No Second Chance For Some

I Hadn’t Given Up Hope Of Having Children.
Even though I was in my 40s, I hadn’t given up hope of having children.
I just always thought it would happen when it was supposed to.
I don’t know if having a child later makes it more special because it’s special whenever it happens, but it’s amazing how your priorities change overnight.
( Jennifer Beals )

I Used To Believe I Was An Orphan.
As a child, I used to believe I was an orphan because my mother gave me a life but had no time to love me, nor did she believe that she should make any special effort to be with me.
From the 1950s to the 70s, most Chinese women like my mother closely followed the Communist Party’s line concerning your ‘life order’ – in other words, the political party came first, your motherland came second and helping others came third.
Anyone who cared about their own family and children was considered a capitalist and could be punished – at the very least, you would be looked down upon by everyone, including your own family.
( Xinran )

Child poverty in Britain fell to its lowest level since the mid-1980s during Labour’s last year in power.
Data from the Office for National Statistics said that 20% of children were living in a household below the poverty line in 2009-10, down from 22% the previous year.
Although the figures show Labour missed its target of halving child poverty by 2010, campaigners welcomed the improvement during the longest and deepest recession since the second world war.
( Larry Elliott and Patrick Wintour, 12.05.2011 )  ..  theguardian.com

Computer Games Stop Children Reading.
We now have proof that computer games stop children reading, withering their imagination and filling their minds with grubby rubbish.
Parents have a right and a duty to protect their young from this sort of thing.
You wouldn’t give your children neat gin.
Why leave them alone at the screen?
( Peter Hitchens )

For Some There Is No Second Chance.
Those born into violent, dysfunctional families are never taught the normal rules of social living. For them there is no second chance.
They are excluded from schools for their violence.
They are jailed for trying to medicate the pain away with drugs or alcohol.
They are branded as ‘perpetrators’ because they are incapable of making loving, peaceful relationships.
Nobody cares that their bodies are scarred from beatings, and their souls mutilated by words that deem them irredeemable.

Child Poverty Fell To It’s Lowest Level Under Labour.
Child poverty fell to its lowest level for 25 years during Labour’s last year in power.
Office for National Statistics figures show the number of children living in a household below the poverty line had dropped by 200,000 in 2009 – 2010.
The reduction will be seen as a vindication of Gordon Brown’s tax credits and welfare policies.
Let’s hope the good work will not be undone by this Government’s cuts.

Children Going To School Hungry.
A study has revealed that children are turning up at school too hungry to learn because their families don’t have enough money to feed them.
Three out of four teachers say pupils arrive for lessons on empty stomachs – with one boy reported to have not eaten for three days because his mother had run out of cash.
Two thirds of staff also reported children arriving in worn-out uniforms or clothes.
One boy suffered infected toes because his shoes were too small.
The disturbing cases were revealed in a survey by the 160,000-strong Association of Teachers and Lecturers.
Four out of five members said poverty is affecting their students and many fear the situation will get worse when Government cuts bite.
This situation is appalling when you consider the Government is cutting benefits for children and families and yet is giving away billions of pounds to overseas aid and spending billions more protecting rebels in Libya.
British taxpayers’ money should be spent on British people.
This bloody Government need to get their priorities right.

Their Young Brains Are Addled.
We should think about the way we bring up our children.
We should ask ourselves why there are so many kids with “special education needs?” Special needs numbers have risen dramatically in recent years, to almost two million – more than one in five of the school population.
Children today are in thrall to their mobiles, oblivious to the world around them.
They stare obsessively, playing computer games.
Their young brains are digitally addled.
These games are often incredibly fast-moving, vicious and harmful.
Parents bleat about their kids suffering from ADHD and suchlike and demand extra hours of personal tuition – when the fault lies largely with themselves for allowing their children to destroy their growing years.
Before they clamour for special treatment at school, mums and dads should take a long, cool look at what goes on within their own four walls.
And be prepared to be ashamed.

Pride In Their School.
In Japan the children in primary schools do all their own cleaning.
It is done everyday and in every school and by every child.
Nobody makes a big deal about it.
Everyone does their bit. Nobody complains.
And Japanese primary schools have no need to employ cleaning staff because the children do it themselves. It is all about pride.
Pride in their school. And pride in themselves.
It is a pride that permeates every part of Japanese life.
In Japan you are taught to always think about the greater good.
You are taught to take pride in yourself, whether you are a shopkeeper, a student, or the head of Sony.
You are taught that other people matter.

The Last Generation Of Parents.
The last generation of parents were happy to let their children develop at their own pace.
They loved their children, looked out for them, made sure they were clean, clothed and fed, then focused on their own lives.
But now, we “parent”.
We set their agenda, live our lives through our children, and if they’re not doing “well”, it’s a sign that we aren’t doing well either.
When a parent has high expectations, the child may start to feel that they only love them when they are meeting their goals.
They start to feel they’re never good enough and that can lead to anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug problems, and eating disorders – all of which seem to be on the increase in children and young people.
Children and adolescents need unpressured time to develop their own interests, and discover who they are.
Of course, we need to encourage our children, but there’s a world of difference between supporting and pushing.

I Push My Girls.
I call myself ‘Mom-in-chief’, not because I don’t value my education and career but because the most important thing to me is raising strong women, raising my daughters well, because that’s what my mother did for me.
My husband and I are very protective but we tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid to take risks. Learn to use your voice now. Ask questions. Ask stupid questions. Get it wrong’.
I push my girls but, more important, I love them a lot.
( Michelle Obama )