Christmas fun for kids!

NORAD is normally used to keep an eye out for nuclear missiles headed for the USA but every Christmas Eve the high-tech radar systems are devoted to monitoring Santa Claus as he travels around the world. Integrated with Google Earth for even more (educational) fun!

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html


You can also arrange for Santa to call your child for free!

http://www.santashotline.com/


Great fun to be had with a very sweet, personalised movie emailed from Santa to your child:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home?utm_source=All&utm_campaign=The+real+Santa+US+450k-500k&utm_medium=email

Merry Christmas!

Bottle Feeding On the Move - Solutions!

Bringing baby out and about while she's taking bottles can be tiresome. Asking for hot water to reheat bottles can be painful and, at times, dangerous. Restaurant staff can get bewildered, mutter about insurance and even bring a soup bowl of hot water to the table. Yikes. Of course the situation gets more difficult if you're nowhere near a ready source of hot water. Problem solved. Fisher Price have launched a flask specifically designed for heating baby bottles and it's available from Mothercare for only about a dozen euro. The business end is an efficient metal thermos flask but the genius part is the blue sleeve that goes over it - the perfect size and proportions for holding enough hot water for a baby bottle. Get this and you are completely self sufficient and can take baby anywhere!

To make the whole bottle feeding process even easier, forget about powdered formula and switch to the ready-made cartons, containing 200ml of ready-to-drink feed. The amount of mucking about with powdered formula has gone way over the top with the recent requirement to make it up with water at 70 degrees C (because the powdered formula could be full of bacteria! Yikes!). Then you're into refrigeration and difficulties with transportation. The cartons are a tad more expensive than powder but it still costs only about 69c for a feed. The convenience more than makes up for the cost.

And there's a massive bonus: making powdered feed up with tap water in Ireland means that you are poisoning your precious with the fluoride that is mandatory in all Irish public water supplies. Fluoridated water is a possible cause of cancer and asthma, two illnesses which are enormous problems in Ireland, the only country in Europe that continues to insist on water fluoridation. When in Ireland, don't drink the water and NEVER feed it to your baby! Our baby loves her Aptamil formula, so we checked with the manufacturer who confirmed that it is made in the Netherlands and doesn't use fluoridated water. If you're using a different brand, check with the manufacturer.

More on fluoridated water and its potential for harm soon.

Back to School Blues (but don't let your kids damage their backs!)

Upon collecting my eight-year-old daughter from school, I took her school bag, as you do. "Is this full of bricks?" I asked, shocked at the weight. "No," she said, "we have lots of homework and the books are hardbacks." I consulted the Department of Education website and found that there is a circular for primary schools, going back a few years, which talks big about how damaging heavy school bags can be and how schools, book publishers and parents need to do something about it. The Government passing the buck, in other words.

Further research shows that heavy school bags cause concern internationally, with many experts believing that they can damage the (still soft and forming) spines of kids! And this for the sake of homework which, arguably, young children shouldn't have much of in the first place. Ergonomics experts say that a school bag should weigh no more than 10% of a child's body weight, 10% being an absolute maximum, not a target. My daughter's bag weighed 14% of her body weight. I contacted her teacher, the principal and the Parents' Association. I suggest that you weigh your child and their school bag and, if the 10% ratio is exceeded, do something about it.

The immediate solution is to reduce the amount of homework that kids get and ensure that no more than one heavy book is brought home per day. The only long-term solution is to replace school books with purpose-designed laptops.

A policy of laptops for school children would have many advantages:

• Lighter school bags and reduced risk of spinal damage;
• Reduced costs for parents as schoolbooks are shockingly expensive, with huge profit margins for publishers and kickbacks for teachers who choose them;
• Texts can be maintained online and updated as required without additional cost;
• Our children will grow up with advanced computer skills.
• It's a no-brainer, so surely the Minister for Education will get it!

See the circular about school bag weight here: http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?pcategory=10856&ecategory=11557&language=EN

Larry Murphy to be released - all Irish people must beware this beast

Larry Murphy is due to be released from prison in August 2010. He is getting early release for 'good behaviour'. He robbed, abducted and raped a woman from Wicklow and was in the process of killing her when he was seen by hunters. Murphy is presumed to be responsible for the abduction and murder of several women in the Dublin/Wicklow/Kildare region. The law is an ass, we all know this, but we must circulate this animal's picture and make sure that everybody knows what he has done and pray that the Gardai manage to collate enough evidence to see him spend the rest of his life rotting in jail. Bring back the death penalty.

This article in the Irish Independent covers the Larry Murphy story really well, read it and be scared: http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/state-to-free-rapist-who-is-huge-threat-to-women-1484538.html

This Sunday World article covers the pathetic 'law' surrounding Murphy's early release and the inability of sex offender legislation to cope with this monster: http://www.sundayworld.com/columnists/?aid=3802

Irish Law Leniant Towards Paedophiles

A 62-year-old former school principal who had hundreds of images of child abuse on his home computer has today been sentenced to three months in prison, but is out on bail pending an appeal.

Tony Canniffe of Rosegarth, Donnybrook, Douglas, Co Cork (pictured left), said he accessed the material after he became depressed and isolated following his retirement. Canniffe is a well-known traditional musician who worked as a teacher and school principal for more than 30 years.

In October, 2008, gardaí discovered 289 images of child abuse and six child ########### movie files on his home computer. Some of these images were classified at the upper end of a scale of seriousness used by investigators, and involved children as young as six.

Why is Irish law so leniant with paedophiles? Consider this: Also today, 25 June 2010, a Belfast man, David John Hughes, 36, of Tates Avenue, has been jailed for five years after being caught with 932 still photographs and 51 movie files of child abuse on his computer.

Irish Parents ask again: Why is Irish law so leniant with paedophiles?

ALERT!

It is feared a high risk ### offender who is wanted for recall to prison in England may now be somewhere on the island of Ireland.

Lancashire police have been searching for William John Paden, 56 (pictured left), since he left an agreed address in Blackpool.

Paden has 19 sexual convictions dating back to 1974, including rape, indecent assault on a child and assault with intent to rape.

He is thought to pose a significant risk of reoffending.

UPDATE: Caden was arrested in Cavan on 31 June 2010. Good job Garda Siochana.

Teenage Disco Exploitation

Email from an Irish Parent:

As my eldest girl is a teenager we gave into the pressure to allow her to go to these teenage discos. She is a sensible girl but we still worry.

First of all I object to the organisers of these events having them end so late. I think 12.30 to 1am is ridiculous for 12 to 16 year olds and not necessary. The likes of Wez and Burn are not concerned once those kids leave their venue they are not responsible for them. I've watched girls as young as 13 and 14 get taxis home alone as parents won't collect them. While waiting for my daughter and her friends to come out of Wez I observed a couple of cars with adult men slow down in traffic to wolf whistle and call obscene sexual suggestions to a few girls who were crossing the road. I shouted at the men and they sped off. But I'm sure outside the likes of Wez is the ideal spot for a paedophile or predatory male. These girls look older but they're not.
Most of them are innocent and unfortunately gullible.

The organisers of the events also make a fortune. They charge these kids €20 a head! Then Burn went out of business before a disco was to be held. They sold 1200 tickets @ €20 and left the kids with no refund. Surely this is illegal. How dare they!

Also I'm shocked that Wez and 21s and burn have outside smoking areas. Surely it's illegal to smoke under the age of 18. Why are they allowed to do this. How dare these people decide that they are going to allow our under age children to smoke.

I know I am ranting but these event organisers make me so mad. It's all about money and exploiting these kids. These kids are trying to be sophisticated and act older than they are and as a consequence they are being treated as adults by strangers and even their own parents
sometimes. They are not adults. They are children. Allow them that.

Problems in pregnancy - how the partner can help

Pregnancy is a miraculous thing and a wonderful time. But there are some 'perfect' mums-to-be out there and they're vocal, telling anyone who'll listen about how easy and natural the whole process is. Good for them but, for partners of women who have difficult and challenging pregnancies, here are some honest truths and how you can help:

Constipation - Ever try to shit out a cannonball? How you can help: Assist mum-to-be to drink plenty of water, eat fruit and veg and take exercise.

Nausea - Smells, tastes, anything can trigger nausea and vomiting. How you can help: If you smoke, quit. Ensure good ventilation when cooking and after number twos. Avoid using chemicals around the home.

Food - Even her favourite foods might make her want to throw up. How you can help: Learn what foods agree with her.

Fatigue - If the pregnant woman is working, expect system failure before the end of the working day. How you can help: Be there to give her a lift home.

Swollen feet - Excessive fluid gathers in the feet. It's called gravity. How you can help: Get her to put her feet up as much as possible, ideally above heart level. Plenty of liquids, fruit, veg and exercise.


For lots of pregnancy tips, we strongly advise you to check out US website www.babycenter.com