My reading challenge. Week 1.

So this is a new type of blog..Check out the video below to find out about my
new Reading Challenge :) 

5 Animes Parents should show their Children and why.

Welcome back to my blog. Firstly I must apologize for the lack of posts here. as a third year University Student I have been very busy and occupied. However I endeavor to bring you more posts relating to childcare and children over the next year.

I have some interesting news for all my readers. I have applied to the JET Program which is the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program. This would mean I would become a teacher of English working and living over in Japan. This week I had my interview at the Embassy of Japan in London and am rather excited about the whole process. Fingers crossed that I get in.

There was one question that peaked my interest in the interview and that was about my interest in Anime and Manga. I would like to share with you today a more thorough explanation of the subject, once again with a particular emphasis towards children.

When someone asks me why I watch Anime they usually presume that I'm watching some kind of weird tentacle pornography. That unfortunately does exist and is often seen on the internet and blackens the name of all Anime. For example 98% of the people in my class at University all think that Anime is ALL just cartoon pornography from Japan and would cringe if I suggested allowing children to watch it.

Now you'll have to bear with me because Anime is a wonderful invention and just like any other media has its audiences from children to adult and extreme... However Anime has many different messages and the stories are sometimes the best I've ever seen.

Here are my suggestions for Anime or Anime Films that children should definitely see and why.

1. Usagi Drop/Bunny Drop.

Usagi Drop is an Anime which deals with loneliness and grief. The story follows the daily life of a middle aged man called Daikichi who is doing well in his business style job. He wears a suit to work every day, has no children or partner and lives alone. However he receives news that his grandfather has passed away one day. Naturally he attends to family in their time of need and attends the traditonal funeral.

Thats where he meets Rin. Rin is the illegitimate daughter of Daikichi's grandfather and no one knows who her mother is, or where she is. Rin is first rejected by all of the other family members because they don't want her as she is a stain on their family name. It was even suggested that Rin was to be put up for adoption as she was not a proper part of the family. 

Daikichi decides that the attitude to Rin is wrong. He simply stands up and takes her home. He states that she is still family and its not her fault. Once home he finds it hard to adapt to looking after a young child. He asks his co-worker for help in enrolling her in a nursery school. He also faces challenges at work, such as taking a pay cut and working less hours so he can pick up Rin from school and walk her home. He quits smoking because he realizes that it is harmful to Rin's health. Over the course of the Anime Daikichi changes to be a better man and learns to accept Rin in his heart. Also Rin begins to grow up and learns to trust Daikichi and see's him as a father role. 

Usagi Drop is one of my favorite Animes when it comes to emotional content and story. The story deals with many problems that children face in the real world as well as problems for parents. Rin has to deal with losing her father, moving to a new home, transitions into school and living with a foster parent. This Anime can help children and even adults who are in similar situations especially children in care. Many people can relate to both Rin and Daikichi as they are both very real and have very real circumstances. It shows that families are all different and that's perfectly fine and I strongly believe that it should get more credit. If you have a spare few hours, or have a child who is going through similar circumstances then I can't recommend watching this enough.  

2. Spirited Away 

Spirited Away. If you don't know what this Animated Movie is then you are seriously missing out. This film is my favorite animates film of all time. There is a reason why Spirited Away is the only Anime film to ever win an Oscar Award.

The story follows Chihiro who is in the process of moving house with her parents. They get lost after her father takes what he thinks is a shortcut. The family end up in the Spirit World which is in the form of an abandoned theme park. Chihiro's parents start eating food in a cafe. Chihiro goes off to explore, disgusted by her parents table manners. She comes back to find them turned into pigs.

Chihiro ends up working at a Bath House for the Spirit World where she meets a variety of characters including one called Haku a young man who helps her. He promises her that one day she can return home with her parents, however things go badly. When Haku comes back injured from a journey that Yuubaba, the witch that controls the Bath House sent him on, Chihiro has to do the right thing. She runs away to return a golden seal to lift a curse on him and apologize. This short synopsis does not do the film justice, you really have to see it for yourself.

Spirited Away can be beneficial to children. It helps them realize that they all have courage and to trust their judgement to do the right thing. It teaches them loyalty and to take pride in who they are. It also teaches them that love can help with a lot of the problems in the world and they should look out for those who look out for them. I would strongly recommend this film to everyone and its a film you should definitely watch sometime in your life. Hats off to Hayao Miyazaki, this film is in my opinion his best piece of work ever.

3. Shugo Chara

Shugo Chara is a rather interesting Anime and is aimed at children. The story follows a girl who has just moved to a new Elementary School called Amu. She is known across the school as being "Cool and Spicy" as she puts on an emotionless front and acts like she is tough. However in fact she is much different and turns out to be hiding her true self. In reality she is still finding herself as a person, and it probably doesn't help when three eggs turn up in her bed one morning.

These eggs eventually hatch and turn out to be called "Guardian Characters" which turn out to be what her heart wants to be in the future as a person. She befriends some other classmates who have Guardian Characters. Guardian Characters are what your heart truly wants to be and are a combination of your dreams and desires as a child.

Amu and her friends then have a mission. Someone is trying to lure out X Eggs. X Eggs are black eggs that come from childrens hearts when their dreams are restricted or broken. For example if your want to be a certain person and are denied the opportunity your egg (dream in your heart) becomes black and goes wild causing havoc. Together they are on a mission to purify the X Eggs, help others realize that they can be whom they want to and to follow their heart. Its a strange Anime but it has a good meaning.

This Anime can teach children and even adults that you should follow your heart and not let people get in your way. It also helps with people who think they need to put up a front to be accepted and that you should be yourself and not someone different. Its a good anime to watch overall, its pretty long and has some good action scenes so its good for children who might become bored easily. Its also very very colorful and cartoony. 

4. Angel Beats

I've mentioned Angel Beats before. And this is an Anime for older children and teenagers. But I am going to include it in here as well. Angel Beats is about Otonashi who wakes to find himself in a High School with a girl who is about to shoot a sniper rifle.

Seriously, its not as crazy as it sounds. It turns out that they are in the limbo between Heaven and Earth and no one can die, it just really hurts (Apparently). Anyways without ruining the story it is about the characters who are there because they have had a bad youth and couldn't enjoy themselves while they were young and have died because of it. For example one of the characters grew up in an abusive home environment and escaped through her music, while another was witness to watching her siblings being brutally murdered during a robbery at her home.

Angel Beats is one of those Animes that makes you think about others and what they may be going through. It also shows how special educational needs are real. For example Yui is paralyzed after a car accident when she was young. Her dreams are simple, such as hitting a home run, doing wrestling and getting married. Dreams she was certain she would never be able to do when she was alive. It can teach children that no matter where they are from or whats happened in the past they can always do what they dream of and progress with the help of friends and loved ones.  

That's what makes Angel Beats more special.

For more information on Angel Beats please take a look at this link from my previous blog entry. LINK

5. Anohana, The Flower We Saw That Day. 

Anohana, The Flower We Saw That Day is an amazing anime when it comes to grief and relationships. It follows Jinta who is a high school student. Several years ago he had friends who used to hang out at a den in the woods together. However there was an accident causing one of their group, Menma to have an accident being killed in the process.

Jinta is then haunted by what can only be described as Menmas spirit and love. She appears and bothers him, but only he can see her. She's a kind of ghost and she wants to know what happened. In the time she has been dead the group of friends have all separated in different ways and each feel guilty for her death. They all blame themselves as well as each other for the death of Menma.

The story progresses as the group faces conflicts. Menma tries to get Jinta to explain about her. They think he's crazy, but then they realize that she is still there as a ghost and in their hearts. Menma can't pass on as she has a wish to fulfill. She doesn't know this wish, only her heart will tell her when it is time. Eventually the group of friends work together to help Menma pass on and to get over their own personal grief which has been building up inside them since they were children and Menma teaches them that even though she is gone they should all stick together as friends.

This Anime teaches children the value of true friendship. It helps children who may have lost a friend, to death or otherwise and helps children with any guilt they may feel. A lot of events happen and children can feel like they are to blame. This Anime is wonderful for helping them realize that with friends and love, you can accomplish anything and be strong together. No one should have to suffer in silence. Be prepared though, the ending is very emotional and even I end up tearing up. Definitely recommended, so many important lessons for life.

Those are my five recommendations of Anime to show to children. I hope that I've influenced you or helped you understand what Anime can be and why I believe it is better than normal cartoons. You can watch a cartoon where you beat up aliens and monsters all day, but does it help you understand being alone or how to deal with losing someone close to you? This is why any future children of mine will be exposed to these Animes because I believe with some understanding, they can help children become better people.

$15 Minimum Wage for US Fast Food Workers

Recently there has been many posts and memes on Facebook and other social media sites about American's anger that Fast Food companies want to raise their minimum wage of their workers to $15. After doing some research and reading some comments on the subject I am very ashamed of some American's attitudes towards the subject. A lot of people don't think that the people behind the counter serving their food deserve a higher minimum wage and that the job is easy.

First of all, the job is not easy in the slightest. I know people here in the UK who work or have worked in such establishments and it is not just a case of "Flipping burgers and putting them into bread". A worker in a fast food restaurant has to ensure that the food is cooked, served properly and having to put up with ignorant and rude customers who are too lazy to cook their own food, yet don't want to pay for someone to do it for them. I am in FULL SUPPORT of the Fast Food companies raising their minimum wage because no one can live on a stupidly low minimum wage.

However there is this attitude and common assumption that the people who give you your Big Mac Meal and Large Drink are simply uneducated, stupid, immature idiots that can't spell their own name correctly. Well this is wrong. They are people and they have feelings too. I know several people who work at McDonalds right now and are at University. Their main reason is because it gives them a damn good wage for part time work that they have some extra income on top of their student finance. Does that make them stupid and uneducated? Does that mean they can't spell their own name when they are working towards a degree? No it doesn't.

According to the McDonalds website the average worker who works full time earns between £18.5 to £21k annually. That is not a bad wage at all, its better than some. Thats on a wage of £5.55 an hour if you're over the age of 22. This translates to roughly $9 an hour. At that wage per hour no one can live and earn enough in their life to buy a car, rent a house with everything on the top without help, due to the price of todays living costs.

In comparison, I am a nursery nurse. My job involves the education and care of young children. This is a minimum wage job in most cases. On average in the UK a nursery nurse earns the average annual wage of 16 to 17k. So if we are basing attitudes off of annual wage sums, then all Nursery Nurses are thick people who have no idea how to look after children and can't even speak English properly? You are forgetting that Nursery Nurses have to have a qualification and in some cases a degree to do their job and yet they are on a lower wage than staff at McDonalds. However McDonalds have made the brave decisio to raise their minimum wage and its been hit by waves and waves of negativity because of the attitude of "I don't want to pay for my food because I'm lazy and don't care about others".

The same applies to childcare. If we were to get a higher wage the price of childcare would rise and parents wouldn't want their children at Nursery or Pre-School. Some people do not understand that the people who are providing you with services have lives to live too and are not just robots that do what you want when you want. A prime example of this is when parents expect teachers and nursery nurses to teach children to do things that parents should be doing. Some parents want their child learn to potty train, yet show no effort in helping them because "I'm paying you to teach my child this". Yes you're paying us, and you're not paying us very much why should we raise your child and teach him/her to use the toilet when you are too lazy to do it yourself? etc etc..

Lets have a look at the average price for a house in the UK for one person who is on the £18.5k wage. According to the ONS (Office of National Statistics) the average house price in the UK is £250,000. First of all you need 10% of that as a deposit so thats £25 off the bat, on a 18.5k wage that will take about 2 to 3 years if you put a little bit away every month and cut on pretty much every expenditure you have. Then you've got to get a mortgage and that isn't going to happen if you're not earning enough, so you've got no chance in either jobs. So really, why are we complaining that McDonalds wants to help people they employ and not allow them to move on with their lives. Has anyone thought that the people at McDonalds might like their jobs and may want to progress further into the company?

But back to McDonalds. I am glad and happy they have raised their minimum wage. The company earns billions in profits worldwide and have finally seen that their workers do deserve better. The overall attitude that has come up is that people do not want to pay a few extra dollars for food because they don't see it as a career or a job for the person giving it to them. First of all, that person has a job and is providing you a service because you are too lazy to eat at home or wait to go home. They are human too, you should never look down on anyone because its not right. If you turn your nose up at someone then it goes to show how much of a selfish bastard you really are.

To sum it all up. If you don't like the fact that McDonalds are paying more to their employee's then don't go there. If you're so annoyed that they are getting more money than you, go and get a job with them. Maybe then you will appreciate them more and see just how much crap they put up with from selfish people who think they are superior to them. Show them respect, don't look down on them because of their job, they are your fellow citizens and they have the same rights as you. Don't discriminate against them and think you're superior because you're not. Treat people how you want to be treated and stop being selfish and learn to give instead of taking for once in your life.

SEN in Anime & Angel Beats

Hello! Its been a long time since I posted anything on here, but I recently stumbled across something I wanted to post about. I am currently re-writing my essay on Special Education Needs because I failed it last year (which really does suck) so I'm taking the time to procrastinate for a half hour or so.

Over the summer I've been taking the time to relax and taking some time off, as well as working part time. I have however been watching and reading a lot of Manga and Anime. After working on this essay about SEN it reminded me about an episode of Angel Beats which focuses around one of the characters called Yui. A little bit of background information so you understand this a bit more. Angel Beats is a high school set in the void between passing on and being alive. Teenagers who died and didn't get to enjoy their youth would come to this place to rid themselves of all their past emotions and regrets, then they could pass on to be at peace.

Yui when she was alive had a SEN. She was paralyzed from the head down after being hit by a car when she was younger. The reason I am posting about this is because usually in Anime or in television there is not many character with a SEN. The episode about Yui is about the main protagonist helping her do everything she wanted to do when she was alive, its really touching that she wanted to do such normal things. For example all she wanted to do was play football with friends and to hit a home run in a baseball game and the last one is a total shock. The video on the right shows what Yui's last wish was and how it was granted by another character Hinata.

After watching the episode it became apparent that children with SEN need to be included and need to be involved in everything. Its become a huge thing to have inclusion in schools and I personally believe that it should not just be in schools, but in all of society. Yui's story describes clearly the old fashioned medical model where children with SEN have something wrong with them. I believe that inclusion should be for all of society and not just in education.

However since I'm on the topic of Angel Beats I need to show just how good this Anime is, and not just for the Anime Fan. Since the high school is based in the void between passing on and living each teenager in the show has a powerful realistic backstory. These are relatable to the teenagers we see today. There is deep underlying emotion throughout the series mixed with comedy and some misunderstood fighting scenes.

I'm going to take Iwasawa's story for example. Iwasawa was brought up in a violent hosuehold with an alcoholic father who was abusive and horrible. She tried to escape by using music and this helped her get through it. She related to a band that came from a similar background as her. She dived deep into her music, performing on the street and earning money where she could so she could go on and live a nicer life. However she died due to her upbringing, I'm not going to spoil it but it is in the video on the left.

 Now there is going to be some people who are thinking "Why is he even bothering to tell us about this" and the answer is simple. I am getting rather fed up of people thinking that Anime is "Just a cartoon" or is just pornographic animation. Its strange how often the only Anime people have ever heard of is Hentai (Which is a genre of Anime which is pornographic). Angel Beats is an Anime I would highly recommend to any teenager who feels like they have had a bad upbringing or have had issues in the past because they can relate to it. I can relate to the bad home environment, even though its not as bad as Iwasawa's my parents were always fighting though they didn't do it infront of me, they did it through my grandparents. However when I watched Angel Beats and saw Iwasawa's Story I related to her and I felt sorry for her. So please if you still think that Anime is just a cartoon, please watch and episode of Angel Beats then go watch an episode of Spongebob Squarepants and tell me how they are even remotely similar!

I'm going to leave you with an awesome picture from Angel Beats below for you to think about. I strongly recommend that everyone watch this fantastic story, yes it has its flaws but the story is so in depth that it has meaning. This is what Anime is and this shows a perfect example of Inclusion from Hinata towards Yui. We need more people like him, more people accepting people for who they are not what they are!

A dance through my mind - Interview with Josh Egget.

Welcome to a special post on The Male Childcarer. Today I interview a friend of mine from University who has ADHD and created a stunning video about his struggle for his final project. The video entitled "A dance through my mind" is available on YouTube to watch. Below is the video and the interview with Josh.This is my first ever interview for The Male Childcarer and I hope it helps people understand how ADHD does affect children and young adults, but also how different things can help, in Josh's case its his dancing. Enjoy.

A Dance Through My Mind by Josh Egget

 

Interview with Josh, June 2014

 

Please feel free after watching these videos to visit Josh's YouTube Channel. He is willing to answer questions or comments and looks forward to sharing his stories and showing people that it doesn't matter what you have, you can do anything you want in life, and do what you want to do.The links to his channel and the video on YouTube can be found at the end of the interview video.

Childrens TV Shows. Old vs New in terms of educational content & ideologies.

Right so this is a little bit different for me. Its been over a month since I posted anything on here due to University getting in the way. However through the hours of procrastinating and looking back at old shows I used to watch as a child I have come to realise something. There used to be old awesome cartoons and television shows that made a difference, had educational material embedded into them and should never have been taken off the air.

Now before I start there is many TV shows out there aimed at children that have educational content and have underlying messages. However in my recent experiences they seem to be dropping less and less especially in shows that are aimed at any child over the age of three. Just to clarify I was a child that had access to the old style Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, however there were also cartoons and TV shows broadcasted here on standard TV channels which were just awesome.

The first TV show that I loved as a child and most people just overlooked was a show called Animaniacs. The show was a 'sketch style' type cartoon based around several characters at Warner Brothers Studios who each had their own sketch shows. The main characters were the 'Warner Brothers and the Warner Sister' who lived in the water tower at the studios. These three were crazy yet they had some absolutely awesome songs that were educational.

Here are two videos from Animaniacs which are probably my favorite and most memorable songs that I ever learnt from them. 

The first video on the left is the Animaniacs singing the history of the presidents of the United States of America. Although this song is very catchy and not really relevant to English Children it does have some History in it and since the show mainly had a US Audience this was remarkable. After reading through the comments on YouTube there were several American Students that even today use this video to get through History Tests! So tell me why was this show taken off the air back in 1998?! (Great now I feel really old). Oh a word of warning since this was back in the 90's it is a little outdated...

And here is probably my favourite ever Animaniacs song, just because it is pure genius whoever wrote it. Yakko sings all the countries of the world. Now this video he doesn't sing them in any particular order its just the ones that rhyme with each other. This video would still help children with Geography and should be used. However Cartoon Network took this show off the air in 1998 and if it had kept going then these cheesy catchy songs could still be going but with new updates and helping children understand complex issues and history without even knowing it.

After doing some research on Animaniacs for this article I did discover that Cartoon Network has decided to re-run Animaniacs, however not at any time a child would be awake. Good effort Cartoon Network but you still prefer the no so educational shows which win on popularity such as Ben 10.

Yes I had to mention it. Ben Ten. Now from my research (and hearing from countless children) Ben 10 is a modern childrens television show about a boy called Ben who has some strange watch which changes him into different types of Aliens which he then combats monsters etc. Now I've seen episodes of this when channel flicking through early on a morning and to be honest I don't see what children see in it. All I see is yet another violent male superhero who has strange powers.

Now I completely understand why children love this type of show. Maybe its personal preference but they never appealed to me. Why do I want to watch some violent boy change into aliens and beat up monsters when I can watch something else in the same genre but actually learn something. Now one show that does come to mind and was probably one of my favourite from Cartoon Network ever was The Powerpuff Girls.

Now if you can remember them you'll remember that they were probably the first ever female superheroes for children. Now I must stress that a lot of the stories weren't educational but had hidden meanings that if you were smart enough you could pick up on. In fact the final episode was actually never aired in the United States and in other countries such as China, Russia due to its message about communism. Yes the Powerpuff Girls went there! Just to quickly recap there is a strange gnome like man that comes to their town and promises to make everyone happy and safe if the girls surrender their powers. They agree to hoping that everyone will be happy, however he controls everyone's lives in order to make everyone happy. Basically he turns the town into a dictatorship communism. (You can see why there were countries this wasn't aired in). However in the end the girls get their powers back but not after explaining to him just about how everything is in balance. Watch the video on the left, its powerful and has so many hidden meanings. I didn't see this as a child but its message makes children realise that there are good and bad in the world yet you need to balance it. Its quite philosophical if you ask me.

Now I've looked at the shows that were mainly on Cartoon Network and other Sky Channels. However there were other TV Shows that were on the main channels (Back when we only had channels one to five, great now I feel really old!). The first show that came to mind was the traditional classic Rosie and Jim! Now Rosie and Jim was about these two rag dolls that would go around on a Narrow Boat on English Canals and learn about the different things they encountered. During my research I was shocked to learn that I still know every single word to the theme tune. I remember that Rosie and Jim used to be on TV everyday after school as part of "BBC's Children's Hour" a long time before CBBC or CBeebies. My favourite episode was about how Rosie and Jim discovered how their narrow boat was built as well as other boats. I think this is why I was fascinated by canals and loved to go on bicycle rides along the tow paths when I was younger. Now I recently found this episode on YouTube and I am going to admit I did sit there and watch it whilst writing this article. The episode in on your right and I strongly suggest that if you want to see what I was on about, you can see just how educational and awesome this show was! (By the way I wanted to go on one of these boats so badly as a child my dad asked a friendly couple if I could have a ride, it was the best day of my life).

So another example that was featured on TV and was educational yet fun was a TV Show called "The Magic Schoolbus". Now not many people remember this show, but I remember it quite clearly. The story was about a class and a teacher who would take the children on field trips to answer their questions or to cure their curiosity. Now to get around obvious barriers the bus was magic and could do pretty much anything, from fly to turn microscopic etc. And yes if you're already wondering I still know all the words to the theme tune its actually scary how much I remember these old shows. So once again I've included video evidence to support my explanation, the video on the left is the episode where the class and the Magic School Bus go back in time to discover Dinosaurs after visiting an archaeological site. Seriously when I become a teacher I'm going to see if I can get myself one of these "Magic School Buses", they seem like a necessary education tool that every teacher needs...

So far I've identified that there are two types of educational childrens shows, those which teach directly such as Animaniacs and those with hidden messages underpinning the story.

So now I'm going to look at some modern examples which are on air, but are not yet widely known or appreciated. The one TV Show that does stand out to me and has a remarkable audience is the modern version of My Little Pony. Now since my house mates are the biggest Bronies I've ever known I've also gotten involved just because I was curious in what they see in the show.Now I am going to write a special blog post on this topic but from what I've seen of My Little Pony its not just a show about female ponies living in a fantasy land, but it actually had serious messages about being a better friend and a better person in general. This is one thing that I love about this show and the stories reflect this and even though many people especially boys and men believe that this show is "for girls only" its actually not. If you watch it, or simply give it a try you'll understand that yes the show is aimed at girls but it has messages that are relevant to all. Its not all glitter and fancy clothes. I found a compilation of the end of all of season 1 from My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic which follows the format of writing a letter of what the characters have learnt about friendship. Give it a watch and tell me how this is for girls only and how this doesn't apply to everyone?

Just to clarify MLP covers many topics in modern life that children face everyday. From choosing between two friends, to how to deal with a bully and from how to trust your family and elders decisions. I've seen pictures of people bullied by others for liking this show, so I just wanted to say that those people who are too arrogant and stuck up to realise that the messages and lessons in this show are actually helping children become better citizens, then that goes to show just what upbringing you had doesn't it?

Another modern example of an educational show but had an underpinning message is Disney's own Phineas & Ferb. Now this is a show that I discovered back in 2010 when on Holiday in Tenerife and Disney Channel was the only TV channel we could find in English. On the other hands I learnt how to count in Spanish due to the Johnson Baby Oil advert... but anyways from watching the show I learnt that the first few seasons didn't have any educational content, but as the show progresses it does slot in some history and other educational content as it progresses. It does this in the clever way of the actual story. The show is about two step brothers called Phineas and Ferb who can somehow create magnificent things to do throughout the summer months and get away with it each time. Seriously they build a rollercoaster, they go back in time they go around the world etc etc. However its underpinning messages are not as clear but are there. For example they are step brothers and have a complex family structure like modern children these days yet they're also bets friends. The show also plays on childrens stereotypes such as The bully, The Quiet One, The Popular one etc and it basically runs with it. Just like My Little Pony, Phineas and Ferb express their lessons and messages through the use of songs. To the right is a song sung by Candace who is feeling guilty of getting her brothers into trouble and how much they actually mean to her. This can help children in relations with siblings, especially older children with younger siblings. However what I love about this show is its sense of humour, its amazing animation and its weird and wacky storylines. It really does appeal to modern children and Disney have done a fantastic job of getting educational content into this fantastic cartoon. It also applies to both gender sterotypes, especially in the case of Isabella who has a massive crush on Phineas and often sings about it. Seriously I can remember having crushes on girls when I was younger, where was Isabella back then to help me?! (Watch the bottom video for more context).

This has turned into a superlong post/article about childrens TV shows and educational content. However I firmly believe that even though the modern shows have some fantastic content (In relation to MLP and P&F) there was a time when TV shows had more meaning in them. Yes MLP and P&F have some great messages and lessons in them, but compared to what used to be shown back when I was a child they can't compete. I can flick through the childrens channels now on standard channels and find TV shows with hardly any or none educational content at all. The TV Channels where My Little Pony and Phineas & Ferb are broadcasted on are both channels that you need to pay or subscribe to and they are not broadcasted on standard channels. This makes it hard for children from poorer families to watch and learn. As a childcare practitioner I can see which children have access to these shows and which don't and its a huge gap. If we're going to make educational childrens television we need to make sure that its accessible for all and not only on paid for channels.

These are just my views on how childrens television has changed and I've only scratched the surface in this post, there are many ways its become better and many ways its become worse. But for now I'm going to just say that some modern childrens television is brilliant and some is utter garbage. TV producers and animators should look back on the past and at some of the truly successful childrens shows and learn from them. After all children spend much more time in front of a TV or looking at a digital screen than they do outside, mainly because we're all scared that if we take our eyes off them for more than thirty seconds they'll get kidnapped. But that's for another post, this is all for now! Arigato! :)

Ann Maguire - Stabbed to death by her student.

Well its tragic news that gripped the country. A teacher from my home town of Leeds, Mrs Ann
Maguire was stabbed to death in front of her class this week. As a training teacher and childcare provider I am shocked to hear about this. Apparently it was also an unprovoked attack. First of all my thoughts go out to her family and friends, however it has occurred to me that the media are blaming video games for this random out burst.

First of all there are game out there which do have violence in them. I have played games such as Left for Dead, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto and to be honest its never crossed my mind to randomly jump out at my Spanish teacher and stab her. An article by the Telegraph states the current known facts about the situation. (Click here to read).

Now, from reading through the article it seems that the boy (Who will remain nameless) often brought alcohol to school, disobeyed his parents and was described as a "loner" and an outcast. Now these are not very nice things to say about anyone. The one thing I want to know is why wasn't the school doing anything about this? The fact that an under-age teenager could have, drink or even buy alcohol is questionable to say the least. Why was he driven to such lengths and why did he change into this from what he used to be?

The media can be a massive influence and unfortunately video games have started to become more violent, mainly because the market has changed. When I was little playing Pokémon on GameBoy Colour (Yes I'm that old) was considered a normal and easy going game. However, I now hear children talk about first person shooters and violent games that I wouldn't dream of playing when I was that young. Seriously though, when a Five year old child starts asking his friend how many head shots he's got on COD, isn't that when you start to wonder why they are playing such a game?

The video game industry is constantly changing. However unfortunately 8 out of 10 parents will allow their twelve year old play a 18 rated game without giving a second thought. I am a very firm believer that the ratings are there for a reason. If a game has an 18 logo on, it shouldn't be played by, with or around anyone younger than that, especially younger children who have yet to learn from right and wrong.

This isn't the first time that murder has been blamed on the video game industry. If you're old enough or study childcare like I did, you are probably familiar with the James Bulger case. Two children kidnapped a three year old boy and repeated what they had seen on their games to him then left him on a railway track to die. I'm not going into any detail because what they did was seriously horrific.

However, once again Mrs Maguire's death has been blamed on one individuals obsession with violent gaming.  I don't believe this is right. From what I've read then young man had several serious underlying issues that should have been spotted and addressed. Now I don't know if they were or not and were in the process of doing so, however I can only assume that they weren't recognised. Perhaps if they were noticed and he was receiving help then this tragedy could have been avoided.

 As a childcare practitioner, I feel very sorry not just for Mrs Maguire, but also for the young man that resorted to such actions. I know what its like to feel alone at school and I know how it feels to have personal problems. I also understand that everyone has their own way of dealing with their issues, mine was to write it out and turn it into a story. I seriously hope he receives help to stabilise any insecurities the young man has, yes he's facing murder charges but it does make me wonder what caused him to do such and act and why it wasn't noticed earlier.

Overall this tragedy is horrible. A much loved teacher killed by her student mainly because he had no other way of acting, maybe he didn't know how or he just couldn't express himself. Also I believe that violent video games did have a participation in this but it is wrong for the media to solely blame it on that. I just hope that in the future more parents regulate what their children are playing and be a little stricter, maybe then we'll have a generation where violence in children isn't a problem.

To the family of Mrs Maguire, my deepest condolences and I hope she rests in peace.