children, mobile phones, smartphones

Smartphones for Children: What’s the Right Age?

Smartphones for children are a terrific way to reach out to children as they grow more autonomous. After all, real-time information on their location and itinerary changes can’t be seen at a glance. According to a Today article about how widespread smartphones are among different age groups, “37 percent of 11-year-olds have a smartphone, and ...

Ratul Saha

A young boy watching a smartphone screen.

Try Ringing the Peptoc Hotline to Lift Your Mood

The latest way to get out of a funk? Get a pep talk on the Peptoc Hotline from some elementary students! There is a new telephone hotline that everyone seems to be talking about lately, and it’s one that’s sure to bring a smile to your face. The Peptoc Hotline is a telephone line that ...

Lijf Santelices

A Peptoc Hotline poster drawn by elementary students.

The Story of Ah Xiu, a Tale of Love and Loss

This is a story like no other, told by Ah Yi about his adopted sister Ah Xiu. He did not know his father, who died in a car accident when he was very young. Ah Yi remembers that when he was 10 years old, his mother took him to the markets where they saw a group of children ...

Emma Lu

Shadow of a cild on a swing.

The Healing Impact of Music

People listen to music for various reasons. For some, it is the best companion when they are sad or lonesome. For others, it serves as the companion to match their energy levels as they groove to loud songs and pop tracks. It is not without reason that mothers resorted to singing soothing lullabies at bedtime ...

Emma Lu

A young mother holds her newborn child while sitting in a white rocking chair in the nursery.

Children Say This Is What Love Means

What is love? Love plays a huge role in our lives, and yet what love means is rarely considered attentively and patiently. True love is a hard concept to define, and any definition you may read about it won’t do it justice. Most would say that love is something that you only fully understand when you feel ...

Hermann Rohr

Heart shapes drawn on a beach.

How Do You Know Who the Most Important Person in Your Life Is?

People pay importance to different people in their lives and if you ask a question about who the most important person in their life is, you will get different answers from different people. Some may say they think their parents are most important while for others, their spouse is the most important person. Then there ...

Raven Montmorency

Older husband and wife at a laptop.

Too Much Social Media Puts Kids’ Mental Well-Being at Risk

Children are particularly vulnerable to social media. It wasn’t that long ago that connecting to the Internet required a dial-up modem. Nowadays, it’s easy to access the Internet no matter where you’re at any time using your phone or laptop. But having access 24/7 is not all wonderful, especially for kids. Growing up in this ...

Rory Karsten

Teenage girl sitting on a park bench with her cell phone sending text messages.

Why Parents Are Right to Question Vaccinating Their Children Against COVID-19

The Global Vaccine Action Plan 2011-2020 (GVAP) was developed to realize the ambitions of the Decade of Vaccines — that all individuals and communities enjoy lives free from vaccine-preventable illnesses.  Following the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to cause illness, death, and economic havoc worldwide, vaccines were developed, and a mass vaccination program started in December ...

Katrina Hicks

Six vials of COVID-19 vaccine from different manufacturers.