NEW ZEALAND: It's Christmas time and the kids desperately want a dog. All their friends have one. The pressure is on.
Before deciding to invite a canine companion or any other animal to join the family, chief executive of the SPCA Bob Kerridge urges people to think carefully about their circumstances.
"A lot of people I am sure haven't got the faintest idea of the responsibility that goes with owning a pet ... animals are not commodities."
"People are dealing with something that has feelings, needs and desires, just like other members of the family. They need to be talked to and to be loved. A lot of people don't understand that."
Animal psychologist Mark Vette says when choosing a pet, people need to consider house training, the amount of space available on their property and whether anyone in the family has allergies.
Time is also a big factor - dogs are sociable and need more of your time than cats. Likewise, some dogs, such as terriers, are higher-energy and require more effort to train.
Children who grow up with a pet reap a number of benefits. For a start, they learn about responsibility and "caring for something with a need", Mr Kerridge says.
But he says parents need to have realistic expectations about children's level of responsibility.
"Realistic expectations would dictate that pets can be a nine-minute wonder for some children, so part of what they can teach is the importance of commitment, discipline and routine.
"If it's part of a family chore to walk the pet and feed the pet, part of that is learning to get some longer-term rewards through putting some effort in."
Totally Gross, a New Game by University Games, Has Kids Laughing and Learning About Science
SAN FRANCISCO, USA,Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/: University Games, recently introduced a kids' science game:Totally Gross
-- The Game of Science!
Totally Gross is turning stomachs in both homes and classrooms by asking
children to learn more about vomit, spit and poop.A dose of gross helps all
aspects of science, including chemistry, biology and anatomy, make sense!
As players travel around the game board answering queasy questions, kids
can find out whether snot keeps their lungs clear or not, that bullfrogs can
be cannibals and other bizarre facts.Full of action and information, it's an
educational game kids will actually enjoy.
Children's films need to grow up
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?artid=30206578 PIALI BANERJEETIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 04, 200201:24:25 AM ]
MUMBAI: "Children's films are for babies," says a ten-year-old, adjusting her spectacles on her nose. "I don't see them because I'm too grown-up for them."
The Indian children's film market has long discovered that it isn't easy to impress ten-year-olds. Empty halls have delivered the message that cute screen kids mouthing cutesie dialogue have no takers. Nor does anything with cats, dogs and talking parrots in them.
Yet, somehow the moral of the story of empty halls seems to have lost its way. While the message from the nursery said that children's films should make more sense, the industry felt that it made business sense to stop making children's films altogether. The RK banner, for instance, last made a children's film, Ab Dilli Door Nahin, in 1957�and it doesn't have any intentions of touching that genre again. "Children's films aren't viable. There's no market for them," says Randhir Kapoor dismissively.
This, coming at a time when the second Harry Potter film, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets has grossed $87.7 million in its opening weekend, makes little business sense. Obviously, there's a mysterious gap between perception and reality that the Indian film industry has failed to bridge.
It is against this backdrop that Makdee, a children's film, has made a magical appearance. Shabana Azmi, as Makdee the witch, has actually ensnared a 70 per cent collection in Mumbai in the opening weekend. It remains to be seen, of course,whether the market will continue to bite the bait.
Vishal Bharadwaj, director and, perforce, producer (since children's films rarely find producers) of Makdee, is a tired man today. "I enjoyed making the film, but trying to have it released was exhausting," he says. "Since nobody works in this genre today and there's no precedent, no distributor would touch it. I kept showing it to distributors for months. Everyone made appreciative remarks, then went their way."
Finally, Rajesh Thadani,who distributed Harry Potter in Mumbai, agreed to take a chance. "Regular films aren't working today either, so I thought I'd try this out," is Mr Thadani's condescending explanation for his choice.And, just in case other children's film-makers should approach him, he warns, "Children's films can only find distributors if they're made on a stringent budget. You can't get a regular film's price for children's fare."
Makdee cost Rs 1.5 crore to make. This is much higher than most Children's Film Society of India (CFSI)-sponsored films, which have budgets of Rs 40-Rs 50 lakhs. Film-makers argue that it's this preconceived notion of making children's films on shoestring budgets that kills the genre. "It's a Catch-22 situation. Distributors don't want expensive children's films, yet children don't want cheap films," says film-maker Tanuja Chandra, who has been sitting on a children's film script for years now for want of a producer.
"You can't round up some kids, go to the cheapest location available, shoot your film�and expect audiences to like it. Children today are exposed to hi-tech world cinema and sweeping drama."
With multiplexes coming up, apparently the availability of theatres for children's films is no longer a problem. "It's the quality of these films that's causing problems," says distributor Shyam Shroff of Shringar Films. "Why can't more films like Haathi Mere Saathi or Mr India be made today?"
The need of the day is smart subjects and watertight scripts that can spin a yarn without pointing out a moral behind it. "You have to talk to children as a buddy," says Sai Paranjpye, chairperson, CFSI. "Your film should say, 'Hey, here's a story that I find funny. Want to hear it?' I never acquiesced to moralising as a child, why should I expect other children to do so?" Another factor that works against children's films in India is that those who do make them treat the project as a social favour or an exercise in fun rather than as a business venture, unlike Western production houses. "I made Halo just for the fun of making it. I had no business expectations from it," says director Santosh Sivan. "Although CFSI, its producer, didn't give it a big commercial release, it was dubbed into various languages and showed in schools across the country for a small price."
Sivan was content with this, just like any other Hindi children's film-maker would be. Therein lies the problem.
Children's museum invites youngsters to step inside contemporary art
NEW YORK, USA - It's a museum guard's worst nightmare: children plucking heads off sculptures, placing their palms on paintings and moving around the artists' works.
But with a new exhibit at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, meant to introduce children to art and the creative process, such behavior is encouraged.
In "Art Inside Out," children can "step into" 70 original works and 40 interactive stations by three contemporary artists � the playful art of Elizabeth Murray, the installations of Fred Wilson and the work of William Wegman, known especially for his photos of Weimaraner dogs.
At the Children's Museum of Houston, visitors can explore a replica of a mountain village in Mexico. The Children's Museum of Los Angeles has a traveling literacy project that blends theater, music and storytelling.
'Tigerman' fights violence with love Earning his stripes by reaching out to children.
By Susan Snyder Inquirer Staff Writerhttp://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/4645244.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
USA-As a child, Mark Anthony Ciarlante was tormented by classmates: "They kicked me, spit on me, and threw mud on me."
Instead of fighting back, he painted his face with his mother's makeup and pretended he was a tiger - a Tigerman - who would try to help everyone love each other.
Now, more than 30 years later, Ciarlante has transformed the fictional character he created as a child into a reality.
Donning a tiger-skin cape, face paint, and tiger-colored dreadlocks of rope, Ciarlante sings, dances and dazzles young children in schools as he delivers a message of peace, love and safety: Say no to guns. Get an adult when danger lurks. Respect everyone.
"RAH!" he roared, for "Reject All Hate."
Ciarlante hopes someday to have his own television show and a motor home to go from city to city, teaching America's children to think like Tigerman.
"My super power is my mind for knowledge and my heart for love, and I tell all the kids that they have that power, too."
MICHIGAN, USA-Three sets of twins in the same classroom have one area kindergarten teacher seeing double.
The Switala twins, the daughters of Wendy Moffat and Chris Switala, are fraternal, so they are easier to keep straight. The other two sets, the Kraatzes and the Schoenherrs, are identical, which makes for a confusing classroom at times.
They might look alike, but each of the twins has a unique personality.
One twin likes cucumbers, the other doesn't. One likes to wrestle, the other doesn't. And one falls fast asleep every night while the other likes to stay awake.
ON 6 November, 1924, a book entitled When We Were Very Young, which its author, AA Milne, had written for his son, was first published. It introduced to the world probably the most enduring and lovable literary figure, Winnie-the-Pooh.
When the book was published by Methuen & Co, Milne was already a well established and respected writer. He wrote When We Were Very Young, a book of children�s verse, primarily for the benefit of his son, Christopher Robin, and included him in a number of the stories. He had no pretensions of grandeur when writing the book, nor did he realise that he had started a chain of events which would immortalise himself, his son and, of course, Winnie-the-Pooh.
The books, which have remained in the Milne family ever since they were first presented to Christopher Robin, are being offered for sale by Sotheby�s on behalf of a member of the Milne family.
Homework Takes Backseat to Activities as Canadian Parents
Look to the 3 Ss -- Safety, Socialization and Self-esteem
TORONTO, CANADA, Dec. 5 /CNW-While 38 per cent of parents think that doing homework is the best way for their children to spend the hours between the end of the school day and dinnertime, only six per cent say that's what their kids are actually doing
."While parents may feel conflicted about not having their children doing homework after school, they are actually doing their children a world of good by engaging them in other supervised activities," said Dr. Dan Offord, director of McMasterUniversity's Canadian Centre for Children at Risk, and advisor to RBC's After-School Grants Program.
"Participating in sports, arts and community programs have immediate and long-term payoffs for all children. Providing kids with a range of activities gives them a chance to find the place where they feel best about themselves."
Kids test new toys North Point makes an effort to find what children want for holidays
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/thursday/business_d3ee1fe88056e15300e4.html Renee Degross - Thursday, December 5, 2002
USA-Hunter Knocke sprayed Silly String out of the Spider-Man "Blaster" glove and covered his little sister, Hannah, who laughed and said, "I want it."
Poor Sponge Bob sat ignored under a cushion.
This scene played out at North Point Mall in Alpharetta on a recent Friday night before Thanksgiving, when 18 Atlanta kids, ages 4 to 12, were called into action to test dozens of this season's would-be hot toys.
"Experts always like to tell us what items are hot," said Jill Connolly, a North Point Mall representative. "We wanted to know from local kids, what toys inspired them, because the 'elves' want to make sure to make enough toys."
Karina Caldera, 5, asked a mall marketing manager what would become of the Rapunzel Barbie she befriended, to which she was told it would be donated to a child who has no toys. But she shouldn't worry --- her mother, Christina Caldera, received $150 for the time her three children spent as participants.
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News for Kids Editorial Team http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/newsforkids/index.html