Facebook May Change Rules to Allow Children Under 13

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For the first time, Facebook is considering allowing children under 13 to join the social networking site, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. But a study last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found Facebook is already full of children younger than 13. According to the report, 46 percent of 12-year-olds are already using Facebook despite the prohibition, either with their parents’ permission or by lying about their age. The Wall Street Journal reports Facebook is researching policies and new technologies that will keep young children safe while using the page. Possibilities include giving parents control over their child’s account by linking the parent and child accounts together.

For Kids in Juvenile Detention, Creating Hope Through Writing and Art

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For the better part of the last two decades, The Beat Within has been committed to a mission of providing incarcerated youth with a forum where they can write (and draw) about the things that matter most to them, explore how they have lost connection with those things they value, and consider how they might re-connect to positive situations in their lives through the power of the written word. This is a program that started small, in the Bay Area, with a commitment to provide detained kids between the ages of 11 to 18 with a safe space to share their ideas and experiences while promoting literacy, self-expression, some critical thinking skills, and healthy, supportive relationships with adults and their community. That modest local effort has grown into a nationwide program that touches the lives of more than 5,000 youth in detention. Today, you can find weekly Beat workshops going on in 12 California county juvenile halls, from Alameda to San Diego. We are partnering with universities from U.C. Berkeley to the University of Hawaii.

Book Review: ‘Born, Not Raised’ by Susan Madden Lankford

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The most engaging elements came from the kids themselves. Scrawled on the bottom of handouts, the backs of postcards or between the lines of wrinkled notebook paper, the writings from the kids in a San Diego-area juvenile hall provide a window into much more than just their mind and soul. “I Really don’t Remember my childhood because I’ve tried so hard to block it out,” Brown, a 16-year-old girl inmate, wrote as part of an assignment “Born, Not Raised” author Susan Madden Lankford handed out. “The earliest memory I have is at the age of 11 when I was malested by my grandfather.”

Some wrote elegantly, poetically even, with a form that can only come from practice and attention in literature class – or perhaps just attending class at all. Others struggled to string together coherent sentences, or express their ideas and feelings in terms that could be understood.

Report Finds Wide Misuse of Prescription Painkillers by Teens

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According to two recently published studies, prescription painkiller misuse by teenagers is on the rise, with as many as 13 percent of the surveyed teens reporting having used the drugs for non-medical reasons. The studies, published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine focused on the non-medicinal use of prescription painkillers, primarily opiods such as oxycontin and codeine, by teenagers. One study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed general survey results from more than 7,000 high school seniors, encompassing data from more than 130 public and private schools between 2007 to 2009. According to researchers’ findings, about 13 percent of survey takers self-reported having used prescription painkillers without a doctor’s approval; of those that self-reported non-medical use of such drugs, a majority stated they had been legally prescribed painkillers by doctors for previous medical conditions. Additionally, the researchers found that teenagers who had misused painkillers were much likelier to use other drugs, such as marijuana, or binge drink compared to students that had either taken opiods with a doctor’s approval or had never taken such drugs for any reason. Researchers said that, on average, teenagers began misusing prescription painkillers at either 16 or 17 - much earlier than previous research has indicated, according to the study.

For a Kid, Plea At Your Own Risk

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“Everybody in there is innocent, right?” This statement, or some variation of it, usually followed by laughter, comes up in a lot of conversations when I talk about doing time. It appears to be a common perception, verging on a stereotype, that prisons are full of people proclaiming their innocence. My experience was actually the opposite. Most men in prison admitted they had done something that led to their situation. More common was a story about extenuating circumstances, or how, even though they were guilty, the police and courts had abused their power somehow to prove it.

Honor student Diane Tran, 17, was arrested and sentenced to 24 hours in jail and $100 dollar fine. Photo: CNN

UPDATE: Contempt Charges Dropped Against Texas Honor Student Diane Tran

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UPDATE, MAY 31: Following an intense public backlash, Texas Judge Lanny Moriarty dismissed contempt charges Wednesday against Diane Tran - a 17-year-old high school student punished last week for truancy. Tran, an 11th grade student at the Houston-area Willis High School, spent 24 hours in a Montgomery County jail last week and was ordered to pay a $100 fine for excessive truancy, Houston’s KHOU-11 reports. Under Texas law, students are allowed to miss no more than 10 class days during a six-month window; reportedly, Tran had missed 18 days for that school year. Following her parents’ separation, Tran has been financially supporting her siblings, working full time at a dry cleaning operation and performing part-time work as a wedding planner. Considered a legal adult under state law, Tran was warned about her absences - considered a misdemeanor offense within the state - by a judge in April.

Experts Offer Tips on Preventing ‘Summertime Learning Loss’

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It’s not exactly breaking news that over the course of summer breaks, many children tend to forget lessons they had learned over the previous school year. But according to some experts, “summertime learning loss” could potentially result in major academic problems once classes resume, especially for children with learning disabilities or underdeveloped social skills. Recently, analysts at Florida International University (FIU) released information on how parents could potentially offset “summertime learning loss,” primarily by promoting diversified games and leisure time events - especially those involving math and reading skills - as well as routine social activity. According to FIU Center for Children and Families director of outreach Jessica Robb, the summertime break may prevent children from socializing with others and even lessen their ability to follow directions from other adults, especially if it entails long periods of isolation in the home. Other experts at FIU agree that children benefit from being socially engaged over the break, whether at summer camps or on extended walks with their parents.