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My oldest daughter has been asking me, for some time now, to allow her to open a Facebook account. Hmmm! My reply “You have to be 13, and even then, I’m not absolutely sure!!! Even though am sure, she will learn social skills and make friends and if properly educated, she will learn about online privacy at an early age and will gain some technical proficiency.
I’m not a psychologist, but, I am a parent and in my opinion no child under the age of 13 should have a facebook, twitter, myspace etc account; reason being, such sites were built for the more mature audience!
So, once again, I let my fingers do the walking and after a long search I’ve been introduced to a site that is indeed designed for the little people who are interested in spreading their wings on the World Wide Web.
FBFKids is a non profit, safe, secure, monitored and moderated childrens social networking site, for the protection of our children.
They do very actively monitor activity on FbfKids.Com, mostly 24 x 7. Many times.. kids are banned for inappropriate behaviour with regard to Chats or Messages or Photo Ambum content, The *new Chat is now automated so that it will use “smart” technology to block out any “slamming”.
They have certain A.I. / Fuzzy logic coded to detect spammers and “lurkers” who might be unsafe for the general FBFKids’ user and we actively block these people using all the technology-smarts that they have available.
One of the Admins “Mother Hen” spends an enormous amount of her waking time monitoring any traffic going on through FBFKids. She is also a Mother of a 5 year old. FBFKids.com was created for her own child to play safely. Another Admin “MasterJack” routinely scans activity going on through FBFKids to ensure *safety for all children.
Please note, FBFKids is part of the fbfworld group FBF World and is not asocciated with Facebook.
Read: Practice Safe Social Networking
Common complaints heard from older generations about younger generations state that they are speed-obsessed, too casual and informal, unappreciative of traditional ways of doing things, and technology dependent . On the flip side, younger generations complain that older generations are out of date, stuck in their ways, too stiff, and not tech savvy.
If you are 30, or older, you might think this is hilarious!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twentyfive miles to school every morning…. Uphil…. Barefoot…. BOTH ways…. yadda, yadda, yadda.
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they’ve got it!
But now that I’m over the ripe old age of 30, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today. You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don’t know how good you’ve got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
Child Protective Services didn’t care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!
There were no MP3′s or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car.. We’d play our favorite tape and “eject” it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that’s how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that’s it!
There weren’t any freakin’ mobile phones either. If you left the house, you just didn’t make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your “friens”. OH MY GOD!!! Think of the horror…. not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there’s TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent…. you just didn’t know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn’t have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Arari 2600! With games like ‘Space Invaders’ and ‘Asteroids’. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen…. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what’s the world coming to?!?!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I’m saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!
And we didn’t have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
And our parents told us to stay outside and play…. all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside…. you were doing chores!
And car seats – oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were luckily, you got the “safety arm” across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling “shot gun” in the first place!
See! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn’t have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or any time before!
Many women I know, have always dreamed of being mothers; I, on the other hand did not spent my youth mothering other children or even imagining I will be a mum one day. I had no idea what my future held but I was sure education and a career were part of the plan.
So to my surprise, I was quite taken by the feelings surrounding me after the birth of both my girls.
As a mother, I believe parenting is the most complex and demanding work. Parenting does not have a destination and it is full of positive and negative, times of joy and exhilaration, also times of despair and complete unknowing. It is an enormous responsibility, however, the most rewarding.
I continuously give my best to provide for my girls’ physical and emotional needs, to comfort and guide them. Attitude, views, goals, perspective on life, I feel, depends on what they learn from both their father and I.
My girls did not come with a manual or set of instructions, however, in my case they did bring out the very best in me and most important the child in me. They have certainly changed my attitude towards life and through them I have learned more about my self; so I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for making me feel like:
I, besides their father, am the most important and at certain times the only person in the world…. “As long as you’re here mum, we are happy.”
I’m the most beautiful, talented and smart woman, afterall who knows better!?…. “Mum, you’re lucky! You’re smart and beautiful at the same time.” Hmmmm!!!
I’m the sunshine that never fades away…. “Mum you keep the dark away.”
My eyes are their mirror…. “Oh my God mum, I can see my self in your eyes!”
I’m a hero in every shape or form…. “Don’t worry, Mum is here and she wouldn’t let anything happen to us.”
My love is a gift…. “Not interested in a big present mum. Your love is the best gir, but if you’re interested to know an iPod touch I wouln’t mind!!!!”
I’m not simply a working mother, but a working miracle….“I love my mum because she does everything for me and my sister and daddy and other people.”
My voice is the sweetest sound…. “I like when you read to me mum, you’re voice makes me fall asleep.”
When I kiss, my heart speaks…. “I like when mum gives me big kisses, because they show how much she loves me”.
My hugs are a safety net…. “Hug me mum, I’m scared!”.
I feel a mother’s love is the child’s net, but, a child’s love is the mother’s world…. her world!
Were would I bee without my family has never been my query, how would I be without my family has though!! My family is everything to me, my world itself, a world that I ardour… a world in which I am honored and delighted to be part of.
Marchi
School years are special, and as a mother my self, I do my best to support my child as she moves through primary school. Get organised for school with the school holiday dates in mind, tutoring advice, lunch box ideas, sport too much, language classes, and yes the list goes on!
I also believe working with children is both demanding and rewarding. During the ‘middle years’ children are very excited to engage with the outside world. They want to absorb as much information as they can, and are very enthusiastic learners. They may become obsessed with a topic, and will be able to impress you with their recall of minute detail.
But can anyone prepare you for this….
For homework, a class in NSW were asked to draw their parents at work.
This is Jessica’s drawing:
Here’s the letter to the teacher received the next day:
Dear Mrs. Asman,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at *Bunnings and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week after the floods hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had and then I found one more in stock and several people were fighting over who would get it.
Here picture doesn’t show me dancing around a pole. It’s supposed to depict me selling the last shovel we had in the store. From now on I will remember to check her homework before she hands it in.
Sincerely,
Samantha Smith
Be Well!!!!
*Bunnings – hardware chain.
A group of professionals posed this question to a group of four to eight year old kids. The answers they got wee broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined…..
 “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s LOVE.” ~ Rebecca 8
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth” ~ Billy 4
“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl 5
“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of you French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” ~ Terri 4
“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” ~ Danny 7
“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.” ~ Emily 8
“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” ~ Bobby 7
“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” ~ Nikka 6
“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, and he wears it everyday.” ~ Noelle 7
“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” ~ Tommy 6
“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” ~ Clare 6
“Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken.” ~ Elaine 5
“Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” ~ Chris 7
“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” ~ Mary Ann 4
“I know my older sister loves me because she give me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” ~ Lauren 4
“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” ~ Karen 7
“Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” ~ Mark 6
“You really shouldn’t say “I love you” unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” ~ Jessica 8
And the final one was a four your old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he said to the neighbor, the little boy said…
“Nothing, I just helped him CRY.”
What do YOU think Love is?
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