NewsBites for Kidz April 30 05

They’re all of about nine years old, but already international champs. The five students of The Heritage School laughed, cried, fought and made friends on their trip to Sidney, winning medals on the way. For Harsh Sharma, Yash Singhi, Sanidhya Jain, Asish Kothari and Karan Kaushik, the weeklong trip, from April 13 to 20, was more than just about a taekwondo championship. It was about growing up.

China

A Chinese boy checks a cook's fingernails in a restaurant in the eastern Chinese city of Mengcheng, Anhui province, April 23, 2005. The activity was organised by city health authorities and aimed to enhance people's awareness of food safety for children. CHINA OUT REUTERS/China Newsphoto Apr 23

Intercultural festival- Hawai

A small dancer at the Intercultural Festival nervously bites some decorative beads in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 22, 2005. Children and college students from Japan, Philippines, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Brazil, Norway, Korea, Singapore, Kenya, Thailand, Botswana, Samoa, Denmark, France, and Malaysia and more dressed in traditional costumes take part in a festival celebrating their homelands and the diversity of the Hawaii. REUTERS/Lucy Pemoni

HEADLINES

Ethiopia

Children are seen here February 2005 in the Ethiopian town of Shashamena. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned of an alarming rise in child malnutrition rates in southern Ethiopia, where it said deaths from hunger would begin unless urgent action is taken(AFP/File)

Amish kids in Ohio, U.S.A.

A group of Amish children play volleball during a recess from their school day in Middlefield, Ohio, Friday, April 22, 2005. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

AP - Apr 22 9:03 AM

Eid celebration –Pakistan

Pakistani children take part in a religious procession during Eid-e-Millad-ul-Nabi in Karachi, April 22, 2005. The procession was part of the nation-wide celebrations on the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Mohammad, known as Eid-e-Millad-ul-Nabi. REUTERS/Zahid Hussein

Soccer –Paraguay, South America

Children from the Toba Qom ethnic group play soccer during Indegenous Indian Day celebration in Cerrito, 45 milles from Asuncion, Paraguay on Tuesday, April 19, 2005. Only 900 members of 'Toba Qom' ethnic group are still living in Paraguay. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Children from the Toba Qom ethnic group play soccer during Indigenous Indian Day celebration in Cerrito, 45 milles from Asuncion, Paraguay on Tuesday, April 19, 2005. Only 900 members of 'Toba Qom' ethnic group are still living in Paraguay. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Kids still work - India

A seven-year-old Indian girl, Rameshwari, works in a brick kiln on the outskirts of the northern Indian city of Jammu, April 22, 2005. India's constitution bans children younger than 14 from working but human rights group estimate up to 115 million children, roughly twice the entire population of Britain, work for a living. REUTERS/Amit Gupta

At the Pope’s birthplace- Bavaria

Children wave flags in the German Bavarian town of Marktl, the birthplace of the newly elected Pope, at the Bavarian lake Inn, 90 kilometres east of Munich on April 19, 2005. REUTERS/Stringer

HEADLINES

Girls at school- Baghdad, Iraq

Girls sit at their desks at a school in Baghdad. More girls in countries around the world are going to school, though the gender gap in many regions remains wide, according to a new report by the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF)(AFP/File/Karim Sahib)

AFP/File - Apr 17 11:42 PM

Murals for Earth Day –Bangkok, Thailand

A high school student looks at a mural at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok April 21, 2005. About 40 students gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy to transform walls into murals which reflect the Earth Day themes of coral reefs, wetlands and rain forests. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

DIFFICULT DECISIONS

One in three kids under 10 has mobile phone:-worldwide

London | April 24, 2005 3:42:13 PM IST

http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=79250&cat=World

Science has advantages as well as disadvantages, but perhaps the craze of electronic gadgets is so much that one in three kids under the age of 10 has a mobile phone.

According to experts at mobileYouth, despite warnings that radiations from mobile can harm young brains, more than 10 lakh children in the age group of five to nine have mobile phones.

The number has doubled in just two years and it has been believed that it will rise to over 1.5 million by 2007.

"Parents balance potential health risks against the security handsets offer," the Sun quoted MobileYouth boss Graham Brown as saying. (ANI)

French Sikh Schoolboys Lose Turban Case in French Court- France

Anoop Singh - Panthic Weekly Staff

http://www.panthic.org/news/124/ARTICLE/1260/2005-04-24.html?sid=5caf265576d56bc9e9f6cfc70c2b62f0

Paris (KP) - This week on April 19, a French administrative court in Melun, in the outskirts of Paris, upheld the expulsion of three Sikh school children for wearing a Turban on the grounds that the Turban made them instantly recognisable as Sikhs.

In March 2004 a law was passed in France that bans so-called conspicuous religious symbols and attire in the classroom. Under this law, schoolchildren are banned from wearing the Christian cross, Jewish skull-cap, Islamic head scarf and the Sikh turban. The three French Sikh boys were expelled from school last December for refusing to remove their Turbans.

Mejindarpal Kaur, the director of United Sikhs, stated in a press release that the Sikh organisation had conducted a preliminary survey of Sikh children affected by the French law. The study showed that 84 percent of the interviewees were prevented from wearing head coverings of their choice to school. Five schoolboys were expelled for refusing to remove their turban, and many more were outcast by their peers.

The situation for Sikh children is very serious. Reports show that many children between the ages of eight and nineteen have faced bullying at school.

PARENTS & KIDS

Seen but not heard-China

www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-22 08:53:35

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/22/content_2862731.htm

BEIJING, April 22 -- Slipping into the classroom to watch her 9-year-old daughter giggling and chatting happily with other kids and confidently quizzing a UNICEF official during a simulated news conference, left Wang Yiyi stunned.

"She looks totally different at home. I'm always worried that she is too quiet and likes to play alone," her mother, a lawyer with Beijing Hualian Law Firm said.

"But today I got a fresh impression of my daughter who I had thought I quite understood, but obviously not enough."

Wang was not the only parent who made a few surprise discoveries during a training programme held in Beijing last weekend.

The programme, called Children's Express, is targeted at helping children, aged eight to 18 years old, build up their ability to freely express their opinions through writing to newspapers or magazines.

Begun in the United States in 1975 and already popular in many countries, the idea was introduced to China a few years ago.

Charles Rycroft, head of the communication section of the UNICEF (China) Office warned the "communication gap between children and parents is a common problem in many countries. But it is sad that Chinese kids choose to keep a distance between their parents, while many parents actually ignore the problem."

A tradition of not communicating with children has existed for a long time in China, and "Chinese children need more encouragement and tutorship on how to express themselves," said Rycroft.

Those parents, who peeked in on the sessions, unbeknown to their offspring, and compared their children's behaviour to that at home, realized the lack of communication between parents and children had begun when their children were very young.

And many parents, including Wang, admitted they rarely listen to their children or take what they said seriously.

"One eight-year-old on the course described his mother as being like a fierce big cat who often forces him to do something he doesn't want to do. Although my daughter did not describe me like that, I also sometimes neglected her ideas," said Wang.

"Focusing too much on a child's academic performance, sending them to various after-school classes... Chinese parents not surprisingly have hardly any time to squeeze a talk into the already busy schedule of children," said Wang Shuai, a Junior Two student from Beijing Luhe Middle School.

Along with the boom in the Chinese economy, it seems that parents are spending more and more money on children, but less time listening or talking with them, analysts said.

"Not only in the family, but also in school, where teachers seldom listen to student's ideas in class," said Fan Yuxiao a 14-year-old girl from Middle School affiliated to Beihang University.

She said she loved the atmosphere in the Children's Express programme. Teachers here were more willing to let students do what they want to do and just provided some help when needed.

"I was told that Chinese children always keep quiet and are unco-operative in class before I came to Beijing," said Cliff Hahn, a communications consultant from New York City. He taught the course in Beijing and has been to other countries before.

"But it turns out to be the contrary. At the very beginning, children were so quiet just listening to what you said. But only after a few minutes, especially when their parents were out of their sight, they became as enthusiastic as kids in other parts of the word, and had even more creative ideas.

"It seems that many Chinese kids are escaping from, if not intending to refuse, exchanging their point of views with adults, especially, their parents. They are actually very thirsty for a chance to express themselves," he said.

Hahn also called for the media to give more opportunities for children's voices to be heard.

"It will not only encourage children to have the courage to express themselves, but also raise the attention of parents to their children's voices," said Hahn.

Although China has more than 340 million children under the age of 18, after a careful study of newspaper stories, only few were found to cover children, according to Bu Wei, associate professor and director of the Media & Youth Development Research Centre of the Journalism Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Most voices of children in the news media are actually those of teachers and parents," said Bu, who points out that faking children's voices is likely to further discourage children from speaking out.

To Bu and Rycroft, it is wrong not to listen to children, and even worse to take their words away.

Quoting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Rycroft pointed out that children have the right to express their point of views freely on all matters that affect their lives.

"For this purpose, I think training programmes like this are very useful and significant," he said.

"By learning basic knowledge about how to write news stories, carrying out an interview, and even how to compete with adult journalists in new conferences, children can gain more confidence to express themselves and will be more skilful when talking with parents at home," said Hahn.

"You have the power to make your voice heard. Just do it," he encouraged Chinese children.

(Source: China Daily)

HEADLINES

EARTH DAY

Earth Day celebration is a lesson for children-California, U.S.A.

Preschoolers plant seeds, view birds

By Melanie Stevens

UNION-TRIBUNE

April 23, 2005

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050423-9999-1m23earthday.html

EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune

Anthony Zazueta, 4, dived into his work yesterday as he helped classmates sort through items to be recycled. Anthony is a student at VIP Village.

IMPERIAL BEACH – Using a small plastic shovel and some water to loosen the soil, "Miss Maurice" helped her preschoolers plant a seed.

Sherie Maurice and the other teachers at VIP Village in Imperial Beach planned a day of potting small sunflower seeds into dirt-filled milk cartons yesterday to help plant an even bigger seed about the importance of protecting Mother Earth.

The hands-on gardening lesson was part of the preschool's second annual Earth Day celebration, an event that gave the 650 students, 3 to 5 years old, the chance to get their hands dirty and their minds open to making room for the plants and animals that share their living space.

"We're trying to encourage that for them to be healthy, the Earth needs to be healthy as well," said Jenny Zimmerman, a teacher at the preschool.

Each classroom was responsible for setting up one activity to share with the rest of the school. Maurice and her students collected bugs and insects for an observation table that was located just inside the preschool's "Plant It Earth" garden.

"I found a bug by the sofa, but I didn't know what it was," said Isabel Roji, 4. "My mom told me not to touch it."

Ladybugs and slugs, snails and one giant grasshopper all caused quite the commotion as the kids made their way around the table, making faces at the bugs in their plastic houses.

Various local groups and businesses contributed to the event. SeaWorld brought red, orange and yellow marigolds for the students to pot and take home. Henry's Marketplace offered healthy snacks and the Tijuana Estuary gave the kids a chance to view a stuffed red-tail hawk up close.

"The kids get so mesmerized by the size of their feet and beaks," said Debbie Good, a representative for the Tijuana Estuary.

Candace Reese gave the kids a good lesson about the importance of throwing away their trash when visiting local parks and beaches to help protect the red-tail hawk and other bird species.

As the children flapped their arms pretending to fly, "Miss Candace" loosely wrapped a long piece of plastic around them to restrict their movement.

"Why can't you fly?" she asked them. "That's how birds feel when they get stuck, and that's why we have to throw our trash away and cut plastic into small pieces."

A few students from Ida Vasquez's class rolled up their sleeves and took turns pulling seashells of all shapes and sizes from a large basin filled with water.

"Look at the differences. Some are big and some are little," Vasquez explained. "Maybe you've seen some of these when you've gone to the beach and maybe at one time there might have been a little creature hiding inside."

The kids gradually made their way from one activity to another, singing, dancing and squealing in amazement. They were happy just being outside and continued to play, undeterred by the occasional rain sprinkle. If it was one thing they learned from the Earth Day celebration yesterday, it was that rain is just the thing their newly planted flowers and trees would need in order to grow strong and tall, just like them.

HEADLINES

Candy landfills teach kids about garbage- U.S.A.

By JO CIAVAGLIA

Bucks County Courier Times

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-04232005-480006.html

Kids eat a lot of garbage these days.

At Manor Elementary, fourth-graders devoured entire landfills, including the non-woven geotextiles, drainage systems and high-density polyethene liners.

While building his trash cell, Shawn Supinski sneaked a bite of his leachate collection system without a single sign of disgust.

"I'll eat this," the 9-year-old said, matter-of-factly. "Who wouldn't?"

Especially since his landfill - as well as the others - were made using, well, junk food - candy, pudding, Cocoa Puffs, cookies, whipped cream, jimmies and fruit rollups - making for nauseating, but nontoxic snacks.

The special Earth Day feast at the Falls school Friday followed a lesson on landfills - what they are, how they are built and why their construction is so important to the environment.

Falls resident Gary Sanderson led the edible environmental lesson with help from Waste Management Inc., which operates landfills in Falls and Tullytown.

"It's a good, fun way to learn something serious," said Sanderson, who works for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. "They can relate to it in their terms - candy and cookies."

Giving a whole new meaning to the phrase, play with your food.

Sanderson reminded students rain goes into street storm drains, which deposit into the Delaware River - where we get the water used to drink, cook, bathe and clean. "Whatever litter is on the street, it washes into the storm sewers," he said.

The litter has to go somewhere though; that's where landfills come in. But they have to be built so the groundwater is protected from icky things like liquefied trash-runoff and methane gas, Sanderson explained.

Waste Management Technical Service Manager Sheri Cunningham walked students through how to build a landfill. As she explained the purpose of each layer - and what it was made of - student voices swelled in anticipation.

The fruit rollup liner.

"Yuuuuuummmm!"

The "fluff" layer - the first bed of garbage deposited in a new landfill - chocolate pudding mixed with mini Oreos and M&Ms.

"Oooooooohhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Garbage never looked so good," Cunningham said.

Ecology and the environment are part of the fourth-grade science curriculum, teacher Vicki Seiler explained. "If you grab them at this age, it makes a difference," she added. "The lessons stick."

A final cover of crushed graham crackers, whipped cream and jimmies, simulating dirt and grass seeds. The concoction was complete.

"YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!" the students screamed, filling the room with applause.

"This landfill is going to taste great," a boy whispered to his friend.

Nicholas Austin sounded contemplative as he dug a spoon into his trash heap.

"Maybe a landfill tastes good, nobody knows."

Does he want to try a bite?

"No, thank you."

HEADLINES

Kids make up for green blackout – Bihar, India

- Earth Day celebrated across state

SHIV CHARAN SINGH

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050423/asp/jamshedpur/story_4651172.asp#

Cadets of Bharat Scouts and Guides take out a rally in Ranchi to mark Earth Day. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, April 22: Schoolchildren spread the message of a greener and beautiful world on the occasion of Earth Day today.

The cadets of Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) made sure the void was not felt as they marched on the roads holding placards and sending across a message: “Save Mother Earth to save ourselves.”

The kids shouted slogans like Prithvi ko agar bachana hai to har ek ko ped lagana hoga [To save the world, each of us has to plant a tree] highlighting the importance of trees.

HEADLINES

Students dress in trash to mark Earth Day –Shanghai, China

22/4/2005 7:29

Shanghai Daily News

Students at Shanghai Community International School wore hats made out of garbage and turned water bottles into drums yesterday to celebrate International Earth Day.

Earth Day was first proposed in the United States in 1969 to celebrate the natural wonders of our planet. The day is now marked in many countries as a time to think about the environment.

At the SCIS's Changning campus yesterday morning, more than 200 students from pre-school age to sixth graders staged a nearly two-hour performance for classmates and parents around the theme of environmental protection.

"The core of Earth Day lies in teaching children to learn to love and protect the Earth we are living on," said Susan Schulman, a school official.

The show began with a group of grade five students putting on a fashion show by wearing hats made from recycled garbage such as newspapers, plastic bags and boxes.

Sixth graders followed by dressing themselves as water bottle warriors - using large pure water bottles to play a drum dance.

All the performance were designed and led by music teachers, SCIS officials said.

Students in each class were also required to come up with a resolution to help protect the Earth, including picking up trash on campus, turning off the TV to save electricity and recycling dead batteries.

HEADLINES

KIDS TRAVELING THE WORLD

World's Children Unite in Antalya –Antalya, Republic of Turkey

By Fatih Yilmaz

Published: Sunday 24, 2005

zaman.com

http://www.zaman.com/?bl=national&alt=&trh=20050424&hn=18777

The world's children coming form 26 countries celebrated the April 23rd Children's Day Festival, hand in hand in Antalya yesterday. The holiday was a gift to the world's children by founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The April 23rd Children's Day celebrations started with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Ataturk Monument at the Antalya Cumhuriyet (Republic) Square. The festival ceremonies continued at the Ataturk Stadium. Visiting Antalya to participate in the 6th International Children's Day Festival, 600 children from 26 countries sang peace songs hand in hand. Touring the stadium by running, children greeted the people of Antalya in the tribunes. Meanwhile, little Turkish students welcomed their friends coming from abroad with their national flags in their hands. Representing the world's nations, children gave messages of love and peace from Antalya, Turkey to the entire world.

HEADLINES

KIDS HELPING KIDS

Cardboard Kids - Campaigning For Children Unable To Go To School-Washington, U.S.A.

By Joe De Capua

Washington

22 April 2005

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2005-04-22-voa47.cfm

Starting Saturday in many countries around the world, children are taking part in a campaign to highlight the need for greater access to education. It follows the release earlier this week of a UNICEF report that says 115 million children, mostly girls, are still denied a basic education. The campaign is called Cardboard Kids.

Making a cardboard kid - Plan international photo

Organizers of the event say young boys and girls have made thousands of cardboard kids – the cutouts representing children who cannot go to school for one reason or another. They’ll be taking them to the media and government officials with the message, “Send my friend to school.”

Plan International is a leading organizer of the campaign. Tom Miller is the organization’s CEO.

"If you don’t go to school, you miss out on all kinds of other opportunities later in life to improve your lot – and get out of this abject poverty that is just a disastrous cycle in so many countries," he says.

He says the promise of primary education for every child by 2015 is one of the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations. The use of the Cardboard Kids is part of the Global Campaign for Education Action Week.

He says, "There are a lot of kids – some estimate up to 100 million around the world –

Plan International

who just do not have the opportunity to get an education. And if you can’t get an education you really start out life with several strikes against you. And the whole idea is that someone needs to be speaking up for the kids, who don’t have voices themselves."

He says the reasons many kids don’t go to school often revolve around poverty.

"In some countries, it’s because the kids can’t afford school uniforms and in some countries because the kids have to stay home and work. Girls particularly are vulnerable because when there are choices made about who works and who gets school uniforms and stuff like that, the girls often lose out," he says.

He says many children are not able to go to school because their births were never officially registered – and they cannot enroll without a birth certificate. And without being registered, authorities may not even know the children exist.

The head of Plan International says while poverty is a major problem, the Cardboard Kids campaign is not simply aimed at throwing money at the problem.

"More money not wisely spent is money wasted. Clearly money is part of any solution. But if you can get a much greater sensitization around the world that this is indeed a serious problem and focus on things that are doable. You’ve got to be able to address the questions that parents have: I can’t afford to send all seven of my kids to school, I need more bread winners in the family because we’re poor. And so you’ve got to look at those underlying causes of poverty," he says.

Plan International says as part of the Cardboard Kids campaign, children in Niger will ask government leaders to make a written commitment to educating all children. And in Lowero, Uganda, children are scheduled to lead a march “demanding the right to education for all.”

HEADLINES

ENTERTAINMENT

Casting Off Cookies?

Fruits and Veggies Become the Main Course On 'Sesame Street'

By Jennifer Frey

Washington Post Staff Writer

Saturday, April 23, 2005; Page C01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10762-2005Apr22.html

There is a panic in the land, and it started on "Sesame Street."

The rumors, they are rampant. Taken together, in dark tones, and one could fear that the beloved boulevard is rapidly transforming into the Avenue of the Politically Correct Puppetariat.

Elmo and Zoe are on an exercise routine. Singing vegetables and talking fruit have invaded the neighborhood. Miles has a new song. It is about broccoli.

And, darkest of all, Cookie Monster has been stripped of his piles of quickly and loudly consumed chocolate-chip cookies.

From California to Australia, from New York to Oregon, fears have arisen about the sanctity of "Sesame Street," the children's show that just started its 36th season. The Los Angeles Times editorialized on the crisis, a staffer at the South Australia Sunday Mail declared herself "rocked to my foundations" by Cookie Monster's transformation, and the Associated Press bemoaned Cookie's new circumstances in a missive sent across the land. The blue fuzzball even wound up on this week's "Hit List" in Entertainment Weekly.

"Cookie Monster To Cut Down on Sugary Treats" reads the EW item, followed by a rant that begins with the word "Sellout!"

What on earth is happening?

Rosemarie Truglio, vice president of education and research for Sesame Workshop, sighs when asked about all the fuss. Sure, she's happy the show is getting so much attention. She's not so happy, however, about the interpretations she has heard.

"We are not putting Cookie on a diet," she says, with a hint of patient exasperation. "We're not taking cookies away from Cookie. It's about teaching moderation.

"We are not about intervention, we are about prevention -- putting healthy habits in [kids'] daily lives."

So this is the deal: For the season that began April 4, "Sesame Street" has decided to target the rampant problem of childhood obesity. So at the top of every show, there's a "healthy habit" that's introduced. There are new characters -- singing eggplants and sweet potatoes, talking apples and bananas. Elmo and Zoe play a healthy food game and learn about the benefits of exercise while jumping rope.

Baby Bear tells a story that involves those singing vegetables in a wizard's garden. Grover moonlights as an exercise instructor. Miles has a new song: "Broccoli Is Good," sung to the tune of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode."

And remember "C Is for Cookie," the Cookie Monster anthem? Well, there's a new song in town, and it's called "A Cookie Is a Sometime Food." And it's sung by Hoots the Owl and a banana, some grapes, a pineapple and an apple. (And, yes, it too is a parody -- this one based on "Porgy and Bess's" "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing").

So Cookie eats his fruit (not the singing ones, of course) enthusiastically. But at the end, he wants his cookies. And gets them.

Well, one.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable," says Margo Wooten of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "You can't build a whole diet around cookies!"

For "Sesame Street," which has long been considered the hallmark of educational children's programming, it's a natural evolution. Teaching kids about good life habits fits in perfectly with the program's mission. Politicians have embraced the message -- more than a dozen senators agreed to film "healthy habit" public service announcements with the "Sesame Street" Muppets.

So let's just accept it, and admit it. This is good for kids. This is a worthwhile idea. Most parents probably hope, deep down, that Elmo can get their 3-year-olds to eat the peas instead of dropping them under the table. Childhood obesity is a very big problem.

Somehow, though, that doesn't seem to make it easier to accept that Cookie Monster is now tossing salads on the Sesame Workshop Web site. What's next, Scooby-Doo restricted to organic kibble? The clink for Count Chocula, Toucan Sam and Cap'n Crunch?

"Kudos to Cookie Monster for trying new things," says Ronald McDonald in a statement through his corporate office.

Ronald, of course, understands Cookie Monster's dilemma. He, too, has undergone such a transformation. Yogurt has made its way onto McDonald's Happy Meal menu. There are now grilled chicken salads available for moms. This January, Ronald was promoted to "Chief Happiness Officer" -- which, translated, turns out to be a "character who tells schoolchildren that french fry consumption equals a need for exercise." (No word yet on when Cookie might be promoted to "Happy Snack Puppet").

"It's great to know you can have your cookies and eat fruit, too," The Ronald said, via e-mail. "It's cool to try different foods and fun to stay active and fit. The way I look at it, it's what I eat and what I do and I'm lovin' it. Let's do lunch!"

Then there's Chester Cheetah, the "spokescat" for Cheetos, who himself introduced baked, lower-fat Cheetos last year in an attempt to be part of the "healthy" eating universe.

"Although it ain't easy being cheesy," Chester says, also via an e-mail statement provided by his company, Frito Lay, "it is easy to balance your diet. Keep up the good work Cookie Monster, we are proud of you."

For the most part, though, official reaction from the cartoon community was hard to come by. There was no response from the Keebler Elves, who were feared to be moping in their tree, concerned that the Cookie Monster's cookie-reduction plan would impact their own financial futures. SpongeBob SquarePants, purveyor of Krabby Patties, had nothing to say.

And no word from the Jolly Green Giant, who should be gloating, given that he has been promoting all that's green and leafy for decades by now.

Yes, of course, it is all an overreaction.

"He is a Cookie Monster," Truglio says. "He loves his cookies. But he's always eaten a variety of things. He even eats tables and chairs."

The world is not coming to an end. Is it a slippery slope? Perhaps. But Oscar the Grouch is not going to go on Zoloft. Really. They swear.

Bond is back as schoolboy of 13

By Tom Parry

23 April 2005

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15434930&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=003-1-2-name_page.html

THE name's Bond, little Jamie Bond - and he's licensed to fill his satchel with homework.

This illustration of the movie hero as a 13-year-old was commissioned by the family of writer Ian Fleming.

It is to appear on the cover of a new set of children's novels on the daring British agent as a schoolboy.

He is shown in baggy trousers and floppy fringe, with only a hint of the charm that would earn him an army of adoring female fans. And it's hard to say which Bond he most resembles, although there are touches of Connery, Moore and Brosnan.

The Young Bond books are written by Fast Show star and Fleming fan Charlie Higson, with the blessing of the author's family. The first book, SilverFin, hit the shelves this month and has been an instant hit.

Now, top illustrator Kev Walker has come up with the image of what 007 would look like as 003.5.

Higson, who is finishing the second book, said: "The hardest thing when writing SilverFin was picturing the young Bond in my mind. Now I know what he looks like."

RESEARCH ON KIDS

22 April 2005

Our Kids Are Happy – U.K.

By Ruki Sayid, Consumer Editor

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15430914&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=our-kids-are-happy-name_page.html

MOST children are happy with their lives and optimistic about the future, a survey has revealed.

Some 40,000 answered questions on their eating, drinking and smoking habits, their family, health, leisure and attitude to life.

Eighty-eight per cent watch TV every night, and 42 per cent of boys aged 12 to 15 do no homework.

Most children are confident about exam success, happy with their home life and less anxious than in the past. Children aged eight to 18 at 452 schools in Britain took part in the survey for the independent Schools Health Education Unit.

SHEU's Dr David Reid said: "The research shows the emotional health and wellbeing of most young people is better than it has been.

"A lot of youngsters are satisfied with their lives, either socially or at school."

HEADLINES

Children's Humour under the Microscope -Scotland

By Ian Graham, PA

SOURCE: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4417114

Academics across the globe have been given funding to try to find out what makes children laugh, it was revealed today.

A professor from the University of Ulster is teaming up with counterparts in the US, Germany, Israel and South Africa to see what tickles children's funny bones.

One of the tests involved will examine whether the Simpsons make kids in all five countries chuckle.

Professor Maire Messenger-Davies, based at the University of Ulster's Coleraine campus, said: "The purpose is to determine what children laugh at and whether there are national or cultural differences that influence their sense of humour."

The year-long research project is being funded by IZI - the serious sounding International Institute for the Study of Youth and Media, based in Munich.

Initially the researchers are compiling samples of humorous material - mainly television programmes, both live and animated - from each of the countries under the microscope.

These will be shown to audiences of eight to 12-year-olds in selected schools in each country and specialists from IZI will measure the responses using a "Fun-o-Meter" - a device to gauge the giggle quotient.

Afterwards the children will be invited to discuss their reactions to what they have viewed and the results will be analysed.

Professor Messenger-Davies said: "English language programmes are widely seen around the world, but children in the UK, Ireland and the US are seldom exposed to programmes from countries like Germany, Israel or South Africa."

She said they knew children liked verbal humour, silly puns and also got a laugh from action material such as people falling over.

"We want to see what humour crosses national boundaries and what is specific to certain countries or cultures.

"We will also be exploring if there is a difference in the humour appreciated by boys and girls," she added.

Programmes like the Simpsons were shown throughout the world, but the study would determine whether its particular brand of humour was universally appreciated, said the professor.

SCHOOLING

Foreign Languages in German Schools

24.04.2005

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1560945,00.html

For a long time, early childhood education in Germany was seen as a bit of a burden. The creed among experts was to let children simply be children, and not weigh them down with too much knowledge, too early on in life.

But Germany's shockingly poor performance in the international comparative education survey -- the PISA study -- has prompted experts to think again. It's hoped that an emphasis on early childhood learning will help close the gap between Germany and other Western nations such as Canada, Denmark and Finland, which occupy top spots in the study's results. Part of the plan involves introducing students to foreign languages starting in the third grade.

At an elementary school in Bonn, for example, third-graders are taught English with the help of songs and poems. Learning in a way that feels like playing helps the kids to speak their first English sentences at eight years of age.

Teacher Regine Siebert speaks slowly and clearly, and is quick to praise and encourage her charges. During the English lesson, she only uses German if absolutely necessary.

"The children react very positively," she said. "They're completely unselfconscious and speak spontaneously. They learn very quickly, and it's a lot of fun to teach them."

HEADLINES

Broadening horizons

English lessons at an elementary school

The children don't just learn English during the lesson. At eight or nine years of age, kids tend to view themselves and their surroundings as the axis around which everything else revolves. But when confronted with a foreign language, it suddenly becomes clear that there's something else outside their little worlds. Education and child development experts have realized that there are other big advantages associated with early language learning.

"Children are curious about other things, foreign things," said education researcher Gabriele Kniffka of Cologne University. "They like to learn, and our experience in elementary schools shows that children get a lot of joy out of learning another language and getting to grips with a foreign culture. That can only be a positive thing."

Equal footing for immigrant children

Another benefit of the introducing foreign languages early on has to do with the increasing number of students in German classrooms who come from immigrant families. In German lessons, these children are often very withdrawn because they lack a background in German. In English class, however, all the children start out on the same level -- and suddenly, there are new faces among the brightest, most active participants.

Ingrid Lommer (dc)

Slum children flaunt their 3R skills -India

http://www.teamindia.net/news/index.php?action=fullnews&id=45854

Jaipur, April 24 : Children living in a dozen slum areas of this Rajasthan capital are being encouraged to become fully literate by sharpening their 3R skills.

Towards this end, charitable trust Pratham Rajasthan has established centres throughout the city where more than 2,000 children in the 7-14 age group were tested for reading, writing and arithmetic abilities, says Grassroots Features.

The reading capability was divided into categories: story, paragraph, sentence, word, letter and 'nothing'. Similar graduated categories were used for the writing and basic arithmetic proficiency.

The exercise continued for over four hours with the excited children hanging around for knowing the results.

In one activity, the children were asked to read out short stories to a group of their peers. In another, every child present in the centre was asked to read stories silently for more than half an hour. Children recited catchy one-liners with telling pride.

After the test, storybooks from the Pratham libraries were distributed among the kids and the teachers and staff joined in the reading.

"The reading sessions created solidarity in the community in support of reading and education. It helped the children see the joy in reading," K.B. Kothari, managing trustee of Pratham Rajasthan, pointed out.

Kothari said the response of children and their parents to the exercise was tremendous and depicted their craving for quality education.

Shashi Kapoor, a film star of yesteryears, gave away certificates of excellence and crayons to select children at a separate function the next day.

Kothari said this unique exercise would create and strengthen the reading culture among the underprivileged children and help them measure their progress in attaining reading, writing and arithmetic fluency.

--Indo-Asian News Service

TECHNOLOGY

Face-making robot debuts in Shenzhen

www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-22 14:10:59

BEIJING, April 22 -- After two years' work, scientists have developed the first Chinese human-shaped robot able to make facial expressions, it was announced on April 18.

The robot, named "Baizhixing" (meaning "smart star"), debuted in Shenzhen, in the southern province of Guangdong, following an announcement by Harbin Institute of Technology's Robot Engineering Technology Center.

HEADLINES

Dr Bao Qingshan, principal of the program, said "Baizhixing" would mainly be used in preschool education.

The 35 centimeter-high robot has been given a friendly, cartoon-style design with a unique nose, wrinkles, big ears and golden hair.

Its mouth moves while speaking, and it makes appropriate facial expressions and head, neck, arm and leg movements.

The invention is aimed at helping rudimentary knowledge development and character cultivation in preschool children, supported by a dedicated website.

"It combines animal imitation technology and modern preschool education theory," said Bao, integrating control systems, complicated mechanical structures, speech synthesis and expandable networking technology.

"All the core technologies have been developed independently, and are equal to the advanced techniques utilized abroad," Bao added. "We have complete intellectual patent rights."

Robots have been used in education before but many are not able to make facial expressions, said Zhang Fenghong, a researcher in education theory, and are less accepted by children.

(Source: China.org.cn)

FESTIVALS/CELEBRATIONS

International Children's Day-Turkey

Saturday, April 23 2005 @ 09:57 AM Central Daylight Time

http://www.turks.us/article.php?story=20050423095751136

International Children's Day was celebrated with a "love walk" by primary school students in Beyoglu, Friday. The walk, which started in Tunel and ended in Taksim Square, was organized by the Beyoglu Municipality. One hundred and twenty students walked along Istiklal street, the heart of Istanbul, while school bands played along side them.

After the walk students stood in front of the the Republic Monument and sang the Turkish national anthem. Beyoglu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan addressed the students, highlighting that Turkey is the only nation in the world to have such a celebration only for children.

Following the ceremony students were taken to an amusement centre.

Chocolate, acting introduce children to Seders

By MICHELE DARGAN , Daily News Staff Writer

Saturday, April 23, 2005

http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/

Lee Hershfield

Beauregard Dart gives his cheek a fast swipe to remove some chocolate milk that doesn't quite find its way into his mouth. The Palm Beach 7-year-old was participating in a 'chocolate' Seder conducted for children and their parents Sunday at Temple Emanu-El.

From left, Ariell Schreier, Hindy Scheiner, Alexa Schram, Mindy Freeman, Jodi Luntz, Nancy Richter and Sarah Stepper light candles and take part in a Passover Seder for children and their parents Sunday at the Palm Beach Synagogue. Members of the synagogue's school act in a Seder play and bake their own matzo.

Lee Hershfield

Four-year-old Elizabeth Goldfarb of Lake Worth munches on a culinary treat she created during the 'chocolate' Seder Sunday at Temple Emanu-El. The treat she combines marshmallow, chocolate matzo and chocolate bars into a delectable sandwich.

It was not your typical Seder.

More than 40 children ate s'mores and drank chocolate milk during a "chocolate Seder" Sunday at Temple Emanu-El.

Substituting chocolate for various facets of the Seder, Rabbi Nogah Sherman used the "chocolate Seder" to teach the synagogue's children what will occur tonight on the first night of Passover.

"It's a creative way to teach them about the holiday," said Sherman, the synagogue's assistant rabbi. "The goal was to get them ready for the Seder. Everyone had a great time singing, laughing, but they were still learning at the same time."

Passover is the eight-day observance commemorating the freedom and exodus of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery and their exodus from Egypt.

The most widely observed Jewish holiday, Passover begins with Seder meals on the first two nights. Matzo — flat, unleavened bread — is eaten during Seder meals and throughout Passover because leavened bread is forbidden during the eight days. Discussion at the Seder is based on a book called the Haggadah, which tells the story of the Jews' enslavement in Egypt and their passage to freedom.

The Seder is a joyous meal, punctuated by singing and readings from the Haggadah. Four cups of wine are consumed at various points during the reading of the Haggadah. Another Seder ritual is eating maror, a bitter herb that represents the bitterness of Jewish servitude in Egypt. Haroset — nuts and apples crushed — symbolizes the mortar slaves made for their masters.

At Temple Emanu-El, high school students helped Sherman lead the Seder. Pre-kindergarten through seventh-grade children sipped chocolate milk in place of wine. Green vegetables were replaced with chocolate and s'mores (sandwiches of graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate) replaced the haroset sandwiched between matzo.

Sherman said she made sure the children knew that the chocolate Seder was not the real thing.

"I told them you don't eat s'mores on the holiday," Sherman said. "At each step, I explained what they will do at the real Seder."

Dina Scheiner runs the Hebrew school at the Palm Beach Synagogue. To help the children understand the Seder, Scheiner held a Seder play, where the children were assigned different parts of the Seder and acted them out.

Following the Seder play, Scheiner set up a matzo "factory" where the children baked their own matzo.

"We wanted to make sure they understand the process of the Seder, so when they go home, they know what to do," Scheiner said. "It's something that they always remember. They loved it because they came up with their own costumes and their own props. We gave them their parts and they came up with their own ideas. It made it more exciting for them."

KID BUSINESS

Now, cell phones for children-USA

Firefly is one of the companies hoping to tap the potential of the preteen market.

By Mike Hughlett

Chicago Tribune

April 23, 2005

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/lifestyle/orl-livfirefly23042305apr23,0,6059385.story?coll=orl-home-entlife

Steven LeVesque peers at a picture of the new Firefly cell phone and declares, "That's the phone for me!"

The boy's admiration should hearten the makers of the phone for preteens. But executives at Firefly Mobile would be less enthusiastic about Steven's mom's response: "No, it's not."

HEADLINES

Sure, the phone has slick features that allow parents control over their kids' calls. But Amy LeVesque of Holland, Mich., says her son Steven does not need a cell phone.

He is, after all, only 10.

Firefly Mobile will soon discover how many parents think like Amy LeVesque as the company tries to conquer the last, great untapped mobile phone demographic: kids.

It's a unique market, one where the ultimate consumer -- the child -- won't make the buying decision. The parent will.

Parents these days are more harried and more worried about their children's safety -- two key factors that Firefly is counting on to sell phones.

But many parents are also like Amy LeVesque. She has her own cell phone and she recognizes safety concerns. But she feels her preteens get enough supervision to make a cell phone an unnecessary investment, particularly because kids are so prone to losing things.

Cell phones have become so ubiquitous that an estimated 78 percent of Americans ages 19 to 64 owned one in 2004, according to Yankee Group. Scant data exist for the preteen market, although Yankee estimates that just 1 percent of children under 10 own cell phones.

As the cellular market becomes more saturated, preteens and seniors may offer the biggest opportunities for growth. And of those two groups, preteens are more attractive because of their youth; they are potential long-term customers.

Firefly isn't alone in the quest to crack the preteen market in the cell-phone industry. Wireless companies offer regular cell phones at a steep discount in family plans. And there are other preteen phone specialists.

Wherify, a California company, plans this spring to offer a kid phone that comes with a global positioning system locator -- so parents can better track their offspring. And in June, Mattel intends to launch a phone with a Barbie theme.

The Firefly phone is the brainchild of Don Deubler, a 31-year-old from Chicago. He was working at an Internet company when the idea struck: a phone tailored for kids that would be simpler to use than a conventional phone but harder to abuse -- for example, a phone that could prevent pranks such as long-distance calls to Australia.

The Firefly phone doesn't have a numeric keypad. Instead, up to 20 phone numbers are programmed into the device by parents and cannot be changed without a password. Also, parents can program the phone so it accepts calls only from certain numbers.

Parents are increasingly giving kids phones for emergencies and easy access to Mom and Dad, the National Association of Elementary School Principals March newsletter concluded.

Deborah Nuzzi has seen the phenomenon firsthand. Neither her former school in Louisville, Ill., nor her current school in Bourbonnais, Ill., where she is principal, allows cell phones.

"But that didn't bother the parents" in Louisville, she says. "They sent their kids to school with [cell phones] in droves."

Bennett Leventhal, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Chicago, says that for some parents -- those always on the go -- a cell phone for preteens might be "an absolute necessity." But in most cases, he says, "it's completely unnecessary."

Mike Hughlett is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.

AWARDS

Seven young film makers receive media awards -Bangladesh

By Staff Reporter

Apr 18, 2005, 13:33

SOURCE: http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_17787.shtml

Seven young filmmakers of Bangladesh received the international Meena Children's Media Award-2005 for their outstanding creativity works on media productions about children and their rights, yesterday.

The United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Asian Media Information and Centre (AMIC) introduced the Meena Children's Media Award in a bid to develop skills in production for electronic media on children issues.

The Meena Children's Media Award is worth Tk 50,000 along with trophy and certificate.

Recipients of the Award are-Md Anwar Hossain for a documentary Sabujer Deshe, Ms Sheema Shetu for "Eight Year Girl by Out of Focus", Ms Hazera Khanam for "My Travel to Europe", Shahiduzzaman Badal for "Paper Picker", Shardar Zainul Abedin for "Agey Shikhi Bangla Barnamala", Ms Rawshan Ara Rukhsana Sarker for "Amrao Pari" and Arjo Shrestha for the "Lost Love Story".

UNICEF Country Representative Mortin Giersing distributed the Award among the recipients at a ceremony held at the Bengal Foundation Gallery in the city.

The recipients were selected after screening a total of 170 submissions produced in different categories. Of them, seven categories of media works on electronic, print and folk media in separate age groups received the Award. The six of the seven productions are documentary films while the rest is a travel story.

Members of the Jury Board that finalised the nominations of the awrdees after examining the productions, Aminur Rahman, Communications Chief of UNICEF Chirsty Mclvor and Communications Officer Shamsuddin Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.

The award recipients expressed their delight at the feat and said these sorts of awards definitely helped the children in grooming their creativity as well as to explore themselves in the media sector.

The organisers said that the award would be given in nine categories in March next year. The dead line for entry is December 31 this year.

HEADLINES

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