competition "bad" for self-esteem of children!!!!!!!!!. . . again

Student Awards Cut To Foster Team Work - Ailleen Donnelly - National Post - Jan 13, 2011

advertisers targeting children obésité - publicités destinées aux enfants

De nouvelles plaintes déposées - Office de la protection du consommateur avise plusieurs coporations qu'ils vont à l'encontre de la loi. - publicité destinées aux enfants - Marie Allard - Cyberpresse - 14 jan. 2011

competition "bad" for self-esteem of children!!!!!!!!!

Don't Tear Out The Trophy Case - Editorial, National Post - Jan 14, 2011. Teachers in 2 Canadian provinces consider it horrible that children would have to deal with competition - i.e.: winning and losing. Rather than teach them to deal with life's ups and downs, losses and wins,  they would prefer that children live as "victims" i.e: live in a level playing field of mediocrity - that is: without stress and pain. (promoting submissive existence over living). 

Parenting vs Slave-driving

Finding Your Inner Slavedriver : re Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - book by Amu Chua. Though the book represents an exaggerated version of parenting what it does highlight is the underlying cause of North America's penchant for the lowest common denominator - no matter the consequences.It is rather amusing to note that in 1911 the following comments were made by a psychology professor at Harvard who stated that :
"Anyone can nurture youthful prowess" in our offspring. "The only obstacle", he argued, "was the American embrace of mediocrity". How frightening. . . 100 years later. . . we are still talking about the self-driven decline of the North American dream. Chua simply makes the point once again. 

Health - obesity - death

Exercise Doesn't Help Serious Couch Potatoes : study - Amy Minsky - National; Post - Jan 15, 2011
Study to be published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Encouragement

A Supernova For Every Child - Encouraging children to be the best they can be. - Editorial (Science Education) - Globe and Mail - Jan 10, 2011

Specialists serving their own interests?

"The goal of Ottawa's social workers should be to put themselves out of a job." 
Self-serving Social Work - Anthony Furey, comment editor, Ottawa Sun, Jan 26,2011.