Church of the Human Being

Some 20,600 firearm injuries happen to 0-19 year olds every year, of which 4.5% are fatal. 63% percent of these injuries were intentional; 37% were not.

Despite what many would think about inner city violence, these injury rates were no more common in metropolitan areas than elsewhere. However, the highest percentage was in the South (47%), then the Midwest (34%), the West (14%) and finally the Northeast (5%).

(Source: io9.com)

0 - 2 years? No TV for you!

Studies have found that children don’t really understand what’s happening on a screen until they’re about 2 years old. Once they do, media can be good for them, but until then television is essentially a mesmerizing, glowing box.

Used at night, TV might help kids fall asleep, but that appears to come at a delayed cost of subsequent sleep disturbances and irregularities. While the result of TV-induced sleep problems hasn’t been directly studied, poor sleep in infants is generally linked to problems with mood, behavior and learning.

At other times, media consumption comes with opportunity costs, foremost among them the silence of parents. “While television is on, there’s less talking, and talk time is very important in language development,” said Brown.