Extra Votes for Parents, Healthy Body Image, and Fish Art

Newswire

Extra Votes for Parents?

"If [governments] are not ready to stand up proudly and give voice to the rights of children, then they should put into place reforms that magnify the voices that already exist. The most important would be reforming an electoral system that disenfranchises all those younger than 18 by allowing their parents to cast additional votes for each of their children. Maybe only then when they have to actually look their electorate in the eyes will there be sufficient resolve to make child rights the priority that a commitment [the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child] made 20 years ago stated it should be."
- Miles Corak, former research coordinator and lead researcher of the 2005 UNICEF Report Child Poverty in Rich Countries, writing in yesterday's Toronto Star

A Powerful New Anti-Bullying Tool:
Positive Body Image

Reflections of Me: Body Image and Self-Esteem (a preventative educational program designed for use from kindergarten through Grade 8) is one of the tools Ontario teachers are using to combat bullying in the classroom. It is designed to teach children to accept differences in others and to resist harassment and bullying based on body image.

The curriculum – which was developed by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (EFTO) – recently won the Canadian Medical Association's Award for Excellence in Health Promotion. It consists of a video, curriculum materials designed for each grade level, and a brochure for parents.

According to the EFTO, parents play a key role in determining how children feel about their bodies and in promoting healthy body image in general. Parents can remind kids that genetics have a lot to do with a person's weight, size, and body type; reinforce the idea that all bodies are acceptable; challenge put-downs related to physical appearance and be a positive role model with regard to body image; encourage kids to tune into their own internal hunger and fullness cues; promote exercise and healthy eating as ways to nurture your body; and celebrate the uniqueness of all people.

Related:

Body Talk: The Straight Facts About Fitness, Nutrition, and Feeling Great About Yourself by Ann Douglas and Julie Douglas

One Fish, Two Fish, Rainbow Fish, Whitefish....

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources' Kids' Fish Art Contest is back for its 7th year. Kids in grades 4 through 12 have until December 18th to submit a drawings of one of this year's official fish -- the rainbow fish or the whitefish -- in its natural habitat, along with an essay about habitat protection (see official contest rules for details). The winning design will be used on the 2010 Young Angler's License.

Best Summer Ever: Day 60

August 29
Plan to Take a Play Break

Stash a ball or a Frisbee in your bag so that you and your kids can swing by the playground and take a play break in the middle of running your back-to-school errands.

Related:

Scientific American: The Serious Need for Play: "According to a paper published in 2005 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, children’s free-play time dropped by a quarter between 1981 and 1997....As early as preschool, youngsters’ after-school hours are now being filled with music lessons and sports -- reducing time for the type of imaginative and rambunctious cavorting that fosters creativity and cooperation."

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 50

August 19

Make Weekends Really Count

Weekends become doubly precious as summer starts to wind down, so resolve to make them really count for your family this fall. Here are a few tips.

Resolve to do something fun as a family each weekend.

Your weekend activity doesn't have to break the bank. You don’t want your time together to become a source of financial stress.

Take turns picking the activity. Your kids will be more likely to buy into the idea of doing something as a family if they get the chance to take you to the skateboarding park every now and again.

Be flexible if your child wants to bring along a friend. (It's a great opportunity for you to get to know your child's friends.)

Related:

OntarioTravel.net: Family Fun: Toronto, Ontario

Scotia Bank Nuit Blanche: October 3

Best Summer Ever: Day 40

August 9
Get Back in the Game

Set the stage for ready-made fun. Keep a deck of cards and classic board games like Scrabble within easy reach so that you can play games with your kids whenever the mood strikes (as opposed to having to take time out to find or retrieve them).

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 32

August 1
Get Crafty

Comb the beach for treasures like beach glass, pebbles, or sea shells and then get crafty with your kids.

You can pick up additional craft odds-and-ends at very little cost by visiting your local thrift store.

Just make sure that anything you pick up is child-safe and age-appropriate.

Best Summer Ever: Day 29

July 29
Create a Summer Collage

Create a summer collage using some of the photos you've snapped this summer.

If you're looking for inspiration from other collage lovers, you'll find plenty of collage-related groups on Flickr, including this highly popular collage images group.

Related:

HowStuffWorks: Collage Crafts for Kids

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 27

July 27
Your Top 10 List Revisited....

Think about the top ten things you really wanted to do this summer.

Have you been able to do some of those things -- or has life tossed a few too many curve balls your way? (Hey, it happens.)

What do you plan to do to make the remaining weeks of summer really count, before the crazy-busy month of September catches up with us all?

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 23

July 23
Card Games

Hang out in the greeting card aisle.

Laugh at the funny cards.

Take inspiration from the motivating ones.

And pause to appreciate the creativity that goes into coming up with cards like these.

Best Summer Ever: Day 21

July 21
Put Your Rainy Day Plan in Place

Our expectations of summer tend to be sky-high. We want every day to be the stuff of which tourism promo videos are made -- not something on YouTube tagged "family vacation fail."

If Mother Nature rains on our parade - literally or figuratively - it's hard not to take it personally.

But into each Canadian season a little precipitation must fall. That includes summer, too.

So having some rainy day activities in mind (in case an outdoor fun day gets rained out at the last minute) is simply a summer sanity preserver.

Here are a few ideas that could very well save the day.

• Hit the library, virtually or in person.
• Plan an indoor picnic with another family.
• Visit an art gallery or museum (i.e. The Science of Spying at the Ontario Science Centre).
• Find out what else is happening in your neighborhood.
• Make your own fun. Tackle a DIY project in your backyard, basement, or at your kitchen table.

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 20

July 20
Make a Sandcastle

Make a sandcastle at the beach or at your kitchen table.

Need a little inspiration?

Watch this.