UK Government to crack down on underage drinking, targeting parents, but it’s not that easy

The British Government has announced plans to tackle the increasing problem of underage drinking, and is planning to prosecute parents who allow their children to drink in public.

If proposals became law, anyone under the age of 18 “regularly” found with alcohol on their possession could face getting an ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order).

Parents who are unable to change their ways could either be prosecuted, or sent on parenting courses. However, the problem isn’t that simple, say a number of parents as well as opposition ministers.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that, “parents must play their role. I want to see greater use of parenting orders and parenting contracts and anti-social behaviour orders when young people are caught persistently drinking in public. If parents and children need to meet a trained worker to get them back on the right track then so be it.”

I know that the police will already move on groups of teenagers who are, or have the potential, to cause a nuisance, particularly as a result of alcohol.

Of course parenting plays a role in a child’s upbringing, but there are so many other factors that influence someone’s attitude to and consumption of alcohol — the increasing number of “alcopops” and other “soft” alcoholic drinks, peer pressure from friends, portrayal of alcohol in the media and popular TV, and the increasingly ingrained drinking culture are key issues.

Legislation may look good on paper, and may prove to be somewhat effective, but the real issues run deep in society, and unfortunately even good parenting doesn’t always protect children.

The Government also plans to draw up guidelines for how much alcohol it is safe for children to consume under supervision of their parents at home.

(Via BBC News)

Arabella Miller launches Kids’ Organic Cotton Clothing range

Kids organic cotton clothing company, Arabella Miller, have launched their funky Summer collection. The designs debuted at Premier Kids in January 2008 where fashion trend bible WGSN selected Arabella Miller as one of the top ten brands at the show. This Summer’s themes are:

Space: Just perfect for little boys looking for a friendly Alien Close Encounter

Minibeasts: the “politically correct” name for bugs! Butterflies, Ladybirds and Dragonflies

Pets: Rabbits, Dogs and Cats all feature on these tees with a twist!

Arabella Miller produces cotton clothing for babies and children certified organic by the Soil Association. They are also the first kids t-shirts to be organically printed in the UK by a Soil Association certified printer.

The designs are bold and character driven with Japanese inspired flat graphics, truly unique amongst the growing “green brands” there’s no beige in sight!

Vaccines are Likely to Cause Insulin Dependent Diabetes in Over 2% of Children With a Strong Family History of Insulin Dependent Diabetes, New Data Indicates

Newly published data by Dr. J. Barthelow Classen shows that vaccines are particularly likely to cause diabetes in children with a strong family history of insulin dependent diabetes. Previous papers provided proof that vaccines cause diabetes in vaccine recipients at a rate which exceeds their benefit in the general population. New data indicates vaccines are particularly toxic to those with a strong family history of diabetes. For example, the hemophilus vaccine which had been proven to cause diabetes in approximately 1 in every 2,000 immunized children in the general public has now been linked to causing diabetes in 1 in every 50 immunized children (2%) who have a sibling with insulin dependent diabetes. The new data is published in the Open Pediatric Medicine Journal. An accompanying article in the same journal links the hepatitis B vaccine to insulin dependent diabetes.

“The recent data shows that common childhood vaccines are especially dangerous to children with a strong family history of diabetes. Parents of a child with a strong family history of insulin dependent diabetes or other should know that the administration of a full series of vaccines may have a greater than 5% chance of causing their child to develop diabetes.”

Classen’s research has become widely accepted. To view the published papers and to find out the latest information on the effects of vaccines on autoimmune diseases including insulin dependent diabetes visit the Vaccine Safety Web site

“Not One More Child” project launched today

The Surviving Parents Coalition (SPC) and National Association to Protect Children (PROTECT) launched their “Not One More Child” campaign in Washington, D.C. today with a formal event at the National Press Club. The event was attended by legislators, law enforcement, and other coalition members. The “Not One More Child” campaign website, www.notonemorechild.org was introduced, along with a public service announcement focusing on the exploding crisis of child exploitation. The groups also released law enforcement maps with data showing hundreds of thousands of criminals who are currently trafficking in child pornography.

“‘Not One More Child’ is literally about rescuing children,” said Ed Smart, parent of Elizabeth, president of the Surviving Parents Coalition and member of the “Not One More Child” Alliance. “The campaign is not only about child pornography, but about pictures that include perpetrators, child victims in crime scenes.”

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WellChild Helpline launched: UK’s only national children’s health advice line

The children’s charity WellChild today announced the launch of the WellChild Helpline, designed to offer comprehensive help and advice to anyone concerned about the health and well-being of children.

Staffed by a team of trained healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines, callers will either have questions answered, or efficiently passed to the most appropriate organisation.

BBC1’s Breakfast programme’s GP, Dr Rosemary Leonard, endorsed the WellChild Helpline, saying, “WellChild’s new service is extremely welcome as accessing the right information can seem daunting and not having access to concerns about health can cause a lot of anxiety. By having this multi-disciplinary team of experts at the end of a phone-line or email, WellChild will be putting people in touch with the right health information which could ultimately lead to saved lives as well as an enormous improvement in the quality of many more.”

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Long-term substitute teachers can lead to poorer educational results, study suggests

A study of schools in North Carolina by, among others, Duke University economist Charles Clotfelter, suggests that the long-term use of substitute teachers to plug the gaps left by absentee full-time teachers may be having a detrimental effect on children’s education.

Though the statistics aren’t readily to hand in the source article, claims are that, in general, schools’ use of subs for long-term (a year or more) teaching posts has dramatically increased over the last few years.

Discipline and learning problems often accompany a substitute teacher, because they don’t have the same plans and behavioural knowledge of a class as the regular teacher should have.

“Teachers often have to re-teach material, restore order and rebuild relationships after absences,” said Miller, who is conducting the research with Harvard University education professors.

This is not to say that substitute teachers are not worthy, or highly qualified, for the role — simply that the situation is not ideal.

(Via The Reporter)

Citinannies.net Helps to Filter Frauds and Scams for Families Seeking Care

Household employment is increasing for families who continually strive for a manageable balance between life and work. For many people, the solution to managing the pressures and the obligations is to hire household staff to work in the home. Most domestic placement agency services can run into the hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, ranging from $700 to $4,000 per placement. What happens when a family is not happy with the placement agency’s selection of nannies? Generally, there is very little recourse. Would it be very difficult for a family to search for household help without using an agency? How would a family weed out frauds and scams? Are the tools of the trade available and easily accessible?

Citinannies.net was created to connect families and top quality caregivers nationwide. Whether a family needs a nanny for their children, a personal assistant or even a butler to bring cocktails poolside, Citinannies.net can help. Citinannies.net is the first online domestic placement service to utilize an advanced identity authentication process without entering a credit card number or requesting intrusive information such as the registrant’s full social security number. The patent pending privacy tool prescreens all caregivers and families to help filter out the frauds and scrams that put loved ones at risk.

Families simply register, post the specific domestic requirements and qualifications, and pass the Citinannies.net authentication process. Once the authentication process has been completed, the pool of quality caregivers are available with a click of the mouse. New caregivers are added daily, so the selection is never stale. In addition, Citinannies.net has trusted partners that offer services including criminal background checks, online continuing education courses and easy ways to pay caregivers without hiring an accountant. After all, finding household help that is tailored to a family’s lifestyle can be overwhelming.

As President of CitiNannies LLC, Jennifer Nguyen states, “I wanted to make the search for care easier for families, and at the same time, filter out fraudulent registrants, identity thieves, and fraud schemes that become rampant on the internet. We are taking one step further to assure families are more comfortable using the internet to find exceptional help for their loved ones.” Being a single mother, Jennifer realizes the importance of finding top quality caregivers. Hiring and entrusting caregivers can improve the quality of life immensely, without sacrificing the commitments. Recall the last time an emergency situation arose and a reliable sitter was not available? Think citinannies.net. Do it right. This is the most important hiring decision a family could ever make.

For caregivers seeking employment opportunities, the registration process is free. Simply agree to be bound by Citinannies’ professional code of ethics, register and post a profile. In addition, passing the Citinannies.net identity authentication process is also a prerequisite for all caregivers. Imagine, no more agency fees or commissions taken out of the paycheck. No more answering blind newspaper ads or attending embarrassing career fairs. Imagine an easier way to connect with potential families who are serious about searching for care and willing to pay top dollar for exceptional care?

For information: CitiNannies.net

3 in 5 parents couldn’t save their child’s life, survey finds

A survey of 2,500 mothers by UK supermarket Tesco suggests that 60% of new parents wouldn’t know what to do in an emergency where their child’s life was in danger.

Less than 10% of new parents have had child first aid training in the past 12 months, and 24% said that they badly needed a refresher course.

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Unique family-oriented broadband service offers peace of mind to schools and parents

A new broadband provider is about to hit the market with a product that will revolutionise online child safety.

Spidermail offers a trailblazing new service that surpasses parental control systems, which are vulnerable to unscrupulous websites and easily bypassed by increasingly tech-savvy children.

Where this innovative new service differs is that the state-of-the-art filters are built into the internet service and are centrally administered by Spidermail’s experts who constantly update the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Each family member is issued with a username and password upon signing up to Spidermail Broadband which they will use to access the internet.

This ensures your children will only have access to material that is appropriate for their age group.

But the service doesn’t restrict all your children to the same level and a 16-year-old will have greater freedom to explore than a 12-year-old.

It’’s not only safe, but fast too, with 8Mbps and unlimited content for £24.99 a month, including a free laptop with the 24 month contract.

Shahrokh Nikkhah, Chairman and CEO of Spidermail, said, “It is not easy for parents and teachers to ensure their children are unable to see inappropriate content online.

““But at the same time they want them to be able to take advantage of the incredible educational and entertainment options the internet provides.

““Spidermail offers a unique service that protects children at the very front line of the internet while allowing them to explore and grow online.

““We have had great feedback so far - everyone who uses us loves us.””

The company has already rolled their service out in schools across the West Midlands and Leicestershire and is set to add more throughout the region.

Spidermail

4 in 10 parents failed to recognise signs of obesity in their children

A new poll from the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that four out of ten parents with clinically obese children (aged 6-11) said that their kids were “about the right weight”, only rarely being “very concerned” about their child’s weight.

This national study on children’s health found that among the parents of the 6-11 year old obese children, 13% rate their child as being “very overweight”, but only 7% say they are “very concerned” about their child’s weight.

Parents of older obese children (ages 12 to 17) seem to have somewhat greater awareness and concern about their kids’ weight issues, with 31% of these parents say their child is “very overweight” and 46% report being “very concerned” about their child’s weight.

National studies have shown that 35% of U.S. children (ages 6 to 17) are overweight or obese; but parent reports in this latest poll are substantially lower, dropping the proportion to 25%.

Turn”down time” into “family time”

Down time? What on earth is that?

Yes, I expect we all know what the phrase means, but there seems to be precious little of it around.

Despite this, it’s highly likely that there are small pockets of “down time” in between all of life’s busyness. These are the times that can be turned into “family time”.

We don’t need hours of time to enjoy being with the people we love,” said Lissa Coffey, family and relationships expert for Hasbro games and author of Getting There! 9 Ways to Help Your Kids Learn What Matters Most in Life. “Catching moments here and there, at home or while waiting at the doctors office, helps to create memories and will build strong, lasting relationships.”

She comes up with some ideas for making the most of short pockets of time that could otherwise slip past.

Green Therapy

To avoid “nature deficit disorder”, get outside — even for just a few minutes. Not only does it distract kids from modern entertainment, but it helps them to appreciate both the family, and the natural world around them.

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Computer sellers partner with NSPCC to guide families in safe practices

The Professional Computing Association (PCA) is taking action to support the NSPCC’s call to protect children when using the internet.

With immediate effect consumer-facing members of the Professional Computing Association (PCA) are required, as part of their conformance with the PCA’s Code of Practice to be aware of, and give guidance around some of the safe use issues with regard to computers in the home.

The PCA’s Code is amended to say “When selling into the domestic market or any other environment where it is likely that a computer will be used by young children and other vulnerable people, a PCA Member must give appropriate advice with regard to safe internet use.”

The PCA’s Code is binding upon all of its members who sell to end users. The association has some 850 members throughout the UK, most of them being locally focussed computer retailers.

The PCA decided to support the NSPCC in this matter when it emerged that the children’s charity had found that many large resellers were failing to give appropriate guidance to parents and carers even when it was made clear that the computers would be used by children.

PCA CEO Keith Warburton said “Safety of our children is something that we all take very seriously, but it’s sometimes too easy to assume that the cure for a problem is in someone else’s hands. Here’s something that our members can do quite easily; it costs them little or nothing, it demonstrates their professionalism and it can safeguard a child. What’s not to do?”

NSPCC policy advisor, Zoe Hilton said: “This is a positive step in the right direction by the PCA and hopefully it will result in all computer retailers adopting the same approach. The internet has opened up a new, exciting world for children but it also has its share of dangers. Introducing this kind of measure will help them surf more safely.”

In the short term the PCA is directing it members to the “>NSPCC’s guidance. This will help them review their current practices and adapt them if necessary, and it will subsequently be producing a co-branded flyer in conjunction with the NSPCC, to be distributed via its members.

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