Backyard Battles With Transformers Energon by Chloe Alice Wilson

The eternal conflict between the forces of good and evil plays itself out with Transformers Energon. This is the second part in the Transformer cartoon series. In the first part, the fighting among the Transformers was for power over the Mini-cons. Roughly, the size of an adult human, mini-cons plug into Transformers to boost their power. Now the war is over the energy source called energon. Without it, the Transformers cannot survive.

The eternal conflict between the forces of good and evil plays itself out with Transformers Energon. This is the second part in the Transformer cartoon series. In the first part, the fighting among the Transformers was for power over the Mini-cons. Roughly, the size of an adult human, mini-cons plug into Transformers to boost their power. Now the war is over the energy source called energon. Without it, the Transformers cannot survive.
In Transformers Energon, energon towers are being built to defend the Earth. The mysterious Alpha Q wants to steal the energon for a secret purpose. Alpha Q sends Terrorcons to steal the energon but the Decepticons find out and try to use them to steal the energon for themselves. Without telling the whole story, alliances are made by both sides to achieve their goals. Somebody makes a sacrifice and some unexpected good comes out in the end.
Children that have been thrilled with the Transformer series can continue the action with the extensive line of Transformer Energon toys. These change from vehicles to robots and kids can occupy themselves with cars, trucks, and jets and then transform their toys into super powers to conquer the danger that threatens.
The character Megatron leads the Decepticons in tyranny. He is the intimidator that desires to rule all with violence. Megatron transforms from an awesome aircraft to a robotic menace. As many as six mini-cons attach to him to increase his strength but it will never be enough to triumph over Optimus Prime.
Optimus Prime leads the Autobots and drives Megatron batty. He transforms from a big-rig truck to a robot to be reckoned with. The Transformers Energon Optimus Prime toy can also be changed into an Energon tower that doubles as a helicopter landing pad and a number of assault vehicles.
Transformers Energon toys nourish the imagination of youthful minds. All action figures let kids experiment with conflict resolution through imaginary play. The bad people throw a few good punches and the good people fight back and always win. Everything is as it should be with the human race once again.
A few of the Transformer Energon toys combine to make bigger and more intimidating robots. Those with lights and sounds need batteries that are usually not included. Some of the packages include the transformer and their human partner. They are becoming rarer as the years pass so searching for them online is probably the best bet.

Read More

Top Beauty Pageant Tips For Teens by Suzy O'Connor

Beauty pageants are a big deal - they can pave the way to a wonderful career and be invaluable in the development of a promising talent for successful teenagers. At the very least a teenager's experience at a pageant can be extremely positive and confidence-boosting so we would like to help you to make the most of it with these top tips.

Application
This first step to beauty pageant success is so important, after all, if approached in the wrong way it may spell the premature end of an exceptional journey. In order to get it right you need to impress the judges on many levels. Be sure to include plenty of detail about worthwhile out of school activities, as well as subjects studied in school and any awards won. Exemplify physical fitness, solid morals and intelligence alongside your looks as these attributes are very important.
Grooming skills
Good grooming is essential for every pageant winner. It may help to get some guidance on make-up application, as you will need to know how to use it both effectively and subtly. Find a neat and tidy hairstyle that suits you, and learn how to maintain it, and don't forget to develop good posture.
Exercising regularly and eating healthy foods will also ensure that you make the most of your looks.
Good grades
Be sure to try your best. If you are not a straight A student, show willingness to learn and put extra time and effort into the subjects that you may find difficult. If necessary you may wish to stay after school to demonstrate your desire to achieve.
Public speaking
This can be very difficult for some teenagers so practice the skill at any opportunity: in front of your parents, siblings and classmates. Remember to speak slowly and clearly and to focus on your audience.
Talent
Do you have a talent? If you have had singing, dancing or music lessons, be sure to make the most of your experience when displaying a talent at your beauty pageant. Any talent can be utilized so don't worry if your strengths center around something more unusual, such as martial arts or sign language.

About Models Direct
Models Direct is a talent and model agency for female models, male models, teen models, child models and baby models for advertising, fashion, film, TV, promotional and photographic modeling work. We are a Government-regulated Model Employment Agency... not an online showcase, we're the real thing! Please find out more on our website or call us on+44 (0)871 224 6000.

Read More

24 Protect Plus Provides Tips on Keeping Children Safe by Linda Howard Davis

The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children (NISMART-2) reported in 2002 that more than eight hundred thousand youngsters are reported lost each year. Sadly, the numbers reported have been mounting ever since. 24 Protect Plus, the program that helps you protect your house, family, pets, money and automobiles, wants to help you learn about the many precautions that you can take to ensure that your kids stay safe.

The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children (NISMART-2) reported in 2002 that more than eight hundred thousand youngsters are reported lost each year. Sadly, the numbers reported have been mounting ever since.
24 Protect Plus, the program that helps you protect your house, family, pets, money and automobiles, wants to help you learn about the many precautions that you can take to ensure that your kids stay safe. These hints and tips from 24 Protect Plus offers can help you ensure that your child is safe at all times.
-- Speaking to your youngster is extremely important. 24 Protect Plus advises that a tough talk concerning safety should take place as soon as your child is old enough to move around by himself so that he is aware of the danger.
-- Instructing your kids to never talk to strangers is a smart idea. While some individuals may believe that it interrupts social interaction and is making our society extremely skeptical of people, the truth is that this is a requisite step that needs to be taken for their protection.
-- 24 Protect Plus suggests acquiring a child identification kit that can be a great way to store all info, like personal inside information (name, nicknames, address, Social Security number, birth date, gender, and parents' names, address, and contact details), medical history (medicines, allergies, blood type, chronic conditions), latest photos, physical traits (eye color, hair color, height, weight, glasses and birth marks), fingerprints and DNA sample. 24 Protect Plus has seen that the response time of the police in managing and solving missing child cases can be improved radically with the practice of such kits.
-- Getting a digital identification kit is an even better option, since these are able to store digital pictures and videos of your minor, not to mention other information. The child identification kit is extremely painless to utilize, and you can easily buy one from different web sites online, including 24ProtectPlus.
-- Suggest that your youngster plays outdoors and commutes to school in a group. Make it a point to know where they are at all times and the time they are required to come home.
-- Know the contact information of all their friends and their friends' parents so that you can contact your youngster when necessary.
You can never be too sure when it comes to the safety of your youngsters. Keep these tips in mind, and talk to your children about the possible actions that they may need to employ in case of an emergency. 24 Protect Plus cares about you and your kids and hopes that -- while it is important to be ready -- you never have to contend with an emergency!

Read More

How to Help Your Child Cope With the Coming of a New Baby by Gabriel Lozen

This is the usual scenario when a new baby is due to arrive. All the attention goes to the other unborn member, and the eldest child feels forgotten.

The coming of a new baby in the family is great news to everyone especially for parents. Everyone gets excited and prepares for the latest addition in the family. The grandparents start to buy baby clothes, aunts and uncles give surprisingly cute presents for the little one, daddy gets the playroom ready, and mommy takes extra care of herself. All the acts are directed to the coming baby and the first-born child often feels neglected. This is the usual scenario when a new baby is due to arrive. All the attention goes to the other unborn member and the eldest child feels forgotten. The child begins to have self-pity and thinks that she is unwanted. The child senses that somebody will soon replace her and she will no longer be the favorite in the family.
In order to get back the attention lost, the child creates unusual behavior that will catch the attention of the adults around her. She begins to whine about almost all little things, misbehave in school and be mean to younger children.
Parents should deal with the feelings of the child about the new baby coming. Otherwise, the child will end up hating her baby brother or sister and this will be more difficult to handle. Here are some tips that will help your child cope up with the situation.
-Talk and explain.
Parents have to present the situation to the child in a way that she understands. Let the child voice out her sentiments about the baby and address this the soonest possible time. Explain to the child that your love for her does not change even with the coming of your new baby. Let her know that her baby brother or sister can be her friend and needs her care too.
-Continue your routine and play time with her.
As much as possible, keep playing with your child. Spend quality time together. When the child sees that the amount of time you spend with her does not change, she will feel secure.
-Tell stories about your experience with being pregnant with her.
Children love to hear stories. Tell her how excited you were waiting for her to come out and how everyone was happy to see her. When your unborn child moves inside you, let her feel it and explain to her that she was also like that when she was still inside your womb.
-Involve her.
Let her take part in choosing the color of the playroom, decorating the crib, buying clothes and even during the prenatal check- ups. This will help the child feel important. Later on, when the baby is out, you can also involve her in taking care of the baby. This will give her a sense of responsibility.
As parents, understand your child. This is not an easy stage for her. With your help and advice, she will soon surpass this phase in her life.

Read More

# # How to Help Your Child Cope With the Coming of a New Baby by Gabriel Lozen

Children can be in many situations where they place themselves in danger, or are threatened by someone else. Children can recognise danger and use avoidance to keep safe. We will show you the basics of avoidance.

The coming of a new baby in the family is great news to everyone especially for parents. Everyone gets excited and prepares for the latest addition in the family. The grandparents start to buy baby clothes, aunts and uncles give surprisingly cute presents for the little one, daddy gets the playroom ready, and mommy takes extra care of herself. All the acts are directed to the coming baby and the first-born child often feels neglected. This is the usual scenario when a new baby is due to arrive. All the attention goes to the other unborn member and the eldest child feels forgotten. The child begins to have self-pity and thinks that she is unwanted. The child senses that somebody will soon replace her and she will no longer be the favorite in the family.
In order to get back the attention lost, the child creates unusual behavior that will catch the attention of the adults around her. She begins to whine about almost all little things, misbehave in school and be mean to younger children.
Parents should deal with the feelings of the child about the new baby coming. Otherwise, the child will end up hating her baby brother or sister and this will be more difficult to handle. Here are some tips that will help your child cope up with the situation.
-Talk and explain.
Parents have to present the situation to the child in a way that she understands. Let the child voice out her sentiments about the baby and address this the soonest possible time. Explain to the child that your love for her does not change even with the coming of your new baby. Let her know that her baby brother or sister can be her friend and needs her care too.
-Continue your routine and play time with her.
As much as possible, keep playing with your child. Spend quality time together. When the child sees that the amount of time you spend with her does not change, she will feel secure.
-Tell stories about your experience with being pregnant with her.
Children love to hear stories. Tell her how excited you were waiting for her to come out and how everyone was happy to see her. When your unborn child moves inside you, let her feel it and explain to her that she was also like that when she was still inside your womb.
-Involve her.
Let her take part in choosing the color of the playroom, decorating the crib, buying clothes and even during the prenatal check- ups. This will help the child feel important. Later on, when the baby is out, you can also involve her in taking care of the baby. This will give her a sense of responsibility.
As parents, understand your child. This is not an easy stage for her. With your help and advice, she will soon surpass this phase in her life.

Read More

Danger - How to Avoid Danger For Children by David WB Turner

Children can be in many situations where they place themselves in danger, or are threatened by someone else. Children can recognise danger and use avoidance to keep safe. We will show you the basics of avoidance.

Understanding 'Danger' can help make you safe and secure.
When you are in the playground, at home, School, or playing with your friends, it is very important that you know how to make safe decisions.
This little article will help you think about security for your safety. Please keep reading and learning!
'Let's Learn About Danger'
What is Danger?
Danger:
It can be when you are about to walk down a lonely and quiet ally-way, or take a short cut through some bush land or park, then this is called Danger. What you need to do is learn how to make a decision that helps you make the danger go away.
Many dangers are around every day. You may have felt scared because you did something or went somewhere unsafe sometime. That is because you put yourself in Danger.
When you are in danger, then you can be hurt, lost - or worse.
'You need to know what danger is'
'Types of Danger'
There are many dangers that you need to know. When you know different dangers, then you can avoid them, and make decisions that can lessen them.
Some Dangers:
• Walking through a bush/wooded area alone = Danger
• Walking through a school when it is very early, late, or on the weekends (when it is closed) = Danger
• Accepting a ride from a stranger
• Going anywhere with a stranger
• Walking anywhere that 'bullies' may be
'You need to make the safe choice'
• Going anywhere without your parents knowing where you are
• Being home alone and not locking the doors and windows
• Walking across a busy road and not using the correct cross walk
• Being out at night alone
• Not staying with your parents in busy places like shopping malls and theme parks etc
• Touching dogs or animals that are not yours
• Being anywhere or speaking to any one the makes you feel uncomfortable
• Taking the wrong bus from school
• Not locking your bike when you leave it anywhere
• Not locking your school locker
• Going to anyone's house that your parents have not approved.
• When someone gives you a 'weapon' of any kind to hold
There are many other Dangers which you may come across.
'How to deal with Danger'
(How to make a safer choice)
When you are about to do anything that may be a Danger, you need to make a safer choice. How you make that choice is to know what the Danger is. For example: You are thinking of taking a short cut through a bush/wooded area on the way home from school.
1. 'STOP'
You must stop!
2. 'THINK!' - Is this dangerous (YES!) and why?
3. 'AVOID!' - I will not take this route, I will find a safer way.

Read More

Kids' Health - Playground Safety Tips For Toddlers and School Age Kids by Riza Belgira

The playground is one of the fun places where kids can enjoy playing and also have fresh air compared to playing indoors. Not only it is fun but can largely contribute to good health. This is the reason why most parents would rather want their kids play at the playground rather than at home where there are potential damages to the appliances where kids may be left unattended. However, it is undeniable that though this may be true, the playground also posed hazards to the kids where accidents and injuries are likely to happen by use of playground equipment and also, the manner how the kids play carelessly.

The playground is one of the fun places where kids can enjoy playing and also have fresh air compared to playing indoors. Not only it is fun but can largely contribute to good health. This is the reason why most parents would rather want their kids play at the playground rather than at home where there are potential damages to the appliances where kids may be left unattended. However, it is undeniable that though this may be true, the playground also posed hazards to the kids where accidents and injuries are likely to happen by use of playground equipment and also, the manner how the kids play carelessly. Nonetheless, there are playground safety tips for toddlers and school age kids that can guide parents and guardians how to ensure the safety of the kids while they enjoy their leisure.
Equipment safety and security. Swings, teeter-totters, monkey bars, slides, and sandboxes are some of the playground equipment utilized for leisure. It is important that these are checked against faulty and loose screw, cracks and other damages that can cause injuries.
Second to the playground safety tips for toddlers and school age kids is to check the availability of playground attendant. It is necessary that you know to whom you are going to report any discovered holes or cracks at the surface or the defects of the playground equipment that can cause probable injuries to the kids.
Supervision. It is recommended that kids and toddlers are supervised at all times.
Keep kids away from foreign material. Kids love to put anything in their mouths. You should be able to check the sandbox if there are any foreign materials those kids may likely eat.
Watch the surface of the playground. Not only should you check for presence of broken glasses and the like, but also if the surface is slippery for being watered.
Dress up the kids safely. Do not allow kids to wear clothes with drawstrings, same as with hoods. Drawstrings, hoods, purses, and necklaces could get caught on equipment and may cause injuries to the child.
Another playground safety tip for toddlers and school age kids is to ensure playing the equipment safely. When the kids play with the swings, make sure that no one is behind or in front of them. Conversely, kids should keep a safe distance from the swings if it is being used to avoid being hit. Meanwhile, it is suggested that children below the age of four should not be allowed to use any climbing equipment.
Bring water and first-aid kit to the playground as well as extra clothes and handy wipes. Kids can mess up and get dirty while playing not to mention how much they sweat. It would be better to have them cleaned and dressed up after playing. Also keep them hydrated with water. In addition, though we may expect that there are personnel to give first-aid, it would be best to bring your own for immediate response to any accidents.
While every playground has to comply with the National Safety Council and the National Recreation and Park Association for safety procedures, it is recommended that you are able to check the playground prior to use by the kids to ensure playground safety for kids and toddlers.

Read More

Can You Make Your Own Zhu Zhu Pets Deluxe Giant Hamster City Playset? by William Stroup

So, your preschooler saw the television commercials and fell in love with the Zhu Zhu Pets, or maybe you did, and you bought them one, two or a few. But, now you want to give the pets somewhere to live other than your floor or table without breaking the bank-there's a recession going on.

So, your preschooler saw the television commercials and fell in love with the Zhu Zhu Pets, or maybe you did, and you bought them one, two or a few. But, now you want to give the pets somewhere to live other than your floor or table without breaking the bank-there's a recession going on.
Of course, you can make your own playset. The best way is to scale your way into whole city. Why might you want to scale your way instead of buying it all? Two reasons, really: 1) Childrens' toy tastes can fickle really quickly (the less you spend, the less buyer's regret you have later), and, 2) You can get what you want; if you don't want an accessory with another Zhu Zhu pet, then don't buy it. Here are four options for scaling into and building your city: the Car and Garage, the Starter Set, Funhouse, and City.
The Zhu Zhu Pet Car and Garage is a basic accessory. Most accessories are in the $15-$30 range and are clearly the inexpensive route to making the city. This accessory includes a sedan, garage and track section. Put the car in the garage and close the door. Then, put your pet on the track and it will crawl into the car, the door opens and off he goes. Not all accessories are designed to be a stand-alone item (meaning, you need nothing else to make it work), but this one is. Other accessories worth considering are the Ramp and Slide, Hamster Wheel or Skateboard and U-turn. Where it makes sense, all accessories are designed to be connected together with each other, and with the houses.
The Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster House Starter Set is, well, exactly that-a complete starter set. It normally retails for $28-$30-still inexpensive, but not like the accessories. It is a small version of a figure 8 track and basic house-no special rooms. It is the equivalent of a sleeping room or efficiency apartment without the kitchen or bathroom. The starter set also has Patches-a difficult, some would say 'rare', pet to find. Patches also comes with a ball to push around. The Starter Set can also be expanded by adding some of the accessories mentioned earlier.
Moving on up, the next one is the Zhu Zhu Pets Funhouse. The Funhouse also includes the "rare" Patches; alas, it does not come with a ball. It retails in the $40 range. The Funhouse has a tunnel that connects the following rooms: bedroom, kitchen and a studio-bathroom. The tunnel track has special bumps that trigger the built in artificial intelligence to make your pet hamster move or emit funny sounds; snoring in the bedroom or pretending to brush teeth in the bathroom.
Last, we come to the Zhu Zhu Pets Deluxe Giant Hamster City Playset. It truly is a city. It retails for $140-170, depending on the retailer. Wow! You might say, but hold on. This is actually the more economical choice. Here is what comes in the box, so-to-speak: Funhouse (see above), sleep dome, Garage And Car (see above), Hamster Wheel, Hamster Ball, and two Zhu Zhu pet hamsters-Mr. Squiggles and Patches, aka the "rare" one. Depending on where you shop, it may actually cost you more than this playset's price in order to get all that it includes. Not to mention, you will save shipping or multiple trips to big box retailers to find all the accessories.
In sum, can you make your own Zhu Zhu Pets Deluxe Giant Hamster City Playset? Yes, you can. You can start small with just an accessory or two, and then slowly add on the "buildings" that you like. Or, you can start in the mid range with a Funhouse or starter set. And last, you can go for it all and get the Zhu Zhu Pets Deluxe Giant Hamster City Playset-and save in the long run by not buying each individual piece. What do you Zhu Zhu?

Read More

Candy Drug Hits the Schools by Jeff Morelock

The 18-year-old high school student died on Mother's Day. Her mother spent the night before helplessly watching.

The 18-year-old high school student died on Mother's Day. Her mother spent the night before helplessly watching. Her daughter's body temperature reached 108 degrees. Her blood cells boiled. She bled from her mouth. Was it a rare tropical fever that had caused such a horrible death? No. It was a little tan tablet called PMA.
Overview
Paramethoxymethamphetamine, or PMA, is an illegal synthetic hallucinogen with effects similar to Ecstasy. PMA is made in clandestine laboratories. It has seen limited use since the 1970s, but has recently become popular with teenagers and the rave culture. The drug is usually sold in a tablet form with the Mitsubishi diamond emblem stamped into it. Most PMA tablets are tan, and are a little bigger than an aspirin.
Hidden Danger
The dance drug business has never been better. Every year more and more high school students are lining up at rave club doors. Once inside dance drugs such as Ecstasy, GHB, and Special K are easily purchased. Stricter Government control of chemicals used to make Ecstasy have made them expensive and difficult to buy. Illicit drug chemists and manufacturing operations sought out alternatives. PMA was the answer.
Ecstasy is the most popular dance drug. Ecstasy's so called pleasant effects, and its appearance, are similar to PMA. The similarities end here. Most dance drugs raise body temperature, but PMA can send it soaring to 108 degrees. Since the chemicals to make PMA are easier to find, it's cheaper to make. PMA is sold as Ecstasy. PMA tablets can be made for less than a dollar, whereas Ecstasy tables cost two to three dollars to make.
Drug dealers do not care if they hurt or kill teenagers, as long as they are making money. They rely on fast transactions and dimly lit corners inside rave clubs to mask their deadly dealings. By the time a teenager realizes he or she has made a serious mistake, it is too late. Depending on purity and dosage, the teenager could spend the rest of his or her life boiling to death internally on a rave club floor. Having made their money, the dealers would have moved on to another rave club before anyone knew what happened.
In lower doses PMA causes users to feel euphoric and energized. These effects are similar to Ecstasy. Users tend to want to kiss and hug each other. This often leads to sexual activity -sometimes right on the dance floor. People who use PMA and Ecstasy say that their sense of touch, smell, and sight are more acute. Others report mild hallucinations and intense desires to sit for hours watching the rave club's lightshow.
Purity and dosage amount varies from tablet to tablet. Even tablets from the same batch of PMA vary. One tablet will provide a user with the experience he or she is looking for, while the next one out of the bag will kill the unlucky teenager who chooses it.
But That's Not All...
Every new law passed banning a certain chemical needed to make a popular dance drug sends basement chemists racing downstairs to circumvent it. Once in his basement, the mad chemist begins substituting chemicals until he concocts something that works. One such drug is 2-CB.
2-CB was an attempt to get around the laws banning Ecstasy. The effects are similar, but the manufacturing process produces hard to control dosages. 2C-B usually comes in pill form, but is sometimes available in powder. Technically speaking it isn't a "new" drug, since it was developed in the mid seventies. It is new to the rave crowd, and wasn't put on the DEA's Schedule One list until the mid nineties.
As the chemicals to make Ecstasy and Ecstasy-like drugs become harder and harder to find, other drugs will find their way into rave clubs and your school. Yaba is the latest thing in some parts of the country. Like many drugs before it, Yaba will find its way into every city and school.
Yaba is basically a synthetic Methamphetamine-like drug, however, it has been know to produce disturbing and realistic hallucinations. Ravers call these "eyelid movies." This drug is particularly dangerous because it is simple to make. You can find just about everything you need to make it around the corner at your grocery store.
The main ingredients are salt, household cleaning products, distilled cold medicines, and lithium from camera batteries. Any kid with a D or better in chemistry can follow the formula using two of his mother's casserole dishes. Worse than that, food coloring, sweeteners, and artificial aromas are usually added, making the pills look, smell, and taste like candy. This is sure to make such a hard drug more appealing to middle and even elementary school students.
What Can be Done?
The police will continue to take small amounts of Ecstasy, PMA, 2C-B, and Yaba off the streets. Lucky teenagers who survive overdoses can undergo drug treatment. But that won't make much of a difference. What will make a difference and save young lives are parents like you. Educate yourself about Ecstasy, PMA, 2C-B, and other drugs. Then educate your kids. You must make a difference.
About the Author
Jeff Morelock is a former police narcotics detective who spent several years working undercover drug investigations. He is currently a drug prevention consultant and lecturer. His undercover assignments included posing as a high school student to investigate drug sales in a Florida high school, and infiltrating rave clubs where Ecstasy and other drugs were being sold.

Jeff Morelock is a former police narcotics detective who spent several years working undercover drug investigations. He is currently a drug prevention consultant and lecturer. His undercover assignments included posing as a high school student to investigate drug sales in a Florida high school, and infiltrating rave clubs where Ecstasy and other drugs were being sold.

Read More

# # Child's Play Choosing the Ultimate Swing Set Accessory by Erwin Purtell

With a vast range of products to select from one might think that it would be difficult to select a favorite swing set accessory. In reality it is perhaps not that difficult, it is almost child's play - literally.

There's one swing set accessory you could barely consider as an accessory despite the fact that it is often placed in that category. This piece of playground equipment is actually considered fundamental for the very concept of the swing set because of its modern day track record.

The structure I am raving about here is the slide, quite possibly the best known companion to the backyard swings, thanks to a lot of variations and fresh incarnations. Whether it's a freestanding framework next to the swings, or if it is linked directly on the actual frame, a slide kind of feels essential for the whole philosophy one would associate with any type of playground equipment.

Improved comfort and usability

Remember all those ancient metal structures with swings on them, together with the tall slide that occasionally was so hot during the summer sunshine? Or perhaps your playground included a version of those spiraling metal slides which included a tower that contained a mysterious curving staircase internally.

The majority of grown persons seem to have exceptionally fond memories of their nearby playground slides. Consequently it is perfectly logical that, even with the whole set of other modifications in swing sets (and they are numerous), companies have hung on to the slide and for the most part only improved it to make it more secure. As opposed to executing the unspeakable act of getting rid of it altogether.

After all - a few things are almost too sacred to mess with.

Generally speaking however, the days of the old metal slide seem to be well over. The amazing wooden swing sets that are all the rage today almost universally attach tough resin or plastic slides to their frames, and even among the metal units you'll rarely ever find out the slide is made in metal also. Kettler, a German brand, delivers a small metal slide as a swing set accessory for a few of their swing sets, yet even that has a resin platform and base.

Not so easy to fall of this "log"

Even the shapes of the newer slides have seen significant modifications, compared to the traditional models within the playground and in residential swing sets. A kid will have to work really hard to slide off (in an accidental direction) from the plastic slides with their rounded surfaces. Children certainly don't find the slides either as scorching or frosty as the older editions were in different conditions either.

A slide is one swing set accessory that has accompanied the swings themselves through all the variations that these sets have been through, still it has at all times retained its biggest attribute - the pure enjoyment of using it.

Read More

Helping Kids and Teens Study by Anna Meredith

We have a neighbour next door that is heard frequently shouting at her teenage son to study for his GCSEs. She bans him from moving around the house, insists he spends hours in his bedroom and then of course finds him doing something else and thus the screaming begins in earnest. Studying for exams and tests is boring. There isn't a magic solution to memorise facts or numbers, you just need to read, re-read, write things out and eventually it should fix into your long term memory.

We have a neighbour next door that is heard frequently shouting at her teenage son to study for his GCSEs. She bans him from moving around the house, insists he spends hours in his bedroom and then of course finds him doing something else and thus the screaming begins in earnest. Studying for exams and tests is boring. There isn't a magic solution to memorise facts or numbers, you just need to read, re-read, write things out and eventually it should fix into your long term memory.
With children or teenagers that get bored easily you need to get involved. Set older children a study time of 40 minutes on a specific subject/module. Give them a timer, set it and then tell them at the end of the 40 minutes you will test them. If they do well enough they will then earn 30 minutes doing something that they want to do... the pc, the PlayStation, anything that they want. Setting a timer for an activity of less than an hour is meaningful as children cannot concentrate full on for much longer than that. With younger children the time of studying should be no longer than 15-30 minutes depending on their age.
The promise of a reward encourages them to complete the task and having you test them is really helpful. It is quite difficult to test yourself and quite dull. Different study techniques work for different children and of course different ages, but for bored teenagers who find staring at a book mindless, the above ideas may actually get them a little more motivated. The result is a less stressed parent, less stressed teenager and possibly much improved examination marks.

Read More