Cash cards for kids - digital banks race to capture the next generation

LONDON - When John Hibbs' daughter Xanthe received her first bank card in the mail, the six-year-old spent the next week Googling how to buy a horse. 

Hibbs and his wife Kate had got Xanthe a newly launched children's debit card from UK digital bank Starling, one of a number of new offerings from fintechs aimed at children and teenagers.

"The earlier we can start the learning process of using a card, the earlier she can learn that you can't just go out and buy a horse," said Hibbs, who runs a charity. 

While traditional banks have long offered basic savings accounts to children, fintechs say they have spotted an opportunity to offer better, slicker apps to tech-savvy kids and teenagers, who they say have been under-served.

Starling's Kite card allows parents to transfer money to their children's account, set spending limits and receive notifications of their purchases. It rivals similar products from gohenry and Monzo in Britain while in the U.S. fintechs Greenlight, Step and Copper are trying to capture the youth market. 

JPMorgan Chase & Co also recently entered the space, introducing a children's account in partnership with Greenlight.

The companies say they aim to give children a taste of financial freedom and education, while letting parents track and block spending. They hope to capitalise on the digital payment and ecommerce boom, and hold on to new customers into adulthood.

"It's a play on profitability to get lifelong customers," said Kavita Kamdar, who heads JPMorgan's children's venture Chase First Banking. 

JPMorgan's partner Greenlight has grown from 500,000 to 2 million parent and children customers in a year.

"I think the startups are in a position to take junior accounts away from the high street banks," said Sarah Kocianski, head of research at fintech consultancy 11:FS. "But they have to strike a balance between being appealing to kids and appealing to parents and goodness knows how you do that."

Companies must also be careful in keeping data secure and ensure children and parents understand what they are giving consent to, Kocianski said. 

POPULARITY TO PROFITABILITY

Atlanta-based Greenlight, which costs $4.99 a month including debit cards for up to five kids, allows parents to create in-app chore lists for children and tie the work to perks. It also lets parents set and pay interest on their children's savings.

"A couple of big macro trends drove the adoption of Greenlight," Timothy Sheehan, the company's chief executive said. "The decline in use in cash and the adoption of the smartphone, not only among adults but among children."

U.S. digital payment apps such as PayPal Holdings Inc's Venmo and Square Inc's Cash App, which have become a common way for consumers to send money to each other, do not allow users under the age of 18. This boosts the appeal of new apps targeted at those too young for popular apps but old enough to spend money.

"This is a demographic that doesn't have a bank account, they still have money underneath their bed and we are providing them access to the digital economy," said Eddie Behringer, chief executive of Seattle-based teen banking app Copper. 

Analysts and investors question whether the youth market is getting overcrowded, given youngsters are not cash-rich.

"A lot of money is going to these firms, but do they make money?" said Ian Kar, the founder and chief executive of consultancy Fintech Today. "Teen banking is not very profitable yet." 

UK-based gohenry, which was founded 8 years ago, offers accounts for children charging parents 2.99 pounds per month. 

Alex Zivoder, gohenry's chief executive, said the company is on track to make a profit within a few years, despite its pretax loss jumping by three quarters to 5.8 million pounds last year as it invested in expansion including in the U.S.

Zivoder said the company made an underlying profit in the second and third quarters of 2020.

Rivals do not worry him. "The market is huge," he said. 

"If you think of how many parents there are in the US and UK, will they be happy with one solution, one product?"

For neobanks like Starling, where children and teen accounts are an added product line, analysts see the service as a way to generate additional revenue. Apps solely focused on the younger demographic may find it tougher.

Starling's Kite account, which costs 2 pounds a month, has been "flying off the shelves", said Helen Bierton, the startup's chief banking officer. She declined to disclose figures, noting products like Kite are part of its strategy to reach profitability by the end of 2020.

SPENDING POWER

Teenagers and children may not have much disposable income, but startups are banking on their growing spending power. Gen Z, the generation currently between the ages of 8 and 23, represents around $150 billion in spending power in the U.S., according to McKinsey.

San Francisco-based Step, which hopes to build a bank for the next generation, plans to initially make money through card interchange and then offer more financial products as customers grow older. 

"Every brand wants to reach this new generation," said Step founder and chief executive CJ MacDonald. "They are not rich, but they still spend billions of dollars a year."

Ben Galbraith, a Palo Alto-based father of eight, has used Step with his five older kids for the past 10 months. He used to keep track of allowances, spending and frequently lost cards with a spreadsheet. 

"Moving it into an easy-to-use app gets rid of all that stuff," Galbraith said. 

His oldest daughter Jackie, an 18-year old New York University student doesn't mind her parents having a real time view of her spending. As an added perk she can use Step to ask her siblings to pay her back any money they owe her. But access to digital banking can't solve everything.

"They ignore my requests, so I have to badger them," Jackie said. "Three of them have not responded."

From the archives:

#OnTheMoney episode - Teaching children about money goes beyond making them understand planning and budgeting, earning and spending, as learning about money is usually a lifelong process.

-reuters-

Facebook rolls out Messenger Kids to 70 new countries

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Facebook on Wednesday rolled out its Messenger Kids application to 70 new countries, saying it can help children deal with the challenges of distance learning and isolation during the virus lockdowns.

The app, which is aimed at children under 13, will also be adding a "supervised friending" feature enabling parents to approve new connections, starting in the United States and gradually rolling out to other countries.

"With schools closed and people physically distancing, parents are turning to technology more than ever to help their kids connect with friends and family," Facebook's global head of safety Antigone Davis said in a blog post.

"Messenger Kids is a video chat and messaging app that helps kids connect with friends and family in a fun, parent-controlled space. Today, we're starting to roll out Messenger Kids to more countries and we’re adding new choices for parents to connect kids with friends."

Messenger Kids was launched in the United States in 2017 and expanded later to Canada and a handful of other countries, aiming at children too young for a Facebook account.

With the changes announced Wednesday, kids will be able to connect in groups to help facilitate learning, under parental supervision.

Parents in the US, Canada and Latin America can also allow their children to make their name and profile photo visible as part of the move to get more friends.

Kids will be able to initiate their own friend requests. Up to now these had to be initiated by the parents.

"Parents have told us they want to be able to give their kids more independence in managing their contact list while still maintaining parental supervision," Davis said.

"Previously, it was up to parents to invite and approve every contact for their child. Now with supervised friending, parents can choose to allow their kids to also accept, reject, add or remove contacts, while maintaining the ability to override any new contact approvals."

Some privacy activists have argued the app could be harmful to children by drawing them into online activity and potentially gathering data on them.

Facebook has argued that the app helps parents supervise their youngsters who would be using its platform without safeguards.

The new countries are in various regions of the world and include Afghanistan, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Tuvalu. No European countries are on the list.

Agence France-Presse

WHO reiterates warning that kids are hit by coronavirus, too

COPENHAGEN - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday reiterated its warning that children can also be affected by the new coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of several young people.

"The very notion that 'COVID-19 only affects older people' is factually wrong," the head of the WHO's European branch, Hans Kluge, told reporters during an online briefing from Copenhagen.

"Age is not the only risk for severe disease," Kluge insisted.

Severe cases have been reported among teens and young adults, with some requiring intensive care and several deaths, he said.

In Europe, the youngest victim is a 12-year-old girl who died in Belgium. In the United States, a six-week-old baby has died from the virus.

Some 10 to 15 percent of cases detected in people under the age of 50 were a moderate to serious infection, according to the WHO.

However, Kluge noted that "people who age healthily are less at risk."

"There are reports of people over the age of 100 who were admitted to hospital for COVID-19 and have now since made a complete recovery."

The WHO's Europe branch said there were 464,859 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 30,098 deaths in the 53 countries that make up its region.

Some 80 percent of those who died from the virus had at least one underlying illness, in particular cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Kluge said it was of utmost importance "for every age group" to respect hygiene guidelines.

"It is not only an act of solidarity with others, in particular with those most likely to be severely affected, but also vital for your own health and safety."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Measles killed more than 140,000 amid stagnating vaccine rates

WASHINGTON—More than 140,000 people died from measles worldwide in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) and US authorities said Thursday, the result of global vaccination rates that have stagnated for almost a decade.

Poorer countries were hardest hit, with the vast majority of measles cases and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Wealthier countries however have also been battling their own outbreaks, with 4 European nations losing their "eliminated" status in 2018.

The announcement came as the Pacific island nation of Samoa was locked down in order to carry out a mass vaccination drive to cope with an epidemic that has killed 62 and, according to UN officials, was fuelled by anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories on the internet.

"The fact that any child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like measles is frankly an outrage and a collective failure to protect the world's most vulnerable children," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, director-general of the World Health Organization.

"To save lives, we must ensure everyone can benefit from vaccines, which means investing in immunization and quality health care as a right for all."

Most of the deaths occurred among children under the age of 5. Babies and infants are at greatest risk of infection and of developing complications, including pneumonia and brain swelling that can lead to permanent damage, blindness or hearing loss.

About 142,300 people lost their lives to the disease in 2018—a quarter of the number of deaths in 2000, but up 15 percent compared to 2017. There were 9.7 million total cases.

The WHO and UNICEF estimated that 86 percent of children globally received the first dose of measles vaccine in 2018, but fewer than 70 percent received the second recommended dose.

That is far short of the recommended 95 percent vaccination coverage, with 2 doses of measles vaccine deemed necessary to protect populations from the disease.

The 5 worst affected countries, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Madagascar, Somalia and Ukraine, accounted for half of all cases worldwide.

But the United States also saw its highest number of cases in 25 years, narrowly avoiding losing its status of having eliminated the disease. The status is lost if an outbreak is sustained continuously for more than a year.

Albania, the Czech Republic, Greece and the United Kingdom meanwhile all lost their eliminated status.

The rise comes as a growing anti-vaccine movement gains steam around the world, driven by fraudulent claims linking the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella to a risk of autism in children.

A recent study meanwhile showed that contracting the measles virus decimated the protective antibodies responsible for remembering previous encounters with disease: effectively wiping the host's immunity memory.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Google to pay $170M fine for collecting YouTube data from kids

CAPTION: FILE PHOTO: People are silhouetted as they pose with laptops in front of a screen projected with a Google logo, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica October 29, 2014. This logo has been updated and is no longer in use. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo]


WASHINGTON - Google agreed Wednesday to pay $170 million to settle charges that it illegally collected and shared data from children on its YouTube video service, a deal critics said was too soft on the internet giant.

The settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the New York state Attorney General is the largest amount in a case involving the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, a 1998 federal law, officials said.

Officials said YouTube violated the law that requires child-directed websites and online services to obtain parental consent prior to collecting personal information from children under 13 which may be used for advertising.

The company marketed itself as a destination for children and benefitted by selling advertising to toymakers and others seeking to connect with young audiences, according to the FTC.

FTC chairman Joe Simons said the settlement "prevents YouTube and Google from turning a blind eye to the existence of kids-directed content" on its platform.

Simons said the settlement makes Google liable for violations by third-party content creators, going beyond federal law that requires the platform to have knowledge that videos are directed at children.

"No other company in America is subject to these requirements," he said.


Change to business practices

Letitia James, the New York attorney general, said the deal calls for "major reforms" to YouTube's business practices in addition to the fines.

"Google and YouTube knowingly and illegally monitored, tracked, and served targeted ads to young children just to keep advertising dollars rolling in," said James. 

YouTube outlined how it would change the way it handles children's content under the agreement.

"We will treat data from anyone watching children's content on YouTube as coming from a child, regardless of the age of the user," YouTube chief Susan Wojcicki said in a statement.

"This means that we will limit data collection and use on videos made for kids only to what is needed to support the operation of the service. We will also stop serving personalized ads on this content entirely, and some features will no longer be available on this type of content, like comments and notifications."

Wojcicki added that Google would create a $100 million fund "dedicated to the creation of thoughtful, original children's content on YouTube and YouTube Kids globally."


'Insufficient' remedies

The settlement, which must be approved by a federal court, calls for the FTC to receive $136 million and New York state the remaining $34 million.

The deal was approved by a 3-2 vote of the FTC commissioners, with the two Democrats calling for tougher penalties.

The deal "repeats many of the same mistakes from the flawed Facebook settlement: no individual accountability, insufficient remedies to address the company's financial incentives, and a fine that still allows the company to profit from its lawbreaking," Democratic commissioner Rohit Chopra said in a dissent.

"The terms of the settlement were not even significant enough to make Google issue a warning to its investors."

Activists who filed a complaint last year against YouTube also said the deal falls short.

"We are gratified that the FTC has finally forced Google to confront its longstanding lie that it wasn't targeting children on YouTube," said Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, one of the groups in the complaint.

The "paltry financial penalty of $170 million" is a mere slap and "sends a signal that if you are a politically powerful corporation, you do not have to fear any serious financial consequences when you break the law," Chester said.

Josh Golin of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood said it was "disappointing that the FTC isn't requiring more substantive changes or doing more to hold Google accountable for harming children through years of illegal data collection."

Simons said that it would be difficult to get a harsher penalty imposed in court, which would require proving that Google knew about its violations from third parties.

The regulatory chief added that the settlement "sends a strong signal about the importance of children's privacy."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

All migrant kids under 5 to be back with parents by Thursday -U.S. official

All migrant children under age 5 who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border will have been reunited with their parents by early Thursday morning if they were eligible, a Trump administration official said in a statement on Wednesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the government over its separation policies, disputed that assertion.

“Their statement is vague at a minimum," said attorney Lee Gelernt, noting that a San Diego judge had set a deadline of Tuesday for reuniting those children. "We know they missed the deadline.”

The government has said some children were not eligible for reunification because the parent was deported, had a criminal record or was otherwise unfit.

U.S. Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego had ordered the government to reunite the children under the age of 5 by Tuesday and all separated children by July 26.

On Thursday, the government will give Sabraw a progress report on the younger children and whether it expects to meet the deadline for the older group.

The government has said around 2,300 children were separated from their parents at the border under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on illegal immigration, which was abandoned in June after intense protests.

The ACLU's Gelernt said the government is not even close to reuniting all the children under 5 with their parents, including 12 adults who were deported without their children. He said the government has not told him how many children have been reunified with parents.

“I’ve asked the government for numbers and they should have told me by now,” he told Reuters.

Since the government first came under pressure to ease its policy on separations weeks ago, it has shifted its estimates of the number of children it would reunite.

The latest figures released by the government were early on Tuesday, when officials said that four children under 5 had been reunited and at least 34 more would be with their parents by the end of the day.

Catholic Charities, which helped place some of the children in shelter facilities after their separation, held a news briefing in New York at which a handful of the reunited parents expressed relief after weeks of anxiety over the separations.

“I’m happy to finally be able to be with my child. I will never be separated from him, no matter what," said a tearful Javier, a 30-year-old from Honduras, who was reunited with his 4-year-old son after 55 days of detention. "Those were the worst days of my life. I never imagined that this would happen.”

The organization provided first names only.

The struggle to track and match parents with children under 5 suggests the government may have more difficulties in meeting a July 26 deadline for reuniting the remaining 2,000 older children with adults from whom they were separated.

"That is going to be a significant undertaking," Sabraw said on Tuesday of the next deadline.

U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to blame the Democratic Party, among others, for failing to fix what he has characterized as a broken immigration system.

"Judges run the system and illegals and traffickers know how it works. They are just using children!" he said.

One immigration advocate told Reuters she was still awaiting details on when officials would return two children younger than 5 to their parents. One parent was from Honduras and the other from El Salvador.

"Our clients still have not been reunified!" said Beth Krause, an attorney with Legal Aid Society's Immigrant Youth Project, in an email to Reuters. She said the government said one would be reunited sometime Wednesday.

If the government failed to reunite all the children under 5 with their parents by Thursday, Sabraw asked the ACLU to suggest penalties he could levy against the government.

Rights advocates have blamed the U.S. government's poor technology for difficulties tracking children across multiple government agencies involved in their detention and care.

The government has said the delays stem from the time it takes to run background checks, confirm parentage and locate parents released from detention.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Less-cool Facebook losing youth at fast pace: survey

WASHINGTON - With mom, dad and grandma signing up in increasing numbers, Facebook is losing younger users in the United States at a faster pace than previously estimated, researchers said Monday.

A report by eMarketer said Snapchat is drawing youths away from Facebook at a quicker clip than Facebook-owned Instagram.

Facebook is still growing in the US market, according to research firm, mainly due to increases in usage by older age groups.

The report is the latest to highlight Facebook's problem with attracting and keeping young people, who have long been a core user base for the world's biggest social network.

The research firm said it expected the first-ever decline in the 18-24 age group in the US, a drop of 5.8 percent this year.

It also said that for the first time since its research began, less than half of the 12-17 age group in the United States would be on Facebook, with a 5.6 percent drop in that segment. 

The under-12 age group meanwhile will see a decline of 9.3 percent this year, eMarketer said.

The same trend is expected to continue into 2019 and 2020, with declines in all segments of US users under 25, the report added.

Facebook will lose an estimated two million users under 25 this year, with Snapchat and Instagram the main beneficiaries.

The report said Snapchat will add 1.9 million users under 25 in 2018 and Instagram will add 1.6 million.

Snapchat, which is known for its disappearing messages, will continue to have more users aged 12 to 24 than Instagram, the researchers said.

But Snapchat could end up facing a similar problem as it seeks to increase its user base and reach all ages.

"Snapchat could eventually experience more growth in older age groups, since it's redesigning its platform to be easier to use," eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said. 

"The question will be whether younger users will still find Snapchat cool if more of their parents and grandparents are on it. That's the predicament Facebook is in."

Facebook remains the most popular social network in the US market with an estimated 169.5 million users this year, according to eMarketer.

But faster-growing Instagram will be used by 104.7 million Americans and Snapchat will reach 86.5 million users, according to the forecast.

Last year, eMarketer predicted Facebook would see declines among some youths for the first time in its history.

A report last year by investment firm Piper Jaffray showed Snapchat is the preferred social network for US teens, with 47 percent using the platform.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Facebook to launch chat app for kids, with parental controls

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Facebook on Monday unveiled a version of its Messenger application for children, aimed at enabling kids under 12 to connect with others under parental supervision.

Messenger Kids is being rolled out for Apple iOS mobile devices in the United States on a test basis as a standalone video chat and messaging app.

Product manager Loren Cheng said the social network leader is offering Messenger Kids because "there's a need for a messaging app that lets kids connect with people they love but also has the level of control parents want."

Facebook said that the new app, with no ads or in-app purchases, is aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds. It enables parents to control the contact list and does not allow children to connect with anyone their parent does not approve.

The social media giant added it designed the app because many children are going online without safeguards.

"Many of us at Facebook are parents ourselves, and it seems we weren't alone when we realized that our kids were getting online earlier and earlier," a Facebook statement said.

It cited a study showing that 93 percent of 6- to 12-year-olds in the US have access to tablets or smartphones, and two-thirds have a smartphone or tablet of their own.

"We want to help ensure the experiences our kids have when using technology are positive, safer, and age-appropriate, and we believe teaching kids how to use technology in positive ways will bring better experiences later as they grow," the company said.

Facebook's rules require that children be at least 13 to create an account, but many are believed to get around the restrictions.

Cheng said Facebook conducted its own research and worked with "over a dozen expert advisors" in building the app.

She added that data from children would not be used for ad profiles and that the application would be compliant with the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA).

"We've worked extensively with parents and families to shape Messenger Kids and we're looking forward to learning and listening as more children and families start to use the iOS preview," Cheng said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Sesame Street goes global to teach kids about money

(The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.)

NEW YORK - Translating money messages to 100 million kids around the world is not a feat for ordinary humans - you need monsters.

Elmo and Cookie Monster, to be specific.

These two and their furry band of Muppets have been part of Sesame Workshop's "Dream, Save, Do" program, a joint venture of Sesame Street and the MetLife Foundation. Operating for the last four years, the initiative has been leveraging famous Sesame characters to foster financial empowerment for families in nine countries: Mexico, Brazil, Chile, China, Japan, India, Bangladesh, Egypt and the UAE

The outreach has so far been a whopping success in terms of the numbers reached, Sesame Workshop concluded at a summit last month that brought together country directors. The most difficult challenge they identified was how hard it was to translate money messages across different countries and cultures.

One example: A Cookie Monster cartoon about the concept of delayed gratification - which involved waiting for an apple pie to bake - did not make much sense in the Chinese diet. So what did they do? They changed the desired object to dumplings - and it was a hit.

In India, the idea of 'work' was conveyed by the image of a woman sewing; in Brazil, it was someone answering a phone in an office. In some countries 'water' was a tap in a crowded alley; in others it was a sink in a home.

In China, there is no huge need to teach kids about the concept of saving - because all of them are doing it. Many, even at extremely young ages, are planning for college or thinking about their first house. So instead of focusing on saving, local course designers in China tacked towards teaching other financial behaviors like sharing or donating.

"Every lesson has core common elements, but it also tailored to the local market, which is the real magic of it," said April Hawkins, an assistant VP at the MetLife Foundation who helps steward the program.

Sesame Workshop also had to be flexible about how it got the word out. For instance, in the slums of India's New Delhi, a typical structured classroom setting just was not going to be possible.

"So in the narrow alleyways of Delhi, we ended up using vegetable carts," said Shari Rosenfeld, Sesame Workshop's Senior VP for international social impact. "We set up DVD players to broadcast our materials, hooked them up to car batteries, loaded them onto carts, and kids and their families would all gather around."

RESTORING HOPE

In some countries, even the name of the program itself was changed. In areas where there is not a lot of money kicking around, and poor kids might not be able to "save" much of anything, the program title was altered to "Dream, Plan, Do."

And which characters, exactly, were tapped to spread the money messages? Not The Count, as you might expect, given his obvious passion for numbers.

Instead, Sesame Street already has an entire cast of popular foreign characters at their disposal. There are existing stars like Lola in Mexico, Chamki in India, Bel in Brazil and Lily in China - all smart, confident young female characters.

In one popular piece of content, all those girl characters from around the globe gathered to sing a song about female empowerment, goal-setting and achievement.

So what is next for Dream, Save, Do? It could very well be the global refugee crisis. Many children have lost everything, so what do you tell a child like that?

"Hope is often lost in communities that have experienced such trauma and distress," says Nada Elattar, Sesame Workshop's director of educational programs. "So that is something we have to focus on next: The idea of having dreams for yourself, and setting goals, as a way to restore hope."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

New digital piggy bank helps Swiss kids save

ZURICH - In Switzerland, one of the world's wealthiest countries, financial planning starts young.

The country's number two bank Credit Suisse on Tuesday unveiled a piggy bank with built-in apps allowing children under 12 to set savings goals, check their balance and make payments.

"The financial education of children is a concern to people in Switzerland," Credit Suisse said in a statement, citing a recent study showing that 90 percent of parents in the wealthy Alpine nation want their children to learn how to handle money.

The study, conducted by the amPuls market research firm on behalf of Credit Suisse, also found that most children in Switzerland not only receive pocket money but "are frugal with it".

According to the research, Swiss parents have asked questions about how to teach children about money when it increasingly exists in digital form instead of coins and notes that can be stored in an old-fashioned piggy bank.

Named Viva Kids, the piggy bank "provides a wide range of options for teaching kids in a simple way how cash and digital money work and how to use them," Credit Suisse said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Kids who skip breakfast may miss key nutrients

Children who skip breakfast on a regular basis are likely to fall short for the day in getting all their recommended essential nutrients, a UK study suggests.

Kids who skipped breakfast every day were less likely to get enough iron, calcium, iodine and folate when compared to kids who ate breakfast every day, the research team found.

“A greater proportion of those children who ate breakfast met their recommended intakes of these micronutrients compared to breakfast skippers,” coauthors Gerda Pot and Janine Coulthard of Kings College London told Reuters Health in an email interview.

“These findings suggest that eating breakfast could play an important role in ensuring that a child consumes enough of these key micronutrients,” Pot and Coulthard said.

Though older children were more likely to skip breakfast, the day’s nutrient shortfall was greater when younger children missed the morning meal.

“Our research indicated that although lower proportions of 4-to-10-year-olds skipped breakfast regularly compared to 11-to-18-year-olds, greater differences in micronutrient intakes were seen in the younger age group when comparing days on which they ate breakfast with days on which they skipped it. It may, therefore, be particularly important to ensure that this younger age group eats a healthy breakfast, either at home or at a school breakfast club.”

Researchers examined four-day food diaries for almost 1,700 children ages 4 to 18. The information was taken from a yearly national diet and nutrition survey between 2008 and 2012.

Breakfast was defined as consuming more than 100 calories between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Overall, about 31 percent of kids ate breakfast daily, 17 percent never ate breakfast, and the rest ate it some days and skipped it on others. In this group, the researchers also compared differences in nutrient intake by the same child on different days.

The team found that 6.5 percent of kids aged 4 to 10 missed breakfast every day, compared with nearly 27 percent of 11-to-18-year-olds.

Girls were more likely to miss breakfast than boys, and household income tended to be higher for families of children who ate breakfast every day.

More than 30 percent of kids who skipped breakfast did not get enough iron during the day, compared to less than 5 percent of kids who ate breakfast, the researchers report in British Journal of Nutrition.

Around 20 percent of breakfast skippers were low on calcium and iodine, compared to roughly 3 percent of kids who ate breakfast.

About 7 percent of children who skipped breakfast were low in folate, compared to none in the groups that ate breakfast.

Fat intake went up when kids skipped breakfast, researchers found.

Kids who skipped breakfast didn’t seem to compensate by eating more calories later in the day. In fact, kids who didn’t eat breakfast ended up eating the same number or fewer total calories as kids who ate breakfast every day.

Making sure kids eat breakfast appears to be more difficult in the older age group, who are possibly less receptive to parental supervision, Pot and Coulthard said.

“One tactic would be to get children involved in making breakfast, maybe even preparing something the night before if time is short in the morning.”

The authors noted there are a wealth of healthy, simple and tasty recipe ideas available on social media that children can choose from, adding that kids might even like to post a picture of their creations online.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Video of small boy saved from Aleppo rubble sparks social media storm

Video of a small boy, bloodied and covered in dust, who was rescued after an apparent air strike in the Syrian city of Aleppo, sparked outrage and concern on social media on Thursday.

Sitting alone in an ambulance, the boy - identified by doctors as 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh - looked dazed and shocked, staring silently as he tried to wipe the blood off his head, seemingly unaware of his injuries.

Twitter user Charlene Deveraturda @malasadasbooks posted an image of the boy and wrote:

"Poor baby. Near my grandson's age. I cannot imagine. The image does not leave my mind. #syrianboy #Syria #peace"

The hashtag #Syrianboy was one of the top trending topics in the United States and Britain. More than 10 tweets posted every minute on Twitter with the hashtag, according to social media analytics company Zoomph. Many linked images of the child with a picture of Aylan Kurdi, a Syrian boy whose body was found on a beach in Turkey last year.

The video of Omran and other children being pulled from the rubble caused widespread upset and condemnation over the harrowing reality of Syria's five-year-old civil war.

Twitter user Malcolmite (@Malcolmite) wrote: "It's not important if it goes viral, what's important is what is going to be done about it? #syrianboy"

Sara Assaf (@SaraAssaf) tweeted: "So if this terrorized little boy turns into a terrorist one day ... Who is to blame? #SyrianBoy #Aleppo #Injustice"

Aleppo, split into rebel- and government-controlled areas, has become the focus of the fighting in Syria.

Rebel-held areas suffer heavy air strikes daily as pro-government forces try to retake territory lost to rebels two weeks ago in the southwest of Aleppo.

The video, shot on Wednesday in the rebel-held al-Qaterji neighborhood, shows an aid worker carrying the little boy out of a building and seating him inside the ambulance, before rushing back to the scene of the bombing. The boy sits alone, stunned, before two more children are brought into the vehicle. A man with blood on his face then joins them.

Aleppo-based freelance photographer Mohammed Raslan Abu Sheikh, who was at the scene, said civilian rescuers and aid workers were elated as Omran was pulled from the rubble alive with the rest of his family of six.

"He was in a state of shock, not even crying, he made us cry while he himself was silent, just watching us," Abu Sheikh told Reuters.

Last year, international sympathy for victims of Syria's war was heightened by a photo of a drowned 3-year-old refugee from Syria, Aylan Kurdi, who washed up on a Turkish tourist beach. The image of Aylan, who died when a smugglers' boat taking his family and other refugees to a nearby Greek island capsized, swept across social media and was retweeted thousands of times.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

WATCH: Foreigner kids imitate 'Pabebe Girls'

"Kung gusto niyo ay gayahin niyo kami."

It is one advice from the "Pabebe Girls" that these group of foreigner kids took to heart when they uploaded their own version of the viral video.

The "Pabebe Girls" -- composed of teenagers Janet and Michelle from Bulacan -- earlier caught netizens' attention when a clip of them was uploaded on Facebook.

In the viral video, the two girls said they do not care whether other people get annoyed by their videos because they love what they do and they are just being true to themselves.

They have since appeared in several television shows, even making a cameo in the latest music video of comedian Vice Ganda "Wag Kang Pabebe."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Review: Why kids love Paddington bear

From the jungles of deepest darkest Peru, British explorer Montgomery Clark discovers a family of special bears who can speak English and love orange marmalade. He tells the bears that if ever they get to London, he will be more than happy to take them in. One day, after a strong earthquake causes the death of his beloved Uncle, a young bear decides to stowaway on a ship to go to London to find a better life for himself.

In London, a friendly family, the Browns, decide to take him in. They named the bear after the train station they found him in, Paddington. The father Henry is always wary of his family's safety, while the mother Mary is more welcoming and warm. The daughter Judy is a whiz with languages, while the son Jonathan is a genius with mechanical matters. While searching for the elusive Mr. Clark, Paddington crosses paths with Millicent, a sadistic taxidermist who wants to make him a stuffed bear, for more reasons than it would seem.

I only knew Paddington Bear as a piece of childhood trivia. I never really knew him, other than the fact that he was a cute little British teddy bear with a hat and overcoat. I have not read any of the books by Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum, which was first published back in 1958.

This film was my first formal introduction to this beloved character and I clearly can see why he has endured through the years. He is truly adorable! His childlike innocence is heartwarming and delightful. It is to the credit of Xian Lim, who voiced Paddington in the local release. Lim does not really have a truly distinctive recognizable voice. However, more importantly, he was able to convey the most essential heart and spirit of Paddington. In the original British version, Paddington was voiced by Ben Whishaw. It appears they have a different voice actor per country of release, an interesting publicity gimmick.

Like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Space Jam" and "Garfield" before it, the animated Paddington here flawlessly interacts with live human actors. "Downton Abbey" actor Hugh Bonneville plays a stern but kind Henry Brown. "Happy Go Lucky" actress Sally Hawkins plays the quirky and happy Mary Brown, she who always wore red. Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin play the two Brown children. Two-time Oscar-nominated actress Julie Walters plays Mrs. Bird, the loyal housekeeper of the Browns.

Nicole Kidman plays the cruel Millicent with so much evil relish, it is fun to watch her. Her final scene is hilarious! Other esteemed British actors fill out the other character roles. Jim Broadbent plays Samuel Gruber, friendly antique shop owner. Peter Capaldi plays the Brown's annoying neighbor, Mr. Curry. Imelda Staunton and Michael Gambon provide the voices of Paddington's Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo back in Peru.

Be you a long-time fan or first time viewer, this "Paddington" will endear himself to you. His antics, mishaps and misadventures were so well-executed by director Paul King, who also wrote the script together with Hamish McColl. The timelessness of the story and characters is also reflected in the wonderful production design which incorporated elements from various decades seamlessly. Some moments as the story turns dark can be scary for very young kids so parental guidance is recommended.

Overall though, be prepared to enjoy and be enthralled this very charming piece of British comedy. You will leave the theater with a smile on your face. You will also want to whip up your own orange marmalade sandwich right away. 9/10

This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Small screens' prevent kids from sleeping: study

MIAMI -- Children who have access to tablets or smartphones in their bedrooms get less sleep than children who do not have the devices with them at night, a US study said Monday.

The findings in the January 5 edition of the journal Pediatrics show that having a so-called "small screen" within reach was slightly worse than a television set when it came to sleep deprivation in a group of 2,000 middle school kids.

Overall, those with access to smartphones and tablets got nearly 21 fewer minutes of sleep per night than children whose rooms were free of such technology, and they were more likely to say they felt sleep-deprived.

Those with a TV in the bedroom got 18 minutes fewer of slumber than kids without televisions in their rooms.

"Presence of a small screen, but not a TV, in the sleep environment, and screen time were associated with perceived insufficient rest or sleep," said the study led by Jennifer Falbe of the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health.

"These findings caution against unrestricted screen access in children's bedrooms."

Participants in the study included 2,048 fourth- and seventh-graders enrolled in the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Study from 2012 to 2013.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

4 tips to make your Christmas more meaningful

This is the season not only to be jolly but a season to give back by sharing our blessings with other, especially with the kids – even if not our own.

While it’s given that we buy presents for our family and relatives, we should also lend a hand to the less fortunate and make it part of our family tradition.

In the latest issue of Working Mom, you will find a list of charitable activities that could serve as avenues to transform one’s Christmas celebration to a merry one.

1. Give out slippers. This is one of the easiest gift-giving projects you can do – all it takes is a quick trip to Divisoria to buy an affordable footwear, place them in colorful eco-bags, and voila! You can spread Christmas spirit to less privileged kids. If you have a bigger budget to spare or friends who can sponsor the cost, you can coordinate with an orphanage and buy shoes for the kids there.

2. Put up a feeding kiosk. Street kids will surely appreciate a warm bowl of chicken sopas or a fried chicken-and-spaghetti meal. Prepare a bag of goodies, have for some fun parlor games, and make it a truly memorable Christmas for them.

3. Adopt a family for Noche Buena. St. Joseph’s Parish Church, also known as the Bamboo Organ Church, has a yearly program where families are encouraged to share their Noche Buena feast with their less fortunate neighbors. They sign up with the parish if they want to “adopt” a family. Families anywhere can also do this program by bringing meals to their selected recipients.

4. Grant a wish. Last year, children from Tacloban wrote their wish lists on star-shaped papers during the Christmas party held in the area. Donors responded by sending their gifts. You can do a similar gift-giving project without having to go to Tablocan. Simply send the gifts to your recipient-families or course it through agencies like the DSWD or ABS-CBN Foundation. Make the project more meaningful by involving family members in buying and wrapping the gifts, and writing messages of hope.

Yuletide season is not everyday – but everyday can always be a season of sharing your blessings and being a blessing to others. Grab a copy of the latest issue of Working Mom and get other Christmas ideas to add more meaning to your Christmas celebration this year!

Like WorkingMom on Facebook.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How to give kids Christmas gifts that will last a lifetime

MANILA, Philippines - For lolos and lolas, saying no to their grandkids is hard to do. As the responsibility of disciplining them no longer falls on the grandparents, they can’t resist to pamper the young ones with expensive toys as Christmas gifts.

But before you splurge and give them items that will hold their attention for a few minutes, hours or at most days, maybe it’s time to consider getting them something more long-lasting.

Nowadays, more parents are forthright in saying that they would prefer the gift of cash that can go towards a college fund for their children. Given the astronomical cost of tertiary education, this makes a lot of sense. Tuition fees in private schools rise by almost 15% every year, and this does not cover miscellaneous expenses such as allowances, books, and related expenses.

If you choose to contribute towards your apo’s college education, not only are you giving something of value to your grandchildren, you are also helping the kids’ parents – your kids – save up for their child’s future.

Although the thought of receiving college funds may not sound very exciting to a child, rest assured that they will definitely thank you for it in the years to come.

The magic of compounding

Don’t think that you need to fork over a huge sum in order to give this type of present. You can start by giving your grandchild (through his parents or guardians) an amount that can serve as a starter fund for his college education. You can add to this fund every year — perhaps during your grandchild’s birthday and during the holidays — while letting the magic of compounding work wonders on the fund. Compounding builds on earnings of an asset's reinvested earnings. Twenty years down the road, when that little smiling baby is a young adult all set for university, that fund that you started will surely serve him well, and will make his parents equally happy.

Just to let you realize the power of compounding, here’s how it works: If you invest P10,000 today at 6%, you will have P10,600 in one year (P10,000 x 1.06). The reinvested P600 grows with the original amount of P10,000. If you continue to earn the same rate of 6%, your investment will grow to P11,236 (P10,600 x 1.06) by the end of the second year. The increase in interest grows each year, as your interest earns interest. The longer you keep your money invested, the more you stand to earn.

If your grandchild is one year old today, you have around 17 years to let your aguinaldo compound. The more time you have, the greater the growth potential. In fact, you can start a fund for your grandchild while he or she is still in utero. Of course, you can put money towards an older grandchild’s education, but the earlier you do it, the bigger its earning potential.

Below are some ideas on how you can give your grandchild the aguinaldo that will last a lifetime:

1. Purchase an education plan.

An education plan gives your grandchild a fixed amount of money to cover college expenses starting at a specified time, usually when he turns 17 years old. Depending on the plan you purchase, the education plan may come with life insurance and accidental death benefits, and a contingency fund should the payor (you) pass away during the payment period of the policy. Premiums are usually payable from 5 to 7 years.

2. Look at high-interest earning savings accounts.

Savings accounts are easy to open for your grandchildren. You can ask the child to come with you to the bank and you can make the initial deposit for him. That will be quite an experience – and a moment to capture using the camera from your mobile phone. Later on, you or other family members can add to this fund.

3. Open an investment account in his name.

There are various entry-level mutual funds or unit investment trust funds that would allow you to put in as little as P5,000. You can add to this every so often, or the parents can also inject additional funds when they can. Of course, you can also put in a much larger amount and allow it to grow over time.

4. Pay attention to the legalities.

Bank accounts for your grandchild will have to be in a guardian’s name, held in trust for your grandchild, until he comes of age. Make sure that this fund is accessed by a responsible adult who will use it for its intended purpose.

5. Make it fun.

Your grandchild might not explode into a dance of joy when he receives an envelope, but there is a way around the initial disappointment. Present your gift imaginatively. Perhaps, you can ask him what he wants to be in the future and tell him that you’ve just given the gift that will make his dream come true.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Movie toys teleport into digital playground

LOS ANGELES -- Those ubiquitous Angry Birds flew from the mobile screen to the toy store, hooked up with Hollywood, and are headed back to the digital world thanks to the telepod.

That is toymaker Hasbro Inc.'s answer to merging the physical and digital worlds of children's play in what the industry calls "toys-to-life." And like another leading toy company, Walt Disney Co., they are finding fans among the fervent audiences for action and superhero films.

Hasbro's Angry Bird telepods were a big attraction last weekend at San Diego's Comic-Con, an annual gathering of 130,000 comic and entertainment enthusiasts, with fans lining up to preview new Transformers-themed bird figurines containing miniscule codes that can be read by tablets.

The Angry Birds Transformers telepods, featuring "Autobirds" and "Deceptihogs," is due out on Oct. 15, spinning off the success of Paramount Pictures' June box office hit, "Transformers: Age of Extinction."

Licensed toys have become a key to extending the entertainment content revenue stream, with U.S. retail sales in 2013 of $5.3 billion, according to research company The NPD Group.

In the first quarter of 2014, the top licensed toys included Disney's princess lines and "Frozen" toys, which helped Disney bring in $885 million in consumer products revenue, about 8 percent of the company's overall revenue during that time.

The new "toys-to-life" category grew 47 percent in a 12-month period ending June 2014 to $437 million in sales in the United States, according to NPD's gaming analyst Liam Callahan.

Retail analyst Stephanie Wissink at Piper Jaffray estimates that by 2018, 25 percent of toys will incorporate a digital component or integration with electronic devices.

'Moving seamlessly'

"Kids enjoy both analog and digital play and they like moving seamlessly between the two," said John Frascotti, Hasbro's global chief marketing officer.

Using the bird and pig characters from Rovio Entertainment's Angry Birds mobile game app, consumers can place the physical figurine onto a plastic block and put it on a tablet's reader, which then recognizes the character via its magnetic code and imports it into the digital game.

Frascotti said Hasbro's 2015 line of Transformers robot toys will incorporate a digital element. The company is also likely to partner with Disney on toys tied to next year's anticipated "Star Wars" film, and Star Wars is already a top seller in the licensed toys market.

Disney made a loud entrance into the toys-to-life market with Disney Infinity, an interactive master game to which new characters and adventures are added.

With Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" making a big splash at the box office this year, Disney is catering to the feverish demand for all things superhero by incorporating Marvel characters into Disney Infinity as of Sept. 23.

Consumers can buy collectible figurines of Disney characters such as Elsa from Oscar-winning hit "Frozen" or Marvel's Captain America, which have discs embedded with data chips that when placed on the Infinity Reader, can import the figure in the game. As characters advance through the digital game, the information is saved into the figurine.

"Physical toy sets are definitely not fading out," said Peter Phillips, senior vice president and general manager of Marvel's digital media group.

"The fact that we integrated a toy line as part of the game just shows that the two can work hand in hand very closely together."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Passive smoking causes irreversible damage to kids' arteries

LONDON - Exposure to second-hand smoke in childhood causes irreversible damage to children's arteries - increasing their risk of heart attacks or strokes when they grow up, according to a large international study published on Wednesday.

The research, which lends weight to campaigns for smoking to be banned in private cars and homes, found passive smoking leads to a thickening of children's artery walls, adding some 3.3 years to the age of blood vessels by adulthood.

"Exposure to passive smoke in childhood causes direct and irreversible damage to the structure of the arteries," said Seana Gall, a researcher in cardiovascular epidemiology who led the study at the University of Tasmania.

She said parents, or even those thinking about becoming parents, should quit smoking - both to aid their own health and protect the future health of their children.

Smoking causes lung cancer, which is often fatal, and is the world's biggest cause of premature death from chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.

On top of the 6 million people a year killed by their own smoking, the World Health Organization (WHO) says another 600,000 die a year as a result of exposure to other peoples' smoke - so-called second-hand or passive smoking.

Of the more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer, the WHO says - and creating 100% smoke-free environments is the only way to protect people fully.

About 40% of all children are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke at home, and almost a third of the deaths attributable to second-hand smoke are in children.

Artery walls

This latest study, published in the European Heart Journal, was the first to follow children through to adulthood to look at links between exposure to parents' smoking and thickness of the innermost two layers of the arterial wall, known as carotid intima-media thickness (IMT).

Researchers from Finland and Australia looked at data from 2,401 people in Finland 1,375 people in Australia who were asked about their parents' smoking habits. The scientists used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the children's artery walls once they had reached adulthood.

The results showed that carotid IMT in adulthood was 0.015 millimeters thicker in those exposed to both parents smoking than in those whose parents did not smoke.

Gall said that while this was a "modest" increase, it was nonetheless an important extra and irreversible risk for suffering heart attacks or strokes later in life.

Since children of parents who smoke are also more likely to grow up to be smokers themselves, and more likely to be overweight, their heart health risks are often already raised, she said, and the second-hand smoke adds yet more risk.

The researchers said the findings showed reducing children's exposure to smoke is a public health priority.

"Legislation can reduce passive smoke exposure, with restriction of smoking in public places reducing hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory disease," they wrote, adding that banning smoking in cars with children in them would also have a significant positive effect.

The United States, Australia and Canada have already banned smoking in cars carrying children, and Britain said last month that it too would be introducing a ban soon.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How to teach your kids the value of money

MANILA, Philippines - Financial experts today encourage parents to start talking to their children about money as soon as they are able to count. You can take advantage of everyday activities to introduce the topic so that your children will not see it as concepts that they need to remember or memorize, but rather useful information.

A trip to the supermarket, for example, can be a very enlightening experience for children as they learn that there is actually a cost to the items that fill up their pantry.

Before your outing, why not share with them how much money you have allotted for groceries as well as a list of items that the household needs. Ask them to pick out their choice of specific items, say different kinds of cereals, and then explain how you decide on the final purchase based on the quality of the product and the family budget.

Apart from shopping for food, there are many other teaching moments in everyday events. Here are some of them so you can take advantage.

1.    Buying a new pair of shoes for your child?

They will likely go for a brand whose advertisement they saw in a magazine or watched in television. Their pick can also be based on style, or what is popular. Talk to them about the value of comfort and durability, and how all these determine the product price and ultimately your selection. You can also take about Needs versus Wants. The style they Want is nice but their Need may require a pair of shoes that will last for the school year.

2.    When you’re filling up for gas, direct their attention to the gas pump meter showing how much a liter of gasoline costs.

Translate that cost into everyday things so that your child will have a better idea about the value of money. Point out that a liter of premium gas which costs about P50+ can buy a kilo of rice (with change), 10 medium-sized eggs, two ice cream cones, or two rides in an amusement arcade.

3.    Even visits to the arcade can be a learning opportunity.

If it’s a reward for good grades, you can talk about having a budget and why they should stick to it. Once you load their card, you can advise them to check out all the amusement options and that they have to prioritize because their reward will not cover all the games. It’s good to already tell them at that point that the budget is set, so no running back to you after a few minutes for additional load.

4.    When you’re looking at making bigger purchases like a new television or sofa for your home, you can discuss the importance of saving up for these and why your choice will have to consider everyone’s needs, not just your personal preference.

5.    Bring your child with you when you have to do bank errands.

While waiting in line, explain to her or him the concept of saving and how money kept in the bank earns interest. Show them your passbook or latest statement, and point out how your money is growing every day. You can also talk about the other people in the bank, and how saving is part of their lives too.

But perhaps, one of the most effective ways of teaching your child about the value of money is giving her or him some form of control, say an allowance; their entry into grade school is probably the best time to do this.

Give your child an allowance in small denominations, explaining to him or her what such amounts can buy. Get a piggy bank and encourage them to allot a sum from their allowance for savings. Help them set goals. When they reach a certain amount, for example, advise them to transfer their piggy bank savings into a real bank, so that it can earn interest.

Some parents provide incentive by giving an appropriate cash bonus when their child reaches a target saving amount. At the same time, allow them to make spending decisions. You can offer your wise counsel, but leave it up to them to make the final decision. If your son has set his heart on buying a limited edition comic book, or your daughter will buy a set of novelty pens, let them do so. They will treasure it even more because they know exactly how much they had to scrimp and save just to get it.

The important thing is to keep the conversation going. By being honest and open about money, you demystify the concept, making your children feel more comfortable with the idea of spending, saving, and eventually, investing.

Last but not least, all your lessons will come to naught if you do not practice them yourself. Children learn best through example. They will likely model behavior that they see often in their immediate environment. So if you are not careful about how you spend your money or are not keen about saving any, then your kids may just do exactly the same in the future. Yes, teaching your kids about money means learning a few lessons yourself.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com