children - The African Mirror

Aug

29

2024

Children and the internet: helping kids navigate this modern minefield

EDUCATION

THE United States’ most senior public health official, surgeon-general Vivek Murthy, believes social media platforms should come with warning labels. The United Nations’ education, science and culture agency says smartphones should be banned in schools. Chinese regulators are pushing to limit children’s smartphone use to just two hours a day. These are just a few high-profile examples of growing global concerns about the risks young people face when using the internet. Those worries are backed by a large, global body of research. Social media use has been linked to feelings of envy, depression and anxiety among young people all over…

Jul

19

2024

By CARMEL TADDEO and BARBARA SPEARS

What can you do if you think your teen already has unhealthy social media habits?

EDUCATION

MANY parents are worried about how much their children use social media and what content they might encounter while using it. Amid proposals to ban teenagers under 16 years from social media and calls to better educate them about being safe online, how can you tell if your child’s social media use is already a problem? And what steps can take to help if there is an issue? It is easy to get hooked These platforms are designed in a way that releases dopamine (the “feel-good” hormone) for users. This can make it especially difficult for adolescents to resist. As…

Jul

16

2024

By EILEEN SCHECKLE

Thinking aloud: what happens when children read for pleasure in classroom clubs

EDUCATION

EVERY five years, the International Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) provides an assessment of how well grade 4 learners around the world read for meaning. And every time South Africa participates, the results are shocking. In the 2021 survey, more than 80% of South African fourth-graders weren’t able to make sense of what they were reading in the test. Policymakers have focused attention on developing literacy in the foundation phase (grades 1-3) because the skills developed during these early years will form the basis for learning in the higher grades. But that’s not the only way to approach…

May

21

2024

By LEILA PATEL and YOLANDA SADIE

Over 26 million South Africans get a social grant. Fear of losing the payment used to be a reason to vote for the ANC, but no longer – study

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOCIAL grants to reduce poverty feature prominently in the campaign promises of political parties in South Africa’s 2024 national and provincial general elections, set for 29 May. The country’s social grants system is one of the largest in Africa in terms of number of beneficiaries. Research shows that this has helped reduce poverty. About 26 million to 28 million social grants have been paid every month to children, older persons, people with disabilities and the unemployed. The country’s population is 62 million. While some political parties propose expanding the grants system, others propose increasing the amounts. On the campaign trail,…

Apr

18

2024

By WACANGO MUGURO KIMANI

South African study shows the power of sharing daily experiences for teachers to learn how to include all learners

EDUCATION

GLOBALLY, more than 258 million children and young people between the ages of 6 and 17 are not in school. In South Africa, the figure stands at 232,000 for children aged between 7 and 17. The main reasons they’re not attending school are related to the quality of education, financial constraints, disability and child or teenage pregnancy. The notion of inclusive education focuses on ensuring that all children attend school and receive a good education. The first is a challenge for governments. The second is a challenge for teachers – but they don’t often get the support they need. Wacango…

Apr

18

2024

By ALESSANDRA PRIORESCHI

Read, sing, dance and funny faces: expert tips on how you can help your baby’s development through play

HEALTH

PLAY is how children learn about the world, explore their environments, and engage in physical activity. It’s also essential in nurturing children’s social, emotional and cognitive capabilities and is an important component of bonding with caregivers. Playtime for children is as important for their development as exercise is for adult health. Guidelines have been developed in South Africa, which closely follow international guidelines, for how much sleep, physical activity and sedentary time children should get each day from when they are born. Children under the age of two should spend as much tummy time – time spent on their tummies…

Jan

23

2024

By ANN MBUTHIA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Her passion for dance transformed Moesha Tajiri’s life. Now she’s changing the lives of hundreds of children

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, MULTIMEDIA

ON any given day, Moesha Kibibi Tajiri's house, located in the heart of scenic Madaraka Estate in Nairobi, can be home to as many as 30 children, all eager to welcome visitors with the greeting, “feel at home.” It may be a crowd, Tajiri is quick to explain, but these are just some of the over a thousand she has "adopted", country-wide. “I have four types of kids: orphans, children from mentally unstable parents, special needs children and those coming from vulnerable spaces. I pay rent to 14 different houses in different ghettos in the country. And despite all challenges,…

Jan

15

2024

By FADI SHANA and MOHAMMED SALEM

In Gaza, a family suffer painful wait for children’s bodies

WORLD

DAUBED in red paint on a fallen wall, the names Omar, Abdullah and Massa mark the spot where the three children were buried alive by an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip in November, their relatives say. Mohammad Abu Aweidah, an uncle of the missing children, said he visits the rubble of the home in Rafah every day in the "hope one can pull out their bodies, or take a last look at their remains". "We pray to God that we will be able to pull them out and see them," said Abu Aweidah. They were among 16 children killed in…

Nov

09

2023

By The African Mirror

My parents are from two different African countries: study shows how this shapes identity

CULTURE

MORE than a third of migration in sub-Saharan Africa happens within the continent. This mixing of people means that some children have parents of different national origins. Yet not enough is known about the lives of these children: how they form their identity and what impact migration has on them. The majority of research on second-generation African immigrants focuses on understanding their experiences in the global north. Our research looked at the less studied African context, where the majority of African migration occurs. We are sociologists who study migration and identity and we have seen that studies tend to take…

Oct

26

2023

By The African Mirror

HIV-positive parents in Zimbabwe struggle to manage their children’s education – study shows how

HEALTH

OVER the past three decades, researchers have explored various aspects of the impact of the HIV pandemic. One focus area has been children who have lost their parents to AIDS. Less attention has been given to children who are raised by parents living with HIV. This group has become much bigger as more people have access to antiretroviral therapy and are therefore expected to raise their children. TATENDA ZINYEMBA, Researcher of Economics, Health, and Governance, United Nations University Our research in Zimbabwe looked at the effects the HIV status of parents had on their children’s education. In Zimbabwe, the current…