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A Low-tech School Vacation: Keeping Kids Busy And Happy Without Screens

Nine Ways To Encourage Children To Connect, Create, And Play Off-screen. School Vacation Coming Up? Wo...

Healthwatch 32

Nine ways to encourage children to connect, create, and play off-screen.

Father, daughter, and son playing soccer on the grass in a park;

School vacation coming up? Wondering how to spend that time? Given how tiring holidays can be — especially for parents who are working — it's understandable why children are often allowed to spend hours with the TV, tablet, or video games. After all, happy, quiet kids make for happy parents who can finally get stuff done — or relax.

Except kids are spending way too much time in front of screens. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, kids ages 8 to 12 are spending four to six hours a day watching or using screens — and tweens and teens are spending nine hours.

Given how enticing devices and social media can be, those numbers can easily go higher during unscheduled times like weekends and school vacation. That's why it's good to be proactive and come up with other activities. Below are some ideas for parents and caregivers to try. These are mostly good for kids through elementary school, but tweens and teens may enjoy some of them too.

Spending time off the screen

Go outside. This sounds obvious, but spending time outdoors is something kids do less than they used to — and it can be really fun. If you have a yard, go out into it and play hide-and-seek or build a fort from snow or anything else that's around. If you don't have a yard, go to a local park or just go for a walk. A scavenger hunt up and down the block or game of I Spy may be a good enticement.

Go to the library. Do this early on in vacation, so that your child has lots of books, puzzles, and games to pass the time. Check out as many as they allow and you can carry. Ask if a Library of Things is available at a branch near you: crafts, tools, musical instruments, birding kits, telescopes — even metal detectors may be checked out for free.

Build a fort in the living room. Use blankets or sheets over chairs; if you have a small tent, set it up. Bring in pillows, sleeping bags, and flashlights; let the kids sleep in it at night. Let it stay up all vacation.

Build a city in the living room. Use blocks, Legos, boxes (or anything else), and add roads, cars, people, animals, trains, and other toys. Let it stay up all vacation, and make it bigger every day.

Getting creative off the screen

Get creative. Go to the craft store and stock up on inexpensive supplies. Buy things like poster board, huge pieces of paper (you could use those for your city, too, to make parks, roads, and parking lots), paints, and markers. You can make a paper mural, a comic book, a story, posters, or whatever catches your child's imagination. If you know how to knit or sew, think about teaching your child or making a simple project together. Play music while you create.

Read out loud. There are so many books that are fun to read aloud. When my children were younger, we read the Harry Potter series out loud, as well as the Chronicles of Narnia and books by E.B. White and Roald Dahl. Act out the voices. Have some fun.

Have a puppet show. If you don't have puppets, you can make some with socks — or you can hold up dolls or action figures and do the talking for them. You can make a makeshift stage by cutting out the back of a box and taping cloth (like a pillowcase) to fall over the front.

Get out the games. There are so many that work across the ages, like checkers, chess, Uno, Connect 4, Sorry, Twister, Clue, Scrabble, or Monopoly. We forget how much fun these can be.

Bake. You don't have to get fancy — it's fine to use mixes or pre-made cookie dough. There's nothing better than baked goods straight from the oven, and adding frosting and decorations makes it even more fun. Turn on music and dance while things bake.

While parents or caregivers need to be involved with some of these activities (like the ones involving the oven, or reading out loud), kids can do many of them independently once you have it started. Which, really, is what children need: time to use their imagination and just play.

But you just may find that once you have things started, you'll want to play, too.

Harvard Health Publishing

Scepticism And Hope For End To Gaza War Before Trump-Netanyahu Meeting

Trump Says A Deal For A 60-day Ceasefire Could Lead To An End To The War, But Others Are More Pessimistic. Israeli Prime Minister ...

Worldnews 116

Trump says a deal for a 60-day ceasefire could lead to an end to the war, but others are more pessimistic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting the United States on Monday, a visit analysts expect will focus on celebrating Israel and the US’s self-anointed victory against Iran and discussing a proposal for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This is the third time this year Netanyahu will be meeting US President Donald Trump, who claims the US and Israel “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme during a 12-day war and that he would resume bombing Iran if it restarts nuclear activities. Last week, Trump said Israel had agreed to conditions for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, which would allow all parties to work towards an end to Israel’s 21-month-long war on the besieged enclave. On July 4, Hamas gave a “positive” response to Qatari and Egyptian mediators about the latest ceasefire proposal. On Friday, after Hamas’s response to the proposal, Trump said there could be a “deal next week” and promised to be “very firm” with Netanyahu to ensure a ceasefire. Israel has since said that Hamas has requested changes to the proposal that it found “unacceptable”, but that Israeli negotiators would be going to Qatar on Sunday to discuss the proposal. According to a leaked copy of the deal obtained by Al Jazeera, the ceasefire entails a 60-day pause in hostilities and a phased release of some of the 58 Israeli captives held in Gaza since a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 57,000 people, mostly women and children, in what United Nations experts, legal scholars and human rights groups describe as a genocide against Palestinians. Many experts told Al Jazeera that they are not optimistic a temporary ceasefire will lead to a permanent end to the war. “The way [the ceasefire talks] are being framed leaves me sceptical,” said Omar Rahman, an expert on Israel-Palestine with the Middle East Council for Global Affairs. Rahman added that he believes Trump was focused on getting the Israeli captives released, but not on ending the war and the suffering of the people of Gaza. Trump previously promised an end to the war after pushing for a ceasefire just days before he became president in January. However, two months later, Trump did nothing when Israel unilaterally resumed its attacks on Gaza, killing thousands more people. Mairav Zonszein, an expert on Israel-Palestine for the International Crisis Group, said that could happen again. “It all rests on Trump and the US to sustain real pressure [on Netanyahu], but that is highly doubtful,” she told Al Jazeera. “I’m optimistic there could be some kind of ceasefire, but longevity and the terms are highly questionable,” Zonszein said. “It’s also possible we could see a ceasefire that does not last because … Israel still every so often just bombs something without repercussions [in Gaza],” she added. Yaser al-Banna, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, said many in the Strip are divided over whether a ceasefire will end the war. While everyone prays it will, some people cannot imagine Netanyahu sticking to a deal. Netanyahu insists that the war will not end without a “total victory” over Hamas, a concept he has not defined. “About half the people in Gaza are very pessimistic… The other half believes this time could be different due to shared interests among Israel, the Palestinians, Arab states and the US to end this war,” he said. Many analysts believe that Trump is driven by his desire to strike grandiose deals in order to boast about his achievements in global affairs. On Monday, he is likely to take credit for ostensibly dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme – even though that may not be true – and express his desire to retrieve the rest of the Israeli captives in Gaza. He also wants to get the “Gaza issue” out of the way to pursue more normalisation deals between Israel and neighbouring Arab states, said Khaled Elgindy, an expert on Israel-Palestine and a professor of Arab Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. “Trump wants to be able to say that he got back the Israeli hostages… and got a Palestinian state… Then he can call himself master of the universe, but getting those things is much harder than he thinks,” Elgindy told Al Jazeera. It’s unclear whether Netanyahu’s political calculations align with Trump’s ambitions. Israel’s next parliamentary elections have to take place before October 2026, and Netanyahu could go to the polls sooner, riding on a likely wave of popularity if he succeeds in returning the remaining captives. Like Trump, he would also tout what he terms a stunning victory against Iran to the Israeli public. Those considerations are important because it is likely that Netanyahu’s frail far-right coalition, held together by pressure to prolong the war on Gaza, would collapse if a permanent ceasefire is reached, said Hugh Lovatt, an expert on Israel-Palestine with the European Council on Foreign Relations. “At the end of [the possible] 60-day ceasefire, [Netanyahu] could go to elections by committing to a full end to the war and collapse his coalition; or he could go back to war to keep his [far-right] coalition together should he judge the time not right for elections,” he told Al Jazeera. Staying in office is particularly important for Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who faces several domestic legal charges of fraud and bribery. During his much-anticipated meeting with Trump, experts expect them to discuss Netanyahu’s trial, which many believe plays a large role in dictating his political calculations. Netanyahu’s position as prime minister has enabled him to undermine the Israeli judicial system by appointing loyalists to high courts and delaying court hearings – an influence he would lose if his coalition unravels. Trump is acutely aware of Netanyahu’s dilemma. On June 25, he called on Israel to drop the charges against Netanyahu, referring to the trial as a “witch hunt”.Trump’s comments suggest that he is trying to pressure Netanyahu’s opponents to issue a pardon in exchange for ending the war on Gaza, said Georgetown’s Elgindy. Elgindy referenced Trump’s recent social media post where he alluded to suspending military aid to Israel unless charges against Netanyahu were dropped. “The United States of America spends Billions of Dollars a year, far more than any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,” Trump wrote on June 28. That would be a major – almost unfathomable – decision to emerge out of the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, said Elgindy. “I don’t see him following through, but this is a typical [threat] that Trump would make,” he told Al Jazeera. “His [modus operandi] is to blackmail and coerce. That is his version of diplomacy.” Elgindy added that it was distressing that Trump would threaten to cut military aid to Israel to protect Netanyahu and not beleaguered, starving Palestinians in Gaza. The decision to pardon Netanyahu lies with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, but such a move would be unprecedented, and the president has not indicated that he plans to do so. Analysts believe Herzog may be willing to pardon Netanyahu if he agrees to exit political life, but not simply to secure a ceasefire. Zonszein, from Crisis Group, adds that there are lawyers and justices in Israel who have warned “for years” that it is in the public’s interest to reach a plea bargain with Netanyahu due to the power he holds over the country. Their only condition is for Netanyahu to agree to leave politics. “I don’t think that is something Netanyahu is considering. If he was willing to leave political life, then he could have already negotiated a plea bargain,” she told Al Jazeera. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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LASTMA Rescues Man Trapped In Lagos Crashed Vehicle

Lagos State Traffic Management Authority Has Rescued A Yet-to-be-identified Man Who Was Trapped In A Crushed Vehicle After A Conta...

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Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has rescued a yet-to-be-identified man who was trapped in a crushed vehicle after a container-laden truck lost control and fell on a Toyota Sienna minivan at Idi-Iroko, inbound Maryland, along the Ikorodu Road corridor of Lagos in the early hours of Saturday. PUNCH Online gathered that the incident, which occurred around 1:30 a.m., involved a fully loaded 40-foot Mack truck and a white Toyota Sienna with registration number LSR 267 GZ. According to LASTMA spokesperson, Adebayo Taofiq, the truck suffered brake failure caused by alleged excessive speed, resulting in the container detaching and toppling onto the minivan. Taofiq said,” Acting with commendable dispatch, the LASTMA midnight surveillance and rescue unit responded swiftly to distress calls. “Upon arrival, officers employed an array of high-grade rescue apparatus and executed a painstaking extraction operation. “Their valiant and highly synchronised efforts led to the miraculous rescue of a male occupant who had been pinned within the wreckage of the minivan and was treated by operatives of LASAMBUS.” He added that the truck driver fled the scene, apparently out of panic and fear of mob retaliation or criminal prosecution. It was said that the mangled Sienna was later towed to the Anthony Police Station, while the truck and its dislodged container were impounded and moved to LASTMA’s operational headquarters for further investigation The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, commended the professionalism of the agency’s emergency response team. “This deeply distressing incident highlights, yet again, the perilous consequences of mechanical laxity, reckless driving, and habitual speeding on our thoroughfares. “We therefore issue an urgent appeal to all truck operators to uphold the highest safety standards and adhere strictly to extant traffic regulations to forestall further avoidable disasters,” the LASTMA boss said. Bakare-Oki also commended the rescue team for working from 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. to restore order and ensure the free flow of traffic in the area.

Read more stories like this on punchng.com

Are You Getting Health Care You Don't Need?

Knowing Which Types Of Care You Can Safely Skip Might Actually Improve Your Health — And Could Save You Money And Time. Ever Wond...

Healthwatch 26

Knowing which types of care you can safely skip might actually improve your health — and could save you money and time.

illustration in shades of green and white showing stylized medical objects: thermometer, bandage, medication bottle, stethoscope, syringe, clipboard, blister pack of pills

Ever wonder if every medical test or treatment you've taken was truly necessary? Or are you inclined to get every bit of health care you can? Maybe you feel good about getting the most out of your health insurance. Perhaps a neighborhood imaging center is advertising discounted screening tests, your employer offers health screens as a perk, or you're intrigued by ads touting supplements for a seemingly endless number of conditions.

But keep in mind: just because you could get a particular test or treatment or take a supplement doesn't mean you should. One study suggests that as much as 20% of all health care in the US is unneeded. In short: when it comes to health care, more is not always better.

Isn't it better to be proactive about your health?

We're all taught that knowledge is power. So it might seem reasonable to want to know as much as possible about how your body is working. And isn't it better to take action before there's a problem rather than waiting for one to develop? What's the harm of erring on the side of more rather than less?

The truth is that knowledge is not always power: if the information is irrelevant to your specific situation, redundant, or inaccurate, the knowledge gained through unnecessary health care can be unhelpful or even harmful. Unnecessary tests, treatments, and supplements come with risks, even when they seem harmless. And, of course, unnecessary care is not free — even if you're not paying a cent out of pocket, it drives up costs across health systems.

Screening tests, wellness strategies, and treatments to reconsider

Recommended screening tests, treatments, and supplements can be essential to good health. But when risks of harm outweigh benefits — or if proof of any benefit is lacking — think twice. Save your time, money, and effort for health care that is focused on the most important health threats and backed by evidence.

Cancer screening: When to stop?

Screening tests for some cancers are routinely recommended and can be lifesaving. But there's a reason they come with a recommended stop age. For instance, guidelines recommend that a person at average risk of colorectal cancer with previously normal colonoscopies stop having them once they turn 75. Similar limits apply to Pap smears (age 65) and mammograms (age 75). Studies suggest that beyond those ages, there is little benefit to continuing these screens.

Watch out for wellness marketing

Dietary supplements are a multibillion-dollar industry. And a whopping 70% or more of US adults take at least one, such as vitamin D, fish oil, or a multivitamin. People often consider them as insurance in case vital elements are missing from their diet, or they believe supplements can prevent dementia, heart disease, or another condition.

Yet little evidence supports a benefit of routine supplement use for everyone. While recent studies suggest a daily multivitamin might slow cognitive decline in older adults, there's no medical consensus that everyone should be taking a multivitamin. Fish oil (omega-3) supplements haven't proven to be as healthful as simply eating servings of fatty fish and other seafood low in toxic chemicals like mercury and PCBs. And the benefits of routinely taking vitamin D supplements remain unproven as well.

It's worth emphasizing that dietary supplements clearly provide significant benefit for some people, and may be recommended by your doctor accordingly. For example, if you have a vitamin or mineral deficiency or a condition like age-related macular degeneration, good evidence supports taking specific supplements.

Reconsider daily aspirin

Who should be taking low-dose aspirin regularly? Recommendations have changed in recent years, so this is worth revisiting with your health care team.

Older recommendations favored daily low-dose aspirin to help prevent cardiovascular disease, including first instances of heart attack and stroke.

New recommendations favor low-dose aspirin for people who've already experienced a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular disease. Adults ages 40 to 59 who are at a high risk for these conditions and low risk for bleeding also may consider it.

Yet according to a recent study, nearly one-third of adults 60 and older without past cardiovascular disease take aspirin, despite evidence that it provides little benefit for those at average or low risk. Aspirin can cause stomach bleeding and raise risk for a certain type of stroke.

Weigh in on prostate cancer screening

Men hear about prostate cancer often. It's common, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men. But PSA blood tests and rectal exams to identify evidence of cancer in the prostate are no longer routinely recommended for men ages 55 to 69 by the United States Preventative Services Task Force.

The reason? Studies suggest that performing these tests does not reliably reduce suffering or prolong life. Nor do possible benefits offset downsides like false positives (test results that are abnormal despite the absence of cancer). That can lead to additional testing, some of which is invasive.

Current guidelines suggest making a shared decision with your doctor about whether to have PSA testing after reviewing the pros and cons. For men over age 70, no screening is recommended. Despite this, millions of men have PSA tests and rectal examinations routinely.

Not everyone needs heart tests

There are now more ways than ever to evaluate the health of your heart. But none are routinely recommended if you're at low risk and have no signs or symptoms of cardiovascular disease. That's right: in the absence of symptoms or a high risk of cardiovascular disease, it's generally safe to skip EKGs, stress tests, and other cardiac tests.

Yet many people have these tests as part of their routine care. Why is this a problem? Having these tests without a compelling reason comes with risks, especially false positive results that can lead to invasive testing and unneeded treatment.

Four more reasons to avoid unnecessary care

Besides the concerns mentioned already, there are other reasons to avoid unnecessary care, including:

The discomfort or complications of testing. If you're needle-phobic, getting a blood test is a big deal. And while complications of noninvasive testing are rare (such as a skin infection from a blood test), they can occur.

The anxiety associated with waiting to find out test results

False reassurance that comes with false negatives (results that are normal or nearly so, suggesting no disease when disease is actually present)

All treatments have side effects. Even minor reactions — like occasional nausea or constipation — seem unacceptable if there's no reason to expect benefit from treatment.

The bottom line

You may believe your doctor wants you to continue with your current schedule of tests and treatments, while they might think this is your preference! It's worth discussing if you haven't already, especially if you suspect you may be taking pills or getting tests you don't truly need.

If your doctor says you can safely skip certain tests, treatments, and supplements, it doesn't mean that he or she is neglecting your health or that you don't deserve great health care! It's likely that the balance of risks and benefits simply doesn't support doing these things.

Less unnecessary care could free up resources for those who need it most. And it could save you time, money, and unnecessary risks or side effects, thus improving your health. It's a good example of how less can truly be more.