Tag: children Posts

While I don’t have any kids of my own, what I do have are a really great niece and nephew that I love very much: Despite not really spending much time with them over the last ten years (mostly because I lived in a different city), I’m actually fairly close to both of them, and have really been enjoying my time with them since moving back to Chilliwack. Last night my niece gave me a phone call and told me about all of the boy crushes she had while at summer camp (count ’em people, 11 boy crushes). So this post is dedicated to all the kids in everyone’s lives, and how special they all are. Feel free to post a link to any photos of your kids, or to drop a comment about how special the little ones are in your life.

The BC Children’s Hospital Foundation is an organization that works to improve the lives of every child who enters and leaves the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. For many families, the BC Children’s Hospital becomes a second home for a period time, often while they are helping a child of theirs get back to help: BC Children’s Hospital Foundation (BCCHF) supports the people, places and things required to ensure BC’s kids have access to outstanding pediatric care. Since 1982, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation has worked with children, families, caregivers and hundreds of thousands of British Columbians to give Children’s Hospital, and the Child & Family Research Institute the resources they need to excel. In 2000, BCCHF merged with the Sunny Hill Foundation for Children (SHFC), which raises funds for the children served by the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children. The merger enables the two organizations to maximize revenues for […]

I’ve been in Chilliwack close to two months now. It’s obviously a completely different lifestyle out here, one that I’m quite enjoying. I wake up every morning to an apartment that’s filled with light, and I go to sleep each night without the sound of loud sirens or drunken idiots screaming outside. But without a doubt there’s one aspect of living out here that still seems unnatural — seeing children outside. Living in the downtown core of Vancouver you don’t really see a lot of kids. Sure, you see the odd infant, or on the weekend, a few kids going to the aquarium or what-not. But it was pretty rare to see a bunch of kids playing in the streets, or riding bikes around. It’s a welcome change to be honest, and it reminds me of all the fun I had as a kid after school.

** I wrote this article last year on another site, but given recent events I wanted to repost it on my site. I’ll talk about it more in a future entry ** I came across this article the other day, and found it particularly distressing given the prevalence of online social websites such as Facebook and MySpace these days: Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her. Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel. The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of […]

Yes, it’s true. Recent research says kids as young as eight years old can now safely go on cholesterol lowering medication! Man, I can’t believe they are seriously pushing that. Yes, overweight kids probably have high cholesterol, but let’s focus on a solution, not a patch. Most people would probably be surprised to know that the whole science of cholesterol is pretty weak. Lots of people live their whole lives with high cholesterol and never experience any problems, and some people with low cholesterol can be in danger for a heart attack. In fact, the whole science of cholesterol (LDL, HDL, triglycerides, etc.) is so over-simplified that it’s basically useless as a mainstream medical concept. For example, some forms of LDL (the BAD cholesterol), aren’t that bad for you, and only a very specific kind, known as VLDL (very low density lipoprotein), actually contributes to heart disease. This form typically […]

There is a relatively new device called “The English Mosquito” which is being used in England to control where young people typically gather. The device works by emitting high-frequency sounds that only young people (typically younger than 20 years of age) have the ability to hear. Because it’s fairly annoying, it causes young people to eventually leave a particular area. Human right’s groups are obviously unimpressed with the blanket use of the devices: Aynsley-Green said about 3,500 of the devices are in use across England to split up gatherings of youth in areas such as parks and shops. “These devices are indiscriminate and target all children and young people, including babies, regardless of whether they are behaving or misbehaving,” he added. Apparently some people feel that having young people gather in a place like a park is a huge problem. I mean, it’s quite possible they might pull out a […]

A while ago I wrote an entry about Megan Meier, a 13 year old girl who was driven to commit suicide by means of a fake MySpace user account. Megan, Image from CNN A few minutes ago I read this article which indicates that no one involved in this tragedy will be prosecuted whatsoever. St. Charles County, Missouri, Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas said an 18-year-old woman posed as “Josh” on MySpace to find out what Megan was saying about a neighbor’s daughter. The message said Megan was “mean” to her friends, Banas said. “There is no way that anybody could know that talking to someone or saying that you’re mean to your friends on the Internet would create a substantial risk,” Banas said. “It certainly created a potential risk and, unfortunately for the Meiers, that potential became reality. But under the law we just couldn’t show that.” But Banas said […]

From slashdot. Also, Rebecca just texted me — their luggage was lost 🙁 I told her it would happen — it’s basically a given if you bounce through O’Hare.