Be Careful With What You Encourage Your Kids To Read

A few days ago, actually it might have been a few weeks ago (I've been ill, busy and not really been paying attention to dates and really don't care to be honest), there was a big news story in Scotland when the police raided what they deemed to be the big drug dealers and put them in jail.
Personally I didn't see the point. The smaller dealers more than likely just became bigger players overnight.
However the raids did have me questioning something. That being how come after all the years that parents, teachers and politicians have told us that drugs are bad, wrong and whatever else that drugs are still a blight on society.
Thanks to the help of next doors cute 4 year old kid I came up with a theory. As with most my theories there is probably no real truth to it but I'll share with you anyway because that's just the kind of guy I am. I've decided, after a lot of thought (about 2 minutes worth) that its all the parents fault. Even those good parents who tell their kids to just say "no". Especially those good parents if they are the type that like to read to their kids in their formulative years. Why? Well those parents who may tell their kids of the dangers of drugs during the years of 8 - 18 probably screwed it up during the years of 0 - 7. Confused messages during two different periods in a child's development.
The confusion begins with nursery rhymes. They seem harmless enough at first but think about it. Snow White & the seven dwarfs. At a young age I questioned the origins of the names of those seven dwarfs. I'm not sure I can remember them all but I'll try - Dopey, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful (almost forgot him), Doc, Grumpy, and Happy. Not normal names I'm sure you agree, in fact a little bit bizarre but when you put them into context with Snow White you may well think in the right frame of mind (weird like me) that Snow White may well be a dealer. The confusion for the child doesn't end there. What about Hansel & Gretal and the gingerbread house? Alice In Wonderland? Peter Pan? Look deep enough and drugs are everywhere in kids stories. Or is it just me....

People Say The Stupidiest Things

Today was Budget day in the UK and is always the case when a new budget is announced reporters hit the streets to ask the general public how it affected them.

The following was one reaction to today's budget,

"I don't think it was a very child friendly budget, I mean in one hand I got more child benefit but it was all taken away again in the rise in duty of fuel, cigarettes and alcohol."