Posts Tagged ‘kids’

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The Most Popular Lies that Parents Tell their Children

November 20, 2012

I make a point of not lying to my children, yet as I posted a while ago, I am guilty of perpetuating the tooth fairy fib.  I am also guilty of hiding vegetables in my daughter’s food without telling her, and if she mistakes quinoa for couscous, who am I to argue?

The ice cream van only plays music when it’s run out of ice cream….there’s a princess in your tummy who can only eat vegetables….and there’s a baby dragon in the hand-drier who needs to practice his fire-breathing on your hands.

These are just some of the white lies parents have admitted feeding to their children to steer them onto the correct path in life, according to new research.

Some 90 per cent of parents have a list of creative tales they tell to their little ones, with other favourites including that you’ll be washed down the plughole if you stay in the bath too long and that eating green food will turn you into a superhero.

The traditional tale of the tooth fairy remained the most popular story, used by 38 per cent of mums and dads, while other prevailing stories include giving different foods more exciting names to get kids to eat them, such as calling broccoli  trees (21 per cent) and feigning phone calls from teachers to tackle reluctance to do homework (16 per cent).

TELL ME LIES, TELL ME SWEET LITTLE LIES

  • 35 per cent of parents disguise vegetables in other foods to get children to eat them
  • A third of parents spell out certain words to each other using letters rather than say the word in full
  • One in seven (14 per cent) parents wind clocks forward to get children to bed on time
  • 2 per cent of parents tell their child that the music played by an ice cream van means they’ve run out of ice cream.
  • Parents surveyed as part of the research admitted to getting creative with their children in order to improve behaviour (58 per cent), encourage them to eat nutritiously (56 per cent), improve imagination (39 per cent) and improve their health and well-being (38 per cent)
  • The traditional tale of the tooth fairy remained the most popular story, used by 38 per cent of mums and dads

Click on the link to read A Case of Parenting at It’s Worst

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Posted in Parenting | 1 Comment »

The Psychological Impact of Divorce on Children

November 8, 2012

Many in society figure that since divorce is very common nowadays that the effects on children are far reduced. This is not the case. A child can be in a classroom full of children from broken homes. It doesn’t make their personal pain any less tangible:

Family breakdown is as devastating for today’s children as it was when divorce was a source of social disgrace, a state-backed report warned yesterday. 

Even though divorce is no longer considered ‘shameful’ – as it was until the 1970s – the children of broken families continue to suffer destructive effects throughout their lives, the report said.

The paper, produced by a team of senior academics, found that the damage caused to a child by divorce continues to blight his or her life as far as old age.

It said parental separation in childhood was ‘consistently associated with psychological distress in adulthood during people’s early 30s’.

The report added: ‘This seems to be true even across different generations, which suggests that as divorce and separation have become more common, their impact on mental health has not reduced.’

It comes a week after figures were published showing that almost half of all children have now seen their parents break up by the time they are 15.

The report said that good health depends on lifestyle conditions that it termed ‘social medicines’. Key among these is a stable family background.

The findings undermine the claims of politicians, lawyers and activists who have argued for years that divorce causes no harm to children if parents part amicably and without conflict.

‘Family life has undergone dramatic changes over recent decades,’ the report, produced by a team led by Professor Mel Bartley, said.

‘Families no longer have to have two parents, they can contain children from different parents, and parents no longer have to be of different genders.’

But it warned: ‘More freedom also means less certainty, and this has led to concerns about the impact of family stability on the health and well-being of both children and adults.

‘Family living arrangements are related to children’s physical health.

Click on the link to read Research Suggests That There’s no Such Thing as a Good Divorce
Click on the link to read The Role of Teacher in Helping Students Deal With Divorce
Click on the link to read Don’t Dismiss the Effect of Divorce on a Child
Click on the link to read Teaching Union Wants Porn on the National Curriculum

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Posted in Children and Divorce | 1 Comment »

Sometimes the Union Makes me Embarrassed to Call Myself a Teacher

November 5, 2012

I know that is it very unpopular for a teacher to be criticising the Education Union and I invite my readers who have been assisted by the union to defend them if they wish.

I was angered to hear that teachers through the union have been sending notes home to parents stating that they will not be writing end of year reports for their students. Why? Because they haven’t been paid enough money. Well, any teacher who abides by this nonsensical ruling doesn’t deserve to get paid a cent more!

I believe that teachers should be paid more than they do, but what a teacher gets paid is not as urgent as their duty to put their students first. Teachers and nurses do a fine job and deserve more than what they are earning. But we knew when we signed up for the job that the pay wasn’t fantastic. Yet, we still chose to become teachers and nurses. Why?

I hope the answer is because we felt that making a difference was more important than making a fortune.

The union have blinkered our teachers. Instead of helping us to nurture and inspire our students they have tried to make us selfish and unprofessional. Writing reports is a professional duty. Giving parents current and comprehensive feedback on the progress of their children is of paramount importance. Failing to do so on account of a few dollars is outrageous!

The children are not the ones underpaying us. The parents are not the ones to blame either. Leave them out of this. We are supposed to put them first. We are not supposed to lose sight of what we are trying to achieve here.

The unions are a shameless bunch. They have a record of bullying non member teachers (like myself) and through their greed have turned a sympathetic public well and truly off our cause.

I realise that many (if not all) will disagree with me. I encourage them to do so. This blog is about giving everyone the opportunity to debate the issues that effect education in a robust and thorough fashion.

I just can’t help but agree with the assessment of this parent who wrote of her outrage at receiving one of these letters:

I received late last week from my children’s school indicating that their teachers will not be writing any comments (apart from general behavioural ones) in the end of year reports this year. This means that students will have a very scant record of the year’s work particularly when it comes to specialist areas like LOTE and art. I have a son in prep so his end of year report for this year is pretty important.

I think asking students to forgo feedback for the year so that teachers can get a few more dollars shows a breathtaking lack of professionalism on the part of the teachers and an entitlement mentality that is just extraordinarily arrogant. If I had tried this sort of tactic in the private sector – refusing to complete reports for clients because I wanted more money – I would certainly have been sacked (and rightfully so).

Click on the link to read If Teachers Were Paid More I Wouldn’t Have Become One

Click on the link to read Pressure in the Workplace

Click on the link to read Sick Teachers Need to be Arrested not Fired!

Click on the link to read Teaching Union Wants Porn on the National Curriculum

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Posted in Education Union | 3 Comments »

Should Teachers be able to Text Students?

November 4, 2012

I completely agree with Alan Howe, who argues that it should be a crime for teachers to text a student without sending the same message to the parents of the child.

Some recent court cases have me thinking that we should update another Victorian law – as quickly as we can.

A scan of the evidence given in a series of trials over the last seven years involving predatory teachers abusing children in their care shows an alarming correlation.

Eltham North physical education teacher Karen Ellis had sex with a 15-year-old student of hers. She said she was in love with him. She was then married, with three children.

You’d reckon a part-time job and three kids would keep a young mum busy enough, but multi-tasking Ellis found time to send one young man 499 text messages in three months.

They had sex six times before the boy’s mother worked things out.

Ellis, sounding as dumb as she looks, said that she might have still been with the boy had he been older and the circumstances different. But he wasn’t, and they weren’t.

After lenient County Court judge John Smallwood suspended her sentence, three Court of Appeal judges more sensibly decided Ellis should be jailed.

Another female phys ed teacher, Belinda Campbell, was suspended from teaching after being found to have kissed a boy to whom she sent 200 text messages.

The trend is as clear as your ring tone: predatory teachers are using text messages to criminally prepare kids for sex that not only disrupts their school years, but can scar them for life.

They prefer text messaging for several reasons:

It doesn’t involve a ringing phone that could attract a parent’s attention – you know, like the way you might ask your son why his phone had just gone off 1000 times.

A silent communication can also be made at any hour.

Unlike an email, of which there might be a physical manifestation such as a printout – a text message is slyly elusive.

And unlike a family laptop, the mobile is not a shared device. It’s in your pocket.

The problem is obvious, and so is the solution.

Any Victorian teacher sending a text message to a child under their care, supervision or authority should be required to copy in that student’s parent or guardian.

Not to do so should be a criminal offence.

There will be a small degree of inconvenience in this, like there is in passing through security at the airport.

But it will do the trick in an instant.

The Victorian Institute of Teachers disciplinary panel found her guilty of serious misconduct, but suspended her for only a year.

Click on the link to read 50 Ways To Use Skype In Your Classroom

Click on the link to read Top 10 Educational i-Pad Apps

Click on the link to read Top 10 Math Apps for Children

Click on the link to read The Pros and Cons of iPads in the Classroom

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Posted in Technology in the Classroom | Leave a Comment »

Trick, Treat or Cocaine?

November 2, 2012

This is why I wrote a post on safety tips during Halloween:

A man has been charged with possession of class-A drugs after children out trick-or-treating for Halloween were given bags of cocaine.

Snap bags containing the white powder were handed to youngsters taking part in traditional Halloween fun in Royton, Greater Manchester, at around 7.50pm on Wednesday evening.

The bags were taken to police and examined and confirmed to contain cocaine.

Donald Junior Green, 23, has been charged with possession of class-A drugs and is due before Oldham magistrates’ court on Friday morning.

A 21-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of class-A drugs and was later released without charge.

Superintendent Catherine Hankinson, of Greater Manchester police, said: “The parents and police acted quickly when this report was made, in the interests of public safety.

“We understand this to be an isolated incident.”

Click on the link to read Tips for Keeping Children Safe During Halloween

Click on the link to read Hilarious Parenting Checklist

Click on the link to read Hilarious Video of Twin Toddlers Sleeping at the Table

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

Click on the link to read Potty Training at a Restaurant Table!

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

 

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Posted in Drugs | Leave a Comment »

Tips for Keeping Children Safe During Halloween

November 1, 2012

Courtesy of wndu.com:

• Younger children should be accompanied by an adult when “Trick-or-Treating”, older children should go with friends.

• Parents should know the route taken by older children, and stay in neighborhoods known to them.

• Only approach homes that are well-lit, inside and out.

• Children should only enter homes known to them and with prior approval by parents.

• Children should wear reflective clothing and carry a flashlight or glow stick.

• Costumes should always be flame-resistant. Stay clear of luminaries or candle-lit jack-o-lanterns.

• Make sure any masks worn allow for clear visibility and breathing.

• Don’t eat any treats until they can be inspected for tampering. Look for tears and even pin size holes in the wrappers. Don’t eat homemade treats from any strangers. Make sure kids have a good meal before they head out so that they are not snacking on their Halloween treats before they get home.

• Stay in well-lit areas, never take shortcuts or go into isolated areas.

• Where there are no sidewalks, walk close to curb facing oncoming traffic, never with your back to traffic

• Cross only at crosswalks, don’t walk between parked cars.

• Adults should never ask a child for help, they should ask other adults.

• NEVER approach a vehicle, even if it appears unoccupied.

• If someone tries to take a child (or anyone) scream, kick, run away, grab something large like a trash can, light pole, anything that makes it harder to be pushed into a vehicle.

• Report any suspicious people/activity to parents, police.

• Practice with children what to do when in danger.

I wish you a safe and fun-filled holiday!

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Preschool Presidential Debate

October 30, 2012

Whilst I believe that healthy debate is vital for democracy, there are times when politics can lead to division and unruly behaviour.

Click on the link to read Kid’s Cute Note to the Tooth Fairy

Click on the link to read ‘Love’ as Defined by a 5-Year Old

Click on the link to read The Innocence of Youth

Click on the link to read Letting Kids Take Risks is Healthy for Them

Click on the link to read Study Reveals Children Aren’t Selfish After All

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Posted in Child Development | Leave a Comment »

Explaining Hurricane Sandy To Kids

October 29, 2012

Some resources to help prepare children for Hurricane Sandy:

FEMA For Kids is one of the best.

With games to play, colorful characters to follow and easy to understand explanations, your kids will come away with a better understanding of Mother Nature’s biggest storms: hurricanes.

Weather Wiz Kids is geared toward slightly older kids and goes a bit deeper into its explanations of hurricanes, how they form, and what kind of problems they can cause.

Owlie Prepares Kids For Hurricanes via an online coloring book which makes hurricane preparation interactive for the kiddos.

The University Corporation For Atmospheric Research has a “Web Weather For Kids” site. This is a great place to learn the basics about a hurricane.

Finally, the National Weather Service (.pdf) page for kids is a great page worth taking a look at.  Check out “Owlie Skywarn” in action – helping kids get ready for a hurricane.

 

Click on the link to read Helping Kids Cope in the Aftermath of Sandy

Click here to read ‘Helping Our Children Make Sense of Natural Disasters’.

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Posted in Dealing With Tragedy | Leave a Comment »

The Difficulties Faced by Students With Allergies

October 28, 2012

 

In a bid to care for children with strong allergies it seems schools have made allergic children feel socially isolated, different from their peers and vulnerable to being bullied:

TAKARA Rose is the face of a new dangerous fad of playground bullying. The eight-year-old has never hurt or been nasty to anyone, her only “crime” is she suffers a range of allergies.

Mum Alanna describes her daughter’s experience of bullying as terrifying, likening it to having a “loaded gun against her head”.

The year 2 student from Sandringham, in Sydney’s south, is dangerously allergic to nuts, dairy and eggs, meaning if she is exposed to foods containing those ingredients – even brushing past them – she can go into potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.

In a bad week, Ms Rose, 50, is forced to call the ambulance four times because of Takara’s extreme reactions.

Twice, the young girl has been chased by a group of year 6 boys threatening to throw nuts at her, leading her to once lock herself in the school toilets to stay safe.

Takara is among a disturbing number of food allergic children who are being targeted by bullies in Australia, which has one of the highest food allergy rates in the world.

“In her eyes, it’s like holding a loaded gun against her head,” Ms Rose said.

“It’s hard enough to live as restrictive as we do without having the added problem of being bullied by other kids,” Ms Rose said.

Ms Rose also said the school told her the incidents did not constitute “bullying”.

It seems as if the school doesn’t equate life threatening behaviour as “bullying”.  How can we properly protect children when schools continue to make excuses for unacceptable behaviour?

Take this horrible story for example:

Central Coast paediatric nurse and founder of Allerchic website, Stephanie Holdsworth said she knew of one kindergarten child who ended up in the intensive care unit at Sydney Children’s Hospital for four days after having a peanut butter sandwich rubbed in his face by his young tormenters.

These incidents are not simply ‘bullying’ they represent the height of bullying. Nothing is likely to change for allergic kids unless schools are aware of their challenges, actively work to see that they are integrated properly within the school and that the culture of the school is such that bullying and harassment are not taken lightly.

Click on the link to read Doctors Able to Reverse Egg Allergies

Click on the link to read A Nut Allergy is Not a Disability

Click on the link to read Anaphylaxis: The New Form of Discrimination

Click on the link to read Nowadays There is Nowhere to Hide From Bullies

Click on the link to read When Something Doesn’t Work – Try Again Until it Does

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Posted in Anaphylaxis, Bullying | 1 Comment »

The Innocence of Youth

October 22, 2012

A 7-year old girl writes a precious note that captures the innocence and simplicity of youth. It is just such a privilege to be working with young people. Their view of the world is refreshingly positive and uncomplicated and their tone lacks the sarcasm that adults often project.

 

Click on the link to read Kid’s Cute Note to the Tooth Fairy

Click on the link to read ‘Love’ as Defined by a 5-Year Old

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Posted in Child Development | Leave a Comment »

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