Expressing Opinions

A headline in today’s Telegraph is: Modern life leads to more depression among children. What I find interesting is:

Since children’s brains are still developing, they cannot adjust – as full-grown adults can – to the effects of ever more rapid technological and cultural change. They still need what developing human beings have always needed, including real food (as opposed to processed “junk”), real play (as opposed to sedentary, screen-based entertainment), first-hand experience of the world they live in and regular interaction with the real-life significant adults in their lives.

How many times have you thought children are being growing up too fast, have high expectations thrust upon them, and are not permitted to be just kids?

More interesting in the article is:

They are pushed by market forces to act and dress like mini-adults and exposed via the electronic media to material which would have been considered unsuitable for children even in the very recent past.

What I find alarming is these children are pushed by “market forces.” It sounds like children are being treated as a commodity instead of little human beings. Parents should pay attention and stop allowing big business to manipulate and control their child’s development.

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I went with my son and his wife to their first ultrasound for their first child. They were very excited and I had the opportunity to video part of it. Here is clip from the video where you can hear the heart beat. Needless to say my son and daughter inlaw where thrilled to hear their daughter’s beating heart.

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Here is a much better ultrasound image of my grand daughter Claire. Due date is September 8th. I am not old enough to be a grandparent. My posting Early Morning Call explains my position on this, but with that said I am sure I will have fun and being a single guy I’m sure I will enjoy the extra attention I will get when I take her out. I am also sure she will be and for a lack of better term, a “chick magnet” for me.

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Here is the first ultrasound photo of Claire and she’s sucking her thumb. I will post a better photo later today, but this is the first one e-mailed to me.

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If you listen to or read the advertisements in the media, the advertisers would like you to believe you need to spend money on mother’s day. Today I heard on the radio a jewelry store stating I should express my love with diamond ear rings which only cost $195. I guess the only way to show my mother love is to buy her something. WRONG!!!

Fortunately my parents brought me up to show love and appreciation all during the year and not just on one day. They also instilled upon the value of relationships and the appreciation which goes along with them each and everyday, not just one day a year.

Like many holidays Mother’s Day seems to be more about consumerism and less about the true meaning of the day. Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

Health Canada is expected to rate the chemical bisphenol A as “dangerous.” This chemical is found not only found in food containers and water bottles, but it is also found in baby bottles, sippy cups, and used in baby formula containers.

So what is the U.S going to do about it? So far I haven’t heard a word about a recall or any warnings from the FDA. Don’t expect any action from corrupt Bush administration. If they took action it may hurt the corporate profits and they wouldn’t want to hurt the rich. In a United Press International report,”U.S. agency concerned over baby bottle BPA” they state:

“The National Toxicology Program’s decision corrects the scientific record. It reflects a significant body of science showing that Bisphenol A, or BPA, may play a larger role than previously thought in a host of common health problems, including prostate cancer, breast cancer and early puberty,” Dr. Anila Jacob of the Environmental Working Group said in a statement.

How many items do you have which have this chemical in it? How much have you and your family been exposed?

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Do you have a teenage daughter or know someone who does? The BBC News is running a story about STD’s and teenage American girls.

This story opens by stating:

One in four teenage girls in the United States has a sexually-transmitted disease, a study has indicated.

How many of you are saying to yourselves, “That is not my little girl.” This is one of the BBC News’ most emailed and read articles in the U.S. today, so I bet many of you are thinking about it.

Here is a link to the BBC story STDs rife among US teenage girls. You can also go to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tracking the Hidden Epidemic, which details sexually transmitted diseases by age, race, and region in the United States.

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The New York Times and Washington Post are running news stories on obese children and the time they spend on the computer and watching television. Researchers studied overweight children who watched TV or played computer games for at least 14 hours a week. They found 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 years old are overweight, a 45 percent increase in one decade. Don’t blame kids for being fat or their lifestyle choices. If you are looking for a place to find cause you need not look any further than the parents.

On of the statements in the New York Times’ article struck a sour note with me:

“Using technology to modify television viewing eliminates parental vigilance needed to enforce family rules and reduces the disciplinary action needed if a child exceeds his or her sedentary behavior limits,” the authors concluded.

What ever happened to a parent being a parent and making the mature choices? Is it too hard or too time consuming for today’s self centered parent to put their children first instead of themselves?

How can you expect children to not be fat when their parents are obese TV remote control wielding couch potatoes. This study only leaves me with questions. Why don’t we hear about the doctors studying the parents behavior in these studies of obese children? Have you ever noticed if the parents are obese the majority of the time the children are obese? Are these parents using the television and computer as baby sitting devices? I think if you want healthy children you need to have responsible parents living healthy lifestyles and by doing so the parents are healthy role models for their children.

There is always someone or something to blame. Don’t blame technology for obesity. Let’s try being accountable. Hold the parent responsible for providing the poor food choices, poor living environment (too much TV and computer time), and failing to live an active healthy lifestyle as a role model for children to follow. Parents need to get of their fat asses and take responsibility for the weight issues they are putting on their children. Maybe then America’s waistline will shrink.

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With all of the toy recalls lately, it makes you wonder what is safe for your child? Today I came across the child seat ease of use ratings site from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). I know some of those child seats are a pain in the posterior to use and this site was useful, easy to navigate, and actually provided quality information. How did a government site pull that off? WOW!

The page has a short 3 minute video explaining how the rating system works with an actual comparison between child safety seats. If you scroll down the page to Search Ease-of-Use Ratings and click on the type of child seat you are going to purchase, the page will list child safety seats and offer a rating of one to five stars for a variety of features on various brands. Click on 2008 Car Seat Ease-of-Use Ratings to learn more.

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