I’m a Born Again Helicopter Parent. That makes me better than the usual hoverers who are not doing enough to protect the children. We need to take the next several leaps up to protect our children so I’m lobbying that all babies have their limbs cut off at birth.
The arms so they can’t pick things up and put them in their mouths, etc. And legs so they can’t run around and fall over.
It’s best to be safe.
I’ve personally grown bored of writing the same notes my children’s teachers so for this week, I have penned with the almighty power of the computer keyboard, backed up by Mr Printer, notes for school.
The first is regarding sending one of my children to school minus her school uniform;
(Name) has been sent to school without the wearing of school clothes due to unfriendly weather and due to the poor memory of a parent who did not bring the cottons inside before the clouds wept.
The second note was written for my eldest who spent a day at home due to being unable to make it to school due to heavy rain;
(Name) was absent from school for the one day only on 11 November. I would like to say it was because she was out on a long trek covering the coastline of the Australian Continent. Sadly, I cannot. (Name) was away from school because the magical folding stick that scares the rain from a weeping cloud from her cranium went missing. As the cloud and all his friends wept with much harmony, we allowed her to stay at home to prevent becoming soggy as a biscuit in the bottom of a tea cup.
The God of Staying at Home spoke that day. A missing alert was declared for the magical folding stick, a search party was sent forth where a successful team returned with magical stick joyously welcomed back with much glee.
I feel better now.
We went for a day out with my wife’s father on the weekend at Wollongong. Wollongong is at the south coast of Sydney, about two hours drive south of Sydney. And the children got to be spoiled by their grandfather.
We have a very basic set up for Halloween tonight. This is one of the first things seen. A Dementor from Happy Potter. First visitor responded with a scream.
NSW Police – Serious Chalking Crime Investigation
Here in Australia, we must be traveling well when it comes to matters of crime. We keep hearing about Police being understaffed in the number of Beat Police but with the laws being introduced by one conservative Government after another that gives Police the lawful power to control the most little and craziest of things, Australia must be doing well.
In Queensland, their conservative State Government has created laws where politicians and/or the Police Commissioner can just list any group as being criminal organisations without a single argument offered in the Court system. The laws are so loosely written that even Police Officers in their uniform sharing the same markings can be listed as criminals.
Many people fear this law will be turned against political opponents of the State Government who has already written an Industrial Law which effectively muzzles them. Now there are reports of this Liberal National Party(LNP), some of their members and/or supporters that the activists against CSG and fracking should be listed as criminal organisations.
Hopscotch chalked on bitumen
Now we have in the State of New South Wales(NSW), the Liberal National Government under the helm of, Premier Barry O’Farrell who has moved to see laws against graffiti written so loosely that a child will be committing a criminal offense for merely using chalk on the footpath. If you are like me and rent your home, they cannot use chalk on any concrete, bitumen, etc on the property or even the driveway.
The State Government’s Attorney-General has assured that while this is a reality, Police will have the discretion to decide for themselves. The problem I have with this, is that Police will have another little non-matter to have people criminally punished when they can’t get them on anything serious. Or worse, as an act of revenge or power tripping.
This law, so loosely written that I hope people challenge having their City Council charged under these laws for graffiti under the new Chalk Law where a Parking Inspector marks the tyres of their car.
Our politicians are power hungry. We are watching megalomaniacs taking control of every facet of our lives by making all of us criminals. Even children whose childhood has quickly become a criminal activity.
Young hopscotch aficionados could become unwitting criminals under proposed new anti-graffiti laws in New South Wales.
The legislation, which has been introduced to the NSW Parliament, makes it an offence to intentionally mark any premises or other property without the permission of the owner.
Greens MP David Shoebridge says there is no requirement in the legislation for a mark to be permanent or difficult to remove.
He says that means it will technically outlaw things like chalk hopscotch squares or handball courts drawn on footpaths or bitumen.
“Unless the kids get the consent of the local council they’re committing an offence,” Mr Shoebridge said.
“This Government is going to be putting on the statute books laws that make it an offence not just for kids to chalk a hopscotch court on the footpath, but for Mr Stace to have chalked ‘Eternity’, or for a street artist to put a rainbow crossing on the road.
“This will now all become criminal activity. If children get caught by police they’ll be facing a $440 fine. Now that’s just nonsense.”
Attorney-General Greg Smith has downplayed the impact of the new legislation while apparently acknowledging that drawing in chalk will technically be an offence.
He says police always have discretion about whether to lay charges and he considers it unlikely they would charge children for chalking up hopscotch squares.
Facebook Protest page: https://www.facebook.com/events/660651070634463/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular&source=1
Malala Yousafzai
Shot in the head by the Taliban to shut her up on education, the female gender and every other issue raised, Malala Yousafzai spoke at the United Nations to call not for hate nor war against “terrorists” but to push education to be given for every child regardless of gender around the world.
Watching the video, one gets a sense of just how strong willed and highly ambitious Malala Yousafzai is. Such drive will see her reaching the dazzling heights of international politics to push what she believes in.
One of the many things I admire about Malala is that after her friends and herself were shot by the Taliban, she did not allow herself to be bullied into silence and she didn’t take up the offer of moving to nations such as America for the safety of herself and her family. Instead, Malala is standing firm with her feet firmly on the soil on which she belongs too where she can continue her fight for what she believes is the right fight to take on.
I believe that there are many politicians in countries like Australia, America and the UK who have a lot to learn from Malala Yousafzai who is pushing for every child have access to free education for education is power. Empowerment is power. Those who seek to remove such empowerment have something personal to gain and human rights are never attached. Sadly, the three nations mentioned have not been kind to education for any child but those who were born into wealth.
Go fight, Malala!
Once again the smear of pedophilia has been thrown around. They didn’t use the ‘P’ word but to refuse all adults who do not have a child with them for the reason of ‘child protection’ is just as powerful as pointing the accusation finger.
A 63-year-old man who travelled from Windsor, Ont. to Toronto to fulfil a lifelong dream of visiting a Legoland Discovery Centre, feels discriminated against and embarrassed after being turned away because he didn’t have a child with him.
John St-Onge has been a self-described “Lego fanatic” ever since his children were young and he first began buying them sets, ranging from miniature cities and farmscapes to models of the Star Wars Millenium Falcon.
Once his kids grew older and found other interests, John stuck with Lego, breaking down and rebuilding their sets, and buying new ones to add to his own collection. He now has around 75 sets, comprising about 50,000 pieces of Lego.
“It’s a Lego house,” he joked in an interview with CTVNews.ca, explaining that he spends his winters indoors due to health problems, and keeps busy working on Lego projects. John has diabetes, cancer and recently had heart surgery.
His dream has always been to visit the flagship Legoland location in Denmark, but due to his health problems, that has become unrealistic.
As a result, John was excited when he picked up a flyer for the Vaughan Mills Legoland Discovery Centre at an Ontario tourism centre, and learned that there was a location much closer to home.
John and his daughter, Nicole St-Onge, saved up, planned the trip and made the three-hour drive, only to be turned away at the door because of a rule, unbeknownst to them, that adults must be accompanied by a child in order to get in.
[furthering onto end of article…]
However, she defended the policy that requires adults to be accompanied by children, saying “it is a child attraction so we do have this in place to protect the families and children that visit.”
Hannaford pointed out that Legoland does have adults-only nights once a month, for grown-up fans of the iconic building blocks. She also said the rules are posted at the location, and are in fact on the flyer as well.
Hi, I just want to share with you my full support to ban men from attending Legoland without a child brought with them. I would prefer men to be banned completely because this leaves men to bring along a child they may have kidnapped only to be raped and have his or her flesh torn off the poor kid’s bones.As a male, I vouch for the fact that when we see a child, we can’t but crave to rape, kill and munch of the blighter’s bones. It must be the hunter in us to have to kill everything.
Trust us, we men are ravenous beasts. I even made out with a street sign because it has a picture of kids trying to cross the road. If only those steel things were edible.
I’m starving just thinking of it.
I really try not to criticise the parenting styles of other parents for you never know the story behind the veil of household secrecy and why they do things the way they do. I certainly do not appreciate when it is done to us.
You see, I continue to feel for today’s youth who are raised as if they are as fragile as an egg that smashes and splatters on falling off a bench and strikes the kitchen floor only for the household dog or cat to polish off. How are these mites going to cope as adult when things go wrong for them since they’ve been divorced from taking a risk no matter how small?
“Don’t climb that tree son, you’ll fall” – “Don’t run Suzy, you’ll slip and graze your knee” – “Don’t roll down that hill, Bill. You’ll get an itchy back” – “Don’t Hi-5 anyone. That’s sexual assault”
I feel like the inmates the mental asylum were removed from their hospital ward only to be transferred to Parliament and anointed as legislators.
I put a lot of blame across the board. I blame politicians who fan the flames of fear so they can trick people into sacrificing liberty. I blame media for pouring fuel on the fire of insanity to make people think they’re about to be butchered to death by some Kung Fu grasshopper. And I blame the people for being so brainless for they listen to every bit of bullshit politicians and journalists crap on about because they’re too dumb or lazy to use a single braincell and think for themselves.
The World is not that scary people.
I was out for a short time on Friday night dropping off one of my daughters at a sleepover birthday party one of her friends was having. One of the parents there, a Dad, also had his fourteen year old daughter with him as you cannot leave them home alone at the tender young age for fourteen. This fragile young lass apparently had only just had her first outing with her girlfriends at the local shopping centre without her Mum or Dad around but only because a parent of one of her friends was there with them at all times. *smashes own forehead in with a brick*
As I stood there listening to this, the other parent nodding along in agreement, my thoughts I was keeping inside the confines of my mind leaked out through my callous mouth; “I traveled alone on a bus from Sydney to Melbourne at the age of 12 to visit relatives”. They just looked at me. I think they saw images of children being smashed to smithereens by a hoard of lustful men craving to molest every child is sight. Just as well I didn’t mention that I was also taking taking the train and bus to a small country town and going to the beach, and riding my bicycle down the mountain road, etc all without adult supervision.
I must be getting old for I can hear the old man voice warming up with, “Back in my day…”
Have we become anal in protecting our children from the realities of life or am I just starting to experience the myriad of emotions of being the ever negligent parent?
Life skills: St Hilda’s pupils Juliet Kaard, Arabella Matthews, Mya Teh and Giulia Naccarato. Picture: Ian Munro/The West Australian
Elite private all girls school, St Hilda’s Anglican School in West Australia has stopped over praising their children and have decided to open up their children to lessons of failure and disappointment to prepare them for the real world post-school age.
They have decided to give them some tests where there is work that is above their ability so they know that they don’t know everything after all. Also gone are stickers and constant praise for every good little thing they do. Their reasoning is so children learn to not need constant praise but to develop in them the ability to take disappointment without becoming upset. It would also help end the creation of a narcissistic generation created by their elders. They get my full support 1,000%.
Over-praising meant children were less able to cope with disappointments they faced later in life.
She wrote an article in the school newsletter in response to parents’ questions on why their children were no longer getting 100 per cent on tests and homework.
She said research had found that children who received top marks could develop the perception that learning was easy.
“When they do finally experience failure, they are unable to cope with this feeling,” she wrote.
“Praising children for the 100 per cent or the A-grade develops the perception that success is linked to a state of being smart and to achieve that mark, students have been known to risk cheating.
“Giving students the label of smart does not prevent them from under-performing but may actually cause it.”
Heaping praise on students also gave them a false sense of their ability and led to a sense of entitlement.
“We want to give students praise for what they have control over,” she said. “They don’t have control over their IQ because that’s what they’re born with but they have control over how much work they put in and their perseverance.”
St Hilda’s is regularly in the top 10 schools on Year 12 league tables.
Ms Quansing-Rowlands said as well as teaching academic subjects, schools had to help students develop life skills, such as the resilience and persistence they would need to survive in the real world.
“What we’ve found now is that some children can’t cope with criticism or the fact they didn’t get a sticker for participating,” she said.
Social researcher and author Hugh Mackay said schools such as St Hilda’s were on the cutting edge of a new way of thinking.
“We’re beginning to understand that it actually damages children to constantly praise them, constantly tell them they’re special and build up their self-esteem,” he said.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/17319358/students-to-learn-about-failure/
The West Australian © Wesley College Junior School students Edward Boniface, Remy Hamilton-Ducroz, Charlotte Boniface and Lachlan Edinger walk to school. Picture: Michael Wilson/The West Australian
Australian Doctors are trying to encourage parents to change their behaviour patterns and that of their children because due to media sensationalism and political opportunism, parents fear their children being harmed so they drive them to school. They also seem to think that their children can’t walk far so they get to school early to get to school as early as possible so they can park as close as they can to the school to their mites don’t strain their sensitive little legs.
So Doctors are calling for parents to walk their children to school. While I believe that children should be able to walk to school alone, far too many people are scared of the boogeyman and so encouraging parents to walk to their children to school is a good start.
Why are Doctors pushing for a lifestyle change?
It’s because Doctors are now seeing children who are obese with illnesses that normally do not appear until adults are middle aged if not older. Children are getting diabetes, cardiac issues and some children are needing hip operations because their bones are breaking under the weight of fat.
Parents are being urged to break their normal routine and walk their children to school today to help them form healthier habits.
In its 14th year, National Walk Safely to School Day promotes safe pedestrian behaviour, the health benefits of walking and reduced car dependency by asking parents and carers to walk to school with their children.
Wesley College junior school students Edward Boniface, 7, Charlotte Boniface, 5, Lachlan Edinger, 6, and Remy Hamilton-Ducroz, 5, will be among those walking to school this morning.
Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton said many children would like to walk to school but busy family schedules and safety concerns increasingly got in the way, forcing parents to drive their children to school.
Dr Hambleton said walking children to school set a healthy example and let parents assess any potential dangers along the route.
He said it would help children enjoy simple outdoor exercise with a purpose rather than giving them more time to watch television or play with electronic devices.
“It would be great if parents or carers could take the time to make the effort to walk to school with their kids,” Dr Hambleton said.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/17307523/walking-to-school-a-lesson-in-health/
Subiaco students Jamie Forsyth, Russell Teo and Alix Murray. Picture: Sharon Smith/The West Australian.
Another program is seeking to get parents to let their children to ride to school. Getting kids back on bikes and allowed to ride to and from school is an excellent way for our children to get exercise and it’s fun fun fun. Children enjoy riding.
In the 1970s, four in every five students rode their bike to school.
Today, four in every five students are taken by car.
It is a trend Bicycling WA chief executive Jeremey Murray hopes to reverse with initiatives such as tomorrow’s Ride2School Day.
Mr Murray said a record number of schools would be involved in Ride2School Day this year, from Karratha to Esperance.
“Riding to school contributes to the 60 minutes of exercise recommended for children each day,” Mr Murray said.
“Research shows that when children incorporate physical activity into their school journey, they are significantly more likely to get the recommended 60 minutes.
“Students consistently say they would rather ride or walk to school than be driven.
“An active journey is a healthy journey and a well-selected route usually means a quicker journey that reduces congestion and the madness of the morning drop-off zone.”
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/16411449/pedal-power-charges-kids/
So get your children out there. It’s much safer out there then the ‘powers that be’ let on.
A Wombat's Web 