November 2018

Children who suffer abuse are more likely to age faster, while those who endure food insecurity or neglect may develop more slowly, according to new research led by the University of Washington. Violence, psychological or emotional abuse, deprivation and neglect — adverse childhood experiences — can affect both epigenetic, or cellular, aging and biological development, the study finds. The new study links violence exposure in childhood with accelerated aging, and demonstrates that different...

Climbing the shallow gray stone steps leading to the borderlands of justice in Las Cruces, New Mexico , you see something in the arid morning sun gleaming between the glass. It looks like a miniature Washington Monument on the first landing of the 10th district federal courthouse. Closer inspection reveals it represents a border crossing marker, half white Italian marble and half Mexican honey onyx, the union of two places where cultures flow as one not far from the Rio Grande. Up above on...

GLASGOW, Scotland — Jonathan has scars from his former life. Jagged scars on his neck and the back of his head. He has a history of drug abuse and assault. Some of the punches he threw landed on police officers. But today his scars are partly covered by a bright pink shirt and black apron. He leans across a gleaming counter to hand over a chicken wrap and fries. “Sea salt or chili salt?” he asks a customer, with an affable grin. Jonathan, 28, works at Street and Arrow, a cafe in a 31-foot...

SUCCESS! RESULTS! Here's a testimonial from a preschool teacher who reinforces the Superkid Power skills I teach to a classroom of 3 and 4 year olds. "Two very active little boys were playing in the dramatic play area. Both saw a police officer uniform that they wanted to wear. We have been working on social dialogue throughout the month so one little boy responded with "Can I have it when you are done?" The other little boy responded with "Yes." Thinking that he was able to play with it...

Cissy's note: This is a great podcast for parents, educators, and community organizers and change makers. It is an interview with @Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz interviewed by Danny Bowers "Sunshine" of Better Leaders Better Schools . Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz says things like, " We all need each other. Everyone here is important," and " The community is who we are," but they aren't inclusive-sounding platitudes. She is a tireless optimist but also understands, personally and professionally, how...

The good news about spanking is that parents today are less likely to do it to their children than parents in the past. The bad news is that parents today still spank their kids—a lot. “Some estimates are that by the time a child reaches the fifth grade [in the United States], 80 percent of children have been spanked,” says George Holden, a professor of psychology at Southern Methodist University who studies parenting and corporal punishment. Spanking is also widespread worldwide . Perhaps...

Our cultural norm of relatives and kin stepping in to help struggling families is ingrained in our history and tradition. The U.S. Supreme Court has conferred constitutional protections on the sanctity of the extended family [ See Moore v. City of East Cleveland, 1977 ]. Federal law encourages states to “consider giving preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining placement for a child.” Placements with relatives and kin provide children with greater...

TOKYO — Suicides by young people in Japan rose to their highest level in three decades in 2017, according to new figures released by the government. Japan has a persistent problem with suicides, although the number has been declining over all. But child suicides have risen recently, with experts pointing to school pressures and bullying as likely triggers. Last year 250 children in elementary, middle and high schools committed suicide, the highest number since 1986, according to data...

Having a baby in the United States can be dangerous. American women are more likely than women in any other developed country to die during childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications. And while other countries' maternal death rates have gone down, U.S. rates have risen since 2000 , a fact that has left both doctors and expectant mothers concerned about the state of maternity care in this country. But many of these problems could be prevented if hospitals would standardize the way...

A Jew, Muslim and Christian got together in 2014, nearly paralyzed by the horror of the war in Syria. “We cannot keep silent about this,” was the consensus. The result is the first-ever AAP policy statement and technical report on children and armed conflict. More than one in 10 children are affected by armed conflict. The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes now stands at 68.5 million, including more than 25 million refugees. Half of refugees are children, and most of them...

On Wednesday, October 24th, 2018, a white man who tried and failed to unleash his violent mission on a black church, fatally killed the next black people of convenience, Vickie Lee Jones, 67, and Maurice E. Stallard, 69, in a Jeffersontown, Kentucky Kroger. Today, I am thinking of the families and loved ones of Stallard and Jones, who the media reports, along with their grief, their anger, their lack of true recourse, have taken on the heavy work of forgiveness. *** June 17, 2015, two hours...

In the week before the mid-term elections, a slick political flyer arrived in my mailbox from the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety . The front shows an image of a manila folder designed to look like a police file. In red and black letters it reads, "Before someone buys a gun, shouldn't we check their background?" The folder reads, "Criminal Record," and, under the tab, we can see the words "mental health evaluation" peeking out. On the inside, the document endorses the local...