Monday, January 14, 2008

Idle thoughts...

While waiting for Winkflash to upload my backlog of pictures.

Pictures.
We take a lot of pictures. There are still currently 235 waiting to upload, and that's been going on since 8:30 this evening. Winkflash offers these great hardcover books every once in a while for a flat rate for up to 100 pages. We currently have two of Ché pictures, and since they are offering it again, I thought it was about time. I looked in the last book and the last time we uploaded anything was June, so we're a bit behind. The sad part is that the 235 pictures are the ones weeded out and don't yet involve Christmas time, or other peoples' pictures. I'd be broke if I had to develop all these, and put them in albums.

Child Violence.
Maybe it's the current field I work in, but I've noticed a lot of child centered violence lately. Not children being violent, but adults being violent towards children. A few examples are such:

The children in Washington D.C. that no-one stood up for, The 4 children thrown off of a bridge, the boy shot while taking his piano lesson by a stray bullet, and the boy who says his mom burned him in the oven.
Sadly, these are the saddest things I've seen in the 7 months that I've worked in my current field. I could go on for days about the things I've seen parents do to their kids and the things I've seen children do in desperation.
It saddens me that the world has come to this, and I know children have been getting hurt for centuries, but it truly seems as though we've hit a low. We're wasting our future, and we're damaging any chance we have of making the world a better place and if we don't cut it out and help the people who are affected by violence, and the people that cause violence we are headed down an awful road.

And in all honesty, the parents and caregivers of the people that hurt these children, while they are the responsible parties, need just as much if not more help than the victims themselves. In our county, the incidence of generational abuse is sky high. If we look back in records, chances are the parents that are hurting their kids now, were hurt as children. Sexual abuse is on the rise and the history there is frightening. Children who are abused are more likely to abuse other children while they are still children, or to go on to do abuse as an adult. When are we going to grow up as a nation, and say enough is enough and start putting our money in places where it really matters?
For some interesting but eye-opening reading visit here:

Child Help
or
Child Welfare Information Gateway

Feel compelled to help?
Try here:

CASA
or
Kidspeace

And now, I'll step down from my soapbox for my last idle thought:

Potty.
Recently Ché has begun really fighting diaper changes. We've been doing the potty thing, which involved getting it out, explaining what it is and why we have it, etc. Ché will even use the potty, and has had success from both "ends" on many different occasions, but lately he is revolting on both. Of course the favorite answer is "no" to everything, but honestly the whole bathroom bit he is really adamant about.

Ché will generally use the potty before a nap, and before bed, but trying to get him to go during the day is like pulling teeth. He is just to busy to bother going. We even tried the thick cotton pants and regular underwear so that he knew when he was wet, but he didn't care. Pull-ups were just too much like diapers so that didn't work either.

Do you all have suggestions?

1 comment:

AAWG said...

It's a pain, but be patient & consistent and he will do it when he's ready. I know that's the total "book" answer, but really - with boys they are usually 3 before they're ready. We struggled a bit with Nadja for a month or so, but I think I was pushing her because I was done - not because she was ready. Once it clicked for her, it was pretty smooth. She still has the occasional accident & asks for help all the time, even though she doesn't need any (It's an attention thing). Remember though - we'll be wiping butts until they're 4 or 5!