Rosie Scribble

Playground antics

Today I learnt a valuable lesson - never discipline someone else's child, unless you know them and their parents really well.

It was a mistake a made this morning before the school day had even started.

I use the word 'discipline' very loosely. I'm not talking about giving some poor child a severe telling off or embarrassing them in front of their friends. It didn't happen quite like that. In fact, I only said two words. It was instinctive to protect another child, but it was a mistake and I regretted it later.

As I said, I learnt a valuable lesson and will next time think twice before opening my mouth.

The incident happened in the school playground as the children were lining up to go into class. Directly in front of me, one six-year-old boy was hitting another, quite forcefully, and the other boy clearly did not like it. When his 'friend' then kicked him, the boy told him to stop and said "Don't push".

The boy doing the pushing then looked at me. He probably clocked the alarmed expression on my face. Without thinking I repeated the words, "Don't push." And then he stopped.

But minutes later his mother came over and he seemed upset. I'm not sure if he was ashamed, embarrassed or genuinely upset at what I'd said, but then next thing I heard was his mother telling him to ignore me, I wasn't a teacher.

I felt dreadful.

If IJ had been behaving that way then I don't think I would have a problem with another parent politely telling her to stop. I'd be more concerned that she was behaving so badly and I'd probably feel embarrassed myself. But if a parent upset her on the way into school, as clearly I did, then I would not be happy and would feel very protective towards her.

I don't usually interfere, it's not in my nature. In fact I never have before and I certainly won't again.

It is difficult to stand by and watch one child hurt another, but I suppose if the child's parents are around, even if they are not doing anything about it, then the child is their responsibility, not mine.

Lesson learnt.

Two words Wednesday

Fabulous taste!

Why supermarket shopping is bad for your health

IJ has an annoying habit of telling me that she is 'only little', usually when I have discovered that she has not done something I have asked her to do.

So when she hasn't tidied her room or eaten her breakfast, or when she is suddenly incapable of putting her on her own shoes by herself, she will respond with the line 'But I'm only little'. Cue innocent looking face and dewy eyes.

Yet when she wants to stay up and watch the X-Factor results show or accompany me to a Girls Aloud concert (she didn't, on both counts), she is suddenly all grown-up.

Yesterday, queueing in the checkout at Stressco's, I sensed another 'situation' coming on. I had asked her why she had sneaked two large bags of maltesers into the trolley when she had been explicitly told no chocolate.

I knew what was coming, although this time, in front of a small crowd of unsuspecting  shoppers, she altered her reply. And in my entire history of supermarket shopping, I have never felt more embarrassed than when she announced,

'I'm only little and I haven't got boobs.'

Mortified.

Testing the new safety headphones for kids

By sheer coincidence, I was asked if I would be interested in testing a new pair of safety headphones for children, at exactly the same time as IJ decided she wanted an ipod.

She didn't get an ipod of course, but I have downloaded a selection of her song choices onto mine. Occasionally she is allowed to borrow it.

So the opportunity to receive a free pair of MyPhones came at exactly the right time. As hearing problems run in the family (and IJ sees a consultant audiologist every six months for check-ups) I was really interested to read about a pair of headphones that claims to protect children's ears.

The MyPhones feature a maximum volume limit; they cap the volume at 85 decibels which is the maximum sustained volume level recommended by regulatory agencies such as the OSHA and CDC (both American agencies).

The verdict?

We tested them on our recent car drive to Manchester and they made the journey so much easier. IJ really liked them; they were comfortable to wear and I could relax knowing that she was not playing the volume too high. They lived up to their claims of being adjustable and durable;  there was little chance of IJ breaking them as she pulled them on and off. The shell caps can also be customised, so IJ opted for pink. I liked the fact that the headphones fit outside the ear so there are no parts entering the ear channel.

The MyPhones came with their own plastic case, the idea being that kids can grab them and use them on the move. However, the case was very difficult to open and I trapped my fingers in it twice.

The headphones themselves, I thought were excellent, and I liked the fact that there is a section about ear safety on the MyPhones website. They are relatively expensive at £29.99 but I thought they were good value for money and durable enough to last.

Kids and internet safety

Over recent weeks, I have become increasingly preoccupied with the issue of internet safety. At six-years-old, IJ is surprisingly competent at using the internet, and of course she sees me spending hours on it. She has seen me on Tweet-deck and thinks it's great; if she could set up her own account she probably would.

So she knows the internet can be a great social tool; she regularly plays games on it and watches the BBC iplayer. But she does not know that there are dangers out there too.

She started using search engines at school, and at home I have found her attempting to type words into Google so have had to keep a close eye on what she is doing. This was not an issue until she could spell. I have set my Google preferences so that all search results are heavily filtered, but I'm still extremely cautious.

The recent news item about Ashleigh Hall who was tragically killed after meeting up with a man she met on Facebook, has added to my concerns about internet safety, not surprisingly. IJ is too young for a Facebook account of course but I've realised it's time I educated myself on the risks out there.

A website recently mentioned in the Times has proved invaluable as a source of relevant, up-to-date information. www.thinkuknow.co.uk reminds parents that we protect our kids in the real world and so we should teach them about the risks and dangers in the on line world as well. And, of course, that means we need to fully understand them ourselves, which I realised I did not.

The site provides information and answers 'frequently asked questions' in the five main areas where internet safety is an issue:

• Grooming
  
• Mobiles
  
• Gaming
  
• Social networking
• Chat

I found it sad yet necessary reading, and I learnt a lot from it, including the fact the some phone operators sell mobiles with filtering software to protect children who surf the internet from their phone. But I was alarmed to discover that images on social networking pages can be sent around the world unless the 'no picture forwarding' box is ticked.

Most of it is not relevant to IJ yet as she does not have a mobile phone, MSN or a social networking page, but it won't be that long until she does.

Until then, it seems I have a lot to learn.