children

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Imagine That: Lennon's Back in TV Ad

Yoko Ono approves spot for One Laptop per Child

(Newser) - John Lennon is starring in a new television commercial for charity 28 years after his death, the Telegraph reports. Thanks to digital technology, the Beatles legend's voice can be heard urging Americans to purchase low-cost computers for the world’s poorest children in the ad for One Laptop per Child....

Pope Calls for Peace in Christmas Speech

Middle East, Africa conflicts must be resolved: Benedict

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI passionately called for peace in the Holy Land during his annual Christmas message, delivered from the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica. “The horizon seems once again bleak for Israelis and Palestinians,” he said, praying for hope against war, terrorism, and injustice. He also appealed...

Hey, Gen-Xers, Housing Mess Is Your Fault

They borrowed too much to avoid fractured family of their youth

(Newser) - Stung by the divorces and TV dinners of their youth, Gen-Xers spent whatever it took to make a happy home for themselves and their kids—even when they couldn't afford it, writes Susan Gregory Thomas in Babble. OK, that may be "harsh and exaggerated," she notes. But from...

Critics Dump on Potty-Training Baby Dolls

(Newser) - This year's hot toy is as chatty as Tickle Me Elmo but much, much more realistic. Little girls are crazy for new baby dolls that eat and excrete, but psychologists and some parents aren't thrilled with Hasbro's Baby Alive Learns to Potty and Mattel's Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Gotta...

The Kids Are All Right: Let's Drop the 'Santa Debate'

Parents sharply divided on whether to pretend for sake of kids

(Newser) - As if shopping for the last Malibu Barbie weren’t hard enough, Christmas is testing parents' psyches in more insidious ways, Carl Honoré writes in the Washington Post. “The Great Santa Debate,” about whether to keep up the St. Nick myth for children, “feeds into a broader...

Couples Rattled by Recession Delay Kids

Babyies too expensive in shrinking economy

(Newser) - Baby booms and busts have long been reliable economic indicators, so it's no surprise that couples facing layoffs and a tough housing market are holding off on pregnancies. Pricey fertility clinics are the first to feel couples' hesitation to reproduce. The magnitude of the economic affect on the American population...

No Kidding: Teasing Is Good for Us


 No Kidding: 
 Teasing Is 
 Good for Us 

ANALYSIS

No Kidding: Teasing Is Good for Us

More than just goofing, ribbing regulates relationships

(Newser) - A little teasing actually helps us all get along, Dacher Keltner argues in the New York Times Magazine. From the schoolyard to the NBA hardwood, America has come to oppose teasing, mostly because we too often confuse good-natured ribbing with bullying. “In rejecting teasing,” Keltner writes, “we...

Poverty May Be a Brain Drain
Poverty May Be a Brain Drain

Poverty May Be a Brain Drain

Low-income kids respond less to visual data; researchers point to talk at home

(Newser) - Children from poor families absorb information less effectively than their wealthier peers, the BBC reports. Using brain scans, scientists measured the cerebral activity of 9- and 10-year-olds after briefly showing them images. “The low socioeconomic kids were not detecting or processing the visual stimuli as well,” said one...

Empty Nesters Fly High
 Empty Nesters 
 Fly High 

Empty Nesters Fly High

(Newser) - With their children grown and gone, couples find their love lives more satisfying, new research reveals. Some of the 123 women in a long-term study switched partners and some remarried, but regardless, they were happier in their relationships after the child-rearing was complete. Marriages generally improve with time, and the...

Just in Time for Xmas: Lego Terrorists, Nazis

Company customizes brick figures—without permission

(Newser) - Ripping off a toy classic and tossing in al-Qaeda and Nazi themes just in time for Christmas might not seem like the best marketing strategy, reports the Sun, and sure enough, Jews and Muslims alike aren't happy. BrickArms has outfitted Lego figurines as al-Qaeda terrorists and Nazi soldiers, brandishing assault...

Quake-Bereft Chinese Sow New Baby Boom

Parents who lost state-mandated only child rush to conceive again

(Newser) - Some parents who lost their state-mandated only child in China’s May earthquake—which crushed at least 19,000 students under shoddy school buildings—are rushing to conceive again, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Chinese government announced an exemption from its one-child policy for such victims, and more than...

'21st Century Girls' Force Scouts to Evolve

Declining membership prompts massive revamp

(Newser) - Sporty, ambitious, and tech-savvy, the modern American girl is forcing a century-old program to change its ways, Time reports. Sagging cookie sales and plummeting membership have compelled Girl Scouts to merge councils, sell off lucrative campsites, and redefine its relevance for "21st century girls," says Mary Connell, a...

Is Your Kid a Sprinter or Footballer? Gene Test Knows

But experts cite scientific, ethical flaws

(Newser) - The answer to whether a kid would make a better linebacker or long-distance runner might lie in a simple genetic test—but many experts worry it could lead parents in the wrong direction, the New York Times reports. Based on a study that pointed to one gene’s role in...

Medicaid Spends Millions on Drugs FDA Never Approved

FDA loophole allows potentially-lethal drugs to stay in market

(Newser) - Taxpayer dollars still pay for unapproved prescription drugs that have sold for decades and are linked to dozens of deaths, the AP reports. In the past 5 years, at least $200 million has been paid for drugs like cold and pain medications that were never approved by the FDA, yet...

Lewis Carroll Letter Points to Pedophile Leanings

Writes real Alice of his fondness for children

(Newser) - Alice in Wonderland's author is sending a message from the grave to the literary experts who have long wondered whether he was a pedophile. A privately held letter has emerged in which Lewis Carroll tells real-life Alice—a child friend 18 years his junior—about his fondness for kids and...

Rats Plague Pied Piper City
 Rats Plague Pied Piper City 

Rats Plague Pied Piper City

Infestation threatens to spoil anniversary

(Newser) - The 725th anniversary of the Pied Piper's legendary removal of rats from the German town of Hamelin could be spoiled by—wait for it—rats. The rodents have infested an empty lot the size of a soccer field close to the picturesque medieval town. Rather than hire another piper, authorities...

Obese Kids Have Middle-Aged Arteries

Scientists warn childhood obesity epidemic may lead to much shorter lifespans

(Newser) - Arteries of seriously overweight teenagers are as clogged as those of middle-aged people, according to US News & World Report. Researchers used ultrasound to measure the neck arteries of chubby kids at risk of heart trouble and were alarmed to find that their "vascular age" was an average of...

Black Kids Think Big Thanks to Obama

New York's black children dream of becoming president

(Newser) - Barack Obama made more than history when he won the election this week: He also inspired black school kids to believe they could do the same, the New York Daily News reports. "It means people can be anything they want," says 9-year-old Elijah Timmons, who sees himself...

Haitian School Toll Hits 90; Owner Arrested

Little structural steel or cement was used in building, according to authorities

(Newser) - The owner of a collapsed Haitian school was detained by police yesterday as the death toll in the flattened building hit 90. The Protestant minister who owns the College La Promesse Evangelique surrendered to authorities yesterday, reports CNN. He has not yet been charged with a crime. Authorities said the...

Arizona Boy, 8, Arrested in Double Murder

Police say youth shot his father and another man at home

(Newser) - An Arizona 8-year-old soon will be charged with the premeditated murder of his father and a boarder at his home, the Arizona Republic reports. The two men were found shot to death at the family residence Wednesday in the small town of St. Johns, and the boy was near the...

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