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Kids stuck in a war zone have been through so much. This 'Safe Space' lets them be kids again.

These are crucial moments for the adults of tomorrow.

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Gates Foundation

Kids need to play because that's how they learn.

What's a childhood without running around, playing games, and being curious about the world?


Can't stop running. Also, puppies!

But in conflict areas, that can be impossible for a kid.

Instead of playing and learning, many children who live in conflict areas find themselves fearing for their lives, fleeing from their homes, and mourning the loss of their family and friends.

Safe to say she's been through a lot. Image via CARE.

This is especially true of the children stuck smack-dab in the middle of the Syrian conflict.

Talk about chaotic. Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Syria's kids have been forced to grow up way too fast in the most traumatic and uncertain way possible. Over 1 million of them have been displaced from their homes — many losing their families, their sense of safety, and their ability to be ... kids. Many have fled to escape the violence of their neighboring countries Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq.

For kids who've fled to Jordan, some have found a "Safe Space."

Child refugees have been welcomed by many organizations and shelters. One in particular is called "Safe Space," run by CARE in Jordan. The four Safe Space centers provide an outlet for kids to grieve, to process their thoughts, to run around, and to be kids in a safe and nurturing environment.


Coloring. Grieving. Acting. Photography. It happens here. Image via CARE.

"It's a place where children can come to have fun and also to learn how to deal with having to live through a very harsh experience of war, of refuge, of losing their loved ones," said Salam Kanaan, Director of CARE Jordan in the video below. "The feeling of loss and the grief around that, for young children, can be really traumatic. Coming to the Safe Space will bring them out of this trauma and give them an outlet for all of these sad memories that they have been experiencing. "

"It's a place where children can come to have fun and also to learn how to deal with having to live through a very harsh experience of war, of refuge, of losing their loved ones."

It's great to see a place that not only values the safety and security of these children, but also their emotional well-being. It's a rainbow at the end of a horrible situation by providing a secure place for them to go and to grow.


Who doesn't love a good maze? Image via CARE.

They are bringing smiles and hope to some of Syria's kids who have experienced such loss.

It's hard to imagine what it'd be like to live your childhood under such horrific circumstances. While these kids now have a support system, there are a lot of kids out there who don't. Everyone goes through hard times in life and this is a positive reminder of how much better off we all are when we support each other.

Before you peace out and go on your way, consider getting involved in CARE's work with child refugees. And, if nothing else, show someone some extra support today. You never know who will need it.

There is hope. Byeeeeeee. Image via CARE.

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Pop Culture

Brit shares the one-word 'dead giveaway' that American actors are doing an English accent

There's one word they never get right.

via Warner Bros Discovery

Peter Dinklage on "Game of Thrones?

When it comes to actors doing accents across the pond, some Americans are known for their great British accents, such as Natalie Portman ("The Other Boleyn Girl"), Robert Downey, Jr. ("Sherlock Homes"), and Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady").

Some have taken a lot of heat for their cartoonish or just plain weird-sounding British accents, Dick Van Dyke ("Mary Poppins"), Kevin Costner ("Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") and Keanu Reeves ("Bram Stoker's Dracula").

Some actors, such as Tom Hardy (“The Drop”) and Hugh Laurie (“House”), have American accents so good that people have no idea they are British.

Benedict Townsend, a London-based comedian and host of the “Scroll Deep” podcast, says there is one word that American actors playing characters with a British accent never get right. And no, it’s not the word “Schedule,” which British people pronounce the entire first 3 letters, and Americans boil down to 2. And it’s not “aluminum,” which British and American people seem to pronounce every stinking letter differently.

@benedicttown

The one word American actors aways get wrong when doing an English accent

What word do American actors always get wrong when they do British accents?

“There is one word that is a dead giveaway that an English character in a movie or a TV show is being played by an American. One word that always trips them up. And once you notice it, you can't stop noticing it,” Townsend says. “You would see this lot in ‘Game of Thrones’ and the word that would always trip them up was ‘daughter.’”

Townsend adds that when British people say “daughter,” they pronounce it like the word “door” or “door-tah.” Meanwhile, Americans, even when they are putting on a British accent, say it like “dah-ter.”

“So top tip if you are an actor trying to do an English accent, daughter like a door. Like you're opening a door,” Townsend says.



What word do British actors always get wrong when doing American accents?

Some American commenters returned the favor by sharing the word that British actors never get right when using American accents: “Anything.”

"I can always tell a Brit playing an American by the word anything. An American would say en-ee-thing. Brits say it ena-thing,” Dreaming_of_Gaea wrote. "The dead giveaway for English people playing Americans: ‘Anything.’ Brits always say ‘EH-nuh-thin,’” marliemagill added.

"I can always tell an actor is English playing an American when they say ‘anything.’ English people always say it like ‘enny-thin,’” mkmason wrote.



What is the cot-caught merger?

One commenter noted that the problem goes back to the cot-caught merger, when Americans in the western US and Canadians began to merge different sounds into one. People on the East Coast and in Britain pronounce them as different sounds.

“Depending on where you live, you might be thinking one of two things right now: Of course, ‘cot’ and ‘caught’ sound exactly the same! or There’s no way that ‘cot’ and ‘caught’ sound the same!” Laura McGrath writes at DoYouReadMe. “As a result, although the different spellings remain, the vowel sounds in the words cot/caught, nod/gnawed, stock/stalk are identical for some English speakers and not for others.”

American actors owe Townsend a debt of gratitude for pointing out the one thing that even the best can’t seem to get right. He should also give the commenters a tip of the cap for sharing the big word that British people have trouble with when doing an American accent. Now, if we could just get through to Ewan McGregor and tell him that even though he is fantastic in so many films, his American accent still needs a lot of work.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Nature

Prison in Brazil uses geese to deter prisoners from escaping and it seems to be working

Guard geese might be a game changer.

Photo credit: Canva

Prison in Brazil ditches guard dogs for a gaggle of geese

Being in prison is not supposed to be a vacation. Most people in prison are there because they broke the law following some poor choices in their lives. Prison is supposed to rehabilitate you so you can be reintegrated into society given a second chance at life but some people are a little impatient on their release date.

As one can imagine, escaping from prison is frowned upon and results in more prison time when you get caught. To deter prisoners from escaping, most penitentiaries have a guard tower, guard dogs and razor blade wire on the top of the fencing. But a prison in Brazil is trying something a little different to keep overzealous prisoners inside the walls of the building until their release date.

They replaced their guard dogs with geese. Yes, those waddling feather dusters that honk and bite if you get too close. It would be easy to believe that a gaggle of geese would be less of a deterrent than a few large barking dogs but the strategy seems to be paying off. Anyone who has ever encountered a goose in the wild would probably wager that an angry goose is much more intimidating than a dog.

Shocked The Goose GIF by Bare Tree MediaGiphy

The geese have been part of the prison's defense system for more than ten years. They're respected as colleagues to the prison guards who care for them.

"It's never happened but if someone tried to escape, the geese would go crazy. They would get our attention without a doubt," prison officer Marcos Coronetti tells TRT World.

Sao Pedro de Alcantra Penitentiary is the only prison in the entire country that uses geese instead of dogs to deter escape. They've found that the geese are much less expensive to maintain than guard dogs. The honking water fouls also require much less attention, training and vet visits than the canines they replaced. Geese don't require you to go out and play fetch or to keep up with scent tracking training. There's also no need to teach geese specific alert barks so humans know if someone is attempting to escape.

Miss Piggy Waiting GIF by Muppet WikiGiphy

"They're not expensive. They make much more of a ruckus than the dogs and they have no time off. They are far better prepared than dogs for this job of surveillance," Coronetti says.

These particular geese are sentinel geese and were domesticated for the purpose of essentially being home alarm systems. Of course the prison doesn't rely solely on their feathered guards to keep the inmates within the walls of the prison. They have cameras, guards and other mechanisms typical in any prison to aid in maintaining the prison population but unlike the humans, the geese don't take shifts. They work around the clock, ready to squawk and flap at the first sign on unexpected movement.

On The Road Family GIF by Tierpark BerlinGiphy

People think this is a fantastic idea though it may have sounded a bit unorthodox at first, with one person writing, "My respect for the guy who had the idea and the courage to talk other people into using geese as part of prison defenses. That's one hell of a 'Now, hear me out....'"

Another commenter chuckles, "Man this is hilarious and practical hahah - they're even called sentinel geese."

One person writes, "Another fun fact. Geese can't be bribed with food over time like dogs can. Making them incorruptible. That alone should give prisoners goose bumps at night."

One goose owner concedes that geese are great at alerting saying, "We have geese. They are so territorial. If they see people, they quack so loudly. Even if they see you everyday, you can't really stop them from quacking if they see you."

Who knew geese could be such great alarm system. Maybe there will be more prisons following suit, especially when there's a chance of saving a good bit of money on vet bills and training programs. All they need now is their own little badges and guard towers to add to the cuteness factor for their seriously adorable jobs.

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Pets

Research shows why you should always pet your dog before leaving the house

via Pixabay

One of the most wonderful things about having a dog is how attached they become to their owners. I work from home and my Jack Russel terrier, Scout, lies next to me on his bed for most of the day. The only time he leaves my office is for a sip of water or to go outside and sun his belly on the porch.

That's why whenever I leave the house and can't take Scout with me, I wonder, "Does he miss me? Is he sad that he's alone?" Studies show that our dogs miss us the moment we leave the house and that feeling slowly intensifies until we are gone for about four hours and they have a "plateau of melancholy." That's why the longer you're away, the more excited your dog is when you return home.

The moment I pull up in my car Scout begins to howl like a wolf trying to contact someone who's miles away. It's like, "Dude, I'm 30 feet away. Give me a second to grab the groceries out of the trunk."

Researchers from the Universities of Pisa and Perugia, Italy have found that if you give your dog some affection before you leave the house they'll have less anxiety while you're away.

They conducted experiments with 10 dogs between the ages of one and 11 without attachment issues. The group was composed of seven mixed-breed dogs, one Labrador retriever, one Hovawart, and one Chihuahua.

Participants in the study walked their leashed dogs into a fenced area where they were greeted by a researcher who took their dog's heart rate. In the first test, after the owners walked their dogs into the area, they talked with a researcher for one minute then left without giving the dog any special attention.

In the second test, the dog owners petted the dog during their interaction with the researcher.

In both tests, the owners left the fenced area and hid far enough away so that the dog couldn't smell them.

After the owners left, the dogs looked for them for about three minutes on average. After the owners returned, the researchers measured the dogs' levels of the stress hormone cortisol as well as their heart rates.

The researchers found that whether the dogs were petted or not, their cortisol levels were unchanged. But their heart rate showed a marked decrease if the owners petted them before leaving. Researchers later watched videos of the dogs and found that the ones that were petted showed " behaviors indicative of calmness for a longer period while waiting for the owner's return."

Next time I'm ready to leave the house and Scout follows me to the front door after saying, "Sorry bud, you can't go with me on this trip," I'll kneel down and give him a little extra love and attention.

Maybe that way he won't howl like the house is on fire when I pull up in my car after a trip to the grocery store.

This article originally appeared four years ago.

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Culture

People are confessing the worst fashion trends they fell for in a hilarious confessional

Travis Kelce is kind of one of them.

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Unknown men in top hats (groom and ushers?) by Wakefield, … | Flickr

Remember that time Travis Kelce wore a top hat on stage at his girlfriend Taylor Swift's London concert? Well, he almost didn't remember either.

On his New Heights podcast, with his brother Jason Kelce, they flashed a picture of Abe Lincoln. Travis says, "That would never be me because I'd never be seen with that f-ing hat on." Jason laughs uproariously. Shortly after, Travis pensively recalls, "I remember wearing a top hat not too long ago." He's asked, "Where did you wear a top hat?"

Travis replies (complete with an English accent), "When I was in London!" He tries to cover for himself. "So I got caught in my own lie. I enjoy wearing those, but only in front of 80,000 people." (Jason kindly tells him he pulled it off.)

Taylor Swift L GIF by MOODMANGiphy

Top hats aren't the only accessories or articles of clothing someone might wear and later regret. A Redditor posed the question, "What's the most cringe-worthy fashion trend you've ever followed?"

People from all generations chimed in. They mostly agreed with one another, though "crocs" seemed to inspire some debate.

AT LEAST HE AVOIDED THE SOUL PATCH

One person opted to share a whole slew of bad decisions: "I did the whole super-thick Vans, baggy jeans full of holes, silver chains. Every t-shirt had graffiti or aliens on it. I think the most cringe-worthy was my 6-inch faux hawk. It looked more like a wave about to crash onto the shore. Kind of like I had walked face-first into a wall or something. Luckily, I was too young to sport a soul patch."

season 1 bass GIF by PortlandiaGiphy


DECADES OF BAD DECISIONS

An older commenter shared two decades of embarrassing choices: "In the 1950s, we wore crinoline petticoats that we dipped in gelatin and hung out in the sun to dry and stiffen them. In the 1960s, we teased our hair, sprayed it, teased it again, sprayed it until it was like steel wool."


Hair Tease GIF by BuzzFeedGiphy


BELL-BOTTOM BLUES

The Seventies weren't spared either. One Reddit user admits they wore "leisure suits and saddle oxfords in the 70s." Another proclaims, "Bell bottoms!" (Though, if you saw the Superbowl, it looks like Kendrick Lamar might actually be bringing those bell-bottoms -or at least a boot-cut pant - back in style.)


Kendrick Lamar GIFGiphy

LOW-RISE AND PRINTED

Many agreed that low-rise jeans and "print trends" now make them cringe.

One exclaimed, "OMG, the print trends! Owls, birds, mustaches, bacon, keep calm logos, the silhouette of two women sitting down."

Another admitted that the low-rise jean trend meant they could never sit down. "Low-rise jeans... I had to stand everywhere I went."

season 3 lol GIFGiphy


WHERE ARE YOUR EYEBROWS?

After someone mentioned bleaching their hair, another upped the ante: "I see your 2000s bad bleach dye jobs. I raise you... plucked eyebrows so damned thin that when it was fashionable to have thicker eyebrows, well, tough sh-t. Because we plucked them all out years ago. Now, I’m condemned to draw part of my eyebrows on until I leave this mortal coil or thin eyebrows come back around. Whichever is first, I suppose."

Make Up Teacher GIF by Teachers on TV LandGiphy


OUR MVP…

And this might be a personal favorite, due to its wonderfully cringe-worthy randomness: "You ever heard of the trend where you just wear a jester hat everywhere? Yeah, me neither, but for some reason, I did that throughout my teenage years into my twenties."

Glow Up Court Jester GIF by BBC ThreeGiphy

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Wellness

What parents are teaching kids when we allow them to take a 'mental health day'

With zero hesitation—just a simple, "OK"—he turned the car around and took me home, and it's a lesson I've never forgotten.

Photo by Darwin Vegher on Unsplash

With one turn of the wheel, my dad taught me a lesson about self-care in high school that I'll never forget.

When I was in high school, I woke up one morning feeling overwhelmed. I was an honors student, I was involved in various activities and clubs, and for whatever reason, I felt thoroughly unprepared for the day. I don't recall if I had a test or a presentation or if it was just a normal school day that I couldn't face—I just remember feeling like I'd hit a wall and couldn't make my mental gears turn right.

I usually walked the mile and a half to school, but I was running late so my dad offered to drive me. In the car, I tried to keep it together, but halfway to school, the tears started to fall. My dad looked over and asked if I was OK.

"I don't know," I sobbed. "I feel like … I just … I need a day."

He knew I wasn't sick. He could have told me to tough it out. He could have given me a pep talk. He could have forced me to go. But he didn't do any of those things.

With zero hesitation—and just a simple "OK"—he turned the car around and took me home.

I have no memory of what I did the rest of that day. Three decades later, the only thing that sticks out is the basic-but-profound lesson my dad instilled in me the moment he turned that steering wheel: It's totally OK to take care of yourself.

We talked about it briefly on the way home. As it turned out, he was also taking a "mental health day." My dad was a social worker, and as an adult, I can totally understand why he would need to take a random day off sometimes. But it didn't really matter what he did for a living. Most of us need an occasional mental health day—adults, teens and kids alike.

man and woman lying on grassPhoto by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Some schools have begun incorporating this understanding into their school attendance policies. Utah passed a bill in 2018 that allows a mental health day to count as an excused absence from school. Oregon enacted a similar law in 2019 and Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Nevada and Virginia have followed suit.

“Mental health days are not only good for the practical aspect of giving young people a break," psychologist Caroline Clauss-Ehlers, Ph.D., told Healthline, "but they also validate that the community and society are saying, ‘We understand and we’re supporting you in this way.”

Occupational therapist Shelli Dry concurs, telling Healthline that acceptance of mental health days can help eliminate the stigma that often comes with mental illness.

“For schools to recognize that sometimes it’s better to take a mental health day than push through when you cannot seem to cope, is a tremendous support for students to feel understood and accepted, and [this, in turn, encourages] students to understand and accept themselves more,” she said.

closed eye boy laying on brown maple leavesPhoto by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Sometimes we forget how hard it is being a kid. In some ways, I think it's way harder than being an adult. Considering the fact that 1 in 6 kids between the ages of 6 and 17 experience a mental health disorder each year, we need to acknowledge that a lot of kids have days where they're struggling. But even kids who don't deal with mental illness sometimes need a down day. Modern life is busy and complex, no matter our age. Managing it all daily—and then also handling whatever extra stuff life throws at us—is a lot.

Part of good parenting is teaching kids to persevere through challenges, but encouraging perseverance has to be balanced with insight and wisdom. Sometimes kids might cry wolf, but it's important for parents to understand that kids might be dealing with more than we know. Sometimes kids need to be encouraged to dig deep for resilience. Sometimes kids have already been resilient for a long time and need a little time and space to just be.

My dad knew me. He understood that I wasn't just being lazy or trying to get out of doing something hard. He trusted me to know what I needed, which in turn taught me to listen to my inner alarm and trust myself. As a result, I've spent my adult life with a good sense of when I need to push through and when I need to pause and reset—a gift I'm immensely grateful for.

three children sitting on grassPhoto by Charlein Gracia on Unsplash

All of that said, this advice does come with a caveat. As a parent of kids who are learning to manage anxiety, mental health days can be a mixed bag. There's a difference between taking a mental health day because you really need it—which happens—and taking a mental health day to avoid facing fears—which also happens. Avoidance feels good in the moment but fuels anxiety in the long run, so parents and kids have to be aware of how the idea can be misused and unintentionally make certain mental health issues worse.

The bottom line, however, is that kids need breaks sometimes. And when you allow them to take an occasional day here and there to breathe, to do some self-care, to reconnect with themselves and reset their mental and emotional barometer, you teach them that their well-being matters. You teach them that it's OK to acknowledge when they've hit a limit and pause to recoup their strength.

It's OK to turn the car around when you know you need to. That's a lesson we all need to learn, and one we need to support with work and school policies in addition to internalizing individually. We're making some good strides toward that goal, and the sooner we all get on the same page, the better everyone's well-being will be.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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