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NEWS
MARCH 2003 |
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- The "digital divide" between rich and poor children in the United States is rapidly shrinking as youngsters of all income levels and ethnic groups increasingly use the Internet, a report released Wednesday said. (United States)
- Talking to Children About the War. Tell the truth. As much as possible, be honest with your child when providing information about war. Children will usually know, or eventually find out, if you're "making things up", and it can affect their ability to trust you or your reassurances in the future. (Canada)
- Red Cross sees good results. The International Federation of Red Cross has taken the HIV/AIDS fight to youth in 11 countries with_impressive results. Now they have mounted a similar programme here and are expecting results that are just as impressive. (Barbados)
- Threat to culture. According to Prime Minister Owen Arthur, some of the island's youth, influenced by technology and foreign television programming, are already caught between two different worlds. (Barbados)
- Special education may get overhaul. Millions of children in special education would face earlier help, tougher academic standards and overhauled screening to determine if they are truly disabled under a proposed retooling of the program. (United States)
- Helping to kick crime off the streets. Playing football helped to keep me off the streets and on the straight and narrow, so when Greater Manchester Police asked me to endorse an initiative aimed at the city's youngsters I had no hesitation in saying yes. (Bermuda)
- Parents, coaches should encourage children to continue in sports. Twenty million children register each year for youth sports including baseball, football, soccer and hockey. By the time they turn 13, seventy percent of these children quit and never play again. The number one reason for quitting - it's not fun anymore. (United States)
- Provinces to spend $900 million from feds on regulated day care over 5 years. Provincial and territorial governments agreed Thursday to spend federal cash only on regulated child care facilities - a condition tied to getting $900 million announced last month for a national child-care program. (Canada)
- Children on heightened alert for stress. Constant terror warnings and the outbreak of war with Iraq after a long buildup have put many American children on "high alert" for stress, mental health experts say. "Teachers and school psychologists are seeing higher anxiety levels in kids over the last few months," (United States)
- Parents should assume responsibility for their children, says minister. It is unfortunate that there is a need for my ministry since all parents should willingly assume responsibility for the child/children they bring into the world," said the Hon. Melanie Griffin, Minister of Social Services and Community Development. (Bahamas)
- Interactive Internet Safety Software Protecting Children From Online Sexual Solicitation Available Nationwide. Approximately one in five children were sexually solicited or approached over the Internet in 1999. In response to this disturbing statistic, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (B&GCA) have delivered the NetSmartz Workshop software to all 3,100 Boys & Girls.(United States)
- Study: Many teens tried as adults can't understand proceedings. Every state allows children under 16 to be tried as adults, but new research indicates many cannot understand their situations well enough to aid their defense. (United States)
- STUDENTS with cell phones in schools will soon find themselves disconnected. That's because teachers will be confiscating the phones and returning them only to parents, according to the new mandate from the Ministry of Education (Barbados)
- Addicted mothers falling through the crack. A call went out last night for families to report drug-addicted mothers to the Ministry of Health so they can be placed in the system and given help. During the Health and Family Services budget debate in the House of Assembly last night, Government backbench MP Ashfield DeVent said too many addicted women were slipping through the cracks unnoticed. (Barbados)
- Free Health Care for Children in Belize City. A team of ten medical practitioners is offering free health care for children in Belize City. The medical team offers free health, dental care, pediatric, visual check-ups and even free pharmaceuticals for those in need. (Belize)
- Children Road Safety Project launched. A CHILDREN Road Safety Project has been launched by the Caribbean District of Optimist International, aimed at making the roads safer for children in 50 towns across the island. (Jamaica)