This article was written by Josh Reid Jones the founder of the Just Be Nice Project and an R U OK? community ambassador. He can be found at joshreidjones.com  andjbnproject.com .

The last time was not the first time. My father was attempting to break both my mother’s arms off, and in trying to help my Mum he tried to throw me through our glass sliding doors.

The floor was wet, a result of the beverage that Mum was preparing being knocked off the kitchen counter as she was manhandled to the floor by a man who was lost to an alcohol induced rage. Black eyes, screaming, crying siblings. A small boy unable to save his mother properly. These are my memories, but we got away that night.

My father himself must have watched similar scenes as a child. His own father was an abusive alcoholic, as was his grandfather. A long line of male abuse runs in the family, stretching back generations of men whose behavior I cannot understand.

Flash forward a few years and I am at my most impressionable age, in my early teens, going through the usual motions of hormones, girls, school, feeling the self-imposed responsibility of being the “man of the house,” etc., etc. It is one of the rare weekends we spent with him. My father sits me down, my younger siblings now in bed.

What feels like a deep and meaningful conversation begins, and he relays to me a lot of what I must be feeling, tells me he went through the same feelings with his father. I feel like there is an understanding, an understanding of a feeling that has always been hard for me to articulate. Then he says to me that even though now I was appalled by what happened, one day I would do the same thing.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga County Justice Center and two civil rights organizations have reached an agreement to curb the use of solitary confinement as a punishment for 16- and 17-year-olds held there.

The settlement agreement, filed Monday afternoon in federal court, is the culmination of nine months of legal battles in the class-action lawsuit. Organizations including the New York Civil Liberties Union and Legal Services of Central New York said the practice of routinely placing teens in cells by themselves for long periods is unconstitutional and harms young minds.

As part of the agreement, which must be approved by a federal judge, teens can only be confined to their cells when the sheriff’s office deems there to be an imminent safety threat that “less restrictive measures cannot adequately resolve,” according to a news release from the NYCLU.

“In such cases, this confinement will last for only the minimum time necessary to resolve an imminent safety threat,” the news release said.

The settlement also requires the school district to provide access to education, special education services and an “incentive program” to encourage better behavior among teen inmates.

Teens will also receive individual plans if they have mental health or learning disabilities, supervised by a “multi-disciplinary team,’ according to the news release.

The organizations alleged the jail, which is run by the county sheriff’s office, and the Syracuse City School District were harming the teens by not educating them and isolating them from their peers.  Between October 2015 and September 2016, at least 86 teens were committed in solitary confinement more than 250 times, according to the NYCLU.

The organizations said teens were punished with solitary confinement for minor offenses like shouting too loudly or violating the dress code.

There are currently 24 16- and 17-year-olds at the jail charged as adults. Most are awaiting trial.

The number of teens charged as adults and, therefore, incarcerated like them is expected to decrease as so-called “raise the age” legislation goes into effect over the next couple years. The law, passed in this year’s state budget, limits teenagers being charged as adults to certain violent, felony offenses.

The lawsuit filed in September 2016 was on behalf of six unnamed plaintiffs who were being held at the time at the Justice Center. Of them, four had attention-deficit disorder.

The teens were placed in cells that were 7 feet by 9 feet for 23 hours a day, according to the lawsuit. Teens spent an average of 26 days there during their incarceration.

The sheriff’s office has not publicly commented on the lawsuit since it was filed in September.

In court documents,  Esteban Gonzalez, the chief deputy of the custody department, said the jail staff, mental health and other health-care workers make regular rounds through the unit where teens are held. He also said the inmates get an hour of exercise each day and have access to other jail services.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2017/06/county_jail_agreement_would_mean_no_more_teen_solitary_confinement_without_immin.html?platform=hootsuite

By Andrea Sachs

What’s that you say? You want to know where you are going? You don’t like not knowing. Well, let me fill you in, before your attention wears thin. We are going to the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum. The attraction just opened in Springfield, Massachusetts. I promise you will have a blast.

“It’s like walking into Dr. Seuss’s stories,” said Karen Fisk of the Springfield Museums and Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, “and finding all the characters you love.”

The weeks-old museum celebrates Theodor Seuss Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss. The children’s book author and illustrator grew up in Springfield in the early 1900s. He was born in an apartment above his grandparents’ bakery and visited the animals at the nearby Forest Park Zoo, where his dad was superintendent. At Central High School, not far from the museum, his schoolmates voted him “class wit,” for his clever sense of humor.

The wacky Seussian ad­ven­ture starts beneath a bright blue archway with pink trees, a structure that many Seuss readers will recognize from the last book he ever wrote, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” A red-and-white-checkered pathway connects the exhibit rooms. The color scheme was inspired by a certain cat who likes to wear a tall hat.

The ground floor brings to life several of his 40-plus children’s books. The front door opens up to “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” the first children’s book Seuss published. A statue of a police officer patrols a zany parade painted on the wall. Around the bend, step into McGrew’s Zoo, a riot of animals, most not found in the wild. A diagram shows some of the pretend creatures from “If I Ran the Zoo.” There is a preep, a proo, a nerkle and a nerd. Yes, a nerd — a word Seuss made up. Continue onward to make the acquaintance of Thing One and Thing Two, the Cat in the Hat, the Lorax and the tower of turtles from — burp — “Yertle the Turtle.”

“You can climb on them and touch them and rub the Cat in the Hat’s stomach,” said John Simpson, the project director who painted hundreds of figures and built more than 20 sculptures for the museum.

Jaiden Scott, 10, and his 7-year-old brother, Kenny Ruby, sat on the first two humps of the seven-hump Wump and smiled for Mom’s camera. Kenny set his baseball cap on the superlong camel but decided it looked better on his own head.

“Ooh, it’s Gertrude McFuzz,” said Melissa Dempsey, as she fast-walked toward an image of the bird with the fancy feathers.

Melissa and her husband had surprised their son, Cameron, with a visit for his 14th birthday. During the two-hour drive from Gloucester, Massachusetts, the family dropped hints about their destination: It was a museum . . . for an author . . . who lived in Springfield. The final clue — he’s a doctor — tipped off Cameron.

“The museum has the nostalgia for the adults and the imagination for the kids,” he said. Cameron then set off to see Horton, the elephant who heard a Who.

Downstairs, at Cat’s Corner, you can make a Lorax mustache on a wooden stick, a paper cat hat or your own book. On the top floor, peek at Seuss’s studio and sitting room, which appear exactly as he left them in 1991. His childhood stuffed dog named Theophrastus rests on the couch. Colored pencils sit in boxes. Hats hang from a stand, gifts from fans of “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.”

In a gallery displaying letters and drawings that Seuss wrote to his stepdaughters, the museum has left a guest book for kids to sign. Many of the notes include drawings, and one features a heartfelt message to Seuss and the museum that takes visitors to places both real and fanciful.

“I want to grow up to be an author like you,” wrote Sean, 11. “This museum really inspired me.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/will-the-dr-seuss-museum-be-one-of-the-places-youll-go/2017/06/19/9787ff98-5122-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html?tid=hybrid_collaborative_1_na&utm_term=.4bfaebb1223d

People from all over Western Australia will be heading to Elizabeth Quay on Sunday 2 July to celebrate the opening of NAIDOC Week 2017

From 11am to 4pm the Perth foreshore on the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan) River will come alive with an exciting celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with the theme of “Our Languages Matter.”

The 2017 theme aims to emphasise and celebrate the unique and essential role that Indigenous languages play in cultural identity, linking people to their land and water and in the transmission of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, spirituality and rites, through story and song.

We’ll be joining the celebrations by co-hosting a free sausage sizzle at the event with Rotary Wanneroo.

The ceremony will also feature continuous performances by visiting and local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, performers, community stalls, children’s activities, traditional food and an Elder’s marquee.

https://www.relationshipswa.org.au/news-and-events/Current-News/NAIDOC-Week

Beyondblue is set to lead a transformation in the development of good mental health and wellbeing practices for all Australian children from early learning centres to the end of secondary school.

After a competitive tender process the Minister for Health, The Hon. Greg Hunt MP, today announced a grant of $52.7 million over two years to beyondblue for a new mental health in education program.

beyondblue will begin the first stage of developing and designing the ground-breaking initiative from July 1, 2017.

The initiative will be launched to early learning services, primary and secondary schools in partnership with Early Childhood Australia (ECA) and the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, headspace, in 2018.

With research showing one in seven Australian children has had a mental health disorder in the past 12 months beyondblue Chairman The Hon. Jeff Kennett AC described the program as a game-changer that would replace the current fragmented approach with a wholly integrated one.

“Our vision is to create resilient early childhood and school communities where every child, adolescent, principal, teacher, worker, parent and guardian can achieve their best mental health,” Mr Kennett said.

beyondblue CEO Georgie Harman added: “We will build on the best bits of existing Commonwealth programs, but give early childhood services and school communities a contemporary program that reflects the world in which they operate.

“It will deal with the gamut of issues, from educating staff about mental health and how to protect themselves, to supporting schools to implement their own strategies for mental health, wellbeing, suicide prevention and crisis support.”

In leading this initiative beyondblue welcomed the opportunity to work with delivery partners ECA and headspace.

“We will bring together the best minds from across the mental health and education sectors to build a contemporary national child and youth mental health program with the aim of helping everyone reach their full potential academically, emotionally, socially and in later life,” Ms Harman said.

beyondblue has been involved in the education sector for almost a decade through its KidsMatter (early childhood and primary) and MindMatters (secondary) programs, which operate in half of all Australian schools and will continue until the new initiative is launched.

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/connect-with-others/news/news/2017/06/08/beyondblue-leads-major-new-mental-health-in-education-initiative

Good parent-child relationships: why they’re important

Children’s most important early relationships are with parents.

Positive parent-child relationships help children learn about the world – whether the world is safe and secure, whether they’re loved, who loves them, what happens when they cry, laugh or make a face, and much more.

These relationships affect all areas of children’s development.

You can build a positive parent-child relationship by:

• being in the moment with your child
• spending quality time with your child
• creating a caring environment of trust and respect.

There’s no formula for getting your parent-child relationship right, and there’ll be times when it’s hard to relate to your child the way you want to. But if you keep working on improving your relationship over time, your child will feel loved and secure.

How being in the moment helps parent-child relationships

Being in the moment is about tuning in and thinking about what’s going on with your child. It shows your child that you care about the things that matter to him, which is the basis for a strong relationship.

Here are some ideas for being in the moment with your child:

• Show acceptance, let your child be, and try not to give directions all the time. If your child wants to pretend the building blocks are people, that’s OK. You don’t have to get her to use them the ‘right’ way.
• Notice what your child is doing and comment or encourage it. For example, ‘Are the big blue blocks the shopkeepers? And is the little red block doing the shopping? What’s she buying?’.
• Listen to your child and try to tune in to what he’s really saying. For example, if he’s telling you a long story about lots of things that happened during the day, he might really be saying that he likes his new teacher or that he’s in a good mood.
• Think about what your child’s behaviour is telling you, which will give you clues to what she really needs. For example, if your teenage child is hanging around in the kitchen and not talking much, she might just want to be close to you. You could give her a hug or let her help with the cooking, without needing to talk.

Part of being in the moment with your child is giving him the opportunity to take the lead sometimes. For example:

• When you’re playing with your younger child, play what she wants to play, imitate her and really have fun together.
• Let an older child take the lead by supporting his ideas – for example, say yes if he decides to plan a family meal.
• When your child expresses an opinion, use the conversation as a way to learn more about what she thinks and feels.

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/staying_positive.html

Following recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child to France in January 2016 and facing some disheartening statistics, France has decided to take action.

On the 1st of March 2017, the French Minister for Families, Child Welfare and Women’s Rights presented

the inter-ministerial action plan for mobilising and combatting child abuse. This plan was conceived over three years (from 2017-2019) and aims to “rise awareness and spread solutions to diminish all forms of abuse within the family structure (physical, psychological, sexual or negligence).”

The action plan is based upon four axes, aiming to:

• Improve knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms of abuse, by optimising statistics on the child abuse and by updating the database annually. Many government agencies will be involved. The data collected will help flesh out scientific research, in order to deepen knowledge of the problem and to produce adapted solutions.
• Raise awareness and prevent abuse; since April 2016, a booklet has been distributed to new parents on various themes, including non-violent education. This booklet will be followed by information intended for parents of children between the ages of 12 and 14. Particular attention wil be paid to the topics of sexual abuse and Shaken Baby Syndrome.
• Educate in order to better identify; professionals in direct contact with children will be trained to detect abuse and about the impact of domestic violence on children.
• Accompany victims of child abuse by reinforcing existing tools, such as toll-free numbers, and by developing hearing support units for children who have been victims of abuse, as well as educating professionals and devising a specific national protocol to give children a voice.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/CHE/CO/2-4) made roughly the same recommendations to Switzerland in February 2015: “develop a comprehensive strategy for prevention and intervention in cases of ill-treatment, abuse and neglect of children and domestic violence against them” starting with concrete knowledge of the problem, based on national statistics, and by updating scientific research annually.

* “According to a study led by the association « La Voix de l’enfant » during the period March-September 2016, it is estimated that two to three children die every week as the result of abuse. However, abuse on children, while regarding all backgrounds, lacks official statistics.” http://www.podcastjournal.net/Plan-de-lutte-contre-les-violences-faites-aux-enfants-en-France_a23717.html

Photo: Harvey K, flickr/creative commons

Any comment you may have would be welcome: webmaster@childsrights.org

http://www.childsrights.org/en/news/editorials/1532-the-french-plan-to-combat-child-abuse-2017-2019

Firdaus – which means “paradise” in Arabic – is a Ticino humanitarian association which, since 2015, intervenes in contexts of extreme vulnerability and whose aim is to support people who find themselves in difficulty along their migration route.

Conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq have led to a significant increase in the number of refugees. These are people who have abandoned their homes, lost family members and are often separated from their families. Without economic means and extremely weakened by the circumstances of travel, migrants are subject to a condition of exclusion by the migration policies of European countries.

Through community fundraising, solidarity and volunteer work, Firdaus is able to sustain and temporarily relieve these families and attempts to fill the gap in the lack of services provided by the state.

OBJECTIVES

• Demand respect for human and children’s rights for refugees
• Raise awareness on the issue of migration
• Support refugee families in camps and those living in precarious conditions
• Facilitate family reunification of refugees with close family members in Europe
• Raise awareness of the need for humanitarian corridors
• Child protection

ACTIVITIES

• Fundraising for different projects
• Remote support of Syrian-Iraqi refugee families in Yalova (Turkey)
• Volunteering activities in migrant camps in Greece: retailing of essential goods and the creation and animation of play and recreational spaces for refugee children
• Material support (food, clothing, blankets) and legal aid to unaccompanied minors and refugees of African origins blocked and refused at the Italian-Swiss border
• Collecting stories and accounts from refugees that demonstrate the impossibility of completing a safe migration path and respecting human rights
• Raising awareness on the theme through meetings in schools, conferences, information stands, public and local events

http://www.childsrights.org/en/news/ngos-of-the-month/1536-ngo-of-the-month-firdaus-switzerland

Editorial, by Josias Agua Rosada, 24 May 2017

On the 20th of January 2015, Somalia announced to the world that they planned to move forward and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). More than a year later, the IDE and RAJO, a Swiss organisation working in Somalia since 2010, organised a joint Reflection Day on the Rights of the Child in Somalia. Thus, on the 7th of November, in Sion, members of the Somali government, the Somali diaspora and community met to reflect on Somalia’s first report to the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child. This day allowed for children’s needs in the country to be identified, as well as the need for training programmes to be defined. This is a good first step towards reconstruction.

Today, Somalia, along with Yemen, South Sudan and Nigeria are facing what has been called the ‘worst humanitarian crisis since 1945’(Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs at the UN, March 2017). Indeed, the drought affecting these countries, already torn apart by armed conflicts, is serious and threatens them with another famine like that of 2011. Nevertheless, despite the weight of the situation, a huge movement of solidarity has been observed by the Somalis, both amongst themselves and from the rest of the world, according to Mahamed Abdi, Vice President of the RAJO Association.

Despite the absence of precipitation this rainy season and the urgent need for aid that the situation engenders, Somalia refuses to give up on child rights issues. Following a meeting in November 2016, a task force comprised of State members, members of the community and academia was set up in order to build on proposals for the implementation of the CRC. Somalia thus reaffirmed their determination to concretely ensure the rights of the child in a country where more than 50% of the population is under the age of 18. Unfortunately, there are but a scant few foreign organisations willing to invest in this process, outside of the RAJO Association and the IDE. The flagrant pessimism on behalf of the international community is deplorable in a situation where any help is of value.

While the fight against hunger remains the priority, Somalia must not abandon their efforts for the long-term, for which the foundations were set in 2015. Though the situation is critical, hope remains and by projecting themselves towards a better future, Somalia will no doubt overcome their present troubles.

http://www.childsrights.org/en/news/editorials/1553-somalia-s-perspectives-on-child-rights