Should children witness childbirth? Due to a power outage, only one paramedic responded to the call. The house was very dark so the paramedic asked Kathleen, a 3-yr. old girl to hold a torch high over her mummy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby. Very diligently, Kathleen did as she was asked. Heidi pushed and pushed and after a little while, Connor was born. The paramedic lifted him by his little feet and spanked him on his bottom. Connor began to cry. The paramedic then thanked Kathleen for her help and asked the wide-eyed 3-yr. old what she thought about what she had just witnessed. Kathleen quickly responded, "He shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place.... smack his arse again!" If you don't laugh at this one there is no hope for you

Does anyone know the best saving account to open for a 12 and 14 year old girls. I want to open one for a christmas present for them as opposed to purchasing christmas present that they my not want and also I do not want to give them cash.

https://www.google.com/search?q=indonesia+children+smoking

Ok I know they cant cut me off in winter if I have children. Can they however forcefully install a meter (via the courts and a lock smith) that I cant afford to use? (effectively cutting me off) Because they wont just instal a normal meter I will have to pay off part of my 4000 pound debt and pay for what I normally use and im on benefits at the moment and in serious financial difficulty/debt and I cant afford to eat let alone pay my bills! The electricity company is E-On they are on the verge of taking the case to court to apply for the rights to force me to install the meter/ to try and disconnect me.

Hi all, can anyone help me please as I am feeling slightly unfairly done..... My hubby is a fulltime student and he receives students grants,loans etc. We have 3 children aged 11, 9 and 9mths. We currently receive child tax credit and have been advised that the only help we can get benefit wise (apart from housing and council tax benefit) is if I was to make a claim for jsa- as I would have to be available and looking for fulltime work I have not claimed. I do not feel I want to go back to work yet and especially not fulltime. Now this is was narks me slightly...If I was a single parent I would be entitled to income support as my child is under 5yrs old and would not have a requirement to work yet. Now, my husband is at uni fulltime so this means I am in the same 'childcare' boat as a single parent would be so how come the rules are different for me!? I don't know if what we have been advised is gospel or if in fact I would be entitled to I.Support or even Jsa without all the requirements. Does anyone know if there are exceptions/exemptions to certain things in these circumstances?

There is an article in the Sunday Telegraph(Torygraph to some) about Wonga, and there seems to be an intimation in the comments that maybe their debt collection methods are dodgy: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/loans/9606570/Wonga-faces-questions-over-borrowing-by-children.html#disqus_thread Might be worth regulars taking a look.

Hey everyone, I was hoping someone could give me a bit of advice (that I can give to my parents). My younger brother and sister were absent from school for the last 3 days of the term in July (2 and a half really as the school closed at 12pm on the last day), because they and my parents went down south for a few days. This was the only time they were able to get off work and the only time they could afford to go away (they've had a pretty rough year and haven't had a real break in God-knows how long). They submitted a holiday form to the school, and were never told that they weren't allowed to go so assumed everything was ok. However, they got in from work a couple of days ago and had a letter from the school with a £400 fine (£100 per child per parent), and a photocopy of the holiday form with 'Unauthorised' written on it, stating that if the fine isn't paid within 42 days they they will be taken to court. Both my brother and sister have excellent grades and are in the top sets at school, this wasn't during an exam period, and in the last week all they do is watch DVDs anyway. This hasn't affected their performance in any way whatsoever. Obviously my parents can't afford to pay this fine, and all it is doing by threatening them with court action is stressing them out even more, which they definitely don't need at the moment. Is this fine allowed seeing as they submitted a holiday form and were never told that they couldn't have the time off? And is there any way in which they can appeal it? Thanks in advance for your help.

Anyone with SEN children needs to read this. NOW. Draft Legislation - Provisions about Children and Young People in England with Special Educational Needs – September 2012 It is the first item here :- http://www.sossen.org.uk/news_and_events.php#response Lex with thanks to Bookworm !

hi can anyone please help!!! myself, my partner, and 2 teenage boys (both under 16) have had to return to uk after living in spain for 7 years. (my partner 3 years). we are in the process of having our house in spain repossessed. in the last few months that we were there we were having to sell our possessions just to survive. in the end we had to sell the last of our furniture in order to be able to travel back to uk as we had nothing left to live on out there. we have now been back for 2 weeks and are staying with a friend. we have one room between the four of us. we applied for jsa and have been refused. they say we have to have lived here for 8 weeks before we can even apply. we have also been told that we cannot claim any child tax credits for our children for 8 weeks. nor housing benefit. this means we have no financial help whatsoever and have to live in one room with our teenage boys for at least another 8 weeks. (we are two women). i dont understand why we are being treated like this. i cant believe that they wont even support the children. we are looking for work with no luck so far. does anyone know of any other benefits we may be able to claim. my children are waiting for a place in a school, but i wont even be able to buy them a uniform. please help!!!!!

Myself my partner and my 2 children aged 5 and 2 went on holiday to Turkey with Thomas Cook arriving on Mon 28/05/12 (early hours). On the Monday my daughter developed a rash and small raised bumps on her back. I thought it was a reaction to the sun or suncream. Changed the suncream and applied more often. Tuesday rash also to back Wednesday/Thursday some spots on torso (we thought she had been bitten). Friday covered in spots head-to-toe. We hadn't even considered chicken pox as our son had had it twice and she had never caught it so thought she was immune. We told the rep on the friday afternoon and he advised we had done the right thing and she would need to see a doctor to determine if she could fly. The doctor came out and examined her (ears, nose, throat) examined the spots and determined they were scabbing and she would not be contagious for the flight during the early hours of Monday morning. In fact he said he would be happy enough even if she was flying the next day. He said he would complete a fit to fly certificate and drop it off on the Sunday. We discussed with the rep who was relieved for us and advised we may be asked to see another doctor at the airport but it would just be proceedure. He said he would be at the hotel on Sunday should we have any problem getting the certificate. By 5pm on Sunday the fit to fly had still not arrived. The original rep was not there buy the rep manager was. My parner spoke to her and she was quite rude and seemed put out. He then spoke to the reception staff who advised they would try to contact the doctor. no help from Thomas Cook and thanks to the hotel staff we got the certificate. The manager said that would be enough to get us on the plane. Thinking all now ok we were picked up and arrived at the airport approximately 1.15am. At check-in I volunteered the certificate to staff expecting we would need to see the doctor as advised by Thomas Cook. After much discussion with her manager etc we were told she needed to copy it but we were checked in bags taken etc. Through passport control fine. To departure gate. To door of the aircraft where the groundstaff were waiting with cabin crew and asked us to step aside. At this point my partner is carrying my sleeping 2 year old and I have my daughter and all the hand luggage. We were then lead back past queue of passengers to a small landing where people continued to file past. We were then informed by a very rude condescending man (possibly co-pilot or chief cabin crew) that we wouldn't be permitted to board the plane. My 5 year old started crying. He then pointed at her and said 'she can't travel with an infectious disease'. At this point my daughter was devastated crying 'Im sorry Im sorry its all my fault.' It was extremely distressing. He was very put out when we asked why as we had the certificate and he said she had only had it 3 days. I pointed out that the certificate stated it had started more than 3 days before we saw the doctor i.e. we saw him on 01/06 but it had started 28-29/05. He said it didn't matter as we were denied boarding. He then said he would discuss with the pilot but during this time our baggage was removed from the plane and groundstaff started discussing who would take us back out making it clear that the decision wouldn;t be changed. He came back and said as per medical advise from the UK she couldn't fly and that was that. He then said 'there's a plane full of people can you imagine the claim for compensation'. He then said we wouldn'y be able to go home for at least 5 days. My daughter was at this point hysterical - she had been up for 20 hours and was already sensitive as had alot of nasty comments on holiday about the spots. Added to this all of the passengers were filing past pointing and staring at us. It looked like we had tried to smuggle her on with the spots when we had done absolutely everything as advised by Thomas Cook. I said to my partner 'oh my god work is going to sack me' - the guy then said 'now you're just being silly I'm sure they won't under the citcumstances'. As if he had any knowledge of me or my job. I then said can one of us fly with the baby which really put him out. He replied 'if you must'. I asked if we could have time to sort hrough the bags quickly as otherwise my partner would either have to have no bags or all of them (Dalaman airport strictest in the world £14 per extra kg of luggage would have meant a charge of £420 if I'd left him the bags). I was told 'now you're just being silly again'. My daughter was then screaming 'mummy don't leave me' and he said ' right Thomas Cook won;t leave you stranded and I'll leave you with the groundstaff' and off he went. Plane left about 5 miniutes later. We were then left to take our children, hand luggage and hold luggge (luckily on a trolley) back through the airport. The staff spoke little English and we were led to the airport exit doors. We waited just inside them but there was nowhere to sit so we had to sit on the floor with my still sobbing 5 year old for 2 hours. The groundstaff spoke to a Thomas Cook rep who at no point asked to speak to us to give us any reassurance etc. Eventually the woman put him on to me but only because she couldn;t understand him. He advised he could put us in a hotel in Fethiye but it was 90 mins away so we would need to get a taxi. We told him we had no money. He then said he would call back. He did but continued to talk to the staff again. Eventually she put him on to me again and he said he had us a place in Icemeler but again we would need our own transport. I reiterated we had no money. He then suggested we get someone to transfer us some! Or alternatively try to get a lift with another tour operator!!. He then called back to the groundstaff by which point my partner became very upset, me and my daughter were crying and sitting on the floor of a deserted airport at 5am whilst he carried our son. He stated he would just take the money out and deal with the consequnces later. The rep gave the hotel name to the groundstaff who found us a taxi. We got in and only at this point did we find out we were going to neither of the resorts mentioned and were in fact going back to Marmaris! It took us 90 minutes and cost £65 and when we got there the taxi driver asked where the hotel was. We explained we had no idea and didn;t even have the name. He asked another taxi firm and they had no idea either. We had no contact details from Thomas Cook to call for help so felt utterly abandoned and lost. We were about to getout and lay the children on the beach when the taxi driver found the hotel by chance. The place was grim. We went to the room (it was by now after 6am) and it was horrendously hot. I opened the patioo doors which led to a balcony which was over the street and was easily scaleable by my 2 year old (which is why I asked for a ground floor at our original hotel). We asked about aircon. The guy said 'you must pay more and left'. In order for the children to sleep I hadf to open the doors but then couldn;t sleep myself for fear of the baby waking and going out there. My daughter was then sick from the heat, distress and lack of sleep. Next day my partner went to sort aircon and get water and bumped into the Thomas Cook rep - who had no idea who we were or why we were there or what had happened. she was very nice and really lovely but had to leave at 12 but advised someone from Thomas Cook would call with info on flights and when we could go home etc. No calls for hours. We then proceed to exchange calls with Thomas Cook (having to keep walking across the street to call them). We were given the 0844 customer relations number to call which didn't work. Their answer was 'oh yeah its closed til wednesday'. We called them 5 times and on 3 occasions I was asked 'so what's the problem again'. Ecventually I was called at the hotel by Thomas Cook who simply said it;s nothing to do with us now you need to speak to your insurance'. I explained (again) that we couldn;t get flights because we didn;t know when we would be allowed to fly i.e. if a fit to fly cert wasn;t enough what did we need to do. Also explained my insurance compnay were still waiting for a report from them re why we were denied boarding. She put me on hold to speak to her manager then said she would call me back in a few minutes. An hour and a half later no call. I traipsed to call box again. Asked why she hadn;t called me back and was told she was 'still waiting for information'. I advised its common courtesy to call someone back when you say you were going to and she huffed down the phone at me! I then went to town on her. Within half an hour the manager turned up at the hotel. She re-iterated again that it was down to our insurance company. At this point we had just received the report from Thomas Cook re why we weren;t allowed to board - it had taken them over 8 hours to produce it. I explained we couldn't book tickets if we didn;t know if we could get on a plane!! She then advised we would need ANOTHER fit to fly cert within 24 hours of the flight. We had to go to the hospital and see another doctor (in fact we asked to see 2 so they could agree) and they were stunned that we hadn;t been allowed on the plane. Our insurance were great and got us flights for that night but Thomas Cook were not willing to provide any help with transfers to the airport. We then had to get another taxi to the airport at a £65 cost. My daughter became very upset as we went into the airport asking if everyone would look at her again and starting to cry. We were then told at check in that again we wouldn;t be able to fly!! After some discussion and speaking to the manager they advised would speak to the cabin crew (we were flying home with Monarch). We were asllowed to go to departure lounge but bags kept to one side. My daughter was crying asking if 'the man would shout at her again'. It was avery stressful 2 hours where we only found out 5 minutes before boarding that we would be allowed to board. It was a horrific experience and we were stranded and left to rot by Thomas Cook. Apologies for the huge post but wanted to explain all in detail. Do we have any legal standpoint here as our holiday was ruined (our first as a family) and my daughter advised she doesn;t want to go on a plane again. I want to claim for the distress, humiliation and stress to all of us but particularly to my daughter. Any advice????

The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) seeks to build an effective, international partnership of law enforcement agencies, non government organisations and industry to help protect children from online child abuse. The objectives of the VGT are: to make the internet a safer place to identify, locate and help children at risk to hold perpetrators appropriately to account The VGT logo reaffirms the VGT’s purpose that the child is the key focus of the VGT and the eye is always roaming the internet, across international borders, watching over our children to keep them safe online. Below are a set of FAQs for Children, Adults and Teachers. Feel free to print them off and use them with your own children, your own information or for a class lesson or discussion. .............................................................................................................................................................................................. FAQ’s for children What is online grooming? Online grooming is when a person over the age of 18 contacts a child under 16 to form a trusting relationship, with the intention of later engaging in a sexual act either via mobile telephone, webcam or in person. The relationship starts online and is often continued in person. In some cases the relationship is purely online. Online groomers are known to spend weeks, months and even years communicating with a child to form a trusted relationship. Who are online groomers and how do they get my attention? Online groomers can be both men and women of any age over 18, although they may not always be honest about their age. They generally get your attention by using flattery and building a ‘trusting’ relationship with you. At times you maybe unaware of the type of information you are giving them, but you do it because you feel comfortable talking to them. What is the risk of sending images of myself? If you decide to send pictures of yourself or post them online, you can attract unwanted attention from people you don’t know or people you do not want to be talking to. You can lose control of your image and not know who is looking at your picture or where it may end up. If you are under the age of 18 and have a picture taken of yourself, wearing minimal or no clothing, it can be referred to as child pornography. What if someone asks me to do something I don’t want to? It is important that you tell someone what has happened if you are made to feel uncomfortable online. The first thing you should do is tell an adult that you trust. They will be able to help you. You can also use the Report Abuse button, which will send an online form to the police. If you feel like you are in immediate danger, contact your local police straight away. Blocking or deleting the person from your contact list is another good thing to do, but make sure your parents or a trusted adult is aware of what has happened too. What is “Sexting”? Sexting is a term used to describe the sexually explicit text messages or images sent via a mobile telephone or the internet to anybody. Law enforcement calls this type of behaviour the production, distribution and possession of child pornography through the use of a carriage service (mobile technologies and the internet). You could face serious penalties if you decide to send this type of image or message. You should never feel pressured into saying or doing anything like this. If someone really loves or cares about you they will never ask you to do this. Think about how this image or message can effect you, your family and your friends if it was to be widely distributed. This type of behaviour can effect you both short and long term. How personal is personal? Personal information should not be placed online. Just because there is a box for you to add something doesn’t mean you have to. Try to avoid placing too much information on the internet such as your current city and date of birth. This information along with pictures makes it easier for unwanted people to identify and possibly locate you. What if I see something I didn’t mean to look at? If you see something online you believe could be child sexual exploitation material, you should tell a trusted adult straight away and report it to police. Even if you are unsure of what you are looking at it is best to talk to someone who can help. Copy Right belongs to the Virtual Global Taskforce. http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/what-we-do/ ................................................................................................................................................................................................. FAQ’s for adults/Teachers What is online child sexual exploitation? Online child sexual exploitation includes: making and downloading images of children being sexually abused; approaching a child online for sex. This could be sex online (e.g. sexual activity via text or webcam) or sex offline (e.g. grooming a child online for the purpose of meeting up for sex in the “real” world). What is online grooming? Online grooming refers to the deliberate actions taken by an adult to form a trusting relationship with a child with the intent of later facilitating sexual contact. This can take place in chat rooms, instant messaging, social networking sites and email. What should I do if I suspect a case of online child sexual exploitation? The Report Abuse button is an effective mechanism for reporting inappropriate or illegal activity with or towards a child. If you or a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police. What cases of online child abuse are reported to the Virtual Global Taskforce? An example report received by the Virtual Global Taskforce is available on the case studies page. What do children do online? It has been reported that one of the most common uses of the internet by young people is for research for school work and general information gathering. Other activities include: downloading music, keeping in touch with friends by chat and email, and playing games. Gender differences have also been reported with boys reporting using the internet for playing games and downloading music and girls reporting using the internet for email communication and school work. Why do parents need to get involved? It is important to remember that the internet is a good place where children and young people can communicate, play, learn and work. However, as with many new or emerging technologies, the internet has also raised new areas of concern. An awareness of these issues by parents can help to educate and protect children and young people while they enjoying using the internet. What expertise does the Virtual Global Taskforce have on online safety? The Virtual Global Taskforce draws on the expertise of specialist police officers, investigators and analysts. Where are children most at risk? Children have reported receiving unwanted sexual solicitations in chat-rooms, while using Instant Messenger, via email, when gaming and on message boards. How do sex offenders find children online? Adults target children through a variety of means. Examples include: through member profiles in their Instant Message accounts, which often hold personal details and indicate their ages and which can be viewed publicly if a child hasn’t requested otherwise. by asking young people who they have met online – for example in gaming sites, to add them to their friends contact lists so that they can chat to a children’s network of friends. by going to child-specific chat rooms and forums to engage young people through deceit or flattery. From this public area they would then encourage the child to talk more privately through texting on mobile phone, or in instant messenger. some abusers will send hoax letters via email to young people, purporting to be an organisation which they are interested in – and then hope that the child responds. Adults who want to contact children can do so quite easily online, since personal information is often not kept private in the same way that it would be online. How do I know if my child is at risk? Children and young people may take part in all sorts of online conversations and activities with each other, some of which may be of a sexual nature. This is a normal part of growing up. However these kind of adolescent activities are very different from the activities and conversations that an individual with a sexual interest with children can initiate. If you have any concerns about your child’s activities on the internet, or if you find any record of inappropriate images or conversations, talk to them about your concerns as you would about any other concerns. If you remain worried, or want some help and advice, there are a variety of organisations that can assist. Are there any signs to indicate that my child is being groomed / abused online? The vast majority of children are not being abused online and never will be. The following activities could be perfectly innocent but is worth being alert to potential signs: becoming secretive; downloading files onto discs; and using encryption software. Changes in your child’s behaviour may act as indicators and these changes can include: a change in a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence, withdrawal from the family and isolating themselves, difficulties at school, an increased level of anxiety, sleeping difficulties, concentration difficulties, and in some instances become excessively concerned with washing and cleanliness. Other possible signs that your child might be being groomed online include: excessive use of the computer; aggression around computer usage; change in the use of sexual language; unexplained gifts or cash; and /or finding pornography on the computer. It is important to remember that these behaviours can be a normal part of growing up, so it is important to establish the reasons why these changes are occurring and to seek help and advice if you are concerned. Should I stop my child from using the computer? No, this would be an over-reaction. The fear of losing internet privileges is one of the key reasons children don’t tell parents about problems online. Instead you can help to educate your child about safe ways to use the internet. What can I do to protect my child online? Talk to your child and reach agreement about how they will behave online. We also recommend: only allowing your child to use the computer and access the internet in an open area of the house, rather than locked away in a bedroom; using parental control software; maintaining open lines of communication so you know what your child is doing online; encouraging your child to use moderated chat-rooms; and notifying the police if you have concerns about someone your child has met online. What can I do to stop online child abuse? Follow the advice given on this and associated sites. Always remain vigilant and careful in your use of the internet, and report any illegal activity that you discover. Never be tempted to carry out “vigilante” investigations on the internet in an attempt to identify offenders. Such investigations can be counter-productive to ongoing law enforcement investigations, can put you into a position where you may risk breaking the law yourself and, most importantly, they can seriously endanger the safety of real children. Please leave work of this kind to law enforcement professionals. Copy Right belongs to the Virtual Global Taskforce. http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/what-we-do/