[Health]Is Your Child Experiencing Summer Learning Loss? What to Do

• Summer learning loss is the loss of academic skills and knowledge children can experience over the summer break from school.
• Though experts still debate why this happens and the degree to which children are affected, many teachers say it’s a real issue for many students at the beginning of each year.
• Many states offer scholarships for a range of summer programs and activities that can provide learning opportunities and access to other school benefits that may be lost in the summer, including food programs.
• Parents can also help lessen the impact of summer learning loss while kids are at home with regular activities, discussing appropriate current events, or reading for at least 30 minutes a day.

The concept of summer learning loss isn’t new. The original research, released in 1996, compiled data from the 1970s and ’80s and kicked off a decades-long search for answers regarding what really happens to children’s learning over the summer months when school is not in session.

It’s otherwise referred to as the Cooper Analysis, named for lead author Harris Cooper, who went on to write a great deal about his findings. That meta-analysis found that about a month of school-time learning was lost over the summer, with the negative impact increasing as children grow older.

Later research included a 20-year study, spanning 1982 to 2002.

In the years since, researchers have had debated the reasons some students experience learning loss during summer breaks, with some experts pointing to the gaps for children of lower socioeconomic status.

Others have theorized that the learning gap is actually established prior to the age of 5, with those gaps simply enduring and accounting for what researchers have observed when children begin 9th grade.

Others still, such as researcher Paul T. von Hippel, associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, have examined the validity of our previously believed conclusions, questioning whether or not summer learning loss is, in fact, a real thing.

But while experts continue to debate why this may occur, many teachers say it does — and there are a number of things parents can do about it.

[Health]Heart Failure for People Under 65 Is Rising: How to Reduce Your Risk

• Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure, is when the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it needs to.
• Over the past decade, death rates from heart failure for adults between 35 and 64 years old have been increasing.
• According to experts, this is partially due to a “clustering of risk factors” in young adults, such as hypertension, high blood pressure, rising rates of obesity, and coronary artery disease.
• A healthy diet, regular exercise, and knowing your family history can help prevent and manage heart failure for those who are at risk.

It was just before the Fourth of July three years ago when John Sousa, 44, knew something was seriously wrong with his health.

For about a month, he had trouble breathing, which he initially passed off as part of his asthma symptoms from seasonal allergies. But this was different. His inhaler wasn’t working like it normally did.

Concerned, Sousa visited his doctor who treated him for an upper respiratory infection.

While some antibiotics and steroids improved his condition slightly, within 10 days, he was back at the doctor’s office. He was given another round of steroids and just days later was back. His breathing was worse.

“This time, the nurse asked me ‘weird questions’ like, ‘Did I have chest pains?’ Those kind of things. She was like, ‘I’m going to do an EKG’ (electrocardiogram), and the next thing I knew, I had an appointment to see a cardiologist the day before the Fourth of July,” Sousa told Healthline.

The results shocked him. Sousa was diagnosed with a chronic type of heart failure. He had no family history of heart disease.

“I couldn’t even wrap my brain around it,” he said of his diagnosis. “It was overwhelming. ‘I was going to die’ was the only thing I could think. I started Googling the survival rates and saw these terrible statistics. It took me probably about six months before I was able to wrap my brain around what heart failure was and that it was something that could be managed.”

[Health] How social media can affect mental health

How social media can affect mental health

The findings are in line with other recent studies about the association between social media and depression.

Research published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology in December 2018 found a causal link between the two and suggested that limiting social media made people less lonely and less depressed.

Melissa G. Hunt, PhD, the lead author of that paper and the Associate Director of Clinical Training Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, said of the research published this week:

“I’m not surprised they found an association between increasing social media use and increasing depression, and their data do suggest that upward social comparison is a factor in this.”

However, Hunt was critical of the use of self-reported data, which she described as “notoriously faulty,” and suggested that studies on screen time and social media use need better objective measures of time spent on these activities.

Hunt’s own research from last year required participants to have iPhones in order to utilize usage data to track the exact time spent by the user on different apps per day.

The association between social media and depression is prevalent in other studies as well, but the reason why isn’t entirely clear, although psychologists have a pretty good idea.

Boers and his team looked at three different hypotheses to explain their findings.

The first, “displacement,” suggests that any screen time displaces users from other healthier activities such as physical exercise.

“Upward social comparison” happens when people compare themselves to others who appear to be doing better than them; that could mean physically in terms of looks, or wealth.

“Reinforcing spirals” refers to when people seek out information or content consistent with their cognitions. Practically, what it means is that if you’re politically liberal, you’ll probably seek out information online that aligns with your political viewpoint.

And if you’re depressed, well, you could start looking for content that matches how you feel.

Boers work suggests that “upward social comparison” and “reinforcing spirals” are likely drivers of depression related to screen time, but not “displacement.” In fact, it pushes back against the idea of video games as a driver of depression at all.

“The vast majority of kids play the games socially, either physically side by side with friends or joining friends via headset. Skills (both technical and social) are rewarded, just like on a playing field or a Science Olympiad team. It only becomes problematic if that’s the only thing a kid is doing,” said Hunt.

What parents should know

For parents interested in understanding the effects of screen time on their children, there are some general takeaways, but no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to how much time kids should or shouldn’t be spending on their devices.

“Parents should moderate and/or monitor their child’s social media and television use. Especially when a child is vulnerable to mental health issues and/or has already experienced mental health issues in the past,” said Boers.

“Prevent your child from exposing him/herself to idealised content of fellow peers, content that lowers their self-esteem and, in turn, increases the severity of depressive symptoms.”

[JOKES] Upgrade Boy Friend

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance -- particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0, NBA 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed, Desperate

Dear Desperate,

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.

Please enter the command "! http: I Thought You Loved Me.html" and try to download Tears 6.2 and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

But remember,overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources). Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program.

These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend! Food 3.0 and HotLingerie 7.7.

Good Luck, Tech Support

[JOKES]Are you two twins

Are you two twins?

No, why do you ask?

Because mommy dressed you both in the same clothes.

OK that’s enough, your driver’s license please.

[JOKES]Lawyer fee

A man goes to the lawyer: “What is your fee?”

Lawyer says: “1000 US dollars for 3 questions.”

Man: “Wow - so much! Isn’t it a bit expensive?”

Lawyer: “Yes, what is your third question?”

[JOKES]are bugs good to eat?

A boy asks his father, "Dad, are bugs good to eat?"


"That's disgusting. Don't talk about things like that over dinner," the dad replies.


After dinner the father asks, "Now, son, what did you want to ask me?"


"Oh, nothing," the boy says. "There was a bug in your soup, but now it’s gone."

[JOKES]HIDE AND SEEK

Mr. and Mrs. Brown had two sons. 

One was named Mind Your Own Business & the other was named Trouble. 

One day the two boys decided to play hide and seek. 
Trouble hid while Mind Your Own Business counted to one hundred. 
Mind Your Own Business began looking for his brother behind garbage cans and bushes. 

Then he started looking in and under cars until a police man approached him and asked, "What are you doing?" 

"Playing a game," the boy replied. 

"What is your name?" the officer questioned. 

"Mind Your Own Business." Furious the policeman inquired, "Are you looking for trouble?!" 

The boy replied, "Why, yes."

[JOKES]Salary of $125,000 a year

Reaching the end of a job interview,

the Human Resources Officer asks a young engineer fresh out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

"And what starting salary are you looking for?"

The engineer replies: "In the region of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package."

The interviewer inquires:

"Well, what would you say to a package of five weeks vacation,

14 paid holidays,

full medical and dental,

company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary,

and a company car leased every two years, say, a red Corvette?"

The engineer sits up straight and says: "Wow! Are you kidding?"

The interviewer replies: "Yeah, but you started it."

[JOKES]How many cats?

Teacher: "If I gave you 2 cats and another 2 cats and another 2, how many would you have?"
Johnny: "Seven."
Teacher: "No, listen carefully... If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?"
Johnny: "Seven."
Teacher: "Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?"
Johnny: "Six."
Teacher: "Good. Now if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?"
Johnny: "Seven!"
Teacher: "Johnny, where in the heck do you get seven from?!"
Johnny: "Because I've already got a freaking cat!"