Honor

To all the U.S. Veterans, young and old, who have served in the military: Thank you. We are proud of you! We thank God for you. We support and honor you.

We especially thank the families of those who died, that we might live in freedom. You have given much.

We shall not forget.

(C) Motherhood and the Future, I

Article by Robert J. Samuelson in Newsweek (May 29 issue) addresses the declining birthrates in many countries and what that means for the future.

Russian president Vladamir Putin initiated a program to offer cash incentives to Russian women to have (more) children. Putin is trying to rectify his country's "critical" population issue.

Just six years ago Russia's population was nearly 147 million; some statictics show it declining by 700,000 a year. Projections are for Russia to be down to a total poulation of 111 million in less than forty five years (one generation). With that declining trend how can Russia maintain a strong economy, national optimism or a capable military?

Observes Samuelson:

On average, women must have two children for a society to replace itself. The actual number of children per woman is called the "total fertility rate," or TFR. Here are the 2005 TFRs for some major countries: Germany, 1.4; Greece, 1.3; Italy, 1.3; Japan, 1.4; Poland, 1.2; and Russia, 1.3...ultimately, low fertility rates suggest falling populations...

"The forthcoming and dramatic depopulation of Europe and Japan will cause many problems," writes Ben Wattenberg in "Fewer," his excellent book on the subject. "Populations will age, the customer base [for businesses] will shrink, there will be labor shortages, the tax base will decline, pensions will be cut, retirement ages will increase."

Up to a point, we understand plunging fertility rates. The usual suspects: improved incomes; health and life expectancies (as more children survive, parents have fewer babies); growing urbanization (families need fewer children to work the fields); women's access to education and jobs; contraception; later and fewer marriages; more divorces. But our understanding is only partial, because there's one big exception to low fertility rates: the United States.

What do you think about declining populations? Are women cooling to the idea of having children? If so, why? Are there good reasons - strategically, not selfishly - for families to have more kids? It is interesting to me to think about this.

Media Overload For the Very Young, II

Last post I referred to a Kaiser Family Foundation study which makes clear that TV and media are over-used in most American homes, especially for very young children. More on that report today.

The research showed that an over-reliance on TV time is due in part to homes where TVs are on all the time, and homes that allow TVs in children's bedrooms.

But the report also said parents cite benefits of their young children watching programming. Parents told Kaiser that allowing TVs in the children's bedrooms lets kids watch their own programs; avoid fights with siblings; stay occupied so parents can do things around the house; and help fall asleep.

Parents also said they use TV to reward good behavior, and just more than half reported TV tends to calm their children down.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has urged no screen time at all for kids under 2, and no more than 2 hours a day for those 2 and older.

Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a psychiatrist who has written several books about children, warned that TV and media is wrong for youngsters and said...passive involvement with media is detrimental to children's development.

Application: Anecdotally it seems that our son's special needs and different way of learning is fed in a good way by select TV viewing. He finds some comfort and entertainment in repeatedly viewing appropriate kids videos. Truth be told, the big benefit of that TV time is for Mom! When he is watching those videos or shows she has a bit of a break. He is so very intense in his needs, and she finds a breather in that hour. She tends to the other kids in the family, or to the bills, or makes phone calls.

In our family - right now - we are relying on the TV more than we ever did for the older children. I don't feel guilty about it - until I read a report like this one. Yikes! Can I reconsider? Should I?

That said...at this stage in life, given the circumstances, allowing Little Man to watch a bit more on media seems appropriate, and as we DO monitor usage, not problematic.

And it does seem very, very necessary.

(P) Media Overload For The Very Young, I

From an Advertising Age article about a recent KaiserFamily Foundation research project, some startling and disturbing stats about media use by the very young:

14% of children under 2 see two or more hours of screen media a day, 22% see one to two hours, and 25% less than an hour a day.

43% of children under 2 watch TV every day and 18% of children watch videos or DVDs every day.

All together, 14% of children under 2 see two or more hours of screen media a day, 22% see one to two hours, and 25% less than an hour a day.

19% of babies under a year old have a TV in their bedrooms and 29% of children 2 to 3 have one.

The study, one of the more extensive efforts yet to track how much time children under 6 spend with various screen media, also reports that 83% under age 6 spend time every day with TV or other screens, and those who watch do so for nearly two hours a day. Media use increases with age, with 90% of 4 to 6 year olds reporting watching or looking at screen media.

What in the world are today's parents THINKING? Or, are we thinking at all about what we're doing to the next generation?

(Thanks to "jwb's mom" for the pic)

(C) With Apologies to Tolkien

An unknown source provided this to me. For LOTR fans, for conservatives...


MINAS TIRITH (Gondor News Network) - Thousands of peace activists took to
the streets of Minas Tirith and other cities of Middle Earth today to
protest what they termed a rush to war with Mordor.

"We need more time for diplomacy," said a key member of the Middle-Earth
Security Council, Saruman the White. "I am not convinced by the evidence
presented by my esteemed colleague, Gandalf the Grey, or that the Dark Lord
Sauron presents an imminent danger to the peoples of the West."

Many of the people protesting war in Mordor agreed with Saruman's remarks.
"Sauron says he's destroyed his Rings of Mass Destruction (RMD) and that's
good enough for me," said one fellow carrying a sign that said "Elrond is a
Balrog." Another demonstrator urged, "Give the RMD inspectors more time.
There's no reason to rush to any judgment just because Mount Doom is
belching lava, the Dark Tower is rebuilt, and Osgiliath has been decimated."
A third protester piped up, "I haven't heard a single bit of convincing
evidence connecting the Nazgul with Sauron. I think they destroyed Osgiliath
on their own initiative without any support from Sauron. Besides, it's
understandable they're angry with Gondor. We haven't done nearly as much for
the Orcs and Goblins and Easterlings as the Nazgul and Sauron have. It's
understandable they throw their support to them. It's our own fault really."

As the protesters continued their march through the city, they chanted, "No
blood for Mount Doom," voicing a common sentiment that the leaders of the
Western peoples are really seeking to get their hands on the powerful Mount
Doom, where the One Ring of Power was allegedly forged.

Gandalf the Grey was unavailable for comment. A spokesman said he was in an
undisclosed underground location, which sources have revealed is codenamed
"Moria."

(T) Text Messaging? Nah.

While I am currently in the minority, most cell phone users use their text message capabilities.

From a post at Radio Ink, info about how listeners of select radio formats use their phones:

Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs points out, "It is the most frequent cell phone utility – aside from talking."

Of the nine in ten who own a cell phone, three-fourths (74%) say they text.

More than one-third (35%) now text at least weekly, while nearly one-fourth (22%) do so on a daily basis.

18-29 year-olds are especially likely to use cell phone text messaging every day.

Women are also more likely to text often.

I used to say I didn't want a cell phone, reasoning that I need some place, SOME place, of quiet, that I don't need to be accessible 24/7. Then I had opportunity to carry a cell phone for a while> I was quickly hooked. Now, of course, we have multiple cell phones in our family. Use 'em all the time! Indispensible.

Wonder if someday I'll find myself liking text messaging? For now, I ain't touching it!

Narnia In Top 20

From the newswire:

Still going strong, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe brought its worldwide box office total up to $739.6 million in late April, and passed "The Matrix: Reloaded" to become the 20th highest grossing film of all time.

Internationally, according to Reuters, the film has now earned an estimated $448 million. Domestically, the film has earned $291.6 Million, moving ahead of "The Empire Strikes Back."

This is really encouraging, and shows the public interest in a good story, told well, with Truth woven throughout!

(P) Teens Online

Last weekend I noticed my oldest son online quite a bit. Throughout the day, I observed him at the computer (which we keep in the living room, for safety reasons) numerous times. "Whatch doing?" "Killing time." "Oh, yeah, I've done that, too."

A new study from Forrester Research shows teens are using the web a lot (not a newsflash, eh?), and offers insights into their online habits.

Older teens had spending power of about $193 per month.

They spend an average of more than 15 hours online each week and have been using the Internet for an average of nearly seven years, according to the study.

The majority of online teens also have access to broadband—86% of younger teens and 90% of older teens, Forrester said. Studies have shown that consumers who use broadband spend more online.

The items teens purchased most often online included computer hardware, software, music, DVDs and books.

Full story here.

Question for parents: What is your teen doing on the Internet? What is he or she looking at? Buying? Might be a good dinner-time question for discussion.

(T) Online Radio Listening

Top Ten in Sunday-Monday online listening shows a breadth of preferences and great audience penetration for such "radio stations."

Personally, I am finding online radio to be a breath of fresh air. Not having much time to listen at work, when I do have some "desk time," I enjoy some stations that give me what I want - and more importantly, don't give me what I am tired of and just don't want at all.

Radio io, #5 in April, has been on a fair amount lately. I'll have to check out the others...assuming I have some time to do so!

(G) A Problem With DaVinci

The DaVinci Code film comes out in a few weeks. While it is fiction, there is enough believable material here to "fool" well meaning but uninformed religious individuals. And that's why we should not go to see it, for by so doing we'll support the film's premise and encourage the studio to produce more films like it.

Here's a typical - and disturbing - response to the book:

To my amazement, yesterday morning after church, I heard one of our older ladies talking about a “Christian” book she was reading, and being an avid reader, I stopped to listen. She was telling two of our younger church members that she’d been reading the Da Vinci Code and how she doesn’t agree with everything in the book, but once she picked it up, she couldn’t put it down. It had captivated her and she was hooked on it.

This illustrates the problems with the movie and book - even mature Christians are falling for its "truth claims." It is one thing to know DaVinci is fiction, and to enjoy it on a somewhat artistic level. There is good writing, and no doubt the film is well made. It is another thing altogether, however, to read the book or see the film and buy it's propositions. That is, as the individual above noted, dangerous!

The trailers are impressively taut and the plotline is intriguing. Nonetheless, Christians probably ought to stay away from this film. Still, we can - and should - engage others in about the movie. Good suggestions for doing that are here.