Hot and Bothered About Census Changes? You Bet I Am. And You Should Be, Too

School boards, health departments, researchers, and others who need best-in-class data to make decisions about our kids aren't going to have the same quality of data from the Canadian Census after 2011. Not after Stephen Harper is done with it.

Alright, I confess. I am the kind of gal who has RSS feeds set up for all the major university research departments and who has been known to devolve into a fangirl while interviewing a researcher in a field I am particularly passionate about. But this is about so much more than that: it's about an attack on public data for purely political reasons. Partisan political reasons, at that.

As a journalist, author, mother, and a Canadian, I am offended by Stephen Harper and Tony Clement's decision to mess with the data that will be gathered during the next Canadian census. As Haroon Siddiqui so eloquently explained in his column last Saturday, the data gathered every five year during our national census is relied upon by businesses, governments, and non-government organizations across the country and around the world. It provides them with a vital snapshot of our country and its people.

What makes the situation even worse is that, by messing with the quality of the data that will be gathered during the next census (in 2011), Harper and Clement will reduce the value of the data that came before. (You can't compare apples to oranges.) What a waste.

If this were simply a cost-cutting measure, you could almost forgive Harper and Clement. After all, isn't fiscal Conservatism supposed to be their schtick? But changing the Census rules is actually going to cost more. $30 million more.

So what's this about, then? "Harper’s penchant for secrecy, obfuscation and controlling information," according to Siddiqui. In other words, he's willing to contaminate the data pool to prevent inconvenient truths from floating to the surface.

But wait! It gets worse. Several other surveys that report on and analyze how Canadians are faring at work and at home, are being chopped or redesigned, Siddiqui reports. One of my favorites, the Survey of Household Spending, which provides a powerful snapshot of how the economy is affecting the lives of upper, middle, and lower income Canadian families is on the list of surveys that provide too much information, at least in the opinion of Harper and Co.

There's only one way to ensure that Stephen Harper comes to his "census": let him know that he's on the wrong side of public opinion on this one. Write to your MP. Write a letter to the editor. Talk to your friends (both online and in the real world). Spread the word that a pseudo-census is no substitute for the real thing.

Related:

Reader Letter: Census Too Important to Gut

Editorial: Census Changes Will Handcuff Researchers

FilmPossible, Grandparent Care, and Teen Brains

FILMPOSSIBLE

Holland Bloorview is putting a call out to budding film-makers to enter filmpossible, a unique online video contest which will showcase the possibilities for children living with disabilities.

Film-makers have until Aug. 31 to submit their videos.

"Filmpossible is a unique opportunity for film-makers to dispel myths, perhaps by showcasing achievements or showing changes we can make," says Christa Haanstra, Senior Director, Communications and Public Affairs. "By entering this contest, you can help Holland Bloorview change the way the world views childhood disability."

I don't know about you, but I love the idea of this contest: putting the focus on the possible. After all, the world tends to do quite the opposite when your child is diagnosed with a disability: focusing on what may no longer be possible (at least according to some study or statistic). To find out how to enter, what you could win (yes, there are all kinds of fabulous prizes), and how the entries will be judged, visit the project's website, filmpossible.ca.

GRANDPARENT CARE

A recent article by BBC News education reporter Katharine Sellgren noted that the UK is lagging behind other European countries by failing to recognize the important role that grandparents play in providing childcare. (One in three mothers in the UK relies on her children's grandparents to provide childcare.)

According to Sellgren, steps taken by other EU countries to assist grandparents in providing care to their grandchildren included "allow [ing] parents to transfer parental leave to grandparents, letting working grandparents take time off if their grandchild is sick and, in some circumstances, paying them for the care they provided." (via Workplace Flexibility 2010.org). 

TEEN BRAINS

"One of the big discoveries [about adolescent health] has been about brain development. During adolescence there’s a massive pruning of the synapses [neural connections] of the brain, and this process doesn’t really stop until around age 24. And the last part of the brain to develop is the prefrontal cortex, which helps us in cognitive thought and making good decisions in our behavior. So that partially explains why teenagers are sort of known worldwide for their risk-taking behavior."
- Center for Adolescent Health director Freya Sonenstein, PhD, Director of the Center for Adolescent Health at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, quoted in the current issue of John Hopkins Public Health Magazine.

Note: The Center for Adolescent Health has just published a guide to adolescent health entitled The Teen Years Explained. You can download a copy of the book (in .pdf format).

In Praise of Passion: Passion Makes People Happier: Study

Parenting Lab

Passion Makes People Happier: Study

Passion doesn't just make life easier. It makes life better.

And now that psychologists Robert J Vallerand and Geneviève L. Lavigne of the Université du Québec à Montréal have confirmed that passion makes people happier, we should be teaching our kids about the importance of figuring out what you are passionate about and making your passions part of your daily life.

So how do kids go about finding their passions?

In some cases, it's a matter of pure luck. A child slips on a pair of hockey skates and discovers that they feel as comfortable and natural as a pair of slippers. Or a child grows up with a passion for books and writing and assumes that everyone wants to write a book. (You'll have to guess which kid was me.)

In other cases, it takes some time for an activity or interest to find the kid. Your child may show little enthusiasm for anything you've ever signed him up for until the day he hands you a flyer and asks, "Can you sign me up for this?"

You may be shocked by what this is, having never heard your child mention this in his entire life. That's part of the fun of parenting: that element of surprise.

There's simply no way of predicting which passion will get matched up with which kid.

All you can do is gaze on in wonder and try to puzzle out which part of that choice was nature and which part (if any) was nurture.

It's a game parents have been playing since before we were kids and that they'll be playing long after we're gone.

So how does passion fit into your life? What are you passionate about -- and how do you find time for your passions? Have your kids identified their passions? What do you see as your role in helping them to find/identify their passions?

Passion to Go

According to psychologists Robert J Vallerand and Geneviève L. Lavigne of the Université du Québec à Montréal, remaining passionately engaged in life, via activities, helps us to feel good about ourselves as we age. The effect is particularly pronounced for men, who tend to stagnate and to struggle with self-acceptance and their purpose in life as they age. So if you'd like to be a fun, passionate older man (as opposed to his grumpier counterpart); or you'd like to be involved with this kind of man, you'd be wise to print out a copy of this article about passion, hang it on your refrigerator, and commit to becoming (or remaining) passionate. Life's too short to settle for ho-hum-ness, after all. You might as well ride the passion express the whole way through.

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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.

Corner Store Snacks, What We Expect from Teens, Folic Acid and ADHD, Plus More on H1N1

Parenting Lab

The Convenience Store: Maybe a Little Too Convenient?
Purchases made at corner stores contribute a significant number of calories to the diets of children growing up in urban areas, according to researchers at Temple University's Center for Obesity Research and Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The researchers discovered that children purchase an average of two food and/or beverage items during each trip to the corner store; and that caloric intake of these items averages 356 calories. The results of this study appear in the November 5, 2009, issue of the medical journal Pediatrics.

Low Expectations May Fuel Teen Misbehavior
If you expect your teen to get into trouble, your teen may very well live up to those expectations. That's the key finding to emerge from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study of 250 preteens and their mothers. The researchers, who published their results in the Journal of Research on Adolescence, found that teens are more likely to live up to the expectations that are set for them, whether those expectations are positive or negative.

Low Folate Levels in Pregnancy Tied to ADHD in Offspring 
Here's yet another reason to up your intake of folic acid prior to and during pregnancy: low folate levels during pregnancy are associated with an increased likelihood of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring aged 7 to 9. This new finding, reported in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, supports previous research suggesting that folic acid plays a key role in the development of the nervous system.

Newswire

Concern Over H1N1 Jumps Significantly: Harris/Decima Poll
According to a poll conducted by Harris/Decima between October 29 and November 1, the majority of Canadians are now concerned about H1N1 -- a significant shift since early October. Nationally, 55% of Canadians are now very (20%) or somewhat (35%) concerned about the H1N1 flu virus, up from 36% who were concerned at the start of October. Concern is highest in Ontario and Atlantic Canada and lowest in Quebec and Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

What Can Moms Do to Fight Climate Change? Plenty, according to Moms Against Climate Change

One-Question Interview

Erin Charter, Outreach Coordinator for Moms Against Climate Change, dropped by my booth while I was hanging out in the ParentCentral.ca booth at the BabyTime Show this past weekend. I took the opportunity to find out more about Moms Against Climate Change.

ANN: What is so unique about Moms Against Climate Change: its approach and its focus?

ERIN: Moms Against Climate Change is unique because it's a way for the average Jolene to make a real difference on climate change. Most of the information we've heard on global warming has been too scientific, or has recommended individual actions, such as changing our light bulbs, that are too small to make enough of a dent in this huge problem.

Another thing I think is unique about it is that it's asking parents to take action on behalf of their kids. Science clearly shows us what the world will look like if nothing is done to prevent climate change: melting polar ice caps, starving polar bears, drought in some places, floods in others, and more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Such changes in our climate mean more instability around the world as countries fight for dwindling natural resources, or as people are forced to leave their homes to seek refuge. If climate change isn’t stopped, our children will suffer the consequences.

The upcoming UN climate summit in Copenhagen is an opportunity to let Stephen Harper know that Canadian parents expect him to protect our children's future from global warming.

Here's how parents can take action:

ONE: Watch the Moms Against Climate Change Public Service Announcement (See below). Pass it on.

TWO: Upload a photo of your child to remind Stephen Harper who he’s representing in Copenhagen at www.TakeActionOnClimateChange.com.

Wonder Fuel: Raising Curious Kids

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
- Dorothy Parker

“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
- Albert Einstein

From the moment we are born, curiosity fuels our desire to learn about the wider world.

As we grow older, our initial fascination with human faces expands into a fascination with anything and everything. We use our entire body -- each of our senses -- to take in information about the world of wonder we encounter. Our excitement is often palpable. We gasps and wriggle with excitement as we encounters a new and unexpected sensation for the very first time.

Curiosity comes naturally to all human beings. It powers the cycle of learning: our delight in learning something new encourages us to want to learn even more. The easiest way to raise kids who love to learn is to fuel our kids' sense of wonder and curiosity. Here are a few practical things you can do.

Create a loving bond with your child. That bond will give your child the confidence to take the risks that learning entails.

Expose your child to a sensory-rich environment, both at home and in the community. Pay attention to your child’s reaction to the new stimuli she is encountering and ramp it up or tone it down to avoid overwhelming or over-stimulating your child.

Encourage exploration and welcome questions. Allow your child to experience the joy that comes from first-hand discovery (within safe and age-appropriate limits, of course).

Celebrate the different creative paths different people follow. Understand that your child’s attempts to find the answers to her questions may result in her following a different creative path to find the answer than the path that you would take. Delight in that difference.

Raise brave and resilient children (as opposed to children who are so afraid of the world beyond their own bedrooms that they dampen their own sense of curiosity out of self-defense).

Related:

Carol Koechlin and Sandi Zwan. How to Empower Students to Ask Questions and Care About Answers   (.pdf)

Mindstretchers: Curiosity and Wonder

FamilyAnatomy: Make-Believe Play Important to Developing Self-Regulation in Kids

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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 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 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.