Tag Archives: Children

I am NOT Jeremy Clarkson

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I’m not Jeremy Clarkson. Let me make that absolutely clear. In fact I care not one bit for pretty much everything he says and does and his attitude, which can be summed up as, “Shut the fuck up, hippie, I’m talking,” makes me wish I was a short, black lesbian working-class aristocratic motorphobe, just to be as unlike him as possible.
I have gone to great pains to make the above distinction because I’m about to write some things that might, on the surface, look like they were written by the planet-murdering controversy whore himself- or Jeremy Kyle. And, just to keep an unexpected ‘Jeremy’ theme running a little longer, I suspect I shall become as popular as Beadle in his wilderness years and look as big a dick as Ron’s by the end of this blog, but I just have to do it.
I don’t have a job. Up until now it has been by choice because I’ve been trying to make it as a writer, but my dear wife will no longer be able to pay the bills in a few weeks when her contract ends so it falls to me to take the reins and get off my frigging backside. I am job hunting.
I’ve only signed on once in my life. It was in my late teens when I left film school and was trying to find funding. Apart from that, I’ve always worked when I had to find money and even though I don’t want to wear my pride like superman’s cape, I’m proud that I have a work ethic that stops me from signing on now.
I’m working class. Not because my family have always been skint or because I’m from the grim north, but because I am from a class of people who believe in work. In paying their way. In doing the right thing so that those who, through no fault of their own, can’t, get whatever help they need until they can.
It’s not just that though. I genuinely believe that benefits are essential for people unable to provide for themselves and their families and that’s not me. It’s single parents, people caught out by redundancy or disability, or anyone who just can’t get work in spite of their best efforts and has bills to pay and a life to live. These are the people who should be looked after by those of us able to work- that’s the principle behind the welfare system and I think it’s a marvelous thing.
That’s why I get so upset when people abuse it.
When I see some twat on Jeremy Kyle (him again) with a face tattoo that will almost certainly stop him getting his first ever job outside a cave or the London Dungeon, it riles me. When I then work out that, if he’s never had a job, the several hundred pounds that his ‘personal statement’ cost has come from tax payers money I start to froth at the mouth.
“WE!” shouts the man who hasn’t had any paid work for over a year, “have been handing you money to help you get by until you find a job and start chipping in to help others, and you spend it on something that guarantees you never will!”
That’s theft. Isn’t it? Surely if someone takes money that is given in good faith and pisses it up the wall on tattoos, facial piercings or anything else that makes him, or her, unemployable in real terms, it’s theft. the only other explanation is that he paid for it from some other source of income- which he shouldn’t be earning if he’s claiming benefits.
And before anyone says it. Fuck his freedom of expression, fuck his personal liberties, and fuck his right to do whatever he likes to his own body. If he was funding himself he could have more ink than Squidopollis and pierce himself with a Renault Clio for all I care but he’s not. He’s essentially asking for money from society to fund his life until he funds it himself, and now he’s got a head like a Stilton bowling ball, he never will.
I’ve spent the last two weeks sending my CV off to every minimum wage job I can find from shelf stacking to laboring on building sites and, eventually, I’m sure I’ll get something. When I go to the interviews and sit before a prospective employer, I’m going to try and look as employable as I can. It’s boring, in fact it’s demoralizing having to put your best suit on and get your hair cut in the hope that someone will pay you next to nothing to shovel shit but it’s the least I can do. It’s the least EVERY job seeker should be doing.
Imagine you met an out of work juggler and gave him a few grand to keep him going till he got a job, then, next time you met him, he’d spent it having his arms chopped off for a laugh, you’d close your wallet before he could say, “hold this mate, I need to pee.”
At what point do we stop benefits? When does someone finally get sat down by a lady in a cardigan to be told, “You know breathing isn’t a job don’t you?” I want to see the government ad campaign where a cleaner, a mechanic and a lollipop lady stare down the camera lens and say, “If we all lived like you, you’d be dead. Start making an effort dick head!” It doesn’t have to rhyme but it’s nice of a party slogan does- makes it easier to remember.
While I’m in the stocks, how hard is it NOT to have kids? I’ve been doing it for all my adult life with no training or special skills. My wife and I want to be parents but it’s expensive so we’re waiting for a time when we have some sustainable income. Why aren’t people who can’t afford their own lives being bollocked when they start making new ones?
Again, before anyone says it. Fuck their human right to have kids- there’s no such thing. Nobody has the right to have kids, you either can or you can’t and if you can’t, whether it be for physical or financial reasons, you just don’t. It doesn’t get much simpler.
Here’s a radical idea that’s going to make Clarkson look like Shami Chakrabarti and me look like the love child of King Herod and Karl Pilkington.
What if every male child born in this country, along with various inoculations and blood tests, had, at birth, small plastic plugs injected into his Vasa Deferentia (sperm pipes to you and me) so that every male is incapable of reproduction until they’re ready to be a parent? No? There must be a safe and cheap way to do something of this nature though- surely? Anyone?
If you’re going to throw fruit please make sure it’s fair trade.. and out of it’s tin.
Call me Hitler if you want but if people are physically incapable of stopping themselves reproducing then it needs to be taken out of their hands and trousers until such a time that they’re responsible enough to take on the weight of parenthood.
You need a license for a dog and if you want to adopt you have to pass more tests, checks and selection panels than an astronaut and yet bored skint merchants can happily populate their surroundings with gay abandon and the sure knowledge that it won’t cost them a bean and nobody so much as raises an inquiring cough.
My scheme, which I admit needs a little smoothing out in the technical details, would leave everyone free to shag to their hearts content. It would be like the sexual revolution in the twitter age- the sixties with hash tags, and we’d then only have STDs, AIDS and moral decimation to worry about.
Once someone can demonstrate their ability to support a child, their plugs are removed on the NHS- naturally, because it would be loaded by then and every hospital would be made of gold and every nurse would be on the kind of wage they deserve. I’m sure the procedure could be done in an afternoon.
Selective social engineering? ‘Big Brother’ control? Favoring the fortunate? Maybe, but right now, as I stand on the brink of doing shit work for very little money and then still having to give some of it to twats with face tattoos, I really don’t care.
All those with a greater understanding of social decay, economic forces and the causes of deprivation please form an orderly queue, or educate me via the comments section. Cheers.

 

 

Krabbe: The Disease That Needs More Awareness

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I had not heard of Krabbe disease until 2011, when a relative was diagnosed with it. Krabbe is also called Globoid cell leukodystrophy; Galactosylcerebrosidase deficiency; Galactosylceramidase deficiency. It is a rare genetic disorder of the nervous system and is a type of leukodystrophy. It is named after the Danish neurologist Knud Haraldsen Krabbe who discovered it.

Krabbe disease is caused by a defect in the GALC gene. People with this gene defect don’t make enough of a substance called galactocerebroside beta-galactosidase (galactosylceramidase).

This is needed by the body to make myelin, the material that surrounds and protects nerve fibers. Myelin breaks down without it, brain cells die, and nerves in the brain and other body areas do not work properly.

There are two forms of Krabbe disease.

  • Early-onset Krabbe disease appears in the first months of life.
  • Late-onset Krabbe disease begins in late childhood or early adolescence.

Krabbe disease is inherited, which means that it runs in families. To get this disease, each of your parents must pass you a copy of the faulty GALC gene.

This condition is very rare, Affecting 1 in 100,000 births.

Symptoms

  • Changing muscle tone from floppy to rigid.
  • Hearing loss that leads to deafness
  • Feeding difficulties
  • Irritability and sensitivity to loud sounds
  • Severe seizures
  • Unexplained fevers
  • Vision loss that leads to blindness
  • Vomiting

The condition is often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy.

There is no specific treatment for Krabbe disease.It is possible to have a bone marrow transplant in the early stages of the disease, but this treatment has risks.The outcome of Krabbe is usually not good. On average, infants with Krabbe die before age 2. People who develop the disease at a later age have survived into adulthood with nervous system disease.

A blood test can be done to see if you carry the gene for Krabbe disease and prenatal tests can be done to screen a developing baby for this condition.

http://www.savebabiesuk.org/

United Leukodystrophy Foundation — www.ulf.org

http://www.krabbes.com/

huntershope

 

KIDS KNOW THE COST OF CHRISTMAS

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Hard-pressed parents assume that their children have no idea how much it will cost them to make a happy Christmas – but research out today reveals that children as young as five know how much Christmas will cost their family this year … including all the trimmings.

The survey by credit card company Capital One, shows that 85 per cent of kids aged between 5 and 11 know that a standard turkey (2.5kg) costs ‘up to £20’, 79 per cent correctly identify that a Christmas pudding costs ‘under £5’ and 64 per cent know that that a Christmas Tree costs ‘up to £30’.

Despite the average cost of family spending expected to fall this Christmas to around £692 from £1,278*, 1.3 million (32 per cent of all UK kids) accurately predict that Christmas costs a family more than £600, the equivalent to the cost of a family holiday.

The research also reveals that it’s not just the trimmings they’re knowledgeable about; children aged 5-11 were shown to be particularly astute and tech savvy when it comes to presents and gadgets – with 42 per cent knowing how much a Nintendo Wii costs (£109 RRP), as well as 38 per cent accurately confirming that an iPhone costs over £200.

Whilst clearly being surprisingly financially aware, thankfully there hasn’t been a complete loss of child innocence with 67 per cent still believing that Father Christmas ‘spends the most money on Christmas’ and 8 per cent believing that Christmas costs as much as ‘a flight into space.’

Judi James, behavioural expert says: “It’s clearly a cliché to assume that kids have no real understanding of the cost of Christmas because some of the valuations in the survey would give adults a reasonable run for their money. This proves that – unlike previous generations – kids do seem to have acquired a very astute financial view of the festive period, being aware not just of the egocentric gain in terms of food and presents but also the amount needed to obtain them. This suggests good parenting in terms of messages of putting a price on pleasure, meaning we might just be breeding a generation of Alan Sugar-style entrepreneurs.”

Credit Made Clearer features a series of short animated films offering consumers practical financial educational advice. Members of the public can access quick myth-busting films about the world of credit and managing money via facebook.com/capitaloneuk

Michael Woodburn, Chief Marketing Officer for Capital One, says: “We all assume that Christmas is an exercise in financial management for adults. However, maybe if we involved kids more, there could be benefits all round. Financial education for our younger generation is extremely important. Our Credit Made Clearer videos encourage responsible spending, offering tips on a range of financial issues from the use of credit to how to shop safely online.”

‘Credit Made Clearer’ festive shopping tips from Capital One:

* Ensure you stick to a budget and know your credit card limit before making Christmas purchases
* When shopping online, look for the padlock symbol in the browser window to ensure your data is kept away from prying eyes
* Register your cards with MasterCard SecureCode or Verified by Visa to add an extra layer of protection when shopping online
* Be aware of withdrawing cash to buy gifts – you may be charged daily interest and a cash withdrawal fee even if you pay your balance in full each month
* Always leave some available credit on your credit card for any interest to be applied

BRITISH TODDLERS AT RISK OF NOT GETTING ENOUGH VITAMIN D THIS WINTER

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SHORTER WINTER days mean Britain’s toddlers risk not getting enough vitamin D, a vitamin needed for the growth and development of their bones, it is warned today by growingupmilkinfo.com.

A new survey reveals nearly eight out of 10 parents are not aware of toddlers’ specific nutritional needs and 74 per cent of British toddlers do not receive the vitamin supplements recommended by the UK Departments of Health for under-fives[1],[2]. Specifically, 9 out of 10 toddlers are failing to meet their recommended daily vitamin D reference nutrient intake3.

As the clocks go back and sunlight hours fall by up to half it becomes harder to get ‘The Sunshine Vitamin’ from sunlight alone. British children’s vitamin D-poor diets3 combined with low uptake of supplementation and a lack of knowledge amongst parents about their specific nutritional needs, mean toddlers could be missing out.

The research from growingupmilkinfo.com points towards the risk being highest in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield, where vitamin supplement uptake is lowest[1], as is exposure to vitamin D-producing UVB sunlight. Toddlers of African-Caribbean and South Asian heritage are also at increased risk, as their skins’ increased melanin level means they are less able to produce vitamin D through exposure to sunlight4.

Shorter winter days

Vitamin D is made by the body on exposure to sunlight. In British wintertime, the number of daily sunshine hours drops by as much as half in some areas, especially in the north of the country, and the angle of the sun changes making it much more difficult for the body to make vitamin D.

Lack of knowledge for parents

Nearly eight out of 10 British parents are unaware that toddlers have specific nutritional needs and over half (54 per cent) say they never, rarely or occasionally consider a toddler’s specific nutritional requirements[1].

Nearly three-quarters of mums say they don’t give their toddler the vitamin supplements recommended by the UK Departments of Health. The Departments of Health recommend that ALL toddlers receive a daily supplement of vitamins A, C and D2.

Poor dietary uptake

The best source of vitamin D comes from UV light exposure. However in countries like the UK, where sunlight is limited, it is essential that toddlers also eat vitamin D rich foods. However, it can be hard to get toddlers to eat vitamin D rich foods – for example Government statistics show that the average consumption of oily fish is well below the recommendation5.

Simple steps parents can take to ensure toddlers are meeting their vitamin D needs include:

· Exposure to the summer (April-Oct) sun (without sunscreen) for 10 minutes a few times a week is enough for most people to produce vitamin D and store it for winter. However, some groups may not be able to get enough vitamin D exposure in this way. These groups include young children, those living north of Birmingham in the UK (due to the angle of the sun) and those of African-Caribbean and South Asian origin

· Take a daily children’s supplement of vitamins A, C and D

· Giving 2 x 150ml beakers of Growing Up Milk daily as part of a healthy balanced diet provides more than half a toddler’s daily recommended nutrient intake of vitamin D

· Include sources of vitamin D in the diet. Good sources include: fortified margarines and breakfast cereals, egg yolks, liver and oily fish

Roger Moore's Christmas wish to you

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Let the bells ring out for every child in the world this Christmas.

This festive season, forget the latest iPhone, toy or gadget and give your family and friends a
truly inspirational present by treating them to a UNICEF Inspired gift, which will be delivered
to a vulnerable child around the world on their behalf.

UNICEF’s Inspired Gift range is unique, suitable for all budgets and easy to buy online.
All the inspired gifts are real lifesaving supplies delivered to children, some living in desperate

conditions around the world. They include items such as medicines, foods, water containers
and education materials. Your friend or family member will receive a gift card, which tells
them how their gift is making a real difference to children’s lives.

Now, with the ‘children’s famine’ affecting nearly 2 million children in Somalia alone and its
impact likely to last for years to come, there is no better time to add a UNICEF Inspired Gift to this year’s Christmas shopping list.

There is a gift for every budget;
• For £13 you can purchase life-saving therapeutic milk to help a child suffering from
severe malnutrition to survive another day.
• You can help five families protect themselves from malaria with mosquito nets for just
£20
• For £12 you could brighten a child’s day with five story books
• For those with a slightly bigger budget, £150 will enable you to deliver an entire
‘school in a box’ to children caught up in an emergency so they get back to learning
as soon as possible

UNICEF is the world’s leading children’s organisation, responding to more than 200
emergencies each year and working in every country to make sure the world’s most
vulnerable children are reached. Every year, more than 8 million children die before their fifth
birthday, mostly from preventable causes, that’s almost one child every four seconds. This is
wrong but by purchasing one of UNICEF’s inspired gifts this Christmas, you can help to put it
right.

See our top 10 Inspired Gifts below, or go online to view the full range:
www.unicef.org.uk/inspired

For those who want to wrap up something to go under the tree then UNICEF also offers a
more traditional selection of cards and gifts including gorgeous handmade leather bags and
ethical jewellery: www.unicef.org.uk/shop

Our top 10 Inspired Gifts
All of the photos can be provided as high-resolution images on request. Product photos also
available. Prices effective as of 1 September 2011

Emergency water kit for a family £8.50

Give a UNICEF Inspired Gift that will enable a family caught up in an emergency or natural
disaster to collect, store and even purify water.

Deliver a baby £27
Provide all the equipment and medicines needed for the safe delivery of a new baby.
Life-saving milk £13
Give life-saving, therapeutic milk for the treatment of severe child malnutrition.
Water pump £320
Buy a water pump and help provide clean, safe drinking water for a whole community.
Peanut paste to save a child from malnutrition £23.50
Help malnourished children with this life-saving therapeutic food. It’s a high-protein, peanutbased
paste that comes in a ready-to-use sachet.
Five mosquito nets £20
Mosquito nets for five families to protect them from malaria. Malaria kills one African child
every 30 seconds.
Three months HIV medicines for a mum and a baby £12
Provide life-saving anti-retroviral medicines for a mother and baby for three months.
Polio vaccines £9.50
Protect 100 children from this highly contagious viral infection.
School-in-a-box £150
This emergency education kit provides the school supplies that children need to continue their
lessons as soon as possible after a disaster.
Story books £12
Open up the delight of story-time for whole groups of children with five story books.

UNICEF’s full range of Cards, Gifts and Inspired Gifts* are available exclusively online at
www.unicef.org.uk/shop or by calling 0844 888 5505.

Rebekah Brooks Expecting First Child

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Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks is expecting her first child with racehorse trainer husband Charlie.

The couple are having the child through a surrogate. They are the biological parents and it will be born in February 2012.

Brooks’s spokesperson David Wilson said in a statement released on November the 17th: “Charlie and Rebekah are overjoyed. While the pregnancy has not been without its difficulties and sadness, Charlie and Rebekah are obviously hoping for a very happy ending to almost five years of trying to conceive themselves.

“Both parents are acutely aware of the infertility problems encountered by many other couples, and in the longer term hope to recognise their own good fortune by working in some way to help others facing similar challenges.”

The couple are having a girl, who was originally one of twins, but one of the twins died earlier in the pregnancy.

The surrogate mother wishes to remain anonymous.

How To Survive Travelling With Teenagers.

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Thelma & Louise’s Travel With Teens Survival Guide

Members of the women’s online travel community have offered their top tips for avoiding the holiday hell of teenage tantrums

Members of women’s online travel community Thelma & Louise aren’t keeping to the “Mum’s the Word” mantra of old when it comes to dealing with wayward teens on their travels. Travelling with a teenager can bring a host of challenges, but the Thelma & Louise ladies have been sharing their top tips on the best ways to travel without a teenage tantrum in sight.

The women-only website (www.thelmaandlouise.com) has members of all ages, and although the site is a tool to meet like-minded travel companions, many members have husbands and families at home. When a member asked a question about the best ways to family fun, not holiday hell, other mums were quick to share their tips.

Thelma & Louise member Deborah Klaassen, who has also written on this topic for the Airtours blog, said, “Relaxing holidays might seem beyond reach when teenagers are involved, but there is a way to get through travelling with teens. I suggest starting the holiday off on the right foot with generosity and kindness, and make sure teens don’t get bored by bringing games, magazines and other things that they might find interesting.”

“If teens start to act up, try to understand what they’re going through. Don’t be too harsh if you feel that they’re spoiling the holiday by being moody, lazy or difficult. Have some empathy. Don’t make fun of them, embarrass them or tell their secrets. All you can do is address these subjects in private.”

Seeming to join the discussion, Psychotherapist Kitty Hagenbach wrote in The Times Weekend in early November 2011, “Before puberty there’s a huge increase in the number of neurones in the brain. At puberty these are pruned back so we can become ready for the complexities for adult life… The brain is effectively being completely rewired, so parents need to moderate their expectations. You can’t expect someone to behave in an adult way when he or she is in a half-baked place”

Christine Davies, one of the founders of Thelma & Louise knows all too well the trials and tribulations of teen travel. “I was blessed with twins, so had double the trouble when we travelled as a family. Although we had our moments, now my family is fully grown we cherish the times we spent on adventures together. To see Thelma & Louise members inspiring and guiding each other on matters like this brings another great resource to the website – real advice for real women. Long may it continue.”

Inspired by the great advice coming from the members, Thelma & Louise have drawn up a survival guide for travel with teenagers:

1. STAY CONNECTED: For the Facebook generation nothing is more important that staying in touch with their friends. Allow teens an allotted amount of time each day to read their mail and chat online with their friends. If they have this time to connect and chat, they will be more willing to do family activities as well.

2. PRIVACY & SPACE: Give teens some space to be themselves. Consider booking them their own room, or interconnecting rooms so supervision is close but not too close. Give them the opportunity to learn to do things on their own, obviously making sure that they are safe. They should learn that responsibility will bring trust and freedom.

3. CHOICE: Ask teens in advance to make a contribution to the holiday in the form of ideas and suggestions. Ask them to draw up a list of things that they would like to do, and try to dedicate time to activities they’ve chosen. A fresh approach to travel or a new activity might bring joy to all the family.

4. FREEDOM: Discuss your rules with teens, and listen to their objections. Denying them the right to freedom altogether is setting up for a failure. Tell teens where they are and where they aren’t allowed to go, what behaviour is acceptable, and what time they have to be back. Be strict about these rules, but be reasonable too.

5. TECHNOLOGY: Take at least two mobile phones on holiday, ensuring they function abroad, so a teen can carry one if they spend time away from the family. Explain that they’ll have to pay the bill themselves if they use the phone to call their friends back home.

6. WOW FACTOR: Think of a way to give teens a special experience during the holiday, something that they will never forget. If they are looking forward to something that will make their friends say, “Wow, I wish my parent would do that”, their interest will be peaked. Look out for a local concert, a theme park, an adrenalin sport or an activity popular with their idols.

7. CRUISE: On a family-friendly cruise line, life on the ocean waves is a fantastic holiday for teens. Many modern ships are filled with activities, special attractions and experiences that appeal to a young crowd. Encourage teens to make friends as they will be in a fairly safe environment and can be independent for most of the time.

8. PATIENCE: Avoid escalating fraught situations by learning what is really important and what doesn’t matter in the bigger picture. Conflict isn’t always avoidable, but be reasonable and don’t lose your temper. And keep in mind that teens will eventually grow out of it.

As one member said, “I’m sure I was a horrible teenager to travel with, but now I’m really grateful my parents dragged me around lots of incredible places and gave me many amazing memories.”

Thelma & Louise is a free, online community where women, friendship and travel come together. For more information or to become a member, please go to www.thelmandlouise.com

Angelina Jolie's Directorial Debut, Trailer Released.

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If there was an award for over-achieving Angelina Jolie would definitely win it, an Oscar winning actor, six children, Brad Pitt on her arm, and an activist.

Layed up with flu for a few days and quarantined from her children, she banged out the script for ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’, her directorial debut. A women of substance, Jolie’s debut is a political film about the war in Bosnia. It looks amazing, and we can’t wait to see it. Check it out below.

In the Land of Blood and Honey opens on Dec. 23.