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Children’s Mental Health Week in Canada

May 5, 2013 / Common Cents Mom / 10 comments

Today starts Children’s Mental Health Week in Canada. Last year I wrote about the Canadian statics and the wait times. I even made an infographic to try and raise awareness. The Canadian statics scare me and to be honest they should scare any Canadian parent.

How does it impact youth?

It is estimated that 10-20% of Canadian youth are affected by a mental illness or disorder – the single most disabling group of disorders worldwide.
Today, approximately 5% of male youth and 12% of female youth, age 12 to 19, have experienced a major depressive episode.
The total number of 12-19 year olds in Canada at risk for developing depression is a staggering 3.2 million.
Once depression is recognized, help can make a difference for 80% of people who are affected, allowing them to get back to their regular activities.
Mental illness is increasingly threatening the lives of our children; with Canada’s youth suicide rate the third highest in the industrialized world.
Suicide is among the leading causes of death in 15-24 year old Canadians, second only to accidents; 4,000 people die prematurely each year by suicide.
Schizophrenia is youth’s greatest disabler as it strikes most often in the 16 to 30 year age group, affecting an estimated one person in 100.
Surpassed only by injuries, mental disorders in youth are ranked as the second highest hospital care expenditure in Canada.
In Canada, only 1 out of 5 children who need mental health services receives them.

If you read my blog, you know my daughter had to wait 2 months to get a much needed mental health bed. She has still been able to access supports in the community where wait times average over a year.

I am thankful in my daughter’s case I was able to go a private route to ensure care and support was received but many Canadian children never see this.

Wait times for children needing mental health care have not met mandated guidelines for years and no one has made it a priority.

Should a child who is in a mental health crisis have to wait for a hospital bed?

Should a child have to wait over a year for community mental health supports that are deemed needed for stable mental health? Wait lists for Section 23 school spots in Toronto average 1 school year, and wait lists for programs that offer community supports for teens average over 1 year.

Should a child not be able to attend school for months at a time because of mental health issues? and receive no school support.

There is much to be done. With both provincial and federal elections looming lets make the mental health of our kids an issue. If you think it is important let your elected officials know.

Category: Opinion, Uncategorized /

Thinking of Rehtaeh Parsons and Bullying

April 10, 2013 / Common Cents Mom / 9 comments

my own bullied daughter

Every time I hear of another attack on a young teen I am taken back personally to a time long ago when I was raped as a preteen, back then every thing was hid in the closet, I first wrote about my own rape as I shared important conversations to have for 5 Minutes for Mom those conversations are still so important to have with you daughters.

But as a parent this morning I am grieving along side Rehtaeh’s mom after Rehtaeh Parsons, a young woman at 15 was gang raped, photographed and then bullied for over a year at school and after school.

I first wrote about bullying in Nova Scotia 4 years ago when writing about the hell my then 11 year old daughter was living through and not a principal, trustee or police officer did anything to help my daughter. In fact at 11 my daughter was saying she would rather be dead then at school. Bullying has been a real issue in Nova Scotia for a very long time. Things are quickly written off as kids will be kids, rough housing and the like. It has been that way for a very long time and many children have been lost. Take a look at the teen suicide rates in Nova Scotia. In fact in the last few years several teen suicides in the province can be directly linked to bullying.

For me and my daughter it came to a head 4 years ago, one May evening with me being assaulted by one of the parents of the girls who had bullied my daughter. I quickly pressed charges and it was that night I knew we would be moving. I quit a job that I loved and brought my teen back to Toronto.

I have been thinking there needs to be justice for this young woman, and with that said there also needs to be an overhaul of the policies and procedures at the schools when it comes to bullying. We need to care about what is going on each day at school. Inquires are fine and dandy but when action is not taken after seeing the results, then we need to hold those in government responsible for the needed change.

Today my prayers are with the family and my hope is maybe finally something can change there.

What needs to change?

1. First justice for Rehtaeh- How can a photograph that was highly circulated of a teen being raped not lead to charges?

2. Let’s look at the laws that may of failed here.

3. Let’s look at the policies, procedures and the lack of supports for children in Nova Scotia and across Canada that are bullied. Inquiries have been done, but implementing change is taking to long. What can we do better? I mean we can wear all the pink we want but the very next day kids are bullied, how do we really step up and protect them?

What do you think? I really want to know.

Category: Opinion, Uncategorized /

Favorite April Fool Pranks 2013

April 1, 2013 / Common Cents Mom / 10 comments

Yes it is April Fools Day and well I am known as a prankster so I love a good joke, infact today I ran running into my daughter’s room at 7 am telling her she was late for school, she jumped out of bed and well then I broke the news and reminded her she had the day off. Mean mom, yeah.

So here are some of my favorite pranks and posts by some of my favorite people and brands. This post will be updated as I find more I enjoy today.

1. Google Nose was a snooze for me but loved Gmail Blue. Actually I wish Gmail was Blue.

2. From the Turbo Tax Canada blog is this great post for all us lovers of everything retro.

3. And how about Twitter announcing 2 tiered service, This one would cost me. So glad it ain’t real.

4. West Jet announced a very new program for furry friends.

5. How about YouTube closing down to select the best video. As If.

6. And since I take the TTC everyday I so wish they would have personal subway cars. from CBC News

7. Think Geek came out with some new products including this 3D Playdough Printer.

8. Love the Treasure Hunting with Google Maps.

9. We are David’s Tea addicts so were glad to see their product innovation.

And from some of my favorite bloggers:

The bloggers over at Yummy Mummy Club created a new daycare service

My friend Maple Leaf mommy announced a move.

Design Sponge is going to the cats.

Seth Godin had me going with his Kindle announcement.

What have been some of your favorite pranks, tweets, or shares of the day?

Category: Opinion / Tags: April Fool's Day

Is It Time to Rethink Statutory Holidays?

March 29, 2013 / Common Cents Mom / 4 comments

As I sat sipping my tea this morning ( a nice cup of peppermint), I started thinking about Good Friday and having the day off work for many of us here in Toronto, Canada.

Us Canadians get a few statutory holidays, and today was one of them, that means if you work, you get the day off with pay..but what if you do not celebrate the holiday? You still get the day off and the pay. I thought is it time to rethink statutory holidays.

I sat and was thinking about what if instead of selected days off where everything closes down on everybody since Canada is now a much more diverse nation, why not do away with the religious statutory holidays? Instead why do we not mandate that you can have paid 3 additional vacation days a year making up for Easter, Good Friday and Christmas. Yes Canada was primarily settled with those with Christian beliefs but we now are a diverse nation with many a religion.

With those 3 days if you celebrate a different faith you can use them to celebrate what you believe with the paid time off instead of having to use existing days off or taking unpaid time off as many do today. If you don’t celebrate a faith you can have them for your own mental health days or to spend time with your family when you want it.

This way as well the economy of the nation does not stop on these 3 days. Why should we after all we do not stop for Passover, Eid, or any other holy day? Does my thinking make sense?

Yes sometimes when I am drinking tea, I have some pretty deep thoughts.

Are we ready to embrace the right to celebrate our own faiths? Ready to say we need a new way of including all?

My thinking is give me the option. Give me my Easter, Christmas and Good Friday off but those with differing thoughts and beliefs can have their days off with pay too, and you know what they can work when I need to be off and I can do the same on their holy days.

What do you think?

Category: Opinion /

New Ways To Provide Health And Safety To Children

March 16, 2013 / Common Cents Mom / No comments

As a parent there are so many things that are on your mind, all the time. The happiness of your children, the health of your children, the security of your children – the list goes on. An unspoken vow is made the moment your child is born into the world, a promise that you will do whatever it takes to both protect your baby and provide a healthy, happy life.

You try to do everything you can to protect your children, but there are things in this world that are outside of your control. One thing you as a parent have no control over is what goes on inside your child’s body. Doctors offer advice and medical recommendations to keep external threats from affecting the health of your baby, but not everything can be prevented from the outside.

However, medical advancements are providing new options to potentially treat previously untreatable conditions. Many doctors now recommend to expecting mothers the benefits of banking their newborn baby’s cord blood to provide medical options in the future.

Cord blood is a special type of blood left over within the umbilical cord following the birth of a baby. Cord blood was once considered afterbirth thrown away after a birth, but medical research discovered that cord blood is a very rich source of stem cells. These special cord blood stem cells over time can develop into other types of cells, such as red blood

cells to carry oxygen through the body, or disease fighting immune cells to potentially treat a whole stockpile of illnesses.

Some of the conditions that have improved following cord blood stem cell transplants include leukemia, cerebral palsy, heart disease along with dozens of other conditions. Cord blood is in many ways superior to bone marrow because doctors don’t have to search for adequate donors. Cord blood can be infused within a child’s body at any point in his or her life, and due to genetics other family members are also likely to benefit from banked cord blood.

Advancements in medical research give hope to families vowing to protect their children from diseases. Cord blood potentially increases hope where there never was hope before.

Category: Opinion /

The Girl Scouts Social Media Fail

February 6, 2013 / Common Cents Mom / 33 comments

Girl Scout Cookies © by Merelymel13

Last night I read a post on Steam Feed that outraged me, as a mother, a scouter( I was a girl guide ,the mom to a brownie, and 2 scouts, my mom was a Brown Owl,and my grandmother a early Guiding leader) and as some who works in the digital world every day.

If you have not read this post from Robert Caruso you need to especially if you have ever had a child involved in the international scouting movement. I believe the tweets from the Girl scout stream would have Juliette Gordon Low turning over in her grave. She is the woman who founded the scouting movement in the United States after meeting Sir Baden Powell in England.

First of all a young scouter Emma thought outside the box, and thought of others namely the American soldier (by the way my daughter’s big brother Seth serves in the US military) who might be lonely so she wanted to send them cookies to remind them they were cared about. Great cause right? According to the Girl Scouts Twitter Account they originally thought so too but then they decided the good cause should not be supported because the scout would not be collecting payment in person but would be accepting digital payment.

So they tweeted to Emma, and told her her great idea could not go forward.

What a way to correct a child. A scout. With a tweet. Not a call to her mom. But to correct a child in a public forum. I think Juliette, who encouraged independent thought and leadership who would be shaking as would Sir Baden Powell.

Then there is their reasoning, a digital sale does not teach a child effective communication skills which is paramount to the cookie sale process. This mom calls Hogwash! As a corded Girl Guide in Canada and the step mom and mom of kids who have all been involved in the scouting movement digital communication is just as important in today’s job market as the ability to sell door to door on in a location at a local mall. In today’s society we need to be creating opportunities for children to learn skills that lead to leadership both offline and online.

Now here is another kicker the Girl Scouts in the US have a site called Little Brownie Bakers and I will quote the site here:

“Setting high troop goals, building leadership skills, serving the community — these are some of the key learning goals of the Cookie Activity. By helping your Girl Scout learn to set and achieve goals, you are fostering a lifelong skill.”

Emma was doing just this..she was learning a skill that will carry her far, and serving the community at the same time.

As for not accepting a payment unless done in person, well that would mean long distance relatives could not even support their favorite scouters. Grandparents that live far away and want to receive a box of cookies couldn’t. As for a scouter being present for every sale, then no more would we ever see a box of cookies at work. All of this is done on a daily basis.

Dear Girl Scouts I would really rethink your policy.

Dear Emma as a Scouter I am so proud of you and your efforts, lets find a way to get the troops some cookies.

Now on Twitter there is a movement to get Oreo behind the Cookies for the Troops movement so tweet them if you think cookies for the troops is a good idea, I think it would be a sweet reminder of home.

Category: Opinion / Tags: cookie sales, Emma, Girl Scouts, Twitter

A New Year A Chance to Rethink

January 4, 2013 / Common Cents Mom / One comment

Healthy eats. No treats. © by b r e n t

I started this year with my 3 words, one of them being habit, and we all have bad habits that are deeply ingrained in us. I know I have some bad habits especially when it comes to food and eating healthy. Here is the think I love food! I love the smells in the kitchen when I am coooking, and I love my sweets and carbs. I have a love hate relationship with food.

This is not good, it is not healthy.

It needs to change. I want to have healthy habits in my life in 2013.

Habits that give me energy, that fuel me and that help me lose weight as well.

I have tried every weight loss gimick there is, every plan, everything you can think of from the cabbage soup diet to weight watchers I have tried it, and had limited success, but I have never changed my thinking, or my habits.

So what am I doing different in 2013?

I am going to be working with a Registered Dietitian to look at my habits and to help me change my thinking. I want this to be the year I get it right.

I am working with the team at Enthrive. So far I love this company and what they offer and how they offer it.

Now here is my accountability deal I will be reporting in every Friday to you my readers . 52 posts all about healthy eating. 52 weeks of talking about rethinking food. 52 weeks of sharing

my successes and losses.I am in for a journey one that will see me getting some healthy food habits into my life. I am looking forward to this new path.

I will also be talking about frugal fitness this year as I walk my way to better health.

You can follow my journey here and on my Facebook Page

and you can follow Enthrive on Facebook or Twitter for some very healthy tips.

*I have teamed with Enthrive this year. They are sponsoring my journey by giving me the program at a great rate, no other payments. I wanted to share the path and when I purposed the idea they liked it so here we are.

Category: Opinion, Reviews and Giveaways / Tags: Enthrive, habit, habits, HEALTH, Registered Dietian

Looking Back at 2012

December 30, 2012 / Common Cents Mom / One comment

It is the season of reflection and of gratitude for me as I have made it through another year. So what did I learn in 2012? What good did I do? How will I remember 2012?

There was many a struggle for many in 2012, and my daughter and I were included in that mix, early in 2012, we struggled in get a health card, and a diagnosis, then there was the hospital stay, and then learning to live with mental illness.

I was ever so grateful for those who supported us and shared what worked for their teens. I am also grateful for the help I got from the Ministry of Health, Rachel’s doctors at St. Joesph’s and the team that has grown up around us as we deal and learn coping skills that will help Rachel heal, and succeed. This is the year I watched my daughter be courageous.

Back in January, because of a post by Chris Brogan, I came up with my own 3 words that would be my theme for 2012, and what a year it has been. My three words were Create, Connect, Cultivate. I have done that this year.

Back in January, my daycare business failed when the families I cared for all faced job losses, I had to job hunt. My job hunt lasted exactly 6 days. From that I learned I had many a connection who had my back. I am very grateful for Donna Marie offering me the job at ShesConnected.

My time at ShesConnected saw me learning much about Social Media, it had me growing relationships with bloggers across Canada, and brands as well both here and in the United States. I also got to be involved with the launch of Extreme Trust, and hosted many a twitter party with many a brand.

I think 3 of my personal favorite experiences with Twitter parties were working with ING Direct to talk about financial literacy and kids last month, talking chicken and food banks with Chicken Farmers in the spring as we raced to raise awareness about hunger in Canada, and the Mirror Ball on Twitter in November while working with Look Good Feel Better and their largest fundraiser of the year, a great organization that helps women facing cancer.

I also was in on all the planning for a great Canadian bloggers conference, ShesConnected that happened in October. It was great to see ideas first listed on paper come alive. Seeing 500 people who all care about the blogosphere in Canada under one roof was awesome. It was also nice to add my voice to this conference by speaking as well.

I also had the chance in 2012 to get to know some amazing women.If you do not follow these women, you want to.

First Donna Marie Antoniadis, she was my boss for much of this year, and even though I am not with ShesConnected now, she will always have a spot in my heart for she taught me much. She works tirelessly on behalf of the brands that she works with, always looking for ways to do it bigger and better.

Liz Strauss I also got to meet this year finally! I have tweeted and talked to Liz for 3 years now but 2012 saw us actually get to sit down over dinner, and breakfast, one on one. I am very grateful for those chances to connect with one of the most generous, kind and smart women there is in the social media realm. I always carry away lessons from each conversation.

Marcy Berg and I have been friends now, for more then a year and I am ever so grateful to have this smart business woman in my corner. From sending me to see Oprah this year, to hanging over dinner, to phone calls her friendship has been more then a blessing.

Andrea Tomkins has been a forerunner as a Canadian blogger, and her and I got to connect at the ShesConnected Conference and it was great getting to know her personally. She is smart and when it comes to the Canadian blogosphere she is a leader.

AnneMarie Mills and I had a wonderful chance to reconnect this month. Some times old friends are the best kind to have around. They know your history.

Over all as I looked back at 2012 it is with gratitude for the many ways in which my life was blessed this year by so many of you, for that my heart is light. Thank you for being apart of my 2012. I am looking forward to seeing where 2013 takes us.

Category: Family, Opinion /

72 Hours Filled with Loss, Grief, and Memories for Many

December 15, 2012 / Common Cents Mom / One comment

The past 72 hours has been cruel to many. Personally it has been a difficult time.

Wednesday as I was on the streetcar coming home from work, I found out a dear friend passed away losing their 2 week battle with pancreatic cancer. Two weeks, I was still trying to grapple with the fact he was so ill, but to lose someone you cared about so so quickly it is a shock to the system and you go through so many emotions.

Then yesterday morning I was tossed back in time as I watched the news. There was a huge fire in Hamilton, Ontario that has left 24 homeless. It threw me back to our own fire in Hamilton, where 30 families became homeless in an instant. At least this time there was no loss of life. Still with that said there are families in Hamilton right now who have nothing. I remember well being rescued by firefighters in the middle of the night, nights spent in the hotel, trying to find clothes so I could return to work, I remember us being able to return to our apartment to find it smoke filled, windows broken and pieces of ash flying in. I also remember the outpouring of love from the community, and I remember the friends who helped clean, and rebuild and move.

Then there were the tragic events of Newtown, Connecticut. Every parent’s worse nightmere. Parents around the world hugged kids closer, and wondered how to talk to their children about what happened. My daughter and I talked about it at length. For me as a mom of a teen with a diagnosed mental health issue we talked about the importance of mental health, the importance of medications, the importance of talking through whatever is in her head, we talked about what happened, and then we needed to simply hang together. We simply needed to be. So we ordered pizza, wrapped Christmas gifts, smiled, laughed, and simply hung out.

Today will be hard. Today we will say farewell to my friend who died. He lead a good life, a fairly long life surrounded by family friends and so many who loved him. He was a Christian who lived Christ. A church community will gather today and celebrate his life: it was a good life, and so worthy of celebrating.

Today I am grappling with so many emotions as I know many are. We ask Why? I don’t have answers all I know I can do as I grapple with my high and lows, is to love, to share and to care. I simply think we need more of that for each other.

A verse from the bible stands out as I think about everything today:

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Let us love one another. Let us show we care. Let us care. We have to take care of one another.

Category: Family, Opinion / Tags: fire, grief, Hamilton, loss, Newtown

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