Most parents have a thing or two to say about sleep, or lack of it. But what does it do to the kids when they scream through naps, wake at the crack of dawn or hide under the bed sheets playing on smartphones into the early hours? What are the optimal hours a child or teenager should sleep to be healthy? Today in The Conversation Canada, Wendy Hall, professor of nursing at the University of British Columbia, offers parents an excellent review of the evidence. She describes the science linking inadequate sleep with everything from bad moods to obesity, poor academic performance, diabetes and self-harm. But this is not just a bad news story – Prof. Hall also offers clear guidance on exactly how many hours of shut-eye a child needs, from aged four months to 18 years old. And she points parents to resources on healthy sleep routines and screen-time.

As someone who once had to deal with a persistent and very hungry female bear barging into my cottage in northern Ontario, I read today’s piece today on grizzly bear trophy hunting with fascination. British Columbia has announced it’s banning the controversial hunt throughout the province. Courtney Hughes, a PhD candidate in conservation biology at the University of Alberta, and her co-author Lindsey Dewart have closely studied the impact of hunting on bear populations, and neatly lay out the arguments about whether the grizzly hunt is an effective or ethical way to manage the grizzly population and keep bear/human conflict to a minimum. “Now, more than ever, we need consolidated action to manage grizzlies — not more argument,” they conclude. 

Charles Burton, an associate professor of political science at Brock University, is back with his third compelling piece for The Conversation Canada on China. Prof. Burton, who once worked as a counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, forcefully argues that the Chinese must finally rein in North Korea. “China could win unprecedented global credibility by emerging as the champion of an international effort that fixes the North Korea problem once and for all,” he writes.

Regards,