Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
to
to
Exclude
Only includes titles with the selected topics
to
In minutes
to
1-22 of 22
- "Why does your dad act so weird?" This may be innocent or asked in malice, but my son, Eric, will be confronted with the neon sign of my disability. Eric's dad has cerebral palsy. Yet, Eric will only see his dad who plays with him, holds him, and takes him on rides in my motorized wheelchair. As a screenwriter, my hope is Eric will be able to point to a future Disney character, superhero, or one of my films and answer, "My dad is just like that character you saw in a movie."
- Experts have called it "the world's greatest social science experiment." Never before has a generation of children grown up staring at so many electronic screens. According to a survey from the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation, each week, kids eight to 18 spend five hours online, six hours on their phone, eight hours playing videogames, 12 hours listening to music and 30 hours watching TV and movies. Teenagers swear that the technology they won't turn off is just harmless fun. What if they're wrong? Larry Rosen is a psychologist, professor, and author of the parenting book "Me Myspace and I." He says "Being in the virtual world, being in front of a screen all day is not sufficient for good teenage socialization. You need to have a combination of screen life, and a real life." He teaches parents, and Connect With Kids viewers, how to become "Authoritative Parents." These true stories are profiled in the TV special, Screen Addicts. Sabrina, Ruben, Daniel and Alinna are siblings ranging in age from six to 16. Together they send thousands of text messages, instant messages and emails each month, and spend countless hours on Myspace, playing video games and watching TV. Their parents say they're addicted, and want to get this technology use under control. Joshua, 19 was addicted to online pornography. It started when he was 12 years old. And at age 18, Daniel discovered online gambling. Within a few weeks he was thousands of dollars in debt. Connect with Kids programs feature real kids, true stories, experts and educators ... a way to help parents and kids start a conversation about the tough topics kids face every day.
- Today some children make dangerous choices: Surrounded by crime, they chose gangs, drugs and violence. Other kids feel lonely and isolated, especially in broken families, and end up filled with despair. And every year, thousands of teens get so tired of struggling in school they chose to drop out. Gangs, depression, dropping out - could all three have something in common? A single word that is both the cause and the solution? "Without hope, life is not worth living. You lose the essence of who you are. Why am I here? Do I belong here? Do I have value?" says Cali Cali Vallejo. He works for Project MPACT, Miami Partnerships in Action and Community Taskforce. It is a small, but growing, experimental program on the front lines of a war against hopelessness. "Because when you give them that hope, and when you give them that carrot for opportunity, they take it," he says. These true stories are profiled in the TV special, Children of Hope. George Kolonias, 22, grew up in a dangerous part of downtown Miami. At 12 he joined a gang, at 14 he was selling drugs, and by 17 it was guns. His life changed when he got involved with Project MPACT Alexandra Reyes, 18, is a child of divorce. She hasn't seen her father since she was 4, and her mom spent so many hours working to provide for the family, Alex says she felt abandoned by her mother as well. She has tried to kill herself more times than she can remember. Lora Goudey, 17, used to be an A and B student. But then she started falling farther and farther behind in class, and soon she thought it would be so hard to catch up - that she just gave up. Connect with Kids programs feature real kids, true stories, experts and educators ... a way to help parents and kids start a conversation about the tough topics kids face every day.
- We know that many teenagers are moody, unpredictable and filled with worry. But how can you tell if the tears will go away, or if they're a sign of something more? In the past year, almost one third of teens said they felt sad or hopeless for at least two weeks in a row. Eighty percent more teenage girls are hospitalized for depression today, compared to just ten years ago. According to a survey from the CDC, one in five teens will consider suicide, and one in ten will make a serious attempt. No matter why they slam the door and shout, experts say there are ways for parents to help teenagers who say "Leave Me Alone!"
- They're stubborn, impulsive and paranoid. They take huge risks and have trouble planning ahead. In someone thirty years old, this behavior would be considered pathological. But in a teenager, it's normal. "You know, once, once individuals get to be age 16, 17 they look pretty much like they will when they're adults. But their brains don't," says Dr. Elizabeth Sowell, a brain researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles. She says that new imaging technology is offering a never-before look inside the teenage brain, and that what we see is revealing a lot about why teenagers act the ways that they do. The new science is forcing researchers to rewrite the textbooks, and in the process, they're rewriting the parenting books, too. We've always known that launching a teenager into the adult world requires great patience, love and attention. But it also helps if parents UNDERSTAND. Watch ... "The Teenage Brain."
- It's a relatively new word in the vocabulary of America, the idea that we are raising a generation of kids who are spoiled, materialistic, and bored; kids who define success and themselves by possessions, especially brand-names; kids especially susceptible to advertising; kids who are often in debt by the time they leave college. According to one survey, 93 percent of teenage girls say shopping is their favorite pastime. "Rich kids, middle class kids, very poor kids ALL get conditioned to feel like they gotta have this stuff in order to be somebody," says John De Graaf, author of the book "Affluenza." Shopping fever is one symptom, but there is a cure. Watch, "Affluenza."
- A look inside the nations largest schools, showing the struggles, hopes and dreams of marginalized students and educators fighting to rise above a divisive culture war over race and identity playing out in classrooms across the US today.
- Liberty and justice for all ... of the people, by the people and for the people ... all men are created equal. These values are carved into the bedrock of our nation; we believe in them, and we teach them to our children. Men and women have fought and died to protect those words, and yet Americans are still divided by race. Prejudice and discrimination are still problems. "So on the one hand we live in this world where we take equality for granted, but then we see these, these huge inequalities in educational status, in economic status, in political status - and how do we make sense of that?" asks Pamela Perry, Ph.D. She is a sociologist and race researcher studying that very question at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "This creates, for young people especially, a conundrum - something that they're trying to figure out and make sense of," she says. Just over 50 years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled segregation unconstitutional. The dream was that kids of different races who studied and played sports and ate lunch together would no longer mistrust or be afraid of one another. Many people take for granted that diversity is a good thing, but Mitchell Chang, Ph.D. spends his time researching exactly how that may be true. According to a theory called Cognitive Dissonance, he says, children who experience diversity actually grow up to become better leaders, better citizens and achieve higher self-esteem. "When we test this," he says, "we find that students who are in diverse learning settings come to understand issues in more complex ways ...they become better thinkers." Seventeen-year-old Nicki is African-American. She baby sits for a Caucasian family because she wants their children to grow up not to be afraid of people who look different. Sarah and Jeff Streiff are Caucasian, and they both grew up in segregated neighborhoods. But now they've chosen to raise their children in a neighborhood that is nearly all African-American. At Artesia High school there have been small race riots in three of the last four years. But this year, two girls, Marisol and Harmony - one Mexican and one Caucasian - are crossing a line that few there have ever crossed before. What have these kids learned from diversity? What can every family gain? See the hardship and promise of diversity, watch, "Primary Colors."
- Sex is everywhere: TV, billboards, magazines, music videos, even textbooks and the Internet. But how much do teenagers really know? Four million teens contract a sexually transmitted disease each year; nearly a third of sexually active teenage girls have already been pregnant at least once; two-thirds of teenagers say their parents have never talked to them about where to get birth control. Gail Elizabeth Wyatt is a sex researcher author of the book "No More Clueless Sex." She says, "We need to grow up and be more responsible as adults, as Americans, who have so much information at hand, and yet we're so afraid of sex that we won't even teach our own children." When, where and HOW should parents talk with their kids about sex. Watch ... "Talking About Sex."
- When faced with an obstacle or a challenge in life, some kids keep going, and others give up. Those who keep going are called "resilient." They are ready to try new things, to experience failure, and then to brush off and try again. Experts say resilient kids have learned three things that others have not, each beginning with the letter P: "If you come to believe that the bad things in your life are Permanent, Pervasive and Personal, really, whatever age you are, it's going to render you susceptible to a lot of different psychological problems. Depression, despair, hopelessness," says Dr. Mark Katz, a clinical psychologist and author. Teach kids that problems are NOT permanent, pervasive and personal. Watch, "Against All Odds."
- The National Institutes of Health says that 16 percent of kids in middle school and junior high - one of every six children - are victims of bullying each year. When does it start? Social scientists say that aggression is an inborn trait; we're ALL baby bullies. According to new research from Wichita State University in Kansas, kindergarten students verbally and physically harass each other once every three to six minutes. Generations ago, aggression may have been a survival skill, but today, "If that pattern is not stopped, then that person is highly likely to become a criminal," says Jeff Sprague, Ph.D. He is co-director of the Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior at the University of Oregon. "So we do very much see the early roots of these problems in very young children," he says. For victims, the future is also bleak. The American Medical Association says they suffer more depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide later in life. And, according to the U.S. Secret Service, bully-victims looking for revenge carry out two-thirds of school shootings. Whether your child is a bully, a victim or even a bystander, watch "Baby Bullies," to learn the dangers of this problem, and some creative solutions for it.
- Scientists and physicians are calling obesity among America's youth an epidemic. In fact, some medical practitioners are predicting for the first time in American history that this generation of young people will have a shorter lifespan than their parents, all because of expected health problems later in life related to weight. Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, strokes, cancer - what can we do? CWK Network presents 10 innovative tips to solve the epidemic. Each one comes from new and creative ideas proven to work in small communities across the United States. Watch, "The Biggest Generation."
- Every day in America, about four million children are NOT in school. This program explores the various reasons kids skip - feeling alienated, bullied or excluded; pressure to support their families financially or emotionally. What they must not realize is that their future success, salary, self-esteem and career choices will all depend on "The First Degree" ... that diploma from high school.
- Each year in America more than half a million teenagers drop out of high school. One point five million run away from home. Two million are diagnosed with depression. And one million kids attempt suicide. Experts say, all of these behaviors that are red flags in high schools across America, that are so easy to spot because they are hitting us over the head, in reality, most of them started a long time ago. Robert J. Aloia is the Superintendent of Bergen County Technical Schools and Special Services. He says: "Had we done a better job of early intervention in pre-K, first grade, second grade, had we identified the warning signs back then, obviously I would be dealing with a lot less of it at the high school level." These true stories are profiled in the TV special, "Warning Signs." Bianca and Naomi Mendez are sisters, ages five and four respectively. Last year, at about the same time, they both started throwing temper tantrums much more often than before. It wasn't until a counselor in a unique program at the girls' school helped out, that the problems were finally understood and addressed. Kyle Copija was 16 when he tragically decided to take his own life. Were their warning signs? In retrospect, his mother says there were, but she missed them. Sixteen-year-old K.C. Holt has been picked on and teased ever since she was seven. She became sad, angry and depressed. But then a new program at her high school organized a support group of students to give her a hand, and this program has not cost the school a cent. Connect with Kids programs feature real kids, true stories, experts and educators; a way to help parents and kids start a conversation about the tough topics kids face every day.
- Every day in America, about four million children are NOT in school. This program explores the various reasons kids skip - feeling alienated, bullied or excluded; pressure to support their families financially or emotionally. Experts say that parents need to communicate to their kids, from the day they take their first step to the day they walk across the stage: we expect graduation.
- Bigger, stronger, higher, faster. High school sports have never been so competitive. Many kids say that if they want to make the team and get playing time they HAVE to use some kind of sports supplement. But the choices are endless, and the advertisements don't indicate possible side effects or dangers. Dr. Christine Haller is a medical toxicologist with a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to study sports supplements. "Some of them have contaminants in them, sometimes there's heavy metals; pharmaceutical products have been detected," she says. "People probably don't understand that [supplements] haven't been standardized for testing or purity, or even for the absence of bacteria." Whether they're taking steroids, creatine, diet pills or protein shakes, it seems many high school athletes are risking their health to get strong and lean ... what they call 'ripped.' But the side effects are ripping many families apart.
- If you were stranded on a desert island without food, you'd only last a few weeks. Without water, you'd only last a few days. But how long would you last without air? After just a few seconds you'd be scared. Kids with asthma live with that fear EVERY DAY. During an attack, every breath they take feels like inhaling through a pillow ... and they never know when the next one will come. That fear affects the everyday life of an asthmatic child at every turn, and in every way you can imagine. But doctors say it doesn't have to. With careful study, treatment, and management, even the most severe cases of asthma CAN be brought under control. It's the news that hundreds of thousands of parents have been waiting to hear.
- Seventy-five percent of all 12th graders have tried alcohol. Thirty percent say they've been drunk in the past month. And because of alcohol, nearly 150,000 teenagers end up in the emergency room each year. Experts say we have an epidemic of teen drinking in America, one that far-and-away overshadows the problems of all illegal drugs combined. Some kids are giving themselves brain damage which could be permanent, and others are falling victim to the accidents, murders, rapes and suicides that are so often associated with alcohol. The danger is clear, and yet some argue that parents are not yet taking the most obvious, necessary steps to halt teen drinking. Watch ... "On the Rocks: The Epidemic of Teen Drinking."
- Early love represents all of what's exciting and magical about the teenage years, but it's also the source of some of the biggest dangers. Older boys pressure young girls to have sex, sometimes causing disease, pregnancy and depression; boys pressure other boys by linking conquest to popularity; and many teen romances end with dating violence. What prepares some kids to navigate this minefield, while others make mistakes? There's a dark side to early love, and there are ways to protect your children. "First Comes Love" ... but what will come next?
- More than 30 years after the start of America's war on drugs, drugs are still readily available, and many teenagers are still curious about them. Curiosity leads to experimentation, but is experimentation okay? New research on that question proves that the answer is no. Experts say that for some kids, a single exposure to a single drug will be enough to change the adolescent brain forever. Frances Leslie is a developmental pharmacologist at the University of California, Irvine: "The parts of the brain that are actually in charge of stopping us seeking pleasure whenever we feel like it, our higher centers, our executive control centers that stop those impulsive urges - they may be stopped by early drug exposure." According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 46 percent of kids try marijuana by the twelfth grade. Fifty-four percent try cigarettes. And 77 million try alcohol. Experts call these "gateway drugs" because nearly every hardcore drug addict starts out by using these drugs first. But, experts say that if kids stay off these drugs until their mid-twenties, there's almost no chance they'll ever start. Watch "Gateway" to find out what parents can do.
- The war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, the attacks of September 11th ... the list of what can frighten a child is now longer than it used to be. It's not just an imaginary monster hiding in the closet or under the bed. Reality is now scary; American soldiers are in combat. At home, American civilians have become targets. And there are new words in our children's vocabulary: "weapons of mass destruction," "Al Quaida," "anthrax," "Taliban," "suicide bombers," "ground zero;" it is the vocabulary of terror and war and death. Many of our kids are anxious and fearful. How do we explain war and terrorism to them, how do we answer their questions and fears? And how do we talk to a 6 year old differently than a child 16 years old?