children Archives - The Pennsylvania Daily Star

Commentary: 13 Traditionalist Gift Ideas for Kids

November 24, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Christmas is just around the corner! We often look forward to the holidays with heaps of joy … and maybe a little trepidation. There can be so many presents involved, particularly given the numerous people and parties. It can be a lot for anyone to deal with.

But presents can’t just be ignored: Children love gifts, and they find so much joy in the simple act of opening sparkly, wrapped boxes. Plus, presents are a great opportunity to share traditional values with children. But instead of opting for the “more is more” mentality of mainstream culture, let’s embrace the mantra “fewer but better.” Let’s explore alternative gift ideas that not only support traditionalist values but also won’t overwhelm children, parents, or our wallets.

Commentary: UN Undermines Parental Rights by Pushing Gender Ideology

November 19, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

On Dec. 10, the United Nations will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document drafted in the aftermath of World War II under the leadership of American first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Much has changed since then, including the world body’s understanding of children and of parental rights.

Commentary: 25 Traditionalist Books to Read with Your Children

October 24, 2023October 23, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

One of the best things parents can do for their children is read with them. Even reading a few minutes a day makes a world of difference.

Literacy is not only the key skill required by almost all education formats but also one of the most influential factors in any learning endeavor. Even children too young to read independently garner an incredible amount from listening to books read aloud. They significantly increase their language skills, attention span, memory, visual awareness, and emotional response and regulation. And, of course, reading together offers children time to cuddle up with parents for quality bonding time.

U.S. Preschool Enrollment Hits Lowest Level Since 2005

September 12, 2023September 11, 2023 The Center Square

Fewer parents sent children to preschool in 2021 in a decline that corresponded with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The percentage of 3-to-6-year-olds enrolled in preschool in the United States dropped by 9.3 percentage points from 2019 to 2021, from 51.1% to 41.8%, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.

Little Support Among Voters for Transgender Medical Procedures on Children

September 5, 2023September 4, 2023 The Center Square

Few voters think children should undergo transgender interventions even with parental permission.

That’s according to The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll of 2,500 registered voters across the U.S., conducted by Noble Predictive Insights. The poll found that 58% of those surveyed are against medical interventions such as gender-changing surgery or puberty blockers for children younger than 18 years old.

Commentary: Climate Activists Have Exploited Our Children

August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

A report published in the Washington Times last week, entitled “Young conservatives take climate activism to GOP presidential debate,” undoubtedly is of grave concern to conservatives and the Republican Party. A group of young Republicans called the American Conservation Coalition is warning GOP presidential candidates that they “need to engage on energy and climate or they’re going to lose young voters.”

Commentary: The Way to Teach Children to Value Tradition

July 30, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Traditionalism will come to nothing if it is not shared with future generations. You might have children yourself and are in the throes of parenting. Or you might be looking toward a family one day and wondering how best to prepare. How does one go about teaching tradition to children? Where should new and future parents focus in order to give their young ones the same mindset they hold dear?

Commentary: The Left Hates Sound of Freedom Because They Hate Children

July 29, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

An appropriate reaction for anyone who has seen the film Sound of Freedom is one of sheer horror, shock and anger toward a child trafficking industry that subjugates over a million children globally to sexual abuse – and unimaginable trauma for both the victims and their families.

Another appropriate reaction to this powerful film would be an appreciation for director Alejandro Monteverde and actor Jim Caviezel’s masterful ability to bring to national attention this brutal epidemic that must be eradicated.

California Bill Would Enable Therapists to ‘Emancipate’ 12-Year-Olds from Their Own Parents

June 24, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

On Tuesday, Democrats in the state of California advanced a bill that would allow therapists and other mental health “professionals” to have children forcibly removed from their homes and placed into state custody without the consent of the parents.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the State Senate’s Judiciary Committee approved Assembly Bill 665, which passed by a party-line vote. If the bill became law, children as young as 12 would be legally allowed to check themselves into state-run shelters with the unconditional approval of a therapist or counselor, and without the parents’ knowledge.

Nearly Half of U.S. States Now Have Measures Limiting Transgender Surgery for Minors, but Lawsuits Abound

June 18, 2023 Admin

At least 20 states have either restricted or banned transgender procedures for minors, with many of them facing lawsuits and temporary blocks by courts as a result, while future litigation is possible in states considering adopting such laws.

The states that have enacted legislation against such procedures are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia – essentially all conservative-leaning.

Commentary: As Great as a Mom May Be, Kids Still Need Their Dads

June 18, 2023June 18, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

“Smokin’ Joe,” a biography of late heavyweight boxing champion and 3-time Muhammad Ali foil Joe Frazier, was recently reviewed by Gordon Marion in The Wall Street Journal. Among the notable details is the fact that five different women gave birth to Frazier’s eleven kids.

This occurrence is not uncommon among celebrities. Muhammad Ali, actor and director Clint Eastwood, and comedian Eddie Murphy are just a few who have fathered children with multiple women. Politicians fall prey to this problem as well, with San Antonio mayoral candidate Greg Brockhouse – who has four children with four mothers – being one of the most recent examples.

Syrian Refugee Reportedly Suspect in France Stabbing Attack Targeting Toddlers

June 8, 2023June 8, 2023 Just the News

At least four toddlers were stabbed Thursday morning in a park in southeast France, the country’s interior minister says, and the suspect is reportedly a Syrian refugee who is now in police custody. Police were able to overpower and arrest the attacker, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said, according to the BBC.

Commentary: I Love Homeschooling Our Eight Kids

May 27, 2023 Admin

This year I will graduate my first homeschooler. It seems like only yesterday I was teaching our oldest child to read, and now she’s an adult taking college courses. For the last 14 years I’ve been knee-deep in educating our eight children, recently as many as five grade levels at a time, in a one-room schoolhouse style approach.

Unearthed Documents Reveal How Hospital Pushes Medical Transitions on Children

April 28, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Seattle Children’s Hospital encourages medical professionals to offer swift biomedical interventions as the default treatment for young patients with gender identity issues, even when parents are skeptical, and largely avoids recommending mental health services to gender dysphoric youth, according to documents published by the hospital.

The hospital, which recently attracted criticism for advertising transgender surgical procedures for minors, published several guides to instruct medical professionals on their treatment decisions regarding “gender affirming medical care” for youth. The guides promote puberty blockers and menstrual suppression drugs for young patients, do not list mental health screenings as a necessary step before medications are administered and instead indicate that mental health treatments are optional and must be sought externally.

Commentary: The Cult-Like Transgender Recruitment Model

February 22, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Oh, the insecurities of youth! “Will I be popular?” “Can I play basketball as well as the other boys?” “Will the others let me hang out with them?” “Will boys like me?” “Will girls like me?” “Am I as strong/smart/good-looking/funny as the cool kids?”

Most kids and teens endure these doubts about themselves. It’s a normal part of growing up. This coming-of-age emotional agony was described as early as 1774 in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. In this novel, young Werther’s sorrow over unrequited love eventually becomes so unbearable that he leaves his hometown. Next, he is greatly embarrassed when he encounters a gathering of aristocrats. They ask him to leave since he is not a nobleman. Rejected by a girl and now rejected by aristocrats—the exquisite agony! What’s a boy to do?

Commentary: The Confused ‘Gender Queer’ World the Left Is Making for Children

February 5, 2023February 4, 2023 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

One of my favorite current sources of unintentional humor, NPR, provided another comedy jewel the other day.

It was an interview with Maia Kobabe, the author of Gender Queer: A Memoir, a book NPR describes as a “graphic memoir” (meaning it includes illustrations throughout like a comic book). This book has been getting critical attention from some groups, including concerned parents, who are not entirely ideologically on board with current woke protocols on gender and sexuality. And, indeed, considering the book contains pornographic images, it is alarming that it can be found in school libraries.

Report: Children Under 14 Dying from Fentanyl Poisoning at Faster Rate than Any Other Age Group

January 17, 2023January 16, 2023 The Center Square

Children under age 14 are dying from fentanyl poisoning at a faster rate than any other age group in the U.S., according to a new analysis from Families Against Fentanyl.

In the past two years, synthetic opioid (fentanyl) deaths among children surged.

Fentanyl-related deaths among infants (children under age one) quadrupled from 2019 to 2021; more than tripled among children between the ages of 1 and 4 and nearly quadrupled among children between the ages of 5 and 14.

Social Media Use in Children Linked to Significant Brain Changes

January 6, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A new study from the University of North Carolina shows children and teens who frequently check social media may become more sensitive in the long term to “social feedback” in the form of “likes” and “dislikes” at a time when the brain is experiencing significant developmental changes.

In the study, published at the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, researchers Maria Maza, et al, investigated whether the frequency with which middle-school age children check their Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat social media accounts is associated with long-term changes in brain development as they mature further into adolescence.

First-Ever Emmy Awards for Children Heavily Pushes LGBT Content

December 19, 2022December 18, 2022 Admin

In the first Emmy Awards ceremony aimed at children, many of the speeches and award wins overwhelmingly promoted pro-LGBTQ content and other far-left concepts.

Fox News reports that the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, created by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and hosted over the course of two nights, is intended for children ranging from “infancy to age 15.” Of all the programs that received an award, one out of four featured characters or stories that involved sexual preference or gender identity.

Study: Transgender ‘Top Surgery’ up Almost 400 Percent Among Children

October 30, 2022October 29, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

A new peer-reviewed study has revealed the true extent of efforts to promote life-altering “gender transition” surgeries to children, with a staggering increase in “top surgeries” altering children’s chest areas over the last several years.

The Daily Caller reports that the study, conducted by Dr. Galen Perdikis, Dr. Salam Al Kasis, and Rishub Karan Das, determined that between the years 2016 and 2019, “the annual number of gender-affirming chest surgeries increased by 389 percent.” The study was published by the pediatric network of the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on October 17th.

Gender Dysphoria Diagnoses for Children Soared 70 Percent in 2021

October 7, 2022October 6, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Childhood gender dysphoria diagnoses soared 70% from 2020 to 2021, according to medical records of 330 million Americans analyzed by Komodo Health Inc, Reuters reported Thursday.

The findings reveal a massive uptick in gender dysphoria diagnoses for children aged 6 to 17, with at least 121,882 children receiving that diagnosis in the five years leading up to 2021, according to Reuters. While most children who are diagnosed with the disorder do not medically transition, the rate of children on puberty blockers more than doubled from 2017 to 2021 to just over 5,000.

The data aligns with other findings outlining the rapid rise in transgender identities among adolescents, but it’s less clear why the trend accelerated so rapidly in 2020. Some have attributed the youth transgender trend to social contagion, citing the popularity of trans videos on TikTok and other social media platforms, while others have pointed to school programming on gender identity issues for young children.

American Academy of Pediatrics Guidance: Don’t Exclude Children Infested with Lice from School; It May ‘Stigmatize’ Them

October 4, 2022October 3, 2022 Admin

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends against sending children infested with head lice home from school because doing so may “stigmatize” them, “violate their civil rights,” and/or cause “psychological stress.”

The AAP updated its guidance on head lice this week for the first time since 2015.

Commentary: The Civil Disobedience of Raising a Family

October 2, 2022October 1, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

In case you haven’t noticed, times have changed, and somehow, those who hold to traditional societal norms have become the new face of counter culturalism. As this is unfamiliar territory to those on the traditional end of the spectrum, a few lessons are needed in how to live up to this new moniker. One of those lessons is how to engage in civil disobedience.

If you’re like me, the phrase “civil disobedience” conjures up images of bra-burning hippies protesting Vietnam and demanding that society “make love, not war.” But in a world where up has become down and good has become evil, civil disobedience no longer means we must take to the streets and chain ourselves to some inanimate object. In reality, the best civil disobedience we, as members of the new countercultural movement, can perform is right in our own homes, raising our families.

UK Announces Children Under 12 No Longer Will Receive COVID Vaccine

September 11, 2022September 10, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Young girl with a blue shirt on getting a vaccine

Children under 12-years-old in the United Kingdom will no longer be offered COVID injections, except for those in clinical risk groups, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed this week. The agency said the offer of COVID shots to healthy 5 to 11-year-olds was always meant to be temporary.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said children who had not turned five by the end of last month would not be offered a vaccination, in line with advice published by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in February 2022. UKHSA said the offer of Covid jabs to healthy five to 11-year-olds was always meant to be temporary.

Commentary: Time to Turn Orwell into Fiction Again

August 31, 2022August 30, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Of all the creepy things that totalitarian regimes do, perhaps none is more creepy than their habit of encouraging children to inform on their parents to the regime.

Anyone who has read “1984” will remember the pathetic Tom Parsons, who winds up next to Winston Smith in The Ministry of Truth (read: prison) after his young daughter reported that he had muttered “Down with Big Brother” in his sleep.

DHS Encouraged Children to Report Family to Facebook for Challenging U.S. Government COVID Claims

August 31, 2022August 30, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

In the cartoon below, you will see the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) encourage a young female protagonist to report her “Uncle Steve” to Facebook for posting “disinformation”.

DHS’s rationale? “Uncle Steve” posted that “Covid-19 is no worse than the flu”:

Commentary: Transgender Activists Manipulate Parents with Suicide Threats

June 21, 2022June 20, 2022 Admin

“Do you want a dead daughter or a live son?”

This question, which is really a threat, is the central tenet of the campaign selling gender ideology to parents.

Commentary: As Great as a Mom May Be, Kids Still Need Their Dads

June 19, 2022June 18, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

by Christopher Becker “Smokin’ Joe,” a biography of late heavyweight boxing champion and 3-time Muhammad Ali foil Joe Frazier, was recently reviewed by Gordon Marion in The Wall Street Journal. Among the notable details is the fact that five different women gave birth to Frazier’s eleven kids. This occurrence…

Teachers Explain How They Push ‘Gender Lessons’ on Young Children

June 6, 2022June 5, 2022 Admin

Teachers across the country revealed the strategies they use to teach young children about gender ideology in a Friday article published by The Washington Post.

Teachers discussed the various ways they are injecting gender-related discussions into their lessons, including comments about using hormones to stop menstrual periods and declining to state that sexual anatomy is gender-specific, according to The Washington Post. One transgender teacher makes a point of telling students about the process of gender transitions, including with personal testimony.

COVID Restrictions Stunted Kids’ Immune Systems, Could Explain Surge of Other Illnesses: Scientists

June 4, 2022June 3, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

For two years and counting, the scientific and medical establishments have urged Americans at all risk levels to limit their exposure to the microbial world to effectively reduce the spread of COVID-19, rather than focus on protecting the vulnerable.

The unexpected surge of other pathogens starting last summer, however, has challenged the wisdom of frequent sanitizing, social distancing, remote work and education, and routine mask-wearing, especially applied to children.

CDC Study: Remote Learning Hurt Kids’ Mental Health

April 17, 2022April 16, 2022 The Center Square

When schools pivoted to remote learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the first casualty was kids’ mental health.

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed teenagers’ mental health from January 2021 to June 2021. Compared with 2019, the study found that the proportion of mental health–related emergency department visits in 2020 increased by about 31% among kids aged 12–17 years.

Commentary: The Dystopian Future Where Women—and Men—Just Don’t Want Children

April 17, 2022April 16, 2022 Admin

Most of the baby strollers my family observed on vacation in Savannah, Georgia were not transporting babies. Instead, couples perambulated about the city with . . . dogs. By the end of our vacation, we had counted more than 200 different dogs in strollers across the city. Seeing an actual baby in a stroller proved to be the exception, not the rule.

The U.S. birthrate has fallen by about 20 percent since 2007, and shows no signs of recovering. Among childless adults, 44 percent of those under 50 say it is not too or not at all likely they will ever have children, up from 37 percent who said the same in 2018.

Commentary: The Long, Horrifying History of Groomers

April 10, 2022April 9, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

In the 1980s and 90s, I worked in child advocacy. One of my jobs was to teach children how to protect themselves from abuse. First and foremost I taught children that adults should not be telling children to keep secrets. I taught children if an adult were to tell a child that something the adult does or says must be kept secret from mom or dad, the adult was doing wrong. The first way for a child to protect themselves was to immediately tell mom and dad about adults wanting to keep secrets.

Disney Silent on Reports It Helps Employees’ Kids Get Sex Changes

April 10, 2022April 9, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

The Walt Disney Company is staying silent following reports it helps the children of its employees with sex change procedures through its benefits program.

A leaked video shared by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo Thursday purportedly showed a Disney internal meeting in which a man explained Disney’s efforts to help employees “express their gender” at the company. Disney has not publicly addressed its efforts to help employees medically transition their children to the opposite sex following the release of the video, and did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Disney Helps Employees ‘Transition’ Their Transgender Children and Themselves: Report

April 9, 2022April 8, 2022 Admin

Disney is reportedly assisting employees and their children with sex change and “gender affirmation” procedures through the company’s benefits program.

The company’s “benefits team” is reportedly offering resources and guides to employees transitioning to the opposite gender, as well as information for employees’ children who are transitioning, according to a video shared by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Christopher Rufo.

Texas Judge Blocks State Investigations of Transgender Kids’ Treatments as Child Abuse

March 13, 2022March 13, 2022 Admin

Texas District Judge Amy Clark Meachum blocked the state’s Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) on Friday from investigating parents of transgender children for child abuse with regard to providing hormone therapy.

The decision is the most recent in a weeklong civil lawsuit filed by the parents of a transgender child and a psychologist from the Houston area who are challenging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order from last month calling for “prompt and thorough investigation” into reported instances of “gender-transitioning procedures” among minors.

Texas District Attorneys Fighting Governor’s Order to Treat Sex Change Surgeries for Children as Abuse

February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 Admin

District attorneys for five of the largest counties in Texas are defying Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order to treat sex change surgeries for children as child abuse.

Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) Tuesday to investigate instances of children undergoing sex change procedures, including “reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, mastectomies, removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty-blocking drugs or supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or estrogen.”

Senators Reveal Bipartisan Bill Targeting Big Tech Companies for Harms to Children

February 17, 2022February 16, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal unveiled a bipartisan bill Wednesday aimed at curbing online harms to children.

The Kids Online Safety Act is the result of several hearings and a months-long investigation led by Blackburn and Blumenthal into how use of social media platforms affects teens and young children. If enacted, the bill would require social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable “addictive” product features and allow them to opt out of recommendation algorithms.

Activists Are Trying to Normalize Pedophilia and Corporate Media Is Helping Them

February 10, 2022February 9, 2022 Admin

Media outlets have provided a microphone to activists who want to society to accept pedophilia as a sexual identity separate from any criminal activity.

At the same time that activists push for a respectable place in society for pedophiles — who are called minor attracted people — some conservative commentators and concerned parents are voicing fears about the sexualization of children and their exposure to sexual materials, often in relation to gender and sexual identity programs targeting young people.

Canadian Father Loses Custody of Children Due to Being Unvaccinated

February 8, 2022February 7, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

In New Brunswick, Canada, a father of three lost custody of his children after a single judge ruled that his unvaccinated status was a danger to his children.

According to USA Today, the concerned father presented evidence to the judge that pointed out possible harmful effects of the Pfizer-BioTech vaccine, as proof that his concerns about taking the vaccine were valid. But Justice Nathalie Godbout, of the Court of Queen’s Bench, ruled against him by simply deferring to “public health officials” as being superior to his own research.

Child Psychiatrist: Toll on Children’s Mental Health During Government Response to Pandemic Is ‘Utterly Devastating’

February 3, 2022February 2, 2022 Admin

Though children are least likely to experience severe illness from COVID-19, the level of mental health distress many are exhibiting during the government’s response to the pandemic is “utterly devastating,” child psychiatrist Dr. Mark McDonald said in a recent interview.

The Los Angeles-based clinician expressed his concern during a late November podcast for the Unity Project, an organization working to end COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthy children in grades K-12.

Law Profs: Most States May Recognize ‘Multiparent Families’ in the Near Future

January 31, 2022 Admin

Two law professors this week argued that the U.S. is on the verge of seeing most states recognize “multiparent families,” a novel familial arrangement that the instructors nevertheless claimed was “hardly new.”

Professors Courtney Joslin and Douglas NeJaime of UC Davis School of Law and Yale Law School, respectively, argued in the Washington Post this week that it “soon could be unremarkable for a child to have three or more legal parents,” with that legal concession “fast becoming reality” throughout the country.

“These new laws have been spurred, in part, by the rising numbers and public profile of LGBTQ families and others with children conceived through assisted reproduction,” they write. “In many of these families, one or more parents are not genetically related to their children, and many states now legally recognize these ‘intended parents.'”

Former Planned Parenthood President Says School Closures Harm Children

January 9, 2022January 8, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

A former Planned Parenthood president and public health professional argued in a Thursday op-ed for The Washington Post that the rise in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant is not a reason to keep schools closed.

Dr. Leana Wen argued “both sides [of the school reopening debate] are wrong,” in her op-ed. “let’s agree that schools are essential and then work to reduce risk to get students back to in-person learning,” Wen wrote.

Wen called it “astounding” that governors in states like Texas, Georgia and Iowa are fighting against school mask mandates and that Florida’s surgeon general is discouraging testing in schools, attributing ” “low vaccine uptake among children” to “rampant right-wing disinformation.”

Latest Research Chronicles the Impact of COVID Lockdowns on Children

January 2, 2022January 2, 2022 Admin

A growing body of academic research is chronicling the toll that pandemic lockdowns imposed on children, warning that the mental and social anguish the policies caused outweigh the health protections.

The “overall impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents is likely to be severe,” an Oxford University professor warned in a recent analysis.

Commentary: Poll Reveals Education Quality, Curriculum Stoke Parents’ Concern

December 21, 2021December 20, 2021 RealClearWire

After a year in which parents across the country began exercising more political power at school board meetings and through activist groups, the COVID-fueled parent movement is unlikely to subside any time soon, a new poll released Monday found.

Even as some school districts in Oregon and other locales this year suspended math and reading proficiency graduation requirements, most Americans believe public school academic standards aren’t high enough.