Archive for the ‘Children Stories’ Category

Lessons from books are great, but children learn through play far better than they do in other forms. There are several reasons for this. At the heart of it is their desire to learn. When learning is not so much work but is fun, children are more willing to participate. They want to jump in and have a good time. As a parent, the more that you can teach through play, the more that your child will retain later on. While some skills need to be taught formally, such as math facts and reading, there are still great ways to teach through play.

Children learn through various methods, but often their physical and social world teaches them the most. Even small infants learn this way. Parents can enhance a young child’s learning process by giving them a variety of ways to learn through sight, touch, taste and smell. For infants, play the games that children love, such as peek a boo and other interactions that teach cause and effect. It also teaches them how to interact socially with their families.

As children grow older, they still need stimulation. Remember, kids having fun gives them an added incentive to do the activity you want them to. Pretend play is one of the core elements of the development of imagination. Pack up a truck full of great costumes (you can pick these up very inexpensively after Halloween) and encourage both boys and girls to play. What you will find is that many of the role playing games they play now are direct reflections of the experiences they have had. For example, a child who may be going to daycare for the first time, may practice leaving her baby doll at a pretend daycare. The act is helpful, but the conversations they have of telling the doll that “mommy will be back very soon” will help them later to deal with their fears of being left. Encourage this type of play.

Child’s play through the years changes even more so. During preschool and kindergarten, one of the best ways to teach a child is through stories and pictures. They learn to interact with each other as well as with the outside world. For example, set the stage for a great adventure story. Read them the story during the morning hours. Then, give them a few ideas and let them act out the story in their own way. You can teach many of the fundamentals in this manner, everything from manners to helping those in need.


Other activities to encourage helping children learn through play include:

· Craft projects: they explore their talents and explore texture, dimension, color and shapes

· Dance: They explore their physical bodies and stay physically fit

· Building with blocks: Everything from wooden blocks to Lego’s helps children to learn structure, dimension, balance, and help them to grow their imagination.

· Drawing: Use various types of mediums from paints to pencil to help them to learn numbers, letters, shapes and much more

These activities can incorporate other skills, too. For example, perhaps an art project can center around a specific letter of the alphabet. Do not be elaborate, but do be dramatic.

Kids having fun is something you definitely want to consider for the long term. For example, children who are nine years old and up need to develop great reasoning skills and need to learn to think strategically. They also need to develop good social skills. Great ways for kids having fun through these lessons can be anything from fun science projects to advanced building sets done in teams and even 3-D puzzles. Encourage computer projects and video games as well. Unbelievably, the video game they love to play is teaching them great hand eye coordination (assuming that the content within it is appropriate.)

How children learn through play is really up to you, their parent. Encouraging them to play, pretend, and learn all go hand in hand. The skills most children learn at these early ages are not just their math facts and their ABC’s, but they are the foundations of how to learn, how to interact with other people, and how to explore, reason and strategize. These items will carry on with them throughout their lives.

Ivana Katz
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/how-children-learn-through-play-714255.html

Monitoring and Protection Software

When you have something as serious as child internet safety, parents want nothing but the best internet protection software. However, it may not be an easy task to manage. There are many software programs that claim to be the best one for internet protection.

In order to determine the best one, parents may have to try out several different software programs to see which one suits them. They should go through each one carefully, then make a decision which one best suited their needs.

Some software programs offer a trial version from a few weeks to a month. This way, it helps parents to make a decision without having to buy right away. Even if parents are using a trial, itâ??s good to have some type of internet protection software program installed.

There are some computers and some internet service providers that have internet protection software programs preinstalled. Itâ??s a matter of the parents activating it when they turn on the computer. These programs are automated to send updates when needed. Itâ??s important that the parents download the updates when theyâ??re announced.

Even when parents decide on a program, itâ??s imperative that they keep the program updated. Parents can check for updates on their own, but itâ??s usually not necessary as the updates automatically appear.

Regardless of what internet protection program parents use, it should be operating in the computer at all times.

Parents can use filtering software that protects their child from accessing websites that are not age appropriate. When choosing filtering software, parents should choose one that is easy to install and navigate.

A parent will want to weigh out the pros and cons of using filtering software. They would want to make sure that it will be useful enough for the entire family.

Here are the pros for selecting filtering software:

â?¢ The child will not be able to access unauthorized websites (i.e. adult-oriented, gambling, etc.)

â?¢ Keeps sexual predators and perverts away from the child.

â?¢ The child can get on the internet with out parents by their side. Even with that, parents should still keep an eye out for suspicious activity.

Here are the cons for selecting filtering software:

â?¢ Even though filtering software does what itâ??s supposed to do, it can filter out some legitimate sites also. The parents may have to override some of the websites.

â?¢ Parents may not feel like itâ??s the real thing.

â?¢ If a child is technically inclined, they can find a loophole and go through the filters. Then theyâ??ll be able to access sites they have no business accessing.

There are other things about filtering software that parents should know about. All filtering software is created differently. Parents may want to check around before they decide on a final product. Here are some things parents should look for:

â?¢ Being able to set time limits. This is especially important for the child. They donâ??t need to be surfing the internet all day and all night. They can be missing out on important stuff, like doing their homework or having dinner with the family.

â?¢ The computer and filtering software should be compatible with each other. The best way to find out is to read the requirements on the software package before buying.

â?¢ Whether or not they want user profiles. If they do, parents can create one for everybody in the family. Parents can decide how much the child can access.

â?¢ The filtering software should provide regular updates to your computer. This helps to keep the computer free of viruses, spyware and similar items.

â?¢ The filtering software should be able to provide parents with information they need to find out what theyâ??re children have been doing online.

The software will also have to be customized as a child gets older. Whatâ??s good for a six year old may be out of reach for a twelve year old and vice versa.

Firewall protection is used to block specific websites that you donâ??t want people to get access to. These websites can be in a number of different categories. The most popular ones are adult-oriented and related sites.

Parents that have children who surf the internet need to have some type of firewall protection on their computer. The thought of a child gaining access to a website that is harmful for them can be frightening.

There are different types of firewall protection. Parents have to choose the one that is best for them and their child. If parents have a computer with Microsoft XP, the firewall protection comes with the operating program.

However, just having this may not be enough for some parents. Some of them may want something that has more features and can do more functions. One of the best kinds to get is one that can block websites on both ends.

This means the firewall should be able to block certain sites trying to get access. It should also check out certain sites that have been accessed.

Whether the parents want firewall protection software that is software-based or hardware-based is up to them. All firewall protection software is made different, and what may work for one parent, may not be suitable for another parent.

If the parents do choose the hardware route, they can get a wireless router that will have a firewall already installed. The parents have to know whether or not this type of hardware with the firewall protection will be adequate enough for them. If the parents find out that itâ??s not enough, they may have to add additional software for extra security.

However, for the most part, firewall protection made from hardware wonâ??t be needed. The hardware costs more and if youâ??re not somewhat technically inclined, you may get frustrated trying to install it. When it comes to getting updates for hardware based firewall protection, theyâ??re not as easy to access as software based updates.

For parents, software based firewall protection would be their best bet. It only takes a few minutes to install and doesnâ??t cost as much as hardware based firewall protection. It is also easy to install and the computer will receive automatic updates.

Depending on the parentsâ?? needs, they may want to go with a single firewall protection product or a combination software product that includes firewall protection.

The parents will have to figure out exactly what they need to monitor their childrenâ??s access on the internet. Whether or not it is a single product or a combination product, the important thing is to have the firewall protection installed on the computer.

Cybersitter is a great internet filter to use for your children, whether they are pre-teen or teenagers. The software is parent-friendly and has simple installation. It takes less than 60 seconds to install the software.

The software works by limiting internet access to questionable and adult-oriented websites that may pose harm to children. Cybersitter also allows parents to see what sites their children have visited.

In addition to that, the software provides over 35 subjects that can be filtered. The areas that parents filter out can be updated automatically. There may be times where there are sites that are filtered out accidentally. Parents can override websites that they feel donâ??t need to be filtered out by the software.

If you child participates in a chat room, adults are allowed to get copies of the conversations. They can get copies from the childâ??s end and the person to whom theyâ??re speaking with. This can be done by using MSN, Yahoo or AOL Messenger.

With Cybersitter, the parents can determine how much time their children spend on the internet. They can also receive reports via e-mail to let them know which sites their children accessed and if they accessed any chat rooms.

Only people who are authorized to use the software will know itâ??s there. They will be the only ones that can change the settings, if need be. Parents can use a remote control to install more than one copy of the software. There is one flat fee and free filter file updates are included.

SnoopStick is software used to monitor your childâ??s internet access. Parents can do this from anywhere they have an internet connection and a computer, whether itâ??s a desktop or laptop.

The device is made like a flash drive, and it works by inserting it into an available USB drive on the computer you want to monitor. There is a setup installation and the process takes about one minute to complete. This installation contains the secret monitoring used to check on the childrenâ??s computer. The device can be removed after installation.

The software takes note of all accessed sites, records all conversations, notes all e-mail addresses for correspondence, and it savvy enough for screenshots. The SnoopStick is then inserted in a computer of the parentâ??s choice. After everything is set up, it will start compiling the reports they need.

SnoopStick allows parents to look at their childrenâ??s activity in real time. They can also download the activity logs for any specified period. There is a camera icon that will allow parents to take a snapshot of any webpage their children have accessed.

If parents decide to let your children know that theyâ??re monitoring their internet access, they can do it in a way that will get their attention. Just like people use pop ups to get people to sign up for their newsletter, parents can use pop ups to let their children know that theyâ??re being watched.

If theyâ??re not doing what theyâ??re supposed to be doing on the computer, parents will let them know with the pop up. This innovative idea would be a good way to let their children know that theyâ??re being watched and that they canâ??t get away with sneaking around.

Parents also have the authority to shut off internet access to their children. They can also log off anyone and completely shut down the computer. Their children will think something is wrong with the computer when in reality, the parents have put the access in their control.

With the popular emergence of social networking, SnoopStick is designed to deny access to any social networking sites that parents choose. There are also games that parents may not want their children to play. Those can be blocked as well.

The best child internet protection software should be in line with the childâ??s age and the needs of the parent. Prior to buying, they should discuss their plans with their child. Once their child knows whatâ??s going on, they may start to feel comfortable about coming to their parents with any concerns.

Parents hear the horror stories of children that get caught up online with sexual predators. To ensure that they donâ??t go through the same thing, they look to monitor their childâ??s online activity closely. However, is this considered spying on your children? Your children may think so.

In order for them to have the parentsâ?? trust, the parents should lay down guidelines to be followed by the child. They should also let them know that they will be monitoring their online access on a consistent basis.

This can help to bridge the communication and trust gap between parents and their child. The child may not be as inclined to surf for an adult-themed website.

If parents want to find out what their child has surfed for online and donâ??t wand to spend any money just yet on a software program, there is a simple way where they can snoop on your child with Internet Explorer.

Parents can check the browser to find out what sites their child has visited.

â?¢ Go to the View section.

â?¢ Then go to Explorer Bar.

â?¢ After that choose History and the day you want to look at.

â?¢ Then click the page you want to look at.

This is the simplest way to find out what your child has been surfing for online and it doesnâ??t cost you a dime.

Parents can also use Internet Explorer to block access to some websites.

â?¢ Using the Tools section on the browser, go to Internet Options.

â?¢ Click the Content tab.

â?¢ Within the Content Advisor section, go to Enable.

This will open up the Content Advisor. Now parents can make their selections.

â?¢ In the Ratings tab section, parents can select the level that they want for language, nudity, sex and violence.

â?¢ In the Approved Sites tab, parents can select sites that block sites that they donâ??t want their child to look at.

â?¢ In the General tab, you can permit or forbid your child to look at unrated sites.

â?¢ A Password should be created. For an older child, if they try to access a site that is blocked, they can get access with the password. The parents have the say-so as to whether or not they will allow their child to access the site.

Steve Cownley
http://allsortsofbits.comoj.com/

Steve Cownley
http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/keep-your-children-safe-on-the-internet-part-3-376598.html

Swine Flu â?? A Killer Pandemic Which Targets Children?

SWINE FLU Is Now Pandemic and The Vaccine Will Be In Short Supply

You MUST Assume The Virus WILL Reach Your Family Shortly.

In Fact The Likelihood That Someone In Your Family Will Be Infected Is Greater Than 70 Percent. If You Act Now, You Still Have Time To Learn How To Protect Against SWINE FLU.

Presented In One Document, Containing Detailed Analysis, Saving You Dozens Of Hours of research.

I want to quickly run some numbers past you so that you can see where my assertion comes from that there is a greater than 70 percent chance that someone within your immediate family will begin exhibiting swine flu symptoms. Don’t worry, I promise it will be a very short math lesson. Then I will tell you what can be done to reduce that statistic – at least for your family because you are about learn things that 99 percent of the population will never take the time to find out for themselves.

If you read through the next few short paragraphs – which set this whole swine flu pandemic in context and you still think you do not need to devise some form of pandemic preparedness to deal with this health threat, then I will not waste any more of your time. Hopefully that sounds reasonable. OK, here we go.

The Mathematics of Pandemic Flu

• Before the current strain of swine flu settles into the human population and assumes its new role as a seasonal flu strain, roughly one third of the world’s population of 6.6 billion people will become infected. This prediction is based on the known behaviour of the last three influenza pandemics from 1918, 1957, and 1968. It is also a straight forward consequence of the fact that we have no natural immunity to this new virus.
• What this means is that for any given person, the chance that they will not become infected and begin showing symptoms of swine flu over the course of the pandemic is about two out of three, or 2 / 3.
• Those might seem like good odds, but the problem is that the odds need to be multiplied for every member of your family. So for a family of three (mother, father, and child) the chance than nobody within your family will be affected is given roughly by the quantity

2 / 3 x   2 / 3 x   2 / 3 =   0.3

• Seen another way, the likelihood that your family of three will be touched by swine flu is 70 percent. For a family of four, the likelihood is 80 percent, and the number just gets higher as your family size increases. Granted, this is a very rough analysis of the odds of infection, but there is nothing outlandish about the final numbers. This is simply how the mathematics of pandemics pans out – and it is never in your favour.
• If those numbers surprise you, and make you feel uncomfortable, that’s OK. It is better to experience surprise and discomfort now than to be surprised in the future when swine flu makes its way to your front door. My job will be to help you lessen the chance of that happening, so that the term swine influenza need not become a part of your everyday vocabulary.

Hopefully you will be starting to see the need to take this influenza pandemic seriously. If you are less than 41 years of age you will have never experienced a pandemic, so you can be forgiven for being sceptical about the need to prepare. It’s like the period leading up to your first earthquake, or hurricane – they just do not seem all that dreadful until the moment you find yourself caught in one, at which point you find that your thinking changes dramatically.

Trust me this is not something you want to happen to you.

Make The Effort To Learn Today So That You May Protect Your Children Tomorrow http://viralurl.com/wellness/surviveFlu

A Pandemic Which Targets Children?

I am a parent, and I am going to assume that you are one too. I am inclined to do this because when you are young and single and without children, you tend to feel like you are invincible, and something like the threat of pandemic influenza is not likely to send you searching for information on the web about how to deal with it. This is the curse of youth, and it is not something that begins to lift until you are out of your twenties and children have entered your life.

Even if you still maintain the delusion, as I do, that somehow you will muddle through any threat to your safety, you are not likely to be so cavalier when it comes to your children. I know that I am not. In fact, now that I am a parent, the world looks quite threatening to me and I spend a lot of my time thinking about the dangers that lurk around every corner.

I have thought a lot about influenza over the years, and have studied it intently – at first with great interest, and later with foreboding, especially now that I am a parent and have more to lose in the event of a severe pandemic.

The average age of those infected by swine flu in 2009 is just 19 years of age. Unlike seasonal strains of influenza, the novel H1N1 swine flu strain, as it is called, has a particular affinity for the very young. This simple fact should have parents everywhere concerned.

Your children, as you are well aware, can neither recognize that a threat now looms, nor can they do anything to alleviate that threat. They are completely dependent on you for help. This is why is it my hope that you will both educate yourself and prepare some form of pandemic planning, so that both you and the rest of your family will be ready to face the threat with the least amount of risk to your well-being.

This will not happen by accident. It will be up to you to prevent swine flu from making an impact on your life, but I can help you with that as I have already spent the time needed to figure out what the important things are that you need to know.

By reading Survive Pandemic Flu you will quickly learn everything that I have spent (literally) years discovering about pandemic flu and how to survive ity

Why This Should Matter To You

It is easy to forget just how devastating the toll can be on your family or the family of someone you know when a pandemic rises up and sweeps through the community.

The following points made by the American Red Cross – which are in line with my own understanding of this disease – warn about influenza and its reach into U.S. homes:

• Each year, over 20,000 children under age 5 are hospitalized as a result of seasonal influenza.
• A severe pandemic could result in 90 million people getting sick and over 2 million fatalities.
• The 1918 flu pandemic claimed 675,000 lives (and upwards of 100 million worldwide).
• The world witnessed three pandemic outbreaks in the twentieth century alone.

The Centres For Disease Control and Prevention put out the following 7 minute video of personal stories from families affected adversely by flu, to remind us of the dangers. While the deaths of less than about 100 small children result from seasonal influenza or its complications every year, this number can swell to thousands, even tens of thousands, during a severe pandemic, and the number of older children and young adults whose lives may be lost can also be substantially greater than anything seen during a regular flu year.

Despite the fact that, to date, the new swine flu strain SEEMS to give rise (most of the time) to fairly mild cases of illness, pandemic flu is completely unpredictable and you need to educate yourself ahead of time so that you will be prepared for any eventuality.

Will The Swine Flu Vaccine Shot Be Safe?

The short answer to this question is yes, and in the book you will discover why.

But there is a problem. A big problem. Vaccine manufacturers have come up short on their vaccine delivery schedule because of production difficulties. Instead of the 120 million anticipated doses that were to be made available to the U.S. population in mid October, they are now saying that only 45 million doses will be available for initial inoculations. This means that tens of millions of Americans will have to forgo their expected swine flu shot until later in the flu season. If you are generally in good health, then that means you.

Make no mistake, when a swine flu vaccine is made available to people there will be a great deal of confusion surrounding who should get it, and why. The swine flu inoculation program of 2009 will be the largest such program in the history of public health programs. But because of supply problems, not everyone will be eligible to participate.

Because of time constraints, the requirement that clinical testing procedures be implemented and followed before production of the vaccine can be scaled up, and the fact that the ingredients for a swine flu vaccine have proven difficult to cultivate, there will NOT be sufficient vaccines available for everyone who may want a shot in 2009. In the book you will learn why this is the case, and what you can do in the event that you are not eligible to receive the swine flu vaccine due to shortages.

Learn how you can be prepared by reading a book that quite simply could save your life

http://viralurl.com/wellness/surviveFlu

Rick Catt
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/swine-flu-a-book-that-quite-simple-could-save-your-life-1256235.html

Vacation bible school is a popular summertime activity for children from the ages of 3 to 10, or thereabouts. In many cases there is much more emphasis on â??vacationâ? than â??bible,â? which is understandable for the age group, although like everything else there is a broad range of types and styles of these programs.

Some parents do consider the religious component of primary importance, especially for older children, and will choose a program that has more structured bible studies, at least stories with biblical characters and themes. For other parents, the most important thing is the socialization of their children, and the interpersonal skills they will develop in the vacation bible school setting. Children instinctively like being around other children, for the most part, and this allows most kids the opportunity for a great deal of fun, along with some education, too.

Denominational or not
For parents of all Christian denominations, from Catholic to Pentecostal, vacation bible school is good for themselves as well as for the children. It is, for many families, a happy combination of childcare, play time, class projects and Sunday school. Among the religiously oriented programs, parents can seek out one with bible instruction that is appropriate for their denomination. If their own church is large enough to offer such a vacation program, they will most likely place their children in that one to maintain the peer group associations and continuity.

Interestingly, some Hindu, Buddhist and even Muslin parents, if they cannot locate a vacation program in their own faith system, will place their children in a Christian vacation bible school. They are more concerned with their children getting socialized, learning to play together, having a positive environment and learning ethical behavior than they are with having yet another source besides themselves for their childrenâ??s spiritual instruction. These days, they can choose from a variety of programs that emphasize common positive themes, citizenship and education as opposed to a steady diet of religious lessons.

From the kidsâ?? point of view
Children are complex little creatures, as all parents know. But no matter how unique they are (and they all are), they share certain traits, worldwide and in all cultures. The reasons all children should enjoy vacation bible school include the most basic one, of course, which is that they are social animals that love to play. With the great mix of activities, for both body and mind, the good vacation bible schools will help children channel their abundant energies into good things. They will learn that learning itself is enjoyable, and that working hard can be its own reward and a source of continuing enjoyment, too.

Some few children will have a hard time adjusting, and others will not want to let go of mommyâ??s hand at the door on the first day. The fact is, a parent who relents and lets a child decide on her own not to attend, is robbing the youngster of a tremendous opportunity for growing and maturing. Letting go of their parents and establishing their own â??personâ? in the world is at once a frightening and exciting thing for children, and parents simply must allow them to go through it. In the vast majority of cases, the child who arrives crying and missing mom and dad will be up to her elbows in finger paint by mid-morning.

The truth is, many people remember their vacation bible school experiences with great joy, and consider them important landmarks on their lifeâ??s journey. The benefits of this time spent in learning, play and some kid-style morality tales can last a lifetime. In fact, some people do not realize until much later in life the tremendous impact things like vacation bible school had on their thinking, their ethics and their lives. If youâ??re a parent with young children, there are few better ways to support their general growth, positive play activities, education and (low-key) moral instruction than with a couple of weeks of vacation bible school.

Danny Belks
http://www.articlesbase.com/christianity-articles/reasons-all-children-should-enjoy-vacation-bible-school-738894.html

Vacation bible school is a popular summertime activity for children from the ages of 3 to 10, or thereabouts. In many cases there is much more emphasis on â??vacationâ? than â??bible,â? which is understandable for the age group, although like everything else there is a broad range of types and styles of these programs.

Some parents do consider the religious component of primary importance, especially for older children, and will choose a program that has more structured bible studies, at least stories with biblical characters and themes. For other parents, the most important thing is the socialization of their children, and the interpersonal skills they will develop in the vacation bible school setting. Children instinctively like being around other children, for the most part, and this allows most kids the opportunity for a great deal of fun, along with some education, too.

Denominational or not
For parents of all Christian denominations, from Catholic to Pentecostal, vacation bible school is good for themselves as well as for the children. It is, for many families, a happy combination of childcare, play time, class projects and Sunday school. Among the religiously oriented programs, parents can seek out one with bible instruction that is appropriate for their denomination. If their own church is large enough to offer such a vacation program, they will most likely place their children in that one to maintain the peer group associations and continuity.

Interestingly, some Hindu, Buddhist and even Muslin parents, if they cannot locate a vacation program in their own faith system, will place their children in a Christian vacation bible school. They are more concerned with their children getting socialized, learning to play together, having a positive environment and learning ethical behavior than they are with having yet another source besides themselves for their childrenâ??s spiritual instruction. These days, they can choose from a variety of programs that emphasize common positive themes, citizenship and education as opposed to a steady diet of religious lessons.

From the kidsâ?? point of view
Children are complex little creatures, as all parents know. But no matter how unique they are (and they all are), they share certain traits, worldwide and in all cultures. The reasons all children should enjoy vacation bible school include the most basic one, of course, which is that they are social animals that love to play. With the great mix of activities, for both body and mind, the good vacation bible schools will help children channel their abundant energies into good things. They will learn that learning itself is enjoyable, and that working hard can be its own reward and a source of continuing enjoyment, too.

Some few children will have a hard time adjusting, and others will not want to let go of mommyâ??s hand at the door on the first day. The fact is, a parent who relents and lets a child decide on her own not to attend, is robbing the youngster of a tremendous opportunity for growing and maturing. Letting go of their parents and establishing their own â??personâ? in the world is at once a frightening and exciting thing for children, and parents simply must allow them to go through it. In the vast majority of cases, the child who arrives crying and missing mom and dad will be up to her elbows in finger paint by mid-morning.

The truth is, many people remember their vacation bible school experiences with great joy, and consider them important landmarks on their lifeâ??s journey. The benefits of this time spent in learning, play and some kid-style morality tales can last a lifetime. In fact, some people do not realize until much later in life the tremendous impact things like vacation bible school had on their thinking, their ethics and their lives. If youâ??re a parent with young children, there are few better ways to support their general growth, positive play activities, education and (low-key) moral instruction than with a couple of weeks of vacation bible school.

Danny Belks
http://www.articlesbase.com/christianity-articles/reasons-all-children-should-enjoy-vacation-bible-school-738894.html

I have several children’s stories written up, as well as the drawings to go along with them, but I’m not sure whether or not I need to go to college to actually know how to incorporate illustrations into a children’s book. Any idea? Thanks for everyone’s help!!

you don’t have to, but I’m majoring in illustration right now and going to a very good art college. it helps you develop your ideas and communicate to a wider audience. plus there’s all kinds of secrets that the teachers pass along. I think it’s a worthwhile experience even though it’s not necessary.

Whenever I see a story in the news or around my community that a child has been hurt in some way (not accident, but purposely hurt by an adult) I get really emotional about it. Little kids are so innocent and for the most part happy and some things just totally destroy that. If it’s a teen I don’t feel as bad, but still. I always think, "oh my gosh that could’ve been MY kid" How about you?

I get so outraged. I feel so mad and sad at the same time, because when I look at my child I could never think about why anyone would do that to a child and what the child must feel like. The children are so innocent, thinking about people doing horrid things to them, just sets me off. I hate it. I wish it would stop, but I know it never will, which makes me even madder

Why do people lie?  Why do some people seem to NOT be able to tell the truth even when the truth is clearly obvious or evident?  What makes a person tell lies instead of the truth?
Liars eventually get caught in their tangled web of lies and deceitfulness.  Lying hurts the liar and those who are subjected to the lies of the liar.  Lying hurts relationships and it makes the liar untrustworthy.  A liar violates the trust others may have had in them when they are caught in their lies.  Liars seem to carry an enormous amount of burden upon their shoulders.  Think about it…..  if you tell a lie,  then you have to live a lie and in order to live a lie,  you have to remember all the lies you tell and to whom.  Remembering the lies becomes quite a heavy burden.  Even if the liar lies just a little bit…..the pain they cause hurts alot.   Finding out someone you trusted has lied in such a horrific ways makes you wonder why they did this to begin with?  It causes you to wonder why they would not just ruin a relationship,  but completely break any possibilities of trusting.
Lying can spill over into other areas of your life such as on the job, with co-workers and employees if you run your own business.   Some people lie so much that they believe their lies and it then becomes their “truth”.  They become habitual liars.  People who discover their friend or family member has lied, feels cheated.  Especially when the lie is about them or becomes personal. 
Why do people feel compelled to lie?  First we must understand why the person has lied to begin with.  Are they afraid of the truth?  Are they afraid of being caught of wrong-doing?  Do they lie because there is something they want and feel the only way to get it is to lie?  Compulsive or habitual liars seem to be very lonely people.  Some liars must embellish stories so that others will befriend or like them…..or so, thinks the liar.  A liar who embellishes stories just to win over “friends” will eventually lose their “friends” when their lies have been discovered.
People who go through life lying believe that their lies  will make their lives better.  A person who lives their life by lying, does so to avoid the pain of living.  Their lives seem to be void of happiness and they live their life unfullfilled.  Some people try and justify their lies.  “They will be mad at me if they know the truth”;  “They won’t be my friend if I tell them the truth”.  Liars attack their accuser because they believe it makes the lie less than what it is, but the truth is…a lie is a lie and there’s no such thing as a “little white lie”. 
A liar lives a miserable life and it seems that they are only  happy when everyone around them is just as miserable as they are.  It makes no sense.  With the case involving my estranged sisters who continue to this day to make up lies and stories of things that never happened,  their untruthful internet postings are basically written to try and make my life as miserable as their own.  They believe that it is okay to hurt people they know because this is what they themselves were taught as children.  They grew up in a very dysfunctional family unit which causes them to continue to live their lives as dysfunctional adults.
Lies diminish feelings we have for one another and lies decrease the love we may have felt for one another.  Lies destroy relationships.  Lies  extinquish hope, trust and friendship as well as remove any possibility to believe in the person who lies.  Some people say,  “well, why don’t we just forgive the liar and move forward?”.   I’ll tell you why.   Forgiveness can be stretched to the limits and its a word that is frequently over used.  Forgiving someone may make YOU feel better,  but if the person who causes damage beyond repair continues to lie and they feel no remorse…how does forgiveness help?  To forgive someone for wrongdoing who intentionally lies to cause pain and hurt causes others to become confused.  Forgiveness is only appropriate if the liar actually feels remorse for lying……acknowledges they have lied to cause another person pain and if they ask to be forgiven and truely regret their lies and the pain they’ve caused.  Failure to forgive appropriately can make a situation become much worse.
There is also a difference between condoning and forgiveness.  Some people condone the liars behaviour by ignoring it and allowing it to continue.  If someone has lied about you or has caused you pain by lying,  it is completely appropriate to speak out about what the liar has done.  Ignoring a liar is basically condoning the liars’ behaviour.  The religious call to forgiveness is not a call to being a sucker.  If someone has lied about you or to you,  it is appropriate that you not pretend it didn’t happen or that it doesn’t matter because lying does matter.  It matters to everyone involved with the liar and those who are suckered into the lie by affiliation. 
Is it easy for a liar to stop lying?  Well,  that depends.  A habitual liar has difficulty in putting a stop to lying just as an alcoholic has difficulty saying no to a drink.  A compulsive, habitual liar needs help if they are to completely stop living their life through lies.   There are differant types of liars:
Braggarts; Compulsive liars; exaggerators; habitual liars and bull throwers.  The habitual liar is the most difficult of them all with the rest of the other types being a tiresome lot.  It seems the bigger the role model,  the worse a lie becomes.  It wouldn’t be so bad if lets say someone I didn’t know told a lie about me.   It is much worse to have a sister lie about me and its even worse than that when the sister is estranged because they are dysfunctional and live their lives  through hateful lying and outright deceitfulness and directly hurting others through deceitfulness.  If more people would raise the bar,  it would help restore truthful behaviour.  Every time we hear someone lying,  we should call them out as liars and not condone the behaviour by ignoring it or by accepting them as a liar.  We are far better off without liars than to live our lives with a liar.  There are two types of people:  The liars and the lie catchers.   I chose to be the lie catcher because I live my life in truth.  I have no fear about what I say because I speak the truth and know my story as factual.  Liars on the otherhand have extreme difficulty living a quality life because their life is void of truth.  Mark Twain once wrote, “Everybody lies…every day, every hour, awake, asleep, in his dreams, in his joy and in his mourning.” This was written in 1882 in his essay,  “On the decay of the art of lying”.
Many times a person will lie and not even know it.  When someone asks you “how are you doing?” and you answer “I’m great” when in fact,  you are feeling unwell or not doing well,  you’ve just told a lie.  But these types of lies are not harmful.  They are in fact,  the type of lies that are near involuntary and done without even thinking  and helps keep the fabric of our society from unraveling.  But if someone lies and says that you’ve done a horrible thing when in fact,  you’ve done nothing…….this is an outright lie that was done with malice and the liar has done this with malicious intent to cause harm.  We always tell our children that honesty is the best policy but if the parent is always telling lies,  how can they possibly be a good role model?  Here are my estranged sisters,  supposed role models  peddling lies big and small……exaggerating, beefing up a boring story by embellishing events that never happened…..misleading people that they know as well as those they don’t know.  Perhaps their parents gave them conflicting messages as they were growing up……either way,  they’ve turned into very deceptive adults hoping their lies will provide them with a “reward”.  In my estranged sisters’ case,  their reward is gaining my mother’s assets, property and small income since my mother no longer has the ability to realize their depths of deception, due to her diminished capacity from dementia.  My mother has never been a wealthy woman.  She was a hard worker who was smart with her income.  It’s quite sad to know that the very people she thought she could trust have robbed her of not just her personal belongings,  but of her dignity,  her peace of mind and are causing her great stress through their deception.  The worse part is that these people feel no remorse and knowingly deceive her so that they can gain the “rewards” they feel they are entitled to.
Psychologist Paul Ekman says that people lie to avoid punishment, to get a reward, to enhance egos and to control information.  They lie to remove themselves from an awkward social situation.  There are so many reasons why people lie.  So many reasons we wonder how to  drill our way and cut through the molten core of truth?
It’s quite simple really.  By practice and training on a daily basis to tell nothing but the truth.  When it comes to lies,  Paul Ekman is the man.  He wrote the book,  “Telling lies” in 1985.  He tested the lie detection ability on over 12,000 people and found that the average person can detect a lie 54 percent of the time.  This is hardly an acceptable rate.  A person can actually do much better at detecting a lie if taught to detect micro-expressions.  What is a micro-expression?  This is a flash of emotion that quickly flashes across someone’s face, which is either a  suppressed or repressed emotion.   The truth is often tucked discreetly under a quilt of cheerful lies.
In order to detect concealed  emotions,  you must not trust your impressions.  Paul Ekman says that if you do this,  you’ll be wrong the majority of the time through stereotype.   It is quite difficult to judge a person by demeanor.  One of the easiest ways to see beyond impressions is to learn to catch micro-expressions, which betray emotions.  Mark Twain wrote in his essay, “If a man keeps his tongue still… his hands, his feet, his eyes, his attitude will convey deception…and purposely.”
Some people don’t seem to want to know the truth.  Getting away with lies seems to be easier to do these days.  More people are interested in deceptive tales rather than boring truth.  There’s alot of double talk now that our world is more electronic.  If a person is really interested in knowing the truth,  all you have to do is follow the liars’  trail of deception.  They will blatantly contradict themselves and their stories will often times change.  Choosing to lie is a serious gamble of integrity.  But you have to remember that a compulsive or habitual liar has no integrity.  They have no remorse.  They live a life shut off from their true feelings because becoming too close to their true feelings would bring about all the pain they have hidden deep down inside.  The lies are packed neatly on top of the truth and the truth is sometimes too great for the liars to bare.
The bottom line is that there is a big cost at living a life full of lies and deception.  People will refuse to trust in you and people will stop believing in you.  The person hurt the most is the liar because living a life full of lies is detrimental to the well being of the liar and to those who unknowingly allow the liar to continue to lie.  I for one will no longer sit back and allow my estranged sisters to lie about me as a person or as a business.   They can create fictitious stories and continue to build their web of lies,  but the end result is they are only hurting themselves.  My life is driven in truth.  Their lives are driven by deception and untruthfulness.  They continue to lie to not just others but to my mother so that they can  obtain the small “reward” they feel they are entitled to.  What a very sad, lonely life to live.  Everyone knows what it takes to lie,  but very few know what it takes to re-establish trust.  You can’t like someone, live with someone or care about someone you can’t trust.  Liars are very untrustworthy people.

Dee Gerrish
http://www.articlesbase.com/psychology-articles/lying-hurts-the-liar-736068.html

Michael Joseph Jackson – Born from 29th Aug 1958 to 25th Jun 2009 – Love him or hate him, Michael Jackson or MJ as he was affectionately known was the indisputable King of Pop and was one of the greatest, if not the greatest singer, dancer and entertainer the world has ever known.

Born as Michael Joseph Jackson in Gary, Indiana, The world first got a glimpse of this superstar when MJ appeared on TV with his siblings, then known as The Jackson Five in 1968.

Although still a member of The Jackson five, he launched his solo career in 1971. His popularity as a great singer and dancer kept on spreading until in his 1982 album, Thriller became the world’s best selling album of all time.

Actually, the Thriller was only a precursor to 4 more of his chart busting albums – Off the Wall in 1979, Bad in 1987, Dangerous in 1991 and of course, HIStory in1995.

In the early 1980s, Michael went on to become the first African American entertainer to amass a legion of strong crossover fans following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos, such as Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller transformed the music video from a promotional tool into a a truly professional art form.

In his heydays, Michael Jackson donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial and charitable causes through his foundations.

A sad chapter of his life was when he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. However, the criminal charges against the singer were dropped due to lack of evidence. Then in 2005, MJ was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. His life was a miserable shamble then.

Michael Jackson was said to have a very unhappy childhood. Jackson recounted several times that he was physically and emotionally abused by his father from a very young age and was forced to do incessant rehearsals, had whippings and name calling. But he also credited his father’s strict discipline as playing a large part in his success as a top notched singer, performer and entertainer.

Michael Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that during his childhood he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes start to throw up upon seeing his father.

In another high interview, the singer covered his face with his hand and began crying when talking about his childhood abuse. Jackson recalled that his father, Joseph Jackson sat on a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed and that “if you didn’t do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get at you”.

The entertainer’s biggest moment was during the period of Thriller when his lawyer John Branca negotiated what he proudly announced then as the highest royalty rate ever in the music industry, approximately $2 per album. Meanwhile, MJ raked in more profits from The Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, a documentary by himself and John Landis which sold over more than 300,000 copies at that time.

March 25, 1983, gave birth to the Moonwalk dance routine. He debuted this new dance form in live on the Motown 25′s Yesterday, Today, Forever television special, both with The Jackson 5 and on his own singing “Billie Jean”. His Moon Walk during the event were seen by more than 47 million viewers during its initial airing and drew comparisons to Elvis Presley’s and the The Beatles’ appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

MJ’s compassionate golden heart was seen when he co-wrote the charity single “We Are the World” with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to help the poor in Africa and the US. Jackson was also one of 39 music celebrities and singers who performed on the record. The single became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief.

Another celebrity Jackson worked closely with was Paul McCartney and together, the duo had two hit singles “The Girl Is Mine” and “Say Say Say”. But unfortunately, this partnership fell through after some business disagreements.

In 1986, the media ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow down the aging process. However, the report was not true as it was later known that Michael had disseminated the fabricated story himself. He was promoting his upcoming film Captain EO and wanted to promote a science fiction image of himself.

In 1988, some two years after he was diagnosed with vitiligo, Jackson bought and befriended a pet chimpanzee called Bubbles, an act which extended his eccentric persona. In 2003, the singer claimed that Bubbles shared his toilet and cleaned his bedroom. Then it was reported that Jackson bought the bones of The Elephant Man.

Again these were stories that Jackson disseminated to the media. These incredible stories inspired the nickname “Wacko Jacko” although Michael would eventually despise the nickname. Realizing his mistake, he stopped leaking untruths to the press. However due to the profits raking in from these sensational stories, the media and the began making up their own stories.

Michael was born with medium-brown skin, but from early 1980s, his skin gradually grew paler. This change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that Jackson was bleaching his skin.

Then in the mid 1980s, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus, the latter was in remission in Jackson’s case, and both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight. The treatments he used for his condition further lightened his skin color and with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear very pale.

The structure of his face changed as well with many surgeons speculating that Jackson had undergone multiple nose surgeries, a forehead lift, thinned lips and a cheekbone surgeries. Some of his colleagues also reported that Jackson was often dizzy and speculated that he was suffering from anorexia nervosa.

In 1992, MJ founded the “Heal the World Foundation”. The charity organization brought underprivileged children to Jackson’s ranch, to go on theme park rides that Jackson had built on the property after he purchased it. The foundation also sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war and disease. The Dangerous World Tour began on June 27, 1992, and finished on November 11, 1993.

The entertainer with the compassionate heart performed to 3.5 million people in 67 concerts. All profits from the concerts went to the “Heal the World Foundation”, raising millions of dollars in relief.

In a high-profile visit to several African countries, his first stop to Gabon was greeted with a reception of more than 100,000 people in “spiritual bedlam”, some of them carrying signs that read, “Welcome Home Michael”.

In the Ivory Coast, Michael was crowned “King Sani” by a tribal chief. He then thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed official documents formalizing his kingship and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.

One of MJ’s most acclaimed performances came during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII. As the performances began, Jackson was catapulted onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him. As he landed on the canvass, he maintained a motionless “clenched fist, standing statue stance”, dressed in a gold and black military outfit and sunglasses, he remained completely motionless for several minutes while the crowd cheered.

The entertainer then slowly removed his sunglasses, threw them away and began to sing and dance. His routine included four songs – Jam, Billie Jean, Black or White and Heal the World. It was the first Super Bowl where the audience figures increased during the half-time show, and was viewed by 135 million Americans alone.

In May 1994, Jackson married singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of the other “King”, Elvis Presley. They had first met in 1975 during one of Jackson’s family engagements at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and were reconnected through a mutual friend in early 1993.

As child molestation accusations became public, Jackson became dependent on Lisa Marie for emotional support. She was concerned about his faltering health and addiction to drugs. Lisa Marie explained, “I believed he didn’t do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it.”

Jackson finally proposed to Lisa over the phone towards the late part of 1993, “If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?” Lisa Marie Presley and Jackson were subsequently married in the Dominican Republic in secrecy. At the time, the tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a ploy to prop up Jackson’s public image in light of prior sexual abuse allegations.

Their marriage felled through when Jackson and Lisa divorced less than two years later. However, they remained as good friends.

Michael then kept a low profile in most of 1990s and pleasantly surprised the world with the released of Invincible in October 2001. To promote the new album, a special 30th Anniversary celebration at Madison Square Garden occurred in September 2001 to mark the Jackson’s 30th year as a solo artist.

Michael appeared onstage alongside his siblings for the first time since 1984. The mega celebration also featured performances by Mya, Usher, Whitney Houston, ‘N Sync, and Slash, alongside other celebrities.

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Michael helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The concert was aired on October 21st October 2001, and included performances from dozens of celebrity entertainers, including Michael himself who performed his song “What More Can I Give” as the finale.

Jackson’s third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (also known as Blanket) was born in 2002. The mother’s identity was never known because he said the child was the result of artificial insemination from a surrogate mother and his own sperm cells.

In November 2002, Jackson brought his newborn son onto the balcony of his hotel room in Berlin, as fans stood below. Holding him in his right arm, Jackson briefly extended the baby over the railing of the balcony, four stories above ground level, causing widespread panic and criticism in the media. Michael later regretted and apologized for the incident, calling it “a terrible mistake”.

Then in a 2003 Granada Television documentary “Living with Michael Jackson”, he was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a boy named Gavin Arvizo, who would later accuse him of child sexual abuse.

MJ denied the sexual abuse allegations vigorously, saying that the sleep overs were in no way sexual in nature. His good friend, celebrity Elizabeth Taylor defended him on Larry King Live, saying that she had been there when they were in the bed, watching television and reiterated that there was nothing wrong about watching TV together.

During the investigation, Jackson’s profile was examined by mental health professional Dr. Stan Katz. Dr. Katz spent several hours with the accuser too. The assessment made by Katz was that Jackson had become a regressed 10-year-old and did not fit the profile of a pedophile.

The trial came two years after Jackson was first charged. During this period, Michael became dependent on morphine and Demerol, a dependency which he subsequently overcame. He also suffered from stress-related illnesses and severe weight loss that would alter his appearance. The intensely watched trial lasted five months and MJ was finally acquitted in May 2005.

Michael was supposed to make a spectacular comeback and had been scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts to over a million people at 02 Arena in London from July 13 to March 6, 2010. During a publicity press conference, he had made suggestions of possible retirement after the concert series.

However, on June 25th 2009, Michael Jackson collapsed at his rented mansion at North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles. Pending confirmation from toxicology reports, he was allegedly administered Demerol shortly before he stopped breathing. Attempts at resuscitating him by his personal doctors were unsuccessful.

The King Of Pop, Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at approximately 2:25 p.m. local time. Rumors and news of Jackson’s death broke internet web records triggering a cyberspace traffic jam giving Google, Twitter, Facebook and Yahoo their highest traffic on record.

Chris Chew

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