It seems that the best way to keep your kids from getting hurt is to get them out of the house.
According to figures from the U.K. government, obtained by the Sun under the United Kingdom’s Freedom of Information Act, the number of kids under 15 injured while climbing trees, skateboarding, and the like has fallen.
Does this mean that children have become more athletic or less accident-prone? Does it mean they have perfected their tree-climbing and skateboarding skills?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oskay/
No, it seems that they are simply staying indoors more, glued to their screens like rubberneckers to an overturned truck. You see, the same figures revealed that injuries from playing video games have gone up 60 percent since 2002.
Severely pained thumbs appear to be the main cause of kids’ visits to emergency rooms in the United Kingdom. And one can only wonder if the U.K. hospital system has developed special methods for massaging thumbs so that they can retake their rightful place in the World of Warcraft.
Perhaps soon special video game physiotherapy clinics will open, with doctors in frightening headgear making kids feel at home, even when they are away from their own frightening games.
I think that it could be big business. Soon, perhaps, your health insurance might have special coverage for acts of Warcraft, just as it has for acts of God.
by Chris Matyszczyk
I’m not claiming innocence, I’m as guilty as the next self-centered person, but I am increasingly annoyed by the seemingly total lack of perspective that gets displayed by people caught up in the brain numbing 24 hour news cycle. The recent “Swine Flu Outbreak” is a great illustration of what I’m talking about.
People in the news are are drooling over themselves as they can’t seem to say the word “pandemic” enough times. Reminds me of my daughters when they learn a new word that they think sounds funny, they say it over and over and over and you begin to wonder if they even know what it means.
How about some perspective:
In Africa, malaria kills more than 3,000 children a day; in South Africa, HIV/AIDS has taken 2.8 million people and infected 5.3 million more. Every day in India, 1,000 people succumb to tuberculosis. Those are just the big diseases. According to the United Nations, a recent cholera outbreak killed nearly 4,000 Zimbabweans and infected 80,000, while in India diarrheal diseases kill an estimated 600,000 children under 5 every year.
So, when the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that deaths in Mexico from the H1N1 swine flu leapt to nine, you can see why the news didn’t make the front page in Africa or India.
How come CNN isn’t covering these stats in prime time? How come you pray for your kid not to get the Swine Flu at school, but haven’t even blinked at the thousands killed by malaria in Africa? Is it because it’s all about ME, ME, ME, ME? Do you suffer from willful ignorance, thus affecting your perspective on the Swine Flu?
Am I wrong about this?
Tonight when I was buying some milk for the girls to drink, a little lady at our local grocery store approached me and told me that if I bought a box of the ‘new’ milk, they would give me a box of the ‘old’ milk for free.
I politely said no thanks… but she persisted, why wouldn’t anyone want FREE MILK?!
Then I took the wimpy route, I said that “my wife” would not allow our kids to drink ‘old milk’… then I gave a shrug and walked away with my ‘new milk’.
Medill News Service reports that the Internet has become an out-of-control habit for more and more people. In fact, experts say that Internet addiction is a growing psychological and behavioral problem.
It’s estimated that 5% to 10% of Americans may be addicted to the Internet – that could mean as many as 30 million people. And, it’s an even bigger problem in other parts of the world. As many as 30% of the people living in China, Korea and Taiwan may be hooked.
Sounds like ‘quackery‘ to me. An additional revenue source for psychologist who make their living convincing wealthy people they are sick in one way or the other and that they can get better by coughing up some cash and sitting through some ’sessions.’
I don’t deny that some folks may have issues, my guess though is that it’s a problem that goes deeper than “the internet.”
The percentages don’t even make sense. The report from ‘experts’ say that “30% of the people in China” are suffering from internet addiction… Based on the number of people in China who use the internet (38% according to the Pew Research Center), that would mean just about every person who uses the internet in China is also addicted to it… I don’t think so.
I guess with $4 dollar gas, everyone has to find new ways to get by. Airlines do this by charging for things you thought you already had paid for, it seems psychologists do this by inventing new ‘illnesses.’
I spent the better part of my day today getting this;
This is my “Certificate of Health Examination for International Traveller”
It all started with a phone call on Monday saying that I had to have my “Health Exam” done before the University could move forward with preparing the documents I need to process our family’s work visas for China.
This is important, and time is of the essence, so I moved on it immediately. As I was sorting out the details, it turned out Erica needed to get this “Health Exam” too. She was not thrilled.
One of the reasons this was ‘inconvenient’ for us is that we couldn’t get this exam done in the city we lived. We had to go to Changsha, the provincial capital that is about 2 hours away. Thankfully, we have some friends in town who could watch the kids for us (bringing them on this trip would have been quite the ordeal!)
We left at 7:30am and returned home around 5:45pm – with our certificates in hand. Whew!
We are less than two weeks away from our planned return to China, I can’t wait to BE there, but I’m certainly not looking forward to the GOING there! (Does that make sense?)
In the midst of packing and preparing, there have been some hiccups.
Such as, our visas for China have not arrived yet. Maybe this week…
I’m just finishing a round of antibiotics to knock out a case of Sinusitis that I’ve had for about three weeks. (I’m feeling much better now.)
Grandma (my mom) who came out to help us while we get ready was diagnosed today with sinusitis.
All three kids are now sick – Elizabeth had it first and is on her way to being better. Nate started a few days ago and Anna started yesterday… Hopefully it will all be cleared up by our departure date (so long as our visas arrive!)
Prayers would be appreciated.
Alligators may have a reputation of being vicious predators, but the blood that runs through their veins could someday save your life.
A study done by researchers at McNeese State University in Louisiana suggests that proteins found in alligator blood may provide new antibiotics that could treat diabetic ulcers, severe burns and “superbugs,” including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), that are resistant to other kinds of medicine.
The proteins could also help a plethora of other ailments, said the study’s authors, such as Candida albicans yeast infections, which often appear in AIDS patients and transplant recipients, who have weakened immune systems.
“We’re very excited about the potential of these alligator blood proteins as both antibacterial and antifungal agents,” said study co-author Dr. Mark Merchant, a biochemist at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La.
“There’s a real possibility that you could be treated with an alligator blood product one day.”
Merchant said alligators have super-strong immune systems that are very different from those of humans. Alligators can fight fungi, viruses and bacteria without prior exposure to them, the authors said.
Pills and creams could be developed and in pharmacies within the next seven to 10 years, Merchant said.
However, Merchant said the public should not try to create home remedies using alligator blood, as the consequences could be fatal if the blood is contaminated.
The findings were recently reported at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Fox News
Hi! I'm Steve Webel and this is my blog. Thanks for stopping by!
Loading ...
What You’re Saying…