Posts Tagged ‘Parenting’
July 2, 2012
It’s important to be aware of what your children do online. To achieve this one must also be aware of the “tricks” they pull in order to hide their activity.
A recent survey entitled, Teen Internet Behavior study released last week by McAfee, the online-security tech company, found that children are really good at covering their tracks.
The following are the top 10 ways children hide online behaviour from their parents:
-Clearing the browser history (53 percent)
-Closing/minimizing browser when a parent is around (46 percent)
-Hiding or deleting messages and videos (34 percent)
-Lying about online activities (23 percent)
-Using a computer parents don’t check (23 percent)
-Using an Internet-enabled mobile device (21 percent)
-Using privacy settings to make certain content viewable only by friends (20 percent)
-Using a browser’s private viewing mode (20 percent)
-Creating private email address unknown to parents (15 percent)
-Creating duplicate/fake social network profiles (9 percent)
Tags:Cybersafety, Education, McAfee survey online activity and behavior, Parenting, Survey, technology, Teen Internet Behavior study, top 10 ways children hide online behaviour from their parents
Posted in Parenting, Technology | Leave a Comment »
July 2, 2012
Liz Kovak has written a very amusing piece which compares parenting with the newsroom:
1. You’re living in a 24-hour cycle.
The news never stops, and neither does parenting. Disaster can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone. Breaking news! Flash pee flood causes two-hour laundry pileup. This just in! A new tooth erupted on the Southern Gum Coast at 3 a.m. Details at 11 — kids on bedtime strike stall negotiations until opposing forces are given chocolate pudding and an American Girl doll. And just think about it — Wolf Blitzer doesn’t live in his “Situation Room” 24 hours a day, but you sure do.
2. Sometimes, you have to throw away the script and wing it.
Every parent knows the best-laid parenting plans are just like that generic footage of pills being spilled out on a formica counter that every local newscast uses for medical reports: out of date and out of focus. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a magic teleprompter cuing us all day long? “Up next, Baby struggles with important developmental milestone. Stay tuned as I, her mother, handle it with class, grace and appropriateness.” Sadly, this is not the case. We’re all constantly writing and re-writing our own script, day after day.
3. You have a top-secret list of sources.
Everyone knows a good journalist never gives up her go-to sources. I never claimed to be a good journalist– ergo, my sources are the jumperoo, a pacifier and puffs. And you can quote me on that.
4. It’s all about keeping the talent happy.
Temper tantrums, poopy diapers, nap time. Good grief — those primetime anchors are high maintenance! Sure, you might be doing all the hard behind-the-scenes work, but if the star of the show ain’t happy, mama ain’t happy.
5. Ratings are everything.
That big grin from your baby? A hug and kiss from your kiddo? Makes it all worthwhile.
Don’t change that channel.
Tags:Aaron Sorkin's Newsroom, Comparing parenting with the newsroom, Liz Kovak, Newsroom, Parenting, Parenting and sleep deprivation, Sorkin
Posted in Parenting | 3 Comments »
July 2, 2012
A terrible irresponsible and repulsive thing to do.
Click on the link to see clips of the movie.
Two Californian brothers have been arrested after allegedly making a video showing two young children punching, kicking and choking each other as a group of kids and an adult watch.
Gabriel and Agustin Gamboa, 23 and 24 respectively, were arrested on June 29 and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after Los Angeles TV station KTLA saw the footage and alerted police.
Agustin posted the video on his Facebook page last Wednesday under the title “My nephew messed him up for picking on his home boy”.
The two-minute video shows two boys aged four and five wrestling on the ground and kicking and punching each other.
At one point in the clip Gabriel can be seen moving some cheering children out of shot so his brother can have a clear view as he films.
Tags:Adelanto apartment block, arrested after allegedly making a video showing two young children punching, Arrested for making a video of kids fighting, charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, facebook, Gabriel and Agustin Gamboa, Gabriel and Agustin Gamboa facebook page, Law, Los Angeles TV station KTLA, My nephew messed him up for picking on his home boy, News, Parenting
Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »
July 2, 2012
I am of the opinion that one shouldn’t need to discuss ‘weight’ with issues with your children. I prefer a more positive approach where healthy food and exercise is promoted rather than “negative talk” which is likely to make the child even more self-conscious.
A new report says parents are concerned that talking to their child about their weight will lead to an eating disorder.
This figure rises to 65% of parents who identify their child as being overweight or obese.
More than 1,000 parents with a child aged 5-16 responded to the Let’s talk about weight survey on Netmums and shared how they feel about bringing up the topic of weight with their child.
I do understand that the problem is more complicated than just advocating health over weight loss. I also realise that children are too smart not to realise that healthy lifestyle measures are a result of their weight issues.
What is your opinion? How should parents discuss weight issues with their children?
Click on the link to read my post, ‘Sparing Young Children the Affliction of Body Image‘.
Tags:Body Image, bringing up the topic of weight with children, Childhood Obesity, Children and excercise, Children and healthy food, Discussing weight with your children, Eating disorders and children, Education, Health, Let's talk about weight survey on Netmums, Nutrition, Parenting
Posted in Body Image, Childhood Obesity, Parenting | 4 Comments »
July 2, 2012
Here’s a novel suggestion – Instead of arranging tutors for your toddlers, spend more quality time with them. Whilst I am all for starting early when it comes to reading and writing, the most crucial thing for pre-school children (and for all children for that matter), is spending quality time with their parents.
Still, that wont stop school readiness programs from thriving:
THE age of children seeking the help of tutors is getting younger and younger, with parents now forking out thousands of dollars to have preschooolers privately coached for school entrance assessments.
As part of dozens of school readiness programs across Sydney, children as young as three are learning how to count, sound letters and write their name to prepare for big school.
Parents hope it will give their child an edge in school entry interviews at private and Catholic schools and in the best start kindergarten assessment, which evaluates their skills when they start school.
Begin Bright early learning centre director Tina Tower said more than 600 children were enrolled in school readiness programs across five centres around Sydney.
Children attend weekly one-hour classes at a cost of $26 from age three.
“They learn all the foundations and develop a really good attitude to learning so when they start school they don’t encounter any problems,” Ms Tower said.
It sounds like the school readiness program for toddlers is more comprehensive than the school readiness program for teachers.
Tags:age of children seeking the help of tutors, Anna Cindric, Begin Bright early learning centre, Child Development, Competitive Parents, Education, entrance assessments, Parenting, pre-enrolment interviews, reschooolers privately coached for school, school entry interviews at private and Catholic schools, school readiness programs fpr 3-year olds, Tina Tower, Too young to have a tutor, Tutors
Posted in Child Development | Leave a Comment »
July 2, 2012
Reality has become so blurred for some that the expression, “It’s only a game” clearly no longer apples.
To read that grown men are turning violent over video games is outrageous and disgusting:
Young men are getting so caught up in gaming consoles they are lashing out at children, sometimes with deadly consequences.
A New Zealand paediatrician says all too often she treats children who have been struck by a male caregiver because they interrupted a game.
Mikara Reti was just five months old when he was hit so hard he died and his liver was almost split in two.
Trent Hapuku, 23, was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced this month at the High Court in Napier, New Zealand to nine years in prison.
Hapuku had been left alone with his partner’s child in a Flaxmere sleepout in January last year. Prosecution lawyers argued Hapuku was intent on beating his high score in a PlayStation game called Scarface.
When the toddler interrupted the game, Hapuku struck him so hard he died from his injuries. But rather than rushing the child to hospital, Hapuku continued playing. When Mikara’s mother returned she found her partner playing PlayStation and holding Mikara over his left shoulder.
But just wait a minute! This is an isolated case, right? I’m afraid not:
Dr Eleanor Carmichael, from Waikato Hospital, said she frequently sees cases where a young man has abused a child because a game was disturbed. “You sit down, take a bit of P, start your PlayStation game, the baby starts to cry, you’re in a hurry to pick it up and settle it down before you lose your place.”
Shame! Shame! Shame!
Click here to find out if you are addicted to the internet or
here to read about kids and technology addiction.
Tags:Child hit because she interrupted a game, Dr Eleanor Carmichael, Gamers lashing out at children, Gaming, Gaming Rage, Mikara Reti hit because interrupted a game, Parenting, PlayStation Rage, technology, Trent Hapuku hit child over Playstation game Scarface
Posted in Parenting, Technology | Leave a Comment »
July 2, 2012
Are parents derelict in their duties if they refuse to buy their children the latest gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, game consoles and i-pods?
Absolutely not!
On the contrary, it can be argued that any parent that buys those items when they can’t afford to, is derelict in their duties:
IT was dubbed the “digital divide” – the gap between the haves and the have nots in the computer age.
But far from missing out on the electronic essentials of modern life, new research shows children from poorer families are keeping up with wealthier counterparts.
High-tech ownership is consistent across all income levels, research by insurer GIO reveals, with the average teen owning $1882.06 worth of equipment.
And tech-savvy teens are much more likely to own computer equipment than sports gear or a musical instrument.
About 42 per cent of kids own a laptop, while half own mobile phones and more than three in five own an MP3 music player such as an iPod. But less than a third of kids own sporting equipment or a musical instrument.
Sociology expert Dr Michael Bittman said most of the devices were essential for teens to function socially.
I disagree vehemently with Dr. Bittman. Teens do not need the latest devices, they need to understand that money doesn’t grow on trees. They need to respect the volatile nature of the economy and the hardships their parents face in ensuring that they have the necessities.
Teens would be best advised to worry less about their social standing and more about how they could contribute to their family, rather than run their family budget dry.
Tags:digital divide, Education, Kids with laptops, MP3's, News, Parenting, smartphones, Sociology expert Dr Michael Bittman, Tablets, technology, Technology essentials of modern life, Teenagers and consumerism, Teenagers and technology, the computer age
Posted in Parenting, Technology | 2 Comments »
July 1, 2012
Facebook are using their own lack 0f vigilance as an excuse to relax very important age restrictions. Instead of giving up on protecting minors, Facebook should try harder to stop under ages kids from accessing their own Facebook page:
Facebook is still mulling over whether to open its doors to those aged under 13, but in Malaysia, nearly 250,000 children, some as young as seven, have already signed up on the world’s biggest social network.
The young Internet users, like millions worldwide, have managed to avoid the age-restriction ruling by lying about their age, sometimes with the help of their parents.
Tags:Age Restrictions, Children avoiding Facbook age restrictions by lying, Cybersafety, Education, facebook, Facebook and under aged children, facebook under 13, Internet, News, Parenting, social media, Young children and facebook
Posted in Social Media | Leave a Comment »
June 28, 2012
Some will congratulate the Dutch court system for banning an association which lobbies for the social acceptance of sexual relations between adults and children. I find it outrageous that the lobby existed in the first place:
“The court has banned and ordered the dissolution” of the Martijn organisation, a spokeswoman for the civil court in the northern city of Assen, Luta van der Leij, told AFP.
The court said in a statement Martijn glorified sex with children as “something normal and acceptable, or as something that should be.”
“The court finds lobbying for these rights is a grave infraction of the values of our society,” it said.
Dutch prosecutors on May 16 in closing arguments called for the organisation — which has been around since 1982, to be banned and dissolved.
1982? That’s 30 years! What took so long? This group should have been banned within 30 seconds of its inception, not 30 years!
Talk about a misuse of free speech!
Tags:Ad van den Berg, Assen, Bert Swier, Child Welfare, Dutch, Luta van der Leij, Marthijn Uittenbogaard, Martijn organisation, Martijn organisation banned, News, Parenting, the disgusting lobby group for social acceptance of sexual relations between adults and children
Posted in Child Welfare | 2 Comments »
June 28, 2012
Some of my fondest memories and proudest moments in teaching have been related to working with children with extreme behavioural issues. Sure, I could have blamed the home situation of these students, but how is that going to fix the problem? In teaching, one has to expect that they will encounter many students who have violent tendencies and flawed parents.
But is that a reason to give up on them?
A growing number of primary school children are too violent and disruptive to be in school, the Government’s behaviour tsar said today.
Charlie Taylor, the former headteacher who advises ministers on discipline, said; “There is a group of children showing very extreme behaviour, very difficult, challenging, violent behaviour – often quite young children. There is an increase in those kind of children.”
They would often resorting to kicking or biting fellow pupils in the classroom, MPs on the Commons select committee for education were told..
He said a school could be “a good school” in terms of the discipline it promoted but still find itself unable to deal with such children
Mr Taylor’s comments follow claims from headteachers’ leaders that children often arrive at primary school — lacking in personal skills and ill-equipped to communicate with their fellow pupils.
They have put the blame on parents who fail to communicate with them – and allow them to remain in front of computer screens or TVs for the most part of the day.
We teachers need to stop blaming others and accept that we have a difficult job to do that requires doing. If we are the only stable presence in a child’s life, so be it. If we invest the time and energy into kids who are difficult and self-destructive, we have a realistic chance to make small but crucial changes to their self-esteem.
Tags:Blaming parents for disruptive and violent children, Charlie Taylor, Child Development, Children, Children are too violent and disruptive to be in school, Classroom Management, Education, Parenting, primary school children, Violent children, Violent kids
Posted in Child Development, Classroom Management | 1 Comment »
Topical Teaching 