For more than a century, the Canadian government pursued a policy of forcibly removing First Nations people from their homes and imprisoning them in largely church-run "residential schools" where violence, rape and other forms of abuse were rampant. The last residential school closed in 1986. Read the rest
Do you live in New York City? Do you like cookies? Are you into cookies so hard that you carry cash with you, just in case the opportunity to buy cookies arises while you're going about your day?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, read on.
The girls of Girl Scout troop 6,000 all have one thing in common: They all live in homeless shelters in New York City. Troop 6,000 came into being back in March of 2017 thanks to a partnership between the Girl Scouts of Greater New York and New York City's Department of Homeless Services. Currently, troop 6,000's membership includes kids from 15 different homeless shelters in the NYC area. This year, the girls of the troop are selling Girl Guide cookies for the first time:
From Eyewitness News 7 NY:
"The biggest impact that we see and when you talk to the girls you'll hear them say, is that they belong to something, they have a sisterhood within the other Girl Scouts," said Meredith Maskara of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York. "They talk to other girls who may be in their same situation who feel alone, and they feel like they have a stronger sense of community and belonging overall."
Buying any Girl Scout cookies, which are the crack cocaine of sugary treats, is a win. Buying them from troop 6,000? That's way more cool: not only will doing so help to grow the bonds of friendship and belonging in a group of disenfranchised children, the cash you fork over will also help those kids to take part in amazing experiences that may have been all but unattainable to them, otherwise. Read the rest
Raising Dion released a trailer and comic in 2015 (previously). Now Netflix has ordered 10 episodes about raising a 7-year-old son with superpowers. Read the rest
In this Atlantic video, organizational psychologist and dad of three Adam Grant shares why helicopter parenting isn't helping our kids in the long run (duh) and shares advice on raising more resilient kids. I think his advice is spot-on, even if you aren't a parent. It's a good reminder of how we all can weather life's setbacks and "bounce back" stronger.
Related: Late last year, Grant gave a TED Talk that asked the question, "Are you a Giver or a Taker?" that's really worth a watch. It inspired me to read his 2013 book, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, which validated my lifelong love of being a "giver." Read the rest
No one ever said parenthood was easy and this video proves that point, in a really bizarre way. It feels a little bit like an episode of Jackass but with small children calling the shots.
Here's the premise: Three brave parents agreed to let their kids design tattoos for them. They also agreed to have that design, no matter what it was, immediately inked on their body.
And they agreed to have the whole thing captured on camera, of course.
It's a good watch.
(Seriously tho, "Mr. Hot Dog" is pretty rad. He's got a Mr. Peanut vibe with that top hat and cane.)
Previously: Some brutally honest kids share their family secrets with this illustrator Read the rest
Julia, the muppet with autism, will join the Sesame Street TV show in April. She appeared last night on 60 minutes during an interview segment with Sesame Street writer Christine Ferraro. From NPR:
"The character Julia, she has wonderful drawing skills. She's like a little budding artist," said Rose Jochum, director of internal initiatives at the Autism Society of America, which characterizes itself as the nation's oldest advocacy group for people with the disorder. "You know — autism — it brings wonderful gifts..."
"It's not like there is a typical example of an autistic child, but we do believe that [with] Julia, we worked so carefully to make sure that she had certain characteristics that would allow children to identify with her," (Sesame Workshop executive vice president Sherrie) Westin said. "It's what Sesame does best, you know: Reaching children, looking at these things through their lens and building a greater sort of sense of commonality."
Here's the 60 Minutes segment script.
And more about puppet designer Rollie Krewson.
Sesame Street producers hope Julia’s first episode will help the audience understand when a child with autism doesn’t react as they expect. pic.twitter.com/DJCFdksPIk
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 20, 2017
I remember watching Romper Room religiously, perhaps that is what happened.
Wasn't it awesome we got morality lessons from a surreal bumble bee with a 420 friendly name? I think I liked Mr. Don't Bee better.
Romper Room may also explain my hatred of mirrors. Read the rest
Five-year-old Edith Fuller correctly spelled jnana to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. She's the youngest competitor in the bee's history. Read the rest
Brock and Bowdy were doing what toddlers do: being stupid. In the process of trying to climb their dresser via the drawers, they tipped it over, pinning Brock. Luckily Bowdy was able to free his twin brother, but these incidents are common. Ikea recently recalled several dressers for the same problem that led to fatalities. If you know or care for seniors, you need to senior-proof their living spaces, too. Read the rest
Sorry, apparently this shit is fake because 2016. Read the rest
“Almost one in seven of the world’s children, 300 million, live in areas with the most toxic levels of outdoor air pollution – six or more times higher than international guidelines” UNICEF said today, in releasing a new report on how air pollution around the world affects our most vulnerable. Read the rest
Lylah, who is five, can now begin training for "American Ninja Warrior" in earnest, thanks to the DIY ingenuity of her most excellent dad. Read the rest
You know what America needs right now? A little perspective.
For that, I recommend you head to your local IMAX theater and see Terrence Malick’s “Voyage of Time: The Imax Experience.” It's a psychedelic meditation on the history of the cosmos that's very kid-friendly, and a wonderful reminder of the big, big picture. Read the rest
“For your mild amusement, I renamed all my Pokemon whatever my 2 year old called them,” says IMGUR user June1920. Sort of jealous they caught a Claws Parrot. Read the rest
For two years, Vinny Desautels grew out his hair to donate to children with cancer who have lost their hair during treatment. The 7 year old Roseville, California boy was recently diagnosed with an unknown form of metastatic cancer, according to reports from his family and in local news. Read the rest
An assistant principal at a South Carolina high school is under investigation after police say the man restrained a 15-year-old student in a chokehold, and kept her in a chokehold until she passed out. The Kingstree, SC police department is reported to be seeking assault and battery charges against the man. Read the rest
[Beverly Cleary is 100 years old today. Here's an entry I posted in 2006 about an NPR interview with the great children's book author.--Mark]
I'm over a month behind in listening to podcasts, so I just got around to listening to this NPR interview with Beverly Cleary. She just turned 90, and her mental acuity is better than most people half her age. Read the rest
