Right to Life Media Release 18 October 2016 Family First Comment: A welcome improvement – especially considering who the other candidates were
Right to Life congratulates the General Assembly of the United Nations for appointing Antonio Guterres, on the 13 October, as the New Secretary General. His appointment gives cause for renewed hope that he will promote respect for the dignity of man and for marriage as being exclusively between one woman and one man. He is also opposed to the killing of the unborn child and upholds the inalienable right to life of every human being from conception. It is hoped that he will provide leadership to ensure United Nations agencies cease imposing pressure on nations to change their laws to decriminalise abortion. It is also hoped that he will challenge the ruling LGBTTQQIAAP agenda which is to promote the destruction of traditional gender identities.
A devout Catholic, he was born in Lisbon in 1949 and became an active member of the student branch of Catholic Action, while studying engineering in college. It is here that he developed a well informed conscience of a Catholic socialist and an intense desire for social justice. He is opposed to abortion, same sex marriage and gay rights.
As a former Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres won the Security Council’s unanimous backing, which included New Zealand, to become the next UN secretary-general, winning plaudits for his strong leadership, but disappointing campaigners for a woman or East European to be the world’s top diplomat for the first time.
Britain’s UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the assembly hearings showed that Guterres “was an outstanding candidate … who will take the United Nations to the next level in terms of leadership and will provide a moral authority at a time when the world is divided on issues, above all like Syria.”
New York Times 19 October 2016
Children 11 to 14 years old need only two doses of the HPV vaccine, not the previously recommended three doses, to protect against cervical cancer and other cancers caused by the human papillomavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
But teenagers and young adults who start the vaccinations later, at ages 15 through 26, should stick with the three-dose regimen, the disease centers said.
The new advice is based on a review of studies showing that two doses in the younger group “produced an immune response similar or higher than the response in young adults (aged 16 to 26 years) who received three doses,” the C.D.C. said in a statement. The two doses should be given at least six months apart, the agency said.
The statement also noted that the two-dose schedule will make the process simpler and easier for families to complete and could increase the number of young teenagers who receive the vaccine. Despite the vaccine’s proven effectiveness, immunization rates have remained low.
NewsHub 21 October 2016 Family First Comment: “This is an issue that affects us all, because the impacts of problem gambling in terms of neglect, crime and demand for food banks, those are costs that we all pick up.” Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand CEO Graeme Ramsey
Tighter regulations on gaming machines seem to be having little impact on Kiwis losing out at the pokies.
Department of Internal Affairs figures show gamblers’ losses at the pokies rose 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter, up $5.4 million from last year to $218.9 million.
Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand CEO Graeme Ramsey says the unnecessary spending needs to be brought to heel.
“This is an issue that affects us all, because the impacts of problem gambling in terms of neglect, crime and demand for food banks, those are costs that we all pick up.”
In the year ending September, the number of license holders fell 8 percent and venues fell 3 percent. But over the same time period Kiwis lost almost $850 million, up 3 percent.
“Only a very small proportion in New Zealand ever touch a pokie machine,” says Mr Ramsey.
Stuff co.nz 21 October 2016
Mia, 11, wants to be a vet, but her love of an online game called “Animal Jam” will not get her there. She’ll need a good education.
Her parents, Anna and Martin de Jager, have their children’s education high on their priority list. They are among 800 New Zealand parents surveyed as part of this year’s ASG Parent Report Card.
The study, from ASG and Monash University, focused on parents and their perception of state education. It showed 54 per cent of parents were concerned their children were not being taught enough about stress management, social skills and wellbeing. Fifty-five per cent of parents felt their children spent too much time in front of a screen.
The de Jagers were among the 48 per cent of parents who struggled to limit their child’s use of digital devices.”We try to really do outdoorsy stuff on weekends and cycle to school,” Anna de Jager said.
During weeknights it was a challenge. While Anna made dinner it was “easier” for her children – Mia, Madison, 10, and a 4-year-old son – to watch something on television or play on the computer.
Media Release 21 October 2016
Family First NZ says that a survey highlighting the concerns of parents about screentime for their children is a very real problem which the government and the Ministries of Health and Educatiion are ignoring.
A 2015 report by family First on the increasing use of screen time for children was critical of government agencies for a lack of guidelines to families, and said that the Ministry of Health should consider screen time as a personal health and well-being issue to be formally included in the health education curriculum and taught in the classroom from primary school.
The report “WE NEED TO TALK – Screen time in NZ, Media Use: An Emerging factor in child and adolescent health” by biologist / psychologist Dr Aric Sigman said that although screen technology may be a beneficial aspect of modern life, there is growing concern from health and development experts about the disproportionate use in many families’ lives, particularly the young in New Zealand.
The report was originally commissioned by family group Family First NZ in response to admissions to Family First from the Ministry of Health that they have only provided guidelines for screen time use outside of school time – (a maximum of two hours per day for 5-18 year olds) – and no guidelines at all for under 5’s or to the Ministry of Education or to ECE’s. The Ministry of Education told Family First: “It is up to individual schools to decide the extent to which they will use digital technology to support teaching and learning”, and “The Ministry has not undertaken specific research on appropriate amounts of daily screen time for young people.”
“Parents, children and teachers remain unaware of the medical and developmental risks and the position of medical bodies on discretionary screen time. And the majority of children and adolescents in New Zealand, including toddlers, continue to significantly exceed medical guidelines,” said the report author Dr Sigman.
“Yet the ages at which children start viewing screens and the number of hours watched per day is increasingly linked to negative physiological changes, medical conditions and development outcomes including significant sleep disturbances, attention problems and impulsiveness, and children are more susceptible to developing a long-term problematic dependency on technology.”
Dr Sigman made a number of recommendations for governments, schools and parents, including:
health professionals in New Zealand should consider incorporating the topic of media use and health into their dealings with families.
when considering any evidence on child screen use presented to them, policy makers should be highly vigilant in ensuring a high degree of ‘information hygiene’ and establish whether screen-related industries have played any part in such research.
parents should minimise screen media in children’s bedrooms, and establish clear rules and limits