KidsTerrain Topics In The News

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) are terms familiar to most and are usually ascribed to children. Yet, many adults, particularly those in their late 30s and older, may suffer from one of these disorders and not even know it. ADD and ADHD were not widely studied, discussed, debated, and diagnosed until the 1990s, long after many adults were out of the school system.

For adults with ADHD, the workplace can be stressful and challenging. “If these challenges are not recognized and coping strategies not developed, people with ADHD may find themselves jumping from job to job, being terminated, and becoming increasingly frustrated and unhappy” wrote psychologist Janet Frank.

In the workplace, ADHD adults may encounter “ADHD traps” such as distractibility, impulsivity, boredom, time management and organization problems, procrastination, difficulty with long-term projects, and interpersonal difficulties.

Dr. Edward Hallowell, founder of The Hallowell Center, writes that “external structure” is key. He suggests using lists, color-coding reminders, and notes to self. Read more »

Workplace bullying refers to persistent aggressive or unreasonable actions of a person (or group of people) towards an employee (or group of employees). Bullying behavior is that which intimidates, degrades, offends, or humiliates a worker. The behavior may be inflicted verbally, nonverbally, psychologically, or physically.

The Workplace Bullying Institute* just released its Labor Day 2008 Survey “How Employers & Co-Workers Respond to Workplace Bullying.”

The WBI study surveyed two separate 400-person respondent groups. The participants visited the WBI web site and completed one or both of the surveys, asking about either their employers’ responses to bullying, or asking what co-workers did.

The question posed: At work, have you experienced any or all of the following types of repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation or humiliation?

I found the results to be astounding. Read more »

On Saturday August 30, three years and two days after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, I saw a segment on Good Morning America about an extraordinary 3rd grade art project at a New Orleans elementary school.  The children were asked to create two boxes—one filled with memories from the storm that changed their lives; the second to contain their hopes, wishes, and dreams for the future.

For these children, the memories of Katrina are still palpable. This was never more evident to me than in these words from 9-year-old Rodney Green.

“People are still suffering from the storm. People still don’t have houses, food, and water. And people don’t have enough money to afford it because of the storm. People are still struggling. Katrina never left,” he said. “The water may have gone, but she never left.” Read more »

First there was “thinspiration”. . . and now we have “pro-ana” (pro-anorexia) and “pro-mia” (pro-bulimia)– websites dedicated to promoting the idea that eating disorders “are a good thing.”

I recently visited one of the pro-ana web sites and I was horrified to find postings and journals, mainly from young females asking for “help.”

Here’s a sampling of their postings: “. . . first day fasts are the worst i am filling up on diet coke and tea which are my water. . . any ideas so i can not think about my hunger pangs. . .” Another young woman wrote: “I have only been having between 200-500 cals a day and I have lost 6lb in the past week but then for some strange reason when I got on the scales this morning I had put on 1lb. . . . I have been doing 8mile bike rides and uphill running with very few cals and I put on a pound I am so angry and frustrated!!!!”

Then, with a click of the mouse, I was able to read their journals. This is where I read their anguish . . .stories of childhood abuse, of neglect. Entries filled with self-hatred and self-loathing. Read more »

I thought this topic was worth revisiting, especially since I heard these alarming statistics today:

• Boys were much more likely to die from the choking game than girls; 87% of victims were boys.
• Most of the children that died were 11-16 years old (89%).
• Nearly all of the children who died were playing the game alone when they died.

This deadly game has been growing in popularity across the country. Known as The Choking Game, kids get a quick high by stopping the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain. Yup! You read it right… Read more »

Grown women struggling with eating disorders is the latest, hidden national epidemic. While some adults may have initially developed their illness in their pre-teen or teenage years, clinicians are seeing a steady increase in eating disorders developed during adulthood.

For adult women, the triggers are often mid-life anxieties: divorce, children leaving home or “empty nest syndrome,” a chronically ill relative, the loss of a parent, or extreme loneliness.

Our youth-obsessed culture plays a role in determining our body image, too. In our society, aging is more difficult for women than it is for men. Thin is in, has been, and always will be. And being thin is a good thing. But being too thin is not. Read more »

Okay, I will admit right upfront that I have a problem with media-made roles models. Case in point: teen media-darling Jamie-Lynn Spears, the star of Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101. She has an official fan club and numerous unofficial fan clubs worldwide, clothing and accessory lines, DVDs, even a Zoey 101 ring tone. Tweens and teens admire her, emulate her, want to be like her.

Oh, did I mention that she’s pregnant? That’s right, the 16-year-old little sister of Brittany Spears announced today that she is indeed 12-weeks pregnant. What message does this send to our tweens and teens about pre-marital sex? Read more »

I’ve been mulling over this topic for several days now, trying to wrap my mind and emotions around this horrific story. It is sad enough when a child feels so despondent that the only alternative is to take one’s life. But, in the case of Megan Meier, knowing that a parent…a neighbor who lived just four houses down from the child…played a part in this child’s death overwhelms me.

Megan’s parents were not neglectful; they did not allow their daughter unfettered access to MySpace. According to journalist Steve Pokin of the St. Charles Journal, Megan’s mother monitored quite closely whom her daughter added as a friend to her MySpace page. Read more »

As the harried holiday season barrels down on us, why not stop for a few moments–15 minutes–and talk with children about giving back at Thanksgiving. Instilling in our children the true spirit of Thanksgiving is a precious gift that will last a lifetime. We can do this in many ways.

Many communities have food pantries. Take your child grocery shopping. Ask them to contribute a portion of their allowance to feeding someone in need this holiday season. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money—10% can work wonders. Read more »

While browsing the bookstore the other day, I noticed three teenage boys excitedly discussing a book. “I’m tellin’ ya, it improved my insight. You gotta read this if you’re serious about competin’. Check it out.”

Yes, I was near the sports section. But I figured any book that got a kid this excited had to be worth “checkin’ out.” So I moved in to get a glimpse of the title.

Was I taken ever aback. Read more »