Can Peter Andre help the nation fall in love with reading?

Peter Andre is a great ambassador for encouraging the nation to read. Back in December 2011 Pop singer Peter Andre urged the parents in the country to read a bedtime story to their children every night. He fronted the 2011 campaign with Boris Johnson to recruit volunteers to boost London Libraries , he supported the Evening Standard’s literacy campaign highlighting Londons reading crisis, he is also a children’s author himself. And now he is helping the nation ‘fall in love with reading’ through his Charitable campaign Galaxy Quick Reads.

Viv Bird, chief executive of Booktrust another reading charity, said: "It is good news that parents are spending more time reading to their children……But I think that parents are pretty busy people and the stress of daily life can get in the way of reading with a child. So we've got to keep reinforcing the message." So its great that celebrities in the spotlight are helping the cause.

It is crucial that Adults find a love for reading to pass on the trait to their children. So the wonderful Peter Andre is again, on the case with the Quick Reads. Quick Reads are bite-size books that are written specifically to ignite a passion for reading. They're brilliant, bite sized books by big name authors and celebrities, Fast -paced and easy to read . They are available at bookshops, supermarkets, libraries and online they can also be purchased as eBooks, downloadable direct to your mobile phone, eReader or computer. Quick Reads have proven to ; improve new readers' confidence , increase morale at work and improve family life, as readers feel more able to help their children learn. http://www.quickreads.org.uk

Sue Southwood, Quick Reads Project Manager, said:
"Reading helps children to learn about the world around them. It promotes communication skills, enriches imagination and helps them do well in school. But roughly 1 in 6 adults in the UK struggle with reading and it's vital that we find ways to encourage them to improve their skills and give them the ability to read to their children. For adults, stronger literacy skills can also lead to a better quality of life in terms of improved self-confidence, involvement in the community and could even lead to a new or better job." http://www.quickreads.org.uk/news-and-media-centre/latest-news
http://www.quickreads.org.uk/news-and-media-centre/latest-news
Quick Reads ambassador Peter Andre, said:
"It's amazing to see the impact that improving your reading and writing skills can have on your earning potential not to mention your overall personal confidence and morale. Quick Reads are a great way to get yourself back into the habit of reading and to build up your confidence. Great stories, brilliantly written and easy-to-read, they've helped me fall in love with reading again after years of putting off picking up a book because of lack of time and feeling intimidated by large books."
http://www.niace.org.uk/news/eight-brand-new-quick-reads-launched
Peter Hughes, head of corporate responsibility at Pearson publishers, said: "A passion for reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give. Good reading skills are the basic cornerstone that helps all of us progress throughout our lives.” So lets hope Peter Andre and others can help the nation to fall in love with reading.

Are celebrities to blame for Eating Disorders and Body Image Concerns in our children?

Cause for concern?

Sadly body image concerns, eating disorders and low self esteem are increasingly occurring in our children. Eating disorders include a range of physical, psychological and behavioral features that often have an impact on social functioning and can invade most areas of a child’s life. Instead of living happy, playful and healthy lives children are concerning themselves with anxiety and distress about their shape and size. “More than 2,000 children have received treatment for eating disorders in the past three years, according to figures reported on Monday.

Statistics show that nearly 600 children under the age of 13 were treated in hospital in England, including 197 aged between five and nine. The figures from 35 NHS hospitals showed 98 were aged between five and seven at the time of treatment and 99 aged eight or nine.

Almost 400 were between the ages of 10 and 12, with more than 1,500 between 13 and 15 years old. The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, are believed to be an underestimate, according to reports.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/aug/01/children-eating-disorder-figures-alarm) It is such an awful shame because these children are loosing their childhood and a crucial stage of their life when they are growing and developing into individuals.

Who’s to blame?

Although eating and weight disorders are common in children there is a scarcity of practical guidance on treatment methods for eating disorders for young people. There are many books available for parents and adults with regards to recognizing and helping a child who has an eating disorder. Unfortunately I didn’t find much guidance available for children themselves. There is certainly a lack of material available for children to prevent the body image concerns inflicted upon them. Is it ok to just blame the celebrities? Or do they themselves suffer the same issues because of media, magazines, celebrity gossip in print and constant diet tips in the papers and in society? Is it actually the responsibility of parents , teachers and society to infuse the right attitudes of self worth and beauty being more than skin deep?

What is the solution ? Confidence in personal identity , self belief and self worth!!!!

More important than this blame culture is the need for effective preventional tools. If we want children to grow up to love and accept their bodies, they must be raised to love and accept themselves. We need to teach children it's what's on the inside of a person that counts, not what's on the outside. These pre-conceived images of beauty, the desire to be as thin as a certain celebrity icon and the need to be on the next hyped diet phase that society boosts; all need to be contradicted and reinforced with corrective messages. To be an effective preventional tool for children it would need to be in the language that children can understand. It must also be creative and appealing in order to be engaging and influential.

There is certainly a niche in the market for books/workshops for children that tackle the issues of eating disorders and body issues in children. An enjoyable fun fantasy book, with characters a child could relate to, with vivid images and creative illustrations would be perfect, especially if there was an ongoing comprehensive activity book or workshop to take part in. The media sadly sends out confusing and misleading messages which has resulted in risk factors for eating disorders and low self esteem for children being dissatisfied with their body. There just isn’t enough reading material for children to read to prevent these misleading messages. Children are constantly exposed to the message that we should all be thin and not with the message that they need to accept people for who they are and not what they look like. They are not given the message that they should be proud of who they are, they are not being given the drive to appreciate themselves and their abilities, instead they are being given the message that they must be thin to be happy and successful. They are being given the message that to be accepted, to be popular and to be respected they must be thin.

I hope that with the books and literature that is being created today, there will be an influx of children’s books that counteract the many magazines, celebrity gossip and constant diet tips that children have been reading to start their eating disorders. I hope with these, children will learn to be proud of whom they are and respect others for who they are inside and not judge them for how they look. I hope children everywhere will be able to love and accept who they are. I hope they will be less likely to strive to attain society's definition of the "ideal" body image and they will love and accept their own bodies, no matter what size they are. I hope books will be filled with corrective messages that go straight to the heart of child body image issues. I hope the new books will help children live happy and healthy lives that wont lead to the staggering amount of eating disorders that exist in children now.

Practical methods for tackling children’s confidence in their body image and preventing eating disorders

Giving a child the tools and encouragement to form a solid feeling of confidence for their own identity is crucial. Understanding that “The Real” you is beautiful, everyone is a beautiful individual , with different beauties , none more important or of higher value than the other.

The key is practical and comprehensive guidance and teaching as a basic part of kids education –at home and also at school . Giving children the knowledge to make good choices with regards to healthy eating is also crucial. Understanding how to stay fit and the importance of a healthy weight is our responsibility – we cannot simply blame celebrities for our children’s eating habits.

I appreciate that cost and time effect parenting when thinking about food and health. Parents that are poorer or have less time , may struggle to provide food that nourishes a child . Convenience foods save time but are not always the healthiest option, so is it the celebrities fault? Or can the parents make better choices and teach their children better?

Thumbs up to many celebrities who are helping

It is our social responsibility to explain to children, that celebrities feel pressurized as they may also feel. That they are beautiful and don’t have to be unhappy. There are many celebrities out there trying to help this situation , Jamie Oliver is a fantastic example of a celeb helping and ‘sainsbury helalthy eating ‘ promotion is a perfect way to help children. Gok Wan is another celebrity helping society feel good about themselves. He make people appreciate what they have and understand their self worth is beautiful.

We can only hope that more celebrities, or people in the public eye will jump on board and help children tackle their insecurities and appreciate themselves. To live happy, ambitious and successful lives.

Empowering Children to Value Themselves

Victorian values state that “..Children should be seen and not heard...” During this time a child’s life would be determined by their parents or guardians. Hopefully parents will share a more contemporary view on this and help to empower their children to value themselves and to live confident and happy lives.

By obtaining a strong relationship with themselves they will equip themselves with abilities and positivity to try. They will then evolve into helping each other which will inevitably result in a connection and empowerment of children globally. Children process information from the world around them much differently than adults, they have distinct needs for managing the effects of stress and trauma but with a highly developed sense of consciousness for their feelings, they will then be able to manage fear, anger, anxiety and any other circumstances trying to cause effect to their wellbeing.

With a healthy sense of individuality, children will be able to help themselves and help others with respect, sensitivity and empathy, resulting in the connectivity of children worldwide.

So the main quest for adults is to help children learn valuable life skills early, which will mean that they will be better able to deal with challenging situations when they are older. Thus nurturing their own strives for personal life enrichment.

Empowerment is a key ingredient in maximizing children's potential in academic achievement, social success, and personal happiness. This is obviously an arduous process; it is not instantly going to be achieved. It is important that many methods combine together to reach the desired result. There are many innovative forms of empowerment methods available.

The empowerment of children to find their true values is a statement , which was the inspiration behind the motivation for The Magic Sunglasses Project. This project was initiated by the children's Story Book ‘ The Magic Sunglasses' written by Auriel Blanche.(also known as Angela Buck) When this inspirational writer first wrote the book it was to stress her ideal for promoting the ethos of creating a worldwide community of children who have learnt how to value themselves and to use their potential, to live personally successful lives and contribute to the success of others. She does this effectively through her skill of creative and innovative writing which engages children of all ages. Since the book Auriel Blanche has developed what is now known as The Magic Sunglasses Project. Through which she successfully taps into many children's spirits on a global scale, making them visualize desirable outcomes and make positive connections with their inner purpose.

By promoting understanding of diversity and respect for others, Auriel Blanche also works on developments of inner self through imagination and visualisation. Her main focus is on self awareness, new possibilities and problem resolution. Other areas of intent are environmental appreciation, conflict management, awareness of others, global awareness and education of current events.

She believes that it is imperative that children know that their opinion matters and that they can offer something positive to others. By connecting with themselves children can find answers to their own problems and others. With this new found power children can then see a dream and strive to reach it with positivity and a pro active attitude.

Hopefully with the help of other influential parents – Auriel Blanche can help develop a world where children are not just seen and not heard. Where children can be empowered to strive for great things, appreciate their own self worth and be motivated to help others. Self sufficiency in children at an early age will certainly help the population develop with positivity and the will to try.

Auriel Blanche wishes to develop her project further afield. So that children all over the world are connected and empowered. She hopes that one day we will live in a world where a child in a village stricken with poverty in Africa can be helped by a child far away, living in a completely different world but with knowledge and confidence to understand and help. A great incentive for us to all help and get involved. Please view the website : http://www.themagicsunglasses.com/