Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between an adult and a child or youth under a certain age, typically age eighteen.[1][2][3] Child marriage violates the rights of children and has widespread and long term consequences for child brides and grooms. It affects both boys and girls, but it is more common among girls.[4] The legally prescribed marriageable age in some jurisdictions is below 18 years, especially in the case of girls.Even where the age is set at 18 years, cultural traditions may take priority over legislative law and many jurisdictions permit earlier marriage with parental consent or in special circumstances, such as teenage pregnancy. Comprehensive sex education can help to prevent child marriage.Child marriage is related to child betrothal, and it includes civil cohabitation and court approved early marriages after teenage pregnancy. In many cases, only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female. Causes of child marriages include poverty, bride price, dowry, cultural traditions, laws that allow child marriages, religious and social pressures, regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, illiteracy, and perceived inability of women to work for money.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a very common condition diagnosed mainly in children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6.4 million children between four and 17 years of age have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011.

This primer is designed to help you understand ADHD at a deeper level and combat misconceptions.

Fact: An ADHD diagnosis requires observations of numerous symptoms in multiple settings and evidence of significant impairment.

The most basic solution for air pollution is to move away from fossil fuels, replacing them with alternative energies like solar, wind and geothermal. Producing clean energy is crucial. But equally important is to reduce our consumption of energy by adopting responsible habits and using more efficient devices.

Why R&D?

What is research? And what is development? A layman would ask these questions to begin with. Follow-up questions would be: Does development really require research? Finally people may ask why develop? Why take such a hassle? Let’s copy and do something. The R&D story will end before it begins with this type of attitude. This is pretty similar to the Sri Lankan context which has resulted in lowly performance as a country.

What we need to understand is that the innovation through R&D is the major competitive advantage a country could have. According to an address by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam to a gathering of tech students at Mahindra Ecole College in 2015, he claims that there are two sets of countries – developed countries and developing countries. The difference between these two are the competitiveness. Dr. Kalam takes the Global Competitiveness Index as an example. If we look at current rankings, Singapore is ranked one in the index.

Caring for children with ADHD may be challenging, but it is important to remember that these children can learn successfully. It is critical that parents remember that some of their child's disruptive behavior is a manifestation of the disability and that the challenge is finding ways to help their child change the inappropriate behavior. Key to this is remembering to focus on the need for structure and routine for your child's daily schedule and thereby reinforcing the importance of learning self-control and self-regulation. The following are suggestions for parents:
Focus on discrete rewards and consequences for appropriate and inappropriate behavior:
- Tangible rewards and treats;
- Movie night for a good week at school;
- Removal of privileges; and
Time-out from reinforcing activities: the child is essentially removed from situations that foster inappropriate behavior.