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While grownups are busy messing up the world, these kids are trying to make things right.

Even kids know it's a game. A terrible game.

Forgive me for pointing this out, but all around the world ... adults are royally screwing up.

We're starting wars, dumping chemicals all over the place, and bowing down to the almighty dollar/yen/euro/gold bullion. It's enough to make you want to throw in the towel. And yet ... there's a reason to hope. Because, my friends, the kids are all right.

Kids see through the nonsense and address the issues head-on.

Here are just a few examples.


They're fighting to protect the environment.

Youth activists from a group called iMatter are suing state and federal governments for ruining the natural resources they have the right to inherit. Alec Loorz, who founded iMatter when he was in high school, writes, "We can't vote. We can't afford lobbyists. We can only trust that our leaders will make good decisions on our behalf. But when they make decisions like favoring oil company profits over our safety, then we need to hold them accountable."


Image by iMatter: TRUST Oregon.

They're working hard for peace.

In Congo, young men started a musical theater troupe to advocate for peace.They're called the Youth Musical and Theatrical Alliance for Peace (JMTAP). Some of their neighbors encourage them in their work, but others have threatened them for defying their community's traditions. They won't stop working for peace though. They see a culture of violence and ethnic division and they can't live in it anymore.

Members of the JMTAP rehearse in a classroom. Check out their video to hear their song about how deeply Congo needs peace. Image by Local Voices.

And, ultimately, they are fighting for their futures.

Safa has been living in a refugee camp in Iraq for four years, but she remembers her home in Syria. Her circumstance is out of her hands.

When filmmakers from UNICEF visited the camp two years ago, Safa saw a chance to get a message to the outside world. She addressed the children of the world, saying, "You should thank God for the blessings you have, living in your homes and countries. Thank you and don't forget us."

Two years later, not much had changed in her life. UNICEF gave her another opportunity to send a plea to people beyond the boundaries of her camp. This time, her message wasn't for the world's children but for its leaders.

Via UNICEFmena.

If those leaders can't get it together to help her, maybe the world's children will. After all, they're doing amazing work.

Checkout Safa's interview below, and be prepared to be blown away by her strength and clarity:


All around the world, kids are angry, hopeful, and doing something about it.

So maybe it's time to put the kids in charge. With passion and audacity from this generation, maybe we'll be all right too.

Doctors say a lot of us are showering more than we need to.

A few times in recent years, celebrities and social media influencers alike have made waves by sharing that they don't make their kids bathe every day. For some parents, that was totally par for the course, but for others, letting a child go more than a day without bathing was seen as a travesty.

Doctors have made it clear that kids don't need to bathe daily, with some going so far as to recommend against it when they are young to protect kids' delicate skin.

But what about grownups? Most of us don't take baths regularly as adults, but what's the ideal frequency for showering?

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Representative Image from Canva

A mom of four sparked a debate after sharing that she still showers with her kids.

Seems like few things take up more debates than showers these days. When to do it, how often to do it, which snacks are best while doing it (yes, that last one is real).

But when you add parenting into the mix, there’s even more potential for controversy.

Take for instance, Australia-based mom of four, Bronte Towns, who recently went viral after sharing why she showers with her children, all of whom are under seven years old.

In her video’s caption, Towns explained that she was a proponent of family showering because it’s a “natural way” to teach her kids about their own bodies, as well as “bodily autonomy, personal boundaries & consent.”

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Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Van Gogh never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist (even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

I know Van Gogh was a genius. If the point of this were "Van Gogh was a mad genius," I would not be sharing this with you.
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A woman on a shopping spree.

One of the interesting quirks about wealth and class in America is that many people have a hard time determining their socioeconomic status accurately. A poll published by Business Insider found that some Americans earning less than $50,000 feel rich, while others earning more than $100,000 feel poor. Nearly half of Americans earning $100,000 or more identify as middle class.

The same poll found that only 13% of millionaires believe they are wealthy and 60% define themselves as middle class.

A TikTokker named Geneviève explained how this disconnect could happen by using her girlfriend as an example. Geneviève grew up in a low-income family and her girlfriend was raised by affluent parents, with a live-in nanny and a maid. However, the girlfriend always thought she was middle class.

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via Casey Kelley (used with permission) and Vince Fleming/Unsplash

Casey Kelley shares her thoughts on kids in travel sports.

Parents whose children participate in elite travel ball leagues can spend up to $12,000 annually on fees, equipment, hotel rooms and gas. One mother, Casey Kelley, from Alabama, has spoken out, saying that if parents spend all of that money and time, their children should get to play in games. Kelley's daughter plays on a club volleyball team.

The topic was inspired by a conversation she had with other volleyball parents who agreed that every kid should get a decent amount of playing time.

“I’ll tell you what I think. I think, if you’re paying to be there, so it's not like high school sports, I think everyone should have the opportunity to play because this is a developmental league ... and they’re there to develop and to learn,” she explained in a TikTok video.

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Trans man tells beautiful story about his mom.

Being transgender is not an easy thing. No one wakes up one day and decides they want to try on the opposite gender and by the next week they've completely transitioned. Trans people often explain that they realized they were assigned the wrong gender in early childhood but didn't have the language for what was happening until they were older.

Once they've come to terms with who they are and share it with others, they can lose friends, become isolated from family members, and sometimes lose their livelihood. Coming out as transgender even in today's more culturally aware world is not for the weak because it may suddenly feel like the weight of the world is upon you while you simultaneously have dwindling support.

In one man's story, he explains that one of his biggest fears was losing his mom's love, but instead she turned into his most supportive advocate.

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