Report: More schools failing to make adequate progress

 

A report by the Center on Education Policy finds that about 38 percent of the country's public schools did not meet federal benchmarks for improvement on state reading and math tests in 2010. In 2009, that number was only 33 percent. - Yahoo! News

Diet Alters Your Children's Behavior and Health

 

Since the 1920’s parents and experts have suspected that certain foods and ingredients ramp up their children’s behavior and contribute to weight and related health problems. Research has proven this to be true.

______________________

Whether it’s a health concern or just good old fashion misbehavior, helping your kids get a proper diet can be a big part of solving many common health and behavioral problems.

For optimal health and performance at any age, but especially for children, it is important to consume a vegetarian, organic and natural diet. A vegetarian diet based on whole foods such as grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and dairy products offers all the required calories and nutrients for healthy growing kids. There is absolutely no need to worry about protein, iron, and other nutrients as long as children are eating a variety of whole plant-based foods and dairy products. | Down to Earth

Modern girls are born to plump for pink 'thanks to berry-gathering female ancestors'

 

Girls really do prefer pink – and not just because it is pretty.

Scientists have shown that females are drawn to pinks and reds and men to blues and greens – and they believe the explanation lies our hunter-gatherer past.

As the gatherers of the operation, women's brains became fine-tuned to the purples and reds of ripe fruits and berries.| Mail Online

Poor white pupils perform even worse than children who have English as a second language

 

Poor white schoolchildren perform even more poorly than pupils who have English as their second language, an analysis of exam results has found.

Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black youngsters all outperform their white English classmates from deprived backgrounds.

Black British pupils score the equivalent of one A* higher than a white child from the poorest 20 per cent of the population, an analysis of three million sets of results revealed. | Mail Online

'Child sex trafficking rampant in US'

An FBI bulletin shows that 100,000 to 300,000 American children are at the risk of becoming victims of sex traffickers which is turning into a "problem of epidemic proportion."

"When we are talking about something that's become an 'epidemic' by the FBI, we need a culture shift," Andrea Powell, who works directly with children who have been sold for sex, told a Press TV correspondent in Washington.  PressTV

Also Read:

Child sex trafficking, 'epidemic' in US

Parents should know dangers of K2 use

 

It's legal, it's accessible, and it produces a high similar to that achieved from marijuana use. That is, at least for a few more months. It's K2, or Spice, and it's one of my worst nightmares as the program manager for the Youth Resources Vanderburgh County Teen Court program. K2 does not cause a positive test for cannabis or other illegal drugs in the routine drug tests we perform on juvenile offenders in our office. » Evansville Courier & Press

Study: Too Many Video Games May Sap Attention Span

 

Parents who believe that playing video games is less harmful to their kids’ attention spans than watching TV may want to reconsider—and unplug the Xbox. Video games can sap a child’s attention just as much as the tube, a new study suggests.

Elementary school children who play video games more than two hours a day are 67% more likely than their peers who play less to have greater-than-average attention problems, according to the study, which appears in the journal Pediatrics. - Health.com

Also read:

• Study: Too many video games may sap attention span

• TV Viewing, Video Game Play Contribute to Kids' Attention Problems, Study Finds

• Visual Media and Young Children's Attention Spans

WHAT? Drug injection delays puberty (for children considering a sex change?)

Children with supposed "Gender Identity Disorder" (GID), a rare condition involving sexual confusion, that are having a hard time deciding whether they want to be male or female can now choose to artificially delay puberty while they figure it out. A recent report in The Telegraph explains that a monthly drug injection will prevent sexual development in children to give them more time to make up their minds about having a sex change -- and kids as young as 12 are eligible to receive it.

Drug injection delays puberty

Three new studies reveal children are dumbed down by pesticide exposure in womb

 

The evidence for the intelligence robbing effect of these poisons isn't some obscure study in lab animals, either. This is a major discovery involving human children in multiple studies. The results of three separate research papers have just been published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives and all document this alarming fact: pesticides could be robbing many humans of their maximum intelligence potential.

"These associations are substantial, especially when viewing this at a population-wide level," said study principal investigator Brenda Eskenazi, UC Berkeley professor of epidemiology and of maternal and child health, in a statement to the media. "That difference could mean, on average, more kids being shifted into the lower end of the spectrum of learning, and more kids needing special services in school."

Three new studies reveal children are dumbed down by pesticide exposure in womb

Too much TV IS bad for children: Young couch potatoes have narrowed arteries in eyes

 

Children as young as six are risking heart problems in later life because they are allowed to spend too much time watching TV or playing on computers, scientists warn.

A study of 1,492 primary school pupils found that those who spent hours glued to the screen suffered narrowing of blood  vessels in their eyes – an early warning sign of increased  likelihood of heart disease and high blood pressure.

But those who exercised for one hour a day were significantly healthier. | Mail Online

Crying babies ¿more likely to grow into problem children¿

 

Babies who persistently cry are more likely to become problem children with behavioural disorders, researchers say.

According to their study, around one in five infants is ‘difficult’, with excessive crying and problems sleeping and feeding – and many will go on to be difficult children.

It found babies with these issues were 40 per cent more likely to grow up to display unruly behaviour, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – ADHD.

| Mail Online

Overfunding prisons while neglecting education

According to NAACP President and CEO Benjamin T. Jealous, excessive spending on incarceration undermines educational opportunities and destabilizes Black communities nationwide.

“Today, there is no greater threat to civil rights accomplishments than the state of our country's education system and its impact on young African American youth. Failing schools, college tuition hikes, and shrinking state education budgets are narrowing the promise of education for young people all across the country. Meanwhile, we continue to invest billions of dollars into our corrections system, sending our youth a clear message that we value incarceration over education,” said Mr. Jealous introducing the report.  Read more...

Related article:

• NAACP Says The U.S. Values Prisons More Than Schools

African-Americans and Homeschooling

According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), minorities account for about 15 percent of the nearly two million homeschooled students in the country. Also, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, there is an estimated 220,000 black children being homeschooled, which makes them about 10 percent of the estimated 15 percent of minority children who are homeschooled. | The Atlanta Post

Black children in care forced to wait an extra year before they are adopted

Black children have to wait considerably longer than white children to be adopted, new figures reveal.

Black youngsters under five are forced to wait in care homes and with foster parents for an average of 1,300 days before they can legally belong to another family - compared to just 955 days for white or Asian children.

The data also shows children born to white parents are three times more likely to be adopted than black children. Mail Online

Study: 66% of Spanish children have sleeping problem

A third of Spanish children have sleeping problems that affect their development and, a similar percentage have problems to stay wide-awake in class, according to the results of a study conducted by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (SAP).

Children build green energy cars

 

About 200 middle school students from across New Mexico competed in an annual green car building competition, using only hydrogen fuel cells and electric motors.

The Albuquerque Public School district hosted the 5th annual Schools Teaching About Resource Sustainability, or STARS, program at Wilson Middle School to teach the importance of finding sustainable sources of energy and reducing society's dependence on oil.| KRQE News 13

Kids build green energy cars: krqe.com

Stillbirths Take Huge Global Toll: WHO

According to the series, which offers the first comprehensive look at the heavy global burden of stillbirths around the world, more than 7,300 stillbirths occur every day. The World Health Organization defines "stillbirth" as fetal death after 28 weeks of pregnancy. Ninety eight percent of stillbirths happen in low- and middle-income countries, and nearly half of them occur during childbirth, particularly among women who do not have access to basic medical services. But even in wealthy countries, one in 200 pregnancies results in a stillbirth. - ABC News

Baby on Board: Breast Changes During Pregnancy

Breasts are good for much more than creating cleavage -- they're complex physiological structures. At no other time is this more evident than when you're pregnant and nursing. For instance, did you know lactating breasts can swell by more than a pound? Here is a detailed look at the changes your mammary machinery undergoes during each phase of pregnancy. - ABC News

What leads gay, straight teens to attempt suicide?

 

Suicide attempts by gay teens — and even straight kids — are more common in politically conservative areas where schools don't have programs supporting gay rights, a study involving nearly 32,000 high school students found.

Those factors raised the odds and were a substantial influence on suicide attempts even when known risk contributors like depression and being bullied were considered, said study author Mark Hatzenbuehler, a Columbia University psychologist and researcher. - Yahoo! News

Moms killing kids not nearly as rare as we think

 

"How could she?"

It's the headline du jour whenever a horrific case emerges of a mother killing her kids, as Lashanda Armstrong did when she piled her children into her minivan and drove straight into the frigid Hudson River.

Our shock at such stories is, of course, understandable: They seem to go against everything we intuitively feel about the mother-child bond.

But mothers kill their children in this country much more often than most people would realize by simply reading the headlines; by conservative estimates it happens every few days, at least 100 times a year. Experts say more mothers than fathers kill their children under 5 years of age. And some say our reluctance as a society to believe mothers would be capable of killing their offspring is hindering our ability to recognize warning signs, intervene and prevent more tragedies. - Yahoo! News

The Silence: the Catholic Church's ongoing sex abuse scandal

COMING TUESDAY: Airs Apr. 19th at 9PM ET (check local listings)

WATCH A PREVIEW

The story made national headlines last month -- the announcement of one of the largest monetary settlements yet in the Catholic Church's ongoing sex abuse scandal.

But it was the victims in this case -- many of them Alaska Native people -- about whom you may have heard much less.

Until now.

In The Silence, the first of two stories airing this Tuesday night on the latest magazine edition of FRONTLINE, filmmaker Tom Curran and reporter Mark Trahant examine this little-known chapter of the abuse scandal, focusing on one particular village on the state's far-west coast, where some 80% of the children were molested. Candid interviews with survivors paint a devastating picture of youth betrayed by the very authority figures who were supposed to bring new hope and opportunity to these isolated communities.

Be cautious of Facebook "Friends." Kentucky police say suspect abducted, killed pregnant woman for baby

A Kentucky woman was arrested Thursday on charges of kidnapping and murdering a pregnant woman, police said, and tests were being conducted to determine whether she took the victim's child.
Authorities at Bowling Green Medical Center called police Wednesday about a "suspicious birth" after a woman identified as Kathy Michelle Coy, 33, arrived at the hospital with a newborn boy claiming it was hers, said Jonathan Biven, a spokesman for the Kentucky State Police in Bowling Green, Kentucky. - CNN.com

Are Oxycontin Babies This Decade’s Crack Babies?

 

In the late 1980s and early '90s, it was almost impossible to avoid hearing about the plight of "crack babies" — infants born to mothers who had used crack cocaine during pregnancy. These offspring were predicted to become a generation of either superpredator criminals or mentally disabled government aid recipients, unable to care for themselves. – TIME Healthland

Study: Are Music-Loving Teens More Likely to Be Depressed?

 

The study, led by Dr. Brian Primack, an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, found that teens who reported listening to music more often — rather than using other types of media like TV and books — were at higher risk of having major depressive disorder (MDD), compared with teens who listened to music less frequently. With each level increase in music use, teens had an 80% higher risk of depression, the study found. – TIME Healthland

When Children With Autism Become Adults

 

As the explosion of children who were found to have autism in the 1990s begins to transition from the school to the adult system, experts caution about the coming wave.

John Hart, 24, has severe autism. He is nonverbal and communicates through hand gestures, touch and typed responses. His mother, Ann, often serves as a voice for her son. - NYTimes.com

Don't let a doctor destroy your baby's hearing

 

As about 2% of babies born in the United States do, Alex Resnick failed the routine newborn hearing screening he received before he left the hospital. At first his parents didn't think much of it, since the nurse told them further testing often shows the baby is fine. But six weeks later when those additional tests showed Alex had moderate to severe hearing loss, his mother's heart sank.

"It was like somebody knocked the wind out of me," Haleh Resnick remembers.

- CNN.com

Bipolar Disease: Facts About a Treatable Illness

 

Actress Catherine Zeta Jones, the wife of actor Michael Douglas, recently received inpatient treatment for Bipolar II disorder. Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that affects millions of individuals, and can be managed with medication and sometimes therapy. Here are some interesting facts about the disease

- Bipolar disorder is characterized by a cycle of depression periods, with some hypomanic episodes, but with no full-blown manic episodes. This is one of the key differences between a Bipolar I and a Bipolar II diagnosis. - Yahoo! News

Obesity, Disparities in Care Help Drive U.S. Stillbirths: Studies

 

April 13 (HealthDay News) -- While the rate of stillbirths in the United States has dropped over the past few decades, this tragic outcome is still a reality for far too many couples, experts say.

As part of a series of studies published online April 14 in The Lancet, researchers report that a leading cause of stillbirth in the United States may be obesity, which can raise the risk for fetal loss. - Yahoo! News

Study: 2 million babies stillborn every year

 

More than 2 million babies are stillborn every year worldwide and about half could be saved if their mothers had better medical care, according to research estimates published Thursday in the medical journal Lancet.

While the vast majority of stillbirths happen in the developing world, the rates in countries including Britain, France and the U.S. have not dropped to the degree that many experts had expected, as rising obesity levels among pregnant women increase the risk. - Yahoo! News

Trotwood-Madison High School Students Debut Anthology at Dayton Book Expo

Media Release

Contact: Valerie J Lewis Coleman

937.307.0760

For Immediate Release

April 13, 2011

Abandon Doubt. Commemorate Character. Honor Self.

Dayton, Ohio - April 13, 2011 -  On Saturday, April 30, 2011, forty students from Trotwood-Madison High School will debut the anthology A Kingdom Waiting: Loss, Triumph and the Young Spirit at the second annual Dayton Book Expo. The event will be held from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM in the Great Hall at Sinclair Community College's Ponitz Conference Center, 444 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402. Along with A Kingdom Waiting, several debut titles will be celebrated with cake, balloons and author presentations at noon. The family-friendly event is free and open to the public.

Valerie J. Lewis Coleman, Passionate Pens founder and anthology publisher says, "FBI statistics rank Dayton twentieth in the nation for crimes. The students in this book are proof that not all of our young people are involved in gangs or dropping out of school." Coleman, a bestselling author and Trotwood alumnae, is an expert on relationships and self-publishing. "My sons graduated from Trotwood and I believe in the school system. Giving a voice to youth by publishing this book is my way of honoring my alma mater."

In the words of a student contributor...

Renika Williams, a senior at Trotwood-Madison and contributor says, "My experience writing for the anthology was like none other! I've always enjoyed writing, but I had never written about myself because I was afraid that something I was ashamed of would surface." Renika will be attending Wright State University to pursue a degree in acting and communications/broadcasting. "When I wrote my story - You and Me - I realized that I had nothing to fear. They were just my flaws; everyone has them. I got teary as I wrote because I had been holding in the loss of 'myself' for years. Afterwards, I felt relieved and now I express myself through writing more than ever before."

In the words of Trotwood City Schools faculty and administration...

Sarah Acton, English Department Chair, Creative Writing teacher and anthology compiler says, "I have been privileged to have students share their thoughts and experiences with me. I have always known them to be intelligent and gifted; however, reading these stories reinforced their talent and articulation." The book project was sponsored by the school and Principal Terry Logan. The Dayton Book Expo is sponsoring the booth and awarding a crystal plaque to the top-selling student.

Gerald Cox, Director of Human Resources for Trotwood City Schools, says, "The anthology reflects what can happen when talented people collaborate: a local author, a caring teacher and motivated students. The infusion of writing and other creative arts across the public-school curriculum is critical to the development of our young people. As more classroom teachers and other professionals continue to invest in our students, the ripples will reach generations of children."

About A Kingdom Waiting: Loss, Triumph and the Young Spirit

Abandon doubt. Commemorate character. Honor self.

"There is nothing like youth. The middle-aged are mortgaged to life. The old are in life's lumber room. But youth is the lord of life. Youth has a kingdom waiting for it."

~ Oscar Wilde

In A Kingdom Waiting: Loss, Triumph and the Young Spirit, you'll explore life from a high-school student's perspective including

• Coping with grief
• Forgiving betrayal
• Moving past heart break
• Transforming depression
• Overcoming low self-esteem
• Shedding fear
• Realizing possibilities and
• Achieving potential

Retail: $9.95

ISBN-13: 978-0-9825984-5-0

About Dayton Book Expo

The Dayton Book Expo was created in 2010 by three local authors: LaTonya Branham, Charlotte Brown and Valerie J Lewis Coleman. The objective is to promote and encourage literacy in the Dayton area by connecting book lovers.

About Trotwood-Madision City Schools

Trotwood-Madison City Schools are committed to lifelong learning facilitated by an innovative and dedicated staff, community participation and state-of-the-art resources in a stimulating atmosphere. The district is hopeful that the next levy will pass so that programs such as Creative Writing and Passionate Pens continue.

About Passionate Pens

In 2006, Valerie J. Lewis Coleman, took her writing and publishing curriculum to prisons and schools. The following year, the first Passionate Pens book - Tainted Mirror An Anthology -debuted. The book is a call to action to stop making excuses, walk in purpose and fulfill destiny.

The program objective is to promote literacy by

• Exposing students to the book-publishing industry
• Compiling and publishing writings by the students
• Providing each contributor with a copy of the anthology
• Establishing credibility as published authors
• Debuting the anthology at the Dayton Book Expo
• Offering this program FREE to participating students
• Generating revenue for the sponsoring institution

# # #

Passionate Pens is a division of

Pen of the Writer, LLC

Valerie J Lewis Coleman

Got an hour? Boost your grades. Stanford psychologists design 60-minute exercise that raises GPAs of minority students

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But when black freshmen participated in an hour-long exercise designed by Stanford psychologists to show that everyone – no matter what their race or ethnicity – has a tough time adjusting to college right away, their grades went up and the minority achievement gap shrank by 52 percent. And years later, those students said they were happier and healthier than some of their black peers who didn't take part in the exercise.

"We all experience small slights and criticisms in coming to a new school" said Greg Walton, an assistant professor of psychology whose findings are slated for publication in the March 18 edition of Science.

Got an hour? Boost your grades. Stanford psychologists design 60-minute exercise that raises GPAs of minority students

Twilight Game Scam Spreading on Facebook [WARNING]

If you've been tagged in a Facebook friend's photo album or seen a link promoting a Twilight: Breaking Dawn game, be careful. It is likely a scam designed to spread on Facebook and grab your personal data. - Yahoo! News

Related articles:

Facebook Game Scam Targets 'Twilight' Fans

Twilight scam spreading rapidly on Facebook, Sophos warns

The Winners & Losers of Social Networking [INFOGRAPHIC]

 

It goes without saying that Facebook is the network du jour, but even though the reigning champion’s user stats keep soaring, social networking as a whole might be leveling off. Nevertheless, there are still scores of other highly competitive social sites that are waxing and waning; and different networks and apps are more popular in specific geographic areas, with certain genders or age groups and even among various social classes.

The Winners & Losers of Social Networking [INFOGRAPHIC]

Notorious B.I.G.’s FBI murder case files released, highlighting new FBI Web presence

 

More than 350 pages of FBI files will give those interested in the case plenty to pore over in the coming days. The files about the FBI’s 18-month investigation into Wallace’s slaying were released Thursday after Freedom of Information Act requests.

- The Washington Post

Chicago School Bans Bag Lunches to Get Kids to Eat Less Junk Food

 

A push for healthier school lunches has led one Chicago school to ban students from bringing lunches from home altogether.
Students at Chicago's Little Village Academy are required to eat the lunch provided to them by the school -- a policy that has cooked up controversy among parents and educators amid a national debate about the best way to promote healthy eating for children.  Read more…

• Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home

• In One Chicago School, A Mom-Made Lunch Is Not Allowed

Is Ashley Judd right about hip-hop and its ’rape culture?’

 

The past week has seen a firestorm of controversy aimed squarely at actress Ashley Judd over excerpts from her new memoir that attacks Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, and hip hop as a whole for its misogynistic lyrics. 

Judd managed to paint “most” of rap music with a broad brush, saying the following:

“As far as I'm concerned, most rap and hip-hop music – with its rape culture and insanely abusive lyrics and depictions of girls and women as 'ho's' – is the contemporary soundtrack of misogyny."

| Examiner.com

Thanks to a Corrupt Bureaucracy, California's Schools Would Crumble During an Earthquake - Education

 

Except, thanks to a major series launched this morning by California Watch, we now know that's not true. Officials in the Division of the State Architect, the chief regulator of construction standards for public schools actually haven't enforced the Field Act. Thousands of schools across the state have serious seismic issues—structural flaws and safety hazards that were reported during construction—and they could put student's lives in danger during a quake.

- GOOD

Leading brands of baby food found to contain arsenic and other toxins

 

Small amounts of arsenic and other toxins found in the soil are getting into the ingredients used in top-selling baby foods, it has emerged.

Manufacturers insist the levels are so low they do not pose a health risk.

However scientists and food campaigners are calling for efforts to eliminate the chemicals from mass-produced products eaten by millions of youngsters.

| Mail Online

Arizona House passes law allowing guns on campuses

 

The Arizona House on Thursday approved a landmark bill allowing guns on campuses, making it only the second state in the nation to allow firearms to be carried at colleges and universities.

The Republican-led House voted 33 to 24 to allow firearms to be carried in the open or concealed in public rights of way, such as campus streets and roadways.  | Reuters

Take your place to build God's kingdom, Min. Farrakhan tells Black students

 

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan issued a challenge and delivered guidance to the next generation of Black leaders on the campus of Howard University here April 2.

The campus hosted a four-day conference bringing together leaders from several historically Black colleges and universities to discuss the direction of student activism in preparation to solve problems plaguing the Black community.

Minister Farrakhan's message to the students was titled “Channeling Our Intelligence and Creative Energy to Save Ourselves.”

Take your place to build God's kingdom, Min. Farrakhan tells Black students

Census: White Children a Minority in U.S. by 2023

Aw, geez, if Archie Bunker was alive, he'd be spinning in his grave.

That's just the sort of metaphor TV's famous bigot would mix if he read reports about how white children are going to be a minority in the United States by 2023.

They're already a minority in 10 states, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. - ParentDish

Also read:

• White children to be minority in US by 2023

Racial wealth gap with young children widening, report finds

'Diverging Pathways: How Wealth Shapes Opportunity for Children,' written by University of Michigan researcher Trina Shanks and released today (Thursday) by the Insight Center for Economic Development, found that the percentage of black households with no net worth or living in debt is on the rise.

In 2007, about 70 percent of Latino and black households with young children were poor and 40 percent had no financial assets—more than twice the respective rates for white households.  Read more...

Related Stories

• Family wealth may explain differences in test scores in school-age children
• New study finds racial wealth gap quadrupled since mid-1980s
• 4 in 10 US families lack money for essential household expenses when unemployed
• Study finds that rich retirees are the main losers from inflation
• Children of immigrants more apt than natives to live with both parents

Black homicides reach 'crisis' in Nashville

In Nashville if you are African-American, you are four to five times more likely to be murdered than if you are white. While the rate of white homicides has declined over the past several years, black homicides have increased, according to the latest data. | The Tennessean

Successful Schools May Help Keep Kids Out of Trouble

Students who go to schools that achieve better-than-expected academic results may be less likely to use drugs or alcohol, steal or fight, finds a new study.

University of Florida researchers looked at academic achievement scores at 61 inner-city middle schools in Chicago between 2002 and 2005. Seven schools did better than expected and the rates of drug and alcohol use and delinquency by students at those schools were as much as 25 percent lower compared to other schools.

The study was published in the March issue of the journal Prevention Science. - Yahoo! News

Spanking Outlawed in New Mexico: No Ifs, Ands or Butts

'Talking out of turn, that's a paddling,' a substitute teacher tells Lisa's third-grade class in an episode of 'The Simpsons.' 'Looking out the window, that's paddling. Staring at my sandals, that's a paddling. Paddling the school canoe, oh you better believe that's a paddling.'

You can't say those sorts of things in New Mexico anymore. Stare at old men's sandals and paddle the school canoe all you want, kids. The New Mexico Legislature has outlawed spanking in public schools. - ParentDish

Obesity Leveled Off in U.S., Except Among Boys

A recent CDC report may give Americans cause for cheer. It suggests that we have finally turned a corner in our fight against obesity, which has leveled off across most of the population -- except one group: 6- to 19-year-old boys.

Dr. Gautham Rao, clinical director of the Weight Management and Wellness Center at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he is also an associate professor at the School of Medicine, explained why obesity is still increasing among boys. He spoke with NAM health editor Viji Sundaram. - New America Media

Youth Entrepreneurs program gives students some serious info

According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, more than 40 percent of America’s youths are interested in starting a business. However, most lack the training to follow through, the study acknowledged.

Hands-on classroom training is part of the mission statement at Youth Entrepreneurs. The nonprofit program was founded 20 years ago in Wichita by the Charles G. Koch Foundation. - KansasCity.com

Babies Need Measles Vaccine Before Trips Abroad

Even though measles has been wiped out in the United States for more than a decade, Americans traveling abroad continue to bring the highly contagious virus back--and the government says such cases may be on the rise. During the first two months of this year alone, 13 people returning from an international trip developed measles, including seven young children ages 6 to 23 months. That number is comparable to the average number of cases seen each year between 2001 and 2010, according to a report published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. - Yahoo! News

Race and your child

In order to help these parents think clearly about the situation, I need to understand the context and roots of their concerns. Their concerns emerge from the reality of South Africa's history of apartheid. It was the age of legalised discrimination, separateness and a state ideology that constructed whiteness as superior and desirable.

These parents are experiencing the reality that our collective history of racism didn't evaporate in 1994. It lives on, not just around us, but in our conscious and unconscious attitudes, feelings and values. - Times LIVE

Parents Turning to Plastic Surgery to Stop Bully Taunts

'Children, long the victims of cruel nicknames like 'Dumbo' or 'Mickey Mouse,' are the most likely candidates for otoplasty (ear surgery), but this surgery can be performed at any age after the ears have reached full size, usually around 5 to 6 years of age,' reports the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 'Even if the ears are only mildly distorted, the condition can lead to self-consciousness and poor adaptation to school.' - ParentDish

Outstanding penmanship award goes to... the boy with no hands

He once wanted to know why he couldn't ask Santa Claus to give him arms and legs.

Now Nicholas Maxim has proved that he doesn't need either, by winning a national award for handwriting - despite not having hands.

The fifth-grader at Readfield Elementary School in Maine writes - in cursive, no less - by holding a pencil between his arms, which end just above where the elbow should be. | Mail Online

Two Men Charged With DJ Megatron Murder, Fans React

An arrest has been made in the murder case of Staten Island native and BET “106 & Park” DJ Corey 'Megatron' McGriff. Two men were charged yesterday (April 6) with the March 27 shooting and killing of DJ Megatron, who was laid to rest this past Tuesday (April 5). MTV

Teen pregnancy way down, but not for everyone

 

Teen pregnancy is down, way down in America, but teens in this country are still getting pregnant at rates that dwarf the rest of the developed world.

That's according to a new Centers for Disease Control report, which found teen birth rates dropped 37 percent over the last two decades and are now at a record low. But the agency says it's still not nearly good enough. Teen birth rates in America are up to nine times higher than many other developed countries. We find ourselves nestled between Bulgaria and Romania on the issue. - CBS News

Also read:

• The real reason for the decline in teen births

• CDC: U.S. Teen Birth Rate Fell to Record Low in 2009

• Health Buzz: Teen Birth Rate Hits Record Low

National Study Confirms Teen Drug Use Trending in Wrong Direction: Marijuana, Ecstasy...

 

62 Percent of Teens Who Reported Alcohol Use Had First Drink by Age 15

Following a decade of steady declines, a new national study released today by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation indicates that teen drug and alcohol use is headed in the wrong direction, with marked increases in teen use of marijuana and Ecstasy over the past three years. The 22nd annual Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife Foundation, affirms a disturbing trend that has emerged among American teens since 2008 and highlights that as underage drinking becomes more normalized among adolescents, parents feel unable to respond to the negative shifts in teen drug and alcohol use.

According to the three-year trend confirmed in this year's 2010 PATS data, there was a significant 67 percent increase in the number of teens who reported using Ecstasy in the past year (from 6 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2010). Similarly, past-year marijuana use among teens increased by a disturbing 22 percent (from 32 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2010).  PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Also read:

• Teen drug and alcohol abuse rising: Why?

• Teen substance abuse on rise over past 3 years: study

Clegg announces setting up of child poverty and social mobility commission

 

Nick Clegg has sought to ease fears that he is downgrading child poverty targets by announcing the establishment of a child poverty and social mobility commission – a measure charities feared had been shelved.

The commission, which will be set on a legal footing, will monitor the government and future governments in their attempts to increase social mobility in the UK and reduce child poverty.

| guardian.co.uk

Girl-On-Girl Video Violence A Troubling Teen Trend

your teen daughter aspires for a career in the limelight, the road to rock-star fame has gone viral, and there's a role for you, too: Goad her on as she stages a girl-on-girl fight and capture it on video.

Prosecutors across the country are seeing a dangerous trend of increased girl-on-girl violence posted on YouTube, and some fear that the cause may be rooted in reality TV shows like MTV's 'Teen Mom 2,' NBC's Kerry Sanders reports. - ParentDish

Thieves are stealing children's identities

 

Identity theft has saddled thousands of children with debt, sometimes for years before they ever discover their personal information has been stolen, a study says.

Within a database of 42,232 children that was compiled by an identity-protection business, 4,311 -- 10.2% -- had someone else using their Social Security numbers, according to "Child Identity Theft," a report by Richard Power, a distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon Cylab. - Computerworld

Milk of Magnesia Clears Acne

 

We first heard about this remedy three years ago when a mother reported success for her son's acne. A letter in the Archives of Dermatology (Jan. 1975) reported that nightly application of MoM reduced acne redness and inflammation.

We are sending you our Guide to Skin Care & Treatment with a range of acne treatments including both drug and non-drug approaches. - The People's Pharmacy®

Child-Only Insurance Vanishes, a Health Act Victim

 

Only months from their 65th birthdays and the switch from employer-offered health coverage to Medicare, Phillip and Diann Green of Forney realized they had a problem. After retirement, none of the state’s insurance companies will cover their 12-year-old granddaughter, Aria, whom they have raised since her infancy.

Insurers in Texas and across the nation — protesting a provision of the 2010 federal health care overhaul that prohibits pre-existing condition limitations for children under 19, have simply stopped offering new child-only policies. For children being raised by their grandparents, who are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid and have no employer-offered insurance or family plans to cover them, there are few options. - NYTimes.com

More U.S. teens using oral contraceptives, study says

 

More U.S. teenagers are using birth control pills, according to a new study by Thomson Reuters released on Thursday.

Eighteen percent of teenage women ages 13 to 18 filled prescriptions for oral contraceptives in 2009, a proportion that has steadily risen since 2002, the study found.

The number of commercially insured teens filling birth control prescriptions from 2002 to 2009 increased 50 percent, while prescriptions for those with Medicaid rose 29 percent. - Yahoo! News

FDA Mulls Safety of Artificial Food Coloring

 

Food dyes used in everything from candy to lunch meat may contribute to worsening hyperactivity in some kids, researchers told an FDA advisory panel on Wednesday.

The data are far from conclusive and scientists point out they don’t know how the possible effects might work. But the concerns have the FDA mulling new warnings on food packages to alert parents to the possible connection.

FDA Mulls Safety of Artificial Food Coloring

The Popular Food You Should Never, Ever Feed Your Baby: Soy Formula Linked To Fibroid Tumors

 

A study has linked soy formula given to babies with uterine fibroids in adults. Uterine fibroids are tumors of the uterus that can cause pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding, and fertility problems. Uterine fibroids are the leading cause of hysterectomy.

Soy Formula Linked To Fibroid Tumors

Vegetarians may be at lower diabetes, heart risk

A new study finds that a meat-free diet seems to lower a person's likelihood of having certain risk factors for diabetes or heart disease -- and therefore may lower the risk of one day developing those illnesses.

Researchers measured a suite of factors -- blood sugar, blood fats, blood pressure, waist size, and body mass - that when elevated add up to "metabolic syndrome," and found that vegetarians were lower than non-vegetarians on all counts except cholesterol. - Yahoo! News

Exercise preserves, builds heart muscle

Consistent lifelong exercise preserves heart muscle in the elderly to levels that match or even exceed that of healthy young sedentary people, a surprising finding that underscores the value of regular exercise training, according to a new study.

The first study to evaluate the effects of varying levels of lifelong exercise on heart mass was presented on Saturday at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.

| Reuters

Census spotlights India's 'missing girls'

 

The problem of India's "missing girls" has been put under a harsh spotlight by new census data showing the ratio of female to male children at its lowest level since independence in 1947.

According to the latest national headcount, there are now just 914 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of six, down from a ratio of 927 for every 1,000 a decade ago.

Yahoo! News

Exercise preserves, builds heart muscle

 

Consistent lifelong exercise preserves heart muscle in the elderly to levels that match or even exceed that of healthy young sedentary people, a surprising finding that underscores the value of regular exercise training, according to a new study.

- Yahoo! News

Fresh spinach too dangerous for children, says microbiologist

 

Charles Pavia, a microbiologist from the New York Institute of Technology, recently conducted a study on what it takes to kill dangerous pathogens from spinach. Presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Boston, the study claims that boiling spinach for 30 seconds destroys up to 93 percent of bacteria. When boiled for a minute, spinach becomes 98 percent bacteria-free, and at two minutes, 99 percent of bacteria is destroyed.

Fresh spinach too dangerous for children, says microbiologist

Vaccines: Get the Full Story

 

Here's some of what you'll find in this eye-opening report from the International Medical Council on Vaccination (www.VaccinationCouncil.org)

• A list of the many MDs, PhDs, NDs and other medical professionals who are signing onto this document.
• Why vaccines have NEVER been proven safe or effective.
• A list of some of the serious health side effects caused by vaccines.
• Why autism is associated with vaccines.
• The profit motivation behind the pharmaceutical industry's big vaccine push.
• A list of which institutions and organizations profit from your sickness.
• The shocking truth about what's IN vaccines (aborted fetal tissue, 59 different chemicals, DNA from diseased animals and more)
• An overview of some of the most dangerous vaccine ingredients
• The truth about conflicts of interest in the vaccine community and why doctors profit from vaccination policies
• Why vaccinated children have far worse health outcomes than unvaccinated children
• How to opt out of "mandatory" vaccines.
• Important advice for parents about how to protect the health of your children while saying NO to vaccines
• Online resources for learning more about the dangers of vaccines
• A list of recommended reading materials for further education

NaturalNews.com

New study supports link between diet and ADHD

 

The study enrolled 100 children, between the ages of 4 and 8, who were diagnosed with ADHD. Half of the children served as the control group, while the other half were placed on a restrictive diet for five weeks. This diet was limited to certain foods including rice, turkey, pears, vegetables and water. The purpose of such restriction was to eliminate potentially offending foods and to observe any change in symptoms. Among children who stayed on the diet, 78% responded favorably, experiencing a reduction in symptoms. During a second phase of the study, offending foods were reintroduced. Symptoms returned in those who had previously shown improvement.

New study supports link between diet and ADHD

British doctors illegally prescribe ADHD drugs to children as young as four

 

The overall rise in the number of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs being dispensed to children has been a major cause of concern among some medical groups, particularly as such drugs are now being prescribed to children under the age of six. In the UK, National Health Service (NHS) guidelines restrict the prescription of ADHD drugs to children under age six, but a recent report in the UK Guardian says that some doctors are unlawfully prescribing the drugs to children as young as four years old.

British doctors illegally prescribe ADHD drugs to children as young as four

Getting Pregnant, Curing Infertility, and Balancing Hormones

 

Removing Sources of Toxicity

The first thing to look at is the water supply.  Tap water contains dozens of pharmaceuticals, in addition to the chlorine and fluoride that is ironically added in the name of "health".  All of these can unbalance the hormones; and fluoride specifically attacks the thyroid, an organ that is responsible for the creation of hormones.  Fluoride is likely the biggest reason for the high rates of hypothyroidism throughout America today.  Purchasing spring water, or getting a high-quality water filter is essential for avoiding serious disease.  It really is.  There are plenty of water filters that are found in regular grocery stores, which simply remove the taste of chemicals, but not the chemicals themselves.  Reverse osmosis water filters may or may not remove fluoride; depending entirely upon their engineering.  Berkey water filters, with fluoride removal add-ons are the only models that we completely trust.  A shower filter is also important, because the chemicals and metals from the public water supply absorb through the skin, as well as the lungs, through the mist vapors.  Gases, such as chlorine, are thoroughly inhaled, which aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma.

Getting Pregnant, Curing Infertility, and Balancing Hormones

Job discrimination persists for black Americans

Cousins Dejah and Randi Campbell are already looking for a summer job. But they know they'll be fighting an uphill battle as Black Americans in a slow-to-recover US economy.

Unemployment around the country fell to a better-than-expected 8.8 percent in March as the economy added roughly 216,000 jobs, the Labor Department announced this week. But for African-Americans, Black unemployment actually increased in March, from 15.3 to 15.5 percent--this is in comparison to jobless white workers at 7.9 percent.

For some it's not quite a surprise.

PressTV

Many Moms Have Kids With Different Dads, U.S. Study Finds

 

More than one-quarter of women in the United States with two or more children have had children with different men, a new study shows.

University of Michigan demographer Cassandra Dorius analyzed data from nearly 4,000 women who were past their child-bearing years and had been interviewed more than 20 times over 27 years as part of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Many Moms Have Kids With Different Dads, U.S. Study Finds

Welsh Girls As Young as 13 Can Get Morning-After Pill - New rules allow pharmacies to dispense for free, without prescription

 

Wales began a controversial new policy today that allows pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill for free to girls as young as 13. The teens won't need a doctor's prescription or their parents' permission. It's part of a plan to cut down on teen pregnancy among Welsh girls, who have some of the highest rates in Europe, reports AP. The new rules allow women of all ages to get the pill without a prescription, but the part about giving it to teens under the age of consent (16) is drawing the most attention.

Welsh Girls As Young as 13 Can Get Morning-After Pill

As Americans Get More Self-Centered, So Do Lyrics

Today’s hit songs aren’t about “us”—they’re just about “me,” a study finds. Researchers examined Billboard’s top 10 songs in the US each year from 1980 to 2007, and found that “popular music lyrics now include more words related to a focus on the self,” says one. Using a word-counting program, they discovered that first-person plural pronouns like “we” and “us” were used less and less over the years; first-person singular pronouns like “I” and “me,” on the other hand, grew more common, Miller-McCune reports.

Meanwhile, the use of words tied to antisocial behavior or anger—“hate,” “kill”—increased, while words linked to social activity—“talk,” “share”—decreased. The same was true for words about positive emotions, like “love” and “nice.” It all echoes “recent evidence showing increases in US loneliness and psychopathology over time,” says a researcher. It’s also worrying, writes Tom Jacobs, when you consider recent research that says songs with antisocial messages can prompt “aggressive thoughts and hostile feelings, while those" about "peace and love can increase empathy."

Read more…

Hip hop playing role in global political dissent

 

An eye-opening presentation on the role of hip hop culture as a spark for global liberation culminated the final day of the McMaster Symposium and Collegiate Global Summit Thursday at Defiance College.

"Some people may be surprised to hear 'hip hop' and 'liberty' in the same title," said keynote speaker Amer Ahmed, associate director in the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs at the University of Michigan, "but hip hop is playing an integral role in the realities going on (in North Africa and the Middle East) as we speak."

Crescent

What Google's +1 means for Facebook

At Wednesday's announcement of Google's +1, the company was coy about comparing its experimental product to the longstanding Facebook Like button. But in the two companies' ongoing battle for ad dollars, +1 is a clear shot across Facebook's bow. Let's follow the money for a moment. Both companies get most of their revenue from advertising. They pitch their ad services based on their ability to serve highly targeted ads that get good results for brands and businesses. They are able to target ads based on the data they gather about users.  - CNN.com Related article:

• Google + 1: Forget the Social Stuff, Google!