For The Children

The Minimum Wage Is Cruelest To Those Who Can’t Find A Job

"U.S. youth unemployment now stands at 16 percent for 16–24 year olds, 23 percent for teens, and a shocking 40 percent for black teens. Firms that are already paying more than the federal minimum wage do so because their workers are producing more than $7.25 per hour. Moreover, if workers produce at least $12 per hour, then an increase in the minimum to $10.10 would not affect their job status—but the higher minimum wage rate could drive smaller rivals out of business or prevent new firms from entering. Hence, one should be skeptical of businesses that favor raising the minimum wage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Minimum Wage Is Cruelest To Those Who Can’t Find A Job

Chinese man kills two ‘one-child’ policy officials

"A knife-wielding man stormed an office enforcing China’s one-child policy on Tuesday, stabbing two officials to death and injuring four people after a row over his offspring, state media said. Bureau staff had earlier refused to give the man, surnamed He, the papers he needed to obtain a residency permit for his fourth child, the official Xinhua news agency said, as he had not paid a 'social compensation fee' for having it in violation of the family planning policy. Outrage spread online last year after a woman who had been forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy was pictured alongside the bloody foetus." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese man kills two ‘one-child’ policy officials

Cop Who Shot and Killed Unarmed 14-year-old Hiding in Woodshed May Have Used Excessive Force

"A police officer for a Texas school district may have used excessive force in fatally shooting a teenager who fled the scene of a fistfight, a federal judge ruled. 'In violation of NISD police department procedures, Alvarado drew his weapon immediately after exiting the patrol car,' the complaint states. 'With his gun drawn, he rushed through the gate and into the back yard. Within seconds from arriving at the residence, Alvarado shot and killed the unarmed boy hiding in the shed.' The school district attracted national attention last year when a father challenged its program for tracking students with chip-embedded identification badges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop Who Shot and Killed Unarmed 14-year-old Hiding in Woodshed May Have Used Excessive Force

Austrian children’s home charged with ‘decades’ of physical and mental abuse

"Children were physically and mentally abused for decades at a former Austrian children’s home and city authorities knew about it but did nothing, a commission charged with investigating the allegations said Wednesday. The violence went beyond the severe education techniques of the time and clearly violated regulations on children’s homes which forbid beatings, Helige said, confirming that rapes also took place. Unusually, all files from the home were destroyed after its closure so the report relied heavily on interviews with some 220 people, including former staff and children from the Wilhelminenberg home." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustrian children’s home charged with ‘decades’ of physical and mental abuse

Doctors caught on video using household drills in Moldovan state-run children’s hospital

"Doctors at a Moldovan state-run hospital used household tools, including an electric drill and pliers, to perform surgery in a video leaked to local press and published on the Internet, prompting outrage among the public and government officials. Prime Minister Iurie Leance ordered Healthcare Minister Andrei Usatii on the same day to investigate the incident. Usatii, in turn, told local television that while the use of household tools was allowed in certain circumstances, the hospital in question had adequate specialized equipment. Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 4 million, is one of the poorest nations in Europe with an average monthly wage of about $300." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoctors caught on video using household drills in Moldovan state-run children’s hospital

Television set injuries on the rise in the U.S.

"Television sets injure one child every 30 minutes in America, and the rate of emergency room visits is increasing with the popularity of flat-screen TVs, according to a new study. Just over half (52 percent) of all TV injuries for those under 18 from 1990 to 2011 were due to the equipment falling and hitting the patient, said the study in the journal Pediatrics. The number of falling TV injuries was 5,455 in 1990, but that more than doubled to 12,300 in 2011, the study said. The number of US households with multiple TVs has more than doubled since 1990. Previous research has found that 215 children died from a falling TV injury from 2000 to 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTelevision set injuries on the rise in the U.S.

Britain considers banning Internet pornography over ‘corroding’ influence on children

"Every household in Britain connected to the internet will be obliged to declare whether they want to maintain access to online pornography, David Cameron will announce on Monday. In the most dramatic step by the government to crack down on the 'corroding' influence of pornography on childhood, the prime minister will say that all internet users will be contacted by their service providers and given an 'unavoidable choice' on whether to use filters. The changes will be introduced by the end of next year. All police forces will work with a single secure database of illegal images of children to help 'close the net on paedophiles'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain considers banning Internet pornography over ‘corroding’ influence on children

‘Crack baby’ study ends with unexpected but clear result

"A social worker on TV predicted that a crack baby would grow up to 'have an IQ of perhaps 50.' A print article quoted a psychologist as saying 'crack was interfering with the central core of what it is to be human,' and yet another article predicted that crack babies were 'doomed to a life of uncertain suffering, of probable deviance, of permanent inferiority.' But the researchers consistently found no significant differences between the cocaine-exposed children and the controls. Drug use did not differ between the exposed and nonexposed participants as young adults." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Crack baby’ study ends with unexpected but clear result

Medical Marijuana for Kids Could Pit Parents Against Pediatricians

"Hope resident Jennie Stormes advocated for the change in the law on behalf of Jackson Stormes, a 14 year old who has used marijuana to reduce the symptoms of Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. She said the substance has reduced the intensity and duration of her son’s seizures, after years of unsuccessful approaches such as brain surgery. 'The additional doctor appointments for a child who has failed so many medications, brain surgery, and other treatments are cruel and the cost is burdensome for a single mother who is working more than one job without any child support,' said Stormes, a pediatric nurse." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedical Marijuana for Kids Could Pit Parents Against Pediatricians

Fearful Indian schoolchildren refuse free school meals after 22 die, dozens sickened

"India’s state governments run the world’s largest school feeding programme involving 120 million children. Bihar is one of India’s most populated and poorest states. Educators see the scheme as a way to increase school attendance, in a country where almost half of all young children are undernourished. But children often suffer from food poisoning due to poor hygiene in kitchens and occasionally sub-standard food. Authorities have instructed all teachers and cooks in the state to first taste the free lunch before serving to the children. 'We will have to make parents believe that mid-day meals provide nutrition and are not meant to kill students,' said Lakshmanan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFearful Indian schoolchildren refuse free school meals after 22 die, dozens sickened