How Television Benefits Your Children

You don't see a lot of ads like this any more. While it may have sounded promising 50 years ago, the fact remains, television has gotten a bad rap for the past 30 years. Much of it is warranted.

Television itself isn't bad for kids. The programming is bad. But it doesn't have to be that way.

High Definition TV is great and quite a bit of the HD programming is awesome. The Discovery Channel has some beautiful and educational shows. A&E and PBS both have responsible programming and National Geographic is right there too.

Unfortunately, many kids are glued to shows featuring the Khardashians or cartoons that offer little educational value. I'm not knocking their entertainment value for their intended audiences, but they don't offer many "benefits" for children except for "cred" with their peers.

Sesame Street was groundbreaking when it came onto the scene and has offered educational television time for many kids. We need more shows for older kids.

TV time is decreasing for many kids as their time is now shared with texting and computers. But television is still engaging, with bigger screens and better quality visuals adding to the allure. If somebody finds a way to create "Extreme Education" and pump it across the country, maybe TV will find its way back into the "beneficial for children" slot that was promised so many years ago.

It's not that difficult to find good shows for kids to watch. The effort comes in getting them to watch the good shows.

The benefit from watching good shows? Kids will remember what they see on TV better than they will remember what they heard in class or read on a blackboard. It's more engaging, and content rich. 30 minutes of TV time can present much more information than 30 minutes in a class. Maybe we should create class instruction for television and pipe it into all the classrooms around the country. We might just have better engagement and more consistent teaching. 

Candy Apples

Dads cook. Moms bake. Not always, but that's the way it plays out at our house.

I don't have a problem with that. I love being at the grill with a slab of ribs or a dozen burgers.

But it seems like moms have more fun making cookies, baking brownies, and playing with the sugary goodness. All the stuff you save room for after you've pigged out on dad's grillins.

So when my daughter asked me to help her make candy apples, I decided to take a little time off work and dig into the sugar.

Two caveats: I've never made candy apples before and I'm not endorsing hard-as-glass sugary snacks or corn syrup. Well, not every day at least. It is October, and with Halloween just around the corner, I figured now would be a good time to practice.

Making candy apples is pretty easy if you have a candy thermometer handy. What you'll need is:

 - 2 Cups Sugar

 - 1 Cup Light Corn Syrup

 - 1/2 Cup of Hot Water

 - Food coloring or 1/2 Cup of Red Hots

Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, wax paper or plastic wrap. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Wash and dry the apples, remove the stems, and skewer through the center with Popsicle sticks or any sturdy wooden sticks.

Add the sugar, corn syrup, and water to a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Then, cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 250 degrees F.

At 250 degrees, add the Red Hots or food coloring. We used blue food coloring because we'd never seen blue candy apples before. Remember, this was an experiment for me.

Stir briefly to thoroughly mix the color, then stop stirring until the temp reaches 280 degrees F. Remove from heat and stir until smooth and even.

Holding the apples by the sticks, dip into the mixture to coat the entire apple. Remove from the saucepan, twirling to allow excess to fall into the pan. Place on baking sheet and allow to cool, about 20 minutes or so. Eat within 24 hours.

Our first one had too much candy coating but made for a nice effect. I'm ready to get crazy with new colors for another official run in a few weeks.

Happy Halloween!

How Students Pay For College - Infographic

Prices have skyrocketed since I was in college. If they continue to rise, will anybody except the rich be able to get a higher education? Below is an infographic that shows how much it costs and how students are finding ways to pay for college.

To see this in full size, visit Daily Infographic.

 

Life Isn't About Finding Yourself. Life is About Creating Yourself.

I think the Baby Boomers got a good start on this. They were unique, inventive, curious, and did their own thing. But they were probably more focused on the first part, "finding yourself."

Today, the Baby Boomers are older, with the oldest ones in the group hitting 65 and retiring, while the youngest of the group are parents with kids in high school or college.

Their values have been handed down to their kids who have received the baton and are moving forward in a similar direction with some added knowledge and "spice" being sprinkled into the mix.

Spend some time with college kids today and you'll find they are ahead of their parents in many ways. Of course they are adept at technology and their processing powers are off the charts, even the ones with ADHD or other learning disabilities.

They watch TV while working on a computer, texting on their phones, and answering incoming Skype calls. All at the same time without missing a step.

But it's more than that. They have created their own identities thanks to Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and in everything else they partake. They already know who they are. They've moved on to placing their mark on the world. They are practicing step two - "creating yourself."

As parents, we may look upon some of the things our kids do with disdain and think they spend too much time on devices that don't accomplish anything of value. Dig a little deeper and you'll discover that they are doing something very important. They are creating, or maybe even inventing their life, in the light they feel is important.

In reality, we're just jealous that they're doing what we wish we could, or should have done. It's not too late for any of us to take a shot. Stop trying to find yourself and spend a little time creating yourself.

 

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. ~Tolkien

Special Olympics Ranked Top Non-profit Disability Organization by Philanthropedia

Special Olympics is the largest sports organization for children and adults in the world. Philanthropedia is a GuideStar subsidiary that encourages charitable giving by non-profit organizations.

Special Olympics was founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver and has grown to include over 3 million athletes in 175 countries. Just like the Olympics founded in Greece, Special Olympics Games alternate every two years between winter and summer games.

The goal of Special Olympics is to change lives "through the power of sport by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect worldwide." It provides the opportunity to develop physical fitness and experience joy and friendship for millions of children and adults around the world.

Accordingly to Philanthropedia, approximately 54 million individuals (20% of U.S. population) in the United States live with at least one disability. Special Olympics works to impact communities within the United States and around the world, as an estimated 200 million people worldwide have intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics was chosen as #1 out of 11 non-profit organizations that serve people with disabilities.

More information about each organization can be found on their websites:

Special Olympics

Philanthropedia

PhoneGuard Prevents Texting While Driving

PhoneGuard is the latest App that prevents texting while driving. It provides great peace of mind for parents all for the low price of FREE.

Texting while driving is a huge safety problem and the biggest offenders are teens. They also happen to be some of the worst drivers because of their lack of experience behind the wheel.

PhoneGuard detects when the car is moving and kicks into gear with auto replies to incoming texts to alert the sender that you're busy and will return the message when you're able to do so.

Currently, it's available for Android and BlackBerry phones and more info can be found on their website at: www.PhoneGuard.com