P. A8 Findings from ongoing research by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Developments indicate that children who spend long periods of time in day care are more likely to be aggressive and turn into bullies than those who spend less time there. The project, which began in 1991 and is scheduled to end in 2005, is the largest ever to look at childcare in the United States. It examined 1,300 children at 10 day care sites. On the flip side, however, those who spent more time in daycare had better language skills and short-term memory. The threats have been on the rise ever since the Columbine High School shootings, which occurred two years ago this week.
Bomb threats incur tremendous costs.
Loss of classroom time, transporting students, and the deployment of both fire departments and police agencies can cost thousands of dollars for each threat. Schools and governments alike are fighting the growing number of bomb threats with tougher penalties and information rewards. A new law in Michigan forces perpetrators to reimburse the costs of their threat. Michigan's Livingston County, which had four threats this year, is now prosecuting its first case under the law. The first study, conducted by researchers at Kansas State University, monitored the brain activity of eight children between the ages of eight and 13.