Category: Modern Parenting,

The history of separating slave and Indian children from their parents in America

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,Leave a comment

Each of these U.S. policies, Fernandez said, begins with the assumption “that the idea of family is simply less important to people of color and that the people involved are less than human. To justify ripping families apart, the government must first engage in dehumanizing the targeted group, whether it is Native Americans, African Americans or immigrants from Central America fleeing murder, rape, extortion and kidnapping.”

Trump, he noted, dehumanized immigrant children by saying, “ ‘They look so innocent. They’re not innocent.’ ”

“There is no question these children are innocent,” Fernandez said, “but Trump associates them with the idea that these are not like your children and thus less than human.” 

The history of separating slave and Indian children from their parents in America – The Washington Post

sigh…

Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’: Families used to be split up in East Germany, too. It caused lifelong trauma.

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Europe,, Media and Culture,, Modern Parenting,, The Americas,Leave a comment

In a now-unified Germany, forced adoptions have become synonymous with the state terrorism and injustice that was rampant in the formerly socialist East, known as the GDR. Reached by phone Wednesday and told about the U.S. controversy, Behr, 50, drew a direct comparison between her experience and the fate of children now being separated from their parents in the United States.

“Of course when I hear of this, I immediately think of my own upbringing. Witnessing the arrest of my mom and being separated from her at that age caused a lifelong trauma for me,” said Behr, who lives in Berlin and is involved in research projects about childhood trauma caused by family separation during the GDR.

Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’: Families used to be split up in East Germany, too. It caused lifelong trauma. – The Washington Post

Sigh….

This teen wasn’t allowed into her homecoming dance because she was wearing a jumpsuit

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Modern Parenting,, Schools,Leave a comment

Despite her best efforts, she hadn’t found the perfect dress. But, no worries, she thought. She already had a jumpsuit in her closet, and she could easily dress it up for the dance.

Or so she thought. When the 17-year-old arrived at the Tampa Bay Homeschool homecoming dance on September 27, the event planner stopped her. She wasn’t allowed in.

The reason? She wasn’t wearing a dress.

This teen wasn’t allowed into her homecoming dance because she was wearing a jumpsuit – CNN

Since there is no school distric t involved they can’t be sued to oblivion to make a point the tax-payers would never allow them to forget. In lieu of that the event planner should be sued and charged pressed for discrimination in a criminal court. People who treat young women like this should PAY DEARLY.

Is it Rude, Is it Mean, or is it Bullying?

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,, Modern Parenting,Leave a comment

In the last few years, Americans have collectively paid attention to the issue of bullying like never before; millions of school children have been given a voice, 49 states in the U.S. have passed anti-bullying legislation, and thousands of adults have been trained in important strategies to keep kids safe and dignified in schools and communities. These are significant achievements.

At the same time, however, I have already begun to see that gratuitous references to bullying are creating a bit of a “little boy who cried wolf” phenomena. In other words, if kids and parents improperly classify rudeness and mean behavior as bullying—whether to simply make conversation or to bring attention to their short-term discomfort—we all run the risk of becoming so sick and tired of hearing the word that this actual life-and-death issue among young people loses its urgency as quickly as it rose to prominence.

It is important to distinguish between rude, mean, and bullying so that teachers, school administrators, police, youth workers, parents, and kids all know what to pay attention to and when to intervene. As we have heard too often in the news, a child’s life may depend on a non-jaded adult’s ability to discern between rudeness at the bus stop and life-altering bullying.

Is it Rude, Is it Mean, or is it Bullying? | Psychology Today

hmmm

Trump administration privatizing migrant child detention

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,, The Americas,1 Comment

“The United States is the country in the world that detains the most children for immigration reasons, and probably for the longest period of time. No other country comes close,” said Michael Bochenek, a Human Rights Watch attorney who serves on a United Nations research team examining the global detention of children. “To have private companies move into the area of the care and custody of children in detention-like settings is especially troubling.”

…Nonprofit providers, however, have faced criticism of their own. Earlier this year, a review of 38 legal claims obtained by the AP — some of which have never been made public — showed taxpayers could be on the hook for more than $200 million in damages from parents who said their children were harmed while under care from nonprofit foster providers and other shelters.

…The Trump administration has started shifting some of the caretaking of migrant children toward the private sector and contractors instead of the largely religious-based nonprofit grantees that have long cared for the kids.

So far, the only private company caring for migrant children is CHS, owned by beltway contractor Caliburn International Corp. In June, CHS held more than 20% of all migrant children in government custody. And even as the number of children has declined, the company’s government funding for their care has continued to flow. That’s partly because CHS is still staffing a large Florida facility with 2,000 workers even though the last children left in August.

…DC Capital Partners bought CHS, a company with a troubled past. The firm agreed in 2017 to pay out $3.8 million to settle an investigation involving allegations that it double billed and overcharged the federal government for medical services.

Despite the fraud settlement, CHS went on to win a no-bid contract to operate Homestead. At the time, federal officials said they didn’t have to open the bidding to competitors, typically the way taxpayer dollars are spent, because there was “unusual and compelling urgency.”

…No-bid contracts can lead to higher costs. CHS, a contractor, typically hires locally, staffing up as quickly as it can, hiring hundreds of people through online ads and at community job fairs. In contrast, nonprofits typically are paid through grants. They have screened staffers on call, who can be flown in if a shelter needs to care for a sudden increase of children for a short period.

…Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly joined Caliburn’s board this spring after stepping down from decades of government service; he joined the Trump administration as Secretary of Homeland Security, where he backed the idea of taking children from their parents at the border, saying it would discourage people from trying to immigrate or seek asylum.

Critics say this means Kelly now stands to financially benefit from a policy he helped create.

…Kelly and other corporate directors including Retired Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, Retired Admiral James G. Stavridis and Retired Rear Admiral Kathleen Martin could have received at least $100,000 a year for their service and advice, and a $200,000 bonus if the company went public.

…CHS’s business plan going forward depends on having more kids in their shelters, according to a prospectus its parent company Caliburn filed last year to go public with a $100 million stock offering.

…Overall, the federal government spent a record $3.5 billion caring for migrant children over the past two years to run its shelters through both contracts and grants.

…The government doesn’t disclose the names of individual shelters, nor how many children are in each one. But confidential government data obtained by the AP shows that in June nearly one in four migrant children in government care was housed by CHS. That included more than 2,300 teens at Homestead, Florida, and more than 500 kids in shelters in Brownsville, Los Fresnos and San Benito, Texas. For each teen held at Homestead at that time, it cost taxpayers an average $775 per day.

Trump administration privatizing migrant child detention – MarketWatch

sigh….

Are there any differences in the development of boys’ and girls’ brains?

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,, Modern Parenting,Leave a comment

It is important to emphasize that these findings describe only the average differences between boys and girls. In fact, the range of abilities within either gender is much greater than the difference between the “average girl” and the “average boy.” In other words, there are plenty of boys with excellent verbal skills, and girls with excellent visual-spatial ability. While it can be helpful for parents and teachers to understand the different tendencies of the two sexes, we should not expect all children to conform to these norms.

…Genes and hormones set the ball rolling, but they do not fully account for sex differences in children’s brains. Experience also plays a fundamental role.

Are there any differences in the development of boys’ and girls’ brains? • ZERO TO THREE

Again, not enough credence is given to socialization here.

Doctors took a newborn baby from her parents after they refused a vitamin K shot for her. Now the couple is suing the hospital and DCFS.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Modern Parenting,Leave a comment

The episode was the result of a controversial DCFS policy that classified parents’ refusal of their newborn’s vitamin K shot as medical neglect, a move that thrust the agency into a contentious debate over the rights of parents to make decisions about their children’s care. The policy was rescinded a year ago as agency leaders sought to ensure that DCFS wasn’t “overstepping the boundaries” of state law and determined the shots should not be classified as medically necessary.

…On Monday, the Boughers and several other parents filed a sweeping federal lawsuit accusing the agency, its current and former leaders, a number of doctors and three hospitals of violating their constitutional rights just after the births of their children. Hours that should have been filled with happiness and family photos were instead filled with uncertainty, they said, as children were temporarily taken into protective custody, DCFS caseworkers were called and the parents were made to feel like criminals.

The lawsuit contends DCFS and medical staff broke state and federal law by improperly seizing newborns or threatening to do so, said Richard Dvorak a lawyer for the families. It alleges that doctors continued to coerce parents, citing the inevitability of DCFS intervention, even though they knew the policy had been rescinded.

…Nurses finally returned the baby to the Boughers about 8 p.m. that night, without any explanation, they said.

The next day, a DCFS investigator showed up in Angela Bougher’s hospital room to say doctors confirmed the baby was healthy and that she was going to deem the medical neglect allegation unfounded.

But to close the case, the investigator said, someone would have to visit the Boughers’ home to verify their other children were unharmed. About a week later, several Joliet police officers appeared at their home, they said, furthering their ordeal. The experience left the Boughers shaken, distrustful of the medical community and fearful whenever they have to go the hospital.

…An obstetrician at the hospital told Anderson she would suffer no consequences for declining the shot, according to the lawsuit.

But in the delivery room, when Anderson said no to the shot, a doctor warned the hospital “would take away her baby,” according to the lawsuit, which added that numerous doctors, nurses and hospital officials tried to convince Anderson to allow the shot for her baby girl.

When Anderson continued to decline, a doctor came into her room with hospital security, saying he was going to physically remove the baby, the lawsuit said.

Doctors took a newborn baby from her parents after they refused a vitamin K shot for her. Now the couple is suing the hospital and DCFS. – Chicago Tribune

hmmmm

After religious exemptions nixed, NY parents scramble to vaccinate kids

On By peanutgallerynhIn Modern Parenting,, Religion,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

More than 1,200 cases of measles have been confirmed in 30 states this year, more than three-quarters of them linked to outbreaks in New York and New York City, the Centers for Disease Control reported.

…New York lawmakers revoked a religious exemption for mandatory school vaccinations, the change sent thousands of the state’s parents scrambling to get their kids shots — or get them out of the classroom entirely.

…The US Supreme Court ruled in 1905 that states have the right to enforce compulsory vaccination laws.

…Many of the New York cases have been among unvaccinated people in Orthodox Jewish communities. Resistance to vaccinations remains, despite scientific evidence that they are both safe and effective.

….Many parents …views on vaccines does not stem from formal religious teachings but rather personal beliefs, including that God created people with natural immunity against diseases.

After religious exemptions nixed, NY parents scramble to vaccinate kids | The Times of Israel

hmmm

‘Can’t feel my heart:’ IG Says Separated Kids Traumatized

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

The little boy, about 7 or 8, was under the delusion that his dad had been killed. And he thought he was next.

Other children believed their parents had abandoned them. And some suffered physical symptoms because of their mental trauma, clinicians reported.

…Already distressed [by events] in their home countries or by their journey, [many] showed more fear, feelings of abandonment and post-traumatic stress symptoms than children who were not separated [from their families.

…Thousands of childcare workers were given direct access to migrant children before completing required background and fingerprint checks.

…A second Office of Inspector General report found 31 of the 45 facilities reviewed had hired case managers who did not meet Office of Refugee Resettlement requirements, including many without the required education. In addition, the review found 28 of the 45 facilities didn’t have enough mental health workers.

…Children were being given psychotropic medications. …About 300 children overall between May and July of 2018 were prescribed antidepressants. Staff described some concerns that dosages or types of medication may not have been right.

…Federal investigators also found some shelters relying on employees to report their own criminal histories. A background check found one employee — who “self-certified” that she had no history for crimes involving child abuse — had a third-degree child neglect felony on her record.

…Only four of the 45 shelters reviewed by the U.S. Health and Human Services inspector general met all staff screening requirements.

…During a time when sponsors had to be fingerprinted, children were held in facilities for as long as 93 days.

…The watchdog said the longer children were in custody, the more their mental health deteriorated, and it recommended minimizing that time, …creating better mental health care options, and hiring more trained staff.

…”Significant factors”  [the agency refused to own to any responsibility for contributed to the problems.] Those included a surge in children at the border, the children’s …mental health needs and a [lack of the foresight needed to do things like bring in more] qualified bilingual [staff of every kind,] especially in rural areas.

‘Can’t feel my heart:’ IG Says Separated Kids Traumatized

agggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Accused Tearfully Addresses Judge Before She’s Sentenced: ‘I’m Forever Sorry’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Modern Parenting,, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The 20-year-old Ohio woman rarely showed any emotion as she was tried on allegations she murdered and buried her newborn baby. She had wiped away tears when her daughter’s remains were shown to the jury, and she had smiled briefly while her brother testified about their close bond.

Other than that, she sat stoically in court for the 10-day trial.

But everything changed on Thursday, when she was found not guilty of aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. She was found guilty of only one charge: gross abuse of a corpse. As the verdict was read, Richardson wept.

Ex-Cheerleader Tearfully Addresses Judge Before She’s Sentenced: ‘I’m Forever Sorry’

hmmmm