How bad do you have to be as a parent to even entertain trying to get a hold of a lollypop laced with the chicken pox disease? What in the world is going on with some parents nowadays?
A federal prosecutor is warning parents against trading chicken pox-laced lollipops by mail in what authorities describe as misguided attempts to expose their children to the virus to build immunity later in life.
The warning came after media reports surfaced about a multi-state ring of parents, wary of vaccinations that prevent the disease, who were swapping lollipops licked by a sick child in a modern day incarnation of a chicken pox party.
In those so-called parties, parents purposely put sick children together with healthy children in order to spread the ailment and build immunity without having the children vaccinated. This new form of party shares the disease anonymously and long-distance.
“Sending a virus or disease through the U.S. mail (and private carriers) is illegal. It doesn’t matter if it crosses state lines,” said David Boling, public information officer for the Attorney in Nashville.
“Also, it is against federal law to adulterate or tamper with consumer products, such as candy.”
The “Pox Parties” are a sick invention. To purposely drag your child to a party of strangers suffering a contagious disease in the hope your child gets it too, is unfathomable if not downright dangerous.
But this lollipop idea is even more demented!
Parents that want to infect their kids with chicken pox so much that they are willing to buy lollipops licked by a sick child, have got to be sick themselves.
Perhaps they have already bought and tried lollipops laced with a cocktail of stupidity and foolishness, which have been licked by a host of hopeless parents.
Be punctual — Teachers are on a tight schedule so if you are late you might get bumped to stand-by.
Come with a list of questions — Avoid wasting time by jotting down your most important concerns before the conference. If you have a question that requires a lengthy response, schedule a follow-up time to speak with the teacher.
Focus on academics — The primary focus of school is academics so ask questions about how your child is doing and how you may help your child improve if necessary.
Be open-minded — The teacher may have some observations you do not see at home. Our kids bring out our most basic emotions, but try to opt out of defensive mode and listen to what the teacher has to say.
Ask for clarification — If the teacher says your child is “chatty” or “plays roughly” ask specifically what that means or ask for examples when he or she displayed that behavior.
Don’t complain about other kids — However, suggesting she not sit your child with another child is fine. If there have been specific incidents you feel the teacher should know about, go ahead and share. The teacher will listen and handle it, she just can’t comment on other kids.
Treat the teacher with respect — It’s sad that I even need to say that. Teachers are professionals with the education and experience necessary to competently teach your child. You would not appreciate other people that are not in your profession telling you how to do your job and either do they.
Do not stay past allotted time — Understand that the teacher is not trying to rush you but there is only so much time and others are probably peering in the door for any sign you are about to wrap it up.
I agree with all of them except for the one about keeping the focus on the academic. I believe that parents should be able to focus on any matter or topic that concerns or interests them. I also believe that the social welfare of a child is every bit as important as their academic progress.
Even the best parents and teachers struggle to get kids doing menial tasks on a consistent basis. From making their beds to putting their lunchboxs back in their bag, it’s amazing how difficult it is to get children to be responsible for small yet important tasks.
That is, until an app was designed to assist desperate and exhausted parents:
You may find this shocking, but getting my 11- and 9-year-olds to do household chores is like pulling teeth. Rotten kids!
That may change now that I’ve got You Rules Chores on my iPhone. This clever new app turns household chores into a game, rewarding each kid a designated number of coins for each completed job. Whoever finishes the week’s chores first is the winner. (Of course, we all know who the real winners are: mom and dad.)
The app features cute graphics and music, and after a parent gets set up as the “referee,” each kid gets to choose an avatar (from only six available, alas).
Unfortunately, teachers and Facebook aren’t always a match made in heaven. Whilst the vast majority of teachers on Facebook are responsible and mature enough to stay out of trouble, there’s always a news story popping up about tasteless comments a teacher made against students or minority groups. This month it is Viki Knox, a Special Education teacher who was rightly condemned for her anti-gay comments on Facebook.
The media storm resulting from the Knox case and others like it serve as a timely reminder to teachers on Facebook that they must be extremely careful not to offend (something which shouldn’t be hard to do).
More than one in seven teachers has been the victim of cyberbullying by pupils or parents, and almost half know a colleague who has been targeted, according to a survey published today.
Students have set up “hate” groups on social networking sites calling for specific teachers to be sacked and have even created fake profiles in their names containing defamatory information.
Schools must make clear to pupils that such behaviour will lead to punishment, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said.
Schools seem to be increasingly soft on parents that bully teachers. Turning a blind-eye to Facebook campaigns and insulting comments against teachers is not acceptable. Teachers so often feel isolated and powerless against taunts from parents.
Who do they turn to for support?
When schools claim to have a “zero tolerance for bullying”, they ought to include bullying of teachers by parents. Any parent caught bullying a teacher online should be subjected to the same penalty as a teacher. They should be told to take their child and find another school.
If you think that’s harsh, try being a bullied teacher. I’m glad I’ve never been bullied, because I guarantee you, it’s not easy!
I read a brilliant article in The National about the lies we tell our children and when is the right time to confess that the Easter Bunny they are so fond of isn’t real.
Below is just an excerpt of the article. I strongly encourage you to read the entire piece by following this link.
The world is a confusing place for small children, particularly as they only learn to distinguish between reality and fantasy between the ages of three and five. Jacqueline Woolley, a psychology professor at the University of Texas in the US, found that by the age of four, children learn to use the context in which new information is presented to distinguish between fact and fiction. So, before long, your little one will be figuring out that the tooth fairy isn’t who you said she is. Which begs the question: at what age should we tell our children that their beloved magical characters aren’t real? Or, should we even claim that they’re real in the first place?
Last Christmas I witnessed the most heated debate I’d ever come across on Facebook. It didn’t involve politics, religion or money. No; it was Santa Claus who caused the divide. One friend posed the question: “Should I tell Sophie Father Christmas is real?” What followed was a polarised debate between those who wanted their children to enjoy a magical gift-giving time and those who believed that perpetuating the story of Santa was being dishonest with their offspring. “I was devastated when I found out it was my mum, not Santa, who hung the stocking on the end of my bed,” admitted one father. Whereas others regretted never having the chance to believe in Santa because older siblings had spoilt it for them.
“I make a point of always being honest with my daughter and now she has turned six I’m feeling increasingly uncomfortable with perpetuating the lie of Santa Claus,” admitted Rosie Cuffley, a mother of two.
According to Carmen Benton, a parenting educator and educational consultant at LifeWorks, Dubai, Rosie shouldn’t worry. “Sharing the world of fantasy characters with our children is not a lie, but rather a playful way of storytelling and connecting as a family to fun events. Think about the joy and excitement that thoughts of characters such as Santa Claus can induce. You have the power to create a magical world of dreams, wishes and storytelling for your kids and I believe these are part of being a playful parent.”
It’s a different scenario when children ask directly whether Santa Claus, for example, is real. Most psychologists agree that children need to know they can trust their parents to tell them the truth, even about magical characters. “The majority of children will let go of a fantasy after the age of eight, and most would be happy for the years of the imaginary world they had been able to enjoy,” says Benton.
I feel terrible that my daughter still believes in the Tooth Fairy. I don’t like perpetuating a lie (especially one I know will be uncovered sometime soon). I have a feeling, irrational or otherwise, that when she does find out, her first thought will be, “What else is he lying to me about?”
I am an over-protective father and proud of it. I am hesitant when my daughter takes any risks and hate to see her in discomfort. Yet, at the same time, I realise that cuts and grazes are part of life and growing up. You can’t shadow your child in the playground to prevent them from tripping and you can’t ban them from low-risk activities on the off-chance that something might occur.
That is why I am so opposed to the persistent interference by Governments and local councils in banning everyday activities. It is not their place to decide what toy my child should play with. They may choose to advise me about the risks and encourage me to supervise my child with graet care, but the constant banning is taking things too far.
The EU toy safety directive, agreed and implemented by Government, states that balloons must not be blown up by unsupervised children under the age of eight, in case they accidentally swallow them and choke.
Despite having been popular favourites for generations of children, party games including whistles and magnetic fishing games are to be banned because their small parts or chemicals used in making them are decreed to be too risky.
Apparently harmless toys that children have enjoyed for decades are now regarded by EU regulators as posing an unacceptable safety risk.
Whistle blowers, that scroll out into a long coloured paper tongue when sounded – a party favourite at family Christmas meals – are now classed as unsafe for all children under 14.
As well as new rules for balloons and party whistles, the EU legislation will impose restrictions on how noisy toys, including rattles or musical instruments, are allowed to be.
All teddy bears meant for children under the age of three will now have to be fully washable because EU regulators are concerned that dirty cuddly toys could spread disease and infection.
The EU and other Government bodies will continue to come up with irrational and overbearing legislation, but no matter how hard they try they will never be my child’s parent.
Nearly every day there is some expert quoting some study about how important it is to talk about sex with your children. Whilst I have no problem with the message, I wonder why it is constantly being regurgitated.
Why is it always, “teach your children about sex”? What about teaching your children about manners, selflessness, hard work and respect for others? Why aren’t these messages seen as important as the “birds and the bees”?
Now they’re telling parents they should talk to their 5-year olds about sex. My child is 6 and she just discovered that the fish you eat is the same as the fish that swim. Is this really the time to be discussing sex?
CHILDREN have sex for the first time between the ages of 14 and 15 says a new study, which also suggests that parents should talk to them about their sexuality from as early as the age of five.
I think I will shelve plans of having the “sex” talk for the time being. I’ve got more pressing problems to tend to – like getting my daughter to eat fish again!
The message to parents has been clear: Monitor your child’s Facebook page to ensure that they maintain their page in a safe and responsible way. But there are parents who think they are doing a meticulous job of supervising their children, only to come undone by a loophole being heavily exploited to ward off protective parents:
Are you a parent who keeps an eye on who posts what on your child’s Facebook account? Perhaps you know their password and sneak a look at their messages from time to time? You may even enjoy the trusted privilege of being a “friend”.
Whatever the situation, social networking sites are a source of anxiety for parents, and now the latest trend will only add to their alarm. Children are staying way ahead of attempts by parents and schools to police their online activity And the latest ruse is a secret, fake-name Facebook account.
“Some kids will have two or even three,” says Dr Barbie Clarke, of the youth research agency Family Kids and Youth, who monitors online trends among schoolchildren in the UK.
“Their habits change and we’re seeing them progress from the obvious lie about their age – allowing them to use Facebook in the first place – to this second or third identity. It’s usually driven by Mum picking up on something from their page and raising it with them. They want privacy and they want a secret world.” She is very relaxed about Facebook use by children, saying she thinks they are generally more sensible and supportive of each other than they get credit for. “A second identity can be used for nastiness, to anonymously bully, but generally it’s about secrecy – like a secret diary, or dialogue they can have away from parents and other family members.”
Many children use school facilities to access their fake accounts. “I have two,” admits Harriet, 14.
I feel sorry for today’s parents. With new and highly specialised technological advances flooding the market, parents are finding it much harder to adapt than their children. No matter how hard they try to supervise and protect their children, sometimes it must feel like hitting your head against a brick wall.
I can understand how a parent can feel frustrated and powerless when they find that their child is bullied at school. I am not surprised to hear that many schools are slow to act on bullying (if at all). Schools should not hide behind draconian policies and soft and ineffective consequences and should start taking real affirmative action with bullying behaviour.
But it is not the place for a parent to confront the bully, instruct their child to beat up the bully and most of all it is not a parents place to strike their child’s bullies. Daphne Melin might have tried to help her daughter ward off bullies, but in doing so she exposed herself as the real bully in this sad and sorry episode:
Cell phone cameras recorded Daphne Melin egging on her 12-year-old daughter, as she fought with another girl.
And then, the 32-year-old mother lashed out at a third preteen, grabbing her by the hair and kneeing her at least twice in the face.
“I don’t encourage fighting, I think it’s the wrong thing to do,” Melin told Eyewitness News on Tuesday night.
She blamed the William Floyd School District, insisting her daughter had been the victim of bullying and threats of physical violence online, actions she claims administrators did nothing to stop.
So at her wits end, Melin’s lawyer Michael Brown says she drove her daughter to the schoolyard to confront her tormenters.
“You get very frustrated with a couple of things. The lack of response by the authorities coupled with the fact that your daughter, who is an innocent person, is being continuously harassed,” she said.
Whilst I feel that this should be a lesson to all schools that are not doing enough to address their bullying problems, the biggest lessons of all are reserved for parents. Not even the frustration of an inactive and non-compliant school warrants such behaviour. Ms. Melin should have known better. Her conduct, especially in relation to a concerned bystander was just appalling.
I think I’m in the wrong profession. Perhaps I should give up teaching and apply for a research grant. Every day the papers are rife with some obvious or completely warped research intended in making already insecure parents feel even more uneasy about the job they are doing.
Researchers say this could be because children mimic the chaotic behaviour of their favourite TV characters, or because the fast-moving and illogical cartoons make them over-excited.
In other words children enjoy the show, they respond to it in an imaginative way and it excites them. That’s a good thing, right? Well, apparently not:
Tests showed that four year-olds who watched just a few minutes of the popular television show were less able to solve problems and pay attention afterwards than those who saw a less frenetic programme or simply sat drawing.
As a result, they suggest that parents consider carefully which programmes they allow their offspring to watch, as well as encouraging them to enjoy more sedate and creative activities such as playing board games.
Angeline Lillard from the University of Virginia, who carried out the experiment, said: “Parents should know that children who have just watched SpongeBob Squarepants, or shows like it, might become compromised in their ability to learn and behave with self-control.
“Young children are beginning to learn how to behave as well as how to learn. At school, they have to behave properly, they need to sit at a table and eat properly, they need to be respectful, and all of that requires executive functions.
What is wrong with varying forms of stimulus? Sure watching too much television isn’t good for a child, but why can’t they combine drawing and board games with other activities that excite them?
Perhaps the problem is that in a bid to get children to follow rigid rules like sitting in classrooms without showing any signs of restlessness or boredom, we are instructed to take away the very pastimes which our children actually respond to?
Prof Lillard suggested: “It is possible that the fast pacing, where characters are constantly in motion from one thing to the next, and extreme fantasy, where the characters do things that make no sense in the real world, may disrupt the child’s ability to concentrate immediately afterward.
“Another possibility is that children identify with unfocused and frenetic characters, and then adopt their characteristics.”
Or perhaps kids just want something with a bit of energy and verve after a day of mat sessions and handwriting practise. Perhaps the “real world” need to adapt to kids. Perhaps we should be doing more to capture their attention rather than trying to dull their senses by making them play endless games of Monopoly.
I’ve got an idea for a research project. The effects of a balanced, nurturing, moderate and non-restictive lifestyle on children.
I’m guessing my reasearch proposal isn’t loopy enough to get funding.
Topical Teaching 
