Archive for the ‘Child & Family Debates’ Category
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »
The education of Tim Hudak on full-day K
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
Aug 24 2011
Hudak had reflexively opposed full-day K when Premier Dalton McGuinty acted on the recommendation of his early-learning adviser, Charles Pascal… He refused to commit to any future rollout. It wasn’t just a matter of money — $1.4 billion a year by 2014 — but ideology and politics. Instead, Hudak held out a classic Tory alternative: putting cash in parents’ hands… A PC survey asked voters about scrapping full-day K to “provide parents with direct financial support to allow them to choose the child-care option that works best for them.” The answer came back that Ontarians actually liked full-day K.
Tags: budget, child care, ideology, standard of living, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
The right balance: How your level of control affects your child’s level of anxiety
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
Aug 18, 2011
A mantra of modern mothering has it that kids should be independent and self-sufficient, and that’s all to the good. But unless that goal takes into account the personality and self-control level of the child, an unforeseen result could be increased anxiety and depression… Children with low levels of so-called effortful control of their feelings and actions who did not get the direction they needed from mothers exhibited twice as much depression and anxiety… Kids who are over-controlled when they are already good at independently managing their emotions and behaviour also showed symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Tags: child care, disabilities, mental Health, women, youth
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
A healthy choice: funding in-vitro fertilization
Monday, August 15th, 2011
Aug 14 2011
This is why the Quebec government’s decision to fund in-vitro fertilization for women having trouble conceiving was wise. It not only acknowledged a deep human need, it took a stand for infant health… Families without free medical care frantically try for multiple embryos, hoping to improve their odds. But twins and triplets “are 17 times more likely to be premature and often require neonatal treatment and special care throughout their lives, taxing the health care system,”
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, privatization, rights, women
Posted in Child & Family Debates | 1 Comment »
Crime rate fell again in 2010, at lowest level since 1973: StatsCan
Saturday, July 30th, 2011
07/21/2011
Canada’s crime rate fell last year to its lowest level in nearly four decades — a statistic opposition MPs claim as proof the governing Conservatives need not spend billions on new jails… So what’s behind the drop? The experts point the finger at shifting demographics. Their theory goes like this: the number of young people in this country is shrinking. Younger people tend to commit more crimes than older people. So if there are fewer younger people, it follows there will also be less crime… The crime severity index is at its lowest point since 1998, the first year for which such data are available.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Ontario’s scandalous non-care for the elderly
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Jul 27 2011
On paper, Ontario’s system for taking care of old people looks superb. The law sets out what appear to be strict standards for the province’s more than 400 long-term care homes that serve the elderly. There is even a bill of rights for residents of these nursing and old-age homes. But a story last week in the Star underlines how very fragile these standards can be… in practice, it’s usually the nursing homes themselves that decide what to do when a resident appears sick or injured.
Tags: budget, disabilities, Health, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
More prisons are OK, but why is the confusing part
Monday, July 25th, 2011
July 23, 2011
…if the Conservatives want to spend $4 billion to $10 billion building new prisons and making our laws tougher — at a time when health care, education, infrastructure and other services are screaming for more funding — this government needs to make a more convincing argument. Actually, it doesn’t need to — due to its majority in Parliament. Harper and company should, however. The get-tough-on-crime laws and policy will be the first major legislation in this government’s term of office. Canadians deserve better reasons why it’s needed.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Tough guys
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
July 19, 2011
The Conservative government suggests its crime bill will be “tougher on youthful offenders.” It’s hard to imagine how anyone could make things tougher for the young men I’ve spoken with. More than half have had contact with the Children’s Aid Society. Nearly one-third have been removed from their families and/or been made a ward of the court. Most have substance abuse problems or mental health issues. Many come from a background of poverty and violent neighbourhoods… a sentence of custody… should be reserved for the most serious of crimes and serious of offenders.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology, mental Health, youth
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Police chiefs urge province to tackle mental health
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
Jun 26 2011
The provincial government should boost mental health services because a growing number of people with those problems are getting into trouble with the law, Ontario’s police chiefs say… “We are spending a lot of time and resources dealing with mental health issues,”… “This goes way back to the Mike Harris (Conservative) government, which started making cuts in social support. And guess who got to take a lot of those responsibilities?”… dealing with mental health… should be about addressing people’s needs at the front end so they don’t get into the justice system.”
Tags: budget, crime prevention, ideology, mental Health
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Playing games for social change
Monday, June 27th, 2011
June 27, 2011
… Evoke, an online game developed by the World Bank Institute… calls on players to become agents of social change. Using the game’s “superpowers,” such as collaboration, resourcefulness and local insight, they invent solutions to humanity’s greatest threats, then share ideas in blog and video posts. The most innovative solutions received seed money, scholarships or mentorships to turn fledgling ideas into functioning social enterprises. [It] is proving that games can engage players in alternate worlds while promoting skills that translate to real life.
Tags: globalization, participation, poverty, standard of living, youth
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Pre-schoolers prefer same-ethnicity playmates: study
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Jun 21, 2011
The Montreal study attributes the rift between the Asian-Canadian and French Canadian children to nothing more than cultural awkwardness. Rather than being driven apart by animosity, the two groups are simply baffled by one another… the Asian-Canadians and French-Canadians ultimately learned to overcome their differences and play together… “Each was able to import the culture of the other,” says Ms. Girouard. “Children, regardless of their ethnicity, want to play together and understand each other.”
Tags: multiculturalism, participation
Posted in Child & Family Debates | No Comments »
Recent Comments