Parents should have lessons provided by the government

'Parenting and Public Health' - Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown from curious ostrich on Vimeo.

Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown seems to come from the same school as Sir Harry Burns when she talks about the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the life course but she does admit that adverse events occur in all social groups although at a higher level in disadvantaged groups.

"Research evidence has a great power to persuade," she says; but it is unclear what the data is telling us or what the audience is being persuaded to do; other than propagating the myth of the first three years.

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Recent pronouncements are more forthright:

"Parents should have lessons provided by the government on how to raise their children, Britain's leading public health expert has said."

"Professor John Ashton, outgoing president of the Faculty of Public Health (FPH), said children were neglected by some schools and parents..."

"One in 10 children aged five to 16 years had a mental health problem that warranted support and treatment, the report said."

"And the quality of the parent-child relationship and parenting more broadly played a primary role..."

"Prof Sarah Stewart-Brown, who produced the report, said diet and activity played a role in mental health but `supporting parenting is key. The first 1,001 days of a child's life are particularly important`."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36539279?platform=hootsuite


See Revisiting "The Myth of the First Three Years" [John T. Bruer, Ph.D]

https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/parentingculturestudies/files/2011/09/Special-briefing-on-The-Myth.pdf 

Parents arrested for leaving children alone for short periods

"Parents who leave 15-year-old children alone for short periods are being arrested on suspicion of neglect, it has emerged."

"While the majority of cases involve infants, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, have revealed that some of those involved are as old as 15."

"At the moment law on the issue is vague with legislation simply stating that a parent or guardian can be prosecuted if they leave a child unsupervised in a manner like to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health."

"There is no mention of what age it is deemed safe to leave a young person alone, so when matters are reported it is often left up to the individual officer to make a decision on whether to take action."

"With police action usually triggering intervention from the social services, campaigners are demanding more clarity so parents know where they stand."

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"In 2004 Tim Haines from Worcestershire was arrested and charged with neglect after leaving his two-year-old daughter in his car for five minutes as he popped into a chemist."

"He was subsequently convicted at magistrate's court and faced a lengthy battle to stop his five children being taken into care."

"He eventually had the conviction overturned on appeal."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/12193955/Parents-of-15-year-olds-arrested-for-leaving-them-unattended.html

The early years matter to policy makers

 

The Early Years Matter – FACT. That is according to Professor Susan Deacon`s independent report which by some extraordinary coincidence apes many other independent reports globally.

"The period before birth and in the early months and years of life has a profound impact on a child’s life, on their physical, mental and emotional development and, in turn, their life chances. Our intuition tells us that. A vast body of research and evidence proves it beyond doubt. So investing our time, energy and resource in a child’s Early Years makes sense – for the individual, the family, society and the economy."

"We know - not think, but KNOW - that a greater focus and investment on Early Years and early intervention - particularly where a child’s needs are greatest - provides a real prospect of turning this situation around. If we don’t act now, if we just do more of the same, we will simply stack up problems for the future."

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/343337/0114216.pdf

There is no evidence to support this way of KNOWING.  If the `Solihull approach rap` sounds ridiculous, that is because it is. Yet the Named Person is expected to accept the myth of the first three years without question.

"Challenging the prevailing myth-heralded by the national media, Head Start, and the White House-that the most crucial brain development occurs between birth and age three, Bruer explains why relying on the zero to three standard threatens a child's mental and emotional well-being far more than missing a few sessions of toddler gymnastics. Too many parents, educators, and government funding agencies, he says, see these years as our main opportunity to shape a child's future. Bruer agrees that valid scientific studies do support the existence of critical periods in brain development, but he painstakingly shows that these same brain studies prove that learning and cognitive development occur throughout childhood and, indeed, one's entire life."

https://www.jsmf.org/about/j/myth_of_the_first_three_years.htm

Read more https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/bruer-myth.html

High Court rules in favour of dad

"A High Court ruling supporting a dad who took his child on holiday in term time could pave the way for other parents to do the same."

"Jon Platt refused to pay a £120 fine for taking his daughter to Florida."

"He said it was the principle rather than the cost as he believed he shouldn’t be criminalised when his six-year-old had regular attendance during the rest of the year."

"The issue of the fine, which was originally £60 and then doubled because of his refusal to pay, went before the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court in October last year."

"Mr Platt won his case, but the local authority appealed the decision in the High Court - and top judges ruled in the dad’s favour."

"On Friday, Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Mrs Justice Thirlwall dismissed the council’s challenge, ruling that the magistrates had `not erred in law` when reaching their decision."

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/school-term-time-holiday-ruling-11329156

Parents must not opt out children from RE classes

"Headteachers have demanded that parents lose the legal right to withdraw their children from religious education."

"School leaders will call on the government to revoke the law allowing parents to opt out of classes after a motion was overwhelmingly carried at the National Association of Head Teachers annual conference in Birmingham this morning."

"Delegates argued that giving parents a choice to take their children out of religious education (RE) undermines the teaching of ‘British values’ – a core part of the government’s strategy to tackle radicalisation."

"Speaking to the motion, which calls for school leaders to be given greater power to force children to attend RE lessons, headteacher, Hilary Alcock stressed it was the `vital element of education in the 21st century.`"

"The head of Buntingsdale Primary School and Nursery, Tern Hill, added that `parents may not always know what is best` for their children."

^{https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/heads-call-parents-lose-legal-right-withdraw-children-re-lessons}

How many atheists are radicalised ?

Glasgow hospital studies alcohol products in babies

"Newborn babies are being tested for alcohol after researchers raised concerns about pregnant women drinking regularly."

"Samples from hundreds of babies born at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow are being studied for alcohol by-products."

"Results suggest about 40% of mothers consume some alcohol while pregnant..."

"The study found that about 15% of women drink more than one or two small glasses of wine a week during pregnancy."

"The Scottish government warns that drinking in pregnancy can lead to long-term harm to the baby. And the more alcohol consumed, the greater the risk..."

"Mothers will also be asked to complete a lifestyle questionnaire."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-36168729

From the British Pregnancy Advisory Service

29 April 2016

"This appears to be a worrying development in what is now the increasing policing of pregnancy. It is known that consuming large quantities of alcohol throughout pregnancy can result in lifelong learning disabilities, but little evidence of this at lower levels. It is unclear how the information gathered in this study will be used, and whether this will set a precedent for more widespread testing of babies - in order to `test` their mothers' claims of how much [they] drank while pregnant." 

"The growing trend towards monitoring pregnant women, and blaming all issues that children face on their mothers' behaviour in pregnancy, is something that should concern all of us involved in women's reproductive healthcare and advocacy. Pregnant women need support, not surveillance and snooping."

https://www.bpas.org/about-our-charity/press-office/press-releases/bpas-comment-on-newborns-in-scotland-being-tested-for-alcohol/

How will the Named Person respond to a mother`s alleged false claims about her drinking during pregnancy ?

Creativity

Maternity, Mary Cassatt, 1890. Cassatt never married nor had children. It would have been impossible in her era to mix her career and a family.

Sorry about the delayed post. I was busy caring for a baby.

Actually, I’m not all that sorry. After all, all other creativity derives from this fundamental beginning of life. The word “create” derives from the Latin creare: ‘to make, bring forth, produce, beget,’ and is related to crescere: ‘arise, grow.’ My etymology dictionary also links the latter to the Greek kouros (boy), and kore (girl), but I’ll take that with a grain of salt.

Most of the artists I know are childless, and the ones who do have children struggle to resolve the demands of their careers with the demands of parenting. Not that this isn’t true of all careers, but there’s something about the creative impulse that seems to channel in one direction or another. I’m an outlier because not only do I have kids, I have a lot of them.

Breakfast in Bed, Mary Cassatt, 1897. 

My daughter had a difficult delivery and I’m back in Pittsfield helping her until I’m sure she’s recovered.

We Americans have a weird attitude toward parenting. In trying to give women equal access to the marketplace, we’ve relegated parenting to the status of a hobby or a part-time job. Done right, it’s difficult work, demanding high levels of organization, energy, intelligence and time. My daughter is a well-paid professional, and I don’t want to see her dump her career to stay home. But having worked through my own parenting years, I also don’t want to see her wandering around in a fog of exhaustion, either.

But enough of this. Junior needs changing and his mom needs her meds before we start the round of doctor’s office, visiting nurse, visiting specialist. This baby stuff is a lot of work.

Baby Reaching For An Apple, Mary Cassatt, 1893

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