Category: Children

Competitive sports is a great way to grow as a child or even an adult. Most people think that sports are bad for kids, they think they might get hurt, but if the kid gets hurt, they need to get that out of their mind set and try again. Kids really love sports and sports really help the kids’ health. If your child doesn’t really go out a lot to get exercise, then competitive sports will be amazing for them and they can get exercise when they go to practice or games. Most children quit sports just because the cost of it or their parents don’t have a lot of money, so they can’t play. If the kids start playing competitive sports at a young age, then their mindset will like competitive sports and maybe continue and even go to the big leagues. Playing competitive sports help students reduce their anxiety, the kids can worry less on a test or in a game, all that can balance school so they do better.

Some teachers say that children who play sports don’t do as good in school as people who don’t do sports. Playing sports make you look cool, you could have a good game and now you’re really proud of yourself. Most parents want their kid to stay healthy and want them to exercise a little. Playing sports is great exercise. Parents might know why their kid quit, It might be that it’s not fun anymore. Some kids think that they are too old and too cool to play sports, but they never know if they are good enough they could get a scholarship. They have too much pressure on them to play, and even injuries. If a kid gets an injury while they are playing sports, then they will not like sports anymore. If kids play sports it can boost their self esteem. If they play competitive sports and are really good at it, this could show their abilities and have self-respect for themselves. Playing sports helps kids learn teamwork and leadership skills. Working as a team to reach a common goal helps children develop communication and problem solving skills that will benefit them on the field and off.

During games and even schools kids need to follow the rules, while in sports you need to follow the rules or you can be kicked out of the game, it helps the kids follow the rules. Some kids hate when they lose a game that they played and throw a fit, but with sports they can learn to lose and not to be sad about losing. Years go by and the numbers for participation for sports drop. And last but not least it’s FUN and when kids play sports they are having fun and having great memories. The memories made playing competitive sports will last a lifetime. They get to play with other people and that is a great memory that they will never forget.

Remember when you had your child? the thrill of joy that ran through you was inexplicable. One goal becomes apparent: To raise up the best child ever; physically strong, physiologically and mentally equipped to face the seemingly endless hurdles that life will eventually present to them, and to ultimately help them on their journey towards a fulfilled adulthood.

However, for most of us, that dream gets tarnished – situation arises, either it is genetics, bullying at school, criticism, innate personality and so on – that influences our child and makes them very shy; lacking the desired social skills. This can lead to loneliness, increased anxiety levels and can hinder them from reaching their full potential.

The good news, however, is that there is a proven way to prevent this from occurring. Martial arts can help your shy child reach into his/her inner strength to defeat shyness. Here are some of the ways this can happen;

Confidence and Self-Esteem Building

While sports can improve the confidence of your child, team-based sport like soccer isn’t the appropriate for your shy child because of the pressure associated with team-based sports; it can even further cripple their confidence level. On the other hand, pair sport like martial arts has been shown by psychologists to be adequately suited for your shy child. This is because it is based on individual success, thereby excluding the possibility of external team pressure.

Martial art is structured in such a way that success is being appreciated at every step taken in a positive direction. New techniques and drills are being taught that will enable them to earn their next belt level. Little successes like this boost the confidence of your child and also have a ripple effect on other aspects of their lives. As this sense of achievement builds up, self-esteem is also boosted.

Defense against bullying

Do you know that up to 60% of children are being bullied in school? Unfortunately, shy children are the regular victim. This is because they just can’t stand up for themselves. This usually has a negative effect on their self-esteem.

Martial arts equip your child with the ability to confront any threat in a non-violent manner and also defend themselves physically if necessary. This will strengthen your child to stand up against any form of bullying.

Development of Leadership Skills

Martial arts require that you teach children at a younger level when you’re at a higher level. This act will help to improve the teaching abilities of your child and also increase their tolerance level as they have to bear along with the younger ones till they get things right; skills that are required to be a successful leader. This will positively shape his/her approach to leadership in life.

Instilling Respect

It quite unfortunate that respect is missing in today’s society. However, martial arts as a sport is hinged on respect; respect for their instructors, peers and themselves. This, of course, enables your child to value others, to understand their pain and to never look down on them. This is a trait that would be admired by everyone that comes in contact with them.

Cognitive Boost

Cognition involves a person’s understanding of the world and the way they interact with it. Martial arts help to properly shape the world to your child by teaching them important values like how strategy, discipline and hard work are more important attributes to success than physical body size in a fight. It also helps to develop their abilities to function effectively under pressure through the mentally demanding nature of the sport. This will give them the mental toughness to confront any challenge they might encounter in life no matter how scary it might seem.

Physical Fitness

Understanding the importance of physical fitness is important for your child. This is because it becomes integrated into their habit and goes on into adulthood. Martial art is an intensive physical sport that greatly influences the growth process, improving coordination and motor skills of your child to make sure that they stay fit at all time.

Enhancing Social Skills

As mention earlier, martial art is hinged on trust. Children that engage in martial arts understand the rudiments of empathy, kindness and conflict resolution. This makes the martial arts gyms the perfect environment that encourages friendship development. This serves as a training ground for your child to develop their social interaction skills.

Conclusion

Shyness can be such a menacing attribute that can rob your child of their childhood, leaving them in the world of isolation. This can in turn transit into adulthood and affect the overall quality of their life. However, as we’ve seen, martial arts provide an effective way for them to escape from this wrath.

Why not take advantage of the benefits of martial arts? Register your ward today at Imperial Training Centre to start them on a journey that will not only eliminate their shyness but will ultimately equip them with other skills that are necessary to face the world at large and emerge as victors.

Jack groaned as his dad rushed him to basketball practice. He did not enjoy playing basketball and was constantly forced to go to practice by his parents. Competitive sports were just not fun anymore, and coaches were often unfair to his team. Before we get into detail about why he disliked basketball, let’s get into the facts and reasoning.

First of all, sports can be materially unfair to various children. Kids could be neglected because most coaches want their team to triumph. This means that the weaker children on teams would be omitted on the bench as a non-participant throughout the game. Also, aggressive sports can make any child feel inconsequential, or even pointless. According to Over competition in sport is bad for children’s mental health, an article by Jennifer O’Connell, “It makes less athletic kids feel bad about themselves when they do bad or fail their team” This shows that while some people could think that competition is an unimpeachable preconception, too much of it can cause anger and sporadically even despair.

Next, there is the quotidian misadventure of injuries, which could effectuate the disfigurement of young children. They could easily collapse towards each other while going for the ball. Even worse, they could be gravely wounded when attacking each other over a feud. In an ABC news article by Serena Gordon and HealthDay Reporter, about 4 out of 10 emergency rooms tend to kids from 5-14 years of age with injuries related to ambitious sports. This shows that injuries from sports are most likely to be caused by competitive sports, meaning that if a child plays an aggressive sport, they are likewise expected to get seriously injured than a child who does not.

Then, one of the most ostracized but significant reasons why competitive sports should not include children, is, cheating. This is caused during competitive sport when a coach wants them to win. While this might seem like a harmless thing to do, children, wanting to grab attention, try to do good at the sports. This is when the children try to cheat to win. Although accidentally playing around the edicts could be overlooked once or even twice, cheating often becomes a habit. In the article, Negatives of Competitive Sports, by T. Marice Huggins, the author affirms the fact that cheating could be obstructed by an adult or the coach, but usually, children do not want to get caught cheating so that they can keep striving for attention. This shows that when kids cheat, it is extremely hard to actually play the sports normally because if they stop cheating, they won’t be doing as good as they did when they cheated. Some people might think that cheating is not a problem, but really, cheating is a very big problem in sports. Even worse, it is arduous to quit cheating once you start.

In conclusion, children should not be involved in competitive sports because less athletic kids could be left out, they could be seriously injured, and coaches could indirectly cause them to cheat. When kids play competitive sports, it is okay for a little competition, but too much can lead to depression and trauma causing them to have a strong dislike for competition later on in their life. All in all, competitive sports should not include children from ages 5-14. After reading this article, Jack’s dad stopped signing him up for competitive sports. Jack’s family and others then learned that kids should not be involved in competitive sports.

I believe that mobile phones are not in the best interests of a child and ruin his life. Phones do more harm than good causing sleep deprivation, low self-esteem and anxiety and they cause accidents. Mobile phones are like a time bomb waiting to destroy children’s lives and in some cases they already have.

One of the major risks of mobile phones is the lack of sleep they cause in children. According to sleep expert Els van der Helm and clinical sleep psychologist Ellie McGlinchey, more than 50% of teens between the ages of fifteen and seventeen sleep seven hours or less each night. Being a teenager is hard, but being a sleep-deprived teenager is even harder. 72% of children, aged 6 to 17, sleep with at least one electronic device in their room. The blue light released by screens restrains the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls our sleep cycle. Reducing melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep meaning grumpy kids in the morning for parents to deal with. For better sleep, children are advised to have at least thirty minutes of screen-free time before going to bed. Even better, make the child’s room a tech-free zone and keep all devices out of the room. Parents should be strong role models and also keep their phones out of the bedroom.

Low self-esteem and anxiety are things no parent want for their kids and phones are one of the main reasons for this. When kids don’t receive texts or phone calls they think: “Why didn’t he or she call me? Am I not good enough?”. Research has shown the relation between smartphone use and psychological behaviors such as self-esteem and personality traits. In general, people who have high levels of anxiety and loneliness receive fewer texts and phone calls. Since the 2007 launch of iPhone, rates of loneliness amongst teens have soared, plus a worrying decrease in mental wellbeing. According to figures collected by Leon M Twenge, “the number of teens spending time with friends and family nearly every day dropped by more than 40% between 2007 and 2017 with loneliness also rising”. Well, I wonder, why is that? I’ll tell you why: every teenager has such devices within reach. “Teens are dating less too with 20% less putting themselves out there in 2017 than before 2007”. The problem is that screen interactions do not fulfil our need to connect in the same way as face-to-face interactions. Twenge explained: “Screen interactions might be convenient, but they don’t provide the same benefits as face-to-face interaction”. If a child is feeling low because of their phone, we should encourage his/her to get out the house and have some good old fashion fun with their friends.

Mobile phones cause many accidents every year. Teens are so addicted to phones and it is harming not only themselves but other people on the road. In Australia, distraction has been identified as a factor in 22% of car accidents and a staggering 71% of truck accidents. It’s also been identified as a contributing factor in 46% of ‘near crashes’. This is absolutely catastrophic but what’s even more staggering is that even though we tell kids these statistics to scare them from using their phone while driving, they still use them. A study by the Australian government in 2017 found that 59% of mobile phone users in Australia used their phone while driving. Of these only 28% reported using a hands-free car kit. Just the other day I was going to footy training and saw at least 5 people on their phones while driving, I couldn’t believe my eyes. What’s so important on their mobile phones to risk theirs and others lives? Phones are quite literally killing people and this needs to be stopped.

Mobile phones are like the Fremantle Dockers, they ruin everything. I know parents don’t want to upset their beloved children, so they let them do what they want with their phones. But I am sure that we must end this addiction once and for all, because the effect of mobile phones on children are extremely harmful.

Introduction

For many years children have been playing a large variety of different video games. The potential influence of violence in video games has remained a concern for many parents. Today video games of all age classifications are available and simply accessible in many forms to minors of all ages; video games can now be downloaded, played online or accessed through apps. The technology now being employed for games are very sophisticated and advanced such as virtual reality, gaming laptops and gaming consoles etc., which inspires and encourages minors to play more and purchase more games. Unfortunately, many video games in today’s society have evolved into very inappropriate content which contains violent behaviour, use of weapons, use of drugs and sexual content which is all negatively effecting minors around the world. These negative effects include bullying, cyberbullying, fighting, violence, aggressive behaviour and disrespectful actions. Many video games today simulate Violent actions like murdering, stabbing, shooting or dismembering people with the selection of many different weapons and tools. Many minors play these games for several hours or maybe even days, the simulations of those violent acts enhance the capability and potential of learning violence and promotes aggressive behaviour in children. This essay will argue that violent video games should be restricted material to people aged over 18, access should be banned from minors and appropriate classification levels and training should be regulated within stores of sale.

Some individuals object to this as they believe it will promote and improve a child’s understanding of computer literacy, enhancement of motor skills and self defense that will be beneficial for a child’s growth, this essay will argue and oppose this opinion.

There is plenty of evidence and well known violent crime cases which are linked to the youth who have become inspired by violent video games to commit vile and heinous acts.

Two youths named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold committed mass murder at Columbine High School on the 20th April 1999. They entered the High school and opened fire killing 12 students and one teacher before turning their guns and shooting themselves. After the extremely distressing incident had happened people wanted answers, people wanted to know why they committed a awfully heinous act. It had been believed the two boys were affected and inspired by the video game ‘DOOM’. They were both big fans of the video game and played it very regularly, Eric Harris was believed to be using it for a school project in creative writing, He had created his version of the game and his levels and posted it online for others to see. It was believed the levels had been named ‘The Harris Level’ after the massacre occurred.

There is always concern about children gaining access to a range of inappropriate material on the Internet. Internet regulation or parental control should be put in place while children have access to devices and the internet. It is believed material such as pornographic content and material containing detailed violence, crime and drug use is easily available to children and minors of many different ages. Parental control should be involved and will provide the safe and appropriate use of the internet and technology, parental control should be taken seriously and maintained regularly by parents and guardians to protect children from exposure to vile information and content. Parental control and monitoring online activity will very much benefit a child’s safety from the malicious and dangerous activity content, online predators through online games and chat forums, stalking and exposure to other illicit material. Parental controls are available in most devices and gaming consoles, a specific amount of time per day for the utilization of the device with game playing and web surfing can be set up through the controls.

Bullying is a growing concern for so many children globally. Bullying is a form of cruel harassment that ranges from threats, verbal, physical and cyber. It is a desire to hurt, intimidate or scare someone. Bullying affects not only the victimised people but those involved in the victim’s lives; such as parents, siblings and friends. Bullying is widespread and can be commonly found at schools and workplaces. Violent video games contribute to anti-social behaviour in minors which can result to aggression, cyberbullying and physical bullying. Emotional abuse, violent threats and cyberbullying are common through online gaming chat forums which can also lead to physical bullying at school if peers happened to have been involved in the forums. Young people are more susceptible to seeing certain characters in games as role models and something ‘cool’ or ‘badass’, which they would like to be like and will attempt to present their attitudes to be that of the character they favour.

An anti-bullying charity survey through BBC had been carried out in May 2017, the survey has found that 57% of the young people which they had interviewed had their own experience with online bullying while playing games. A 16-year-old boy named Bailey Mitchell had told the BBC he has had his own experience with bullies online since he was the age of 10. Mr Mitchell said, ‘If you’re going to school on a daily basis dealing with bullies there, you would want to go home to your computer to flee from it’. “If you’re getting more forms of abuse thrown at you, it will be off-putting to do anything social”. He also said, “it is very common to always have another player within the game with a microphone or in chat to mention or say something abusive to you”. The report found 47% of gamers which they had surveyed said they have experienced online threats while playing and 74% said the online bullying issue needs to be addressed and taken more seriously.

In conclusion, violent video games do have a very negative and harmful effect on minors and children as stated above, these games should be restricted content to people 18 and over only. Parental control or supervision should always be put to use and maintained to limit and monitor activity. Parents should also strictly follow the classifications and age ratings which will assist in selecting a suitable and appropriate video game. The large number of minors and children who play video games today have the potential to become addicted due to how advanced technology is and how sophisticated and realistic games are today. Addiction to violent games is a very big and growing concern, as there will always be the potential development of anti-social and aggressive behaviour which will put many people or the minor him/herself in danger as the detailed acts of killing, use of illegal substance, aggressive behaviour, stalking and use of weapons are watched which could be inspirational or encouraging one day.

Sally Lieber, the California assemblywoman who proposed a ban on spanking last week, must be sorry she ever opened her mouth. Before Lieber could introduce her bill, a poll showed that only 23 percent of respondents supported it. Some pediatricians disparaged the idea of outlawing spanking, and her fellow politicians called her crazy. Anyone with the slightest libertarian streak seems to believe that outlawing corporal punishment is silly. More government intrusion, and for what—to spare kids a few swats? Or, if you’re pro-spanking, a spanking ban represents a sinister effort to take a crucial disciplinary tool out of the hands of good mothers and fathers—and to encourage the sort of permissive parenting that turns kids ratty and rotten. Why, though, are we so eager to retain the right to hit our kids? Lieber’s ban would apply only to children under the age of 4. Little kids may be the most infuriating; they are also the most vulnerable. And if you think that most spanking takes place in a fit of temper—and that banning it would gradually lead more parents to restrain themselves—then the idea of a hard-and-fast rule against it starts to seem not so ridiculous.

The purpose of Lieber’s proposal isn’t to send parents to jail, or children to foster care, because of a firm smack. Rather, it would make it easier for prosecutors to bring charges for instances of corporal punishment that they think is tantamount to child abuse. Currently, California law (and the law of other states) allows for spanking that is reasonable, age-appropriate and does not carry a risk of serious injury. That forces judges to referee what’s reasonable and what’s not. How do they tell? Often, they may resort to looking for signs of injury. If a smack leaves a bruise or causes a fracture, it’s illegal. If not, bombs away. In other words, allowing for “reasonable” spanking gives parents a lot of leeways to cause pain. Who should we worry about more: The well-intentioned parent who smacks a child’s bottom and gets hauled off to court, or the kid who keeps getting pounded because the cops can’t find a bruise? This U.N. report on violence against children argues that “The de minimis principle—that the law does not concern itself with trivial matters” will keep minor assaults on children out of court, just as it does almost all minor assaults between adults. The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child has been urging countries to ban corporal punishment since 1996. The idea is that by making it illegal to hit your kids, countries will make hurting them socially unacceptable.

The United Nations has a lot of converting to do in this part of the world. Its report cites a survey showing that 84 percent of Americans believe that it’s “sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good hard spanking.” On this front, we are in the company of the Koreans, 90 percent of whom reported thinking that corporal punishment is “necessary.” On the other side of the spanking map are 19 countries that have banned spanking and three others that have partially banned it. (Here’s the list.) The grandmother of the bunch is Sweden, which passed a law against corporal punishment in 1979. The effects of that ban are cited by advocates on both sides of the spanking debate. Parents almost universally used corporal punishment on Swedish children born in the 1950s; the numbers dropped to 14 percent for kids born in the late 1980s, and only 8 percent of parents reported physically punishing their kids in 2000. Plus, only one child in Sweden died as a result of physical abuse by a parent between 1980 and 1996. Those statistics suggest that making spanking illegal contributes to making it less prevalent and also to making kids safer. On the other hand, reports to police of child abuse soared in the decades after the spanking ban, as did the incidence of juvenile violence. Did reports rise because frustrated, spanking-barred parents lashed out against their kids in other ways, or because the law made people more aware of child abuse? The latter is what occurred in the United States when reports of abuse spiked following the enactment of child-protective laws in the 1970s. Is the rise in kids beating on each other evidence of undisciplined, unruly child mobs, or the result of other unrelated forces? The data don’t tell us, so take your pick. A similar split exists in American social science literature. In a 2000 article in the Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, Dr. Robert Larzelere (who approves of spanking if it’s “conditional” and not abusive) reviewed 38 studies and found that spanking posed no harm to kids under the age of 7, and reduced misbehavior when deployed alongside milder punishments like scolding and timeouts. By contrast, a 2002 article in Psychology Bulletin by Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff (not a spanking fan) reviewed 88 studies and found an association between corporal punishment and a higher level of childhood aggression and a greater risk of physical abuse.

This is the sort of research impasse that leaves advocates free to argue what they will—and parents without much guidance. But one study stands out: An effort by University of California at Berkeley psychologist Diana Baumrind to tease out the effects of occasional spanking compared to frequent spanking and no spanking at all. Baumrind tracked about 100 white, middle-class families in the East Bay area of northern California from 1968 to 1980. The children who were hit frequently were more likely to be maladjusted. The ones who were occasionally spanked had slightly higher misbehavior scores than those who were not spanked at all. But this difference largely disappeared when Baumrind accounted for the children’s poor behavior at a younger age. In other words, the kids who acted out as toddlers and preschoolers were more likely to act out later, whether they were spanked occasionally or never. Lots of spanking was bad for kids. A little didn’t seem to matter.

Baumrind concluded that it is “reliance on physical punishment, not whether it is used at all, that is associated with harm to the child.” The italics are mine. While Baumrind’s evidence undercuts the abolitionist position, it doesn’t justify spanking as a regular punishment. In addition, Baumrind draws a telling distinction between “impulsive and reactive” spanking and punishments that require “some restraint and forethought.” In my experience as a very occasional (once or twice) spanker, impulsivity was what hitting my kid was all about. I know that I’m supposed to spank my sons more in sorrow than in anger. But does that really describe most parents, especially occasional spankers, when they raise their hand to their children? More often, I think, we strike kids when we’re mad—enraged, in fact. Baumrind’s findings suggest that occasional spankers don’t need to worry about this much. I hope she’s right. But her numbers are small: Only three children in her study weren’t spanked at all. That’s a tiny control group.

Baumrind argues that if social science research doesn’t support an outright ban on spanking, then we shouldn’t fight over the occasional spanking, because it diverts attention from the larger problems of serious abuse and neglect. “Professional advice that categorically rejects any and all use of a disciplinary practice favored and considered functional by parents is more likely to alienate than educate them,” she argues. The extremely negative reaction to Lieber’s proposed ban is her best proof.

It’s always difficult and awkward—and arguably misguided—to use the law as a tool for changing attitudes. In the case of corporal punishment, though, I’m not sure we’d be crazy to try. A hard-and-fast rule like Sweden’s would infuriate and frustrate some perfectly loving parents. It would also make it easier for police and prosecutors to go after the really bad ones. The state would have more power over parents. But then parents have near infinite amounts of power over their kids.

“The cell phone has become the adult’s transitional object, replacing the toddler’s teddy bear for comfort and a sense of belonging”, – Margaret Heffernan.

As mobile phones are widely used by people all over the world, there is an opinion arise, that parents should let their children have their own mobile phones. Mobile phones or cell phones are a device that allowed people to receive and make a call to each other over a radio frequency link. It was first created by Martin Cooper, who is a Motorola researcher and executive, on April 3, 1973. As time goes by phone developer has developed various new functions in mobile phones rather than just making a call or receiving a call. Mobile phones were called ‘smartphones’ due to its diversities. People can use mobile phones to chat with people worldwide, play games, and even meet new people on social media. For instance, Skype, an app that allows users to face time people from all places. To add to that, mobile phones are seen as opportunities, especially for students as it helps students to do research and look for extra material for their assignment and task given. Not only that, mobile phones allowed the user to keep up to date on the latest issue and news, domestically and globally, therefore, people shall not be worried about missing the news on TV. Undeniably, many people own a mobile phone, which is not that shocking, however, it appears quite worrisome, when it came to the knowledge that many school-aged children who are only six years old to 12 years old and adolescents possess their own mobile phones. Studies reported by Child Wise shows, that most children own a phone by the age of 7 years old. The same research shows that the children spend about 3 hours and 20 minutes each day on the phone by playing games, messaging, and being online. It is scary to witnessed that mobile phones have become part of these young kids’ lives, and some of them up to the extent of not being able to live a day without a phone in their hand. Should these children have access to mobile phones, significantly when they have not fully grown and yet to learn about responsibility. Many evidence shows that having a phone at an early age exposed these children to health problems and psychological problems. Having a mobile phone is seen as a milestone for certain people, however, it is not a necessity that we should normalize. Children should not be allowed to have their own mobile phone as it negatively impacts health, both psychically and mentally.

Proponent to this idea is that children, both school-aged children and adolescents, are proven to spend more time on their screen than doing actual outdoor sports activities. Article, written by The Independent, states that children spend an average of four hours a day on their phones which equivalent to 456 days, while, an average over an hour and a half a day spent by these children playing outdoors which equal to 182 days only. In addition, research conducted by Persil on 1000 British and Irish parents revealed that about three quarters had used phones to distract their youngsters to do another task. This exposure leads the children to grow up addicted to the usage of the phone, which could negatively affect their health, including their mental state. According to reports by The Guardian, it shows that about 53% of youngsters own a phone by the age of 7, and 90% say that they own a phone by the age of 11. Some parents might argue that letting their children use phones is a good idea since using phones allows their children to contact them after their lesson. It was an acceptable proposition. However, earlier usage of mobile phones brings more harm than good. Firstly, the effect of mobile phones on these children is a risk of cancer or tumors. Studies suggest, if people spend an excessive amount on phones, it could cause tumors. There is still no clear evidence that there is a relation between using mobile phones and brain cancer. Nevertheless, from data collected from five European countries, there is an increase of acoustic neuroma due to 5 to 6 years spent on phones. Acoustic neuroma is a tumor that develops between a person’s balance (vestibular) and auditory (cochlear). Secondly, a possible tumor that could develop because spending an excessive amount of time on phone is a brain tumor. This is because cell phones radiate a form of energy called radiofrequency (RF) waves. Generally, the waves are not dangerous to actually affected people because they were not strong enough to damage the user’s DNA (genes) directly. However, an article written by American Cancer Society stated, that the amount of energy of RF-exposed on the user is caused by the amount they spend on the phone or if the person holds the phone to close to their head might increase the risk of brain cancers or tumors. Additionally, Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, stated that we should reduce phones’ usage as much as possible to avoid massive exposure of the cell-phone radiation.

Besides that, using mobile phones at an early age might lead these children to suffer insomnia. Insomnia is a condition in which the person finds it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. It can come and go, and for certain people, it can become chronic, which were called acute insomnia that could last for a few weeks. Article, written by National Sleep Organization, stated that there is a connection between playing phones and sleep cycle. The same studies stated the reason for this is because the light blue emitted from the phones restrain the production of melatonin, which is a hormone that controls people’s sleep cycle and wake cycle. This explains that using phones before going to bed might cause the children to suffered insomnia. According to a non-profit study by Common Sense Media, 29% of children bring their phone to the bed together with them. In correlation, this will cause poor sleep quality and contribute to poor academic performance. Teenager sleep range is from 9 to 9.5 hours per night, however, the article written by US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health shows that many American adolescents sleep less than 6.5 hours per night, especially on a school night. National Institutes of Health Researchers from University of California, San Francisco, stated that the blue light from mobile phones affected the user’s sleep cycle. The longer the time spent on mobile phones, the shorter your sleep time is. To add to that, using phones before sleep can trick your brain into staying alert. For instance, children might think playing games for a few times before going to bed might not be that bad, however, the truth is, it tricks your brain to thinks that you need to stay awake. The same studies conducted by the nonprofit Common Sense Media state, that teens have ‘an intense relationship’ with their mobile phones. Many teens use their phones before going to sleep, 1 minute to 1 hour, and 1-hour turn to 3 hours, which will affect their ability to fall asleep. According to Adams and Kisler for US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, about 40% of students awoke in the middle of sleep to answer their cell phones, and 47% of students awoke to replied to text messages. Research by Van den Bulck found that using a phone after lights off will increase tiredness, leading to poor performance quality at school or workplace.

Besides, the reason why children should not have their own phones is that having mobile phones at an early age will cause a negative impact on their mental health. The reason being is because another diversity of mobile phones is it allows the user to have social media to keep in touch with people or to update their outfit of the day for the world to see. Therefore, most children today own social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tinder. Moreover, According to Pew Research Center, about 45% of teenagers are online almost constantly, explaining that most teenagers own social media. Besides that, an article written by Amanda Lenhart for Pew Research Center showed, that 71% of teens from the age of 13-17 stated that they owned more than one social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. Therefore, it is safe to say that most children are addicted to their mobile phones. How do we know if we are addicted to phones? It is when we feel anxious about not having phones in our hands. According to Child Wise, about 57% of children do not know what to do if their phone is missing. Mobile phones might allow you to quickly lookup your favorite’s cake recipe, however, with the good comes the bad. In their article, office for Science and Society stated, that those adolescents and youngsters who used social media more than 3 hours a day are more likely to be exposed to mental health problems such as depression, loneliness, or sadness. To add to that, a study conducted in England shows that youngsters or teens who go through social media multiple times a day are likely to suffer psychological distress. They tend to be less happy or feel less life satisfaction. This is because these teenagers tend to be persuaded by the luxurious that display on the Internet that makes them less happy and raises their insecurities because of the feeling of not having what they want. Data shown by Sydney Cognitive Development Centre, many researchers blamed mobile phones and social media as to why the numbers of depression and anxiety have risen. A study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, shows that the time teenagers spent on social media like Facebook has increased depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms include feelings of hopelessness, anger, self-loathing, and loss of interest in daily activities. The reason for the increase of this symptom is because they engaged in social comparison, in which they compared themselves to others. Social media allows the user to be connected with each other and communicate with one another, however, the behavior of scrolling through social media mindlessly cause teenagers to feel self-conscious about their image once they start comparing themselves with someone else’s photo on social media. On top of that, using social media at a young age exposed the youngster to cyberbullying. They might not know how to address or overcome this issue for someone who is still young; thus, they felt depressed and encounter a few sleepless nights. Therefore, mobile phones’ dependency might affect the children mental health and increase the level of anxiety, depression, insecurities, and low self-esteem.

This topic has aroused people’s curiosity about the parent’s role in this matter and the right age to let their children have their own mobile phones. The truth is, at what age it would be appropriate for parents to let their child to own a phone is a personal opinion. However, parents can allow their children to use phones once they decide on a few factors: do they have a sense of responsibility or why they need it. There is a lot of reason on why one needs to possess a sense of responsibility, for instance as a matter of security. It is crucial for the children especially teenagers to realize that they should not give out their private information to the strangers such as ID, house’s address or bank’s detail. If the children are an active student and need a phone to contact their parents after their lesson, it might be a good reason to let them have their own phone. Mobile phones came with a GPS function in which it allows parents to detect their children’s location. Children nowadays tend to be more dependent, and sometimes they tend to go somewhere without informing their parents first, therefore, it is crucial for them to keep track of their children’s whereabouts. If the child is an active student and needs a phone to contact their parents after their lesson, it might be a good reason to let them have their own phone. Nevertheless, there is always another option to substitute smartphones such as basic phones like Nokia 3310 that allowed the users to make or receive a call without using the Internet. To add to that, if the children are responsible enough not to put an unnecessary comment on the Internet, then the parents can allow their children to own a phone. It is widely known that cyberbullying is one of the common issues that frequently happen amongst teenagers, therefore, parents should ensure their children are responsible enough to not put any unnecessary comment on the Internet before allowing them to have their own phone. According to the Pew Research Centre, 59% of U.S adolescents have been bullied and harassed online, such as name-calling and rumor spreading. Lastly, as parents, you need to limit the usage of the phone or the time they spend on the phones. Set a few rules of using phones, such as not using phones while in class or not bringing the phone to their bed. This will allow the children to be disciplined.

To conclude, mobile phones might have their advantages, however, using them at an early age might cause more negative impact than a positive impact. Just as stated in the previous point, using phones at an early age might cause a negative effect on the children’s health. Some people might say that using phones will affect not only the children but also the elderly, which I agree with. However, the children who use phones for the first time might find it hard to allocate their time to use their phones effectively. As for the fact, other’s opinion about letting children have their own phones for the sake of contacting their parents after the lesson, there is other alternatives rather than using smartphones such as use phones that do not consist the Internet such as Nokia 3310. Finally, parents should only let their children have their own phone when they are ready.

Football is the center of attention for a good majority of the American people during the seasons of autumn and winter. On Fridays, the high school boys play their opponents, on Saturdays, the college athletes consume household televisions, and on Sundays, the professional football players take the field. The high range of fans is engrossed by this highly entertaining and thrilling sport. Many emotions are brought on as the referee makes a good or bad call, or as a clutch play wins the game. Although, as mesmerizing and enchanting football may seem, there is an ugly truth hidden behind the boys in uniform and shiny helmets. The hard impacts these players endure, such as a tackle to the chest, the slamming of helmets against one another, or the pounding of one’s head hitting the ground, utterly take a toll on their health and well-being. With this in mind, I believe that football should be banned among children due to its long-term effects which are deadly, causing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, other cognitive issues, and even depression.

Football should be banned among children primarily because of the head injuries that the sport produces. With the overwhelming amount of concussions, also known as mild traumatic brain injury, or brain problems these players endure, the long-term effects are terrifying for the player and their parents. As explained by Nick Paumgarten, a concussion brings headaches, vertigo, and unrelenting fatigue, which is by far an uncomfortable situation. Not only does it bring pain and frustration at the initial beginning of the concussion, but there are also future conflicts that come with one. It is seen that “in organized high school sports, concussions occur more often in competitive sports, with football accounting for more than 60% of concussions” (BIRI). Because of the significant amount of concussions produced in sports, red flags should be raised. Along with that, “children and youth ages 5-18 years accounted for 2.4 million sports-related emergency department visits annually, of which 6% (135,000) involved a concussion” (BIRI). Thus, this proves how common such injuries are in children. With the exceedingly high amount of kids diagnosed with concussions, it is thought to have been linked to a CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. In an article from Frontier for Young Minds, CTE is caused by repetitive head injuries leading to a progressive loss in memory and other brain skills and leads to harmful changes in thinking, behavior, and mood. Our youth are losing their ability to effectively learn in school or focus on specific tasks in general. Thus, creating conflicts later in life for their jobs or while trying to earn a degree. There is no specific number of hits or blows to the head that dictates whether or not a CTE will develop, however, the level of intensity dictates how fast the brain will begin to deteriorate. There could also be multiple hits or just one strong one, it is unknown as to how each person’s body will react. The worst part about CTE is that it cannot be diagnosed while a person is alive, and the only indicator is sudden changes in behavior, and the elevated levels of a protein called tau. Football, and sports like it, could be silently killing the athletes without a clue it’s occurring. Without a reliable way to diagnose CTE – even with a CAT scan, there will usually be no visible bleeding or damage to the brain – children are in danger. So, the real question is, should a parent let their child take the risk of getting a CTE that will ultimately alter their life negatively for a fun game?

Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. In football and sports like it, there are many different indicators and causes of this cognitive disease. The first is that throughout their careers footballers are exposed to intense mental demands, and this can increase their susceptibility to certain mental health problems. The pressure to be an effective member of one’s team, doing their job to help aid in a victory, and not lead to a defeat. The need to be as good as one can be and beat out their competition puts a large amount of stress on the shoulders of these football players. Not only does the player feel pressure from themselves, but also the public thoughts, words, and social media posts affect a football player in a sometimes negative way. The harassment they endure from hateful fans takes a toll on their mental health, leading to depression. Secondly, when a player suffers an injury, they may experience a sense of loss, which leads to common responses to grief including anger and depression. The isolation a teammate feels while they are off getting treatment brings upon a sense of loneliness and frustration, missing out on the practices and activities the team partakes in. The depression also links with the possible ending of a career with severe injuries. Along with that, an athlete that has become depressed may become injured easier because their reaction time decreases and they don’t perform to a level as high as they once did. Lastly, in the football population, the intense level of activity can lead to a compromise in mental health. When players are overexposed to high levels of training and matches and are unable to get enough recovery (both physical and mental), it can lead to overtraining and burnout. As football is year-round for many athletes, they aren’t able to take a break from the stresses on the mind and body football creates, leading to depression. Depression is a serious matter that shouldn’t be taken lightly because it can lead to suicide, as it did for 21-year-old, Tyler Hilinski, later diagnosed with CTE from all the hits he took in his college career.

The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age twenty-five or so. With this being said, the hard contact and brain collusions of younger adolescents have been destructive to the development of their brains. There must be a change that doesn’t allow this type of contact to occur, for children to get the maximum growth for their cognitive health. Recently, two California lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban organized tackle football before high school, which would hopefully prevent young athletes from sustaining long-term brain damage caused by repetitive tackling, hitting, and blocking. If this bill is successful, hopefully, states around it will follow through with the same laws, creating a safer environment for the younger children. In a Sports Illustrated article, Kimberley Archie states: “‘Flag Until 14 is the future’, says Archie, referring to a national movement to get kids out of shoulder pads and helmets—to end tackle football before ninth grade—‘and the sooner these ding-dongs in the NFL pull their heads out of their asses, the better chance they have of saving their sport’”. By at least limiting tackle football until high school, the dangers are decreased and give more room for the brain to correctly develop. No matter the age requirement, children from the age of five up to eighteen can be at risk for a concussion, CTE, and later on even depression. The only way to effectively ensure children are developing correctly is to cut the participation of these sports, which would ultimately cause an uproar among the fans and conservative families of America. However, in the view of the children, it could most definitely save lives. As of right now, there will be no immediate change and only minor modifications can be made. First of all, schools have to immediately remove students who may have suffered a concussion from any athletic activity, and parents and guardians have to sign forms acknowledging the risks of concussions. This will ensure players receive the right amount of rest and break from sports to heal properly. Lowering the contact at practice will help to make the players safer and less likely to get hurt. Along with that, even teaching players how to safely tackle or block could save a child from an injury that could be avoided. If football can’t be banned from younger children, at least there are some ways to make it safer while still allowing them to play.

Parents should definitely discourage their children from playing in rough, painful, and dangerous contact sports. As entertaining and amusing football may be, are the lives of the players really worth it? With all the hype and excitement this sport brings, there is a much greater default that comes with it. Not only do the many concussions or brain injuries cause CTE, but they also cause the player to be more prone to depression, making them feel lonely, angry, and even thoughts of suicide. Therefore, I am convinced that football should be banned among children.

90% of liquor addictions begin in the high school years. Rarely do young people live alone, implying that practically all adolescents return home sooner or later in the day to their folks.

Anybody younger than 21 that devours liquor is viewed as an underage consumer. Teenagers frequently don’t understand the harming impacts drinking can have on their networks, their families, and their lives. Underage drinking, other than being unlawful, is an expansive general medical issue that presents numerous dangers.

Shockingly, numerous guardians become tied up with regular legends and misperceptions identified with underage drinking. Guardians are commonly the most included individuals in a kid’s developing life, and they ought to be considered responsible for the underage drinking of their children. Guardians ought to be faulted in light of the fact that they see their kids each day, they are good examples to their children beginning at a youthful age, and their normal drinking propensities can rub off on their youngsters. Then again, a few people may bring up that young people are formed by their qualities, and that adolescents drink in light of individual reasons that are uncontrolled by guardians. Most importantly, guardians see their kids at home each day and ought to know about their children’s propensities. Guardians don’t really need to assume that their child is drinking, yet they at any rate need to see when there is something else about their child. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence records some mental cautioning indications of liquor abuse as befuddling changes in identity or demeanor, furious upheavals, and withdrawal or tension with no evident reason. Any parent that is even the smallest associated with their tyke’s life needs to see no less than one of these notice indications of liquor misuse. Guardians are to be faulted for this since they are impacting their children to do likewise as they did, and it shapes a propensity for them to pursue. Guardians are commonly the most included individuals in a tyke’s developing life, and they ought to be considered responsible for the underage drinking of their children.

Guardians ought to be faulted in light of the fact that they see their youngsters consistently, they are good examples to their children beginning at a youthful age, and they more often than not don’t set a genuine case for their children by drinking a great deal themselves. Notwithstanding, other individuals may call attention to that adolescents can’t battle their qualities, and that they are at times simply endeavoring to drink away their contentions. I trust that guardians are the greatest supporter of a youngster’s probability of building up a drinking issue and they should be increasingly mindful of their kids’ propensities and potential for dependence consistently.

There is clear evidence that parental presence can and does influence children as they grow up. Sigmund Freud, a renowned psychologist, once said that there is nothing as good in childhood as a father’s protection. Growing up without a parent, particularly a father, in United States society is extremely difficult. Children who do not have their parents are disadvantaged in modern American society, and they usually face a greater struggle to become successful in their education, careers, and professional endeavors.

To ascertain this statement, I interviewed a lady who lost his father at age 7. From the interview, I found that fatherless daughters have self-esteem issues. According to studies, kids, especially ladies, often blame themselves when their dad is not there to support and offer protection to them. Additionally, countless statements from psychologists have affirmed that fatherlessness has extremely negative impacts on a daughter’s self-esteem (Lohmann, Nieuwenhuis, and Marx Edward Elgar). Her confidence in her normal activities, as well as the values of human beings, can greatly diminish if the father is not around. The daughter from the interview reinstated that while growing she needed someone to protect and edge her from guys who disturbs her.

Studies involving nearly 5000 teenagers have shown that kids from one parent had more physical and emotional challenges than those living with both parents. Furthermore, lads in fatherless homes were found to have developed sicknesses more than girls in single-parent homes. This is because young boys often spend time together with their fathers, unlike girls. Studies have also confirmed that four out of five adolescent suicides occur in fatherless homes.

It is no doubt that women with absent fathers are more likely to struggle financially to provide for the family. Financial constraints, among other things, may make a woman develop disorders such as eating disorders. Additionally, ladies might struggle to stabilize their sexual relationships because they lack a mentor and protector. This is revealed in the interview, after the death of her dad the daughter feels isolated.

Fatherless daughters are prone to depression issues. The ladies tend to avoid healthy relationships with guys or fellow women because they do not feel they deserve it, and they also fear being hurt, but they might find themselves having made the wrong decision of jumping into an unhealthy relationship. From the interview, the fatherless daughter is depressed. She is unable to mingle with friends and feels happy because of the trauma of being fatherless. She is afraid to talk with guys because she lacked someone who could offer protection to her in case she was in danger. Adding to this point studies have linked single parents with poor performance in school. Fatherless children would spend their time in school flashbacking memories that are not related to studies, which then makes them fail exams.

In conclusion, it is quite clear that children growing up without fathers in their homes face numerous challenges. However, this does not mean to reveal that all children who are brought up by a single parent may face more obstacles than those with both parents. The point is important for communities in America to teach fatherless children and recognize them to reduce depression and suicidal cases.