For most Americans divorce is a part of life. Whether the couple married too young, experienced financial hardships, infidelity or just lost that "spark" for each other, divorcing couples are on the rise, creating more single-parent and blended-family homes. The children who are in single-parent homes or living in a blended-family household are faced with the struggles of finding family security and feelings of competition for the biological parent's time. This internal struggle is what Science Daily, a website dedicated to the publication of breaking scientific news and research, stated as the cause of low grades and school-related behavioral problems. Although parents in these situations have undoubtedly considered the impact their decision has made on their child, it is imperative that parents work together in reinforcing the importance of scholastic success and spend considerable time daily to help them reach those goals.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that America's poverty rate in 2009 was the highest its ever been since 1994. Hundreds of households suffered the job loss of one or more parents which helped contribute to the 50.7 million Americans without health insurance. For the child living in poverty, her chances of missing what totals to a month of school, is one in ten. What this means to her grades and academic success is that while her classmates are learning new subjects, she is consistently falling behind in those same courses. Statistically, her chronic absences often lead to her dropping out of high school.
Her absences can stem from a number of reasons that are causes of poverty: lack of reliable transportation, forced relocation and her inability to see a doctor when she is sick because of no health insurance.
As policy makers seek ways to help families affected by poverty, it's important that parents habitually continue the learning experience from their home.
As of 2009, adult obesity rates exceeded 25 percent in 31 states. In addition, the percentage of obese children was at or above 30 percent in 30 states according to the Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit organization for national disease prevention.
Overweight children are often self-conscious and develop low self-esteem. They are also teased and regularly excluded from social interactions by their peers. With so many emotional, physical and intellectual developments school age children progress through, obesity can be a distracting factor academically.
America has adapted the habit of needing to be entertained. Television shows, video games and social network sites have undeniably taken a position of priority for the average American household. For school children, they learn that with the click of a button anything that's interesting and worth an investment of time is easily accessible and more importantly--entertaining. This is the reason why countless school children are failing in school even with the capability to achieve higher G.P.A.s.
Although teachers are given new classroom technology and creative instructional material, it is ultimately up to each student to place value in his education. Parents who notice their child watching countless hours of television followed by extensive gaming can help by placing time restrictions on entertainment, and encouraging him to study or pursue scholastic activities such as crossword puzzles, reading and journal writing.