Thanks to Angela who shared this video about a baby who may not know how to speak, but surely knows how to debate!
A very cute cute Russian baby girl engages in a heated debate with her father who is reproaching her for something that happened.
However, the cute little princess does not accept her mistake so meekly but tries to defend herself, arguing passionately and with gesticulations too!
The mother who recorded the video is laughing away but per chance she might not laugh if this happens again in 15 years down the road. :-)
CLICK HERE to watch.
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Here's a fantastic article by Hanna Rosin of The Atlantic which has received almost 900 comments:
A trio of boys tramps along the length of a wooden fence, back and forth, shouting like carnival barkers. “The Land! It opens in half an hour.” Down a path and across a grassy square, 5-year-old Dylan can hear them through the window of his nana’s front room. He tries to figure out what half an hour is and whether he can wait that long. When the heavy gate finally swings open, Dylan, the boys, and about a dozen other children race directly to their favorite spots, although it’s hard to see how they navigate so expertly amid the chaos. “Is this a junkyard?” asks my 5-year-old son, Gideon, who has come with me to visit. “Not exactly,” I tell him, although it’s inspired by one. The Land is a playground that takes up nearly an acre at the far end of a quiet housing development in North Wales. It’s only two years old but has no marks of newness and could just as well have been here for decades. The ground is muddy in spots and, at one end, slopes down steeply to a creek where a big, faded plastic boat that most people would have thrown away is wedged into the bank. The center of the playground is dominated by a high pile of tires that is growing ever smaller as a redheaded girl and her friend roll them down the hill and into the creek. “Why are you rolling tires into the water?” my son asks. “Because we are,” the girl replies.
It’s still morning, but someone has already started a fire in the tin drum in the corner, perhaps because it’s late fall and wet-cold, or more likely because the kids here love to start fires. Three boys lounge in the only unbroken chairs around it; they are the oldest ones here, so no one complains. One of them turns on the radio—Shaggy is playing (Honey came in and she caught me red-handed, creeping with the girl next door)—as the others feel in their pockets to make sure the candy bars and soda cans are still there. Nearby, a couple of boys are doing mad flips on a stack of filthy mattresses, which makes a fine trampoline. At the other end of the playground, a dozen or so of the younger kids dart in and out of large structures made up of wooden pallets stacked on top of one another. Occasionally a group knocks down a few pallets—just for the fun of it, or to build some new kind of slide or fort or unnamed structure. Come tomorrow and the Land might have a whole new topography.
Other than some walls lit up with graffiti, there are no bright colors, or anything else that belongs to the usual playground landscape: no shiny metal slide topped by a red steering wheel or a tic-tac-toe board; no yellow seesaw with a central ballast to make sure no one falls off; no rubber bucket swing for babies. There is, however, a frayed rope swing that carries you over the creek and deposits you on the other side, if you can make it that far (otherwise it deposits you in the creek). The actual children’s toys (a tiny stuffed elephant, a soiled Winnie the Pooh) are ignored, one facedown in the mud, the other sitting behind a green plastic chair. On this day, the kids seem excited by a walker that was donated by one of the elderly neighbors and is repurposed, at different moments, as a scooter, a jail cell, and a gymnastics bar.
CLICK HERE for more.
Last week, the reports about the abuse of boys by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, a founder of the Second Mile program for at-risk youth. The 30-60 year prison term handed down to him will effectively keep him locked away for the rest of his life. Those who work with child sexual abuse victims have welcomed the news.
Then many were even more appalled when news broke out about Jimmy Savile's alleged sexual abuse. The BBC is currently faving accusations of a cover-up. The revelations have been nightmarish and my heart goes out to the victims and their years of painful earth-shattering silence!
Why do humans abuse children - be it innocent boys, little girls or young teenagers?
Jeff Wiehe of The Journal Gazette reported:
Some are as young as 1 or 2 years old. A few are as old as 15.A few of my friends were sexually abused when they were young.
But they come through the doors of the Dr. Bill Lewis Center for Children with stories that share common themes.
A 10-year-old girl told about six years of molestations she suffered at the hands of a middle-aged man she knew.
Another girl, 11, talked about the time an 18-year-old man tried to pull down her underwear and have sex with her after they drove a car around a motorcycle track.
One 12-year-old boy was given an air-soft gun and cash to keep quiet about the sexual abuse he endured.
Children with stories like these are coming to the center – a place where potential child abuse victims from the region are interviewed by forensic specialists – more frequently now.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase from last year,” said Bobbi Golani, the center’s program director. “We’ve opened a second interview room in response to an increasing need. It’s busy.”
The reason for the increase can only be guessed at, according to those involved at the center.
Is it because the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State has made child abuse easier to talk about? Is it because more people know about the center? Is it because there is more awareness of child abuse? Is it because child abuse becomes more prevalent in hard economic times?
Theories abound. MORE HERE.
One of them was abused by his care-giver when he was young - an ordeal that went on for many years and I doubt his parents are aware of it. From pre-teens, he was quite dysfunctional and things came to a head in his fifth form years. He shared it with a few of us and to our horror, he said that no one knew about it and eventually, he liked what she did to him. :-( :-(
Tragically, he was dysfunctional all the way in all his relationships with his family, friends and colleagues. He was cheated of his money many times by unscrupulous guys. Yes, he turned gay. Despite his talent and giftings, he never quite made it because of low self-esteem and the scars from the past that never healed.
Another one was also abused but by a stranger and also turned gay as a result. His fortunes were much better for he eventually married a very rich foreigner, although much older than him.
One of my girlfriends was molested in the elevator. She never told me. And she does not know I know. I only stumbled upon it when I was covering court cases. To my horror, her name was called but she never turned up for the trial so the case which came up seven years after the incident was dismissed. Things fell into place and I realized then why there was always sadness in her eyes.
I am sure there are more rape/abuse/incest cases than what is reported. It is appalling that any human can resort to such animalistic ways to subjugate their victims robbing and destroying not only their childhood but their lives. In the mid-1980's, I attended counselling courses for rape and abuse victims in Singapore and my heart broke into a million fragments when victims related their stories explaining how the situation was exacerbated by the way they were questioned, even blamed by authorities.
There are many reasons why child abuse occurs but honestly, I can never understand nor accept any of excuse or reason because it is something which should not have happened in the first place!
Check out the following slide on Theories of Child Physical Abuse from KimberlyKeith
Of all the articles on the recent cases as highlighted, I daresay the most passionately written one is by Howard Jacobson in The Independent titled My father knew Jimmy Savile. See the good in him, he told me. That was the mistake we all made.
Excerpt:
My heart goes out to all victims of abuse..even to the comfort women in WWII. I cannot fathom how one can be so heinous to do such despicable acts. Also, there is the silent assumption that women are 'smutty playthings' as highlighted by Janet Street Porter HERE in her article titled This was never just about Jimmy Savile. Too many men in TV and radio see women as smutty playthings.
The Daily Mail has also revealed the existence of a fake letter that cast doubt on Savile victim's claims... and played key role in BBC decision to ditch its News Night investigation.
Savile was famous for his yodel and his catchphrases included "how's about that, then?", "now then, now then, now then", "goodness gracious", "as it 'appens" and "guys and gals". Perhaps now, those phrases actually shed lots of light on his dark side that SOME knew and did something about it but was never supported by those in power because of self interests.
The Telegraph reported HERE that a senior member of the staff at the BBC confronted Jimmy Savile over rumours of suspected child abuse more than 20 years ago, it has emerged.
What is shocking is that in many cases (not just the ones mentioned here), there are those who walk the corridors of power who protect the perpretators without batting an eyelid!
There is more than meets the eye. Even in the field of entertainment, this is a problem. Just google for 'paedophilia' and the names of famous producers and you will see what I mean.
I believe mankind has regressed. True, all this occurred even in the dark ages, 17th or 18th century. But the difference is this - our generation is supposed to be more enlightened and educated so if that is the case, why do see so many scoundrelous fiends surfacing, one by one?
That is the sad state of affairs in the world today. Hypocrites, criminals, child abusers, paedophiles, con men/women strutting around in sheep's clothing....ever ready to pounce on gullible, ignorant or helpless victims!
Remember - Child abuse is more than bruises and broken bones. While physical abuse might be the most visible, other types of abuse, such as emotional abuse and neglect, also leave deep, lasting scars. The earlier abused children get help, the greater chance they have to heal and break the cycle—rather than perpetuating it. By learning about common signs of abuse and what you can do to intervene, you can make a huge difference in a child’s life. (from HERE)
According to UNICEF Malaysia, an average of 7 children in Malaysia suffered abuse everyday in 2009, and these were only the reported cases.
Victims must not keep quiet. Those who suspect such cases must not keep quiet either. More importantly, parents must educate their children so that they know what to do at first instinct! Sometimes the people whom the children trusted are the worst perpetrators, e.g. in boarding house situations. The scars really last through the tunnels of time...deep set wounds that re-surface in adulthood. I have seen it happening in the lives of people I know.
Signs of physical child abuse
Signs of sexual child abuse
Signs of emotional child abuse
Be aware and help to raise awareness. Authorities and concerned quarters must do their part to stop these fiends and to provide the support, counselling and rehabilitation so desperately needed by victims. God help us!
Remember - it should not hurt to be a kid or a teenager.
Recommended readings:
1. Dr. Jim Hopper, "Child Abuse - Statistics, Research and Resources"
2. What is Child Abuse?
3. Preventing Child Abuse
4. A saddening list of some of the most notorious acts of violence against children ever
Of all the articles on the recent cases as highlighted, I daresay the most passionately written one is by Howard Jacobson in The Independent titled My father knew Jimmy Savile. See the good in him, he told me. That was the mistake we all made.
Excerpt:
So, is philanthropy the last refuge of the scoundrel?
When you have things to conceal – a criminal past, a ruthlessly accumulated fortune, a predilection for underage girls, or just a hankering to be better thought of than you deserve – what works better than giving to charity? Give munificently and ostentatiously – for there’s no advantage in hiding your light under the same bushel you hide your dirty secret – and a knighthood will surely come your way, to say nothing of the devotion of your beneficiaries, and therefrom, if you’re smart, ample opportunity to pursue your secret predilections even further. Crime, charity, crime: call it the perpetual motion of the immoralist.
It’s not my intention to be cynical. The charitable impulse is honourable and more than ever necessary in these cruel times; we cannot afford it to be discredited by dubious motives – whether of the criminal or simply the inadequate sort. (I’m thinking of Kitty’s friend Varenka in Anna Karenina who devotes herself to good works because she can’t otherwise find a centre to her life.)
My father knew Jimmy Savile a little and spoke with admiration of the charity work he saw him do at close quarters. “But the man’s a creepy nincompoop,” I used to say. “He has the dead face of a thug, makes ridiculous noises, and aspires to the condition of a slow-to-develop infant. You’d have had me adopted had I behaved like that when I was three.” “As usual you’re quick to make judgements about people you don’t know,” my father replied with justice, for I was at university and dropped judgements the way an autumn tree drops leaves. “You should see him with disabled kids. You should see the pleasure he brings them.”
Predatious
My father was a taxi driver in Manchester when he met Jimmy Savile. For some reason Savile liked the company of taxi drivers and often joined them in their hut at Piccadilly Station. I attach no sexual significance to this, not least because I can’t, for the life of me, see any. It’s hard to imagine how you’d prey on the innocence of a Manchester taxi driver. But you never know. Perhaps he needed their discretion. Or occasionally craved the conversation of grown-ups.
He gave his time freely, anyway, to the annual Manchester taxi drivers’ convoy of disabled children to Blackpool, an event which my father helped to organise, chivvying other drivers and spending weeks decorating his own cab with toys and balloons. It doesn’t fall to everybody to be good with disabled children on an outing such as this. At the behest of my father, I tried once and failed. But he was excellent at it, naturally kind and jolly, not distressed into uselessness as I had been, and Jimmy Savile, he assured me, was even better. That being the case, one has to take one’s hat off to him. Behaving as though you’re a child yourself has its uses.
That I know of, my father never had to square Jimmy Savile’s charitable work with his predatiousness. Certainly he never said anything to suggest he was aware of it, as it’s becoming more evident by the day that many at the BBC were. Mark Thompson has unwisely said he had never heard a word, which confirms one’s suspicions that he didn’t have a clue about much, including what was going on in the institution he ran. But how other people at the BBC who did have a clue managed to arrange their suspicions into complaisance is a question we are bound to ask.
Blackmail
Ditto tabloid journalists who have been half inclined to use the Savile revelations as a reminder to Leveson of the importance of exposing public figures, but who should be reminded in turn of their failure to expose this public figure when no one was stopping them from doing so. No one except Savile himself, that is. It’s said he blackmailed any paper about to unmask him with the threat of putting an end to his giving, but it’s difficult to imagine a threat like that shutting any decent journalist up. Indeed, the threat itself would only have made the story juicier. That it might have silenced some of the staff of the homes, hospitals and special schools he supported, and from which he is said to have drawn a plentiful supply of victims, is easier to understand if not to forgive. You need a hard nose to survive as a charity.
PLEASE CLICK HERE for the rest of the entry.
My heart goes out to all victims of abuse..even to the comfort women in WWII. I cannot fathom how one can be so heinous to do such despicable acts. Also, there is the silent assumption that women are 'smutty playthings' as highlighted by Janet Street Porter HERE in her article titled This was never just about Jimmy Savile. Too many men in TV and radio see women as smutty playthings.
The Daily Mail has also revealed the existence of a fake letter that cast doubt on Savile victim's claims... and played key role in BBC decision to ditch its News Night investigation.
Savile was famous for his yodel and his catchphrases included "how's about that, then?", "now then, now then, now then", "goodness gracious", "as it 'appens" and "guys and gals". Perhaps now, those phrases actually shed lots of light on his dark side that SOME knew and did something about it but was never supported by those in power because of self interests.
The Telegraph reported HERE that a senior member of the staff at the BBC confronted Jimmy Savile over rumours of suspected child abuse more than 20 years ago, it has emerged.
What is shocking is that in many cases (not just the ones mentioned here), there are those who walk the corridors of power who protect the perpretators without batting an eyelid!
There is more than meets the eye. Even in the field of entertainment, this is a problem. Just google for 'paedophilia' and the names of famous producers and you will see what I mean.
I believe mankind has regressed. True, all this occurred even in the dark ages, 17th or 18th century. But the difference is this - our generation is supposed to be more enlightened and educated so if that is the case, why do see so many scoundrelous fiends surfacing, one by one?
That is the sad state of affairs in the world today. Hypocrites, criminals, child abusers, paedophiles, con men/women strutting around in sheep's clothing....ever ready to pounce on gullible, ignorant or helpless victims!
Remember - Child abuse is more than bruises and broken bones. While physical abuse might be the most visible, other types of abuse, such as emotional abuse and neglect, also leave deep, lasting scars. The earlier abused children get help, the greater chance they have to heal and break the cycle—rather than perpetuating it. By learning about common signs of abuse and what you can do to intervene, you can make a huge difference in a child’s life. (from HERE)
According to UNICEF Malaysia, an average of 7 children in Malaysia suffered abuse everyday in 2009, and these were only the reported cases.
Victims must not keep quiet. Those who suspect such cases must not keep quiet either. More importantly, parents must educate their children so that they know what to do at first instinct! Sometimes the people whom the children trusted are the worst perpetrators, e.g. in boarding house situations. The scars really last through the tunnels of time...deep set wounds that re-surface in adulthood. I have seen it happening in the lives of people I know.
Signs of physical child abuse
- Have unexplained burns, cuts, bites, bruises, broken bones or black eyes.
- Seems frightened and reluctant to go home.
- Fear of a particular person or family member.
- Seems unusually withdrawn or overly aggressive.
- Have numerous fractures, welts or bruises in various stages of healing.
Signs of sexual child abuse
- Sudden refusal in participation of physical activities.
- Shows unusual sexual knowledge or behaviour.
- Have difficulty walking or sitting.
- Irritation of genital or anal areas.
- Juvenile prostitution, pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections.
Signs of emotional child abuse
- Apathy, depression and hostility.
- Shows extreme in behavior such as over demanding or extreme passivity.
- Have attempted suicide.
- Have low self-esteem.
- Recurrent nightmares, disturbed sleep patterns or a sudden fear of the dark.
- Hunger and inadequate growth from poor nutrition.
- Consistently dirty, offensive body odour, unkempt.
- Inappropriate and lack of sufficient clothing.
- Failure to get needed medical care, illness left untreated.
- Poor school performance, tardiness or absenteeism. MORE HERE
Be aware and help to raise awareness. Authorities and concerned quarters must do their part to stop these fiends and to provide the support, counselling and rehabilitation so desperately needed by victims. God help us!
Remember - it should not hurt to be a kid or a teenager.
Recommended readings:
1. Dr. Jim Hopper, "Child Abuse - Statistics, Research and Resources"
2. What is Child Abuse?
3. Preventing Child Abuse
4. A saddening list of some of the most notorious acts of violence against children ever
A Nun asked her Sunday School class to write a note to God........
Dear GOD: Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones You have? ~~Johnny
Dear GOD: I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. ~~Nan
Dear GOD: I read the Bible. What does "beget" mean? Nobody will tell me. ~~Love, Alison
Dear GOD: Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? ~~Norma
Dear GOD: I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay? ~~Neil
Dear GOD: Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. ~~Joyce
Dear GOD: Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before You can look it up. ~~Bruce
Dear GOD: If we come back as something - Please don't let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate her. ~~Denise
Dear GOD: My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right. They're just kidding, aren't they? ~~Marsha
Dear GOD: We read Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday school they said you did it. So I bet he stole your idea. ~~Sincerely, Donna
Dear GOD: I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool. ~~Sara
