Tag: child

New report reveals the growing mental health crisis and global knowledge gaps on the impact of technology use for children

The new child and youth mental health report sheds light on the scale of our global knowledge gaps on the correlation between childhood technology use and childhood mental health impacts.

Over the past decade, mental health conditions in children and adolescents have seen a significant  rise across all countries and incomes. The World Health Organization, estimates one in seven 10-19 year olds worldwide experience a mental disorder, and that a third of conditions emerge by age 14.

“It’s astonishing that we’re not doing more to understand this issue,” says Marija Manojlovic, Executive Director of Safe Online, who released the new findings at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.

“We know that children’s technology use is increasing, and we’re past the point of no return. Technology is embedded into almost everything we do. But we don’t really know what the long-term impacts are for children and adolescents. Most research on the topic is speculative.

“Most shockingly – there are huge gaps in research on the impact for under-5s when we know children as young as 2 are using phones and tablets. At a time when governments, like the UK, are developing screentime guidelines for pre-schoolers and parents are seeking guidance on technology use – we must have better evidence to help navigate these critical issues.

“We know that mental health conditions for under-18s have been rising for a decade but we don’t have the longitudinal research to understand the relationship with digital technologies in depth. This is a particular area of interest for me,” says Marija Manojlovic.

The Ecosystem Landscape Child & Adolescent Mental Health and Digital Technology report can be found here: https://safeonline.global/weave-wellbeing/

Marija has a strong track record of raising funds for research and developing tools to help prevent thorny issues like these. As Executive Director, she has led Safe Online to raise and deploy over US$100m over the past 10 years for research and tools to prevent online child sexual abuse and exploitation, and she’s on track to do it again, this time with child mental health in mind.

Safe Online is launching Weave Wellbeing, a pioneering fund to mobilize the scale of financing needed to tackle this urgent issue. Marija has already secured US$2m seed funding from Iconiq Impact.

ISPCC announces global project to prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse

The project, spearheaded by Greek non-profit child welfare organisation The Smile of the Child, will be co-created by children and young people to ensure their voices are heard ISPCC is honoured to announce its participation in a worldwide project designed to transform how we prevent and respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Safe Online, a global fund dedicated to eradicating online child sexual exploitation and abuse, is funding the project called “Sandboxing and Standardizing Child Online Redress”.

The COR Sandbox project will establish a first-of-its-kind mechanism to advance child online safety through collaboration across sectors, borders and generations.

The project is led by The Smile of the Child, Greece’s premier child welfare organisation and ISPCC is a partner alongside The Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University, Child Helpline International and the Centre for Digital Policy at University College Dublin.

Sandboxes bring together industry, regulators and customers in a safe space to test innovative products and services without incurring regulatory sanctions and they are mainly used in the finance sector to test new services. The EU is increasingly encouraging the use of sandboxes in the field of high technology and artificial intelligence.

Through the participation of youth, platforms, regulators and online safety experts, this first regulatory sandbox for child digital wellbeing will provide for consistent, systemic care and redress for children from online harm, based on their rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Getting reporting and redress right means that we can keep track of harms and be able to identify systemic risk. Co-designing the reporting and redress process with young people as equitable participants can help us understand what they expect from the reporting process and what remedies are fair for them putting Article 12 of the UNCRC into action.

The project also benefits from the guidance of renowned digital safety experts, including Project Lead and Scientific Coordinator Ioanna Noula, PhD, an international expert on tech policy and children’s rights; pioneering online safety and youth rights advocate Anne Collier; youth rights and participation expert Amanda Third, PhD, of the Young and Resilient Research Centre; international innovation management consultant Nicky Hickman; IT innovation and startup founder Jez Goldstone; and leading child online wellbeing scholar Tijana Milosevic, PhD.

ISPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs Fiona Jennings said: “This project is a wonderful example of what we can achieve when we collaborate and listen to children and young people. Having robust online reporting mechanisms in place is a key policy objective for ISPCC and this project will go a long way towards making the online world safer for children and young people to participate in.”

Project lead Ioanna Noula said: “ISPCC’s contribution to a project, which seeks to build coherence around the issue of online redress, will be a catalyst for real and substantial change in the area of online reporting. Helplines play a key role in flagging illegal and/or harmful content. As the experts in listening and responding to children, ISPCC can provide insight from an Irish context to help spearheading the implementation of the Digital Services Act and the wellbeing of children online.”

CBSE Udaan Scheme Vs. Traditional Investment Plan: What to Choose

When it comes to planning your daughter’s future, it becomes important to decide between educational schemes & traditional investment plans. The CBSE Udaan Scheme for girls & traditional investment plans such as PPF, fixed deposits, insurance plans for a child, etc., though they have a common objective, work differently. 

The central government or state government has introduced some schemes for the better empowerment of the girl child. CBSE Udaan Scheme was commenced by the Central Board of Secondary Education, i.e. CBSE, together with the Ministry of Human Resource & Development, i.e. MHRD, of the Government of India. 

The main aim of an investment plan is to allow you to increase your wealth over a period of time & help you achieve long-term financial goals, like planning retirement, purchasing a house, ensuring children’s higher education, etc. Let us know which is the Best Investment Plan for the Girl Child through this article.

Features of CBSE Udaan Scheme

Provided are the features of the CBSE Udaan Scheme:

 

  • This plan chooses a large number of girls to provide them with free-of-cost assistance, like study material, coaching, etc. This is to help them prepare for engineering entrance exams.
  • This plan offers study material online to female students, which will help them prepare.
  • This online portal also provides multiple tutorial videos & study materials.
  • This scheme offers many virtual classes at around 60 locations in major cities in India.
  • This scheme also provides girl students with tablets or financial support to buy one.
  • Some of the girl students may also get the opportunity to attend an orientation programme to teach them how to use technology.
  • Also, get multiple assignments that will offer constructive feedback to them.
  • This plan ensures that corrective measures are being taken to rectify their earning process.
  • The deserving girl students are then explained the benefits of mentoring & peer learning.  
  • In case you have any questions or need clarification, the student helpline facility is also available. Also, parents can track their child’s growth in terms of education using these support services.
  • Feedback & suggestions would be provided to parents to track the progress of their children on a continuous basis.
  • This plan also helps female students with the college application process.
  • The girl students who have acquired above 75% in Udaan classes & have been awarded seats in NIIT, IIT, or any other Central-funded institutions are eligible to get financial aid.

Traditional Investment Plans Vs. CBSE Udaan Scheme

 

Basis of difference Traditional Investment Plans CBSE Udaan Scheme
Objective It is meant for long-term financial planning, i.e. to meet education or any other objectives. It is meant to meet the educational & academic objectives. 
Eligibility It is meant for all children, depending on the type of plan chosen. It is meant for female students only studying in standard 11 & 12th, depending on their merit & income.
Financial Benefits Accumulation of wealth over a period of time Free supply of resources along with academic support
Tenure Flexible, i.e. 1 to 15 above age group Short term
Return Financial growth along with interest Academic support in non-monetary form
Risk Low to Moderate None

 

Different Investment Options in India

Let us go through the different investment plans available for children:

  • Term Plan

Term insurance plans offer financial security to the family members of the insured in your absence for a specified duration, as you have chosen. It provides vast coverage at a low premium, which can further be enhanced at a minimal cost. 

  • Public Provident Fund

This is a long-term savings plan designed by the Indian government that helps achieve financial objectives. It provides assured returns with a low-risk investment strategy. This plan can be opted for by those who want to invest an amount between INR 500 & INR 1.5 per annum. Also, the interest is exempt from taxes under section 80C of the Income Tax Act of 1961.

  • Unit Linked Insurance Plans

This Investment Plan is a combination of both insurance & investment in a single plan. This means a part of the premium is assigned towards the life coverage, & the leftover premium can be invested in the selected funds, i.e. equity, debt, etc. This allocation can be changed as per the latest market conditions & trends or your investment objectives. 

  • Mutual Funds

Under this plan, you can invest in the funds that suit your financial objectives. This means, as we know, that equities are market-linked & provide better returns, & on the other hand &, debts reap a fixed income with low risk. Hybrid funds offer a balance between the two. 

  • Endowment Plan

These plans are meant to provide dual benefits, i.e. insurance & savings, which lets you save & provide financial security to the family members with the help of insurance. With these plans, you get guaranteed returns & customisable premium options available. 

  • Post Office Savings Scheme

It offers many deposit options to low-risk investors, which helps to build a financial corpus to achieve financial goals in case of emergencies. These are tax-saving investments, eligible to get a deduction in income tax, up to INR 1.5 lakhs u/s 80C. 

  • Retirement Plan

They are primarily of two types:

  • Savings Plan

Under this plan, save the amount regularly & get a massive amount at the time of your retirement. Invest the amount during the period when you earn & get regular income post-retirement. 

  • Annuity Plan

Here, you are required to invest in a lump sum to get a fixed, regular income immediately or at a later stage. The income received can be used to maintain the present lifestyle or to fulfil your post-retirement dreams.

  • National Pension Scheme

Under this plan, a part of your funds is allocated to equities, which can be used at the time of retirement to provide social security.

  • Fixed Deposit

 

Here, you are required to deposit a fixed amount for a pre-determined tenure in a bank or NBFC to get the pre-determined amount at maturity. The investors here receive the principal amount along with the compound interest. They are considered to be low-risk investments with guaranteed returns.

Conclusion

If your objective is to provide academic support to your daughter, opt for the CBSE Udaan Scheme, as it offers free study material & academic mentorship. On the other hand &, if you want to build a strong financial support for your children along with flexible & long-term benefits, traditional investment plans can be opted for.

Amazon Dublin Supports Local Bereavement Charity

A charity supporting families affected by stillbirth has received a €1,000 donation from the team at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dublin.

Féileacáin was formed by a group of bereaved parents to offer support to families affected by stillbirth or neonatal loss. The charity provides hospitals in Ireland with a ‘Gifts of Remembrance’ service which includes memory boxes, clay imprints, sibling support and more.

The donation from Amazon will be used to provide memory boxes to Maternity and Children’s Hospitals that are then gifted to parents after the loss of their baby.

Darragh Kelly, General Manager at Amazon in Dublin, said:

“Experiencing the loss of a child will never be an easy journey but with the right support and guidance, families have a safe space to grieve. Féileacáin is run by an amazing team of staff and volunteers who give everything to support families in the community. We hope that this donation can help support the important work they do across Ireland.”

Joe Monahan, an employee from Amazon in Dublin who nominated the charity for support, said:

“Féileacáin is a charity very close to my heart. The endless support the charity’s volunteers provide is outstanding and can be such a blessing for people experiencing the loss of a child. I’m pleased Amazon is showing their appreciation with this donation.”

Nina Doyle, from Féileacáin, added:

“Féileacáin relies on the support of the community to function, and without donations like this, we couldn’t provide our vital services to individuals and families who need it. Thank you, Darragh and everyone at Amazon in Dublin, for believing in what we do.”

The donation to Féileacáin was made as part of Amazon’s programme to support the communities in and around its operating locations in Ireland.

Since opening its doors one year ago, the Dublin fulfilment centre has supported many community organisations locally, with donations totalling €46,000. Charities supported by the team at the fulfilment centre include Cliona’s Foundation, Jigsaw and LauraLynn Children’s Hospice.

The Amazon fulfilment centre in Dublin, the first of its kind in Ireland, opened in August 2022 providing more than 500 new permanent jobs. The 630,000 square foot centre at Baldonnell Business Park in Dublin holds millions of items that are picked, packed and shipped to customers across Ireland and the rest of Europe.

Amazon provides competitive pay, excellent benefits and a modern, safe and engaging work environment for its employees. Amazon pays all its employees in Dublin, whether they are full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal, at least €14.25 per hour employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package including include private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection and an employee discount as well as a company pension plan.

How Does Social Media Play a Part in Divorce?

In the digital age, the influence of social media on various aspects of our lives cannot be ignored. It has revolutionised the way we communicate, share information, and stay connected with friends and family. However, the widespread use of social media has also brought unforeseen challenges, particularly in the realm of personal relationships and family dynamics. From flirting on Facebook or gaining traction on Twitter, social media has got its tentacles into almost every aspect of our lives, including our romantic relationships.

This article aims to explore how social media can contribute to the breakdown of marriages, leading to potential grounds for divorce in Northern Ireland.

How can Social Media Play a Part in Divorce?

There are a few ways that social media can have a role in a divorce and we’re going to explore some of these in this section. 

Instigating the Breakdown of a Relationship

Social media is all about connecting people but, in some cases, friending someone can lead to the blurring of the line between friendship and something more. Shockingly, figures show that social media has a hand in one in seven divorces and this is usually down to one spouse believing that the other is ‘cheating’ with somebody online. Often this will lead to that spouse turning detective and scrutinising their wife or husband’s social media presence for evidence which, in turn, can lead to the breakdown of the relationship. 

Quality Time

There doesn’t necessarily need to be infidelity involved for social media to impact on a marriage or relationship. 51% of mobile phone users say that quality time with their partner is often interrupted by social media use and many say that they have regular arguments with their partner over excessive social media use when they’re together. 

During and After the Divorce

As well as being a factor in a divorce happening in the first place, social media can also have a negative impact during and after the divorce proceedings and we’ll take a look at how in this section. 

Emotional Impact 

For many people, a divorce is a stressful time and this can be exacerbated by seeing your soon-to-be ex flaunting a new relationship on social media. A lot of people continue to check out their ex’s social media even though they know that no good can come of it and, similarly, some will choose to deliberately ‘wind up’ their ex by showing off a new partner. 

Unfortunately, even the most innocent of interactions can be misinterpreted on social media and so it’s always best to keep any intimate or romantic pictures close to your chest until the ink is dry on your divorce. 

Child Care and Custody

It’s only natural to want to share pictures of your kids on social media but this can cause problems if your ex is watching your every move. In some cases, a spouse will try to use the most minute detail of a social media post to strengthen their bid for child custody. This can be amplified further if a new partner is, quite literally, in the picture. 

Being Caught Out

It’s extremely common for money to play a huge part in divorce proceedings, and many people don’t realise that their social media presence can leave them out of pocket. For example, one partner is claiming that they need financial help in order to be able to pay the rent and bills and is then spotted on Facebook showing off a new car or extravagant holiday. In 2023, social media is routinely used to ‘catch people out’ and that includes a number of factors relating to separation and divorce. 

Publishing Private Information

For a lot of people, social media offers an opportunity to have a little vent and, while this is fine when you’ve suffered poor customer service or fallen victim to the weather, it can be held against you during a divorce. Unfortunately, we often fail to use the same filters on social media that we would in real life and sharing private information about your divorce or your former partner can land you in hot water and potentially damage your case during a divorce. 

Pause Before Posting

Social media can be an extremely useful tool and a great way of staying connected with friends and family even if you live miles apart. However, when going through a divorce, you should always proceed with caution. We have a tendency to want to give the illusion of living our best lives on our Facebook and Instagram but this can very much work against you during a divorce. 

Where possible, try to take a social media break until your divorce is finalised. If this isn’t possible, try to be mindful of what you’re posting and how those posts might be interpreted by your former partner or a divorce court. While this may be frustrating, it’s worth remembering that it’s only for a few months after which you’ll be starting your brand-new life – both on and offline.

Kidovo secures seed round for kids interactive learning app

The next generation of children are growing up with digital devices all around them. As a result, they’re spending increasing amounts of time on these devices in passive consumption of content which is leading to a range of development issues. In addressing this pressing concern, fun learning platform Kidovo is today launching with a $1.2 million seed funding round to provide every child (2-8 years old) with personalised interactive learning.

The funding round saw participation from Venture Highway, Amplify PCC, Good Capital, & prominent angels including Ashish Singhal from Coinswitch among others. Using interactivity, Kidovo is aiming to turn passive consumption into active participation from kids, which helps avoid many of the problems prevalent today with kids’ screen time.

Kidovo was founded by Sameer Goyal, ex Amazon & AWS engineer, and Rahul Bhatnagar, ex Uber, Cubical Labs, Amazon. They met while beginning their careers at Amazon over a decade ago. Together, they have a combined experience of over 20 years in the tech industry.

“When Rahul reached out to me, about building an interactive learning platform for kids, I was sure something like this must exist. But I was surprised to see very few options for such content. Further, we both realised the massive size of this problem. This affects most of the kids on the entire planet. We started researching the space and found that there is a massive opportunity to build better learning experiences for kids using the latest technology.” said Sameer Goyal, co-founder of Kidovo.

“We’ve been testing the early versions of the product with a small group of about 60 families as part of our co-builder program since December 2022. While we have been constantly improving the product based on feedback from that program, the platform has already grown to serve 4000 registered families. Further, as a testament to our team’s commitment to improving kids’ learning experience and safety, we have already received kidSAFE COPPA+ certification as well as a 5 star certification from educational app store in just 6 months since our platform accepted its first external user. We are now confident in serving more users on our platform and have begun rolling out our paid subscription plans.”

Recent studies have suggested that kids spend about an hour everyday on Youtube. With shortage of workers in the childcare industry, increasingly these devices are the child’s nanny (Source). Further, since generation alpha is the first generation to grow up around digital devices, parents are increasingly finding it difficult to limit screen time without access to other sources of more meaningful & productive entertainment for children.

The American academy of Pediatrics recommends for children 2 to 5 years of age to limit use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programming, while parents co-view & help children understand the content and help them apply what they learn (Source). Kidovo is designed to provide children with a digital playmate, who would fulfil the above responsibilities when a parent is unavailable to do so.

“We found that existing interactive solutions were too focussed on academic outcomes & hence were unable to engage the child over a long period of time. Further, they lacked the variety of content that would support children as they explore different areas of interest. Therefore, we decided to work together with the best kids content creators and empower them with interactive tools to make more engaging content.” said Rahul Bhatnagar, co-founder of Kidovo.

Since children are spending increasing amounts of time on digital devices, the time they spend practising speaking has gone down leading to speech delay problems. The team has devised an innovative approach to get kids to speak while learning on their platform. One of the forms of interactivity on the platform is where kids are asked questions from the content and they need to speak to answer and get real time feedback almost as if there’s a real life tutor with them. The owl mascot, Ovo, also involves kids in casual conversation to help them build confidence to express themselves.

Kidovo not only helps children with healthier screen time options, but also helps parents participate in their children’s learning journeys. The platform offers parents key moments they might have missed from their kids’ activity on the platform, they can hear their kids speak, see what they drew. Further, parents are offered tips on activities & discussions that they can engage in with their kids based on their activity on the platform.

Kidovo plans to use this investment to move closer to their vision of empowering every child worldwide to reach their full potential through personalised, immersive, and engaging experiences that make learning fun and accessible.

Stocktaking.ie and DigiTally Launch Fundraiser for Childhood Cancer Charity with Marathon and Steps Challenge

Ireland’s leading stocktaking service Stocktaking.ie, supported by food service software DigiTally, has launched its 2023 fundraiser to support the Cancer Fund for Children, an all-Ireland charity that provides emotional support to children diagnosed with cancer and their families. The fundraiser officially kicked off on Tuesday 18 April with a coffee morning, while on Sunday 23 April, CEO Patrick McDermott ran the London City Marathon in aid of Daisy Lodge Mayo, a short break centre for families.

Last year, Patrick also successfully ran the Chicago City Marathon, raising funds for Daisy Lodge Mayo. This year, the Stocktaking.ie team will support him with their own Steps Challenge to the equivalent of 55 marathons. The steps challenge also commenced on 18 April and will end on 25 May.

Daisy Lodge, in Newcastle Co. Down, is a nurturing and restorative space that provides families with a chance to connect during a difficult time. The charity urgently needs to build a second centre in Mayo, and the funds raised by Stocktaking.ie and DigiTally will contribute to this effort.

In 2022, Stocktaking.ie raised over €4,000 for the Cancer Fund for Children through a local table quiz and the Chicago City Marathon, with an additional €1,300 raised from the coffee morning. The fundraiser will now continue with former Irish rugby captain Rory Best’s walk from Dublin to Cong, which Patrick will assist with, to raise additional awareness for the cause.

Commenting on the fundraiser Patrick said: “We are proud to launch this effort to support the Cancer Fund for Children and contribute to the building of a second Daisy Lodge in Mayo. We hope to raise as much awareness and funds as possible to support families affected by childhood cancer.”

For more information visit www.stocktaking.ie