Do your kids spend too much time in front of the screen? The National Trust over in Britain, a charity that takes care of historic buildings, gardens, and forests, compiled a list of 50 things children should do before they turn 12. Now that the summer months are upon us, unplug your kids and complete as many items on this list as possible. I’ve done 43 of the 50 — not hard to do when you grow up in Maine.
Speaking of Britain, Essex specifically, I can’t get enough of these two adorable girls, Sophia Grace and Rosie, who regularly appear on the Ellen Show. Yesterday, these girls met another Essex native, Russell Brand. My favorite part of this clip is when Brand asks Sophia Grace, “What’s happening in your mind right now?” Watch this clip to find out what she says.
Mallory Kievman, another notable kid, is starting her own business at the age of 13. Kievman invented the Hiccupop, a medicinal lollipop to cure hiccups. “She had developed the product in her family’s Manchester, Conn., kitchen, amalgamating her three favorite cures — lollipops, apple cider vinegar and sugar — into a single confection.” Over at the New York Times, Jennifer Kahn raised a lot of eyebrows when she asked, “Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?” Miguel and Anne are the parents of Michael, a child whose troubling behavior has worried them since he was a toddler.
“In the beginning, I thought it was us,” Miguel said, as his two younger sons played loudly with a toy car. “But Michael defies logic. You do things by the book, and he’s still off the wall. We became so tired of fighting with him in public that we really cut back on our social life.”
Several news outlets and health organizations addressed this question this week, including Child Mind Institute, who offered both a short answer, “no,” and a much longer discussion of this complicated question. What did you see around the web this week that got your attention? Let us know in the comments, and have a great weekend!
