This anti-bullying public service announcement is compelling.
Yet I find it ironic that we're trying to stamp out bullying with one hand while championing cheaters and jerks and game-players on reality shows scattered all across modern television.
It's an oxymoron, and sends a very different message to today's youth.
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
A very special touchdown
Years from now, the players at Maize and Maize South won't remember the final score of the middle school football game they played in the suburb of Wichita last Tuesday.
But they'll remember the touchdown they let Brett Loving score late in the game. Brett was born with a muscular disorder that makes something like playing football out of the question. His parents allowed him to join the football team so he could enjoy the camaraderie.
Late in last Tuesday's game, the coaches for both teams agreed to a play that would let Brett score. I get tears in my eyes every time I watch it.
But they'll remember the touchdown they let Brett Loving score late in the game. Brett was born with a muscular disorder that makes something like playing football out of the question. His parents allowed him to join the football team so he could enjoy the camaraderie.
Late in last Tuesday's game, the coaches for both teams agreed to a play that would let Brett score. I get tears in my eyes every time I watch it.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
There's something wrong in Frisco
They're taking their football entirely too seriously, as this Rick Reilly story on ESPN.com shows.
I'm a big football fan, but.....seriously? Whatever happened to having fun? What is that kind of physical punishment doing to still-developing bodies? What long-term damage to the brain is occurring?
All for a few wins that will be forgotten in five years at most? (and perhaps because the player has had multiple concussions by the time he's 15)
It's pathetic....and it would be a joke except for the fact that these are real children being placed in danger.
Wake up, Frisco.
It's pee-wee football, not the invasion of Normandy.
I'm a big football fan, but.....seriously? Whatever happened to having fun? What is that kind of physical punishment doing to still-developing bodies? What long-term damage to the brain is occurring?
All for a few wins that will be forgotten in five years at most? (and perhaps because the player has had multiple concussions by the time he's 15)
It's pathetic....and it would be a joke except for the fact that these are real children being placed in danger.
Wake up, Frisco.
It's pee-wee football, not the invasion of Normandy.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
A 2-year-old's reaction to "I'm Farming and I Grow It"
Even wee ones are being drawn into the spoof video put together by three Kansas farm boys that has exploded in cyberspace in the past week. This clip starts a bit slowly, but stick with it. You'll be glad you did.
To date, the "farming" video has been seen 2.3 million times in just five days.
To date, the "farming" video has been seen 2.3 million times in just five days.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Stranger Danger: What if it had been someone else?
I was on one of my frequent early evening walks a few days ago when I turned onto a residential street near my apartment complex.
The sidewalks are in good shape, the animals well-behaved. It's a nice stretch of one of my most common routes.
On this day, it offered an unsettling surprise.
I saw the small boy on his tricycle riding on the driveway of his house. He couldn't have been more than 4. As I reached the mailbox next to the sidewalk, he rode up and stopped.
"Give me a hug," he said, reaching his arms up to show he meant it. "I'll stay on my bike."
While I had seen him before, I'd never talked to him or his parents. My heart skipped a beat at his request. While I was touched by his gesture, I also knew there was no way I could grant his request.
"I'm sorry, but no," I told him, slowing slightly so he could hear me.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because your parents don't know me," I told him. "But thank you."
"Oh," he replied.
I wanted to stop and tell him that he shouldn't ask for hugs from people he doesn't know. But I had visions of a parent looking out the window and seeing a man they don't know talking to their son. A call to 911, and suddenly I've got police officers questioning me about a perfectly innocent exchange that from a distance may have appeared to be sinister.
I kept walking, and I thought that would be the end of it. But he began following me down the block on his tricycle. We passed one house, then another. And another. I was about to stop and tell him "It would be better if you stayed close to your house" when he stopped and turned back on his own.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
And yet the incident scared me. What if he asked for a hug from someone else? Someone who turned out to be a predator?
Why wasn't a parent keeping an eye on their son? What's going on that such a young child is asking for hugs from total strangers passing by on the sidewalk?
He didn't appear to be malnourished or bruised. It was likely nothing more than an innocent request from a child who has no concept of the bad things that have happened to other children snatched from the street. It doesn't happen often, police have told me, but that doesn't mean it won't.
Perhaps I was just being paranoid - the result of covering too many tragic stories involving children for the Wichita Eagle.
Yet I found myself awfully tempted to walk up to that door and tell the parents it was time they had a talk with their son about the proper behavior to exhibit around strangers. It may just save them much grief some day.
The sidewalks are in good shape, the animals well-behaved. It's a nice stretch of one of my most common routes.
On this day, it offered an unsettling surprise.
I saw the small boy on his tricycle riding on the driveway of his house. He couldn't have been more than 4. As I reached the mailbox next to the sidewalk, he rode up and stopped.
"Give me a hug," he said, reaching his arms up to show he meant it. "I'll stay on my bike."
While I had seen him before, I'd never talked to him or his parents. My heart skipped a beat at his request. While I was touched by his gesture, I also knew there was no way I could grant his request.
"I'm sorry, but no," I told him, slowing slightly so he could hear me.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because your parents don't know me," I told him. "But thank you."
"Oh," he replied.
I wanted to stop and tell him that he shouldn't ask for hugs from people he doesn't know. But I had visions of a parent looking out the window and seeing a man they don't know talking to their son. A call to 911, and suddenly I've got police officers questioning me about a perfectly innocent exchange that from a distance may have appeared to be sinister.
I kept walking, and I thought that would be the end of it. But he began following me down the block on his tricycle. We passed one house, then another. And another. I was about to stop and tell him "It would be better if you stayed close to your house" when he stopped and turned back on his own.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
And yet the incident scared me. What if he asked for a hug from someone else? Someone who turned out to be a predator?
Why wasn't a parent keeping an eye on their son? What's going on that such a young child is asking for hugs from total strangers passing by on the sidewalk?
He didn't appear to be malnourished or bruised. It was likely nothing more than an innocent request from a child who has no concept of the bad things that have happened to other children snatched from the street. It doesn't happen often, police have told me, but that doesn't mean it won't.
Perhaps I was just being paranoid - the result of covering too many tragic stories involving children for the Wichita Eagle.
Yet I found myself awfully tempted to walk up to that door and tell the parents it was time they had a talk with their son about the proper behavior to exhibit around strangers. It may just save them much grief some day.
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