Woman Commits Suicide After Kids Fail Exams April 19, 2010
Posted by bitchwantstea in News.Tags: children, delhi, education, exams, mother, railway, report cards, school, suicide, train
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A mother of three from Delhi is reported to have thrown herself under a train after learning that her children had failed their school exams.
Anjana, 32, went to collect their report cards on Saturday morning. When she did not return home, a search was launched. Eventually her body was found on a railway track, clutching a bag containing the three report cards – detailing that all of her children had failed.
A family member said Anjana had told her eldest son that she would not return home if the results were not up to her expectations.
Parents at the school said this was another tragic case of high expectations not being fulfilled in this highly competitive world.
More here.
Primark Criticsed for ‘Premature Sexualisation’ of Children April 15, 2010
Posted by bitchwantstea in Fashion / Beauty, Sex / Relationships.Tags: asda, banned, bikini top, childhood, children, clothing, girls, sexualisation, tesco, withdrawl
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Primark has fallen into hot water again, and this time it’s not for allegations on child labour.
The clothing chain has recently withdrawn sale of its padded bikini tops aimed at girls as young as seven.
The £4 bikini sets came in candy pink with gold stars and black with white polka dots.
The Children’s Society criticised Primark for “premature sexualisation and unprincipled advertising”.
The retailer apologised to customers for “causing offence” and said it would donate profits to a children’s charity.
Primark, which is well-known for its heavily discounted brands, has 138 UK stores and 38 in Ireland.
It is the latest chain to face criticism over products considered too adult for youngsters.
Asda has been singled out for a push-up bra aimed at young girls, and Tesco withdrew a pole-dancing kit from its toys section.
Sad, but not surprising…
Videogames And Cartoons Used To Shock School Children About Violence April 12, 2010
Posted by bitchwantstea in Arts, Film / TV, News, Tech / Science.Tags: children, desensitised, education, grand theft auto, gta, itchy and scratchy, primary school, real life, violence, virtual
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18-rated videogame ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and gory cartoon ‘The Itchy And Scratchy Show’ are both being used to demonstrate the difference between real and virtual violence to primary school children in Merseyside.
Children are shown stills of scenes including a gun being fired through a car window and a man brandishing a sword, and then asked to categorise them as ‘good real life’, ‘bad real life’ and ‘not real.’
The idea behind it is to stop children becoming desensitized to violent behavior and teach them about its consequences in real life.
What do you think, BWT readers? Is this scheme a brilliant idea, or a waste of time and money?
More here.
When Colouring Books Go Bad March 19, 2010
Posted by bitchwantstea in Arts, Bizarre.Tags: children, colouring books, colouring rage, drawing, hello kitty, mental, my little pony, the hulk
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If the eyes are the door to the soul, then the colouring book is the door to the psychiatrist’s office – especially based on these doodles.
It really takes a lot of dedication to turn sweet and cute Hello Kitty into a raging pyromaniac. Definately a +1 for creativity. But just to be safe, we’ll be sleeping with a kitchen knife under our pillow for a little while, okay?
Via BuzzFeed
The Age of Criminality March 14, 2010
Posted by bitchwantstea in News, Politics.Tags: children, children's commissioner, criminal responsibility, denise fergus, james bulger, jon venables, mark thompson, ministry of justice, resignation, sacking
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Denise Fergus, mother of toddler James Bulger, who was abducted and then killed by Jon Venables and Mark Thompson in 1993, has called for the resignation or sacking of England’s children’s commissioner Maggie Atkinson.
Ms Atkinson recently suggested James’s killers should not have been prosecuted because, aged ten, they were too young. Instead they should have undergone “programmes” to help turn their lives around.
The age of criminal responsibility (meaning, the age in which children can be tried in an adult court) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is currently set at ten years old. But Ms Atkinson argued most children at that age did not fully understand their actions.
In Europe, the age of responsibility is set between fourteen and sixteen years old for many countries.
Ms Atkinson told the Times newspaper: “What [Venables and Thompson] did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget, but they shouldn’t have been tried in an adult court because they were still children.”
However, she later issued a statement in which she said she wished to put into context her views on “such terrible atrocities” as James Bulger’s killers and two young brothers who tortured other children in Edlington.
But Mrs Fergus is now demanding that Ms Atkinson either resign or be sacked for being “twisted and insensitive.”
She said: “They committed an adult crime – a cold-blooded murder that was planned and premeditated – and they were tried accordingly.”
Either way, calls for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised were rejected by the Ministry of Justice.
What do you think, BWT readers? Should Venables and Thompson have been tried in an adult court? And in the wider scheme of things, can a ten year old truly understand the gravity of their actions?
A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Day Care February 26, 2010
Posted by bitchwantstea in Bizarre.Tags: bartering, children, cockatoo, donna louise greenwell, parental fail, trading
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You know what it’s like – you’re trying to concentrate on something important, but the kids are going nuts. “Mummy,I want a pony!” “Mummy, where do babies come from?” “Mummy, why is Daddy crying in the bath?” Sometimes, you just want to get rid of them…
Donna Louise Greenwell certainly did. And she succeeded – by trading two young children in her care, in return for some cash and a cockatoo.
Greenwell, 53, was sentenced on Monday to 15 months of hard labour on two counts of ‘sale of a minor’.
According to authorities, Greenwell called the buyers – Paul J. Romero, 46, and Brandy Lynn Romero, 27 – early last year after seeing a flyer they posted offering a cockatoo for sale, and offered to deliver the children for about $2,000 (£1,300). When the Romeros said they could not afford that, a deal was stuck for the bird, valued at $1,500 (about £975), plus cash.
The two children, a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, had been in Greenwell’s custody for over a year when she sold them. The children had been ‘abandoned to her care,’ according to a lawyer for Greenwell, and neither the children’s’ mother or father could be found.
BWT may jest, but it’s actually quite a tragic story for these two poor kids. We hope they find someone who can give them the love they deserve very soon.
Parents Ignoring DVD & Videogame Ratings January 6, 2010
Posted by bitchwantstea in Film / TV, News, Tech / Science.Tags: bbfc, children, dvd, pegi, ratings, survey, videogames
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If you’re a gamer, you’ll be no stranger to the deluge of news stories constantly telling you that your hobby is corrupting the nation’s children, turning them into lazy, angry, future serial killers. But now a survey conducted by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has discovered what we already suspected – that 39% of parents are ignoring BBFC and PEGI ratings by allowing their children to play 18-rated titles, despite not being suitable for their age group.
Videogame ratings work in a similar manner to ratings on DVDs – each one must have a rating, and will inform the wannabe-purchaser if it contains content such as violence, drugs or sexual connotations. And also unsurprisingly, DVD ratings are getting ignored too – with a whopping 53% of those surveyed admitting they let their kiddies watch 18-rated films.
Of course, every child is different and develops at different speeds. But it’s hard not to feel concerned when you see a parent happily hand over £40 so their eleven year old can play titles like Grand Theft Auto IV or Modern Warfare 2. Ratings are there for your benefit, folks. Use them!
Bitch Wants Tea 