Archive for the ‘Child Welfare’ Category
July 23, 2012
The drug companies are ruthless. Here they are again peddling any opportunity they can to get more children on medication:
Should all U.S. children get tested for high cholesterol? Doctors are still debating that question months after a government-appointed panel recommended widespread screening that would lead to prescribing medicine for some kids.
Fresh criticism was published online Monday in Pediatrics by researchers at one university who say the guidelines are too aggressive and were influenced by panel members’ financial ties to drugmakers.
Eight of the 14 guidelines panel members reported industry ties and disclosed that when their advice was published in December. They contend in a rebuttal article in Pediatrics that company payments covered costs of evaluating whether the drugs are safe and effective but did not influence the recommendations.
It also is not uncommon for experts in their fields to have received some consulting fees from drug companies.
‘Experts’ or lackeys for the drug companies?
Click Here to read Doctors Create a New Normal by Over-Prescribing Drugs
Click here to read ADHD Diagnosis a “Convenient Out For Lazy Teachers”: Dunham
Tags:Child Welfare, Children and Medication, cholesterol drugs, Corruption and drug companies, Drug Companies, Drugmakers, Drugs, Education, News, Overprescribing of drugs, Pediatrics, prescribing medicine for kids, Should all U.S. children get tested for high cholesterol
Posted in Child Welfare, Children and Medication | 1 Comment »
July 16, 2012
Facebook offers its users “free” gambling games,which they of course claim is restricted to children over 13 (but we all know how well Facebook police their own age requirement laws):
Members of Facebook, who must be aged 13 or over, can play a wide range of games traditionally associated with betting, including roulette, slot machines and card games.
Addiction experts have now claimed the games could lead children to becoming habitual gamers or even “problem” gamblers.
They believe the free games could lead youngsters to believe they are just harmless fun, setting them on a path towards betting with real currency.
A spokeswoman for charity GamCare added they would like the Gambling Commission to research social gaming and investigate it further.
Mandy Barrie, policy and development director, told the newspaper: “This is a really rapidly-moving area. We need to think through very carefully any risks that it presents particularly for young people.
“There is a link between early exposure to gambling and developing a problem in adulthood.”
These games are designed to get kids into gambling as quickly as possible. Facebook knows it, parents unfortunately don’t.
Click here to read my post ‘Facebook Doesn’t Seem to Care About Kids’.
Tags:charity GamCare, Child Welfare, Children and addiction, children are becoming habitual gamers, Education, Facebook betting gambling games for children, Facebook free gambling games, Fluff Friends, Gambling Addiction among children, Gambling Commission, Mandy Barrie, News, Parenting, roulette, slot machines and card games, social media
Posted in Child Welfare, Social Media | Leave a Comment »
July 12, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCH6xKhnjPM
Well done Lezlie Bicknell on a most heroic act:
A New Mexico woman heroically jumped to save two children alone in a runaway van, even as her own vehicle slid into traffic.
Lezlie Bicknell says she was shocked to see a young child behind the wheel of a minivan she pulled up next to in an Albuquerque strip mall parking lot.
“There was a small child in the driver’s seat,” Bicknell, 40, told ABC affiliate KOAT. “I literally watched her shift it into gear. I knew what was going to happen.”
The two children were reportedly locked inside the minivan while their parents ran into a nearby convenience store, and one of the youngsters accidentally knocked the vehicle into neutral.
Video shows the minivan sliding backward toward the street, and Bicknell jumping from her truck to help. Then her own vehicle starts to roll backward, too.
Tags:Albuquerque strip mall parking lot, Bicknell jumping from her truck to save children, facebook, insurance pay for damage to her truck Lezlie Bicknell, Lezlie Bicknell hero, Lezlie Bicknell saves children from runaway van, New Mexico woman hero, New Mexico woman saves children from runaway van, News, Parenting, two children were reportedly locked inside the minivan saved by woman, Video of woman saving children from runaway van
Posted in Child Welfare | 2 Comments »
July 10, 2012
I know of people who struggle with debilitating depression. It is a complex illness, with many different triggers and dimensions. I imagine that it must frustrate people suffering from depression to read articles like this one:
Violence aired on TV round the clock is causing depression, anxiety and post-traumatic disorder amongst children, according to a senior psychiatrist at the Ziauddin Hospital, Dr Syed Ali Wasif.
“A child or any other individual who is abruptly exposed to the sound of a cracker or breaking news on a TV channel goes through fear, anxiety, uncertainty and hopelessness,” Dr Wasif told The News on Tuesday.
“The child can develop depression and post-traumatic disorder. It also affects their educational productivity,” he said.
Are you telling me news is a trigger for depression? How would people suffering from this complex condition feel about that assertion?
The same goes with autism. With the autism spectrum seemingly widening every day, now including cases of such slight autism you wouldn’t be able to detect it if you weren’t alerted to the diagnosis, I feel for those with clear autism. Why should they be pigeonholed with others who have a dramatically easier quality of life and functionality?
If “the sound of a cracker” really is enough to send a child into clinical depression I’ll eat my shoe.
Click on the link to read Schools Have to Wake Up to Confidence Issues Amongst Students
Click on the link to read, Stricken with Self-Doubt
Tags:Asperger's, Autism, Autism spectrum, Child Welfare, Depression, Dr Syed Ali Wasif, Education, Medical conditions, post-traumatic disorder amongst children, PTSD, Violence on TV causing depression and anxiety, World Health Organisation, Ziauddin Hospital
Posted in Child Welfare | Leave a Comment »
July 10, 2012
Bill Henson, a so-called artist, who makes his living by photographing (among other subjects) minors in the nude, is no expert on child welfare. I find it quite upsetting that a person who has grown to prominence by insisting that photographs of naked minors are somehow artistic, gets the platform to point the finger at the church and sport.
The church is an easy target. Mr. Henson has made a diversionary “cheap shot” which is offensive and in very bad taste:
CONTROVERSIAL photographer Bill Henson has pointed to sport and the church as far more likely to harm children than anything involving the arts.
Mr Henson, who sparked outrage by including images of naked minors in a 2008 exhibition, told The Australian that the arts were the last thing likely to actually harm kids.
“We’re talking about the potential for harm,” he said. “If you want to talk about that in relation to real children and real harm, you’d have to start with priests in the church, or sport.
“If you want to talk about actual harm to actual kids, the last place you would start would be the arts.”
Henson has an exhibition opening in Sydney in September but said he had not decided whether it would include nude figures.
“There’s a lot of grassroots common sense out there in Australian society and I think a lot of people began to get a bit sick of it,” he said in reference to the furore over his 2008 exhibition.
I am not in favour of banning Mr. Henson’s work, but I am certainly not a devotee. In my opinion, there is no way to photograph a naked pre-pubecent child without being exploitative and without sexualising the “model”. Sure he might be talented, but talent isn’t an excuse for poor taste.
Mr. Henson should stop looking for easy diversions and grow up!
Tags:Bill Henson, Child Welfare, Children, Chruch and harm to children, CONTROVERSIAL photographer Bill Henson, Education, Mr Henson parked outrage by including images of naked minors, News, Parenting, photographer Bill Henson sport and the church more likely to harm children than arts, Photography, Photography and minors, Sexualising children, Sport and hard to children, The Arts
Posted in Child Welfare | Leave a Comment »
July 6, 2012
Of course children find the Olympic mascots creepy. What were they thinking?
THEY were meant to inspire young people to engage with sport, but the London Olympic mascots have been branded too creepy for children.
The one-eyed Wenlock and Mandeville – who were apparently born from the “last drops of steel” from the Olympic Stadium – were the product of an 18-month creative process using more than 40 focus groups.
Scores of giant statues of the creatures are about to be unveiled across London as part of a $48.5 million (STG 32m) makeover to drum up enthusiasm in the run-up to the Games.
But the Cyclops-like cartoon characters have faced a barrage of criticism online.
In merchandise reviews for the mascots on Internet shopping site Amazon, buyers have called the creatures “menacing” and “terrifying”.
“Like a nightmare, this evil eyed monster stares straight into your soul looking for the slightest weakness,” reviewer Mr Nicholas Shearer wrote.
Tags:Child Welfare, Children, Creepy olympic mascots, Cyclops-like olympic mascots, Education, kids, London Olympic mascots, Mascot, News, Olympic games mascot, Sport, Wenlock and Mandeville, Wenlock and Mandeville scary for children
Posted in Child Welfare | Leave a Comment »
July 6, 2012
I personally would have never allowed my daughter to wear the new controversial baby bikini onesie:
A baby bodysuit with a woman’s silhouette printed on the front has parents in Southaven, MS outraged. “Inappropriate” is what several shoppers said when Action News 5 interviewed them outside of Gordman’s, the store selling the onesie.
Wild Child, a brand manufactured by Bon Bebe, sized the outfit for 18-month-old girls. But mom Cathryn McKee told the news station, “I just think that is a little ridiculous that you would put that on your child.” One father who spoke on camera says he wouldn’t let his daughter wear the “bikini” because “it gives people the wrong idea too quickly.”
Clever marketing should see this product be boosted by the negative publicity and sell like hotcake. I think we’ll pass on this one though.
Click here to see a news clip on the bikini.
Tags:Babies, Baby, baby bikini onesie, baby bodysuit with a woman's silhouette, Bon Bebe bikini, Child Welfare, Children, Controversial baby bikini, controversial baby bikini onesie, crotchless panties at 'Kids N Teen' in Colorado, Fashion, Gordman's baby bikini onesie, Jours Apres Lunes, Lock Up Your Daughters Bon Bebe, News, Parenting, Sexualising children, Shopping, Wild Child bikini, Wild Child Gordman
Posted in Child Welfare | 2 Comments »
July 5, 2012
Just like in life, there are luxuries and necessities. Educators want to make us believe that digital gadgets like smart boards are a vital tool in the modern-day classroom. That is simply not true. Whilst I love my smart board and I was disappointed when it was out-of-order earlier this year, I can teach perfectly well without it.
One of the biggest necessities in education is the need for our students to arrive at school well fed and fully nourished. If that is not the case, it is our duty to do all that we can to provide healthy food for them.
But schools are underfunded? Where will the money come from?
I believe that even if we have to go without smart boards and other useful but non-essential equipment, it is worth it in order to ensure that our students are not going hungry:
Two children in every school class are going hungry because their parents fail to provide proper meals, according to new research.
An estimated one million children in the UK now live in homes without enough to eat, according to the study by the parenting website Netmums and the child welfare charity Kids Company.
The charity has reported a rise of 233 per cent in the last 12 months in children using its services for their only meal of the day. Those children have an average age of just 10.
Camila Batmanghelidjh, the founder of Kids Company, said: “We are seeing a lot more children struggling to get hold of food. We have kids who were so starving they stole frozen meat from a flat they visited and they ate it raw. We’re seeing effectively responsible parents who are just not managing to have food in the house.
This is another consequence of those blasted standardized tests. Schools wouldn’t dare invest in anything that didn’t have an immediate impact on student learning – including breakfast.
This is not good enough. We represent more than just a place of learning. We must also focus our attention on student welfare and ensure that every child that enters a classroom will be looked after properly, no matter what.
Tags:Camila Batmanghelidjh, Child Welfare, child welfare charity Kids Company, children in every school class are going hungry, Educating the Financially Disadvantaged, Education, hildren in the UK now live in homes without enough to eat, Hungry students, Kids Company, Luxaries in the classroom, News, Parenting, parenting website Netmums, parents fail to provide proper meals for their children, Poverty, Smart Boards, Standardized Tests
Posted in Child Welfare, Educating the Financially Disadvantaged | 3 Comments »
July 5, 2012
I have absolutely no sympathy for child sex offenders and I am happy to strip them of all privileges that can be used to trap children.
Merlyn Horton is wrong to argue that educating children is better than banning sex offenders from social media. All children must be educated on issues related to cybersafety. But education is not nearly enough. We have a duty to do far more than educate our children. We have a duty to do everything in our power to protect impressionable kids:
Educating children is a better way to protect them from online predators than banning sex offenders from social media sites or forcing them to disclose their crimes on social networks, says an online-safety spokeswoman.
Merlyn Horton was commenting after recent moves in the U.S. to use legislation to crack down on Internet sex predators.
For predatory pedophiles, social networks and the Internet are an “open avenue,” expert Merlyn Horton said, adding resources would be better directed to educating youth rather than trying to enforce bans or requiring Internet users to disclose crimes.
Horton noted there have been cases in Canada where individuals have been barred from using the Internet because of their crimes against children. But instead of through legislation, this has been done through conditions on parole or bail release, she said.
Even then, people can find ways to easily circumvent the restrictions.
“I remember a particular case I got called on,” she said. “The guy was accessing and luring children through the public library.”
Tags:banning sex offenders from social media, Child Welfare, Cyber Safety, disclose their crimes on social networks, Educating children is a better way to protect them from online predators than banning sex offenders from social media sites or forcing them to disclose their crimes on social networks, Education, facebook, Google, Internet, Merlyn Horton, News, Parenting, predatory pedophiles, requiring Internet users to disclose crimes, Safe OnLine Outreach Society, social media, Twitter, U.S. to use legislation to crack down on Internet sex predators
Posted in Child Welfare, Cyber Safety | 2 Comments »
Topical Teaching 