Consumer Critique - UVI Self-Heating Lunch Box

I had a chance to see a sample of the UVI Self Heating Lunch Box. It's a unique situation for being able to eat hot meals on-the-go. Simply plug it in and heat! 

There are a lot of great features - it has a UV light to sterilize after washing, and also is easy to remove the cord for storing in the fridge or putting in a bag. The insulation is great, keeping food hot for a long time, and the interior divider is adjustable for different types of foods. It's leakproof, and it looks really sleek.

This would be a great little gadget for a variety of people - college students who may not always have easy access to a dorm or microwave, or people working in offices without a convenient lunchroom. I worked at a school with a single microwave on the opposite end of the building, and this would've come in handy. It does take a little bit of planning to remember to plug in before lunch, but otherwise it works great!

Enriching Education - Discover the Future of Welding: The Careers in Welding Mobile Experience Is Coming to the Montana Fair

Mark your calendars for August 9-11, as the cutting-edge Careers in Welding Mobile Experience, presented by the AWS Foundation and co-sponsored by Lincoln Electric and BlueForge Alliance, will be rolling into the Montana Fair, Billings, MT. All who are interested in welding as a career or a hobby, including school groups, youth organizations, the media, and the general public, are welcome to visit this dynamic 53-foot mobile experience.

Andre Mosley, Workforce Development Specialist at the AWS Foundation, expressed his enthusiasm for hitting the road once more: “I am ready to bring this remarkable and essential skilled trade into the spotlight, sharing about the huge variety of career paths and income potential in our industry.”

From skyscrapers to spacecraft, military vessels to cruise ships, appliances to medical devices, and more, welding is the backbone of modern infrastructure. Yet despite its crucial role in our daily lives, the number of skilled welding professionals is dwindling. Projections indicate that by 2028, our nation will require over 330,000 welders to meet workforce demands (source: WeldingWorkforceData.com).

Since its inception in 2011, the Careers in Welding Mobile Experience has been a beacon of welding education and career exploration. Embarking on an annual Summer tour across the country, it showcases welding as a lucrative career path with boundless opportunities. From the National Scout Jamboree in WV to the FFA National Convention in IN, upcoming tour stops promise to enlighten audiences about the diverse applications and earning potentials within the welding industry.

Attendees can explore engaging exhibits that showcase weld examples and applications designed to spark the senses and ignite interest in welding. Don't miss the chance to snap a selfie with the “Metal Maiden,” a striking five-foot metal-art sculpture resembling the Statue of Liberty, crafted by Stephanie Hoffman and Barbie the Welder.

Sponsored by Lincoln Electric, the 53-foot single-expandable trailer offers visitors an immersive experience with virtual welding on state-of-the-art VRTEX® 360 Virtual Reality Welding Simulators. Each day, the student achieving the highest score on these virtual welding stations will receive a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the AWS Foundation.

“In 2023, the AWS Foundation awarded $34,000 in scholarships throughout the tour,” Mosley remarks. “I’m happy I’m able to continue this tradition.”

This year, the Mobile Exhibit is also being sponsored by BlueForge Alliance (BFA) to promote BuildSubmarines.com, a website powered by BFA that is focused on elevating the submarine mission, integrating the industry demand signal, and aggregating education, training, and career opportunities in the skilled trades.

“We are proud to announce a two-year sponsorship of the Careers in Welding Mobile Experience with BlueForge Alliance, and for our collective efforts to be part of the critical mission to build and sustain submarines,” stated Monica Pfarr, Executive Director of the AWS Foundation. “Their sponsorship will enable us to continue to promote welding as a rewarding career path and highlight the essential role the manufacturing workforce plays in our nation's defense.”

Check out the entire 2024 CIW Tour schedule, for a full list of confirmed tour stops.

###

 

About AWS Foundation: Founded in 1989, the AWS Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Welding Society, the nonprofit organization with a global mission to advance the science, technology, and, application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes. The AWS Foundation works to ensure the growth and development of the welding industry through various initiatives, including, career awareness, scholarship programs, and grants to institutions that offer welding education and training. As a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, we rely on the generosity of our partners who understand the value of welding and its role in building a better, stronger economy. aws.org/foundation

Book Nook - Zara's Wash Day

 

It's Wash Day, and Zara is not excited about wearing her hair in the same styles Mama usually creates. But once Mama takes Zara on a cultural journey, helping her understand the significance of each hairstyle and how to wear each style with pride, Wash Day will never be the same. For Black women, Wash Day isn’t just a routine — it’s a ritual. From the products we choose to the spaces we create the time we spend caring for our hair connects us to ourselves, our culture, and the people we want to be.   Zara’s Wash Day is by author Zenda Walker, a best-selling, award-winning author, licensed cosmetologist, and marketing executive. She is passionate about beauty education and helping people to discover the magic of textured hair. "Creating a story of joy and celebration was my way of shifting the energy and changing the narrative for Black and Brown children. I wanted to celebrate us and uplift us with our heritage, by way of our 'hairitage,'" says author Zenda Walker.   With a foreword by Academy award-winning actor and New York Times best-selling Lupita Nyong'o, Zara’s Wash Day is an empowering picture book celebrating traditional Black hairstyles! The book was an instant hit and sold out at the Essence Fest July 2024.   Zara’s Wash Day was illustrated by Princess Karibo, a self-taught illustrator from Nigeria. “I had an amazing experience illustrating 'Zara’s Wash Day.' Bringing the story to life through art was a privilege, and I enjoyed every moment of depicting the diverse and beautiful aspects of black hair. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the rich textures and styles of black hair in a visually engaging way” says Princess Karibo.   Know Your Hairitage: Zara’s Wash Day is a semi-biographical story about how the hair texture and cultural styles of people of African descent are linked to a colorful and layered ancestral story. This new and expanded edition of the Writer's Digest award winner includes a tutorial on creating Fulani-inspired Afro Puffs, and an expanded glossary of terms.   "Zara's Wash Day" is the first book in the Know Your Hairitage Series. Zenda continues the series with in the Fall with "Zion’s Crown", which tells the story of two young Black boys learning to be proud of their textured hair and will be released on September 10, 2024. “Know Your Hairitage: Zara’s Wash Day” is sold at https://knowyourhairitage.com/zaras-wash-day-book, and Target.com   ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR   Zenda Walker is a best-selling, award-winning author, licensed cosmetologist, and marketing executive. She is passionate about beauty education and helping people to discover the magic of textured hair. Originally from the Bronx, New York, Zenda enjoys traveling, spontaneous dance parties, exploring and developing beauty trends and chocolate desserts. She is co-founder of Bounce Mobile Fitness Club, LLC.—a fitness business specializing in rebounding workouts. Zenda resides in New York with her daughter, Zara. Princess Karibo is a self-taught illustrator from Nigeria, West Africa. She enjoys working on traditional art by day and digital art projects by night.

2024's States with the Most At-Risk Youth

 With 13% of young Americans neither working nor in school, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Most At-Risk Youth in 2024, as well as expert commentary, to identify the places where more effort is needed to help young adults succeed.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 15 key indicators of youth risk. The data set ranges from the share of disconnected youth to the labor force participation rate among young adults to the youth poverty rate.
 

States with the Most At-Risk Youth		States with the Least At-Risk Youth
1. Louisiana		42. Massachusetts
2. New Mexico		43. Maryland
3. West Virginia		44. Hawaii
4. Alaska		45. Utah
5. Arkansas		46. Connecticut
6. Oklahoma		47. Virginia
7. Mississippi		48. Iowa
8. Montana		49. Illinois
9. Wyoming		50. New Hampshire
10. Oregon		51. New Jersey

Key Stats

• Louisiana has the highest share of disconnected youth, which is 3.4 times higher than in the District of Columbia, the lowest.
   
• New Mexico has the highest share of youth without a high school diploma, which is 2.1 times higher than in Hawaii, the lowest.
   
• West Virginia has the highest share of overweight or obese youth, which is 1.6 times higher than in New Hampshire, the lowest.
   
• Vermont has the highest share of youth using drugs in the past month, which is 2.1 times higher than in Alabama, the lowest.
   
• The District of Columbia has the highest share of homeless youth, which is 60 times higher than in Mississippi, the lowest.

 
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-most-at-risk-youth/37280

 
“A high share of youth who are not working, not getting education and generally stagnating in life can spell trouble for the future. States that are most impacted by this problem, as well as related issues like high youth poverty rates, widespread drug use and low test scores, need a wake-up call to invest more into improving conditions for young residents. Otherwise, the future economic and social progress of the state is in danger.”
–
“Louisiana is the state with the most at-risk youth, largely because it has the highest share of people ages 18 to 24 who are not attending school, not working and have no degree beyond high school. This represents 17.7% of young adults in the state. In addition, Louisiana has the second-highest share of people ages 18 to 24 without a high school diploma, the third-highest youth poverty rate and the third-highest teen birth rate in the country.”

- Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst 
 

Expert Commentary
 
What can state and local policymakers do to reduce the number of rural youth who are disconnected from school and work?

“Policymakers are crucial in creating environments that foster connection and growth for rural youth. They can start by investing in local educational programs tailored to rural communities’ unique challenges and opportunities. Enhancing digital connectivity is another key strategy, as it opens up access to remote learning and employment opportunities that are often scarce in rural areas. Addressing these foundational needs can create a more inclusive and supportive framework for rural youth to thrive.”
Desmond Upton Patton, Ph.D., MSW – Professor, Penn Medicine; Chief Strategy Officer, School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania
 
“The first thing they need to do is study the causes of the disconnection for different target groups. Without understanding why young people are disconnected, policy responses will not be effective. So, the first thing they need is to understand the root causes of disconnection. I know in the context of 4-H, one of the things we do is to try and create strong ‘developmental networks’ between families, youth, communities, and schools through skill-based programs that work toward providing young people not only with workforce-ready skills, but also healthy relationships with family members (i.e. parents usually), other caring adults from the community, and whenever possible, schools. These ‘webs of support’ are critical to supporting young people to identify their ‘sparks’ – that which interests them or where they have certain abilities and talents, build skills, as well as social capital. This also includes developing new peer networks. Programs like 4-H, especially for rural youth, are critical to reducing this disconnect that you are talking about, however, such out-of-school time and community programs are unfortunately not often prioritized and are seen as an important remedy toward reducing the problem of disconnectedness.”
Steven Krauss – Associate Professor, University of Missouri; 4-H State Specialist in Volunteerism and Youth-Adult Partnerships
 

What tips/advice do you have for parents to support young people who want to stay in school and seek employment?

“The first is to relentlessly communicate hope, belief, and unconditional love for their children no matter their achievements or lack thereof at any point in their lives. Always encourage getting the most education/training possible whether you intend to use it immediately or not. Education spells opportunity and offers options – putting the youth in control of their future.”
Paul S. Neitman – MSW (retired)
 
“Parents can play a transformative role in encouraging their children to pursue education and employment. One effective approach is to maintain open lines of communication about their aspirations and challenges. Offering encouragement and understanding the pressures they face can help young people feel supported in their goals. Additionally, parents can help by providing practical support, such as assisting with school and job applications and exploring career options together. It is also beneficial for parents to connect with school social workers, counselors, and local employment resources to find opportunities tailored to their child’s interests and needs.”
Desmond Upton Patton, Ph.D., MSW – Professor, Penn Medicine; Chief Strategy Officer, School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania
 

What are the best ways for local authorities to encourage productivity for idle youth during the current economic environment?

“Local authorities should do everything they can to provide job opportunities for youth and as many out-of-school time learning opportunities as possible… I think it is critical that there are more efforts to bridge families, schools, and local programs and businesses to provide greater synergy in supporting youth, whether it be work-related or educational in nature. Encouraging young people to work as soon as they can is a critical developmental support, as youth learn so many life skills from work, including an appreciation/work ethic, how to work with others, self-discipline, social skills and competencies, decision-making and problem-solving skills, and others. Also, we need to have more opportunities for young people to pursue not only STEM-based jobs and internships, but also agriculture, the trades, arts and humanities, culture, and religion. This group of occupations or disciplines is critical for a healthy civilization and is being grossly under-represented. AI is a major threat to young people’s future career possibilities. Local authorities should do more to support AI-proof careers like the trades, as well as human service occupations that cannot be replaced by AI.”
Steven Krauss – Associate Professor, University of Missouri; 4-H State Specialist in Volunteerism and Youth-Adult Partnerships

 
More From WalletHub

• Safest States in America
• Best & Worst States for Teen Drivers
• Best & Worst States to Raise a Family

Travel Tidbits - Explore Italian Museums

 The appeal of Italian museums in the summer months

Summer 2023 turned out to be a highly successful season for Italian museums, with exponential growth in visitor numbers and record ticket sales, confirming Italy as one of the world’s most popular cultural destinations. According to data presented by the Digital Innovation Observatory for Culture of the Milan Polytechnic School of Management, the number of visitors to Italian museums, monuments and archaeological sites rose by 16% last year compared to 2019 and ticket sales were up 27% in the same period.

 

Record-breaking Italian museums
Among the world’s most popular museums, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence had more than 5 million visitors in 2023, an increase of 27.8% from the previous year. The Vatican Museums in Rome also continued to welcome huge numbers of tourists from around the world, and Turin recorded very positive figures too. The Turin Cinema Museum was seen by more than 800,000 people, attracted in part by the blockbuster exhibition on movie director Tim Burton, while the city's Egyptian Museum saw an increase in ticket sales thanks to innovative exhibition projects and the newly re-opened Writing Gallery.

 

Museums and hidden treasures: a heritage just waiting to be discovered
Besides its most famous museums, Italy also boasts an extensive network of less well-known but equally fascinating cultural institutions. The increasing frequency and range of the services run by the FS Group's Passenger Hub have had a decisive role in facilitating tourism even in the country's smaller towns. Partly as a result of Trenitalia’s reduced rates and special offers, growing numbers of people have easily been able to reach museums and cultural events across the country. This is also an objective of True Italian Experience, a digital hub that offers sustainable and genuine travel experiences for visitors to savour the essence of Italy, and whose Main Partner is Trenitalia. 

 

The range of Italian museums extends from large cities to lesser-known treasures scattered around the country. Starting in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, places like the Diocesan Museum in Vicenza have attracted attention with their unique collections of sacred art and ethnographic items reflecting the region's rich culture. Not far away, in Desenzano del Garda, the Museum of the Battle of San Martino opens a window on Italy's Risorgimento, with its collection of memorabilia and documents on the historic battles fought for the unification of Italy.
In Parma, the Magnani Rocca Foundation, also known as the "Villa of Masterpieces", is another jewel in northern Italy. Its collection, with works by artists of the calibre of Goya, Monet and Titian, attracts art lovers from around the world keen to admire the paintings in a unique setting.

Moving into central Italy, the museum offer includes many other exceptional sites examining the historical and archaeological roots of the area. With its history-rich towns, Umbria provides fascinating underground experiences in Orvieto and Perugia. Here, visitors can journey through a maze of tunnels and caverns excavated over the centuries beneath the old cities, for a unique opportunity to see the life and construction techniques of the past. In Tuscany, between Grosseto and Orbetello, the Archaeology and Art Museum presents the history of this stretch of coastline through a vast collection of artefacts ranging from the Etruscans to the modern age.
In the Marche region, the Mole Vanvitelliana in Ancona is an example of an historic building that hosts cultural events and art exhibitions, but it is just one of many museums, like the Rossini Museum in Pesaro or the Augusto Capriotti Museum of the Sea in San Benedetto del Tronto, which houses one of the largest collections of Mediterranean fish.
Travelling south to Puglia, the Sant'Anna Synagogue Museum in Trani looks at the history of the local Jewish community, illustrating its heritage and traditions through collections of artefacts and historic documents. Close by in Polignano a Mare, the Pino Pascali Museum Foundation is dedicated to contemporary art, with works from some of the most innovative artists of the 20th century and temporary exhibitions that attract an international public.
In Naples, the National Railway Museum of Pietrarsa tells the history of the Italian railways with its extraordinary collection of locomotives and carriages illustrating the country's technological and industrial evolution.
Finally, in Palermo in Sicily, the Palazzo dei Normanni and the GAM - Gallery of Modern Art are just two locations that not only hold artworks of inestimable value, but also host cultural events exploring contemporary artistic movements.
From North to South, Italy is a never-ending succession of art, culture and tradition that goes far beyond its best known and most popular destinations: with treasures of incalculable value, the country is a great museum waiting to be discovered step by step.

 

https://trueitalianexperience.it/en 

Thrifty Thinking - How to Build Your Wine Cellar on a Budget

For most wine lovers, the journey to appreciating wine isn’t smooth. At first, the wine world may seem complicated and elitist, with all the esoteric words in the tasting notes and the wine jargon mentioned by sommeliers. But once you get started, the world of wine is welcoming and offers so much to explore. If you are on this journey and thinking about getting serious about wine as a hobby but don’t know how to build a wine cellar, this is your guide. Building a wine cellar is not just for wealthy people. Every wine lover can build a wine collection, also when on a budget.

Storage and Space Planning
Wine requires proper storage. In fact, a lot of spoilage and wine faults are due to improper storage. That’s why the most important first step is to find a place to store your wine. A dark place with no direct sunlight, stable temperatures between 45-65°F (7-18°C), and humidity levels around 55-70% is ideal.

Although the best temperature is around 55°F, as long as it’s cool and shaded, the humidity is what you should pay attention to. The humidity is critical to avoid the cork drying out. Some cooling systems, Chambraires, are specifically designed to mature your wines in ideal conditions.

If you have a basement at your house or in your apartment building, it should normally fit the criteria, and you can start filling your cellar. If not, consider buying a wine fridge or a wine cooler to for the wine storage. It provides the ideal temperature and humidity to protect your bottles. And, it’s not only for wine; you can use it to store other beverages or cigars.

Once you find a place to store your wines, it’s time to build your cellar. Depending on the capacity of your storage, you can assign space for wines with different purposes. You may have a larger space for the wines you plan to store long-term, some space for wines you prepare for special occasions, and a small space for your daily drinking wine, as those wines you drink faster and don’t need to take much space.

Selecting the Bottles
Selecting bottles for your personal wine cellar may seem to be a difficult task for any wine lover, but it can be a great opportunity to learn and discover. You can always find a wine expert or a sommelier to give you advice, but if you learn to do it yourself, the process is more satisfying and rewarding. Here are some tips to help you find good value wines to build your wine cellar.

Buy Wines at Release Time
If you are looking to store some wines for a long period, years or even decades, either for investment or for special occasions, it’s best to buy the bottles immediately after their release. This rule applies especially for rare and collectible fine wines, as the value of the wines often increases over time. You may find top-quality Barolo or Brunello di Montalcino under $100 at its release, but the price after 20 years, when the wine reaches its prime drinking time, will double or triple.

Prestigious wine regions for collectible wines with a lower price for new vintages but a tendency to rise include:

• Famous Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru Burgundy

• Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux, prestigious Cru Bourgeois estates, prestigious Pomerol estates

• Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône Valley

• Vintage Champagne

• High-end Rioja

• Barolo and Barbaresco

• Brunello di Montalcino

• Amarone

• Super Tuscans

• Sauternes and Tokaj

Auctions
Auctions are another way to find collectible wine bottles at reasonable prices. You can follow the auctions at traditional auction houses or find reliable online auction platforms to find the bottles you want. It’s a good way to find older vintage or special edition wines that are not generally available at wine shops.

Affordable Age-Worthy Wines
If fine wine is beyond your budget or you simply want to store up some wines and enjoy them slowly at different stages, you may want to find wines that are budget-friendly, ready to drink, and have great aging potential.

Sounds too good to be true? Not really! There are many There are many age-worthy wines that don’t break the bank. With a fraction of the price of a fine wine bottle, you can buy a wine that will last a decade or more.

Generally speaking, for a wine to be able to age, high acidity and high levels of tannins are key elements. Wines from lesser-known regions usually have more competitive prices compared to those of the same quality level from prestigious wine regions.

Examples of affordable, age-worthy wines include:

• Loire Valley Chenin Blanc

• Mosel Riesling

• Grüner Veltliner Smaragd

• Taurasi

• Chianti Classico Riserva

• Etna red and white

• Douro Red

• Cahors

• Madiran

Tracking Your Inventory and Enjoying Your Wines
As you gradually build your wine cellar, it’s important to keep track of your inventory. For long-term storage, keeping track of your bottles not only informs you of the best time to enjoy them but also the value of the bottles over time. Fortunately, in 2024 we don’t need to do this with a spreadsheet, as there are many digital wine cellar services that you can use to keep records of your wine collection.

With digital wine cellar and virtual sommelier apps like VinoVoss, for example, you can simply add the wines to your account under “My Wine Cellar.” These apps allow you to catalog your collection, track the aging process, and even get recommendations on when to drink each bottle. Many of these platforms also offer community features, letting you connect with other wine enthusiasts, share tasting notes, and discover new wines based on your preferences. 

Starting your wine cellar doesn't have to be an overwhelming task. With careful planning, smart purchasing, time and the help of modern AI technology, you can build a diverse and enjoyable wine collection without breaking the bank.

~~~

Wine consultant Sylvia Ba is a vinicultural expert.  With a master's degree in wine business from Burgundy School of Business, as well as diverse background and experiences in Europe and Asia, she currently offers expertise in marketing, research, purchasing, and copywriting for clients in the wine industry all over the world. Sylvia's experience includes working as a junior editor for a leading Chinese wine media outlet and as a fine wine salesperson for ASC Fine Wines, the largest fine wine importer in China. She also served as Export Manager for Vinum Hadrianum, an artisanal winery in Abruzzo, Italy.

Caring Causes - Old Dominion and St. Jude Country Cares

 

Six-time ACM Award Group of Year Old Dominion will receive the 2024 Angels Among Us award this October for outstanding commitment and service to the mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®: Finding cures. Saving children.® Old Dominion joins an illustrious group of past recipients including Randy Owen, Brothers Osborne, Scotty McCreery, Florida Georgia Line, Lady A, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker.    "It's truly humbling to be awarded the Angels Among Us honor by St. Jude," said Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey. "The patients and families of St. Jude inspire us deeply. By uniting with fellow artists and Country radio fans, we want to help make sure that no family receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food so they can focus on helping their child live. Supporting such a remarkable mission is a privilege, and we are thankful to be part of it."    Old Dominion has dedicated many years to supporting St. Jude, first attending its annual Country Cares Seminar in 2016 after signing to RCA Records Nashville. The band has since participated in seven #ThisShirtSavesLives campaigns, played the Bobby Bones Million Dollar Show, lent their songs to support fundraising, performed at numerous fundraising events and spent time with patients.    The band will receive its award at the 35th annual Country Cares Seminar, a yearly gathering of music artists and industry professionals who lend their voice and platform to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude. This year's celebration takes place Oct. 21 - 22 at the historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tenn.. Four-time ACM Award nominee Jon Pardi will kick off the two-day event with a performance at the famed Graceland. Multi-Platinum singer-songwriter and St. Jude supporter Megan Moroney will help close out the event with a performance at the Angels Among Us dinner, followed by Old Dominion's set, which will include a special duet with Alabama frontman and Country Cares founder, Randy Owen.    Music Gives to St. Jude Kids® is one of the most successful music fundraising events in the United States with more than 350 radio and music partners. Curing cancer is a multi-trillion-dollar, multi-year effort and the Country music industry helps to raise more than $70M annually to accelerate research and treatment by St. Jude to help children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.   To get involved, visit musicgives.org.

ABOUT ST. JUDE: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and it won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

Parenting Pointers - Empowering Your Gamer Child: How to Handle Verbal Harassment in Online Video Games

Say ‘GG’ to Hate, Let's Play Positive!

Photo by Jessica Lewis on pexels.com

For many parents, the world of gaming can feel like a mysterious frontier. We see the joy and excitement on our children's faces as they delve into these increasingly immersive worlds, but concerns about online safety often lurk in the back of our minds, with verbal harassment a major issue.

A 2023 survey found 76% of US gamers reported experiencing harassment, with 60% of those describing it as “severe”. Though this number was actually a significant drop from the 86% reported in 2022 (77% for severe), it’s clearly still a very prevalent problem. 

Marin Cristian-Ovidiu, the CEO of FreezeNova Games and a gaming expert, offers valuable insights to help you empower your child to navigate these situations confidently.

“Verbal harassment in online games can take many forms,” explains Marin. “It could be anything from name-calling and insults to threats and discriminatory language.” These experiences can be upsetting and frustrating for your child, impacting their enjoyment of the game and possibly even their mental health.

The most important step is fostering open communication with your child. “Encourage them to talk to you if they encounter any kind of negativity online,” advises Marin. “Let them know you're always there to listen and help them navigate the situation.” This open dialogue creates a safe space for your child to express their feelings and seek guidance.

Reporting and Responding

If your child encounters harassment, empower them to report it. Most gaming companies have stepped up their efforts regarding this. “Reporting these incidents helps the platform take action against the perpetrator,” says Marin.

When faced with harassment directly, Marin suggests a two-pronged approach. “If it’s a light barking match that gets slightly out of hand, something along the lines of, ‘I didn’t appreciate that,’ would suffice.” However, if the harassment is persistent or severe, Marin advises disengaging. “Don't respond, and consider muting or blocking the player, or even leaving the game server.”

It's important for your child to know they're not alone. Encourage them to connect with positive online communities or find friends who share their gaming interests. Having a network of supportive peers makes a big difference.

Most gaming platforms have community guidelines that outline acceptable behavior. “Familiarize yourself with these guidelines,” suggests Marin, “and discuss them with your child.” Additionally, remember that many platforms have moderators who are there to enforce the rules. Don't hesitate to report incidents to them as well.

Positive Reinforcement

Last but not least, Marin emphasizes the importance of praising your child for handling harassment well. “Let them know you're proud of them for standing up for themselves or disengaging from a negative situation.” Positive reinforcement can build confidence and encourage them to continue making good choices, whilst distancing them from such behaviors.

By promoting open communication, equipping your child with reporting tools and building a support system, you can strengthen their ability to navigate the online gaming world confidently. Remember, with a little guidance, your child can enjoy the positive aspects of online gaming while minimizing the impact of negativity.

About FreezeNova

FreezeNova offers gamers the freedom to enjoy their favorite games without any restrictions. Dedicated to providing free access to a wide array of high-quality, unblocked games, FreezeNova ensures an enjoyable and addictive experience for gamers of all levels. Whether you prefer solo play or enjoy competing with friends, FreezeNova's community features facilitate fast and easy connections with fellow gamers. The platform fosters a friendly and positive atmosphere, promoting engaging conversations and thrilling competitions. FreezeNova caters to diverse gaming preferences, offering everything from shooters and racing games to puzzles and survival simulators.

CEO Marin Cristian-Ovidiu is a developer with 10+ years of experience in game design and development. Marin first introduced FreezeNova as a brand for indie games when he published Crazy Ball. Established as a start-up company in 2019, FreezeNova's mission is to develop and publish fun, accessible games that can be enjoyed online by everyone.

Sources

Survey on gaming harassment from Most common forms of harassment while playing online video games in the United States from 2019 to 2023

Link

Post courtesy of FreezeNova, (https://unblocked-games.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html)