Testing.

I have for many years been an advocate of not using chemicals around the house wherever possible, especially where children are concerned. Yet people will spray 'room deodorizers' into the air instead of opening windows. They will spray a biological poison to kill a fly or bug near their child. They will microwave food on plastic not meant for the microwave.
It is not just these unthinking acts; it is the fire retardants and preservatives used in so many products that give rise to long lasting medical conditions. Then the child is 'treated' with drugs from pharmaceutical companies that couldn't care less about the child.
We all need to start thinking from the beginning again.

Money and Kids.

Hello Mum and Dad,

This is something for our older children.

As a child gets older he needs to start learning more about the world of adulthood. This is the world they are thrust into in teen years so there is need for preparation while they are still older ‘children’.

We know the child’s mind will absorb learning very quickly and foundations made now will eventually hold the child in good stead later in life.

Money is a major factor in adult life and there is reason to train the child in money management as early as possible. I don’t mean to teach them the rudiments of compound interest (although it would be a good idea) but to learn to earn, save and be choosy about how they spend money.

By no means make them into a scrooge but if they realize that money doesn’t grow in purses and ATMs they’ll have a more realistic idea that work or effort is needed to get the stuff. Instead of taking for granted the gifts and trappings of life at home they need to know somebody had to do something to provide these. It tends to endow the child with greater respect for the provider too.

Empowering the child to earn its own money not only gives it a healthy sense of responsibility but also strengthens its social skills.

· To make something to sell needs particular skills.

· To buy and sell items needs knowledge of values.

· All selling develops social interaction.

· Providing a service needs punctuality and dedication.

· Learning to work smart or hard is a lesson in life.

· Having a partner teaches sharing and cooperation.

· Money management skill is an asset for life.

· Negotiating is an art we all need.

You can see how cooperating in a family venture can bring lasting benefits to unity within the family.

If it’s a church fete stall or a yard sale, children will get an overview of what constitutes money making projects, Helping in whatever capacity they can encourages a sense of worth. Making it even more attractive by sharing the profits with the child is an added bonus to reinforce cooperation.

Individual saving to buy the latest game or electronic gadget should also be encouraged. If parents offer to match dollar for dollar; both parties benefit. Kids want so much and don’t appreciate it if it is just given to them.

Gone are the days of the lemonade stand at the front fence. But kids still swap things at school and can teach each other talents as trade.

Electronic games are a big thing with kids and so is the internet social network. If a kid is good at some game try to get them to give tips and tricks on how to win at the game. These can be printed and sold as a report for a dollar or two.

Chances are the child already has friends on the net and it’s easy to sell to friends. Just give a value product.

All sorts of ideas are around you everyday. It’s simply a matter of seeing them.

Please keep in mind what you are doing here. The reason for this is to teach the lessons the child needs to have in adult life. It is NOT to rip off people to get their money. That will lead to jail later in life.

We want to teach goal setting and planning to achieve that goal. This can start with raising some money for that special toy or gift but it has applications all through life.

Budgeting could come into it and later you could start teaching about the household budget and how it’s managed. The child needs to be familiar with all this before moving out of home or handling their own money.

One of the biggest causes of marriage breakdowns is mismanagement of finances. This can be remedied by you.

Needs and wants have to be distinguished and the difference made clear. The latest fad often ends up in the bottom of the cupboard while a need goes unresolved. Teach them to prioritize their spending while still being able to have some fun.

It’s a matter of seeing where they’ll get more value. Value is the crux of spending. Very often the cheaper option will do just as well. And for children it is often the best choice, given their ever changing wants. As they grow they’ll get to know how much effort they need to put in to get what they want. They’ll realize about value.

Sometime soon in teenage years they’ll get a part time job or may leave school entirely. They usually get a shock at having to work longer hours and having a boss that can cut off their income if they don’t perform.

They’ll waste some of their hard earned money on good times but that is expected.

If they have been well taught, they’ll put some aside for bills and expenses just like responsible adults. They will then be on the road to financial independence; thanks to you.

Would you want to know the gender of your unborn baby?

Does its gender matter?

Would you take advantage of ‘designer’ baby technology if it was more affordable?

If you were told your child would be born with mental or physical deformities, would you have an abortion?

Let me know at iqchildren@gmail.com

If you would like to comment on these issues click the ‘comment’ below.

IQTeens is up and running for teens and parents who want to help. Call in for a while. The format needs to change so if you have suggestions; I’m always willing to listen.

If you see someone without a smile

Give them one of yours.

Jay Ross.

© Permission to reprint parts of this issue may only be an email away. Get in touch.

Protein and Children.

Hello again,

I found this in an old book without copyright so I wrote to the only contact information supplied but have received no answer. If it breaches © please let me know. It’s by Dorothy Law Nolte.

If a child lives with criticism

He learns to condemn.

If a child lives with austerity

He learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule

He learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame

He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance

He learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement

He learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness

He learns justice.

If a child lives with security

He learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval

He learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship

He learns to find love in the world.

We breed all these attitudes and outlooks into our children by the way we treat them and others. What they see us doing is what they will copy as usual behavior. Do you yell at the neighbors or spouse? Do you ‘pinch’ a couple of items at the shop? Do you take care of your body and appearance? They see all this.

What we tell them about themselves becomes their belief system. This has been stated before on IQChildren and it’s worth the reminder because of its importance.

You have to be a good parent if you want good kids. It really is a two way process. While the little one grows, you mature. Rather wonderful when you think about it.

Protein is one of the fundamental building blocks of life and we get the majority of our protein from animal meat.

Vegetarians live to ripe old ages by getting their protein from the plant world but what about children? When should they be fed animal products? We have already mentioned cow’s milk and breast milk and found that breast milk is far better. This is what you would expect.

But you wouldn’t expect your child to rip into a steak instead of cereal.

There is only one real preventive to disease and that is starting out at pregnancy with the right natural foods and continuing with raising your child this way. By ‘natural foods’ is meant to get closer to nature and further away from processed or ‘supplemented’ foods.

White bread for instance is wheat in an unrecognizable state. It’s been processed so much that it is worthless as food. They reduce it to nothing and then make a selling point of making it “Enriched” with some vitamin they took out.

That’s like chopping off your leg then offering you a discount on their prosthetic leg. Aren’t you happy you got a discount? Never mind the leg.

Beside protein, babies and the growing child need calcium, iron, vitamins, niacin etc. All of the essentials are available in a vegetarian diet. The controversy seems to be with how much of each. So far there is no consensus on this. That’s because any recommendation has to be general, given that every child is different.

Wheat (that has protein) is fed to cattle to give us meat that has less protein than contained in the vast amount of wheat. It’s only that we would have to eat an ‘unnatural amount’ of wheat to get the same fill of protein. Meat is more concentrated protein. But it takes about ten times the protein given to cows to produce this protein. It takes 8 times the area of land to feed cows than it does to feed grain and fruit eaters.

Because of the concentration, a lot of doctors and nutritionists recommend children not be given meat until their fifth or sixth year. On this basis a vegetarian diet is right.

We get protein from nuts, (crush them and put them in deserts and salads or roast them),

Beans, raw or cooked, in salads, soups or with vegetables, or mashed into burger or potato patties,

Chickpeas can be treated the same as the many varieties of beans.

Tofu can be used in so many ways. Just click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu

Tempeh is also high in B12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh

Seeds like sesame you’ve seen on buns and can easily be incorporated into foods in small amounts. I found telling the story of “Open Sesame” with the treasure of the forty thieves helped with acceptance of seeds as a valuable food source to snack on.

Once I was on to that I introduced sunflower and pumpkin stories. What took Cinderella to the ball? What did Jack climb to get to the giant’s castle?

All it takes is a bit of identification with others like advertisers use when they try to sell products by celebrity endorsement. Johnny Weissmuller (the first movie Tarzan) was vegetarian. So are or were Bob Dylan, Da Vinci, George Harrison, Paul and Linda McCartney, Hayley Mills, Michael Jackson, k.d.lang, Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Gere, Julie Christie, Dave Scott (6 times Ironman Triathlon winner), Killer Kowalski (wrestler), Kim Bassinger. The list goes on.

Breast milk contains very little protein so why do we think babies need it? Maybe adult protein requirements have been falsely forced on children.

What do you think?

-------------------------
Iqteens.blogspot.com has opened so if you have teenagers or are one drop in for a while. As usual, your comments are welcome.

Jay Ross.

© For permission to use any material in IQChildren, email iqchildren@gmail.com I’ll be happy to swap articles.

“When you hold your baby in your arms for the first time and you think of all the things you can do and say to influence her or him, it is a tremendous responsibility. What you can do with the child can influence not only the child but everyone the child meets, not for a day, a month or a year, but for all time.”

Rose Kennedy, mother to some of the most influential men in American politics and finance.

While I don’t agree with the “all time” bit, she has a valid point that needs to be realized by every mother.

How you, family, friends, kindergarten and extended family treat your child determines its future as surely as genetics.

If we look back to history we find great men and women of both good and bad nature have been made that way by their parents, either through nurture or neglect.

Charles Manson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson corrupted girls of his mother’s age (18 to 24) to the extent of total obedience to him. They eventually committed the Sharon Tate and LaBianca murders and have spent their lives in prison. This was his revenge (maybe unconsciously) on his alcoholic, immoral mother who once sold him as a baby for a jug of beer. I wonder if she knew her parents or how they were treated.

Neglected childhoods are a regular feature of criminal’s lives and abusive parents invariably come from abusive homes themselves. Rose Kennedy was right about that.

So many parents are living with uncontrollable kids of their own making. This by no way means that every ‘bad apple’ had neglectful parents but it is the norm. Neglect can come by providing the material things but never spending time with the child. The inner needs of a child are much more important than the electronic baby sitters or status symbols. You are its parents and the child quickly learns who cares for it. If this isn’t you, the child won’t respect you when it needs help.

The child needs a sense of self respect, individuality and qualities that can only be given by someone the child loves. It’s a mistake to leave this education to anybody else.

A child without parental love and guidance is open prey to anyone who wants to show it a good time. They can find this with other misguided kids or adults who take advantage of their innocence. Without it many children will simmer in the belief that they are not worth knowing and end up in prostitution or self destructive mode via drugs and purposely anti-social behavior. Many actually want to suffer to punish their selves for being unlovable.

Aldous Huxley’s “Island” http://island.org/Huxley/ was published in 1962 but still has a following as a plan for the ideal family community. It describes an island where people share each others children to protect the children from the foibles and prejudices of their parents. It is controversial but we need to think more about alternatives if only to wake ourselves to the fact that they exist.

Surely you know of a family whose children could benefit from seeing a different family environment.

There is a danger that western society today is moving into a more insulated behavior pattern, cutting children off from interaction more than encouraging it. It is the wrong way to go. Understanding brings respect and love. Without interaction we can't understand.

___________________________

Last week, the 26/Jan/’07 issue of New Scientist featured an article about vaccination. In spite of the proven fact that being exposed to certain substances reduces the likelihood of various diseases, many people are still against vaccination.

The reasons seem to be from reading sensationalized reports of ill effects to outright conspiracy theories directed at emotions (children are involved) and political or religious enemies. Over-reactions are common where emotional content is involved and analyzing the facts has never been the forte of the general public.

The sensationalism of journalists compounds any viewpoint that will sell more publications and earn them a continued living. Lies are only a matter of transience as they feather their own nest.

Drops in immunization precede rises in illness. Surely that vindicates it. But scares about the amount of mercury in the preservative of many vaccines have proven to be baseless. It does not cause autism. (Does someone want to comment on that?) Even then, the preservative was replaced.

Remember the ‘evidence’ of false photos after the 9/11 attack? There are other falsehoods we all believe. I mentioned one concerning a blatant lie about the Koran in iqadult.blogspot.com but we don’t have the time to investigate everything. Most Christians wouldn't have a copy of the Koran so they accept it as truth.

A previous issue of the same magazine (12/Jan/ ’08) dealt with jobs and the types of ailments workers grew resistance to. Dairy farmers are less likely to get lung cancer. Cotton factory workers are less likely to get tumors of the lung or liver etc.

A way to get a greater amount of immunity is to expose your body to toughening agents or the ailment itself. This is what vaccination and immunology is all about. A spoonful of sugar may make the medicine go down but a dose of dirt may make it unnecessary.

---------------------------------------------

Autism was mentioned back there. Scientific American ran an article about it which you can check out here.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=navigating-the-genome-for-autism

It’s a bit technical but you will get the gist of the findings.

-----------------------------------------------

If you would like to be notified about each new issue of IQChildren send your edress with “send iqchildren” in the subject line to iqchildren@gmail.com

I hope to have more issues on a regular basis from now on and this will make them only a click away.

Remember, your views are important so your comments are welcome. Just click ‘comments’ below.

All the best, Jay Ross.

© Tags autism, vaccination, children.

Santa and Lying, Stem Cells.

Hello again and happy holiday if you’re having one.

The reason for the holiday is the Christian churches’ celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth but that is not what I want to discuss.
It’s lying.
Just like the Christian church took over several pagan holidays and beliefs, it too has been infiltrated by other forces with their own agenda. One of these is Santa Clause.
Originating in the forth century with Saint Nicholas who was well known for giving gifts given to him, to the poor; it took on several incarnations to arrive at the current “Yo Ho Ho’ model we have recently.
The present day Santa is somewhere between 130and 80 years old and still changing.
From a Bishop in what is now Turkey, to a married man at the North Pole with dwarfs and elves running an enormous toy factory, is quite a stretch. When we add flying through the sky with gravity defying reindeer delivering presents to good Christian kiddies the world over; it gets a bit too much.
In Australia he’s often been depicted with smiling kangaroos pulling the sleigh.
Here is an interesting brief history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

Kids learn early that Santa isn’t real. Older siblings or friends tell them or they find a lot of things in the story hard to believe (not surprisingly). So what is the point?
At the age when they are most vulnerable and we should be teaching them to trust us, we tell them this complete load of rubbish knowing full well that they will find out the truth and realize we lied to them.
It may serve to elicit some good behavior (bribery) prior to Christmas but surely there are other ways to do that.
It may prepare them to realize not to believe everything they are told, which is a good thing. But know that this now includes everything you tell them.
Do you want to be known as a liar?
How much is the Santa fabrication worth?

Santa is worth a fortune to the retailers and they have successfully replaced the original purpose of Christmas with a time of buying and indulging in hedonistic pleasures. Spend, spend, and spend. Eat, drink and be merry.
Christmas won’t go away but its meaning is being replaced by consumerism. If you want to teach your children the values of the Ten Commandments do so all year round. But at least let children know the truth about Santa Clause and what Christmas has become.

Last issue I mentioned “eclampsia”. If you haven’t looked it up; you can here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclampsia Around four million women suffer from it. Approximately 63,000 women and 300,000 children die because of it every year. It’s a condition during pregnancy in which women experience convulsions and coma.
The reason I mention it is that it can be treated for almost no cost by a substance found in the supermarket – Epsom salts. Epsom salts is Magnesium sulphate.
This is made into an infusion and simply injected. Problem solved.
But if the drug companies had their way we would be buying a course of pills.
This still leaves the question of why so many die each year. It seems that it is case of simple ignorance.
Most of the deaths occur in developing countries where doctors are heavily influenced by the drug companies. There’s a whole new market for pharmaceuticals. There’s no money in Epsom salts so they forget about it. GPs can not be expected to know everything and it often takes a specialist to recognize a type of problem.
The hope of good health across the world lies in the interaction of doctors via the net. Programs where symptoms are described and diagnosis is given by a specialist are the answer; that is if they aren’t hijacked by the drug companies.
You can bet your boots they will try to do just that.
If you know of other treatments for illnesses or uncomfortable conditions that affect mother or child, share them with us.

*Stem cells have the genetic code needed to grow into almost any organ tissue of the body and even to become a complete organ.

It’s pretty remarkable stuff that is in its infancy as far as research has gone so far but it promises astounding possibilities.

Recently scientists have discovered that menstrual blood is rich in stem cells that can be used to create tissue to repair damaged organs and help fight disease.

These stem cells are so valuable because they come freely from your body and there is no chance of rejection when reintroduced to your body.

They also hold the key to grow into customized tissue for specific applications to aid the prevention or possible cure of conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

But stem cell research has been a contentious issue for a long time and getting appropriate cells has been a difficult task. Umbilical cords, bone marrow, the lining of the uterus, embryos and a host of other sources have been used.

Each of these sources has some problem associated with it. For instance, the inside of the uterus has to be scraped to get the cells.

Objections to stem cell use seem to be centered on the “playing God” argument. The reasoning runs to the extreme of; “If you start making organs then you’ll start making complete humans.”
Let’s assume that is a bad thing but why would anybody want to? We have more people than we are coping with now. Besides that is way beyond the scope of medicine. The idea is to repair hearts, livers, cancer ravaged organs and brain cells.

For your children this is a miracle in the making.

There is one more development.

Over the next few years there will be products on the market enabling you to collect and store your own stem cells for future use.

These are already in testing stage.

Soon you may be able to provide your own insurance against mind and body decay.

*** I've released a report "How to Beat Bad Habits Forever". It is a way that WORKS.
It's only $5.00 and well worth much more. To get it just email iqchildren@gmail.com and I'll send details.

* Visit IQAdult while you’re in the neighborhood.

Be kind to each other.

Jay Ross.

(c)

OVERLY CLEAN?

A lot of experts are telling us we are too obsessed with cleanliness and are breeding a future race of disease prone children because they haven’t developed immunities to everyday living. I’ve been saying this for decades but that is no reason to ignore normal health problems babies are prone to.

What is the best product on the market for babies’ skin?

A baby’s skin is delicate and sensitive so you need to be very careful of any cleansers that you might use on the skin. You shouldn't be using the same products on your baby as you would use on your own skin even though symptoms appear the same. Our skin is hardened by exposure to such a variety of factors; sun, wind, chemicals etc.

The products that have been formulated for use on babies are a lot milder and designed to reduce specific rashes and other skin irritations. If you find that your child is getting skin problems then you need to look at all aspects of the products you’re using on your child.

You will also need to look at the products that clean your child's nappies and clothing and even the materials used for the clothing your baby is wearing. Some fabrics can irritate the skin. Even if it is natural cotton, it may be treated with chemicals that may cause a rash.

Obviously it is essential to pay particular care to nappies. Make sure they are well rinsed after washing. This will ensure that there are no cleaning products that could cause skin irritations If you have a child with particularly sensitive skin you might need to consider using disposable nappies rather than washing your own reusable nappies.. The down side to this is the disposal problem. They have to be securely wrapped and they do contribute to unnecessary landfill.

Young children do get rashes and skin irritations however there are some excellent products on the market to help comfort a child. The idea is to minimize as much discomfort as possible. Let the child go nude often, particularly in sunshine. Sunlight kills bad bacteria and it’s free so use it instead of lotions.

You should also air your baby's bedding in the sun regularly and check for any dampness otherwise you could be inviting bacterial problems that can also cause breathing problems. Adult beds have all sorts of bacteria and for the most part we cope with them. It’s the same with babies only they don’t have full control over bladder and bowel movements yet.

Even the condition of the baby's room can have a dramatic effect on the child's skin and breathing. Make sure the room is clean and free of dust, dampness and is well aired.

If you find that you're not solving a particular skin issue consider changing any products you’re using, even those that you have used successfully on another child. Children are not all the same. You’ll find one product could cause problems whereas another similar product is completely satisfactory.

It’s no surprise that many of the baby skin care products on the market contain some ingredients that can cause skin irritations and other allergies. Many manufacturers of baby care products are unfortunately focused first and foremost on their profits and they know that packaging and marketing are what sells their products more than anything else.

For this reason they will add fragrances and colorants to enhance the look and smell of the product to boost sales. These additives are there to impress you, not the baby. Unfortunately they can play havoc with your child's comfort and health. This is mass market stuff and everybody is different, so keep an eye on products.

Look at the ingredients on the packs and see if they have included any chemicals or colors that could be causing your problems. This is one very good reason to recommend all natural products for baby skin care. There is less chance of problems caused where fragrances can affect breathing and asthma type symptoms.

You can always make your own products as that will be one surefire way to know exactly what is going into them however you're probably already coping with a shortage of time and energy so for most people that won't be a viable option.

Another thing to consider is the fact that they have always got their hands on their mouth and anything that comes in contact with their hands is likely to get ingested. For this reason anything that you put on your baby's skin has to be safe orally or at least taste bad enough to dissuade them from doing it again.

Baby is going to suffer one major irritant, nappy (diaper) rash.

Keep the diaper clean and dry. It’s the moisture that softens the skin and allows penetration of toxins. Remember they don’t just pee themselves. This combination in a warm enclosed diaper will cause all sorts of trouble. And when a child changes to more solid food they need to be changed more often.

So what is the best all-round product to protect baby? Cleanliness is essential and nothing will replace it. But petroleum jelly or Johnson’s Baby Oil are top of the list to protect against chaffing and forming a barrier against poisons entering the bloodstream through the skin.

*****

While writing this issue a friend asked what was meant by the first sentence.

Kids eat dirt, bugs, and flowers and put their own poop into their mouths. It’s simply what they do. It is a learning process and teaches them a great deal. But more than that; it prepares the body to fight the nasty things they will encounter.

The problem arises when they ingest poisons like rodent bait, garden fertilizer or medicine cabinet pills. Obviously these need proper storage or being kept beyond their reach

We tend to use cleaners so much that we create a sterile environment that can produce kids with underdeveloped immunities. They’re not ‘toughened up’ so they’re vulnerable to any nasty bug that may come along in later life.

We could argue that the cleaners themselves could be a source of health disruption to an oversensitive child like this.

A male child who develops Mumps (parotitus) won’t get it as an adult. That’s fortunate because it can cause sterility in teenagers and adults. See what the purpose of immunization is?

Becoming immune to these assaults on the body is a survival technique. The people against immunization can’t deny this but they say we have gone too far in introducing unnatural immunization that can actually harm rather than help.

Please, if you disagree send a comment.

*****

Do your children believe in Santa Clause?

What is “eclampsia”? We’ll get onto these topics in the next issue.

It’s quite surprising but about 50% of children under the age of twelve have an “eidetic” memory. What’s that? It’s what is commonly known as a ‘photographic’ memory.

Somehow it disappears as we age. This is probably because it is not encouraged. We were taught by other adults who let this ability slide so we do the same. But it is there and you can develop it if you know about it.

Show your child a picture for a short time and then ask questions about how many of certain items are in it; or what color something is.

Gauge the state of the child’s eidetic capacity over a few different times and if you like what you find start developing it. This can be done with normal memory games but with a greater slant to the visual aspects.

Such a talent can be a huge benefit in life so it’s worth your while.

• If you would like to contribute more than a comment, get in touch at iqchildren@gmail.com If you have a blog on a compatible topic, I will promote it if it benefits my readers. Get in touch.

Be good to each other,

Jay Ross.

©

FOOD AND FAT KIDS

FOOD FOR FAT KIDS.

Somehow the conversation got around to food and school lunches.

“I give my kids pita bread and filled with lettuce, grated carrot, meat, tomato and things, like McDonalds make those wrap-a-rounds. Tom had his lunch stolen twice last week. It’s the same with Marie.”

I asked why parents don’t know about this.

“They do. The school has a healthy food policy but parents are too lazy to take the time to do something different, even with all the kitchen gadgets we have now. It’s so easy to throw in a sugary candy bar and a couple of sandwiches of pre cut cheese and sausage meat.”

There is one eight year old there who is so fat that he swings his legs out to walk, half turning as he goes. He is from a split family and his father has him from Sunday to Wednesday then mother has him from Wednesday till Saturday.

His mother gives him reasonably good food but dad’s a baker and fills him with cream buns, jam tarts, cake and dohnuts. He comes to school each day with a bag of the stuff for the other kids so he doesn’t get called the usual names associated with his size.”

“One girl asked Marie why she ate grass. Marie said it was lettuce. The girl said they throw that stuff away. She didn’t have the faintest idea what sprouts were.

“I give them frozen fruit salad tubs. It’s thawed by lunch time. I suppose it looks like something from a shop so other kids want it. It doesn’t enter their heads that they can make it at home.”

I was really as astonished as Chef Jamie Oliver when he discovered English kids didn’t know what a carrot or stick of celery was. When they can’t tell a cucumber from a tomato what hope is there? Where do they think meat comes from? Do they know we have to kill a cow to have a steak?

Have they ever thought you could grow tomatoes, not have to rely on a shop to provide them?

There is a multi billion dollar move to control the worlds’ food supply. It’s bound to succeed if this state of ignorance exists among the youth of the planet. Already we have seedless fruit so we can’t plant more and huge companies “own” varieties of genetically modified wheat that can only be bought from them.

The idea that man can "control nature" is born of ignorance and arrogance. Look at the dramatic rise in cancers since the chemicalisation of agriculture after WWII. The benefits are there, yes, but at a price.

Unless we act soon all our food will come from conglomerates that will demand their own price for what we can now grow for ourselves.

Teach children about growing food. It tastes so much better and it’s safe. Steer them away from the 'fast food' junk that masquerades as real food. Analyse the advertising, see the lies.

If children are not taught about food and what affect various foods have on the body what hope is there for a full life? Beside their life expectancy being shortened their lifestyle is limited immensely.

It is not a matter of not being able to run anywhere; it’s a matter of being able to get out of a lounge chair; of taking ten minutes to do something that should only take one minute. It’s missing out on so many of life’s joys that enrich us.

One day they’ll have a sex life (or part of one; there is a physical aspect here.) and pass on their body metabolism and bad habits to another generation to spread ruin in more lives.

There are three main body types http://bodybuildingpro.com/bodytypeinformation.html

The endomorphs are the heavy boned/bodied people that should not be confused with neglectfully obese people, just like ectomorphs should not be confused with bulimia.

Bulimia seems to be more of a neurological problem but while a psychological problem does exist with compulsive eating it is none the less an ignorance problem as well. The problem compounds itself by making exercise harder to do, the more it is needed.

If children don’t get on that slippery slide at the beginning it will save them so much pain in the future.

What about how they will think of you? Your neglect led them down this path when they didn’t know better. Don’t you think they will blame you?

If you are not teaching your child the right way to eat, what to eat and when to eat you are committing a moral crime against that child.

They have to know that quantity does not equal quality and that many foods actually do harm to the body. Cola is bad for children. Unsweetened fruit juice is good. You should know what is what.

Another thing a lot of adults should correct is the habit of shoveling food into the mouth and swallowing it. Stop doing that and teach children that in order for food to be properly digested it needs to be mixed with a good amount of saliva from the mouth. The way to get saliva working for you is by chewing food. Make a joy out of getting all the tastes out of what you put into your mouth. Smaller portions chewed into nothingness give more to the body than large chunks swallowed and eliminated from your system in the toilet.

If it doesn’t get stored as fat it ends up being flushed. Either way is bad and a senseless waste.

The French have the right idea with the one hour lunch accompanied by a light red wine and good conversation. The body has time to assimilate the food. It’s not grabbing a hot dog while walking down a crowded street.

Kids grow so quickly and so their diet should change rapidly too. You don’t keep feeding them mush. As soon as they show the ability to grasp things is when to start introducing more complex foods. Get them on to more adult food as soon as their tastes evolve. It is astonishing how they will accept a Mediterranean salad of marinated meat chunks and olives with chunky cheese bits, colorful capsicum and rocket leaves if it looks good and Mum and Dad eat it.

Even left-overs can be represented in those plastic tubs and the tubs reused to cut back on useless landfill.

Presentation is essential and takes so little time. Any good cook will tell you that people eat with their eyes before their mouth. If it looks appetizing it must be good. If school food looks like it came from a shop it will be more readily accepted. If it is colorful or exotic looking it will be wanted.

Presentation takes a little thought at the beginning until you get into the swing of it. Then it’s a no effort habit.

See if you can influence the school shop to introduce healthier, better presented lunches and less of the candy bar, cola drinks. If you could put bubbles into fruit juice you’d make a fortune. Anybody want to get rich?

We are looking at an increasingly obese population brought about by the age of plenty and ignorance of how, when and what to eat. Couple this with sedentary lifestyles of watching sport instead of participating, being passively entertained by TV where no muscles are used or PC games where the only muscles used are in the hands. How can those possibly lead to healthy children?

Just a word about when to eat; we eat to provide material to build the body and provide energy to keep it doing tasks. As adults we need less to build the already built body and primarily need food for our energy requirements. More than that is waste.

With children they need the body building aspect and the energy for their lifestyle. A keen sportsman needs more than the couch potato. Eat according to how the food will be used, not because it is something to do.

At night we do not need energy so do not have a large meal. You’re going to sit and sleep, so don’t eat.

In the morning you are facing a day of activity so eat a good breakfast and top it up during the day according to the amount of energy you are using. Do not eat just to eat.

Topics we could discuss here involve the vegetarian way of life, calorie intake, good and bad fats, kosher food and religious taboos.

If you want to get into the debate about breast feeding and bottle feeding, just open the discussion by making a comment. Click at the bottom of this issue.

Email me at iqchildren@gmail.com

Take care,

Jay Ross.

CHILD ABUSE

CHILD ABUSE.

There was an issue of IQChildren which gave my views on mental abuse of children. I want to talk about the positive side of child care and upbringing; giving them the best start. However there is a place for warnings to “adults” who have problems. But the trouble is none of them would be reading this.

You are reading because you care for your children and want that little extra for them.

Some “parents” couldn’t give a damn. They shouldn’t have children.

Should they go through an education process before getting married? Should people have a license to have children? Both ideas have been proposed.

I get a regular Email from “Really Good Quotes”. Recently Kirsten made a contribution that got right to my tear center. It is partly presented here with her kind permission.

Click on the link then read further if your eyes aren’t blurred.

I recently received a link to a heart breaking Youtube video, five minutes and thirty-five seconds in length. In the time it took me to watch it, about 142 children were abused in the United States. 114 of them will experience at least one psychiatric disorder by the time they are 21 – these will include depression, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. 80 of them will be arrested for juvenile offences, and over 100 of them will go on to abuse their own children.

Of the estimated 34,560 children who will be abused in the United States tomorrow, four will die. Three of these children will be under the age of four. Only 8640 of the child abuse cases will be reported…

Sometimes the abusers manipulate or threaten their victims to prevent them from telling anyone. Sometimes the victims believe that they deserve the abuse, and that reporting it will only lead to further punishment. Sometimes they are simply too young to be able to communicate their experiences. And in some cases, my friend being a case in point, they do reach out for help, only to be told that they are lying, or that they are imagining it, or that they are acting out of spite.

Mental abuse leaves the child suffering for life. Physical abuse can maim and kill. Sexual abuse can do both mental and physical damage.

The solution to these problems lies with treating the adults who need help. Their parents probably needed help but it’s too late for that.

Prison is definitely no help unless it involves intensive attempts to correct the behavior, but how? Generally the prisoner is incarcerated with others who swap stories, particularly sexual abusers.

In any case prison comes after the damage is done. It’s too late. So how do you find these people? How do you get them to change ways they learned AS A CHILD? It’s abuse in the beginning that fosters their nature in teen and adult life. When they in turn abuse they foster their offspring to abuse. It carries on for another generation unless it is stopped by another adult who can show the child an alternative.

By this I mean a relative or school friends’ parents who take an interest or demonstrate that life can be lived without violence or tension.

Teaching the child to be open and honest and trust you is important. There is a difficulty here with sexual abuse. If we suspect “Uncle Bob” of being too close to a child we run the risk of ‘verballing’ the child. That is putting words in its mouth through intensive questioning so the child agrees with what we suspect even though it may not be true.

Having a phobia about it may produce results that destroy a life. Just being accused of such a crime puts the adult in the police files for ever. They may never be able to get a job where they have “access to children”. Any potential employer who finds out can spread this and ruin the person’s life.

This is definitely NOT saying to ignore signs but let’s not get paranoid about it either.

Witch hunts put to death many innocent people.

Here is more of Kirsten’s letter.

Child abuse takes many forms, including neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse. In many cases, several forms of abuse are present in a child's life. While there are people who regard some forms of abuse as worse than others, all abuse is devastating in its own way. Children deserve to be protected. If they are being abused, they deserve to be rescued. Abuse is seldom an isolated incident. In most cases, a single case of abuse represents a pattern. The trouble, as I mentioned in the last issue, is that most abuse is not reported.

However, there are signs that we can look out for. Neglected children generally have poor hygiene and poor general health. They are unsupervised, and therefore may display delinquent behavior and substance abuse. They are tired, hungry and "street smart". Children who are emotionally abused tend to be depressed and anxious. They are either too compliant or too aggressive. They may have sleeping disorders, eating disorders and language impairments. They display obsessive-compulsive behavior, suffer from phobias and suicidal thoughts and exhibit repetitive behavior such as rocking, humming or thumb-sucking. The physically abused children flinch when they are touched. They don't want to go home after school - or if they are being abused at school, they don't want to leave home in the mornings. They have injuries that they cannot adequately explain, and the injuries are in varying stages of recovery. Finally, children who are sexually abused may have trouble walking, sitting or urinating. They may have stained underwear and bleeding or injuries to the obvious areas. They tend to be aggressive, self-abusive and incapable of healthy peer relationships. Their sexual knowledge may be far in advance of their age and stage of development.

If a child tells an adult that they are being abused, that report has to be taken seriously. Children almost never lie about something like that. On the contrary, they are more likely to lie in order to cover up abuse. And frankly, if a child is lying about being abused, you have to believe that there is something seriously wrong in that child's life. Adults frequently don't know how to respond when a child tells them they are being abused. Here are some guidelines.
- Give the child your full attention, and let them know that you are taking them seriously.
- It is natural to feel anger and distress when told about something so upsetting. But for the child's sake, you have to keep your emotions in check. The child has come to you for help, and needs to know that you are there to protect and help them.
- It is very important that you avoid interpreting what the child is saying. Write down what they are telling you in as much detail as possible. Use their own words wherever you can and stick to the facts. Don't ask them leading questions. If you do, some sleazy defense lawyer is going to tell you that you influenced the child.

As in all things, prevention is better than cure. There are steps we can take to protect our children from becoming victims in the first place. The first rule is to maintain open lines of communication. Our kids need to know that they can come to us when bad things happen, and that we will stand up for them. We should tell them what they need to know, and answer their questions openly and honestly. We can read them books that deal with the issues.

You can subscribe to RGQ for free by sending a blank email to reallygoodquotes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Check out iqadult.blogspot.com

I am trying to get more time to write more issues but it is elusive.

IQTeens is yet to get started but if you want to send suggestions or a few paragraphs that follow the same idea of these blogs you will help kick it along. I’ll promote your blog or website for free if it is relevant.

Send mail to iqadult@gmail.com or iqchildren@gmail.com

Send some comments please. It’s difficult writing when only a few people let me know they read the material. Encouragement goes a long way in any endeavor.

Here is an unexpected comment from Kirsten.

“Kirsten has left a new comment on your post "BRIGHT KIDS, YOGA, SWEARING.":

So right about the swearing. We've had to start being ultra-careful. My son is four years old and autistic. Like many autistic children, he displays echolalia - repeating a word or phrase he's heard over and over and over ad nauseum. As you can imagine, we had a bit of a problem with this when one of us accidentally muttered the F-word in his presence. We're ultra-careful since then.
BTW, can I add a link to your blog on my blog page?”

OK folks, that’s encouraging! YES Kirsten! Oh, the joy.

Bye for now. Be good to each other, Jay Ross.

BRIGHT KIDS, YOGA, SWEARING.

LAZY OR BORED?

No doubt there are things you are hopeless at doing. Maybe you can write like a professional or breeze through the Times’ crossword quicker than the 6:20 express train passing a station. But when it comes to anything close to playing a musical instrument, it seems you have ten left feet on your hands.

We simply accept this. No doubt if we applied ourselves we would be better at knocking out a tune but we wouldn’t be playing Tchaikovsky’s 1^st Piano Concerto after hearing it the first time.

Leslie Lemke did. He was 14 years old. The movie “The Music Lovers“, about Tchaikovsky was on TV. He listened to the concerto. He played it. Simple. He’d never had music lessons but he did have cerebral palsy and blindness.

I like Tchaikovsky but have trouble playing the Beatles. OK, I accept it.

Honestly some people couldn’t find their way home if they were outside their front gate, but then they may have note pads with the explanation to Quantum theory’s biggest hurdle. They might think it amusing that no one else has thought of it.

What has this got to do with children? What has it got to do with us, as adults? Plenty; we both (children and adults) have to realize when a child has above average intelligence, then nurture it. It seems ironic, but the brighter a child is, the more vulnerable it is.

I’m not going to talk about savants like Dustin Hoffman portrayed in “Rain Man” because they are rarer than prodigies and ‘gifted children’ who populate about ten percent of the intelligence scale.

The ‘gifted’ or ‘damn smart’ kids are the ones who don’t have the apparent disabilities of the savant. Yet these kids often suffer from a range of social and personality problems. Lots of this is cleverly hidden behind a mask of moodiness or silence because it’s accepted as pensive mood. Sometimes it’s hidden as anger or antisocial behavior.

The bright child who is bored in school maybe classed as lazy or dull, or if they cause disruption, labeled as trouble maker. But there’s more.

The child who’s talent is recognized often feels pressure to excel in all areas but can’t because their talent is uneven. They may excel at math but not language. They suffer feelings of inadequacy and can’t admit it. They may not be able to explain it, and that leads to frustration then alienation.

We need to gently coax these kids in social skills or their weak points to round out their success in life.

Edison succeeded with getting his electric power system adopted due in great part to his persuasive manipulation of people. Tesla, while an equal genius was a grumpy fellow. Tesla lost. Today we use Edison’s system.

Tesla lost because he lacked the social skills and business savvy.

Children have access to so much information on the net. They can pursue any topic they might want to know about. It is important that they have a love of learning but please steer them into social physical events as well.

Physical exercise is as important to mental development as academic studies. It stimulates the blood and fires up the nervous system. Playing a sport may not seem attractive to an intellectual child but in that case it’s easy to get them to help in other physical areas like digging a vegetable garden or building a dog house; anything that stimulates cooperation and use of muscles.

When picking a sport, pick one that teaches team work as well as competitiveness. Both aspects are necessary. It’s wrong to teach the child to win at all costs. When aggression takes over they’ve lost the plot. We achieve far more in union with others than we can alone. Getting along with people is essential for a happy life.

Social events like parties, visiting friends or sleep-overs at a friends’ house teach children about sharing and gets them aware of other ways of life.

*****

YOGA FOR KIDS?

Children will like yoga and their bodies are supple enough to get into the sometimes uneasy postures that we adults don’t like. The postures are not essential (you can vary them) but they help with proper breathing and function of the body. Good posture is very important to your well being so teach children before they develop bad habits like slouching.

The benefits of this oldest form of exercise still practiced make it well worth your while. It’s relaxing and has a calming effect to call upon in times of stress. It benefits the bones, muscles and all the organs and balances the body’s energies. Childhood complaints such as asthma, bed wetting, stomach problems, and constipation are only a few areas where improvement happens.

The main area is the breathing and direction of energy (called Prana) to strengthen selected areas.

Proper breath control is essential for mental and physical performance. It is obviously an important aspect of all forms of sport, playing any wind instrument or singing. It aids concentration and therefore learning so get them into a yoga class early when they can enjoy the experience as part of a daily routine to help them through life.

Your own life will benefit from learning Yoga techniques. Plenty of books are available or you only need to type the word into Google for a fund of information.

There are so many branches of Yoga. I’d suggest Hatha Yoga as a start because it deals with the physical body. If you feel so inclined, after a thorough training, move on to Raja Yoga to develop will-power and mental faculties.

*****

SWEARING.

What do you do when your child utters a swear word? It’s going to happen one day. We are not all saints when we hit our thumb or pick up something unexpectedly hot. They’ll hear TV or big brother or other kids and when that ‘word spurt’ begins they’ll use that word just like any other.

Kids experiment and if they find a forbidden word they’ll have fun repeating it to test reactions. The more you react to the word, the more they know they are on to something good, so they’ll use it again.

Lots of swear words enter the language because of so frequent use. Many are in the dictionary. They lose their power to shock. Remember Rhett Butler in ‘Gone With the Wind’? “I don’t give a damn.” isn’t shocking any more. A list of Victorian street-words leaves us mystified just like Chaucer’s English needs to be interpreted. Still, some people are offended by some words and the places to not use them matters so it’s wise to know about this.

When children let loose with swearing let them know those words are only appropriate in the right place, very wrong in front of other people like granny or strangers. Tell them they shouldn’t use them indiscriminately. It’s best not to use them at all unless they’re absolutely sure.

You could suggest they say poo or pee etc rather than the alternatives.

You set the example, so be like you want your child to be.

you like to leave your own thoughts on a regular or occasional basis? Just email iqchildren@gmail.com

Be good, take care,

Jay Ross

CONCENTRATION for fun and profit.

Concentration is a basic skill that can be taught and made fun at the same time. You need only the simplest things found anywhere and you’ve got a game and lesson for life.
The ability to focus attention invades all aspects of life from school study to reading for pleasure or advancement to comprehending what’s going on in the world.

Unfortunately TV has lessened attention span to the 30 second (or less) grab. TV has a great power to educate yet it can reduce children to zombies.
Recently someone visited with his 15 year old son. The boy didn’t believe I wrote for magazines so I showed him some amusing pieces to suit his age. The first was 300 words with a cartoon illustration. He wouldn’t read it because he said it was too long!
300 words were too long?! Great heavens. Is he ever going to read a page? For those who don’t count words as part of their life, 172 words is up to this asterisk *

Just from that, we can say that he does poorly in school, will leave early, get a job as a hands–on worker, will never aspire to anything other than a bit more money in the same industry and… You know the type.

But you’re not reading this because you are the type of parent who wants that for your son or daughter. You want your child to grow knowing what you weren’t taught, but should have been. You want your child to be better prepared for the world of their future. You care.
Let’s use a deck of playing cards. A deck has 52 different cards and therefore an enormous variety of combinations of numbers, suits, picture cards or any three.

We can start with the simplest game of “Snap” for the little ones, where a player puts his hand on the cards and says ”snap” every time two consecutive sevens, twos, aces, or whatever are dealt to a pile on the table. They could be sevens or hearts or picture cards. They take these two cards and the game continues. When the whole deck has been played, shuffle the remaining cards to restart.

You could make it harder by nominating any particular consecutive cards, like only red cards or cards numbered six or less in sequence, i.e. ace-two, two-three, three-four, etc. Whoever ends with the most cards wins the game. This teaches observation and concentration and reflexes in one game. The sequence game also reinforces number learning.

One for the slightly more advanced is just for concentration. Deal all the cards out on a table, face up. Explain the game and then turn them face down. Now each player may turn up two cards so everyone else can see them. If these two match in number or picture, they can be taken from the table and placed in front of that player, who then has another chance at another two cards. When they fail to match, the next player has a turn.
The winner is the one who ends with the most cards.

A harder variation of this is to match number and color, for example the two threes in red (hearts and diamonds); the two black kings etc. This makes for a longer game and you have to remember many more card positions and more detail.

This game can be stared by dealing all cards face down at the start so that everybody starts ’blind’.

All card games that people gamble on involve chance. But in some games, players try to maximize their chances of winning by ‘card counting’. Casinos don’t like this and take measures to discourage or confuse the practice. It consists of remembering what cards have been played and weighing the odds of getting the right card. It is quite possible to remember the sequence of a whole deck of shuffled cards. If a child can concentrate long enough to learn the technique, they’ll be able to do that and much more. Think of their later academic prospects.

Never think that a job is too complicated for the child. Their minds soak in anything and if they don’t get it right the first time, they’ll adjust the detail later. Teach them Chess. Be seen playing it. Go to the park with the Chess tables. Never tell them it’s too complicated for them. If you don’t know the game, ask a player to teach the basics. Most players will be very happy to share their interest. Watch and learn.
Very often a young player will beat an older player because the youngster tries non standard moves that confuse an older players’ pattern of play. It’s good for both sides.

Why Chess? There are a variety of moves with different pieces and the interplay between pieces can become quite complicated. It means skill in planning and strategy, concentration and interaction with another mind.
It teaches patience and analytical skills. It’s a game to take with you into adulthood. Maybe Golf is the game where deals are made but Chess is the room where the plots are decided before any deals are made.

You can play Chess for free or get free lessons and there are so many great animated games to choose from. Remember the Harry Potter game?
One of its beauties lies in its popularity with all ages and nationalities. You don’t have to speak Mandarin or Polish to mutually enjoy the game.
We can go outside our scope here to say you can design a six sided board for three players. Try it. The game really requires some thinking. There is also 3dimensional chess where some of the board is raised. True 3D Chess on an eight level cube would be a mammoth undertaking for any mind.
Anything to help a child concentrate is worth it and need cost nothing. If it’s made to be fun, it is more easily learned. A by-product of these games is that your mind is kept up to scratch too.

Just type 'on line chess' or 'teaching chess' into google for a wealth of info.

Long live the King.

*****
The vaccine issue raises its head again in the UK where some doctors have suggested that certain vaccines may help cause autism by damaging a child’s immune system. The vaccine acts like letting the child play in the dirt and thereby develop immunity to pathogens and parasites that harm the body. But all of us are different so while one child may suffer another may benefit by the same procedure. How can we tell? We can’t ban immunization because it causes dire side effects in some children. But autism is for life. How do we test it?

Your input is welcome as a comment or regular contributor.
*****
Little kid looking at Mums’ drivers’ license.
"Mum, you're 38 years old."
"That's right dear."
"How come you got an 'f' in 'sex'?"
*****
Be good, Jay Ross. iqchildren@gmail.com

CHILD ABUSE _ PETS_INVITATION

“You’ll never amount to anything.” “You’ll never be able to hold a job for long.” “You’ll never be able to play sport well.” “You’re so uncoordinated.” “You’ll never be as good as Tommy.” “Nobody wants you.” “You don’t understand, do you stupid?” “You must have cheated in the test.” “Why are you here, toad face?” HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?

Hearing anybody telling a child that, makes me sick. It is as much a criminal act as cutting off a limb or throwing acid in a face. It dismembers a child for life. It cuts away the child’s self esteem and leaves the child condemned to self loathing and a life of fighting others to over-compensate. It can lead to hatred of others and a life of crime. The child will believe that people are worth nothing because of its own self image.

A young adult reared this way will be a violent, possessive partner and parent trying to establish their place in the world. It’s what they need to prove their worth to themselves, not knowing that rule by fear is wrong.

The other way is to crawl into a mental shell and fear ever trying to achieve anything. Unconsciously justifying failure in jobs and relationships because hurting has become part of them. The older they get, the harder it is to change. The mold is set while they are children.

Why isn’t this self evident common sense?

Back in 1998 psychologists in the Netherlands got two groups to do a mental task. One group had words associated with old age – ‘slow’, ‘old’, ‘wrinkled’, etc. The other group was fed words unrelated to age. The test had nothing to do with the task they performed. They were timed walking down the hall to the exit. The group using the age related words took ‘significantly longer’ to walk the hallway.

That is so simple as a research project as to be laughable. You don’t have to be astute to know that an audience member laughing heartily while watching a funny film induces others to do the same. It’s that easy. So what effect does constant negative input have on the impressionable mind of a child?

Child abuse is usually thought of as being physical but words spoken without raising a loud voice can be just as destructive.

Emotional sabotage of young minds is being perpetuated by ignorant adults who were reared by more ignorant adults. In turn, they’re raising children to do the same thing to the next generation.

Cuts, bruises and broken bones heal. This mental rape of an innocents’ future does not.

There is hope to stop this if the parents understand. But try to get a deeply emotionally driven angry person to realize they are wrong.

Removing the child is an option but under what conditions? Where will the child go? Will it get love, or abuse that love or get abused in a different way?

The carnage of young minds continues.

Yes, I do care passionately about this.

Tell your children you love them and show it. Encourage them to explore knowledge and talents. Let them make decisions. Get them to be self motivating, independent thinkers. You have to be aware of the changes taking place in the world. Your children’s world is not the same as yours was. It never will be. They have to respect you because you gave them the right mental and emotional tools for life, not because you demand it. Be ‘home base’ to them – the safe footing that launches them into the world.

People you will never know will know you, through your children.

They must have self-respect and empathy for others, rights to their own space, time and property but know about the value of sharing and cooperation. “Why” must be answered satisfactorily, not with “Because I said so.” They must know that winning is good but no one excels at everything so even coming last happens. It’s ok.

They must know that life throws everything at you. It is how you deal with it that matters.

Maybe it seems like a daunting task but you’ve got years ahead that will be filled with learning, growing and love.

If that doesn’t happen, it means you have more learning to do.

Life’s an adventure. Enjoy.

*****

PETS.

Kids have to have a pet. A Goldfish or bird in a cage doesn’t fill the reason why they should have a pet. They need something they can touch, cuddle, play with, take responsibility for, to get them used to caring for another creature.

It not only prepares them for children of their own, but caring for the needs of others in general. Goldfish don’t show emotions. Dogs do, and they are called ‘man’s best friend’ for a reason. Cats are independent but cuddly and cute. There are other animals we can care for but many are illegal to own.

For a glimpse of the future of mankind and his relationship with animals, visit the Great Apes Project. Once you get over the idea and look to the future to see humans and other living creatures helping each other to survive and prosper, shades of the mythical Garden of Eden start to form. Your children will see this change taking place.

Pets can run around with children better than any adult and we know they can be trusted. In a way, pets become baby sitters for a while. The responsibility associated with caring for a pet is a lesson in life that can’t really be taught another way.

Just learning the companionship of a loyal pet is a lesson. Teaching it to do things requires patience and learning technique. The rewards of a pet with children far outweigh the minor cost and occasional inconvenience involved.

The death of a pet prepares the child for the trauma of loved ones leaving. They more easily realize the consequences and signs of age or of reckless actions like running onto a road. These things happen. The child should be prepared through experience.

A side-line here – if you live on a semi rural property, get a couple of geese. They’re better than dogs in the sense of being ‘watchdogs’. But keep them outside the house. They poo wherever they feel like it.

A friend asked, “What do you define as a ‘child’?”. The purpose of this blog is directed to babies and children up to the age of puberty. It is quite broad and could be divided into two blogs but the idea is to go with the flow of where you take it.

As Dean Martin said, “Keep those cards and letters coming in.” You will determine the path taken but the accent is on providing a well rounded information forum for all.

IQYouth is coming up in a couple/few months’ time. If you want to be part of that, email and we can talk.

*****

If you are a part of an organization dealing with children or youth, get in touch. If I believe in your course or cause, I’ll promote it.

*****

Visit our other site at IQAdult.blogspot.com It’s a self help site covering a wide range of topics.

Besides posting your comments, you can also send email to iqchildren@gmail.com

*****

Keep well. Jay Ross.

IQ Children, our future.

Reading is an essential part of a child's education. We don't have to wait for school to start the interest in reading for fun or information. This can be done as early as the cradle with hanging mobile letters or pictures of labeled animals or fruit. These colorful pictures are available as curtains and horizontal wallpaper strips as well.

As they grow, point to these letters and say the name of the subject. You can say the name of the letter and how it sounds. Do this often. Don’t expect a response just yet but you can be sure you’re influencing the conception that these symbols mean something.

Talking to children is second nature, people do it naturally and reading to them should be the same. A bedtime story shouldn’t be the only time they are read to. They have to know that stories come in books and see others reading.

When reading to them, show them the pages and often point to the words as they’re read. This helps identify meaning with the words. Tell them, “This word means ‘cat’.” In time they’ll ask what other words mean and that is exactly what we want.

Brightly colored pages are best for holding the attention just as movement is attention grabbing for us. Tell them the color of the page or objects on the page. Say that the dog is white with brown spots. Ask if they remember the color of the previous page.

Put their books in the bookshelf in their room so they know where they are. When they start selecting the book they want, it means they’re identifying and making decisions.

Above all, do not force anything. They are children. What they get pleasure from will be remembered in a general sense and narrowed to specifics later. If reading is constantly interesting, it will reinforce the value of doing it alone.

In spite of the doubt that spurned Time magazines’ cover- “Is the book dead?” of many years ago; the book will be with us in some form for a long time to come. Words, properly used, are the essence of complex communication. Teaching your child early gives them a head start in life.

All teaching methods have their detractors. That’s not surprising seeing that English spelling is in great need of an overhaul. We have the ‘ough’ in ‘through’ and a completely different sounds in the words ‘bough’ or ‘rough’.

Many letters have hard and soft sounds or change in union with other letters. Some are pronounced differently in different contexts. The word ‘read’ is said as ‘red’ and ‘reed’. We deal with it, but to a child it’s confusing. Understand this. It is not the child’s fault.

Most children will be reading independently by age seven but are capable of doing this well before that age. Let them do it at their own pace and let the value of reading settle in.

Forcing development may have the opposite effect of making the child dislike what will be a chore. Be careful.

If you see difficulties, have tests done on eyesight and hearing. Check hearing because there may be confusion about the sounds of letters. Emotional problems will slow a child’s progress in any learning, so look at the environment. If parents are arguing or not present when needed, the child’s mind is not going to bother with reading.

The environment is vital to development in any form of learning. Be seen to be reading and have books, magazines and newspapers as part of everyday life. They learn from example.

I’ve heard parents say they won’t let their children read comics. Why? The words and pictures go together to tell a story just like they’re used to. As they mature, they’ll grow out of comics and read words for their own sake. Banning something often has the effect of making the child more curious.

Make a point of asking the child about what they’ve read. This helps memory and recall and forces the child to summarize what has been read. You’ll also find what the child thinks is the most interesting aspect of the story. It’s a good indicator of intellectual and emotional status.

Everywhere we go there are words. There is no shortage of material to use, from their own name, their street name, to the advertising and instructions on packets. There are recipes to read, games with cards to read, word puzzles and funny uses for words. Use all this stuff in a fun way. Soon the little readers will want to become little writers too. We’ll leave that for another edition soon.

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I asked a friend who is the mother of five to have a say about different topics. She told me she was too busy to fit anything else into her life. With five kids is it any wonder? But she totally made my day with this email. Here’s Catherine.
Cot death (SIDS):

There is a great deal of information about cot death available. Although the medical profession has not given a definite cause, they do know that some things are more likely to trigger stress induced breathing that results in cot death. A number of years ago the doctors from the cot watch program where asked to create a monitor for children that were at risk. The monitor found that babies that had been immunized displayed stress induced breathing up to a month after immunization where un-immunized children didn't.

Babies in homes where people smoked or where there was inappropriate ventilation or over heating also displayed stress induced breathing. While researching this further they discovered that in Japan children are not immunized until they are at least two years old and that they have the lowest rate of cot death in the world. It was their belief that immunizing a child that was already at risk due to environment or medical conditions increased the chance of the child suffering from stress induced breathing, resulting in cot death. Immunizing these children has the potential to cause more harm and side effects than the supposed benefits of immunization would give.

Babies that did not die from cot death after an episode of stress induced breathing (post immunization) suffered greater respiratory problems, compromised immune systems, lowered level of oxygen in the blood. They concluded that immunization of babies should be stopped and if it was deemed necessary that immunization not be given until the child was at least two years of age and the immune system had had a chance to develop.

What are your thoughts about immunization and medications in general? Fluoridation of our water supply is another topic that raises concern in many parents. Why not make fluoride available to whoever wants it rather than mass medicating a city?

Hyperactive children are given drugs to enable both parent and child to cope. What causes hyperactivity? Type “hyperactive children” into Google. You’ll get a lot of sites dealing with the problem and a lot of marketers selling their wares. The cause as far as I understand it is in the food we fill ourselves with.

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Send comments. This should be a weekly event from now on. Glad to have you with us.

Take care,

Jay Ross.