Primary Eye Care Associates - July 2018

Somewhere along the line, our society accepted bullying as a social norm for children. “How can kids learn to cope with the real world if they can’t handle a bully?” is a common misguided justification. Kids who don’t meet the standards of what they are socially expected to be aren’t accepted among their peers. Rather, they are treated like emotional punching bags for anyone deemed more culturally acceptable. But the life of a child is truly a special force in this world, and just because someone differs from physical, social, or cultural normativity doesn’t give anyone the right to treat them poorly. Differences should be celebrated, and bullying needs to be eradicated. The best way we can start is by making an effort to notice bullying and put a stop to it. Here are three warning signs. Is Your Child Being Bullied? Warning Signs You Can’t Ignore

CONFIDENCE ISSUES Bullying has the potential to drop kids into a volatile cycle of confidence-killing self-talk. Bullying may produce external damage, but what goes on internally can be catastrophic for children. The continually progressing, technology-based environment our children live in nearly outpaces their ability to adjust and cope. Children often internalize their emotions, and when they are being bullied by someone online, their distress can be even harder to detect. The best way to be aware of how your children are feeling is to talk to them openly about their social interactions both online and offline. Summer is the perfect opportunity to discuss these issues with your child because they likely will be relaxed, comfortable, and out of school, where bullying often occurs. Then they can approach the new school year with confidence and self-worth. What parent doesn’t want that?

HEADACHES AND STOMACH ACHES Anxiety is a complex emotion that tends to manifest itself in physical ways. If you notice your child has stress-related symptoms like headaches, ask them about their emotional well-being. An open-ended question like, “I’ve noticed you haven’t been feeling well a lot lately — can you tell me more about that?” will help open lines of communication.

CHANGE IN FRIENDS There are bound to be changes in friend groups throughout your child’s life, but that doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t take notice when this happens. When a child expresses disinterest in spending time with specific people, it could be a sign of bullying. Connecting with other parents who have children in the same circle could be a way to gauge the pulse of your child’s friend group.

HOW NIKE’S ‘COLOR RUSH’ CAMPAIGN BECAME A DEBACLE

COLOR BLINDNESS Roughly 8 percent of men are color blind, the most common form being red-green blindness. With men being the NFL’s target audience and also significantly more likely to have this condition, you can see how this might be a problem. For individuals with red-green color blindness, shades of red, orange, and pink merge with green to appear as a yellow-green. Because of this, color-blind spectators could not distinguish between the two teams; in fact, most of the screen was a greenish blur. The entire game was unwatchable, and not just because it was the Jets versus the Bills. SOWHAT DID IT LOOK LIKE?

When the NFL and Nike combined for their new uniform deal in 2012, it came with a promise of new and exciting kits for one of the world’s most viewed sports. Some teams took the opportunity to go with a complete color overhaul, while others stayed relatively the same. At the same time, Thursday Night Football viewership was on the rise as American audiences craved more of the pigskin on TV. The NFL wanted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first-ever televised game in color, so they came up with a campaign in 2015 titled “Color Rush.” Each team that played on Thursday night would get a monochromatic redesigned kit aimed at creating hype around the game. There was just one problem: Some people couldn’t see the colors.

NOV 12, 2015

The New York Jets were taking on the Buffalo Bills in a divisional matchup. The Bills wear red. The Jets wear green. Nike created a slick uniform setup for both teams that encompassed traditional aesthetics with a modern flare. Each team was outfitted head to toe in their respective colors. While most joked it looked like a Christmas tree game, about 13 million Americans saw something else entirely.

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