Founding Director, Center of Childhood and Youth Studies and Professor of Health Studies, Salem State University.

History

The Secret Life of Colonel Sanders

My grandmother knew him

May 4, 2021 • by Yvonne M. Vissing

_____ “Things and folks ain’t always what they seem,” my Grandma Maudie often said. In small towns like Jeffersonville, Indiana, on the Ohio River, everyone seems to thrive on knowing everyone else’s business. One of the best gossip survival techniques of living in towns like that is pretending you are someone ...

Uncategorized

The Adultification of Santa Claus

He’s not just for children anymore — and never has been

December 17, 2020 • by Yvonne M. Vissing

During the pandemic lock-down I needed something to lift my spirits and went to my go-to place of childhood happiness — Santa Claus. As a mom and child rights policy chair with an international group of human rights scholars, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out what ...

Education

Unpaid School Lunch Fees

The Tip of the Homelessness Iceberg

November 14, 2019 • by Yvonne M. Vissing and Diane Nilan

Children with sufficient resources don’t apply for school meal programs. Hungry children for whom free school lunch is the only meal they will receive in a day may forgo it because the socio-emotional costs are too high. Some public schools, like those in Salem, Massachusetts, have a district-wide policy where all children get free meals. ...

Feature

Celebrating Human Rights

The 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

November 26, 2018 • by Yvonne M. Vissing

Human rights are under attack – not just in the U.S. but worldwide. We see rights violations as white supremacists attack synagogues and send bombs to people whose political positions they wish to silence. We see them as the government continues to separate children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. We see them in racially-provoked police-public ...

Feature

Why the U.S. Should Ratify the Convention on Children’s Rights

The Trump administration’s policy on immigrant families makes it clear that the U.S. needs a child rights treaty now more than ever

June 29, 2018 • by Yvonne M. Vissing

The Trump administration’s forced separation of migrant children from their parents as a way to coerce Congress to agree with its proposed immigration policies is problematic on numerous fronts. Not only is it immoral but it is also damaging for the children involved, resulting in harms that range from toxic stress and abuse, to human rights violations. It has been ...

Why the U.S. Should Ratify the Convention on Children’s Rights

Feature

Seeing Is Believing

The Marchers of #MarchForOurLives

April 8, 2018 • by Yvonne M. Vissing

The national and international march for gun safety catalyzed by the Parkland students would be a feat for anyone of any age. But these are teenagers who have triggered a social movement. Although only time will tell what becomes of it, that the young are in charge gives me hope that this movement will stand ...