Our curated list of kid-related news for June 17, 2016.
- By
- Parker Barry
- 1. Super Dad Sunday. Father’s Day is a great day for kids to celebrate the caring men in their lives. To get into the Dad’s Day mood, watch these sweet messages from kids of NFL players; check out Forbes’ gorgeous gifts to get dad playing and building; and listen Wednesday’s broadcast of The Diane Rehm Show about the inspiring movement to get all fathers — adoptive, biological, same-sex, military, single, all dads — more paternity leave.
- 2. When tragedy is in the news, what’s a parent to do? Orlando was in the news recently for some tragic incidents, including one at the hands of a gunman and one the jaws of an alligator. Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, founder and president of The Child Mind Institute, advises parents on Time.com how to help kids cope with violence in the news: “Parents and other caregivers need to get to children with facts they can understand, and a chance to discuss them, before they are overwhelmed by media accounts or the lurid fantasies of their peers. You want to be able to set the emotional tone,” which, according to Dr. Koplewicz, should be one of calm. (How we can help our kids deal with violence)
3. Kids need some summer boredom. Has your kid complained about being bored yet this summer? If so, good. There’s something to be said for being bored, according to an article this week on the global news site Quartz: “Psychologists and child development experts suggest that over-scheduling children during the summer is unnecessary and could ultimately keep kids from from discovering what truly interests them.” This is not a new idea. The article quotes psychoanalyst Adam Phillips who, in 1993, wrote: “It is one of the most oppressive demands of adults that the child should be interested, rather than take time to find what interests him. Boredom is integral to the process of taking one’s time.” (Psychologists recommend children be bored in the summer)
- 4. Temporary tattoos = permanent smiles. Artist Benjamin Lloyd is using his talents to bring smiles to the faces — and designs to the arms, shoulders and necks — of sick kids. He visits hospitals and paints temporary tattoos on the kids, with stunning results. “The art is temporary, but they will speak of it forever,” Lloyd said, in a USA TODY article posted Thursday, complete with photo montage. (Artist gives kids realistic-looking temporary tattoos for smiles)
- 5. Kids can’t skimp on sleep. New sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine require kids to get more sleep than most are getting these busy days, according to Reuters Health. The article quotes Dr. Stuart Quan, a coauthor of the new guidelines: “At least 25 percent of 12-year-olds get less than the recommended nine hours of sleep per night and there is increasing evidence that this impacts learning and memory.” The new recommendations suggest infants 4 months to 1 year old get a whopping 12 to16 hours of sleep per day (including naps), with the overall amount of necessary sleep decreasing an hour or two every few years until, by age 13 to 18, teens should sleep eight to 10 hours per night. (Too little sleep linked to health problems in children, teens)
