Toughest Kids Host Event

Launch of the Gold Star Family Trust and Veterans Event

Toughest Kids hosted several events last weekend to announce the launch of their “Gold Star Family Trust”. What perfect timing to honor our veterans as Hartwell, GA and Cateechee Conference Center were hosting the Traveling Vietnam Wall last weekend as well. Between visitors to the wall, our Veteran’s Golf Tournament, two charity concerts with the…

Stats show 10K+ NC kids in foster care, numbers keep rising

Stats show 10K+ NC kids in Foster Care, Numbers Keep Rising

A growing number of children in North Carolina need a permanent home, according to new numbers released from the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina. “Our focus right now is to reverse those trends. We really believe that one child without a permanent family is one too many,” said Matt Anderson, senior director of advocacy and development for CHS, which is the largest private adoption agency in the state.

Children spend only half as much time playing outside as their parents did

Children spend only half as much time playing outside as their parents did

National Trust survey also found that nine out of 10 parents would prefer offspring to spend childhood connecting with nature. Children today spend half the time their parents did playing outside, a survey suggests. While more than four-fifths (83%) of parents questioned thought it was important their children learned to use technology, nine out of 10 would prefer them to spend their childhood outdoors, developing a connection with nature.

How Land Conservation Is Transforming Lives In Pittsburgh

Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature

They may prefer to stick to their screens, but here’s why getting outdoors matters. n the early 1980s, a Harvard University biologist named Edward O. Wilson proposed a theory called biophilia: that humans are instinctively drawn towards their natural surroundings. Many 21st century parents, however, would question this theory, as they watch their kids express a clear preference for sitting on a couch in front of a screen over playing outside.

Toughest Kids Experts explain mental state of military children

Experts explain mental state of military children

They are strong and they are resilient. They are adaptable. They are well-travelled and fiercely patriotic. They are bright, inquisitive and eager to help out, whether that is at home or in their communities. They have advantages many kids do not: parents with jobs and steady incomes, health care, safe housing, good education systems and access to early intervention programs.

Children who play outside more likely to protect nature as adults

Children who play outside more likely to protect nature as adults

Protecting the environment can be as easy as telling your kids to go outdoors and play, according to a new UBC study.Research by Catherine Broom, assist. prof. in the Faculty of Education at UBC Okanagan, shows that 87 percent of study respondents who played outside as children expressed a continued love of nature as young adults. Of that group, 84 per cent said taking care of the environment was a priority.