Parenting News Summary
The most important parenting stories
summarized in a free weekly email
I respect email privacy. I do not spam.
This week the US Supreme Court Struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 law preventing the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage. The court determined that same-sex families were being denied dignity, protections, and benefits afforded to other families, causing financial harm to married gay couples and their children.
Financial: Once changes are implemented, same-sex families will no longer experience unfair financial burdens in a range of matters: taxes on inheritance, federal health care benefits, military and veterans benefits, social security benefits, US citizenship. Gay married couples will no longer need to pay an average of $1000 yearly because of inability to file federal income taxes jointly. Their children will no longer experience discrimination in terms of eligiblity for health insurance and other benefits. Denise Chow covers the financial effects in detail.
Dignity: The ruling calls for dignity for same-sex parents and their children. According to Justice Anthony Kennedy, DOMA "humiliates children being raised by same sex couples and makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives." Erik Kain looks at dignity and DOMA's harmful effects on children in this Mother Jones article
The Annie E Casy Foundation released their 2013 Kids Count Data Book report on child and family well-being in the US.
54% of 3-4 year olds are NOT enrolled in pre-school
California has the highest percentage of children - 52% - living in households spending more than 30 percent of income for housing
Are US students falling behind other countries? Yes, but only our low-income students. Our growing wealth gap explains much of our recent decline in international comparisons. Students at US schools with fewer than 10% in poverty rank #1 globally in reading.
New Mexico took over from Mississippi as the "worst state" in overall well-being of children. New Hampshire led a raft of New England states at the top of the pack. See how your state stacks up in this impressive visualization?
Obesity effects 17% of kids in the US. As a result of the 2010 Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act, The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its new "Smart Snacks in School" nutrition standards for the 2014-2015 school year, the first school snack changes in over 30 years. This means a 10000% market expansion for the kid selling Blow-Pops in the hall.
Significant research has been done on how children communicate with adults, especially in forensic situations - children as victims or witnesses to crimes. with adults. Katherine Trendacosta reviews several studies to produce specific advice on how to talk to your kids. Young children tend to interpret closed-ended questions (Is that your dog?) literally, giving one-word answers. What you want are open-ended invitations that get narrative answers from children. Invitations sound like like "Tell me everything about X" or "You said X. Tell me everything about that.", says Trendacosta.
Two epic entertainers collaborate to solve some of the world's most pressing problems in Kid President chats with Steve Carell this week
