People like to talk about "quality of life." I am still trying to understand what that means exactly.
Under what terms of reference could one describe such a phrase?
I suppose shelter, access to fresh food, stable governance and adequate social programs would be a few of the items on the checklist.
We should, I think, take a moment to look at the "quality of life" of the children in our communities. In the instance of youngsters, maybe the quality of life is too good? Large screen TVs and Xboxes seem to be having a negative affect on our youth. So are some retail offerings.
Maybe I haven't been paying attention lately, but I recall seeing Halloween treats in store displays at the end of September or thereabouts.
Halloween is big business and the good folks at Nestle and Cadbury know that we will buy those cute little snacks and that many bags will be devoured well before the big night.
This year, at least one large grocery chain has been offering the candy in prominent displays during the first week of classes.
Only now, it is not called Halloween candy like in the olden days. In this newly improved and sugar coated September, the little chocolate bars are called "back to school fun treats."
Presumably we throw a few of these in our kids lunch box to ease our guilt of not being around to look after them or something.
At harvest time, a real back to school fun treat used to be called a Macintosh apple or a peach or a nectarine.
Good ol' days fondly remembered by an old geezer? Perhaps, but the point is that if we took a couple of seconds to make a good purchasing decision things could get better for everyone.
Our premier was in town again a couple of weeks ago to announce $8 million for playgrounds in British Columbia.
Some skeptics here think the money is not well spent considering budgetary constraints and some have said the money should go to the bargaining table of the BCTF.
As Clark noted in her address, playgrounds provide an important opportunity for kids to be active and develop social skills.
Playgrounds should be neighbourhood focal points, places to ride or walk to on school days, weekends and holidays.
If you can believe it, there are 44 schools in our province that do not have a playground.
It is hoped that playgrounds can lead a preemptive strike on diabetes, which, if you haven't heard, is becoming an epidemic in British Columbia and most of the Western world. One person dies from the disease every seven seconds.
Once obesity starts to creep in to the life a young person, type 2 diabetes usually appears later on in life.
Canada has over two million cases of diabetes and that number is expected to almost double by 2020.
"Back to school fun treats" are expensive.
Diabetes costs the British Columbia health system about $1.3 billion annually.
An $8 million investment for playgrounds is chump change for the long-term health of future generations. This government program should be appreciated as a smart investment in the quality of life for our children.
