All posts tagged: Children

UK weather: Experts’ top tips on keeping children and pets safe in the heat

UK weather: Experts’ top tips on keeping children and pets safe in the heat

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Britain is bracing for another scorching weekend as a “truly historic spell of May weather” continues to grip the nation, according to the Met Office. This week has already seen temperatures shatter records across the country. On Monday, Kew Gardens soared to 35.1C, smashing its previous station high of 29.3C and eclipsing the UK’s overall May record of 32.8°C. Numerous counties, including Oxfordshire, Surrey, Bedfordshire, and Cambridgeshire, reported new maximum temperatures well into the low and mid-30s. In total, 163 weather stations recorded their highest ever May temperatures. More hot weather is expected on Saturday, with temperatures forecast to reach up to 29C across England and Wales. Here are experts’ top tips on keeping your children and pets safe in the heat, as well as other commonly asked questions. How can I get to sleep in hot weather? Getting to sleep …

Kabwe, the African city where children carry the burden of lead poisoning – Reporters

Kabwe, the African city where children carry the burden of lead poisoning – Reporters

Published by Sam Flores

Located about 150 kilometres north of Zambia’s capital Lusaka, Kabwe is considered one of the most polluted places in the world, following decades of lead and zinc mining. A simple blood test of two children confirms reports of severe lead contamination. FRANCE 24’s Caroline Dumay, Stefan Carstens and Eunice Masson report. Named Broken Hill until 1966, the capital of the Zambian Central Province, Kabwe, carries an invisible threat because of decades of mining: soil saturated with lead. In its most affected areas, more than 95 percent of children exceed the World Health Organization’s safety threshold of 50 micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood. For children, playing in the dust and walking barefoot is dangerous, as lead poisoning can cause intellectual and physical disabilities. Today, an estimated 140,000 affected women and children are collaborating with international role players in a class action suit against the mining giant, Anglo American South Africa Limited (AASA), in the Johannesburg High Court. Judgment for the class action is expected later this year.  Source link

UN urges ‘urgent’ action to protect children online | Technology News

UN urges ‘urgent’ action to protect children online | Technology News

Published by Sam Flores

Call to governments and tech companies comes amid a global push for greater accountability and oversight of social media platforms. Published On 29 May 202629 May 2026 The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for urgent action to protect children online, demanding it be made a “priority”. In a statement released on Friday, Volker Turk called for stronger action by governments and tech companies to make online platforms safer. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “Enhancing protection of children online is an urgent priority,” he insisted. The call comes amid a global push for greater accountability and oversight of social media platforms, with countries testing age-based bans and stricter regulations, and pressure growing on technology companies. Alongside the statement, the UN human rights office released a set of guidelines aimed at improving children’s safety online and protecting their rights through stronger regulation. The measures include safeguards around age verification processes, mandatory child rights impact assessments, and involving children in shaping regulatory responses. “We need much wider action – by governments …

What children learn when adults aren’t around

What children learn when adults aren’t around

Published by Jenni Sidey

Children, like all mammals, are born completely dependent on adults for survival. The primary task of childhood is to grow increasingly independent of this care, and so they are also born with instinctive drives to practice independence to the degree that they can. The most powerful of these is the drive to play.  In play, children learn the most important lessons in life, lessons of personal empowerment, responsibility, and effective social engagement — and when we don’t let kids play on their own, we undermine this development.  The reasons children play You can predict what young mammals will play at by knowing the main skills they must acquire to become independent adults. For example, predatory animals play at predation, and prey animals play at dodging and darting and getting away from predators. We humans have a longer juvenile period than do other mammals, and our young play in a greater variety of ways, because we must learn more than other mammals to succeed as adults.  Anthropologists have found that when children have ample freedom and …

Gaza children with Down syndrome are still reckoning with the devastation of the war

Gaza children with Down syndrome are still reckoning with the devastation of the war

Published by Sam Flores

The war in Gaza has especially affected the most vulnerable groups in the enclave; among them are children with Down syndrome. During the war, health and education services dedicated to them have largely collapsed, according to specialists and families. Many children with Down syndrome in the coastal enclave suffer chronic health conditions, including poor blood circulation, cataracts, and respiratory problems, requiring constant medical care, according the Right to Live Society, a Palestinian nonprofit working to rehabilitate children with Down syndrome and Autism. Source link

Israel kills children in strikes on Gaza as fear taints Eid joy | News

Israel kills children in strikes on Gaza as fear taints Eid joy | News

Published by Sam Flores

NewsFeed As Muslims around the world celebrate Eid, Palestinians in Gaza are facing fear, grief, and deadly attacks. Overnight strikes in Gaza City killed children near one of the Strip’s few remaining playgrounds, leaving families terrified to leave their tents on what should have been a day of joy and peace. Published On 28 May 202628 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link

Steven Bartlett’s new AI show for children will bring together everything you loathe about him

Steven Bartlett’s new AI show for children will bring together everything you loathe about him

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Sentient vegetables are striding through an AI-generated – uncanny – valley, led by a young Steven Bartlett. They’re dishing out recycled podcast truisms about mindset and motivation. At some point, they burst into song. This is not some heatwave-induced fever dream, or the sort of psychedelic experience that would be a better anti-drug deterrent than any government campaign. This is, apparently, an early concept for Bartlett’s new TV show for kids, set to be released later this summer on YouTube and Spotify. Steven’s World is the entrepreneur’s latest venture, according to a new report in The Observer. The show will reportedly repackage lessons from interviews on Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast using an AI model fed by previous episodes, aiming to make those …

Chickenpox, Impetigo Or Hand, Foot And Mouth: How To Spot Difference

Chickenpox, Impetigo Or Hand, Foot And Mouth: How To Spot Difference

Published by Sam Flores

This article features expert advice from Dr Bisola Laguda, a paediatric dermatologist and spokesperson for the Skin Health Alliance. With kids now getting extra protection against chickenpox as part of their routine childhood immunisations, it’s hoped fewer kids will end up struggling with the worst effects of the illness. That said, kids might still catch it – albeit a milder version – and those who aren’t vaccinated against it (either because they’re too young or their parents opted out) will also be at risk. But spotting chickenpox can be tricky, especially as the telltale sign is a rash – and other childhood illnesses like impetigo and hand, foot and mouth can look pretty similar. To try and get some clarity on how to tell it apart from other illnesses, which is important so you know how to treat it (and how long they’ll need off school or childcare), we spoke to Dr Bisola Laguda, a paediatric dermatologist and spokesperson for the Skin Health Alliance. What are the signs of chickenpox parents need to know? Chickenpox …

School trips aren’t always accessible for autistic children – but they can bring huge benefits

School trips aren’t always accessible for autistic children – but they can bring huge benefits

Published by skeptic

School trips are often remembered as a highlight of childhood education. Whether it’s exploring a castle, visiting a museum or spending the day at a farm or zoo, these experiences offer something the classroom often cannot: learning that is immersive, memorable and often exciting. For autistic children, school trips can be both highly valuable and, at times, unintentionally inaccessible. One of the most significant challenges is sensory overload. Busy, noisy and unpredictable environments can lead to anxiety or distress for children, particularly when their routines are disrupted. Alongside this are other barriers. Teachers may feel underprepared to support autistic pupils in a new environment. Logistical pressures such as staffing ratios, risk assessments and time constraints may limit what schools feel able to offer. My previous research, drawing on the perspectives of primary school teachers, found that they have concerns that behaviour, safety and support needs can create barriers to participation for pupils with special educational needs on school trips. This implies that some children may not always be able to access these opportunities fully. But …

Train and school minibus collide in Belgium, killing four

Train and school minibus collide in Belgium, killing four

Published by Sam Flores

A train hit a school minibus killing four people, including two children, in a “horrific accident” in northern Belgium, authorities said on Tuesday. Another five schoolchildren were injured in the crash at a railway crossing in Buggenhout, a Dutch-speaking municipality about 25 kilometres (15 miles) northwest of Brussels. “A tragic collision between a train and a school bus took place in Buggenhout this morning. Four people have been killed, including two children,” Belgium’s deputy prime minister Maxime Prevot wrote on X. To display this content from X (Twitter), you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices Images from the scene in the Flanders region showed a badly damaged minibus lying on its side on a road next to a railway line, with tents set up by emergency workers around. The commuter train remained halted on the tracks as forensic teams examined the site. Prime Minister Bart De Wever posted on social media that he was “deeply moved by the horrific accident… My thoughts go out to the affected families”. The cause …