Monday, January 26, 2009

Parental Rights


What are our rights as parents?

Where should government draw the line?

In our current day in age our "free rights" are getting smaller and smaller every day while we claim to live in a free country. Who is going to stand up for our kids but us? I ask every parent in the USA that reads this to please sign the petition for parental rights.
I want the right to Homeschool my children, I want the right to teach my children my religious values and beliefs. I want to right to make sure they grow up to be smart, self reliant and not a mindless drone. Even if you don't want to USE these rights to not have them takes away from our freedoms that we hold dear and treasure. Please keep reading to see the coloration between what is happening in Sweden and what is happening here in the USA.

UN Report: Sweden

Posted by: Peter Kamakawiwoole on January 26th, 2009
Parental Inquisition
Sweden and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
There’s an old saying that once you reach the top, you can only go down.
For the nation of Sweden, however, reaching the top was only the beginning.
Sweden has long been regarded as a model nation, whose policies and laws are at the cutting-edge of international thinking on children’s rights. Sweden was the first nation to completely ban corporal punishment, the first to make sex education a mandatory feature of its educational curriculum, and the first to offer working parents free child-care for all children between the ages of 1 and 12. Thus, it should come as no surprise that on June 29, 1990, Sweden became the ninth nation in the world - and the first industrialized Western country - to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
And apparently, such innovations were only the beginning.
The modern regime in Sweden enjoys broad discretionary authority over parents, and is presently engaged in what Swedish lawyer Ruby Harrold-Claesson has termed a “parental inquisition.” The inquisition is broad, affecting educational decisions, child-rearing practices, parental discipline, and even the removal of children from their homes. The state wields incredible power, guided solely by its own “insights” into the child’s “best interests.” Against such power, no child or family is safe.
Sex-ed: No exemptions… period
When it comes to schools teaching children about the birds and the bees, American parents are used to two familiar words: “opt out.” Even parents who do not take advantage of parental exemptions are aware of their availability.
Apparently, that option has become outdated in Sweden.
In March 2008, Sweden’s government sought to take its trend-setting policies on mandatory sex education to the next level by eliminating all exemptions for parents - including parents with religious and philosophical differences.1 According to the state, all students, irrespective of religious or cultural beliefs, should receive instruction in the same subjects, and parental “exemptions” were being used as a ploy to keep children in ignorance. “Our belief in a tolerant society,” state officials wrote in a local paper, “should never result in us covering our eyes when women are the victim of attacks or being denied their rights with the excuse that it is a part of their culture or religion.”2
According to the state, the changes were primarily aimed at Sweden’s large Muslim immigrant populations, many of whom claimed religious exemptions for sex-ed classes.3
Although the proposal prompted a national debate, particularly among the nation’s major newspapers, nearly all of them came down firmly in favor of the government’s position. According to one paper, “religion has its given place in people’s lives. But in school, religious convictions ought to be studied, rather than be in control.”4 Another paper opined that eliminating the parental exceptions would be a good thing because it would give individual students “more power to decide for themselves whether or not they want to attend lessons which their parents find objectionable.”5
No more “time outs”
The idea that parents are ultimately responsible for raising their children is a foreign concept in Sweden. According to the state Ministry of Education and Science, local communities believe that it is “the responsibility of society to satisfy the need for child care,” and to look out for the “best interests” of children.6 In fact, Sweden’s laws specifically require that all decisions affecting children must be made in accordance with “the best interests of the child.”7
Unfortunately, this “highly developed view of the child”8 often works to the detriment of the family as a whole, especially when it comes to child training and discipline. In 1979, Sweden passed a law banning parents from using “physical punishment or any other humiliating treatment” to train their children.9 According to the Nordic Committee on Human Rights, the Swedish courts have applied the ban broadly, criminalizing everything from slaps and spankings to “time outs” and sending children to their rooms.10
As a result, Swedish parents “negotiate” with their children11 instead of providing training and discipline. For the parents who choose to buck the trend and brave the risk of training their children, however, the likely outcome is criminal prosecution and punishment at the hands of the state.
Sweden’s “Parental Inquisition”
Sweden’s government places so much pressure on families to conform with its dictates that Ruby Harrold-Claesson, an international human rights lawyer and a citizen of Sweden, has gone so far as to call their actions a “parental inquisition.”12
“The prosecution of parents in Sweden has taken the form of an Inquisition where children accuse their parents of ill-treatment,” Harrold-Claesson wrote in 2000. Laws aimed at controlling parents have “resulted in serious interference in people’s family and private lives, and has damaged the relationship between parents and children - to the detriment of the family.”13
Harrold-Claesson traces the source of the problem to Sweden’s community view of child-rearing: “In Sweden, family as an institution, which socialises children and passes on values, is not taken seriously. The status of the Family has been usurped and instead the school system and the social institutions have been given monopoly over the children.”14
Because of her opposition to official state policy against parents, Harrold-Claesson represented Swedish parents in Swedish and international courts for years, until she was barred by the courts in 1996 because of her opposition.15 She continues to work as chairman of the Nordic Committee on Human Rights, where she continues to warn others about Sweden’s “cutting-edge” policies.
“There is therefore great deception in the Swedish system which displays extreme brutality towards the parents and children,” she wrote in 2005. Sweden’s child-policy “gives rise to much suffering, but this does not appear in the official reports about the Law. Instead, [it is] portrayed to be ‘in the best interest of the child.’ This is a very dangerous law and a law that is unsuitable in a civilized, democratic society…. It opens the door for arbitrary decisions, which have proven to be devastation for Swedish children and their families.”


---How this relates to us in the USA
In the US, we may be grateful that it has not come to this. However, if you are involved with the foster care system, you know this is not the case. My wife and I are looking to adopt from the foster care system and will need to make some adjustments.
We had already stopped spanking as we found other ways to deal with poor behavior. However, if we felt we needed to make a point and spank (more of a light swat, really) for something highly dangerous like insisting on walking into the street in front of a car, we do not have the option. We cannot restrict the child’s movement in any way. So, making the child stay in their room for a few minutes is a no no. You cannot hold them on your lap until they calm down if they don’t want it. Essentially, you must always resort to trying to reason with the child (not an easy task with a 3 year old). Reason is a wonderful way to work with children, but let’s face it - it is not always possible and not always in the best interest of the child.
Not only do these rules apply to the children you are adopting, but also to your own children while doing foster care. All of these things are considered corporal punishment and will result in the children being taken away (even possibly your biological children!).
It is appalling to think that sending kids to their room is considered sufficient reason to remove children from a loving family. What has the world (and the US) come to?

By Mike Graser
Jan 26 at 11:38 am 2009

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I again want to point out how much we stand to lose, please help me to insure that not only my children's future is safe but that of all the generation's to come.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Weight loss


In one of my earlier blogs (Nov. 20th) I went through how to diet by only staying between your "magic" numbers.
~~ how many calories a day you can eat and still lose weight~~

I found staying below my set 1600 was easy staying below 100% of my daily salt intake has been the hard part.
At that time I had only been losing about 10 pds a year since my massive gain of weight with my health problems during my first pregnancy and my mother death (in which I gained a ton) I was a size 22 pants and a xxl top.
Less then 2 months later by following my number diet (which is eating less or healthier depending on the day) I am now a size 18 pant and a xl top.
The only exercise I have done as been infrequent and only for toning -to bring in the loose flab.

I have more energy, I feel more awake and I feel so much better about myself its a huge difference! So if you have been putting off losing those extra pounds because you think its going to be too hard I advise this - its easy and it works- if I can lose this much weight during the holiday season then anyone can lose weight by following their numbers.

My husband did not join me on this and in fact he gained 20 pds while I was losing so he is now on my "Magic number" diet and we will see how well he does.
In the main picture I was down to a size 20 I have lost another two inches since then and should continue to lose.

Chicken Fajita Casserole
Chicken Fajita Casserole
Tortillas stand in for noodles in a south of the border lasagna-style casserole.
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 hour 15 min
Makes: 6 servings

1can (16 oz) Old El Paso® refried beans
1can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1package (1 oz) Old El Paso® fajita seasoning mix
1package (9 oz) frozen cooked Southwest-seasoned chicken breast strips, thawed
8Old El Paso® flour tortillas for soft tacos & fajitas (6 inch; from 10.5-oz package)
1bag (1 lb) frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions, thawed, drained
2cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend (8 oz)







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About Concordance™





1.Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix refried beans, tomato sauce and fajita seasoning mix. Stir in chicken.
2.Spread 1/2 cup of the bean mixture over bottom of baking dish. Arrange 4 tortillas, overlapping if necessary, in baking dish. Top with half of remaining bean mixture, half of the stir-fry vegetables and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, bean mixture, stir-fry vegetables and cheese.
3.Cover baking dish with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake covered 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 to 15 minutes longer.

~~~Now for the recipe above the main bad thing in here is the salt so any of the cooking options you can find that have a low salt alternative add it in, the second problem is the cheese however as long as you shred* your own and just watch the rest of your fat for the day you should be able to have this just fine.

* Cheese that comes pre shredded has been coated with a chemical to keep it from turning into a big mushy ball of cheese.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year


Happy New Year!!
My books came in and so far I have read Lady Susan, Mansfield Park and of course my favorite Pride and Prejudice. I have 4 more to go and just love Jane Austen's writing more and more.
Conversations, wit, morals, sense, education and development of the stories are wonderful because with her books you don't know where she will end them yes they normally end with "happily ever after" but not necessarily the same happily ever after you wanted at the beginning.
Not only that but the journey is worth the trip full of fun, pain, growth and love.
With Mansfield Park I was pleasantly surprised the movie had taken more liberties with the book then I had supposed and I am finding it a deeper and richer gem then I had hoped for.

Snow here has piled up around us making it easier to spend time inside reading however I am still exercising and watching what I eat so the pounds are still coming off me - which I am so happy my hope for the holidays was to not gain weight this year and so far in one month I have dropped from a size 22 to a size 20.
I have more energy everyday and a strong desire to keep going (I used to be a size 5 before my daughters pregnancy made me happy just to be alive).
Any way Christmas decorations are being packed up and put away til the ending of this year.
I only wonder what this year has in store for us??? Who knows what will happen.
May your New Year be bright and full of wonderful surprises.
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