The CAMROSE BOOSTER, November 23, 2021 – Page 22
Charity Checkstop rolling out Continued from page 21
“Events like the Charity Checkstop remind us that no matter what, kindness and connection to each other will always prevail. Thank you, Camrose and area, for always remembering your neighbours and helping the shelter to create a community where all people are free from violence and abuse,” said Camrose Women’s Shelter
executive director NoraLee Rear. The Charity Checkstop will be following guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and ask everyone to remain in their vehicles and kindly wear a mask. One of the best gifts we can give this season is the gift of helping others. Organizations such as Camrose and District Victim Services, The Open Door and Camrose Wom-
en’s Shelter, along with many others, continue to provide support, services, programs and basic needs to those who are vulnerable and in great need in our communities. Take a little side trip towards the f lashing lights to make a donation and thank the members of our police services for volunteering year after year to make the lives of others better.
Get Decating, Camrose!
Last year’s Christmas Light-up winner
Who will win the 2021 CENTRAL AGENCIES REALTY INC.
Christmas
?
Light-up Contest
Phone 780.672.3142 or email ads@camrosebooster.com to tell us the address of any home you believe will provide joy for others. The Camrose Booster will publish a list of addresses of decorated homes which are must sees.
Judging by a team with a keen eye for perfection On Wednesday, December 15, a panel of judges will travel to the address of every home which has been recommended to us by The Camrose Booster readers. The judges will choose the home they believe to be most appropriately decorated. • The Camrose Booster will pay $100 towards your December power bill if your home is judged to be the best. • Central Agencies Realty Inc. will donate $200 towards the local charity of your choice if your decorated dwelling is judged as tops! NOTE: The 2020 winning home is not eligible for judging in the 2021 contest.
CENTRAL AGENCIES REALTY INC.
Email ads@camrosebooster.com Phone 780.672.3142
Being screenwise
This is a conversation I have from time to time with my 10-year-old son: Son: “Mom, can I have a phone?” Me: “No.” Son: “Can I have one when I’m a teenager?” Me: “What will you do with a phone?” Son: (Pause) “I don’t know. Maybe by then I will have figured it out.” The other day, he asked about why he can’t have a phone as half of the kids in his class have one. I told him that just because someone had a bad idea (children having phones) and a bunch of other people jumped on board, it doesn’t make it a good idea. The use of cell phones has changed tremendously in the past 20 years and, to be honest, it scares me. I liked phones better when their main function was making a phone call if you got a flat tire or had an emergency while driving. My 12-year-old daughter is one of the few students in her class who doesn’t have her own cell phone. My husband and I have coached a soccer team, where a player scored his first goal ever and looked up with a big grin on his face at his dad…who was staring intently at his phone and completely missed it. Phones are being used for calls, texting, checking WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, paying bills, checking the weather and video calls. We no longer need to be present whatsoever. We are using our phones to avoid having to make small talk and actually get to know another person when we are in mildly awkward social situations. When my kids were little and we were waiting at the doctor’s office, I would bring books along to read to them. It took a while to realize that my doctor commented on this every time, because everyone else was handing their child a tablet or similar device and then looking at their own phone in silence, not interacting with each other at all. Once my children are 16 and driving on their own, I will consider phones for them. Until then, I honestly think it is just a distraction and it gets in the way of meaningful relationships with people. Having a phone is stressful. I know it is because of the relief I feel when we are on holidays and I don’t need to listen to the different noises it makes or need to respond to them. Why put that stress on our children? In the fall edition of the magazine Focus on the Family, an article by Jonathan McKee says it is as simple as this: “Kids want screens. And when they get screens, they want social media because that’s where you connect with people. And once you get on social media, the comparison game begins. Researchers are coming to a consensus: Today’s young people are experiencing an unprecedented increase of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts… pre-COVID, mind you.” The article states that, “a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revealed suicide rates among Americans ages 10 to 24 increased by 56 per cent between 2007 and 2017. For some perspective, the iPhone came out in 2007.” In that time period, the rate of suicides nearly tripled for kids ages 10 to 14. The more time teens spend on social media, the more their mental health and happiness suffer, especially among girls. What would happen if groups of parents united and agreed to wait until high school or a certain age before getting their kids smartphones? The argument “all of my friends have them” would be defunct. The article suggests keeping all devices out of kids’ bedrooms, collecting them every night an hour before bedtime. What if we took this a step further and didn’t buy them phones until they are at least 16? I think that Alexander Graham Bell, credited with inventing and patenting the first telephone, would agree. While reading about him, I discovered that both his mother and wife were deaf, which profoundly influenced his work. His research on hearing and speech led him to experiment with hearing devices, which eventually resulted in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in March 1876. However, he considered his invention to be an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study!
