Category: Well-Being

Movie night is a family tradition. Everyone sprawls around the TV with popcorn! It’s fun and can be the start of heated conversations. But what can you watch? Let’s look at some of the family movies that were made just for kids. Maybe one of these should be the next show for your movie night.

We are all different and like different activities. Watching movies as a family is a great way to take a break from physical activated.  Watch the trailers for each of these good movies then decide which one you want to start with.

Links to the movie trailers open in new windows so you can watch the trailers without leaving this page. Enjoy!

LEAP!

Dreams need people to make them come true. This story, set in the 1800s, shows us an orphan girl struggling to become a ballerina. Her dear friend Victor joins in her fight. There’s dancing, action, adventure and people working together to make dreams come true. Watch Movie Trailer: LEAP

MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI

An orphaned child is befriended by a policeman who takes him to his foster home. Kids—you’ll find your mind filled with new and difficult thoughts, which is why you should watch this with your parents. The stop-action animation is a refreshing change from the usual animated movies, but it hits hard at the heart.
Watch Movie Trailer: MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

What silliness! What slick moves and eye-rolling giggles. Kids of all ages will be drawn into this odd twist on superheroes. Adults will enjoy watching this unusual take on a classic action legend. Best of all, you’ll get to watch Batman relax and enjoy himself for a change. Watch Movie Trailer: THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

KEDI

Love cats? Love exotic locations and seeing the world with fresh eyes? Enjoy documentaries? Okay, you might not think of a documentary as a good family movie, but KEDI will change your mind. Tour the city of Istanbul with some of the hundreds of thousands of cats that live there. It is thoughtful, beautiful and fun. KEDI is also a great introduction to documentaries. Be sure you get a version with subtitles.
Watch Movie Trailer: KEDI

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS

Enter the quirky, zany world of world-class pranksters and a dimwitted hero. Readers of the infamously funny book series will be delighted. Grown-ups will be thoroughly entertained by the dialogue and action. This movie is a funfest for everyone who can handle a few—ahem—poop jokes. Watch Movie Trailer: CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS

WONDER

Movies can make you feel. WONDER is one of those movies. It shows you what life is like for a boy with facial deformities. You’ll cheer the heroes, swallow lumps in your throat and see the power of kindness. This is a real-life story with stars you’ll recognize. WONDER proves the power of movies. Watch Movie Trailer: WONDER

CARS 3

Sequels rarely match the quality of the original, but CARS 3 comes close. Kids will be drawn into the story of a familiar friend. They may not understand the scenes about McQueen’s aging, but many adults will understand his feelings.
Watch Movie Trailer: CARS 3

FERDINAND

Children have loved the book for years and now will love the movie. The world’s most famous bull fights against unfair judgement and bullying. Is “bulls” where the term for being mean comes from? Kids, you’ll enjoy this inspirational movie about friendship and true strength. Watch Movie Trailer: FERDINAND

THE BREADWINNER

This is an animated story about telling stories. But be ready. THE BREADWINNER tells the tale of a girl in Afghanistan. The Taliban arrests her father and she is left to care for her family. She survives by hard work—and escaping into a fantasy world. The story is moving and difficult, but rewarding. Be ready for a deep family discussion. Watch Movie Trailer: THE BREADWINNER

WONDER WOMAN

Greek mythology talks about strong, independent warrior women. Now, a new generation watches as a real-life female soldier acts in a movie about World War 2 and facing evil. This is a gorgeous movie that may not appeal to very young children, but will have everyone else enthralled. Watch Movie Trailer: WONDER WOMAN

So when is your next movie night?

Planning family fun this summer?  Explore summer staycation ideas for kids including how to make the most of your family movie night!

It’s important to ‘stay informed’ about what is happening in our local communities and globally. What goes on around us effects our lives and those we care about. Knowledge also equips us to stand up for others that may not have a voice.

To fight against misinformation and fake news, we provide Safe News Search. It filters new to provide reliable sources, while providing safe content.

Bookmark this page to Search for News Safely
enhanced by Google

A good start to understanding the issues is talking to parents and teachers about current events.  Discussions with friends can also help in broadening our horizons.

News Facts

In modern democratic societies, NEWS has become a primary source for people to learn about their immediate surroundings and the personal awareness of each individual spreads outward… from our local community – to our neighborhood – to our county, town or city – to our country and the entire world. In the age of the internet where information is immediately available and news is instant, it’s never been more important to decipher fact from fiction and the truth from unfounded rumors.

Before online access to any type information, you’d hear the phrase “you can’t believe everything you read’. Today, the phrase has been more commonly stated as “you can’t believe everything you read on the internet“. There are also human interest stories that are not necessarily breaking news (news that has just happened) but interesting stories that keep people entertained.

It really comes down to getting ‘the facts’ straight. So how does a person know what is true and that which is just someone’s opinion or even worse – unfounded rumors. We have come to trust journalists and news reporters to give us correct information but it is still important to get the right information from reliable sources.

The Five W’s of News

When News happens, these Five W’s need to be answered correctly.

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?

Many will also answer a sixth question.

• How?

So it is really the Five W’s and an ‘H. The more complicated the news story is, the greater research needs to be done to get all the information correct. For the journalist, this means it will take more words (and time) to explain the issue. This poses a problem for many news outlets, which we will explain in a moment.

So what are the news sources available for us to gain knowledge about what is happening on a daily basis?

Types of News

First, let us explore the different types of news ‘geographically’. Then, we will look at the best sources to get information about these various areas.

Local News – what is being reported on in your town or city.

Regional News – refers to news in your state (or province), as well as the a number of bordering states that make up a region.

National News – what is happening in the entire country.

World News – what is talking place in the rest of the world.

To gather news that is happening in these various geographical regions, you will need to explore the different news sources available.  For example, to learn about what is happening locally, you will want to seek out a local news source.  This will be a local radio or television station that features local news, or a newspaper publication that is delivered to your door.  On your smart phone, you can download a app for a local newspaper that allows you to set your news to see only stories that are relevant to your town or city.

Local news sources will also feature some information about events happening elsewhere, but it may not be as in depth since their focus is on local news. To hear more about national news, you will need to find a national newscast.  To learn more about the entire world, you may want to download an app from BBC news which is out of the UK but tends to be more globally focused in their news reporting.  The news source you are accessing will determine what type of stories are being delivered to you.

News Sources – Pro’s and Con’s

As mentioned, the more in depth a news story is, the more time it will take to explain all the details of Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?  In this way, some news sources do a better job of it.

Newspapers

This is often the best way to get your news because newspapers (delivered to your door and sold at the local convenience store) do not have a limit on space to explain the 5 W’s and the H of a story.  This also means you will need to spend more time reading it but the reward is that you will be better informed.

News Apps

With the internet, there is a growing trend away from physical newspapers. News apps deliver the same news stories as a newspaper, but allows for easy and instant access through an app you download from the app store on your smart phone or tablet. To find local news apps, first learn the name of the local newspaper you want to read and then search for it in the app store. Apps do a good job of categorizing your news, such as local, national, world and specialty topics – such as financial news, sports, entertainment, technology, science, health and more.

Television News

The benefit of television news is that you can learn the basics of a story in just a few minutes. Newscasts will also feature many stories in a brief period of time. The downside is that you need to ask yourself: “Am I hearing the full story”? One thing to keep in mind is that television news is often hyped. This is because ‘bad news’ gets more viewers. Unfortunately, human beings gravitate to watching news that is about bad things happening to other people, or natural disasters.  Those who only watch television news tend to develop a darker picture of the world, when in fact, there are many good things happening in your community and the rest of the world as well.

Radio News

This is often a good way to get your local and regional news delivered in a short period of time. They also spend a bit more time explaining the issue if the radio station you are listening to is more geared to information and not music. Like TV news, radio does not spend as much time exploring the story being reported.

Talk shows on Radio and TV are good at exploring issues deeper, but many talk shows are editorial in nature. This means that it’s acceptable for the host (editorialists) to share his or her opinion about the issue. Whereas journalists are expected to deliver the straight facts without voicing their opinion.

Internet News

Similar to downloading a news app, you can go online and search Google for news related to a topic or bookmarking a website such as Google News and visiting it regularly. Like a newspaper, the news delivered on these sites is in print form and can offer an in depth view of your country and the world. Especially when reading news online, you need to be careful of fake news.

As you can see, there are many different types of news and a variety of ways to stay informed. So what is the best news that students should use? The simple answer is to not get your news from only one source. More importantly, to fully learn the facts about an issue or an event, a good place to start is understanding that the less time a news sources has to report the news to you, the less you will be informed.  Reading the news from a variety of sources is still the best way to be fully informed.

Detecting Bias in News

Even when a person is listening, viewing, and reading various news sources, they still need to be aware of bias.  As humans, we all have some kind of bias.  A good journalist will suppress their biases but no one is perfect. So, when learning about a subject, it’s not only important to be on the lookout for bias.  One should also check that their own bias is not interfering with desiring to get the facts straight.

Watch this video on detecting bias:

Getting our news from multiple sources greatly helps us maintain a balanced viewpoint about any subject. But we still need to be mindful of doing own fact checking.  AI search engines will help in this endeavor as it becomes better at checking facts instantly across multiple platforms.

Fake News on Social Media and Disinformation

The world is buzzing with false media. Trolls are being investigated by police in the U.S., New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Canada—in fact pretty much any country that has social media platforms. Britain has seen a wide variety of “missing kids” posts that receive lots of re-tweets and posts but turn out to be false.

The stress, panic and damage such posts cause to families and individuals can even be handled as a criminal matter. Why do people post false news?

Think about yourself. Suppose that you see two friends walking down the street. One girl–say, Linda–suddenly waves to a car that swerves over to let her in before swerving and speeding away. Later you hear that Linda didn’t show up at an after-school group. Nor has she posted anything on social media for hours. You start texting with a friend and after a few minutes you start to think Linda may have been kidnapped. You upload a post describing the last time you saw Linda and for a headline you type: Was Linda Kidnapped?

The headline is so striking, everyone clicks on it to read about Linda. Everybody who knows Linda shares the story and likes your post. You’ve never had so many hits on your page.

Studies have shown that likes and shares are the main reasons people post false or misleading news—they enjoy seeing the numbers climb higher than they’ve ever had before.

Meanwhile, Linda’s parents are freaking out. They try to call Linda and find her cell isn’t on. Only later, after frantic calls to the police who start a search and show up at your home to interview you, does Linda call home—she’d been at a swimming hole with her cousin and for three hours and didn’t have cell service.

This little story isn’t that far-fetched. People of all ages—not just kids—post stories not because they are true, but because the grim details get likes and shares. Major news sources do it because when more people click on their stories they can charge more for advertising. People do it to get more attention on social media.

Why Does News Matter to You?

Think about this: In some situations, people have been jailed for posting fake news. Some have been jailed simply for sharing fake news.  Worst of all, people have had to struggle through heart-ache and pain because someone posted fake information about their homes being burnt, about loved ones missing and killed.

More personally, if you are caught posting fake news, you will never be viewed as a real source ever again. People will read what you say and down-vote it. If you’ve been linked to false news, people will not believe what you post.

In these days of false news, multi-million dollar news outlets, from newspapers to globally-televised broadcast stations to top-rated website, all suffer when they report stories that fudge or play with facts. Don’t let that happen to you.

Read about the future of AI search engines in combatting misinformation.

Here are a few jokes for kids that were written by kids. All of these jokes are two liner jokes in question and answer format. Some of them also contain puns (a pun on words). A pun is the use of different possible meanings for a word or using words that sound alike but don’t mean the same thing.

For example, if someone tells you a pun you could respond by saying “You’re not very punny”.

Q: What does my dog do when he goes to bed?
A: He reads a bite-time story.

Q: What do dogs do when watching a DVD?
A: They press paws.

Q: Why can’t dogs drive?
A: They can’t find a barking space.

Q: Why did the banana go to the hospital?
A: It was not peeling very well.

Q: Why did the burglar rob a bakery?
A: He needed the dough.

Q: What vitamin helps you to see?
A: Vitamin C.

Q: Why did the ice cream cone take karate lessons?
A: It was tired of getting licked.

Q: How do you make fire with two sticks?
A: Make sure one is a match.

Q: Why did the belt go to jail?
A: He held up a pair of pants.

Q: How to hair stylists speed up their job?
A: They take short cuts.

Q: Why can’t you tell a joke while you’re standing on ice?
A: Because it might crack up.

Q: What do you call a bear with no teeth.
A: A gummy bear.

Q: Where do you put barking dogs?
A: In a barking lot.

Q: Why didn’t Cinderella make the basketball team?
A: She ran away from the ball.

Q: Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance?
A: He had no body to go with.

Q: Who can shave six times a day and still have a beard.
A: A Barber.

Q: What stays in the corner but goes around the world?
A: A stamp.

Q: Where do burgers like to dance.
A: A meatball.

Q: What day to chickens hate most.
A: Fry-days

Q: What kind of shoes to frogs wear?
A: Open Toad.

Q: What goes up but never comes down?
A: Your age.

Q: Why don’t ducks ever have spare change?
A: They only carry bills.

Q: Why was the math book sad.
A: It had too many problems.

Q: Why did the student eat his homework?
A: Because the teacher said it was a piece of cake.

Q: Where do mummies go swimming?
A: The Dead Sea.

Q: What do rabbits do when they get married?
A: They go on a bunnymoon.

Q: What do you get when an bad rabbit sits on your hair?
A: A dad dare Day.

Q: What kind of table can you eat?
A: A vege-table,

Q: When do you stop at green and go at red?
A: When you’re eating a watermelon.

Q: Why did the girl nibble on her calender?
A: She wanted a sundae.

Q: What do you call two banana peels?
A: A pair of slippers.

Q: What happens when you tell an egg a kids joke like this one?
A: It cracks up.

Q: What do you take before a meal?
A: A seat.

Q: What looks like half a donkey.
A: The other half of a donkey.

Q: How does a lion greet other animals in wild?
A: Please to eat you.

Q: What do you call a woman who crawls up walls?
A: Ivy.

Q: What did the tree wear to the beach party?
A: Swimming trunks.

Q: Why did the leaf go to the doctor?
A: It was feeling a bit green.

Q: What kind of tree can you put in your hand?
A: A palm tree.

Q: How to trees connect with the internet?
A: They log in.

Q: What kind of fruit to trees like the most?
A: Pineapples.

Q: What to elephants and trees have in common.
A: They both have trunks.

Q: What did the chef name is son?
A: Stew.

Q: What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work?
A: A stick.

Q: Where do horses live?
A: In neigh-borhoods.

Q: Why did the football coach go to the bank?
A: To get his quarterback.

Q: Why did the melon jump in the lake.
A: He wanted to be a watermelon.

Q: Why did the opera singer go sailing.
A: Because she wanted to hit the high C’s.

Q: Why was the basketball game so hot?
A: Because all the fans left.

Q: What do you call a story about a broken pencil.
A: Pointless.

Q: Why was the girl sitting on her watch.
A: Because she wanted to be on time.

Q: What animal can jump higher than a house?
A: Any animal. A house can’t jump.

Q: How do you spot a modern spider?
A: He doesn’t have a web, he has a website.

Q: What are the strongest creatures in the ocean?
A: Mussels.

Q: Why are pianos hard to open?
A: The keys are inside.

Q: When do astronauts eat?
A: At launch time.

Q: Why do cowboys ride horses?
A: Because they are too heavy to carry.

Q: Why did the boy take a ruler to bed?
A: To see how long he slept.

Q: Why did the girl give her pony cough syrup?
A: It was a little horse.

Q: What did the lawyer name is daughter?
A: Sue.

Q: What sound does a nut make when it sneezes?
A: CASHEW!

Q: How do you mend a broken pumpkin?
A: With a pumpkin patch.

Q: What’s the only school where you have to drop out to graduate?
A: Skydiving school.

Q: In what school do you learn how to greet people?
A: Hi school.

© Please feel free to share these jokes on to friends or to a class
at school but do not re-publish online.

• Want to Keep Things Creative?  Get Free Printable Coloring Pages!
• And check out how kids are learning to be safe online through Google Games.

If you would like to submit an original joke for this page, please contact us. Safe Search Kids believes that children all over the world are very creative and often think of very clever jokes that other kids would enjoy.  If we like yours, we will publish it here.

Share these Funny Jokes using one of the sharing tools below.

I want to tell you about BOSS. Boss was an awesome kitten, born in a closet at a friend’s house with four other equally awesome kittens. After a few months, all were adopted to good homes except this stunning tabby male who always ran out to meet me whenever I stopped in to visit.

Initially, I didn’t want Boss. I had a dog and a busy life and didn’t think I needed another animal.

Still, Boss was persistent, lunging across the carpet, leaping at me to dig his claws into my socks then look up at me and purr. His persistence and innate cuteness won me over. I took him home.

Boss was named Boss because I seemingly had no say in the matter. He was Boss and I was suddenly just someone with opposable thumbs who could open cans of cat food. For a couple of days, Boss tormented my rescued dog, Lucky. It took time and patience but Boss, Lucky and I were soon a family, all jumping into the same bed at night.

One night, Boss didn’t come home. Something bad had happened on a frigid night in January. For a week, me and a roommate wandered the streets, calling his name. We figured he might be dead, but we held out hope. Being brave and strong, we decided to draw a thick line after one week. After one week, if Boss was still missing, we would accept reality, admit the loss in our lives and admit that Boss was dead.

But he wasn’t.

Boss crawled–CRAWLED–back home at four o’clock in the morning exactly one week after going missing. He had either been hit by a car or attached by a dog, but his back leg had been ripped from his skeleton and hung on by skin. I didn’t care about the cost. Me, the roommate and my dog both hugged and loved up that cat all night. In the morning, Boss went to a vet. Luckily, experimental surgery gave him the use of his damaged leg. A couple months after that, Boss was sitting on the front stoop of my house, hissing at dogs that passed by and, on one occasion, attacking a Norwegian Elkhound who had the misfortune of wandering onto my yard. Boss protected me and the dogs in my life. He was a cat-god. I loved him.

My roommate moved away, but on occasion would come to my house simply to cuddle with Boss and find comfort in his powerful purrs.

When Boss turned 16, he became sickly and refused to eat. The vet determined that my beloved Boss was diabetic. Every morning, my awesome Boss would hear me pop open the plastic container I used to store the insulin. He would hunker down and wait for the injection in the scruff of his neck. Then he would go out and be the gangster cat that we knew him to be. Boss was exceptional. He was protective, snugly, funny and a joy in my life.

But all life must end. After two years of being a diabetic, Boss’s body again failed. He could no longer eat or even drink water. After a weekend in the veterinarian clinic, the doctor there told me that Boss wasn’t going to recover. He would soon starve to death. With a friend at my side, I took my old cat in my arms and accepted the vet’s advice. Tears streamed down my face as I told the vet to put Boss to sleep forever.

Yes, this writer intentionally caused the death of this fabulous, wonderful pet. Does that statement reflect the truth of the situation? No. Not anywhere near the truth. It was an action was the kind, humane thing to do.

Death is not an easy subject, yet it’s important to deal it with openly rather than bottling up your feelings inside.  As parents, we need to be there to support our children whenever they are facing any type of with grief and loss.  Here’s an important story about Wally and Wuzzy and how one boy dealt with his loss.