Continuing the cheery theme....

The new Barnado's campaign is on TV and cinema's. It is hard watching, and a telling reflectiuon on an aspect of society today... for a media obsessed at the moment ith child rape, child murder and hoodies, knives and teenage gangs, what about looking at teh root causes. Are the former linked to the latter. What is cause, and what is effect......

Write title, wrong song

Following Rachel's comment about my choosing the wrong song before, I think that she is right. The lyrics I quoted are the ones from the Feeling Yes, Feeling No video link pages online I think, but I'm not sure if the Scottish Office (as was) changed it when they brought it too Scotland.

The only references I can find to the 'correct' song online are like this one.....

Whose is my body? Around 1979, there used to be a radio program for children about 6PM each weekday afternoon on New York Public Radio, WNYC: "Kids America". For a long time, the program featured a song, which began and ended with: "My body's my body, nobody's but mine.... You've got your own body, let me run mine." I forget most of the middle, but I think it included such lyrics as that my body was mine to do with as I pleased.... After a while, the program stopped playing the song. I was convinced that it was because the song not only urged children to ward off undesirable approaches by strangers (which everybody thinks is a good idea...), but it also encouraged children both: (1) to find pleasure in their bodies, and (2) to reject unwanted (but not "illegal" or "immoral"!) impingements and controls by their parents[fn.15[ Go to footnote! ]] -- both of which ideas are definitely not approved of by many "conservatives". I was never able to verify it, but I always suspected that "conservatives" pressured the station to remove the song. I believe the song was replaced by something that told children to report to their parents and teachers whenever any stranger tried to approach them in a suspicious way (etc.).

However....... some sources support my original song lyric choice:....

Recognising that it's not always easy for a child to determine whether an adult's behaviour towards them is right or wrong, the Canada Film Board produced ‘Feeling Yes, Feeling No'. Some Edinburgh primary schools near my home have made use of this children's training video, with its catchy theme song: My body's nobody's body but mine. You mind your own body; let me mind mine.

Meanwhile, one source gives the clue that the 'correct' version of the song was performed by "Sneakers".

For our motto, we could appropriate a little jingle by Sneakers, that friendly clown that I remember my elementary school teachers playing for us to teach us to identify people who wanted to do us harm:

My body's nobody's body but mine
You have your own body, let me have mine.

The plot deepens.....

The Scottish Executive, Incset, Songs and 10-year olds

Feeling yes, feeling no.
The Scottish Executive is proposing to change its' primary school sex education programme. The current one started off life in Canada in the mid 1980's and has a catchy/annoying song sung by many many many 20 somethings in Scotland (see below). There are no facebook groups demanding that the SE maintain the existing programme which focuses on sexual assault and incest by looking at areas where its ok for people to touch you, and areas where it's not ok.

Song: MY BODY Lyrics

It's my body and my body
Is nobody's business but my own
Listen to me people
'Cause I wanna let it be known
It's my body and my body's
Nobody's business but my own

I know what I'm doing
So why don't you leave me alone
It's my body and my body's
Nobody's business but my own

I'm a grown up woman
And I know who I am
So if you got a problem
Well I don't give a damn
Ain't no doubt about it
'Cause baby it's written in stone
It's my body and my body's
Nobody's business but my own

I've had it up to here
With all you holier-than-thous
Who want to save me from the devils wicked den
Quit shoutin' in my ear
With All your curses and your vows
I only wish I never had to hear
Your voices again

Don't quote me no commandments
Don't preach me no jive
There's only one commandment
Thou shall survive
You don't even know me

So why don't you leave me alone
It's my body and my body's
Nobody's business but my own
Maybe you don't like it
But baby it's written in stone
It's my body
Not your body
And my body
Is my business
My business
Is my business
And nobody's business
But my own

See http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thelife/mybody.htm

This song seems to have affected an entire generation of Scottish kids, becoming that rare thing - a cult classic, loved by kids (because it's catchy and was taught before the age at which bodies became embarrassing), teachers, churches,, charities, health professionals etc.

The new Scottish Executive curriculum is far more controversial, with catholic churches choosing to opt out of teaching it.

See also:
http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=16703&v=h&lg=en&exp=
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0225707/
Sadly the video is not available on youtube or Bebo.

Children in "dog fight"

Yesterday, 4 women from Plymouth were convicted of encouraging and forcing two toddlers to fight, punch, kick, hit and use weapons against each other. This story has many of the details.

Even accepting the assertion from the defending lawyer, that they were of low education, and had violent upbringings and marriages, with obvious low-grade mental illnesses (suicide attempts, depression), the following quote about the grandmother of the children, seems unreal.

... she saw nothing wrong with what they had done as it would "toughen them up".

We all know that dealing with very young children can be challenging, and their behaviour is not always what we wouls like it to be, but forcing two toddlers to fight each other, using weapons is barbaric.

The judge sentenced them to:

a one-year suspended sentence and ordering them to do 100 hours of community work.