MASK The Magazine Winter 2018

I’ve been a parent for 24 years, my youngest being 14 years old now. Since I became a parent, I’ve had my time with my kids compromised by divorce, sports, friends, the challenging adolescent years, and by the Gameboy, back in the day. In all those 24 years, I’ve never witnessed something that could, if allowed, hijack my child so quickly from me. The separation and isolation that is caused by a device that we purchase and allow our children to have, is simply astonishing. We buy and feel pressured to allow them to have things that all kids have, because we don’t want our children to be or feel left out. But what are we doing, what are we allowing, what risks are we willing to take for the…

MASK (Mothers Awareness on School-age Kids) is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization created in 2007 by a group of dedicated mothers who recognized the need to consistently educate families on rapidly changing issues. The MASK mission is to engage and educate parents, children and the community about the issues facing youth and to empower children to make safe, healthy choices. MASK fulfills its mission by engaging, educating and empowering families through the MASK E3 Institute, MASK The Magazine and our vastly informative website. The MASK E3 Institute is a comprehensive year long multi-year approach to building and strengthening life skills for children, including MASK Storytime (Pre-K), MASK Academy (kindergarten to 6th grade), MASK Prep (middle and high school), MASK Leadership (college) and Parent University. Through these platforms MASK aims to build healthy children,…

As flu season approaches, it feels as though almost everyone is getting sick. In fact, anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of people in the U.S.—about 16 to 65 million— get the flu each year. And, on average, adults come down with the common cold, which can last over a week, two to three times a year. December to February are peak times for these illnesses. There are many ways to become ill, especially if you aren’t careful. The flu virus travels through droplets released during coughing, sneezing or talking, and is transmitted if a person touches a surface with these droplets and then rubs their eyes, nose or mouth. Almost 70 percent of common illnesses are actually spread by touch. This is not all that surprising, considering there are over 25,000…

1 HEALTH. A good medical plan will ensure you and your family have the coverage needed for any unplanned health issues, as well as preventative and wellness visits. Health care costs are rising, and you don’t want to be the one paying the huge bills that would come along with a major illness or injury. 2 LIFE. If anyone depends on you financially, or if you want to make sure your final expenses don’t burden anyone, you need life insurance. Whether you bring home a paycheck, or you provide for your family in other ways, there will be support needed to keep your family going through a very tough time. Losing a loved one is a family tragedy – don’t let it become a financial tragedy, as well. 3 AUTO. Everyone who…

DRUG Drugs don’t just exist in the hidden parts of the Internet. Buying and selling drugs and drug paraphernalia can be easily accomplished through platforms like kik and Instagram, using hashtags and direct messages. Monitoring your child’s social media use, in addition to talking to them about the dangers of drugs and online threats, is the most important step in stopping a problem before it starts. BULLY Allowing your child to have access to social media is a choice. If you do let them, there are precautions you can take to make sure their online use is healthy and bully-free. Instagram allows users to block others, censor negative comments, and make a profile private from those who do not follow them. Social media should be for positive interaction, and these steps help ensure…

Forget the medical marijuana dispensaries popping up on every street corner in California and Colorado. There’s a new way kids are getting “high” and it’s called i-dosing. First introduced in the 2010s, i-dosing is the attempt to achieve a perceived drug high from listening to specially-engineered sounds and music. People who i-dose claim that different digital “drug recordings” can simulate the euphoric effects of marijuana, anti-depressant prescription drugs, LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, etc. The sounds available at i-dosing websites are called binaural beats. When listened to on headphones, they present one sound to one ear and a subtly different sound to the other ear. But when heard together, the human brain hears something different from the original sounds. While some medical experts say there are no effects on a person’s perception of pleasure while…