playdate

Victims Dictating Charges

On Wednesday, during a high school rugby game in Mississauga, a player-student was severely injured in an altercation with an opposing player away from the play.  The injured boy was taken to hospital, and is not expected to survive.  The other player has been charged with assault, and may see more charges if the boy dies.  It is unclear whether the actions that resulted in the injury were part of a fight.

Protect or Punish?

A developmentally delayed 12 year old girl in the northwest part of Toronto was molested and given crack by a series of men.  The men did so with the knowledge and consent of the mother.  The case took longer than expected to come to charges for two reasons: that most of the identity information was street names, and that charging the mother with child corruption is a difficult and rare occurrence.

the nose knows

If you are looking for a casual Italian styled a la carte restaurant, Gio Rana's really really nice restaurant is the place for you.
Otherwise known as Gio's, it's located in an old bank on the corner of Queen and Leslie st in the ever evolving East end.
There's no sign, just a large paper mache nose out front.
It's been around for a few years now (at this location) and has a pretty loyal following.
Us included.
The service is always entertaining and good & the atmosphere is upbeat and eclectic.
They actually just took over the space next door because of how busy it gets on the weekends.

The Principal Was Kind

Recently, a Toronto teen's punishment for posting negative remarks about a teacher on Facebook, a social networking site (which, incidentally, is nearly twice as addictive as crack) was criticized by the boy's father.

A Tree Falls in the Forest

Here's the question of the week:  If a post is written in the blogosphere, and nobody reads it, was it written?  Was it worth it to write it in the first place?  The immediate answer to this question is most enthusiastically - yes!  Writing can be many things to different people: cathartic, soothing, creative.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  But when you sit down and really think about it, the blogosphere is a public forum.  If people really wanted to write just for the sake of writing, they would keep a personal journal.  Blogging initiates interaction with the outside world.  It asks for feedback.  That is part of it's very nature.  If you have a blog, and nobody reads it, is it actually a journal that just happens to be online?

A is for Adoption, B is for Books

This month, look for a two-part series on adoption. This first part presents books on adoption in a general fashion, while the second part will focus on overseas adoption, particularly from China and Korea.

Adoptive children often have questions about their origins, and parents just as often have a difficult time addressing the questions or the issue as a whole. Parenting books on talking to your child are very helpful in giving suggestions for opening the topic and thinking in advance about what you as a parent might want to tell you child. But how to start the conversation with your child? Sometimes it helps to have a starting place, something to raise the subject, and something that lets your child know at the same time that they are not alone. This is where a children’s book on the topic at hand can be a wonderful tool. I have included books that I really like and books that I am not so fond of here, with notes about those I found particularly good, so that you can get a sense of what is out there for you, should you want to talk about adoption (theirs or someone else’s) with your child.

Two Thirds Of Parents...

... are "not doing a good job in early childhood education" according to Dr. Fraser Mustard, an MD.  In an article from the Toronto Star, the doctor discusses his 1999 Early Years Study (commissioned by the Ontario Conservative government), and the recent follow-up study.