samples analyzed came from several sites, including the Breast, Eats on Feets, and Human Milk 4 Human Babies. In a previous study using the same samples (all purchased in 2012), Sara and her teem at Nationwide Children's Hospital Medical Center in Columbus found 75% of samples were contaminated with virus or bacteria. (This isn't necessarily as alarming as it sounds; people in general harbor bacteria and viruses so any time you have a human fluid packaged and shipped by humans, it's bound to contain bacteria from time to time.)<br />
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The researchers used a molecular test to determine the amount of cow's milk, which suggested a notable number of the sellers intentionally added cows milk or infant formula to the breast milk. An online donor is a complete unknown, and it is hard to determine if the sellers would be entirely honest about their product. This illustrates the need for parents to be cautious about their supplier, especially if your baby has cow milk allergy. <br />
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<br />Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-22376885296472155602015-03-21T20:29:00.000-06:002015-03-21T20:29:31.594-06:00Man Made Earthquakes Gas extraction can trigger earthquakes, a fact firmly established since 1993. In the province of Groningen, an area of the Netherlands, rich in gas resources, but inhabited by many who are poor, residents are coming face to face with this unfortunate reality.<br /><br />Whenever resources are extracted from the earth, the land will slowly cave in. But since the ground doesn’t give way at the same speed, tension builds up in fault lines and leads to earthquakes. In places where fracking occurs, this can also add to the stress, since it involves blasting high pressure water into the ground to shatter plates of rock to release the gas or oil trapped within, which further destabilizes fault lines.<br /><br />Though gas drilling related earthquakes are typically minor in magnitude, (usually no more than a 2 or 3 on the Richter scale), they can cause significant damage when they happen so often. Last year, residents in Groningen where hit with 84 earthquakes. A resident states that “we know exactly when a new earthquake starts. First there is a distant rumbling, then everything starts shaking. It always ends with the house making a scary creaking sound, as if we’re on a ship.” 1<br /><br />People are seeing cracks on the floors, walls, and foundations of their house. Homes throughout the region have collapsed or been declared uninhabitable, and those that that are still structurally sound cannot sell. More than 33 thousand claims of damage to homes have been filed since 2012, and an additional 50 thousand properties are expected to need repair in the future.<br /><br />This area saw a 3.6 in magnitude quake in 2012 that shook residents. A recent report from the Dutch government says that while gas companies have been minimizing the danger of earthquakes, these tremors are expected to grow in intensity, and quakes of a magnitude 5 or more are possible if production continues at it’s current rate. “It showed us that official institutions have been lying to us, as they always told us such heavy quakes would never be possible,” says one resident. Its a lesson in profit politics that we should all pay attention to.<br />
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You may say, that this is far away. Why worry? The same is happening here. Oklahoma, where earhquakes were unheard of 25 years ago, has had 1,702 earthquakes in the past year. The cause is believed to be wastewater injection wells which are pumping fracking fluid back into the ground to dispose of it. USGS researchers have said reactivated faults in Oklahoma could be capable of causing large
seismic events. The research was published in the
journal Geophysical Research Letters. Over the past six years, the rate of 3.0 magnitude and higher
earthquakes in Oklahoma has been 300 times higher than in previous decades. <br />
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<br />1. Emile Kossn, “Midtown Terrorized by Tremors,” USA Today, 2/19/2015, p. 5A<br />
2.<span class="author vcard"> <span class="fn">Paul Monies, "New earthquake Hazard Maps in Development for Oklahoma," The Oklahoman, 3/19/2015</span></span><br />
<span class="author vcard"></span><span class="pub-date"><span class="published dtstamp" datetime="2015-03-19 00:00:00"></span></span><br />Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-57174281813633682012015-03-11T16:43:00.003-06:002015-03-11T16:43:41.754-06:00BPA And Your Blood PressureMost of you are aware of the concerns over the plastic additive Bisphenol-A. (If not, read our <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/medical-health/bpa-health-conscerns.html">information on BPA</a>) Adding to the mix of cautionary reports, a new study has found that eating food from BPA lined aluminum cans can cause your systolic blood pressure to spike 4.5 points. Aluminum canned goods are lined with a plastic coating which contains BPA. This is meant to keep aluminum from leaching into the food. But this causes BPA to leech into the food instead. Your best bet? Eat fresh veggies whenever possible, and try to limit the consumption of canned and other plastic lines goods.<br />Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-78904093405785347842015-03-08T20:08:00.000-06:002015-03-08T20:09:16.230-06:00Peanuts For BabiesI'm sure you've heard the recent new reports. Researchers are now proposing feeding peanuts to babies. This comes form a new study published on February 23rd, 2015, in the New England Journal of Medicine which adds to the growing evidence that it’s not just Ok, but actually healthful to give young children peanuts to protect against future allergies.<br />
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In the study, babies that were regularly fed small amounts of peanuts in their infancy for at least 4 years cut their risk of future peanut allergy by 81 percent compared to kids who avoided peanuts. The authors still caution that the first few times you give a baby peanuts should be in a pediatricians office under a Doctors supervision just in case your child happens to be severely allergic.<br />
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But this is good news for kids, and will perhaps stop the growing numbers of children who develop peanut allergies.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-3148057945739787362015-02-15T19:41:00.000-07:002015-02-15T19:43:38.714-07:00Free Range Parenting; Good or BadIn the past few weeks, there have been several cases in which families who follow free range parenting (a philosophy that believes in allowing children the freedom to explore and develop autonomy) have found themselves in potential legal trouble for giving their children some leeway to explore. In one case, a South Carolina mom was arrested for allowing her 9-year-old to play alone at the park. In Maryland, a couple was reported for allowing their children to freely roam the neighborhood. And just recently another mother found herself dealing with a police officer when she let her kids out alone. “All we did was let our kids go to the park,” she says, adding that CPS threatened her by saying that if she didn’t sign a parenting plan agreeing to keep the kids under direct supervision at all times, “we’re going to take the kids.”<br />
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Life is full of relative risk, and absolute safety is an illusion. While an unsupervised child is certainly more vulnerable to being picked up by a predator should one be lurking nearby, these type of high profile abductions are also extremely rare. Too put things in perspective, the choice to put your child inside a car is is hundreds or even thousands of times more likely to lead to their demise. So should CPS also investigate parents and threaten to snatch their children away when they drive their kids to school? <br />
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Risk from life cannot be eliminated. Everything in life has potential benefits and potential risks, but if you try to eliminate risk by constraining a child, you also forgo it’s benefits. And many people don’t realize that these days just as many young children are dying from obesity related medical complications as are meeting their doom in the type of nightmarish incident parents dread, and the obesity epidemic is at least partially related to parents promoting lifestyles that keep kids restricted and immobile.<br />
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Research tends to support the idea of free range parenting. Kids get more exorcise, they play more creatively, and they develop more competence and better social skills. The literature on overprotective parenting is not so supportive. Overprotected children exhibit higher rates of stress, anxiety, depression, and frustration. They tend to struggle a lot more with adversity in life. They aren’t as happy and develop more psychological disorders. So the fact that the CPS bureaucracy is now aiming their weapons at families who are arguably doing everything right is more than a little concerning.<br />
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<br />Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-25480498126418586692015-02-05T19:40:00.000-07:002015-02-05T19:40:47.093-07:00Is Your Password Doing It's Job?Lately there have been many news reports of stolen data, usually stolen from a large store, or even a bank. So you may need to change your passwords more frequently than you would like. But despite all the warnings about the importance of passwords, and all the security breaches that have happened, research by SplashData reveals that “123456” was the most common password in 2014. This was followed by “password.” “12345” was in third place, with “12345678” and “qwerty” rounded up the top spots. Also on the list of common passwords were “baseball,” “dragon,” and “football.” The data for this analysis was compiled from more than 3.3 million that were leaked on the internet last year.<br />
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If you’re password is one of these, or of a similar nature, let us reassure you that the time it takes to fix a potential mess of stolen information will vastly outweigh the time needed to memorize a secure password. So tisk, tisk, if you have a password that even a preschooler could crack.<br />
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Did you know that any idiot with a couple hundred bucks on their hands can purchase software that hacks passwords by repeatedly trying different combinations of common phrases, numbers, phone numbers, and words from the dictionary. For maximum security, your password should have both letters and numbers, and any actual words or names should be misspelled or have numbers substituting for letters. So get busy and keep yourself as safe as you can. Make your password do it's job.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-70465278171506127392015-01-28T19:24:00.000-07:002015-03-11T16:05:11.237-06:00Kids Left In Car While Dad Keeps Court DateA 38-year-old-man is facing child endangerment charges in Newton, Massachusetts, after police say he left his 3 children inside a car on a cold January afternoon for more than an hour while he was in court. The children were ages five, three, and 9 months.(USA Today 1/16/2015, p. 9A) According to the police, witnesses called in the report around 4pm.<br />
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While this was certainly a poor decision on the man's part, it’s also a perfect example of how society can create it’s own messes and can set people up to fail. Low income parents are often faced with the prospect of getting arrested for not going to court and have no access to a child sitter or perhaps funds to pay one. This causes them to do drastic things. It’s unfortunate that we’ll now spend thousands more of time and money condemning this man than it would have taken to offer him assistance.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-58459503501022122702015-01-20T14:36:00.003-07:002015-01-20T14:36:39.550-07:00Nannies: Why it May Matter Who Your Friends ArePosted on November 18, 2012 by Rachael | in Nannies<br />
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In many jobs, who you have as friends isn’t something that’s really important to your boss. But like with government and high profile jobs, many nanny employers do care about what you do and who you associate with.
While it may seem unfair that an employer judges you by your associations, for many parents, knowing as much about a caregiver as possible helps to them to make informed and educated hiring and managing decisions.<br />
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When it comes to evaluating a nanny’s character and judgment,(which is unquestionably important in evaluating nannies), the type of people a nanny spends her time with can provide insight into those both of those qualities.
Nanny employers typically care about four main things when it comes to who their nanny keeps company with: they care if there is a safety risk to their children, a security risk to their children, a security risk to their property, and a risk of their children being influenced negatively.<br />
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<b>A safety risk to their children. </b><br />
It’s only natural and necessary for parents to be concerned about their children’s safety. A nanny who hangs around with individuals who have poor judgment, are unstable, or who have a history of criminal problems can be concerning to a parent. This is especially true if a nanny is in an abusive domestic relationship. Parents may be concerned that the nanny’s abusive partner may show up at the home, either uninvited or not, or that the nanny may be persuaded to assist a friend in trouble during her on duty hours, taking her focus off of the children.<br />
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<b>A security risk to their children. </b><br />
Nanny employers may also be concerned about the security of their children, especially if the family is wealthy or is a high profile family. Parents may feel that the more people who know the nanny cares for their children, the greater their children’s security risk is. A parent may be paranoid that if the nanny has shady friends, they may have less than genuine motives for getting to know the family, the children’s schedule and classified family information.<br />
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<b>A security risk to their property.</b><br />
For live-in nannies especially, the prospect of having visitors is appealing. However, if the parents aren’t confident that the nanny’s pals are people of integrity, she may be concerned with them coming to the home. Fears of thievery, snooping or property destruction may cause some concern.<br />
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<b>A risk of their children being influenced negatively. </b><br />
Most parents, whether nanny employers or not, want to shelter their young children from drugs, violence and swearing. If a nanny has friends who engage in drugs or violent behavior, or who curse like a trucker, the parents likely won’t want those friends coming around. Since individuals with common interests and hobbies tend to stick together, a nanny employer may discern that the nanny has similar character traits as those she spends her time with.<br />
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While the majority of nannies are straightedge individuals who are responsible, competent and caring, these same qualities that make them great child caregivers can make them susceptible to caring for other individuals who need help.
Some nannies feel that who they spend their time with off the clock has no bearing on how they do their job, but nanny employers may feel differently. Nannies are hired to serve as role models to the children in their care and to provide their charges with high quality, attentive childcare. During their workday, nannies are forced to make judgment calls on everything from what playground slide is appropriate to go down to what size a toddler’s grapes should be cut into.<br />
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For many parents, knowing that a nanny consistently makes good judgment calls is vital to developing a trusting relationship.
While a nanny may be put-off that an employer cares about or questions her associations, nannies must respect that the well-being of the children is a priority and anything that could jeopardize that priority is best discovered by the parents.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We are not promoting this site, but we found it helpful. <a href="http://www.4nannies.com/">http://www.4nannies.com</a></span></span>Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-41024722958668386062014-12-16T15:11:00.001-07:002014-12-16T15:38:14.668-07:00Child Killing Cop To Face Third TrialIn Detroit, Michigan, Joseph Weekley may face a third trial in March for killing a young girl during a 2010 police raid after two previous trials ended with deadlocked juries.<br />
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Seven year old Aiyana Stanley-Jones was essentially murdered as police executed a search warrant for a murder suspect. Weekley entered the home and immediately fired 1 shot directly at the child who was sleeping on the couch, striking her in the neck and killing her. The police department then lied and tried to make up a story about the grandmother charging at the officer, but because the raid was being followed by a camera crew for the television show <i>The First 48</i>, in this instance, their deceit was exposed. The producer said the film footage blatantly contradicted the story that the Detroit police tried to make up.<br />
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The fact that they are having to try this case a third time is yet another example of the preferential treatment police receive from the US 'injustice' system whenever they do something wrong. It's also telling that none of the dozens of officers initially involved and trying to cover up this murder has faced any serious repercussions.<br />
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Click here to <a href="http://www.truechildsafety.com/">learn more about child safety incidents</a>.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-77788040958229785912014-12-10T19:06:00.004-07:002014-12-16T15:36:45.427-07:00Making Sure The Baby Is BreathingParents have long been known to sneak a peak at their sleeping infant just to make sure he's still breathing. For those especially anxious parents, you can now buy a baby monitor that actually tracks their vital signs. For just $249, this Sproutling baby monitor will measure your baby's vitals through an ankle monitor attached to the baby, and then send them to your smart phone. The device will also "learn" the baby's behaviors (such as nap time) with the idea that it will help parents plan.<br />
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An interesting gismo, but I fear this is the perfect example of technology increasing anxiety rather than diminishing it. When considering that false positives are common even among hospital devices, or that common conditions such as the occasional infant sleep apnea could set off an alarm, chances are this device will merely insure a lot more panicked runs to the nursery, only to find out that baby is breathing after all.<br />
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Click her to learn more about <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-safety-book/infant-safety.html">infant safety</a></div>
Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-56258138099066647092014-12-05T19:33:00.002-07:002014-12-05T19:33:35.430-07:00Kids With Guns At SchoolThis week a second grade boy sparked a full scale lockdown in two schools in Middleton, Idaho. His crime; bringing what turned out to be a toy gun to school. Police discovered the toy gun after 45 minutes of searching the school, and then the boy was suspended. The lesson? Talk to your kids about weapon safety, and where toy guns should and should not go. It might also be a good idea to give your child's backpack a quick look-over as you send them off in to school. <br /><br />In Clayton Missouri, three kindergarten students found a loaded hand-gun on the playground while out at recess at their elementary school. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. But this type of scenario is how many gun accidents happen: kids stumble upon a weapon, assume it to be a toy, and then tragically find out otherwise. It appears the kids did the right thing by leaving it alone and telling a teacher. Both of these examples show us why it is so important to talk to your kids about all types of gun safety.<br /><br />Click here to <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/gun-safety-for-kids.html">teach kids about gun safety</a><br /><br />Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-35005192424547122452014-12-01T15:57:00.000-07:002014-12-01T15:57:06.187-07:00Supreme Court to Decide What T-shirts Your Kids Can WearThe Supreme Court convenes this week. It will be taking up the case of one of the stupidest over-reactions in all of American history . . . and we've seen some doozies in our time.<br />
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Francis Schmidt was suspended from his job as an art animation professor of a New Jersey college for making threats against the school. So what was his offense? He took a photo of his 7-year-old-daughter and uploaded it to his Facebook page. This little girl happened to be wearing a T-shirt that read: "I will take what is mine with fire and blood." If that phrase sounds familiar, it's probably because it is a well known phrase from the hit show <i>Game of Thrones</i>, and the t-shirt the girl was wearing was simply a piece of fan merchandise. Never the less, the school interpreted this unrelated and incidental act as a violation of the schools Zero tolerance policy. Schmidt was banished from campus, told to see a psychiatrist, forced into a promise that he would not wear clothes with "questionable statements."<br />
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Cases such as this serve as an example of how much of an illusion most of the rights we think we have are, and also about the collateral damage that results when paranoia over safety is taken too far.<br />
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Click here to learn more about <a href="http://www.truechildsafety.com/zero-tolerance-school-policies.html">Zero Tolerance School Policy</a> Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-87122428118147450462014-11-26T18:54:00.000-07:002014-11-26T18:54:52.259-07:00Police Shoot a 12-year-old Boy Who Held a Fake WeaponLast weekend in Cleveland, Ohio, police shot and killed a 12-year-old boy who had been pointing a toy gun at people as they passes him on the sidewalk. Video of the scene does not indicate that anyone seemed afraid. The 911 call mentioned that the gun was likely not real, and this was somehow not relayed to the responding police officers. Read more in an article at <a href="http://www.truechildsafety.com/archive6/police-shoot-boy-with-fake-gun.html">www.truechildsafety.com/archive6/police-shoot-boy-with-fake-gun.html</a><br />
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Click here for more<a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/gun-safety-for-kids.html"> free information on child gun safety</a>Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-32561781784822423412014-11-22T18:50:00.002-07:002014-11-22T18:50:53.747-07:00Stroller RecallThis week Graco Children's Products issued a recall for about 4.7 million strollers in the US, Canada, and Mexico, due to a folding hinge on the stroller which CTSC says "can pinch a child's finger, causing a laceration or amputation hazard." At least 6 reports of fingertip amputations have surfaced along with 4 partial fingertip amputations. The recall affects 11 models which were sold at Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, Amazon.com and other retailers.<br />
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Click here to learn more about <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-safety-book/infant-safety.html">infant & child safety </a><br />
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<br />Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-2277831937030444242014-11-13T16:29:00.005-07:002014-11-13T16:29:54.219-07:00A Lesson On Train Safety<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">A tragedy happened Sunday in Spanish Fork, Utah, that cost a five-year-old boy his life. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Authorities say
the boy was among 3 young children who were playing around the tracks on a
Sunday when the train passed by at about 40 m.p.h.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(USA Today, 11-11-2014, p. 4A) The articles I read did not make it clear whether the boy was on the tracks or just near them. But either way, reminding our kids how dangerous train tracks can be is a necessary part of teaching them.</span>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Many children (and adults) assume that trains stay "on the
tracks.” But many train car loads -- and freight trains especially -- can hang as far as
10 or 15 feet off the side of the tracks in either direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adding to the danger, some cars on the
train may be wider than others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, remind them that trains cannot stop as fast as a car stops. So make
sure your kids know of these dangers and understand that they need to stay well away from
the train tracks whenever a train is approaching. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;">Visit our website to learn more about <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/">child safety</a> and how to <a href="http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-safety-book/child-train-safety.html">keep your kids safe around trains</a>. </span></div>
Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-81349040182351426142014-11-04T11:23:00.001-07:002014-11-04T11:23:42.470-07:00The Mole People of Las VegasHere's an interesting story I cam across. Have you heard about the mole people of Las Vegas? It sounds like a race of sci-fi mutants, the result of some nuclear experiment gone horribly wrong, but it actually refers to an underground community -- literally.<br />
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You see, underneath the city of Las Vegas lies an extensive system of storm tunnels designed to keep the city from flooding during monsoons. Apparently, there's an underground community of people that have made this subterranean structure their home. They stack furniture on crates to create a living space that withstands most common rainstorms, building their own little apartments in the tunnels beneath the city.<br />
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It's believed most of the people living down there are transients and the homeless, or perhaps addicts who have found these tunnels a good place to get high without being bothered by police. But it's also known that some of the residents in this underground community actually work at the casinos. For them, it's a way of living rent-free in an areas close to their place of employment -- perhaps the only way they can afford to live. Furthermore, it's believed there are most likely some children living down there as well, maybe even entire families that have been displaced in the recent financial crisis.<br />
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The total population of this community of mole people is estimated to be around 1,500, or about the same number of residents as you might find in a small mid-west town. They are spread throughout the City of Light's 400 miles of storm tunnels.<br />
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Of course, such a lifestyle is not without its risks. Occasiionally a drowned body will wash out one of the many outlets, a victim of torrential rains that proved to be just a little too much. Yet despite the safety concerns, police don't consider it feasible nor a productive use of their time to go searching 400miles of tunnel by flashlight to root out its occupants. Even if they did so, the community would likely return as soon as they were done.<br />
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As someone who grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons. I must say I find this story rather fascinating. I remember as a kid wandering the neighborhood with friends and scoping out sewer tunnels, hoping against all odds that each dark passage might be the gateway that opened up into an underground world both mysterious and alluring -- the type of cavern befitting of a comic book hero. Though I'm sure if you ask the mole people, it's probably not as glamorous as it seems.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-62715310848554255822014-10-21T14:12:00.003-06:002014-10-21T14:12:38.222-06:00Free $500.00 For Your BabyIf you had a baby that was born on October 20, 2014, Boya Financial is offering a free $500 mutual fund investment as part of National Save for Retirement Week. There are no strings attached, but parents and guardians must register and provide proof of birth at Boya.com/borntosave by December 19th.Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-73291014601448618402014-10-13T19:20:00.000-06:002014-10-13T19:20:04.189-06:00Do You Treat Special Needs Children Differently?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Few adults would intentionally act cruelly towards a child
who is handicapped in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet even
among caring adults there is a tendency to treat kids who have some sort of
disability differently than we otherwise would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The end result is often the same: Through body language and other
subconscious cues, we send the message that these kids aren’t the same as other
kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people simply withdraw or
keep their distance from a child with a disability, unsure of what to do or how
to interact.</div>
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Take the hearing impaired, for example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Describing the frustration she feels over how
people relate to her two deaf sons, one woman says, “You don’t have to know
sign language (to interact).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kindness is
a language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all understand it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you see a child like this, don’t act
shocked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t gasp and walk away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The message you send to a child is: ‘My god,
you are a freak!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reach out your hand
and smile.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chicken Soup for the Couples Soul</i>, Health Communications, 1999, p.
211)</div>
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The same principle applies to children with any type of
disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talk to a child with Down syndrome
in the same way would to a kids who’s at the top of his or her class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find ways to involve children with physical
disabilities in the same type of sports and gross motor activities you might
play with a child who had no physical restraints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Relate to children with autism as if they are
social butterflies just waiting to come out of their cocoon (with realistic
expectations and adequate patience, of course).</div>
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Not only does this ensure that every child develops to their
fullest potential, but it can prevent many of the hurts these kids endure that
we never meant to send.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because no matter
what the circumstance, there’s pretty much one universal thing that kids with
special needs can all agree upon: They don’t want sympathy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t want you to feel sorry for them,
and they certainly don’t want you to act bothered or appalled by them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just want you to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">act normal</i>, so that they can feel a little more normal and accepted
themselves.</div>
Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637997873961670905.post-56651448844006541262014-10-06T20:10:00.000-06:002014-10-06T20:10:07.031-06:00White Babies, Black Babies, & Mix-ups At Sperm BanksAn Ohio woman who had requested the sperm of a white man is not suing the Chicago sperm bank that accidentally sent her the sperm of a black man instead. She apparently learned of the error back in 2012 when she was already five months pregnant with her daughter.<br />
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At first I was amused by this story, but then felt saddened. I keep thinking, why does it matter? I was hoping we were beyond the point of valuing children by their skin color.<br />
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The timing of the law suit is also striking. Why now? Granted, her daughter is approaching the terrible two's, which causes many a parent to wonder if their child comes with a return policy. Now doubt she has to answer inquisitive questions from curious onlookers. But what is this child going to think as she grows older and learns of the lawsuit? The implicit message is going to be this: "You apparently thought my not being entirely white was such a terrible development that you should be awarded a hefty settlement because of it."Global Children's Fundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587052633953616105noreply@blogger.com0