The Effect of Pornography on Children’s Minds

March 18, 2013

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Whilst exposure to online pornography is unlikely to be the only trigger for sexual behaviour and misconduct, teachers are entitled to raise their concerns:

They will warn that the increased availability of pornography on the internet is warping school pupils’ ideas of sexual relationships and that children are often engaging in sexual behaviour on school premises.

Teacher leaders now believe the problem has become so significant that they want new policies to be drawn up on how to deal with the issue.

They are particularly concerned about the practice of “sexting” – which sees young girls being pressurised into taking intimate pictures or videos of themselves on a camera phone and sending them to others.

They are also asking for the introduction of new lessons on the dangers posed by pornography.

Helen Porter, a biology teacher who will raise a motion about the impact of pornography on pupils at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers annual conference next week, said: “Sexual activity in school is becoming more normalised because pupils are seeing it more.

“I’ve heard of a 13 year old girl taking part in an amateur porn video – it is really sickening. Research has found that 50 per cent of youngsters had taken part in some sort of webcam sexual experience.”

Official figures show that more than 3,000 pupils were excluded from state schools in 2010-2011 for sexual misconduct.

Recent research from Plymouth University also revealed that 80 per cent of young people are looking at sexual images online on a regular basis. The average age to start viewing pornography was about 11 or 12 while sexting was considered almost routine for many 13-14 year olds.

The academics warned that schoolchildren were becoming desensitised to sexual images after accessing hard core material.

 

Click on the link to read Parents Shouldn’t Be in Denial Over This Very Real Addiction

Click on the link to read Video Game Addiction is Real and Very Serious!

Click on the link to read Internet Addiction and our Children

Click on the link to read Issues Relating to Kids and Video Games

Click on the link to read Are you Addicted to the Internet?

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It is Shameful to Claim that Paedophilia is NOT a Crime

March 17, 2013

Newly elected Pope Francis is given a yellow Catholic faith bracelet following a meeting at the Vatican

This comment does no good for the Catholic institution and the cardinal should be in the very least disciplined for his misguided comments:

A South African cardinal who helped elect Pope Francis has described paedophilia as a psychological illness and not ‘a criminal condition’.

The Catholic Archbishop of Durban, Wilfrid Fox Napier, told BBC Radio 5 live that people who were abused as children and became paedophiles were not criminally responsible for their actions in the same way as somebody ‘who chooses to do something like that’.

Cardinal Napier, who was among the 115 cardinals in the conclave at the Vatican that elected Pope Francis earlier this week, called paedophilia a ‘psychological disorder.

And just three days into the new role, the pope and the Catholic Church are now faced with fresh child abuse controversy after the cardinal’s remarks.

He said: ‘What do you do with disorders? You have got to try and put them right.

‘If I as a normal being choose to break the law knowing that I am breaking the law, then I think I need to be punished…

‘From my experience paedophilia is actually an illness, it is not a criminal condition, it is an illness.’

The cardinal spoke of two priests he knew who were abused as children and went on to become paedophiles.

He told the BBC: ‘Don’t tell me that those people are criminally responsible like somebody who chooses to do something like that.

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Posted in Child Welfare | 2 Comments »

Facebook Leads to the Arrest of a 14-Year-Old Bully

March 15, 2013

lashing

The constant stories of special needs students being bullied is frightening.

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after a video of an assault on another pupil who desperately tried to defend himself was posted online.

The Facebook clip appears to show a teenager from Winifred Holtby School in Hull, East Yorkshire, repeatedly hitting another boy, lashing out six times with his fists and headbutting him twice.

Pupils have condemned the 27-second video taken on a school bus, which has been shared more than 200 times, with nearly 700 Facebook users expressing their anger and sadness over the attack.

What I don’t like about the reaction from the school is their reliance on policies to avert any personal responsibility:

He added: ‘While we will not specifically discuss this case, we do not and we will not tolerate the behaviour shown. The school’s behaviour policy clearly states our expectations for our students.

‘We will do everything we can by using the school powers that are available to us to uphold not only the reputation of the school but our local community as well.’

Sue Yardley, senior education officer for behaviour and attendance at Hull City Council, said: ‘This behaviour is absolutely unacceptable.

‘Schools have the power to discipline actions such as this, even when it occurs outside of school, in accordance with their discipline policy.

Their in-depth policies may have saved them legally, but for this to occur, parents and anxious members of the public should raise the obvious question – Is a set of policies sufficient to stop bullying behavior?

To view the graphic video click on this link.

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Click on the link to read Self-Esteem Crisis Even More Serious than the Obesity Crisis

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Torturing Children Is Not a “Learning Experience”

March 13, 2013

william

I believe that any parent that tortures their children, yet manages to escape a jail sentence can consider themselves very fortunate:

A father has admitted waterboarding four children – including his two sons – after claiming it was a learning experience for them.

William Province, 42, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and was given two years’ probation.

Province from Jefferson County, Montana, carried out the torture, which simulates drowning, on his nine and 12-year-old sons and two other children aged 13 and 15, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.

His girlfriend at the time said he broke her wrist and some fingers on December 5 when she tried to stop him from punishing the children, court records said.

She said Province straddled each boy with his hands over the child’s face and mouth and dumped water on their faces to simulate drowning.

The woman told investigators that the man described it as a learning experience for the boys.

Waterboarding is an extreme form of torture which can result in oxygen deprivation to the brain and lungs.

Prosecutors dropped felony charges that included making threats against public officials and others.

In keeping with the plea agreement, District Judge James B. Wheelis sentenced the man to 180 days in jail for each charge, all suspended.

That amounts to two years of probation, minus the 80 days he has already spent in custody, the Independent Record reported.

Prosecutors said in court records that a witness had reported that the man had body armor, assault rifles and armor-piercing ammunition.

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The Mother Who Tried to Sell Her Kids on Facebook for $4,000!

March 12, 2013

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An utterly shameless and reckless act from a mother who clearly doesn’t realise that having children is a precious gift:

Here’s a quick parenting tip: it’s not OK to offer to sell your children on Facebook, even if you really need the money.

Misty VanHorn, a 22-year old mother of two in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, found that out the hard way over the weekend.

VanHorn was arrested on Saturday for the alleged trafficking of minors on Facebook – offering her 10-month old and her 2 year-old for $US4000 ($3890).

According to the police report, VanHorn offered her children several times on the social network – offering the 10-month old girl for $US1000 ($972), or both of them for $US4000. And she had a taker.

Police believe VanHorn wanted the $US1000 to bail her boyfriend out of jail.

VanHorn was dealing with a woman in Fort Smith, Arkansas, according to The Oklahoman. This means she could be charged with a federal crime because the act would have crossed state borders.

“Just come to Sallisaw, it’s only 30 minutes away and I’ll give you all of her stuff and let y’all have her forever for $1000,” read VanHorn’s Facebook message to the Fort Smith woman, as unearthed in the police report by the Daily Dot.

She is being held on a $US40,000 ($38,900) bond. The children are in the custody of the state’s department of human services, which alerted the police in the first place.

A word of caution for anyone rushing to Facebook to find the alleged perpetrator: there are multiple Misty VanHorns on the social network. Two of them live in Oklahoma. One looks similar to the mugshot released by the Sequoyah County Police Department, but does not appear to live in VanHorn’s town, Sallisaw.

 

Click on the link to read How Giving Your Children a Bath Can Get You on a Sex Offender Registry

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Click on the link to read Mother Shaves Numbers Into Quadruplets Heads So People Can Tell Them Apart

 

 

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Posted in Parenting | 2 Comments »

The Pitch By a Famous Boy Band to Encourage Children to Get Tattoos

March 11, 2013

Last time I checked it was highly illegal for children to get tattoos (even with parental permission). Putting aside the fact that I detest tattoos, surely this is not a respectful way to treat your devoted fan base:

ONE DIRECTION have been forced to delete a tweet and a Facebook status which asked fans to send in a video of themselves with a “1D tattoo” for a chance to appear in their new movie.

The boy band – whose members range in age from 18 to 20 – sent the message to their 13 million fans on Facebook and 10 million fans on Twitter calling for video proof of the inking.

But critics were quick to accuse One Direction of encouraging fans – who are largely made up of 10 to 16 year-olds well under the legal tattooing age of 18  – into getting permanent body art.

“Have a real 1D tattoo?” they wrote on the social networking sites, “Show us! Submit a 90 second YouTube video to 1d3dfan@gmail.com and show us why you should be in the 1D3D movie! 1DHQ x.”

The social media messages were deleted shortly after a backlash, but the band’s spokesperson Simon Jones claimed the tweet was a mistake.

“This tweet was posted in error and has now been removed,” he said, “One Direction do not want to encourage any of their fans to get 1D tattoos.”

The tweet and Facebook status was replaced by a similar request today giving fans the same opportunity to appear in their movie, but this time by submitting a YouTube video of their “1D Collection”.

“Who has the biggest 1D Collection? Submit a 90sec YouTube video to 1d3dfan@gmail.com – show us why you should be in the @1D3Dmovie! 1DHQ x” they wrote on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Click on the link to read How Giving Your Children a Bath Can Get You on a Sex Offender Registry

Click on the link to read Don’t Look for Rolemodels from Our Sporting Stars

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How Giving Your Children a Bath Can Get You on a Sex Offender Registry

March 10, 2013

bath

If the police were given universal access to the photo albums of my parents’ generation, there would be millions of people in their 60’s and 70’s suddenly added to the sex offender registry. Since when did innocent bath photos constitute a sexual offense? If naked documentation of children was automatically considered material for Child Protection Services, then video of a birth must be classified as ‘kiddy porn’ (unless the baby somehow arrives fully clothed).

The problem with this case and others like it, is it completely undermines the function of a child offender registry. To have known pedophiles share a registry with loving parents is absolutely outrageous and completely unacceptable:

An Arizona couple is suing US department store Walmart after they were falsely accused of taking pornographic photos of their three daughters.

lost custody of their children for a month and say they spent more than $75,000 in legal fees as a result of the ordeal, ABC News reports.

It all started in 2008 when the Demarees took some holiday photos into their local Walmart to get developed.

A Walmart employee raised concerns with the store manager about several bath time photos the couple had taken of their daughters – then aged five, four and 18 months.

Instead of getting their happy snaps, the couple were reported to police and their children placed in the custody of the Arizona Child Protective Services Agency. 

A medical exam of the girls showed no signs of sexual abuse and a month later a judge ruled the photos were innocent and not child pornography.

The Demarees regained custody of their children but in the meantime had to endure their name being listed on a registry of sex offenders.

Mrs Demaree was also suspended from her job at a local school for a year while the investigation was underway.

“We’ve missed a year of our children’s lives as far as memories go,” Mrs Demaree told ABC News.

“As crazy as it may seem, what you may think are the most beautiful innocent pictures of your children may be seen as something completely different and completely perverted.”

In 2009, the couple sued Walmart for not telling them that they could turn over photos to authorities without their knowledge.

They lost the hearing after a judge ruled that employees in Arizona could not be held liable for reporting suspected child pornography.

But the couple is now appealing the case.

On a March 6 hearing, the family’s lawyer argued that Walmart committed fraud by not disclosing to customers that employees would look at their photographs.

It was also negligent for “untrained clerks” to be given the authority to make assumptions about the content of the pictures and report them to police, the lawyer claimed.

Walmart has argued that under Arizona law employees who report child abuse without malice, such as in this case, are immune from prosecution.

The appeals court is yet to reach a verdict on the case.

Click on the link to read Parody of Oscar Nominated Movies Featuring a Cast of Adorable Kids

Click on the link to read Hilarious Parenting Checklist

Click on the link to read 7 Rules for Raising Kids: Economist

Click on the link to read Dad’s Letter to 13-Year Old Son after Discovering he had been Downloading from Porn Sites

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Click on the link to read A Joke at the Expense of Your Own Child

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Posted in Child Welfare, Parenting | 1 Comment »

What’s Worse: Missing School or Sending Your Parent to Jail?

March 7, 2013

hood

Whilst it is indefensible to allow your child to become truant from school, it should not be prison worthy. Take away some subsidies or deduct some welfare payment but don’t imprison them.  Why? Because when determining what’s best for the child, having your parent going to jail can not be considered a beneficial result.

Even worse would be to get the child to decide what parent to send to jail. How is it emotionally destructive for a child to miss school but it is acceptable to make that same child choose which parent to send away?

An Irish teenage boy was ordered to make the heart-breaking decision to send either his mother or his father to jail for failing to ensure he attended school.

Judge Alan Mitchell told the youth he must choose who will be jailed for 21 days and who will receive a suspended sentence during a case brought against the boy’s parents at Galway District Court.

The 15-year-old from Galway is a repeat truant and continued bunking off even after he was made aware of the possible legal consequences for his parents.

Judge Mitchell said: ‘He can consider which of his parents he wants to go to prison for 21 days and which gets the suspended sentence.’

He added that if needs be the teenager should attend Galway District Court today to make the decision, reports the Irish Independent.

Any bet that teenager’s life just went from bad to worse.

 

Click on the link to read Truant Teachers

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Click on the link to read The Toy that Stopped a Child Porn Ring

 

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Student Suspended for Disarming Teen Who Had Gun On School Bus (Video)

March 6, 2013

If you can get suspended for averting a potential disaster on a school bus one wonders what punishment you would get for saving the entire school:

A Florida high school student was suspended after he disarmed another student who allegedly threatened to shoot someone while on a school bus.

An unnamed 16-year-old student from Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers, Fla., was suspended for three days after he disarmed a 15-year-old peer who allegedly threatened to shoot another student with a loaded revolver during a Feb. 26 fight on a school bus, according WFTX.

“It’s dumb,” the suspended student told the station. “How they going to suspend me for doing the right thing?”

The teen, who reportedly took away the .22 caliber RG-14 revolver away from his armed peer, was allowed to return to class on Monday, WFTX notes.

Officials later revealed the student was suspended because he didn’t cooperate with the investigation.

The boy’s mother said she believes her son wouldn’t reveal the details to police because he was “born and raised” not to “snitch.”

“I’m going to stand beside my son 100% no matter what,” the unnamed mother told WBBH. “He was very heroic; I think he did the right thing.”

However, according to a release by the school district, anyone involved in a school bus altercation is subject to discipline, per the code of student conduct and Florida law, WBBH reports.

The alleged gunman was later identified as Quadryle Davis. He was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school property and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, WZVN reports. He was taken to the Lee County Juvenile Assessment Center.

Remember when suspensions used to mean something?  Now it is a badge of honour in commemoration of heroism and personal integrity.

Now tell me that our education system isn’t in disarray!

 

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