Strollerderby : 9-11

Morning News: Sunday Edition

Shannon LC Cate — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Is Barack Obama secretly using modern parenting books for government leadership hints? Politico thinks so. The evidence? For one, Senator Claire McCaskill's comment that the Senate democrats decision not to strip Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship was a

“direct result of the tone [Obama] set...The old school was that you reward your friends and punish your enemies...But it’s a new day, and there is no reward and punishment going on.”

Politico likens this "tone" Alfie Kohn's parenting advice:

Alfie Kohn, whose book “Unconditional Parenting” is subtitled “Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason” approves. Kohn says a “working with” approach in the political realm is “essentially more democratic” — particularly if it offers real choices, and not just the illusion of them."

Maybe the Catholic Church needs to consider its own "fathering" style. For want of local recruits, the Church in the United States has a growing stable of priests from abroad:

"One of six diocesan priests now serving in the United States came from abroad, according to “International Priests in America,” a large study published in 2006. About 300 international priests arrive to work here each year. Even in American seminaries, about a third of those studying for the priesthood are foreign-born."

Most of the places these priests end up working are, ironically, some of the most rural and isolated and the least exposed to outsiders. Having international priests, the New York Times suggests, has allowed some parochial parishoners to discover the world a bit:

"Kentucky Catholics who once did not know Nigeria from Uganda opened their eyes to the conditions in the countries their foreign priests came from — even raising $6,000 to install wells in the home village of a Nigerian priest serving in Owensboro."

The organization, Families of Flight 93 have asked still-president Bush to seize the land on which their loved ones died on 9-11, as the landowner has refused to sell it for a memorial. it's a tricky question for Bush, who, along with most republicans finds government seizure of private land abhorrent. But for this cause, how can he say no?

Finally, it's not breaking news, but it's worth reading: A mom who tries to stop using or buying plastic for a week. Here's an excerpt:

"Day 1:

  I use the shampoo bar, put my son in a paper diaper and talk up the new Hello Kitty stainless steel sippy cup that has replaced my daughter's mystery-plastic princess one. Smugness sets in as my girl swigs milk from Hello Kitty and my boy sucks on his rubber pacifier, content.   Then my 3-year-old wants breakfast. Everything we eat is wrapped in plastic except for bananas, oatmeal and salt. She wants none of these things. I feed her cereal out of a plastic bag with milk from a plastic jug."

9-11 Charities Shut Their Doors

Amy Kuras — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:33:00 GMT

Remember all that money that poured into 9-11 related charities after the terrorist attacks on that day? Remember the telethon, the concert, all the fundraising?

Well, that money is drying up. Almost seven years after the attacks, the Red Cross distributed the last $40 million to 26 groups it still funded, down from the $1 billion it had right after the attacks that went to more than 100 organizations.

Those groups have slowly gone away as funding has waned. Many donors felt a sense of needing to make a one time response but question the need for ongoing funding.

But organizations that help kids of 9-11 victims say that some are just now beginning to express their feelings about losing their parents in the terrorist attacks, especially some of the younger boys.

It makes sense that kids, especially those who were pretty young when their parents died, are just now getting the language and thought processes to truly grasp what happened. And while such things as music lessons for the families of victims might have run their course, I hate the idea that counseling services, for example, are beginning to shut their doors due to lack of funds.

An estimated 6,000 kids lost parents in the 9-11 attacks. I have to think that losing a parent in such a tragic and public fashion would be the kind of thing you might need to seek help for, long after the money runs out. Lots of us donated money in some desperate attempt to feel like we were doing something to help in the face of such a frightening event. It's kind of disheartening to realize there are still needs yet to be met.

Talking To Kids About 9-11 and Other Topics We Wish They Didn't Have To Know About

Kelly Mills — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:02:00 GMT

It is, of course, 9/11. I wish I had seen this newsletter from Sesame Workshop a while ago. Because my daughter, who was an infant at the time of the attacks, is now six, and some of the events of that day have entered her consciousness. She watched an episode of Reading Rainbow where kids sent supplies to the students at a school near the twin towers, and somehow she got the idea that the school was the target of bombing. And how do you correct this? "No, honey, people crashed planes into these other buildings." Then she asks, "Were any kids killed?" And worse, "Why did they do that?"

The newsletter, which came out a year after the attacks, has tips for talking to kids about the tragedy, and top of the list is to listen to your kids. Also right up there is to limit media exposure. It's a good reminder, because when we adults can hardly bear something, it's likely kids are going to fare far worse. The newsletter also has tips for different age groups, and even some more general resources for helping children with trauma and grief. Take care.