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 7 year old's wish comes true as he has lunch with his superheroes Oliver Butt is a seven-year-old who was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. He is a very big fan of superheroes and when he was asked what he would want as his special wish, he chose to have lunch with superheroes. This was something that was made possible by the Make a Wish Foundation, which is an organisation put in place in order to give young people with life-threatening conditions a final wish. The foundation arranged for him to have a surprise lunch with his favourite superheroes. This event involved several people wearing costumes including Batman, Spiderman, Batgirl, and Supergirl. After the lunch events, Oliver was taken for a ride around the town in the Batmobile by Batman. After being diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, Oliver endured nine months of intensive chemotherapy followed by two and half years of maintenance treatment which came to an end last month. Oliver will still continue to go to the hospital for regular check-ups. Kylie added: “A huge thank you to Make-A-Wish. The wish was wonderful; it was really special not just for Oliver but for all of us because we felt like a family again.” There are currently 20,000 children and young people in the UK fighting a life-threatening condition and this year alone 1,400 children will turn to Make-A-Wish to have their wish granted. The charity needs to raise £6.8 million in 2012 to achieve this. To make a donation to Make-A-Wish please visit www.make-a-wish.org.uk or telephone 01276 40 50 60 The impact of losing sleep can be far more serious for toddlers than previously thought, according to a new study from the Children’s National Medical Center in the US. Dr Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at the Washington institution, told local radio station WTOP that research has suggested a lack of sleep can do more than make little ones grumpy – it can even affect their cognitive development. “We think loss has really profound consequences, not only on things like behaviour and learning, but also on things like metabolic function,” she said. “We talk about the sort of the pillars of good health being physical activity, and good diet. But sleep should rank right up there as part of that three-legged stool for good health.” According to the centre, toddlers need around 12 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, and if they can’t have a nap during the day, they need to make up for at night. Signs that a child isn’t getting enough sleep include irritability, hyperactivity and occasionally aggressive behaviour, said Dr Owens. Most kids stop needing an afternoon nap from around age four onwards, but if your child still wants to sleep at this time, it’s recommended to let them. Making sure your child gets a good night’s sleep isn’t always straightforward – especially when they don’t want to go to bed! Try to encourage a consistent bedtime ritual, beginning with a bath or reading them a story, to get them into the habit of falling asleep by themselves. Don’t let them watch TV or play videogames for at least two hours before bed. An appropriate children’s bed, like those available from Time4Sleep, is essential, and use a nightlight rather than leaving the lights on if they’re afraid of the dark. A website dedicated to creating photo books has recently launched a competition which is entitled, Tiny Artist of the Year. The idea behind this competition is to find young artists in the UK who are aged under eight. Children with the ability to draw or finger paint are going to be encouraged to enter the competition by uploading and showing off their various creations. The idea behind the competition is to find the most talented young artist and award them for their achievements. The competition has been launched by the popular website, www.MyMemory.com, and is going to be welcoming entries in the near future. There are two separate categories to reflect the skills of the young artists, an under five category, and a category for those children aged between six and eight years old. The competition will be run on the MyMemory.com Facebook page, where parents are encouraged to upload scans or pictures of their little ones’ artistic creations. All abilities and artistic persuasions are encouraged to enter, with no need to worry about ‘colouring within the lines’ or baring any resemblance to an object. The competition simply aims to bring little ones’ pictures off the fridge and onto the web for the world to see; be they incredibly intricate, or just slightly on the funny side. Once uploaded, the entries will be collected and judged by a panel of professional artists including Andy Coutanche, a world-renowned beach artist whose sand creations have been featured in publications across the world, and mixed media artist Jill Tovey, a published artist and mother of three. Winners of the two age categories will win £200 each to spend across the MyMemory.com website. Rebecca Huggler, Co-Founder of MyMemory.com, said the following about the competition: “So often the artistic creations of little ones are confined to the household fridge, so we wanted to devise a competition that would help parents show off their mini Picassos to get the recognition they deserve, as we regularly have parents using the MyMemory site to make photo books of their little one’s creations. The competition isn’t about skill or in any way picky; we want parents of all children, be they toddlers, youngsters or even babies to get involved and upload their children’s pictures- with all abilities from scribbles to masterpieces welcome!” She continued: “We’re thrilled to have Andy Coutanche and Jill Tovey on board to judge the entries, with a prize of £200 for the crowned ‘Tiny Artist of the Year’ winners. We don’t care if you stay in the lines here; creativity is key, so show off your mini artists’ masterpieces!” LINK: http://www.facebook.com/MyMemoryPhoto http://www.MyMemory.com Once toddlers gain some independence a big concern for parents is helping them sleep on their own. Some parents will decide to have their toddlers sleep with them for a time, and that is okay. While it is a joy to watch children grow up there are some safety and health concerns that parents have about sleep routines The objective is simply to ensure children and parents get a restful night’s sleep. In time, all toddlers are able to sleep independently but some planning and thought is sometimes necessary to ensure this happens. Raising children is a big task, and some planning will help. From the beginning, ensure your child knows you are serious about bedtime routines. Consistency and commitment to your plan is all important. For example, if your toddler refuses to stay in their bedroom, return them as many times as is needed; this may require perseverance, but it will bring results eventually. A regular routine at bedtime is essential, and should be thirty minutes or less. This can include reading stories, singing songs or just quietly talking. Some variation is good, but gently say goodnight when time is up. Some parents use a reward system with good results. The important thing to remember is that you cannot make your child sleep, so don’t try. What you can do is enforce a bedtime routine, which will encourage sleep. One more option is to wait until your child falls asleep. This will nearly always work, but it may create problems for you both later on. If your toddler becomes used to you being in the room before falling asleep, independent sleeping later may be difficult. While this may be an easy option, try to resist it if you can. Teenage pregnancy rates have long been a concern and it has even been suggested that young women should be given access to contraception from the age of thirteen. Yet it is hard to establish the true picture based on reports in the news media. Recently, two leading newspapers reported contrasting results for teen and underage pregnancies. The Guardian, relying on information from the Office of National Statistics, reports that for women 15-17 years of age the rate of pregnancies per thousand was 35.5 and this is the lowest since 1969. The decrease in the number of pregnancies was 9.5 percent over the same period, although this figure can be a misleading statistic because much can depend on variables such as population increases or immigration inflows. It can be difficult to determine trends from official statistics but a fuller analysis of the data indicates that teenage pregnancies have also declined over a longer period of time, with a decrease of nearly 25 percent since 1998. The Guardian states the overall trend for teenage pregnancies is down and it would be difficult to disagree with this claim. In comparison, The Sun reports that underage pregnancy rates are “soaring”. Although The Sun focuses on underage rather than general teenage pregnancies, these also appear to be declining. The ONS analysis reports a reduction in underage pregnancies of 7 percent, and reduced rate per thousand from 7.5 to 7.0. The claim from The Sun that underage pregnancies are increasing is hard to confirm from official figures, and it would be interesting to know what data they are basing their report on. The report from The Guardian on teenage pregnancies seems to be more consistent with official figures, which appear to confirm a drop in both teenage and underage pregnancies over a significant period of time.  Under 5's have interesting views on the Queen and the Royal Family 2012 is a year that is seeing a lot of patriotism as the Olympic Games are being held in the UK and it is also the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. For this reason, toy companies are beginning to capitalise on this and a company which creates miniature scooters for children have created a scooter that has a Union Jack theme. The company also recently conducted a survey which involved over 700 children and it looked at whether the children recognise members of the Royal family. For the most part, the children, who were aged under five, recognised the Queen, but they were not so good at identifying other members of the Royal family. Who is the Queen married to? • Union Jack 39% • Prince Philip 37% • Prince Charles 24% • Her husband 14% Who is Prince Edward? • A potato 47% • The Queen’s son 21% • A brand of salmon 20% • A pub 12% What does the Queen do? • Help run the country 63% • Travel & meet people 16% • Clean Buckingham Palace 12% • Have parties 9% Why is our flag a red white and blue design? • Queen’s favourite colours 64% • America got first choice for the nicest flag 15% • They look nice together 6% • Combined flags of England, Wales & Scotland 5% Why is everyone celebrating the Jubilee? • Because the Queen is a diamond 35% • Because the Queen has reigned for 60 years 35% • Because of the Olympics 22% • Because people like street parties 8% How long has the Queen been on the throne? • 60 years 54% • 160 years 34% • What’s a throne 10% • 6 months 2% www.micro-scooters.co.uk also took on board children’s views on colourways for their new range of Union Jack scooters. Young children didn’t want scooters featuring the British flag – instead they wanted blocks of red, white and blue teamed with black. However, they gave the thumbs up to a range of cool Britannia-themed accessories including Union Jack bottle holders and bags. When people think of the United Kingdom, they’ll probably think of two major institutions, the Royal family and tea. These are two things that we have become internationally famous for and this year marks the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. There are many events being organised this year in order to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and people will be buying many special types of typically British foods to enjoy during the occasion. One of the best things you can do to celebrate this landmark year is to purchase tea that has been specially created in order to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. A Diamond Jubilee tea blend is a way to celebrate the anniversary of the coronation of the Queen in a unique way. What better place would there be to look for tea than the famous British tea company, Twinings. This company recently introduced this range of tea which is a blend of some of the finest loose-leaf teas. The tea has been blended by the experts at Twinings to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the different teas are available in a wide range of options. When you buy this tea, you are not only going to be buying a wonderfully refreshing beverage, but you’re also going to be buying a piece of history. The tea comes in a special caddy that has been designed to celebrate the occasion and it is available in three different colours blue, green and pink. The tea caddies are delightfully decorated and the gold decorations around each box are very reminiscent of tea caddies that were popular in the past. The tea caddies can either come in cube or cylinder shapes, depending on which you prefer. Of course, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee can also be a good excuse to give people gifts, and if you are looking for the perfect gift to give them this tea would be it. If you’re feeling generous, it is also possible to give the tea is part of the gift set, as it can come in a three pack which will include all of the different colours of tea. The tea is an Assam blend which comes from China. It is a very popular tea in the UK and has been drunk ever a very long time. It is known for its rich malty flavour but smooth and mellow taste, if you are seeking a tea which tastes typically British, then this is it. More specifically, the tea is sourced from the Brahmaputra Valley and only the finest tea leaves are picked and exported for use in the beverage. So if you are looking for the perfect gift to celebrate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth being on the throne, or looking for a delightful tea to make a celebratory dinner more perfect, this tea is the perfect choice for you. Available as a single item, or in a three pack, and in three different colours, there is sure to be an option to suit your needs. Article published on behalf of Twinings who also produce both Green Tea and White Tea. A recent study that has been conducted in Scotland among young people has shown that they are starting to adopt a more healthy lifestyle. The research has been conducted by St Andrews University and it has is found that youngsters are using less cannabis and smoking less tobacco than they were around five years ago. The research involved children who were aged between 11 and 15 years old and the study was conducted across nearly 40 countries. The study also looked at other behaviours that can affect health, such as consumption of fizzy drinks and sweets. The study also looked at how often children conduct healthy habits such as exercise and brushing their teeth. A researcher from the study has commented, “The study also showed that as these children are starting to live a healthier lifestyle, their overall satisfaction with life is increasing. The study showed that compare to 5 years ago the number of young people happy with their lives has increased significantly. The study also showed the children feel less socially isolated and have more friends.” The study did however highlight that alcohol consumption among teenagers has increased, as have the number of people having unprotected sex. A recent survey showed the number of teenagers who are smoking cannabis has increased and it is estimated that around 10 percent of teenagers are smoking at least 20 times every month. This report has been conducted by Drugfree.org and has shown that the use of cannabis is increasing, but the abuse of prescription medication is falling. The study has highlighted that much of this is down to poor parenting and that parents are generally taking a blind eye to their children doing soft drugs, such as cannabis or pills. Parents are generally more scared about their children getting hooked on drugs they view as dangerous such as heroin or cocaine. The website which conducted the survey however stated that it is important that parents that their children know how even doing soft drugs can be dangerous and unhealthy. The survey also showed that the increase in methamphetamine and cocaine use that was being seen in the last few years has levelled off. However, in the last four years marijuana use has increased by eight percent. This is something that the website say is alarming, and it is also more alarming how often the children who smoke drugs are doing it. It is estimated that around 1.5 million teenagers in the UK smoke drugs on a regular basis. One respondent to the survey who is aged 17, said that he started smoking cannabis four years ago with his friends on the weekend. Alex wrote, “I really like the feeling that it gives me. I feel everything is great and funny and it’s really great way to brighten up my weekend.” Unfortunately, Alex took things too far and ended up blacking out at school from abusing prescription drugs and was forced to attend rehab. Alex was sober for two years, but recently broke once again and smoked pot for the first time since leaving rehab. Despite this relapse, he says that he is hoping to lead a more sober life than he had before. This increasing use of marijuana is something that officials are very disappointed with as previous surveys showed that the number of people smoking it was declining. Parents should realise that it is likely the children who start on soft drugs are going to move on to hard drugs. Studies have shown that children who smoke cannabis are twice as likely to try drugs such as crack cocaine. |
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