Free Republic

Most of a new health studies curriculum currently on the table inside the Helena, Montana, school district is a virtual nonissue going into the 2010 school year. But the sex education component dominating the news in the past week or so is still as contentious as ever, inspiring parents from all across the Big Sky capital to descend on the school board in a collective voice of strong opposition. While those in support of the curriculum are arguing its value in light of society’s judgment that k-12 students are learning about sex from all the wrong sources—such as their peers...

Kids say they're stressed out, and parents aren't helping To view the KidsPoll, visit http://www.nahec.org/KidsPoll/ If you remember childhood as a time of careless, carefree fun, a recent study indicates that either the times have changed or memory is selective.Asked about their feelings on stress, 875 U.S. children between the ages of 9 and 13 revealed that being a kid, at times, is stressful. KidsHealth.org, a leading pediatric health and wellness Web site, conducted the KidsPoll and released the findings Oct. 12."We live in a pretty fast-paced, high achievement-oriented culture, so kids and adults are over-scheduled, over-committed and overly booked,...

Three major cable providers are buying into the launch of two new homosexual cable networks that will air homosexual programming around the clock for the first time in U.S. television history. In April, Comcast and Cox Communications agreed to offer the homosexual network "Here," put out by Regent Entertainment through their video-on-demand offerings. Viacom will offer its own advertiser-supported homosexual network, "LOGO," as a basic cable channel starting on June 30. "I don't think most parents want their children flipping channels on their way to the Cartoon Network and running across a scene of two men kissing in bed on...

Almost every parent of a teenager wonders how on Earth they're going to be able to monitor what sensationalistic media images or ideas children are engrossed in today. On the radio, a pop singer boasts about her chest as a "milkshake" that brings all the boys to her yard. On the television, kids can see WB's "The Surreal Life," its sleazy reality-show plot often revolving around a porn star, Ron Jeremy. Then there are video games, which have grown increasingly sophisticated -- and unfortunately, increasingly raunchy and bloody -- since the musty old days of Donkey Kong and Pac-Man.More than...