Anonymous

Siblings Should Get Respect From One Another

-Anonymous

“I may fight with my siblings, but once you lay a finger on them you’ll be facing me” -Unknown.  

It is important that siblings have each other's backs. Siblings can’t do this without listening to one another. Therefore, Siblings need to be taught to listen to one another.  New studies say that listening to one another keeps you from missing information.

When you listen to one another it can help prevent you from missing information (Price-Mitchell). If you miss a little thing it can change the whole story into something unrelated. 72% of kids miss a small part of what has been said, turned it around and has ended up in a fight or jail. The NCMEC ( has received 4.3 million calls of kids getting into trouble by mishearing what has been said. This means that siblings need to be taught early how to listen to one another and respect each other.

People feel better when they show kindness to children. One study showed that people who show kindness in their daily lives are the most successful in life (Brooks). Not only doing good deeds, but doing good things shows kids how to behave towards one another.  

A recent article states that people can get irritable when they don’t listen to one another. (“Sibling Rivalry”). When someone doesn't listen the speaker can get mad and or start a fight. 65% of kids get mad and out of control and don’t listen to their parents when their parents tell them to listen because they are irritated. This means that most kids need to learn how to listen when they become frustrated.

Parents argue that if we want our siblings to show us respect, we have to contribute to make it different (“Improving Family Communications”). But in order for us to show respect we have to have good role models. Remember that children learn by example. We as the children need to know that our parents don’t have a favorite child. Every child should fit in equally.

So we should get respect from our siblings. Siblings can change their perspectives by having good examples, which are demonstrated by parents. When children have respect for each other, then everyone feels valued. We need to try as a family to make a change. Siblings automatically should get respect from one another!!

Makanani.K

Children Should Get Their Own Rooms

By Makanani K.

“I don't see myself as a hero because what I'm doing is self-interested, I donʻt want to live in a world where there's no room for intellectual exploration and creativity” (Edward Snowden). A house is for a family a room is for creativity and exploration. Children should get their own rooms. When children have their own rooms, they get more privacy and are less likely to co-sleep.

According to George Cohen “No matter how compatible your children are now, be aware that as they grow older their space and privacy needs to change.” As children get older they need more privacy and space. This is usually when a boy and a girl are sharing a room.

There are many cases that children should not share a room especially if they are step-siblings and different genders. Tweens (10-12) and teens (13-18) need more space and privacy (Perles).

Co-sleeping is the most questionable subject. A lot of parents and medical practitioners favor co-sleeping. Co-sleeping is sharing the same room and is very risky and a has lot of disadvantages that goes along with it (Sanjay).

People may argue that sharing a room helps with collaboration, getting along or developing life long relationships. However, if you put baking soda and vinegar together it blows up and if you put two people in the same room together it may not go as planned either.

So children should get their own room for space and privacy with their own space to grow in. That is why children should get their own rooms. “So let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow" - Unknown.

Luluka B-S

Teaching Teens To Cook

By: Luluka B-S.

It’s been said that your food is your medicine. If your food is bad, your health will deteriorate. If your food is good, your health will prosper. So, help your child learn to cook, and you can insure a happy, healthy future for them. When children learn to cook, they learn how to prepare healthy food that will put them not only in a good mood, but it will give them good internal systems too. Children can also prepare awesome sweet-tooth treats, but without all that unhealthy high fructose corn syrup. You can definitely see that cooking is good for your child, no matter what his or her age.

Learning how to cook helps you be well nourished, and it is a powerful skill that people of all ages should master (Stollman). When you cook, you control what is going into your food, and you buy the ingredients, so you know what is going into your food. How about ordering a gross take-out from McDonald’s? Or, does having your child (and you, of course) make an amazing homemade BBC dinner at home, with family and friends, sound better?

Once quoted from Matt Cartwright: “Unhealthy eating habits cause major health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, and can also lead to food insecurity, disrupted eating patterns, and low self-esteem.” As you can see, when your child has an unhealthy diet, all of these illnesses are possible. Another quote from Matt Cartwright: “Education can help all Americans live longer, healthier lives. Teaching students to make healthy decisions can improve habits now and instill healthy eating habits for a lifetime.” Have your children start a healthy lifetime now by teaching them to cook and helping them to practice cooking at home.

Additionally, cooking allows kids to learn and practice math. It’s nearly impossible to cook without doing some math (Myers). If I am allowed to cook, I can improve on my math skills, and broaden my horizons because of the newly earned information. Don’t you think that children should be able to have basic cooking skills, the knowledge of proper cooking tools, and the ability to follow a recipe correctly? I do.

Some people might say that children shouldn’t be able to cook: they could get hurt while preparing, baking, or cooking food. However, when children learn how to cook, they learn important life skills, all the while having fun. Also, since cooking is a skill that stays with you forever, you wouldn’t have to get a bento box or the likes when you are in college. Instead, you can teach your child to cook healthy meals, and have a better time with them altogether.

Now you know that once children know that their food is their medicine, they should know how to prepare good foods and how to make them taste like a professional cook’s food. Now you can see that your children should be cooking instead of mucking around. And what do you know? You can learn some new things too!

  Talking to Kids About Tattling

                     By: Tacoma K.

“A truly strong person does not need approval of others any more than a lion needs approval of a sheep”(Howard). Tattling causes problems.  If you tattle you can get get labeled and you can feel hurt.   Or, if you tattle is some houses, then you are most likely to get your way. So parents should talk to their kids about tattling.

When People tattle they cause problems with their siblings, then many times their parents have to deal with that.  According to the website metroparent.com, siblings tattle on eachother to either get revenge or get attention if they feel left out (Smith).  So our parents need to teach our siblings to stop tattling.

When Kids tattle they get labeled like being called: squealer, snitch, and or tattle tale, according to parent.com you need to stop and tell your kid to stop tattling so he/she will not get teased.  This will also hopefully help him or her to stop tattling and learn to work problems out (Lock).

Lastly, kids tattle to get attention according to metroparent.com. This article says that kids tattle to make people notice them and not feel left out (Smith). So, in order for kids to learn that they will not get attention this way, you need to ignore them.

Some people might argue that it is normal that 5 year olds tattle and that their siblings need to deal with it, or that they tattle too. But, what if adults were the ones getting tattled on, then how would they feel? Hence, tattling wouldn’t be good for the person who is tattling when they get older. For example, if parents don't stop children from tattling now, then children can grow up to be adults who try and get revenge this way also.

If parents don’t stop their kids from tattling they might be in big trouble (Smith). Why would you want your kid to get labeled? That’s why parents should tell their children to stop tattling.

Eden L.

Teens Should Get a Larger Allowance!

by Eden L.

"What is important for kids to learn is that no matter how much money they have, earn, win, or inherit, they need to know how to spend it, how to save it, and how to give it to others in need. This is what handling money is about, and this is why we give kids an allowance” (Colors). Teens should have a larger allowance! A larger allowance would let us pay for our own stuff such as: food, accessories, and clothes. We could also learn to save/use our money, and how to work for it.

Larger allowance allows us to buy not only what we want, but what we need. Sometimes when we are at the store, we just want to buy everything there, but when we realize we can only buy what we need, it makes a difference! According to the article by marterkid.com, “giving kids a modest amount of money makes them realize they can't buy everything” (raiseasmarterkid).  This means, when our parents give us money, we will spend our money wisely and learn to manage our money.  

How Do you use your Money?  Having more allowance lets us learn how to use our money. This way we are learning how to save our money and use it wisely. When teens use their money, they have different amounts of money each week or month and save up for the things they want. Kristin Johnson and her husband instituted a "Spend, Share, Save" policy for their sons’ money. One third of any money her kids receive is theirs to spend, one third goes to the charity of their choice, and one third goes into savings. This means that their children have money that they save to do the following three things, “Spend, Share, Save" ( Family Health ).

Sometimes, when you want a larger allowance you work for it. Whether you are cleaning, babysitting or feeding your animals, some parents exchange money for chores. One article states, “The opposite view is that money is no less compelling a motivator for adolescents than it is for adults, and that an allowance is essentially a child’s first paycheck. She should know that if she doesn’t carry out her responsibilities, part or all of her allowance will be docked” (Allowance for Teens Using an Allowance to Teach the Value of Money). We will learn that if we want money we have to work for it. If you donʻt do chores and get money, you will think that you can get money when and whenever you want as you grow up.  

Although some people argue that teens should not have a larger allowance, they need enough money to make decisions and choices. If you don't have a large allowance or any allowance you miss out on learning how to save, budget and earn things . When you are getting a larger allowance, it prepares your for a real life situation. With a large allowance you are ready for your future, you are money- smart, and you know how to use your money.  So go do your chores so you can get what you want and work for a larger allowance!

Kaylee K

My Life My Privacy by Kaylee K.

Girls and boys who share a room do not have the privacy that people who don’t share a room have. They need their own space because if they don’t have it, then they can’t change freely in their own room without a brother or sister sitting right there in the same room. Also, people need their privacy so they feel more safe when people are in their rooms.

According to an article, Keren Perle states that  when people share a room they don’t have space that others have when they don’t share a room. For example, my brother is always in our room and his things are all over the room all the time and I don’t have a lot of space when hiss things are all over the place. This makes it feel as though I have no room.

According to the same article by Keren Perles, Children should have their own rooms because of privacy. When children share a room they don’t have the privacy they need. This means that they  have to change in the bathroom. For example, if my brother is in our room before me when we get home from school or practices, and he gets into our room before I do, then I have to change in the bathroom.

According to the same article, Children who don’t share a room feel safer in their rooms than people who do share a room feel. One reason to support my claim is because if people come over and you have to change in your room you feel a weird feeling because you think someone is going to walk in while you are changing.

Even though people may say that children should share a room so they become closer to each other, most of the time spent in the room is something quite like reading or doing homework and when children are doing that they aren’t really spending time because they are doing their own thing and minding their own business. If children are going into their room to just do homework it’s just like if your child were sitting in the living room right? Also if children go and sit in a room for a long time together children may end up arguing about something.

Children that share a room with a sibling have less privacy than people who don’t share a room have. Also, when children are not in the same room all the time then they argue less than when they are in the same room most of the day. So why don’t you change the room arrangements and let your child have his or her own room? Children shouldn’t have to share a room with siblings.

Kēhaunani Y

Chew Gum in School

- Kēhaunani

Recently a study took 108 students and divided them into into two groups. One group chewed gum and the other did not. The students who chewed gum during a test had a 3% increase in their test scores and better final grades than the kids who did not chew gum. Students should be able to chew gum in school. It has many health benefits, helps with attention because of its rhythmic chewing, and can help the overall health of teeth.

Who wants to chew gum in school? I know I do! And who wants to do better in school? I do! Well you're in luck because many studies such as these state that “gum chewing students had a 3% increase in test scores and better final grades” (Gajilan). Also, chewing gum can help your brain.

Chewing gum has many health benefits. It has positive effects like having an increase in glucose level, which makes students more alert. It can also help people increase their attention and can get mental tasks done 20% more efficiently. In fact, students do 26%-36% better during tests while chewing gum (McCarthy).

Chewing gum can also help with your attention because when you chew it in a rhythm your brain remembers the rhythm and does it in the same beat. Some people complain about the noise, but really, it helps the student. 

It can also help whiten teeth and make your breath fresher. This is because it creates saliva in your mouth. The more saliva in your mouth the the less bacteria is in it. Some gums are sweetened by something called xylitol and it boosts salivation and helps avoid the duplication of bacteria. “extra saliva produced by chewing may seem to neutralize the digestive acid inside the stomach, which had leaked into one’s esophagus. This activity also seemed to assist in forcing back the fluids into the stomach.” This offers relief from heartburn (Wrigley).

Some people may argue that chewing gum is really bad for your teeth and health. However it is the exact opposite. For example, chewing gum helps keep teeth white and fresh. As long as you brush your teeth you will be perfectly fine! Therefore, chewing gum can be healthy and beneficial, so go out and buy a pack of gum. If people donʻt chew gum they wonʻt get the extra health benefits. Eventually they might get some problems that could have been fixed if they had chewed more gum. Clearly kids should be allowed to chew gum during school.