It doesn't take a whole lot of money or experience to be kind. These kids are proving that.

With an idea and a big heart, children all around the country are doing amazing things—and we want you to know about them.

That's why USA TODAY is launching a new video series in its "Humankind" franchise called "Kidskind."

The videos available on the "Kidskind YouTube Channel" will tell stories of kids performing small acts of kindness, reminding us that we can do the same.

Take 7-year-old Roman McConn, for example. The Texas boy has rescued more than 1,000 dogs in his little lifetime by helping them find their forever homes. He even started a charity (with mom's help) called "Project Freedom Ride" to raise funds to help transport dogs from shelters to new families.

He is one of the first kids to be featured on "Kidskind."

Kids and adults LOVE watching videos, and this YouTube Channel is a safe place where families can watch videos together—no Momo Challenge, no worry of stumbling upon something violent or inappropriate.

"Kidskind" launches June 28, joining other cool video series "Militarykind" and "Animalkind."

READ MORE

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by Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa

On a recent Sunday afternoon, my daughter and I were driving to the grocery store when she said from the back seat, “I’m having this weird feeling. It’s like I feel guilty, but I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Then I told her how her sister used to write me notes when she had something weighing on her.

I’d find them under my pillow, or in my makeup bag. Often light little burdens she wanted to lay down. As she got older they got a bit heavier, but so far nothing too serious.

Since my younger daughter is only 11, I didn’t expect the weight of the letter she brought me that night around 11 p.m., hours after I’d put her to bed.

Related: How I Take A Stand For Healthy Masculinity In My All-Boys High School

In glittery red ink, the same she used for her Christmas list, her words sank my heart. At a friend’s birthday party, they were playing on the little girl’s phone. The girl handed it to my daughter and said, “Boys are disgusting.” My daughter clicked on a male classmate’s Snapchat story to find a video of him and a few other boys from her class laughing as they watched rape porn. She said the woman was bound up, saying “no” as a masked man approached her.

Her letter went on to describe a group of boys in her sixth-grade class frequently joking about assaulting the girls in the parking lot. She said if any of the girls aren’t sitting with their legs closed, the boys will ask if they want to get pregnant. And if the girls’ legs are crossed, boys from this group often walk by and say, “Spread ‘em.”

They are in sixth grade. No 11-year-old should have to deal with, or even know, about things like this.

Related: 9 Serious Issues Porn Culture Is Fueling In High Schools

I contacted a teacher, and the next day, after a visit with the teacher and the principal, consequences were handed down to the whole class. The boys and girls now sit at separate tables for lunch. That hardly addresses the problem.

Our children are growing up in a very different world than the one we knew as kids. Gone are the days of your grandfather’s Playboy. Today, children have access to explicit, violent and degrading sexual material in the palm of their hands at all times.

Related: Porn, Nudes, And Sex Obsession: Real Confessions From A High School Guy

This is where many kids get their sex education. This is where they’re learning that consent doesn’t matter, and that actually, the lack thereof is big business.

BEIJING (AP) — An eastern Chinese province plans to ban teachers from assigning homework to be completed on cellphone apps as part of efforts to preserve students' eyesight.

Zhejiang province issued a draft regulation last week and is seeking public comment. It is one of several provinces considering such measures.

Along with barring app-based homework assignments, the Zhejiang regulation would limit the use of electronic devices to 30 percent of total teaching time and encourage the issuing of paper homework to be completed by hand.

Soaring rates of nearsightedness are blamed partly on screen usage. While China's overall rate of myopia is 31 percent, among high school students it stands at 77 percent and among college students 80 percent.

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Tips for your digital life:Tips to minimize screen time at home with family

The regulation aims to pull that back to 70 percent among senior high school students, with rates among primary school students targeted at 38 percent and junior high school students at 60 percent.he regulation would bar primary and middle school students from bringing electronic devices into classrooms without permission, restrict amounts of homework assigned and increase the time for breaks, sports and extra-curricular activities.

It says no written homework at all should be assigned to 1st and 2nd graders.
Already, national education authorities have issued a proposal to prevent teachers from using the popular WeChat or QQ messaging apps for assigning homework and banned them from asking parents to mark their children's work. The education ministry also called for only paper homework assignments for primary and middle school students "in principle."

Still, mobile devices are unlikely to be abandoned entirely as a means of supplementing classwork. Language apps, especially those for learning English pronunciation, are extremely popular with students, many of whom are more likely to own smart phones than home computers.

Limiting screen time is of particular concern in Asia, where rates of myopia tend to be higher than in Europe and North America. With a level of myopia estimated at 80 percent, the Southeast Asian city state of Singapore is believed have the highest percentage of nearsighted people.

“The impact of high energy blue light emissions on children is a ” said Dr. Richard Pan, pediatrician and State Senator. “The resolution, passed by unanimous and bi-partisan support in both the Senate and Assembly, demonstrates that when it comes to protecting public health and educating around emerging health concerns, California will take the lead.”

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of the California State Legislature’s passage of SCR 73, a resolution which outlines the growing body of evidence and scientific research related to the long-term health impacts of extended exposure to blue light from digital devices.  Those devices include: computer monitors, phones and tablets, that, absent blue light reducing filters, project high levels of toxic blue light into consumers’ eyes. With the passage of SCR 73, The State of California encourages all its citizens, particularly children whose eyes are still developing, to consider taking protective safety measures in reducing eye exposure to high-energy visible blue light.

California State Senate and Assembly Health Committees began looking at the issue of high energy blue light emissions from digital devices and screens in 2018, and in particular, the increased usage of, and access to, digital devices by young children and adolescents whose eyes are particularly susceptible to long-term damage from blue light.

Ophthalmologists, optometrists, and medical researchers continue to learn more about the dangers associated with blue-light exposure.  The scientific community has produced a large and growing body of research, which identifies a multitude of known and emerging potential long-term health concerns for all age groups with cumulative blue light exposure due to digital screen usage.

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My dogs are always ready to go, running in circles while I put on my shoes, grab my jacket, and throw poop bags into my backpack. I imagine they wonder why it takes so long to leave the house. But not all dogs are so patient. One pup in Seattle became tired of waiting and took matters into her own paws.

Jeff Young and his Black Labrador mix, Eclipse, live next to the bus stop that takes them to the local dog park. Sometimes Jeff isn't finished smoking his cigarette when the bus arrives, so Eclipse started boarding the bus by herself and exiting a few stops later. Jeff then gets on the next one and meets her at the dog park.