Children as Young as Nine Exposed to Pornography

Children are being exposed to online pornography from as young as nine, according to a study for the children's commissioner for England.

A quarter of 16-21-year-olds first saw pornography on the internet while still at primary school, it suggests. By the age of 13, 50% had been exposed to it.

The findings have been linked to low self-esteem among young people and harmful views of sex and relationships.  Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said it was "deeply concerning".

In a nationally representative survey of more than 1,000 16-21-year-olds, 38% had found pornographic content accidentally.

Joanne Schneider's son stumbled across a pornography website, aged eight, after typing swear words he had heard at school into a search engine.

"We'd put all the normal safety features in place and had removed apps such as YouTube but didn't for one second think that my son could find himself on adult-entertainment sites within a few seconds," Ms Schneider, from London, said.

"As soon as I saw what was happening, I closed the site - but both him and I were left in shock at what he had seen. I felt so terrible about the whole thing.

"All of a sudden I was having to explain it all, including the fact that what he saw was artificial and far from what real people look like."  READ MORE...

Don't Say Gay Bill

House Republicans have introduced legislation that some critics are describing as a national "Don't Say Gay" bill – inspired by the controversial Florida law that bans instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade classes.

If the federal bill were to become law, which is unlikely in the current Congress, its effects could be far more sweeping, affecting not just instruction in schools, but also events and literature at any federally-funded institution.

Here's what's in the bill – and what people are saying about it.

The bill's language is broad and consequential
The measure was introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., and co-sponsored by 32 other Republicans.

"The Democrat Party and their cultural allies are on a misguided crusade to immerse young children in sexual imagery and radical gender ideology," Johnson said in a statement, calling the bill "commonsense."  READ MORE...

Self-Centered Parenting

Many children suffer grave emotional problems from living with a self-absorbed parent. The child is disregarded and used as an extension of the parent. Often, this means the child’s physical wants and needs, points of view, and emotional needs go unmet.

The Role-Reversal Relationship
Everything revolves around the self-absorbed parent. The relationship is one-sided and directed by the parent. Such a parent enlists the child in caring for and catering to him or her. This creates a role-reversal relationship that is inappropriate for the child’s growth, development, and welfare.

Self-absorbed parents have many characteristics in the ways they relate with their children These relationship traits are well summarized by both Nina W. Brown, EdD, LPC, in Children of the Self-Absorbed and by Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD. in Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents. Such parents manipulate the child to ensure the spotlight of admiration stays on the parent. They lack empathy for the child’s emotional needs. They may show jealousy with any steps the child takes toward individuation––being his or her own person.

Children’s Emotional Responses
Children are affected by growing up with a self-focused parent. When a child is not related to as an individual, a separate person from a parent, there are many emotional and psychological consequences for the child.

When a child’s individuality is disregarded, it affects self-esteem and confidence. Low self-esteem in turn can create anxieties and depressions, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and runaway behaviors.

There are a wide variety of consequences children suffer in growing up with a selfish parent. Are there discernible patterns to their suffering? Homer B. Martin. M.D., and I found that there are. Children respond to self-centered parents differently based on the child’s personality style. This style is created by how a child is emotionally conditioned within the family. We discovered personality styles form into two types––omnipotent and impotent.  READ MORE...

Self-Esteem at age 5

Self-esteem could be set at a surprisingly young age — so what influences it? At the age of just five, children have developed a sense of self-esteem as strong as adults, a study finds.

Self-esteem tends to remain stable over the lifespan. This suggests self-esteem could be set very early on. Professor Andrew Meltzoff, one of the study’s authors, said: “Some scientists consider preschoolers too young to have developed a positive or negative sense about themselves. Our findings suggest that self-esteem, feeling good or bad about yourself, is fundamental. It is a social mindset children bring to school with them, not something they develop in school.”

Until now it has been difficult to test the self-esteem of young children. Dr Dario Cvencek, the study’s lead author, explained: “Preschoolers can give verbal reports of what they’re good at as long as it is about a narrow, concrete skill, such as ‘I’m good at running’ or ‘I’m good with letters,’ but they have difficulties providing reliable verbal answers to questions about whether they are a good or bad person.”  READ MORE...

What I Learned From My Parents

First and foremost, my parents taught me to save money...  and, not just whenever possible but to put savings in the budget as a line item so to speak.

Second...  my parents taught me to eat everything on my plate, only order in restaurants that food which you are going to eat...  and, make sure leftovers are eaten before new food is prepared.

Third...  to put my faith in God and to live my life with my Christian Faith in my mind at all times.

Fourth...  never ask anyone to do anything that you could not do better yourself.

Fifth...  give 110% in everything that is done.

Sixth...  follow the Golden Rule:  do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Seventh...  stand by my convictions/integrity regardless of the outcomes and costs.

Eighth...   stay active in that the idle mind is the devil's workshop.

Ninth...  always have an appreciation for THE ARTS.

Tenth...  the knowledge gained from education is power.

My parents raised all of their children with a Democratic Party Focus and for most of my life, I was in fact, a Democrat in my beliefs and with my vote...  but, even since 1990 after I had been able  to use my MBA education for a decade, I was beginning to realize that the Democratic Party was violating many of the TEN POINTS by which we should live our lives.

On the other side of the coin, I did not agree with all of the politics of the Republican Party either and found myself seeing myself as a Conservative Liberal...

I believe the following:

• every woman has the right to choose if she wants an abortion or not
• every citizen has the right to own and bear as many firearms as s/he wants
• every citizen has to right of free speech and/or freedom to worship
• Every American has the right to have our borders protected from immigration
• Our government should pay off its debt and not increase it
• Our government should maintain a globally strong military
• Our government should unnecessarily tax our corporations and businesses
• Our government should regulate BIG TECH
• Our government maintain a TWO PARTY SYSTEM

My parents were Democrats but I am not....  and, I will stand by my convictions and my integrity...  However, our biggest problem in America is the number of wealthy people that we have and the number of poor people that we have and that this gap is getting wider not smaller...  and, as our markets turn global, this divide will worsen...

Our country should have a quality of life for everyone...  BUT...  it is not our FEDERAL GOVERNMENT's responsibility to make sure that this happens...  that is not the role of government...  it is the responsibility of those who control and build our economy...

These leaders of our economy are the ones who LACK COMPASSION and EMPATHY and at the moment don't give a damn about doing anything about it...  They are more interested in profits than in people.

When Does One Act or Not Act?

What possesses two people to marry?

• sex
• love
• money
• security
• friendship
• commonalities
• companionship

And...  when do those two people decide that their marriage is no long viable and it is time to divorce and go their separate ways?

Oftentimes, no action is taken by either spouse when one or both realize that their marriage is DEAD and whatever was there that brought them together is no longer present and continuing to remain in the marriage is hypocritical.

Why does this happen?

• money
• security
• promises
• society
• children
• convenience
• lesser of two evils

I remember growing up in a household where once I became a TEENAGER, I realized that there was NO LOVE present and/or exhibited between either of my parents...  and yet, I expected them to remain together...  because I just assumed that this is what married people do.

POWER... WEALTH... INFLUENCE

IN MOST COUNTRIES...  the freedoms that Americans take-for-granted do not exist in other countries...  and for that, we should consider ourselves lucky...  but, therein lies the problem because most Americans make no considerations at all in this regard; instead, they are controlled and ultimately influenced by those who have POWER and/or WEALTH.

• 20% of Americans are wealthy
• 60% of Americans are average
• 20% of Americans are poor

Then we have,
1% of the whole are extremely wealthy
while
1% of the whole are extremely poor

STATISTICALLY, we have a perfect bell-shaped curve...

On the far left-hand side of our diagram are the 1% wealthy whereas the 1% poor are on the far right-hand side.  On either side of the middle "-2 to +2" we will find the 60%.  From the center to the right, wealth gradually increases and to the right, wealth gradually decreases.

From the model, we can also conclude that WEALTH, POWER, INFLUENCE gradually increase from the center out to the left and gradually decrease from the center out to the right.

ALL AMERICANS BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY...  that they have free will and make their own choices...  but, that is simply not true...  If you don't have wealth and power, then your free will and choices are influenced and controlled by those who do have wealth and power.

However...  and, this is your right, you may not believe this to be true, especially since everyone makes choices all the time some of which influence one's life and one's life direction substantially; but, those choices are still influenced indirectly by wealth and power whether you realize it or not.

You drive the speed limit when there is a cop in sight...  that is power
You pay your taxes each year...  that is power
You receive a salary from your employer...  that is wealth and power
You are regulated by medicine...  that is wealth and power
You do what your supervisor tells you to do...  that is power
You obey the lifeguard at the beach...  that is power
You are quiet in Church...  that is power
You make monthly debt payments...  that is wealth and power
You control the choices your children make...  that is power