Monday, October 11, 2010

thINK Journal 3: Managing time.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.impactlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/childand-tv.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.impactlab.net/2008/11/20/childhood-obesity-and-fast-food-commercials-linked/&usg=__4kT7eFnLXwOy15h2pGwUj8OwNjQ=&h=384&w=512&sz=14&hl=en&start=4&sig2=yNLvXpByZZ3sI_ULVb6r8A&zoom=1&tbnid=a4d_lWiScMANQM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=150&ei=6cm3TKWXN4-0ngeu1tDkCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dadvirtisements%2Bfor%2Bchildren%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D838%26bih%3D388%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C364&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=545&vpy=83&dur=6147&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=151&ty=203&oei=pcm3TMTvBoOclgf-p6iNCQ&esq=13&page=2&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:4&biw=838&bih=388

As I was searching for something to write about for my last journal for the nine weeks, I came across the advertisement that is cited above.

Even though the advertisement has no words, the point comes across clear. When I was little, I was amazed by the TV and I used to watch my favorite movies and shows all the time. My younger cousins, especially when they were toddlers, would not listen to me or my family members when they needed to get their attention. You would have to say their names multiple times for them to listen. This shows how much a distraction TV is, starting at a young age. When I was in Junior High, I would come home and watch TV for two hours, even when I had loads of homework to do. I remember getting into trouble all the time for not getting my work done.

So what can we do to stop this problem? We can make sure that our kids have a time limit on the TV, or at least have their homework, chores, etc. done by the time they watch shows. Not only is it important for there to be limit, but also monitoring. Kids need to be watching appropriate shows and that can only be taken care of by the parents.

Not only does TV take away valuable time, but it also can hurt a person’s eyes if they are too close like the boy in the picture. So let’s not only manage our time, but protect our eyes also.

thINK Journal 2: Don't lie.

http://nymag.com/news/features/43893/

The article, "Learning to Lie," found above in the New York Times has very excellent research and information on lies and how and when they start happening.

Many children are found innocent when they are young, but naturally, they are learning how to become good liars. Around three years old, kids will start lying about things that even their parents see them do. Around four years old, they start learning how to become good liars which “is a strong sign that he/she has brains.” Reading this article, I found that even though we think “truthfulness is a young child’s virtue,” it’s really “lying that becomes more of the advanced skill.” While these statements were hard to believe, they made sense. A child has to recognize the truth in order to lie, and make it a good lie at that.

As the children grow older, they start lying about situations that could get them into serious trouble. “For two decades, parents have rated ‘honesty’ as the trait they most want in their children.” This shows how much trouble parents have at home with trying to fix this problem and that something needs to be changed. Many say that trust and honesty are essential in relationships and that lying is wrong, yet most of them lie. If people say that lying is wrong and then go and lie, then where does that leave them? There has to be discipline for themselves and kids. If there is not discipline, how will we know when someone as close as our friends or family are telling the truth or not?

thINK Journal 1: Girl Power Isn't All About Looks

http://demo.fb.se/e/girlpower/retouch/retouch/index.html

Right when I saw the cover of this magazine (site listed above), I knew it would be perfect to write about. Reading the side comments about what is in the magazine almost made me mad. Girl power is not just about looks and how you can be the impossible "perfect."

The comments "Look like the stars in Hollywood, large imperfections that can easily be retouched, and how I became perfect" is what makes the insecurities of girls start to boil, and that's just on the front cover! TV, magazines, and more make girls today feel like they have to be skinny, fit, and fashionable. Yes, it is important to take care of a person's body and be healthy, but not to the point where they are miserable trying to look like the latest size zero fashion models.

If a survey was taken, I would predict that more than half would say that they are insecure about their bodies. So many people are caught up in looks that they do not look past the makeup and see the real girl inside. We should not judge people, me included, by what they are wearing or how they fix their hair. What is going to matter in the end? Definitely not fashion, my friends.

The comment “Look like the stars in Hollywood” is almost impossible because they don’t even look like that. We have so much technology today that it is hard not to fix every imperfection. In all honesty, I catch myself wishing I could be cute and look like Selena Gomez, but then, I sometimes wonder what stars would look like without all the cosmetic help and fame.