Is Big Brother watching your child?

Blake Robbins, a 15-year-old student at Harriton High School in suburban Philadelphia, is saying that his school administrators have been spying on him outside of school, via a school-owned laptop – and now he and his family have filed a federal lawsuit.

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What parent hasn’t considered the possibility of postponing or rejecting routine vaccinations out of fear of a link between vaccines and Autism?

Over a year ago, and with little fanfare, Dr. Wakefield’s 1998 study indicating a link between the Measels, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and Autism was exposed as a fake.  At that time, medical personnel worried that calling attention to the inaccuracy of the study could lead to a resurgence of vaccination avoidance and stir up the debate again.

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The recent devastating earthquake in Haiti, with its images of people and bodies being pulled from the rubble, has spurred a lot of hard (and good) conversations in our family about what we can do to help. My middle son, who’s impulsive and outgoing, wanted to rush there to rescue people “right away,” and has been scouring the house for change to bring to his school to add to their fundraising pot. My 7-year-old daughter, who is the first one ready in the morning and is organized to a fault, is helping her class to raise money for specific supplies. (And my teenager isn’t really involved in helping, because, let’s face it, he’s a teenager and not the most empathetic person on the planet right now! Still, we’ve had some good conversations about what it means to go through a natural disaster and have no food or shelter.)

The whole experience, while difficult and sad, has been important for my kids because it brings home the necessity of empathy in a child’s life—the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and really ask the question, “How would I feel? What would I want people to do for me in the same situation?”

In my mind, empathy is probably the most difficult, yet the most vital quality a child can possess. While no one can always be kind and empathic, I think it’s important to teach your child that empathy is a trait that your family values from an early age.

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Have you read about the Mesquite School District school board decision? As reported in the Dallas news, Taylor Pugh, a four-year old pre-kindergarten boy, was told to braid and pin up his long hair or continue to be separated from his classmates for not following the school dress code. The code prohibits long-haired boys from “disrupting” classrooms.

Taylor, in pre-school, has been hanging out in the library with an aide since November and will continue to remain there until his parents cut his hair — or the board changes the 40-year-old dress code policy.

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Grandparents in Lagos, Florida are fighting to keep their 6 year-old grand daughter Kimberly from being evicted from their retirement community.

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A Nielsen Co. reports kids are watching more television than ever and television viewing for children ages 2-11 is the highest since 1995.  Kids ages 6-11 watch 28 hours a week with about 4.5 hours on DVD.  And worse, kids age 2-5 are watching 32 hours—yes, that’s even more than the 6-11 year-olds, presumably because they’re not in school.

I’m not surprised about the Nielsen numbers.

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In the last week, we’ve witnessed the Balloon Boy saga, seen the Gosselins back in court, and heard that the Duggars had their first grandchild — and are expecting baby #19. Octomom has her own show, too, just in case you’ve forgotten about her.

I have to ask this question: would you allow your family to be filmed for a reality TV show? And why do you think so many parents are opting to create shows around their lives? According to the police, the Heene family put on the runaway balloon stunt in order to get their own reality show. By now everyone knows that they appeared on Wife Swap a couple times, and that they met in acting school in Hollywood. I’m not sure why this couple thought it was OK to pretend their son’s life was in peril in order to get publicity (who in their right mind would do something like that?) but  I do know that it seems like more people out there are hitching their wagon to the reality show star. I’m just not sure why it’s happening.

Liz Searle, author of Celebrities in Disgrace calls it “Attention Desiring Disorder” on her blog, and I think that’s a fitting description. It seems like people can’t get enough of fame in the form of T.V. time, in spite of what the camera reveals about their lives.

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I have just been inspired by Jon Gosselin.

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