This great video reminded me of some of the classic expressions my children have when trying a new dinner recipe:
A heartwarming and hilarious video has captured the brutal honesty of children’s first encounters with new foods, showing their reactions in slow motion.
Made by Saatchi & Saatchi, the two and a half minute homage entitled The First Taste was inspired when a creative director at the company’s Australian branch watched his own daughter try a gherkin.
The video focuses on seven toddlers and infants as they try sophisticated foods such as pickled onions, olives, anchovies and Vegemite.
There is a reason why the age of consent is not at 13. It is largely to ward off manipulative and controlling men from young and vulnerable girls. If considered of legal age to engage in sexual activity, a 13-year old would be less likely to make informed choices and be more likely to be pressured and cajoled beyond her own comfort limits.
What makes this suggestion even more astonishing is that it was proposed in order to make legal the alleged actions of possible pedophiles:
The age of consent for sex should be lowered to 13-years-old in a bid to end the ‘persecution of old men’ in the wake of the Savile sex abuse scandal, a top female barrister has argued.
Lawyer Barbara Hewson described the arrests of celebrities such as Rolf Harris, Dave Lee Travis, Jim Davidson and PR guru Max Clifford under Operation Yewtree as a ‘grotesque spectacle’ adding it had ‘nothing to do with justice or the public interest’.
You know when things have gone out of control when the disrespect shown by children to adults goes beyond targeting parents and teachers, and instead becomes focused on the Prime Minister of our country.
The child who threw a sandwich at the PM will unfortunately become a cult hero among disaffected teens. To me, his actions are emblematic of a generation that exhibits a general lack of respect for authority:
A STUDENT suspended for throwing a sandwich at the Prime Minister during a visit at a Logan school has denied he did it.
Kyle Thomson, 16, was one of many teens who mobbed Julia Gillard during a visit to Marsden State High School, south of Brisbane, this morning.
As much as it is largely ineffective and unprofessional we have all yelled at our students at one time or another. It can be extremely hard to remain calm when students become unruly and uncooperative.
Although intended for parents, this list by Laura Markham, Ph.D. provides sound strategies for maintaining composure around children:
It is my ardent belief that there are far too many children on ADHD medication. Whilst I am clearly no expert, it bothers me when children are prescribed Ritalin and the like, when other factors such as diet, learning difficulties and personal issues have not been properly looked at.
It also bothers me that the amount of children taking prescription medication seems to be escalating markedly. Even the experts are starting to raise doubts about the over prescribing that seems to be taking place.
One-in-four U.S. teens has misused or abused a prescription drug at least once — a 33 percent increase in the past five years, experts say.
A survey by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation also found 1-in-8 U.S. teens reported taking the stimulants Ritalin or Adderall not prescribed for them at least once.
There can be nothing more dispiriting for a parent than to be faced with challenges concerning their children that they can’t intervene in or correct. What do you do if they tell you they hate school? You can’t always change schools. How do you make the school experience palatable for your children when you have no control whatsoever over the day-to-day running of their school?
Teachers can’t afford to be stupid and irresponsible. Our carelessness and negligence can cost far too much to be tolerated lightly. Even if we are to believe that this teacher had no idea that the book he bought for his student was for mature readers only, the lack of awareness and due diligence to simply read the front cover (let alone doing basic research on the book’s content) is reason enough to hand him a much more severe penalty than a week off:
The “My First Rifle” concept is absolutely abhorrent! Gifting a rifle to a 5-year-old achieves no discernible purpose whatsoever. The result of such negligence can certainly lead to tragedy:
A 2-year-old girl was accidentally shot and killed by her 5-year-old brother while he was playing with a child-size rifle given to him as a gift, authorities in Kentucky say.
Caroline Starks, a blonde, blue-eyed girl, was fatally shot in the chest by her brother’s .22-caliber rifle only minutes after her mother says she stepped outside their home in Burkesville on Tuesday.
The single-shot weapon fired is a rifle specifically marketed to children as ‘My First Rifle’ by company Keystone Sporting Arms, according to authorities.
It was given to the 5-year-old as a gift last year, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White told the Lexington Herald-Leader.‘It’s a Crickett,’ White identified the weapon used. ‘It’s a little rifle for a kid. …The little boy’s used to shooting the little gun.’‘Accidents happen with guns,’ he continued. ‘They thought the gun was actually unloaded, and it wasn’t.’‘It was god’s will. It was her time to go, I guess,’ Caroline’s grandmother, Linda Riddle, told Lex18 on Wednesday.
‘I just know she’s in heaven right now and I know she’s in good hands with the lord,’ Riddle said.
The company, Keystone Sporting Arms, produced 60,000 Crickett and Chipmunk rifles in 2008, according to its website.It also makes guns for adults, but most of its products are geared toward children. The smaller guns come in all sorts of colors, including blue and pink.
The company’s slogan is ‘my first rifle’ and its website has a ‘Kids Corner’ section where pictures of young boys and girls are displayed, most of them showing the children at shooting ranges and on bird and deer hunts. The smaller rifles are sold with a mount to use at a shooting range.
The shooting highlights a cultural divide in the gun debate. While many suburban and urban areas work to keep guns out of the hands of children, it’s not uncommon for youths in rural areas to own guns for target practice and hunting.
This is surely a craze that those partaking in will regret at some point:
A Japanese hair salon is rewriting the meaning of cutting edge after taking fashion inspiration from the humble tomato. The innovative design has emerged from Osaka’s trendy Amemura district and is already spreading across the internet. Stylist Hiro says the hairdo, called ‘Ripe Tomatoes’ or kanjuku tomato in Japanese, is his masterpiece.
As well as fruit, Hiro has also looked to the world of nature to inspire him. One model sported a half red and black spotted ladybird hairstyle, which was teamed with pink girls on the other side. A male model had part of head dyed yellow with black spots that resembled a cheetah. Other edgy hair-dos included multi-coloured cartoonish rainbow effects.
One model’s tresses were given a monochrome look with black and white stripes.As well as colour, Trick Store staff are also not afraid to experiment with texture. A model had numbers shaved into the back of her head and then dyed pink. The look involves cutting the hair into a rounded crop before dying it bright tomato red. Sections from the crown are then shaped and coloured green to resemble a tomato’s stalk.
Sadly, like the fruit, the style has a shelf life.
The red and the green fades quickly and the ‘leaves’ are difficult to shape after being washed.
Ripe Tomatoes is one of a number of bold designs to emerge from the salon Trick Store.
Topical Teaching 