The popular Radio 2 writing competition for children launched today, with Chris Evans heading up the team of judges again.
500 WORDS invites children aged 13 and under to submit their short stories of fiction to be judged by a panel of authors and celebrities including Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Richard Hammond and Charlie Higson.
Launched in 2011, the competition has been extremely well received. Last year’s competition attracted over 74,000 entries, with famous people such as Justin Bieber, Prince William, Wayne Rooney, and Radio 2′s own Chris Evans making repeated appearances in the stories, alongside made-up mythical creatures like the sharkbaragator (part shark, part bear and part alligator) and chocolateosaurus. And for the second consecutive year, the millions of words used by the young writers will be analysed by Oxford University Press to help shine a light on children’s use of language today.
The writers of the top 50 stories will be invited to attend a broadcast of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show that will be broadcast live from the Hay Festival on Friday 31 May, 2013.
The six lucky winners will be announced live on air and will get to hear their stories read out by a famous narrator.
The full judging panel is:
- Richard Hammond (presenter) [Head Judge]
- Frank Cottrell-Boyce (award-winning novelist and screenwriter, who scripted the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Games, and made Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fly once again for young readers)
- Malorie Blackman (literature and television drama credits include the Noughts And Crosses series)
- Dame Jaqueline Wilson (author of many books including the Tracy Beaker series)
- Charlie Higson (comedian and author)
A shortlist of 50 favourite stories will be picked from across two age groups – under 9s and 10-13s.
The 2013 competition will run until Friday 22 February. Details about how to enter are available on the 500 WORDS website.
Your kids may look as if they’ve been admitted to a rock concert, but they probably won’t mind wearing one of these funky single-use bands and you will have the peace of mind that should they become lost, ill or injured, they can be quickly helped and reunited with you.
While the front of each band features a cool design, the back has space to write pertinent information such as contact name and mobile phone number, plus important medical details such as allergies. They are waterproof and tear-proof and can only be removed by cutting with scissors.
Available here at £3.50 for a pack of ten.
Fleur Hitchcock, author of SHRUNK! — a Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week — is to officially launch “The Story Adventure” interactive writing project for 7-11 year-old children next week.
From Monday 21st January, Fleur will post her first chapter at www.thestoryadventure.com and invite kids to answer questions and complete real-world activities, with the best ideas being added to new chapters published every Monday until 13th May.
The project and associated activities have been devised with the help of primary school teachers to ensure that it fits into the KS2 curriculum. Children who offer outstanding contributions to the project will earn a place on the Star List and have their names included in the book. There will also be an opportunity to win a school visit from the author for the most active school. The book will be available for pre-order on the site, as well as tickets to the book launch party.
The author said, “I spent a lot of time working in schools, and realised that children were bubbling over with great ideas, so many of which never got the chance to come out. When Hot Key proposed the Story Adventure it seemed the perfect way to let children have their say and explore the possibilities of their incredible imaginations. I can’t wait to get started.”
Hot Key Books Editorial Director Sara O’Connor said, “Fleur’s notion that children’s ideas are not often listened to has exploded into this fun and interactive story shaping project designed to celebrate reading and writing for pleasure and get children excited about reading books. It is an ambitious and admirable project for any writer to take on, but Fleur is the perfect author to do it.”
I don’t believe in fairy stories and neither do I believe that the majority of actions most companies take are purely altruistic. As Phoebe Buffay might say, “There’s no such thing as a selfless good deed”.
Yet even in a world where we are being marketed to in some way for most of our waking lives, I still find it sad that a question from the mouth of a still innocent three-and-a-half year-old child has been labelled as an evil PR stunt.
I believe the letter is real. I really don’t think Sainsbury’s marketing department would stoop so low as to create a five-and-a-half year old fake blog just so it could sell more bread.
Proud parents of Lily Robinson decided to post an entry on their blog when Sainsbury’s wrote to them to thank them for the letter their daughter had sent in.
She wanted to know why “tiger bread” was called “tiger bread” when its pattern looked more like that found on a giraffe.
To cut a long story short, a Sainsbury’s staff member wrote a charming letter back explaining the bread’s history. Mum Lucy was pleased. Lisa was pleased. Chris King (aged 27 1/3) was pleased, and is now apparently training to become a primary school teacher. Good for him.
Who isn’t pleased? The cynics.
You see, there are many, many reasons to be cynical. If you can pick at least three then you’re a super cynic:
- It’s made up. Lily is made up. The letter is made up. It’s a PR stunt to sell more bread.
- It’s exploitative of Lily. The parents are profiting.
- Only £3 of vouchers? That’s a bit stingy.
- We’re all victims of a capitalist society where soulless advertising and PR executives exploit us to sell us more crap.
Honestly, I’ve had it with the cynics. (You could say I’m cynical about cynics, but being a recovering one that could soon become an existential quandary, so it’s best you don’t say it).
Excuse the crude imagery, but where much of the world appears to be disappearing down the toilet faster than last night’s Vindaloo, isn’t it nice to be told a story — hey, perhaps even a truth-slightly-twisted story — that’s a little heartwarming?
A story where a three-and-a-half year-old child — presumably one who attends a kindergarten where toddling prophets of doom aren’t allowed — has asked a simple question of a store that she sees mum buy groceries at.
I’m sure if Lucy had shopped at the blue and red store, or the green store, instead of the orange one, then Lily would’ve written to Mr Tesco or Mr Asda (sorry, I mean Mr Walmart) instead. They all sell Tiger bread, after all.
Yet apparently it’s all exploitative. It’s not entirely clear who is exploiting who, but knowing how cynics work, it’ll be everyone and everything.
Lucy will be exploiting Lily by somehow profiting (to the tune of £3 and by asking people to donate money to the Disasters Emergency Committee) from the fact her little corner of the Internet suddenly went viral.
Sainsbury’s has masterminded the whole charade in order to sell more bread, thereby exploiting the family, and us, and society, which will now see “lines for bread like they were in post WW1 Germany” (no, really).
And it all feeds into this giant, wholly evil capitalist society. Who’d've thought the innocent letter of a three-and-a-half year-old girl could spark all that off?
Now, I do know that Sainsbury’s works with bloggers in order to promote its business. Many companies do, and there’s nothing very new in that.
I also know that a lot of the good things that happen in society are championed by corporations primarily to get their name associated with a cause and lap up a bit of free press.
But surely we all have a duty to allow a child’s innocence to last for as long as possible?
These sorts of stories will crop up time and time again. Some will be real, borne out of a parent’s genuine interest in sharing a little piece of their child’s life that, to them, is highly significant. Others will be generated by companies.
We won’t always know the difference, but does it matter? Sainsbury’s isn’t using kids to sell us illegal drugs. It’s a loaf of bread for crying out loud!
If there was something illicit about these goodwill stories, we’d have the right to be up in arms. Yet adults all have brains and free will. I already like Tiger / Giraffe bread. I’m not going to buy more just because of this story. If I do, it’ll probably be from Morrison’s anyway.
There’s a time and a place for looking at company exploitation, corporate greed, and the system as a whole. It just makes me sad when a little ray of sunshine story is trampled all over in the race to moralise over societal decline.
Perspective, people.
We’re fast becoming fans of Cuddledry products thanks to their great child-friendly designs. That means we were pleased to see the humble rubber duck — surely a must at bath-time — get the Cuddledry makeover.
Meet Cuddleduck.
If you’re anything like us, your first thought might be “but it’s not yellow”. Indeed it’s not. The Cuddleduck instead sports a gold polka dot design and cows in a pretty organza bag.
Handmade in Spain using natural rubber, the Cuddleduck is pthalate free and non-toxic so contains no nasties for your little one.
Soft and squashy for tiny hands to hold, a quick squeeze and he will give a lovely satisfying squeak to delight your baby, he even squirts water for endless bath time fun.
Even better, he’s only £5.99 from cuddledry.com, so you could even splash out on a pair.
By Guest Author
Sep 18, 2011
The Benefit of Sports in Your Child’s Development
A sport helps in all aspects of children’s development. Character building, personality, physical and mental attributes can all be developed by indulging in a sport. Sports helps a child develop certain characteristics which nothing else can develop, such as loyalty, teamwork, ambition, sportsmanship and many more.
The most important characteristic, which can be developed by any type of game, is determination. Determination is one rare element; those who get it can achieve anything in the world. It gives a child a ‘never die’ attitude which eventually takes him/her to greater heights in life.
The following list will categorize different types of sports and their role in a child’s development.
- Football: It transforms a child into a mature grown person. Football helps develop a drive in the child, eventually leading to competiveness. This competitiveness in the game requires teamwork and sportsmanship which a kid develops as much as he plays. Football also helps increase stamina and awareness of a child. Some other aspects which football improves are mental and physical toughness and reflexes and reactions.
- Basketball: It has almost similar outcomes as football. Sportsmanship and competitiveness are improved by playing basketball. As for physical attributes, the child gets extremely good jumping ability and can have a good height. The game also helps improve awareness and reactions better than football.
- Golf: It helps develop a perfectionist. Golf is a game which allows a low margin of forgiveness for error. One has to be very sharp and precise about his/her shot. Golf does not help significantly in physical development, only arm muscles grow strong. As it is with most other games, it develops competitiveness in a child.
- Rugby: Transforms a child into a man. Rugby is the most physical sport there is. It does not help in increasing mental abilities significantly, but its influence in physical development is second to none. The physical toughness and growth of a rugby player is far better than other sportsmen.
- Cricket & Table-tennis: Cricket and table tennis are both reaction development sports. Both games require excellent reactions and reflexes. Both games have a small influence on the physical development; table tennis requires footwork and triceps whereas cricket requires speed and agility.
These were some of the sports which offer distinct benefits in a child’s development.
The amazing thing about sports is that one can learn a few important things about life without giving anything. It is a teacher who gives their students some great qualities for free. These teachings have been passed on for generations and millions of people have benefited from them.
Sometimes, a sportsman is lucky enough to find himself/herself leading their team. The pride and honour give a confidence boost like nothing else. It gives a sense of responsibility; the captain has to lead the team by example. He/she should have high motivational skills and an urge to make sure the team is going in the right direction. Leadership is a gift in sports; one who is lucky enough to be handed the role should definitely make the best of it.
Mike is a father of 2, interested in his children’s development. Mike thinks that sport is a great component in his child education, but also believe that toys and especially educational toys play an important role.
Bullying is an increasing problem in schools. Whether it’s ‘traditional’ playground taunts or technologically advanced, or for seemingly bizarre reasons, there’s a myth that suggests it’s just a normal part of growing up.
The fact is, it’s not.
Neither is bullying just a phase that kids have to go through. Prolonged bullying can have a devastating effect on a child, who often carries that trauma into adulthood.
A US survey by the National Youth Violence Prevention Center found that nearly one-third of teens were in some way involved with bullying — either as the bully, the victim, or indeed both.
“Being the target of a bully involves real suffering,” said Dr. Earlene Strayhorn, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. “The constant stress of physical assaults, threats, coercion and intimidation can take a heavy toll on a child’s psyche over time. The abuse may end at some point but the psychological, developmental, social and emotional damage can linger for years, if not a lifetime.”
Victims of bullying can be constantly tense, anxious and afraid. They are frequently unable to focus on schoolwork, and in some cases skip school altogether in order to avoid a bully. Over time, a bullied child’s sense of self-esteem and self-worth can become affected, causing the child to become withdrawn, depressed and insecure.
“There have even been a number of instances in which victims have committed or attempted suicide in a desperate effort to find reprieve from bullying,” Strayhorn said. “Some victims have violently struck back at their tormentors, in some cases targeting innocent bystanders.”
Bullies thrive on intimidating and controlling others so they tend to target children who are more passive, easily intimidated and who have fewer friends. Their victims also tend to be smaller or younger and have a harder time defending themselves. If you suspect that your child is being bullied you should realise that you have a very serious problem on your hands.
“Let your child know that he or she is not alone and are not at fault. Tell your child that no-one deserves to be bullied for any reason, and then take action,” Strayhorn said.
You can read more on this topic at Newswise.
For tips and advice on helping your child to deal with bullying, read our in-depth feature article “Bullying Prevention Skills and Techniques for Children” by Mark Lakewood.
Children will form opinions about alcohol based on the attitudes their parents have to drinking.
Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found, unsurprisingly, that parents are role models for their kids — whether they accept that or not — and their actions speak volumes to a child’s development, Made for Mums reports.
Certain sections of the press will publish sensationalist headlines along the lines of “kids become alcoholics when parents drink.” In reality, this is complete nonsense.
Parents have a crucial and active role in teaching their children what’s acceptable, and much of this comes from their actions rather than simply their words. “Do as I say, not as I do” doesn’t cut it with kids, and rightly so (in my opinion).
Mums and dads who get blind drunk in front of their kids, or when they are responsible for them, on a regular basis are asking for trouble. Forget the role model issue for a moment; parents with a responsibility particularly for young children should not be getting drunk at all.
The research goes on to suggest that if a child tastes alcohol at age six it will have a negative effect on their future drinking habits. In other words, drinking from an early age leads to binge drinking later on.
I’m not wholly convinced by this argument. My parents brought me up to have a healthy attitude to alcohol. I remember being allowed to take a sip from my dad’s glass of lager at the weekend from quite a young age. I didn’t drink alone, and I wasn’t allowed to have glasses of wine or beer at home until mid-teens. I’m certainly not dependent on alcohol now, and I don’t binge drink. I know of plenty of other people who have had similar experiences.
Programme manager for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Claire Turner, said that, “parents can have more influence on their teenagers’ behaviour than perhaps many assumed. Both what parents say, and how they behave, have a strong impact on their teenagers’ drinking, drinking regularly, and drinking to excess. Being introduced to alcohol at a very young age – for example, under 10 years old – makes it more likely that they will drink and drink to excess as teenagers.”
I’m not going to be so bold as to suggest that there’s no causal link, because I’m certain there is.
The key to a child developing a healthy attitude to alcohol is for parents to educate as well as model good behaviour. Peer pressure will always have some effect but not all teenagers are going to sneak off in order to get drunk on a regular basis.
It’s also important to ensure that alcohol consumption in the home is monitored. Alcohol shouldn’t be accessible by children or consumed unattended.
What do you think? Is the survey causing an overreaction? How do you educate your kids about alcohol?
By the time children have reached secondary school, aged around 12, one in two have been given a mobile phone by their parents. That’s according to a new survey by The Trust for Study of Adolescence.
By the time they reach the age of 15, four out of five teenagers will have a mobile phone.
Mobile-owning kids will make an average of eight calls per week and send 25 texts, though they probably won’t pay the bill.
What we appear to have here are two separate reasons for kids and teenagers having a phone.
On the one hand, parents want the reassurance of being able to contact their children either by call or text.
On the other, kids see the latest smart phones on the market and they want one. Unfortunately, it can lead to oneupmanship and peer pressure.
Both points of view tend to lead to many kids getting hold of their own phone.
If you’re a parent concerned about whether your child should have their own phone, you might find some of the following resources useful:
- Full control of kids’ mobile phones now available to British parents
- Parents believe their kids’ mobile phone use is “out of control”
- Teens and pre-teens increase cell phone use during the summer
- Gadget Watch: Firefly glowPhone
- Orange launches mobile and broadband advice site for families
- Pupils air their views in new BBC News school report survey
British children are bombarded every day with overtly sexual imagery and references.
That’s the main conclusion of a six-month review into the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood by the Mothers’ Union.
Citing explicit music videos, overly suggestive magazine covers and many forms of advertising surrounding kids every day, the “Letting Children Be Children” report has some strong recommendations.
These include restricting certain music videos to late night schedules, covering up explicit magazine covers, rating advertising and videos in the same way films are, and making it easier for parents to block certain content from appearing on kids’ mobile phones and during their use of the Internet.
Many people would echo the sentiment that kids should be allowed to be kids, and may even go along with many of the recommendations. Implementing them is quite another matter.
As a case in point, Prime Minister David Cameron said he agreed with taking a central approach to tackling these issues but didn’t seem ready to try to introduce legislation.
Music Videos and TV
The notion of a watershed is a rather outdated concept in the days of the Internet, video on demand and time-shifting programmes via digital recorders.
Certainly refraining from TV advertising and explicit content during live primetime and kids programmes is definitely a good thing, but it takes education and discipline from parents to ensure kids don’t stumble across undesirable content.
Lads Mags
It’s not the first time that lads magazines have come under fire for their content. Then shadow education secretary Michael Gove suggested they were “contributing to irresponsible behaviour and the breakdown of family and society”.
Covering up mags and ensuring they’re not sold to kids should be fairly easy to do, though many would be more concerned with a loss of revenue by not getting the free advertising a prominent place on the newsstands affords.
Internet and Mobile
Tackling the flood of detritus that comes over the Internet and, increasingly, via mobile phones, is not an easy one. No filters are 100% secure and even vigilance can only do so much.
Much has been written about keeping kids safe online. Finding a sensible balance between automatically blocking undesirable content and educating children on acceptable use of the net is what’s required. Some things can be left to legislation but ultimately it’s still the responsibility of parents to educate their kids.
Resources
Here are some resources and other articles that you might find useful:
- Tracy Beaker gets behind Safer Internet Day
- Porn star calls parents to protect their kids online
- Kids doing stuff online their parents wouldn’t approve of, survey finds
- Orange launches mobile and broadband advice site for families
- Full control of kids’ mobile phones now available to British parents
- Teens and pre-teens increase cell phone use during the summer
- Unique family-oriented broadband service offers peace of mind to schools and parents
For adults, the Census is the (literally) must-fill-in survey of the year.
For 24,000 11-16 year-olds from more than 300 schools across the UK, the BBC News School Report online survey was the place to air views of life, home, technology, faith and other topical issues.
Carried out with the Royal Statistical Society Centre for Statistical Education (RSSCSE), it provides an interesting snapshot of what it’s like to be an 11-16 year-old in 2011.
Interesting points to come out of the survey included:
Religion
- One in three children said they didn’t have a religion.
- A similar number said they didn’t believe in a god
- 40% said they did believe in a god or gods.
Technology
- Two out of three children have Internet access on their mobile phone.
- Nearly three-quarters send text messages to keep in touch with friends, while around two-thirds use social networking sites.
- Nearly every child said they had a computer at home, though this wasn’t surprising given that the survey was conducted online.
- Most kids help their parents with web sites and email.
Money
- A third of children said they knew someone who had lost their job.
- A similar number said their family had cut back on spending.
- A quarter said their family went out less often.
- Only a fifth said they had not been affected by the current economic climate.
Feeling Safe
- The biggest threats in the world are terrorism (nearly 60%) and climate change (nearly 50%) according to those surveyed.
- 4% of children said they never felt safe where they lived.
- Half of those surveyed said crime, or alcohol and drugs, posed the biggest threat to their own life.
Hopes and Aspirations
- The biggest aspiration is to be a homeowner (35%), followed by earning a lot (31%) and meeting a partner or getting married (25%).
Politics and Monarchy
- Under half of children said they would vote when they turned 18.
- 35% of children said they weren’t interested in the Royal Family.
Sport, Leisure, Transport
- Half of respondents said they did less than two hours of sport per week at school.
- Two-thirds said they were interested in the London Olympics.
- Over two-thirds of children had been involved in acting, singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument.
- A third of children walk to school; a similar number use public transport. Only 2% walked. A quarter were brought in by car.
Home Life
- 22% of children speak two or three languages when talking to friends and family.
- Nearly all children either live with mum and/or dad.
More extensive results can be seen here: BBC survey reveals snapshot of UK schoolchildren
Introducing young learners to the diversity of culture and language.
The BBC has announced the immense success of The Lingo Show, a CBeebies online game designed to introduce young children to different cultures and languages.
Launched on the 14th February, and attracting over 135,000 visitors in the first week alone, The Lingo Show introduces French, Spanish, Mandarin, Welsh, Punjabi, Urdu, Polish and Somali to preschoolers using a number of colourful bug characters.
As children play online, the bugs enlist them to prepare for the Big Bug Show where, through a series of playful activities, they can learn new words in context and then use them as they sing their hearts out to the finale song.
The Lingo Show also features makes, audio clips and songs designed to stimulate creativity and celebrate diversity.
