parents, families, babies, children, kids, days out, teenagers, childcare, dance, drama, tutors

Search for boy, aged 4, and foster parents

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:34:26 +0000

Source: INDEPENDENT >> Read full article and comment

A four-year-old boy has gone missing with two adults who were looking after him, police said today.

By Rosa Silverman, Press Association

Detectives are searching for the child, called Kanan, who was being fostered by Darren Langton, 40, and Marcia Langton, 46.

The boy had been living in the Grosvenor Road area of Skegness, Lincolnshire, and was supposed to be returned to the care of children’s services in an east London borough on Tuesday.….Continue Reading

If parents must lie to children, they should do it properly

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:30:09 +0000

Source: TELEGRAPH >> Read full article and comment

Mums and Dads spend half of your childhood telling you not to fib, and the other half lying to you, says Bryony Gordon

By Bryony Gordon
Published: 8:55AM BST 02 Sep 2010

It is one of the world’s great injustices that your mother and father spend half of your childhood telling you not to fib, and the other half lying through their back teeth at you. “Honesty is the best policy,” they preach to you, pointing out the story of Pinocchio – their own noses growing to proportions that would make a proboscis monkey fall out of its tree in envy.

And if this really is the case, why, then, do parents spend a good 10 years bribing you into good behaviour with fictional characters such as Father Christmas, a curiously sinister creation given that another parental doctrine is not to accept presents offered by strange men?….Continue Reading

Krishna’s birthday

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:24:32 +0000

Source: Guardian >> Read full article and comment

Children dress as Hindu god Krishna during festivities to mark Janmashtami at a school in Mumbai

Thursday 2 September 2010 02.13 BST

Watch Pictures

Happy birthday Romeo! The Beckhams celebrate son turning eight with a game of laser quest

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:17:44 +0000

Source: DAILYMAIL >> Read full article and comment

The Beckhams entered a futuristic world of lasers and mazes to celebrate their son Romeo’s eight birthday yesterday.

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 4:34 PM on 2nd September 2010

Victoria and David took their family along to the Ultrazone amusement centre Los Angeles, with the likes of Heidi Klum and Seal bringing their brood along to join in the fun.

However it is quite possible that Victoria, in her tottering high heels, might have decided to sit the game out. The venue boasts a 5,000 square feet multi-level arena.

Players have to run around and laser each other to score points. Romeo’s brother Brooklyn, 11,and five-year-old Cruz were, of course, in on the action.Victoria, 35, was snapped outside the venue with the family, wearing a bright green dress.….Continue Reading

Where an infant fixes their gaze ‘could be an early indicator of autism’

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:11:43 +0000

Source: DAILYMAIL >> Read full article and comment

An early sign that a child may develop autism could be as simple as noting where they fix their gaze.

By CLAIRE BATES
Last updated at 1:45 PM on 2nd September 2010

Those considered at ‘high-risk’ of developing a form of the disorder were far more likely to become fixated with a non-social toy when left to their own devices. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability and part of a spectrum disorder. The main symptoms are difficulties with social interaction, impaired communication skills and unusual thought and behaviour patterns. ….Continue Reading

One in nine Scottish schools ‘half empty

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:08:01 +0000

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

One in nine primary schools is operating with at least 60% of its places unfilled, figures obtained by the BBC suggest.

2 September 2010 Last updated at 11:41 GMT

A leading authority on local government predicts widespread closures as councils try to cope with expected unprecedented cuts in public spending.

Prof Richard Kerley, of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, said closures were “inescapable”.Typically education accounts for about 40% of a council’s entire budget.….Continue Reading

Extraordinary School for Boys: helping boys love literacy

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:02:01 +0000

Source: TELEGRAPH >> Read full article and comment

After fresh reports of the widening gender gap in the classroom, Gareth Malone tells how he helped some pupils to learn to love literacy .

By Gareth Malone
Published: 7:00AM BST 02 Sep 2010

If I had any doubts about the difficulty of enthusing boys about reading and writing, the pupils of Pear Tree Mead primary school soon put me right.

Ross said: “I hate literacy. I’d rather die than do literacy.”Jake put it even more plainly: “When Miss says we’re doing literacy, I get, like, almost a scream in my head.”

I’ve always been fascinated by teaching. For most of my professional life, I have worked with young people to give them confidence to perform music and drama, as was seen on BBC Two’s The Choir.Now I wanted to find out why boys were lagging behind girls in reading and writing. Why the departure from opera and choirs? Perhaps because working with young people has given me a thirst to communicate beyond music and to tackle the crucial issue of literacy. Perhaps it’s because I’m about to become a dad myself. ….Continue Reading

School meals ‘help fussy children try new foods

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:56:50 +0000

Source: BBC NEWS>> Read full article and comment

School lunches can tempt fussy eaters to try new foods, a survey for the School Food Trust has suggested.

1 September 2010 Last updated at 23:15 GMT

Researchers found that four out of five children in England who ate school lunches had tried food at school that they had not tried at home.

Half of parents questioned said their children had asked for foods they had eaten at school to be cooked at home.

The survey, of about 1,000 parents, found the most popular vegetables were carrots, sweetcorn and peas.Aubergine, chickpeas and spinach were among the least popular.….Continue Reading

Rise of the SWOFTY (Single women over 50)

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:52:19 +0000

Source: DAILYMAIL >> Read full article and comment

Rise of the SWOFTY (Single women over 50): I’m too busy having fun to be a grandmother

By LIZ HODGKINSON
Last updated at 5:20 PM on 2nd September 2010

Eagerly looking forward to a dreamy dinner on a friend’s boat, my thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. ’Mu-um?’ came the plaintive cry at the other end of the receiver, ‘I don’t suppose you could do any babysitting this weekend?’

‘certainly not,’ I replied briskly. ’You know I need a month’s notice. I have got my own life, you know’. ….Continue Reading

Forget the girlfriends or wives, it’s the pushy mums who drive their sons to success

blogger — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:38:05 +0000

Source: DAILYMAIL >> Read full article and comment

Behind every great man there is a great woman.

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 1:22 AM on 2nd September 2010

But it’s far more likely to be his pushy mother than his partner driving him on, according to scientists.The finding will ring true for men who have been egged on to do better in life by their domineering mothers.

Men could even owe their sexual triumphs to the support of their mothers. In climbing the ladder of success, it is the men who have their mothers backing them from the sidelines who do better, a study suggests.….Continue Reading