MEXICO DAY CARE FIRE, HUMAN TRAGEDY
Posted by: alexiaharris on: June 10, 2009
It has been a sad, depressing week in Mexico. Last weekend, more than 40 children died when after a day care center caught fire. Smoke inhalation caused the majority of the deaths. There were 123 children and 30 adults inside, yet only one working door.
The Social Security Institute in Mexico (which runs the day care, among others) said the center underwent a municipal safety inspection in May and had emergency exits, an evacuation route and fire extinguishers.
Apparently not. The other doors of the building, including a garage-type door, were sealed shut from the inside.
Some are speculating that the fire was started purposely, blaming political issues (day care owners have relationships with state government officials). Extremely suspicious.
Whenever I drop my children off at school, I always wonder if they are going to be OK; not because I don’t trust the daycare or their teachers, but because of the possibility of something like this happening to them. It’s a scary thought.
It hurts thinking about how hard parents and rescuers tried to save the children, using fists and vehicles to knock down the walls.
I’m waiting to see how this will play out, including how the fire started and if anyone will be charged in the deaths. The fire is still being investigated.
CHILDREN + ADULT-THEMED TV = EARLY SEX
Posted by: alexiaharris on: May 7, 2009
A recent study revealed that teens who watch adult-themed television shows are more likely to have sex at a younger age.
The study included 754 participants who were monitored during childhood and again five years later when they were aged 12 to 18. The earlier in their life they were exposed to adult content; the earlier they became sexually active. (Read the complete story here.)
It’s proven that media and television are the leading sources for information on sex and relationships for teenagers.
Let me break it down…
Lucy, 14, is a faithful Sex and the City viewer. She watches the reruns on TBS. She loves Carrie’s devotion to her journalism career and how she uses her relationship with Big to gain readers and celebrity status. Lucy soon becomes addicted to the show, watching it against her mother’s will. In the meantime, Lucy starts liking a boy who goes to her school. She wants to know how to get his attention. Lucy doesn’t feel comfortable talking to her mom about it, so she adopts the “techniques” used by the show’s Samantha character. In Lucy’s mind, this is the right way to go because “Samantha gets all the hot guys.”
Samantha is known for exploiting her sexuality and using it to get what she wants. Lucy mimics this. A few weeks later, Lucy is known as the school whore.
Am I exaggerating the study’s results? Nope.
According to David Bickham, staff scientist in the Center on Media and Child Health, “Children have neither the life experience nor the brain development to fully differentiate between a reality they are moving toward and a fiction meant solely to entertain.”
In other words, they don’t know the difference between what’s real and what’s fake.
While what is viewed on television or in movies play a role in child’s actions, parents can follow these guidelines (suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics) to decrease the chances of it having a negative effect on their child:
- No television in the bedroom
- No more than 1 to 2 hours of screen time a day
- Co-view television programs and have an open dialogue about its content
What do you think? Is influence of media that big? Can parents change the way adolescents think about sex? Who’s to blame?
BABY GOT BACK… AND BURGERS, TOO.
Posted by: alexiaharris on: April 16, 2009
I like square butts and I cannot lie.
Who would’ve thought that someone would use Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” to promote burgers? Not me. But somebody did. Burger King. It’s not using his song that bothers me. It’s infusing the song with references to SpongeBob SquarePants to appeal to children that bothers me.
It’s sexy, degrading and totally not appropriate for children.
My almost two-year-old son is SpongeBob’s biggest fan, and had his eyes glued to the television when we first saw the commercial. As a mother, I was appalled. As a woman, I was embarrassed. As a PR professional, I was speechless. I can’t believe Nickelodeon, the same brand that protested Chris Brown’s nomination for a Kids’ Choice Award, could go along with a commercial, featuring women shaking their goods for the BK King, as he measured the size of their butts.
Sir Mix-A-Lot was even featured in the ad, saying “booty is booty.” You’ve got to be kidding me.
But I’m not the only one who’s upset. The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) has launched a letter-writing campaign demanding that Nickelodeon and Burger King immediately pull the ad.
Burger King responded that the commercial is intended to appeal to adults who take their kids to the fast food restaurant.
Umm, so when were adults the only ones to watch SpongeBob cartoons?
Where do we draw the line?
As you can probably tell, I’m infuriated. My children will not be indulging in any BK Kids’ Meals any time soon. They like McDonald’s anyway.
STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES
Posted by: alexiaharris on: April 7, 2009
C’mon. I know you’ve heard of the saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Oh, but they do.
When I was a child, my mother would tell me to rehearse that saying over and over again to block out the hurtful things kids would say to ridicule me. From elementary school of high school, guys would always tease me because of my slanted eyes. I convinced myself they only did that because they secretly had a crush on me.
At first I let it go. But the more they did it, the more it hurt. I was young. I didn’t understand why they would make Asian references to me when they knew it embarrassed me. I mean, who would want to be the center of a joke, especially a bad one?
I eventually developed a thick skin, and my embarrassment turned into anger. In my freshman year of high school, I attend a Catholic school. I was only one of 11 Black students in the entire student body. It was really awkward. I was teased because of what I didn’t own. My mom didn’t drive a Range Rover like Liz’s mother. My dad didn’t own a successful upscale restaurant like Lauren’s father. I wasn’t extremely poor, but I damn sure wasn’t rich either. People would call me “Shaniqua” or yell “Here comes the Black girl from hell” as I walked down the hall. I couldn’t take it anymore. I withdrew after my freshman year.
Fast forward nine years. I’m a successful PR professional and blog about children’s issues that are related to health and safety. And I’ll occasionally throw in a tip or two on how that issue corresponds with the public relations industry.
Well, someone commented on my last post regarding Bristol Palin’s pregnancy and her mother’s bid for vice presidency using some very derogatory and racist language. I was taken aback. According to the comment, since I’m not of the majority race, I know nothing about PR and have no business giving advice on parenting. I didn’t know how to respond, so I deleted the comment and said nothing.
This is my first post since then.
I came to grips with myself. Luckily I’m an adult who understands that there will always be ignorance in the world. There are people who get pleasure out of hurting another person’s feelings. Had I been a little more naïve, I could have agreed with this person and said, “She’s right. I’m a n!&&er who knows better than to give my two cents on anything.” Had I been a little more naïve, I would’ve given in to the boys who taunted me as a child. But that’s not me. Not all children are this strong.
The bantering and teasing is sometimes enough to drive a person to harm herself or others. Look at the girl who committed suicide because of nasty things her “friends” said to her on MySpace. Child taunting is a serious issue, and if you do it, you have to take responsibility for the effect your words may have on another person’s life… or death.
ABSTINENCE, PREGNANCY AND PRESIDENCY
Posted by: Alexia Harris on: March 13, 2009
Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, a girl met a boy. Let’s call them Bristol and Levi. (Really creative, I know.) Bristol fell head over heels with Levi. Although she was just a teen, he was everything she wanted in a guy. He was tall, attractive and athletic. Score!
But Bristol wasn’t the only one who was in “love.” Bristol was a catch, too. She was cute and witty. Yeah, that’s about it. Wait, did I mention her mother was the freakin’ governor of Alaska? Jackpot!
Bristol and Levi spent all their free time together. Maybe too much time. It wasn’t long before Bristol became pregnant. This was bad. Really bad.
Bristol was only 17 years old, and her mother, Sarah (Palin), was just tapped to run as vice president of the United States. It gets worse.
Sarah was totally against abortions. Translation: Goodbye innocence. Hello motherhood!
(Side note: Bristol also said it bothered her to hear that many people thought her mother was making her have the baby, when it was her own choice.) Whatev.
Sarah and her husband issued a statement saying they were “proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.”
Yeah, right.
Next thing you know, Bristol and Levi are engaged. Like we didn’t see that coming.
Can we say “arranged marriage?” Apparently, that was Sarah’s way of correcting the problem.
It sounds like someone’s PR team didn’t think the situation through. The result was not natural, and it had “set-up” written all over it.
Regardless of my views, Levi claimed something different.
“We both love each other. We both want to marry each other. And that’s what we are going to do.”
I guess.
Fast forward a few months. Bristol gives birth to a healthy baby boy. Congrats!
In an interview, she verbally slapped her mother in the face by saying that abstinence is “not realistic at all.” That goes against Sarah’s stance to teaching abstinence-only education in schools.
Take that, Sarah!
Now, recent news headlines are reporting that Bristol and Levi called off their engagement. We didn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out. At least I didn’t.
I saw it coming, and the statistics weren’t on the couple’s side.
According to teenhealthandmarriage.com, more than 60 percent of teen parents get divorced within five years. If pregnancy is the main reason for a teen marriage, the failure rate can be as high as 90 percent in six years.
So what does this mean? Chances are, Bristol and Levi weren’t going to get married anyway, and if they did, it wouldn’t have been too long before shit hit the fan.
Too make a long story short, Levi is a lucky man. He’s free, and thanking his lucky stars that his ex-future mother-in-law didn’t win the one-way ticket to the White House.
On the other hand, I bet he’s regretting that “Bristol” tattoo he has on his finger.
LOVE… IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING. SOMETIMES.
Posted by: Alexia Harris on: February 24, 2009
It happened. It finally happened. You finally met the guy of your dreams. He’s everything you’ve ever wanted. He treats you nice. He has a car. He has a good paying job (which is great, considering the economy). He doesn’t live with his mother nor does he have any children.
Everything is going good for you, but it doesn’t last for long. Your relationship goes sour. The “I love you” stops and jealousy sets in. You argue about everything. The “Who is that girl?” and “Why is she looking at you like that?” questions start rolling. The things that Johnny did that used to be so cute are getting annoying. You try to make your relationship work. You try talking about your problems. You go see a counselor. You pray. You cross your fingers and hope that what people predicted does not come true. However, regardless of your many attempts, it’s over. Your fairytale romance is over.
Sound familiar?
Well even if it hasn’t happened to you (yet), I’m sure you know someone who perfectly fits this description. Do the names Chris and Rihanna ring a bell?
I tried to block the situation out my mind. I didn’t want to believe that Chris, who seems so innocent and sweet, could hurt anyone. I told myself, “This is a bad joke.” Then I saw the picture of Rihanna after the incident. She looked horrible. For the first time, I felt bad for her. It may seem cruel, but I made up excuses for Chris, trying to find a way to blame Rihanna for the fight. But there’s no point. Even if the fight included both parties, it’s not looking too good for Chris. Because he didn’t think before he acted, his promising career may be long gone.
This fight has affected people outside of the couple’s circle, including my 48-year-old mother, who is a social worker in a male juvenile correctional facility.
“Chris was someone my boys could look up to, but now he’s facing the same charges as some of them,” she said. “It’s a shame how his life can shatter right before his eyes.”
The consequences to Chris and Rihanna’s personal and professional lives are saddening.
Rihanna must heal emotionally and physically. It will be difficult to ignore the paparazzi and shut out the tabloids when your bruised face and love-story-gone-wrong is gracing the covers.
Chris, on the other hand, is losing endorsements and radio stations are refusing to play his music. He’s facing jail time and his fan base in dwindling.
Although he issued an apology, it came too late and had little influence on improving the situation. Chris was quiet for too long, causing the public to question his sincerity and believe what was being said on blogs and other media outlets, such as Facebook. The ultimate PR no-no.
Two lives were drastically changed. Two careers affected. Although Chris and Rihanna once shared what seemed like an unbreakable bond, their love for each other may be what kills their careers for good.
OMG! DNT 4GT 2 TAKE UR MEDS!
Posted by: Alexia Harris on: May 29, 2008
Generation Y (yes, I’m part of that generation) is addicted to cell phones. Text messaging more than the actual call features. I’ll text my friends before calling them. Why waste my 500 anytime minutes just to say, “We’re still on for Friday, right?”
Texting has become a necessary component in my life, and the lives of many other tweens, teens, and young adults. Whether I’m on the toilet (I know, TMI) or in church (Lord, please forgive me), I can’t seem to stop texting. Even though I’m grown, my mother still yells at me for not ignoring my phone when she’s visiting.
The concept of texting even has its own commercials. Check out this popular Cingular commercial where a mom is stressing over her daughter’s addiction to text messaging and using text idioms as everyday language.
There is even a text messaging competition. Last April, a 13-year-old girl from Pennsylvania scored $25,000 after spelling “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” on her cell phone. The girl, who beat 200 competitors, estimates she sends more 8,000 text messages every month. I bet her phone carrier is very happy to have her as a customer!
But now, parents have a reason to rejoice over their children receiving texts. Someone came up with the brilliant idea to start sending texts to teen patients reminding them to take their prescription medication. Pure genius!
According to Dennis Drotar, a physician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, some studies suggest that on average, only half of adolescents properly follow treatment steps. Research also suggests that as little as 30 percent of teens correctly take medication to prevent asthma attacks.
Ohio doctors are one of the firsts to experiment with the text reminders.
One pilot study participant, 16-year-old Kabrina Moton, said she once went an entire month without using her asthma inhaler, but since receiving the text reminders hasn’t missed a dose. (Read full story)
Although the full study will be conducted later this year, looking at Moton’s progress, it seems to be a great idea.
I always forget to take my medications, sometimes going weeks without popping my prescriptions because I have so many other things to worry about. Getting a friendly reminder may be the trick to get me on a tight medication schedule.
(TEEN) GIRLS GONE WILD!!! X-RATED
Posted by: Alexia Harris on: May 12, 2008
“If we were a movie
You’d be the right guy
And I’d be the best friend
You’d fall in love with
In the end we’d be laughing
Watching the sunset
Fade to black
Show the names
Play that happy song”
Play that happy song?
Well, things haven’t been so happy for kid star Miley Cyrus (a.k.a. Hannah Montana). After giving the world, and bloggers like me, something to talk about when she posed half-naked for Vanity Fair, Miley has been the target of comment and ridicule. Thanks to you Miley, I have another interesting post to publish! 
Children are obsessed with Hannah and her split personality, as they are with Jamie Lynn Spears and High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens. But what are parents to do when their children are looking up to 16-year-old parents-to-be and young actresses with topless pictures floating on the Web? Or how do they explain to their kids that Miley, even with her exposed back and post-sex hair, is still a good girl?
That’s a hard one. I’m just glad my daughter isn’t fanatical over Hannah Montana.
ATTENTION PARENTS: Be prepared to talk about the birds and the bees!
According to Miley, the picture was “artsy,” (she now has changed her opinion) but if you call that artistic, then I guess so are the pin-ups on the ceilings and walls of the nearest prison that Jim of Cell Block D is using to help relieve his sexual frustration.
OK, that may be a tad extreme, but there are perverts that get pleasure from looking at little girls with their clothes on, let alone those covered in only a bed sheet.
But wait, it gets worse. Rumor has it that Miley has gotten an offer to pose in Playboy. Yup, in three years, Hef (another perv) wants Miley to grace the magazine’s centerfold. I wouldn’t be surprised if she said yes, with full support from dad.
That’s scheduled to happen three years from now, but what in the meantime? Will Miley follow behind Jamie and become preggers? Or will she trail Lindsay (Lohan) and Britney (Spears) and be the latest star-gone-wild, behavior Miley calls “normal” and should be expected from 21- to 25-year-olds? I think we all know the answer to this one.
So, where does Disney go from here? How do they handle a bad situation that could’ve been prevented and may have a damaging effect on Disney’s market?
This is a tough one, but the first thing on my list would be to have a talk with Miley and her management team (because they obviously aren’t doing a good job of managing). Whatever Disney decides to do, they need to do it quick because ratings are already decreasing! (read more)
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
SCHOOLS TO BE JUDGED ON HOW MANY STUDENTS GET KNOCKED UP
Posted by: Alexia Harris on: May 1, 2008
Schools in the United Kingdom will be required to keep records of student pregnancy rates, drug addictions, criminal records, and obesity levels. That’s right, schools will have to document how many of its students get knocked up, sniff coke, rob their neighbors and are topping the scales. (read the full story)
The UK government is requiring schools to do this to give parents a harsh dose of reality: that their children are sluts, druggies, thieves and fat slobs.
Schools will be responsible for what happens to students during and after school. According the report, Ofsted inspectors will judge schools using a number of criteria, making UK schools accountable “for children’s safety, enjoyment and happiness.” That means although using meth and sleeping with Jim, Joe and Bob may make kids happy, it will be reported.
The UK government decided to take this drastic step in an attempt to lower the country’s teenage pregnancy rate, which is one of the highest in Europe, and to decrease drug use. Last year, a government survey found that one in seven children (aged 10 through 15) in England had used drugs.
But not everyone agrees with this plan. Teachers are outraged that they will be held responsible for something in which they have no control.
Translation: Parents may now be off the hook when it comes to their children’s behavior and naughty activities.
Teachers, who have one of the toughest jobs, are being forced to add more onto their already heavy work load. When I was in school, I didn’t listen to my teachers because I didn’t care. I thought I was grown and could make my own decisions. But at home I knew who was in charge: my mother. And this is the case for most kids. You know the most your teacher could do is give you detention, but your mother could whoop your butt.
This plan needs to be revamped. There has to be another way to lower pregnancy rates and drug use. If anything, parents need to collaborate and work with teachers to reach out to teens. Everyone involved in a child’s life, including teachers, doctors, counselors, and coaches are responsible for that child, but to put all the responsibility on the teachers is just plain wrong.
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY
Posted by: Alexia Harris on: April 25, 2008
According to a study recently conducted in Britain, one in four teenagers are depressed.
So why are these kids unhappy?
The Children’s Society, who conducted the poll, said the teenagers are feeling down because of pressures at home and school.
Many of the subjects said they were subjected to academic stress at school, peer group pressure from classmates and high expectations within the family. Being bullied was also a cause. 
There were others that said they were obsessed with their appearance because of the pressure to look good. Seven out of ten teens said they dieted some or all of the time.
One girl said, “At school you are under pressure to be pretty, wear make-up and have the right figure. If not, you don’t fit in. I don’t like the way I look because I am not skinny or tall.” (Read other comments here)
Luckily I was never bullied as a child, but I was teased. Classmates would make fun of the shape of my eyes, which have a slant, calling me names like “Shelby Woo” and “Ms. Swan.” However, there were other kids that were tortured just because they couldn’t afford name-brand clothes or the newest pair of Air Jordans.
Depression is real and bullying is a serious problem affecting youth not just in Britain, but everywhere. Just a few weeks ago, a girl was beat up by a group of girls because of something she said on her MySpace page. The victim was beat until she became unconscious. Not too long before that, a girl committed suicide because of a MySpace hoax.
The suicide victim, Megan, thought she made a friend when a guy named “Josh” reached out to her on MySpace. Megan, 13, who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, communicated with Josh for more than a month until her one day ended their friendship. Josh said he heard Megan was cruel, which is why he couldn’t be friends with her anymore. The next day, Megan committed suicide. (Read the story)
It must be stressed to children that everyone is different. So you don’t look like Halle Berry and or have the body of Jessica Alba. Who cares? And you don’t have the IQ of Einstein or the athletic ability of Lebron. So freaking what!
Kids torment other kids because they are insecure with themselves and make themselves feel better by putting other people down. Be happy with who and what you are. Enjoy your childhood. Save the worrying for when you have to work three jobs just to fill your gas tank. Until then, breathe easy.
- SCHOOLS TO BE JUDGED ON HOW MANY STUDENTS GET KNOCKED UP
- STDs ARE COMMON AMONG U.S. TEEN GIRLS... SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
- (TEEN) GIRLS GONE WILD!!! X-RATED
- WHEN CHARITY BECOMES CONTROVERSY
- CHILDREN'S VACCINATIONS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
- WHEN APOLOGIZING ISN'T ENOUGH, part 1
- DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY
- About the Blogger
- amandahayes: Alexia, great post! This is a topic that I find completely distressing, as I have two little sisters and hope to join the wonderful world of motherhoo
- Cards: Thanks Good one. Actually I was looking for some love and romance ideas for my project on love cards http://www.dgreetings.com/love_romance_cards/
- krishna: Its a nice article..says all about current scenario, what lacks and whts there... i guess the holistic strategy shd be adopeted by the hlth authoritie
