By Christy Barritt

Kids Experience Fewer Traumas When Raised by Mom and Dad 

A new report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that having both a mom and dad at home is important to a child’s development and well-being.

The report found that 70 percent of children who are raised by their biological mother and father had no adverse family experiences. However, only 21.7 percent of those raised by one biological parent and 18.7 percent of those raised by no biological parents could boast the same results.

An adverse family experience was defined as a potentially traumatic event that could have lasting consequences into adulthood. The study specifically looked at nine different adverse experiences, including divorce, death, incarceration, alcohol and drug addictions, witnessed violence, discrimination, and income disparity. Some of these experiences, according to the report, could lead to poor health, drug risk, and risk of suicide.

Of all the children surveyed, those in the foster care system fared the worst. Adopted children were not included in the sample.

Student Asks for Thousands After Hearing Prayer 

A Mississippi student who attended a public school award ceremony which was opened with a Christian prayer is suing the school district for $20,000.

The American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center filed the motion against the Rankin County District in U.S. District Court on the student’s behalf.

According to the motion, the prayer was in violation of a consent decree dating back to last November, when another lawsuit was brought on. For that earlier case, a high school student successfully argued that Rankin County had sponsored events that violated the Establishment Clause.

During this recent ceremony, students were asked to bow their heads and pray. The prayer referred to both God and Jesus several times. 

The school district released a statement to local media outlets, saying that the meeting was student led and organized, and that it was not mandatory.

Christian Teacher in Egypt Awaiting Appeal in Blasphemy Case

In 2013, a Christian teacher in Egypt was accused by Muslim extremists of committing blasphemy while teaching her class. Today, 25-year-old Demyana Abd Al-Nour still remains in exile in France, awaiting a fair trial.

Al-Nour taught first year social studies in a village in Upper Egypt. She’s accused of blaspheming Islam and its prophet Muhammad, but she fled the country before she was formally charged and arrested. 

Human rights groups have condemned the charges. There has been an increasing sense of hostility toward Christians in Egypt in recent months, and many similar cases have risen with several Coptic Christians being found guilty without a fair trial. This has led some Egyptian Christians to seek asylum in France, for fear they’ll also be persecuted for their faith.

Nintendo Turns Down Same-Sex Campaign 

Popular video game maker Nintendo will not be adding a “same-sex relationship” option to one of its life simulation games, even after a social media campaign lobbied for just that.

Tomodachi Life, released in June in North America and Europe, allows players to use their own voice and input their own personality onto the game avatars. Players in the game can do many things done in real life, including falling in love. The game, according to makers, is supposed to be whimsical and fun.

A gay man from Arizona began the online petition to add a same-sex option, but an official statement by Nintendo stated that the company never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of its game.

In Japan, where the company is based, only 24 percent of people support same-sex marriage, which is not legal there.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.
www.christybarritt.com