Crayons come in all colors and shades. My first box of crayons came in boxes of the eight primary colors, all for a dime! I remember at first being satisfied using them in coloring books. Girls had their books of dolls, dresses and the sort, while we had our cowboys, cars and sports coloring books. We were also satisfied with having just eight colors, but after awhile we started to experiment, mixing two or more colors to make different shades. One day I noticed that someone wasn't using a coloring book anymore. They were drawing on construction paper! Wow! I can do that and look! I have no lines that I have to stay inside! I can go and draw anywhere I please!.......and I did.
There was no stopping anyone's mind now. We were growing and now had our own thoughts and ideas, and they were expressed on paper. We drew the sun and everyone had a smile when we were happy. It rained when we were sad. Smiles, hugs and kisses were received when we gave some of our creations to our parents. We had very healthy minds and felt we could go anywhere. As our dreams started to develope, we set goals to become firemen, policemen, scientists, doctors, nurses, or teachers. The crayons were now being sold in bigger boxes of 16, 24, 32, 48, 64 and 96, and in different kinds of shades. Expressing ourselves now became easier. There was no need to mix colors anymore. Someone did it for us.Thinking back on it now, we thought they were making it easier for us. Now we didn't have to create shades ourselves, which sort of placed a restriction on our growth. For some, that was not the only restriction placed on the mind. Some children can't grow as they should. They have many burdens placed on them which restrict their minds such as neglect, physical and/or sexual abuse and even alchohol abusive parents. Relate these situations to crayons and you have blunt crayons or stubby ones, which are hard to handle. Pictures now become fuzzy and distorted. Some of these abuses are uncovered and attempts to treat the damage done to a child can be made. In some cases the situation remains a secret, delaying any treatment for many years or in come cases, indefinately. Sometimes there is abuse that costs a child their life. Now the crayon is stepped on or crushed. In cases like this, forever is forever. This is a cancer our country has to deal with, and so far we are failing. Many things that should be done aren't. Newborn babies are taken out of hospitals, that claim to have tight security. Children are snatched off city and residential streets without anyone noticing. Our department stores have all kinds of security cameras watching our every move from the time we walk into the store to the time we leave. They can zoom in and tell us what denominations of bills we have in our billfold, but they can't notice a mother walking in with her child and someone picking the child up and moving quickly out the door. No one notices children in malls being approached by adults and then walking out with them. Below you will find some stories and links. Please visit them and get involved with a problem this country will have until we stand up and say......enough is enough. This cannot continue. Go back to that box of crayons and continue creating.
A mother with two young boys walked past me today in a supermarket. One looked to be around five years old while the other seemed to be no older than seven. As she pushed her cart, she stopped for a second, telling her boys to go to different aisles to get a couple of things for her. As they ran off, she continued pushing her cart about three aisles away to get another item.
What posesses someone to take risks like this? Do they not read the paper, or watch the news? Do they not listen to news on the radio? Do they even know what an Amber Alert is and why they are issued? The decision this mother made, in order to save a few minutes might have cost her one of her sons. People who have the intent of snatching a child for any reason or purpose prey on children in situations like these. They know what signs to look for and know when a child is most vulnerable. It is then that they strike. Wake up and pay attention! When shopping or in any situation like this, there is only one place your children should be and that is AT YOUR SIDE!
Have you ever seen the sad look on a child's face when they are being forced to act like a grown up? We have all heard the commands coming from a parent to their child. Stand up straight like a man! Sit up and stop acting like a child! Keep quiet and watch your little sister! Some parents bark out orders as if they were training a dog. Take a look at the sad expression on the child again. It is not only a look of sadness; it is also a look of stress. Don't rush your child into adulthood. Let your child be the child that he or she is. Children get to live only one childhood. Let them live it. If you do, later in life they can smile as they tell their children and grandchildren, "When I was a child......."
There are other things parents do that does more harm to a child than good. Some things seem small and some parents think they are doing it for the child's good. The fact that you like piano music is no reason to force a child to take piano lessons. Let him play the instrument he stated he wants to play. Do not force your daughter to join the cheerleading squad when she is content to just sit and watch the game instead. If your son does not show an interest in scouting, find something else he might find interest in. Let them hold own their crayons so they can draw their own pictures. This is a part of childhood. Don't deprive them of the experience.
Just who is the child abuser? Do you feel safe when your children are at school? Do you enjoy your coffee in the cafeteria while they are at Sunday School? How about your doctor? Is he or she trustworthy? Surely the everyday cop is worthy of your trust.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently extridited two foreigners to the United States for child pornography. They were arraigned this week in Federal Court in Newark, New Jersey. This investigation led to over 1,000 arrests all over the world including nearly 200 people here in the United States. Some who were arrested deal with children on a regular daily basis. Among those arrested were a school teacher, a police officer, a Catholic priest, a minister at a girls school, a circus clown, and the Chief of Pediatric Medicine at a New York hospital. Scary, isn't it? It sort of makes you wonder if you should re-evaluate who you place your trust with.
This society is sick, and bandaids aren't working anymore. In fact they never did. What can one do? First, we can demand the release of names, not just the careers and jobs they hold. A person who solicites child porn should have a face and a name, not just an unknown identity, and their profession. This story needs to be followed and we need to make certain that none of these people, if convicted, should ever be able to return to their positions and careers. If convicted, none of the sentences should include any time off for "good behavior." As far as we should be concerned, they had their chance to show good behavior when we trusted them to care or provide services for our children. They already blew their chance as far as good behavior is concerned. That is my view and thoughts. If you have any, feel free to sign the guest book below and state yours.
Child abuse is a horrendous crime that should not be accepted in our society but unfortunately it does occur. I cannot understand what would drive anyone to commit such an act on children as innocent as they are. Searching many sites relating to this subject I have come across some facts that should shock many.
The internet is a very informative and helpful tool in today's world. Many things can be accomplished through it and it's capabilities are expanding almost daily. Anyone can easily upload anything to the internet, both useful or harmful to society.
Children can easily be lured to a site by anyone posing as a friend when in fact they might be corresponding with a pedophile or someone who can be a threat to your child. Some children have been lured to personally meeting a person met online, and unfortunately it is stories like these that we read in the next morning's newspapers.
There are safeguards you can take to protect your child's safety on the internet. It is urged that you partake in them. Please visit the following websites. They have some very useful safety tips and links on their sites.
Some related web pages:
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