Children | Common News Update

Apr92018 by adminNo Comments

Indian school bus plunges into gorge, dozens of children dead

April 9 (UPI) -- A school bus plunged about 25 feet into a gorge in northern India on Monday, killing dozens of students and adults, local emergency officials said.The bus went off the roadway after the driver lost control on a curve near the town of Nurpur in Himachal Pradesh. The vehicle rolled down the embankment, throwing some victims from windows.Himachal Pradesh Transport Minister Govind Singh Thakur told the Press Trust of India that 30 people died -- 27 children, two teachers and the bus driver. Emergency officials transported at least 13 people to nearby hospitals.The victims were as young as 5 years old, and at least one was returning home from his first day at school. The students attended Ram Singh Pathania Memorial School."I had never thought that they would never return," fat...

Mar312018 by adminNo Comments

Met Police chief: Social media leads children to violence

Technology

The UK's top police officer has blamed social media for normalising violence and leading more children to commit stabbings and murders.Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick told The Times social media sites "rev people up" and make street violence "more likely".Fatal stabbings in England and Wales are at their highest levels since 2011.Ms Dick announced a new task force of about 100 officers to tackle violent crime in London.Ms Dick says she believes social media "makes it harder for people to cool down", adding: "I'm sure it does rev people up.""There's definitely something about the impact of social media in terms of people being able to go from slightly angry with each other to 'fight' very quickly," she said.A trivial disagreement could escalate into violence "within minutes", Ms Dick ...

Mar102018 by adminNo Comments

Time limits proposed for children on social media

Technology

Ministers are looking into imposing time limits for children using social media, according to Culture Secretary Matt Hancock.He said the negative impact of posting and consuming content online was a "genuine concern".Mr Hancock said more needed to be done to safeguard young people and suggested an age-verification system.Image:Culture Secretary Matt Hancock says there is 'genuine concern'He said there would a new legal requirement for companies to ensure users were over 13 years old. The details of how such a scheme would work are still being worked out."There is a genuine concern about the amount of screen time young people are clocking up and the negative impact it could have on their lives," he told the Times."For an adult I wouldn't want to restrict the amount of time you are on a plat...

Feb32018 by adminNo Comments

WATCH: 53 children have died from the flu this winter: CDC

Health

Let's block ads! (Why?) ABC News: Health

Jan302018 by adminNo Comments

Facebook 'no place' for young children

Technology

More than 100 child health experts are urging Facebook to withdraw an app aimed at under-13s.In an open letter to Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, they call Messenger Kids an "irresponsible" attempt to encourage young children to use Facebook.Young children are not ready to have social media accounts, they say.Facebook says the app was designed with online safety experts in response to parental calls for more control over how their children used social media.It is a simplified, locked-down version of Facebook's Messenger app, requiring parental approval before use, and data generated from it is not used for advertising.The open letter says: "Messenger Kids will likely be the first social media platform widely used by elementary school children [four- to -11-year-olds]. "But a growing body of...