Mother gives 8 year old Botox – seriously?

Mother gives 8 year old Botox – seriously?

As many of us may have read in the recent news headlines, a mother has been giving her 8 year old daughter Botox injections and waxing her body hair for beauty pageants.
I guess we can all assume, like any mother she loves her child and wants the best for her. It seems, like most parents she has seen that her child possesses a talent/strength (her beauty in this case) and wants her to prevail in this field. So some may say she is only encouraging and directing her daughter toward a brighter, more successful career by ‘enhancing’ her beauty, and therefore enhancing her chances of being successful… I however thought this was outrageous when I first read the headlines.
I cannot comprehend how a mother can desire to insert a needle into her child’s face in order to ‘enhance’ her beauty. The claim that ‘wrinkles don’t look nice on children’ is insane. I didn’t know children even had noticeable wrinkles on their faces! A child is beautiful, pristine and pure as they are without any modifications and interferences. It seems almost inhumane to me that someone could do this to an innocent and perfectly formed little girl. Not to mention the future health problems it could pose for such a young, fragile and still forming body.
What is more scary though, is when we look a little further into this. The reason for this incredible behavior is in the name of beauty pageants. I for one was never for adult beauty pageants, let alone beauty pageants for little girls under the age of 10! In my view beauty pageants reduce females to little more than the makeup they wear and the physique they possess. How can we pretend to value a woman for who she is and not WHAT she is when they display themselves on a stage like dolls, exploiting all of their femininity in order to be crowned ‘beauty queen’. The whole concept is beyond me.
We live in a world forcing children to grow and behave older than their years, with barbie dolls impossibly proportioned, shops selling bras for girls as young as 8, and with clothes baring words like ‘little miss naughty’ and other suggestive words.
There are more teen pregnancies than ever before, more STD’s and certainly more rapes taking place every day in the UK and the States. Is this not to be expected considering how even the parents are now bringing up their children, not to mention the fashion trends and the types of love affairs and inappropriate characters we see in even children’s films (Bratz to name one example).
Are we losing all sense of human value or is it just me?

The Good and Bad Effects of TV on Your Kid

The Good and Bad Effects of TV on Your Kid
http://www.raisesmartkid.com/all-ages/1-articles/13-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-tv-on-your-kid

Photo courtesy of Ian Chase
It is hard to avoid television if you are a kid.  People in the house are usually tuned in to TV - siblings as well as parents.  In some homes, the television is perpetually "on" even without anyone watching.  It is common for parents and caregivers to use TV as a substitute babysitter.   Also, many parents buy videos that they think can make their kids smart.  But how does watching TV really affect children? 
The bad news is, the majority of experts think that a TV/video-driven culture has bad effects on kids - and may prevent kids from being smart.  They cite the following:

• TV provides no educational benefits for a child under age 2.  Worse, it steals time for activities that actually develop her brain, like interacting with other people and playing.  A child learns a lot more efficiently from real interaction - with people and things, rather than things she sees on a video screen.
• TV viewing takes away the time that your child needs to develop important skills like language, creativity, motor, and social skills.  These skills are developed in the kids’ first two years (a critical time for brain development) through play, exploration, and conversation.  Your kid’s language skills, for example, do not improve by passively listening to the TV.  It is developed by interacting with people, when talking and listening is used in the context of real life. 
• TV viewing numbs your kid's mind as it prevents your child from exercising initiative, being intellectually challenged, thinking analytically, and using his imagination.
• TV viewing takes away time from reading and improving reading skills through practice (Comstock, 1991).  Kids watching cartoons and entertainment television during pre-school years have poorer pre-reading skills at age 5 (Macbeth, 1996).  Also, kids who watch entertainment TV are also less likely to read books and other print media (Wright & Huston, 1995).  
• According to Speech and language expert Dr. Sally Ward, 20 years of research show that kids who are bombarded by background TV noise in their homes have trouble paying attention to voices when there is also background noise. 
• Kids who watch a lot of  TV have trouble paying attention to teachers because they are accustomed to the fast-paced visual stimulation on TV.  Kids who watch TV more than they talk to their family have a difficult time adjusting from being visual learners to aural learners (learning by listening).  They also have shorter attention spans.
• School kids who watch too much TV also tend to work less on their homework.  When doing homework with TV on the background, kids tend to retain less skill and information. When they lose sleep because of TV, they become less alert during the day, and this results in poor school performance.
• TV exposes your kid to negative influences, and promotes negative behavior.  TV shows and commercials usually show violence, alcohol, drug use and sex in a positive light.  The mind of your kid is like clay. It forms early impressions on what it sees, and these early impressions determine how he sees the world and affect his grown-up behavior.  For instance, twenty years of research has shown that children who are more exposed to media violence behave more aggressively as kids and when they are older.  They are taught by TV that violence is the way to resolve conflict – as when a TV hero beats up a bad guy to subdue him.  
• Kids who watch too much TV are usually overweight, according to the American Medical Association.  Kids often snack on junk food while watching TV.  They are also influenced by commercials to consume unhealthy food.    Also, they are not running, jumping, or doing activities that burn calories and increase metabolism.   Obese kids, unless they change their habits, tend to be obese when they become adults.
• Researchers from the University of Sydney report a link between total screen time and retinal artery width in children. Kids with lots of screen time were found to have narrow artery in their eyes, which may indicate heart risk.

Some experts, however, believe that TV is not all that bad.  They qualify though that viewing TV can be good if it is done in moderation, and if the program being watched is selected:

• Some TV shows can educate, inform and inspire.  It can be more effective than books or audiotapes in teaching your kid about processes like how a plant grows or how to bake a cake.
• Studies show that kids who watch educational and non-violent children’s shows do better on reading and math tests than those who do not watch these programs. 
• Kids who watch informative and educational shows as preschoolers tend to watch more informative and educational shows when they get older.  They use TV effectively as a complement to school learning.  On the other hand, kids who watch more entertainment program watch fewer informative programs as they get older  (Macbeth, 1996).
• Preschoolers who viewed educational programs tend to have higher grades, are less aggressive and value their studies more when they reach high school, according to a long-term study (Anderson, et. al, 2001).
• Finally, scientists from the University of Siena found that children experience a soothing, painkilling effect by watching cartoons.  So perhaps, a little entertainment TV can be a source of relief to kids who are stressed or are in pain.

Femininity vs Feminism

Some women rally, protest, go on strike, petition and march the streets in the name of Feminism. They believe they are fulfilling the obligation of obtaining the due rights of women.
One would think that feminism actually resembled the very word it is derived from. Right?
I'd like to take a brief look at this phenomenon so let's take a look at what this word actually means.

Feminism

1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

2. an organized movement for the attainment of such rights for women.

3. feminine  character.

 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feminism

That makes perfect sense, right? Feminists seek the attainment of equal rights as that of men. So on one side, feminists are demanding to be at one with man, and on the other, that is the very opposite to what they supposedly stand for; being feminine. A feminist is ultimately shunning the very thing they are made of. The movement pushes for the empowerment of women by trying to become more like men. It would make more sense to call this doctrine Masculinity as this is what they are aiming for.

To be a real femininist, is to stand up for the femininity of this gender. To love that which is feminine and all that represents it. A real femininist is proud to be a woman, a mother and a wife and accepts all that these things entail. 'Masculinity', as I will now call it, is to downplay the role of a stay-at-home mother and to ridicule the responsibility of a home-maker.

I think you'd agree that a woman is genetically different from a man. She is anatomically and psychologically different from her male counterpart. For a start no normal human male has ever, or will ever carry and give birth to a child not to mention the fact that women talk a hell of a lot more than any man could.  Why can we not embrace this fact. Why can we not accept that Woman holds a different role in life to men. No man could do some things that a woman does, and vice versa.

I believe every woman should have the right to be a feminine woman according to the way God created her. To be the home-maker, the loving wife and mother that only she has the ability to be. I don't want to put Man on a pedestal and then complain I am made to feel inferior. Striving to be something you are not and never will be is to forget who you are. Wanting something you don't have is to belittle that which God granted you as a human being.

In sum, I'd like to declare that I am a feminist, but in it's truest form. I'm different to the sons of Adam, but I can be different and equal. And God is the best of Judges.

Had I done so...

Destiny. Tis a strange thing me thinks.
Fate is something we may not necessarily be able to comprehend entirely, but it is a phenomenon we must accept and be pleased with. It is a vital part of our faith.
Having said that, it still disappoints me to hear so many people complaining, 'had I taken this rout to work I wouldn't have been late!', 'If only I didn't do that', 'I wish that never happened to me'.
Something I have come to learn after learning that we have a chosen path specifically chosen for us as individuals, is that we can not deter something that was written for us, we just can't. If you were supposed to trip over that paving slab and make a fool of yourself infront of the on coming traffic then, no matter how fast, slowly, carefully or carelessly you were to walk, you would trip and look like an imbicile, and yes, they will laugh - and perhaps you will too.
The saying goes, 'every hardship is a blessing in diguise', and I am the first to attest that this the truth and it is a principle I chose to hold at the forefront of my mind at all times.
I have learnt that things happen for a reason, sometimes I learnt the hard way, but I learned.

So I'd like to tell you,
What I believe to be true,
It hurts and terrifies you now,
But it's vital to remember how,
One day,
You will look back and say,
I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

My Book list

Greetings!
Some of you may know me, so you will be aware that I am a bookworm, but without the worminess of it all (worms are amazing but ugly little things). In terms of non-fiction, I read only the English classics (I'm not into the other...'junk' books. And non-fiction, it's all mainly social sciences and religious readings.

I thought I'd share some of the recently read (and not so much), beloved classic novels and non-fiction books I enjoyed.

Read and recommended:

• The Color Purple, by  Alice Walker
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• Made to Stick (non-fiction), by Chip Heath, Dan Heath
• Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About (non-fiction), by Kevin Trudeau
• The Tipping Point (non-fiction), by Malcom Gladwell

I will leave you with these for the time being, but for those of you who don't know about some of these books, I'll give you a briefing.
-The color Purple is an amazing story about a black girls life in America, from her childhood where she was abused by her father, to her inner victories and triumphs in her later years. It opens your mind and softens your heart.
-To Kill a Mockingbird, the name might be a bit misleading, but overall it is a wonderful story written from a little girls perspective about her family life, the strange neighbour that never comes out of his home and the racist society and court case of a black man.
-Made to Stick, some insight into how to make things memorable, get peoples attention and have an impact on your audience. Good for Da'wah purposes, business and marketing ideas.
- Natural Cures - Not my favourite book in the world, as the author seems a little over zealous at times and almost laughably exaggerated, but the general idea is good. Simply, the ways in which our society make us think they're making us a more well society, but are actually making us more ill in order to make money.
- The Tipping point, The last straw on the camels back. What makes a TV show suddenly BOOM, how the latest fashions catch on etc. I didn't finish the whole book (unintentionally) but what I read I enjoyed.

I'll leave you with that for now, and I will share my 'to read' list with you all next time!
Happy reading my fellow wormy book lovers xx

Where are you from?

When I first started blogging, this is the first entry I made... I hope can take something from this.
Enjoy...

‘Where are you from?’ is a common question that is often posed to a person who meets someone they can’t quite figure out yet.
Why is it that we are always so curious about where someone is from? Is it so we can therefore define who they are, as the place they were born clearly summarizes who a person is right? Well yes and no.
You see, this question is totally ambiguous. Is it referring to a persons nationality? The place they were born? The ancestry of their parents? We all have our own way of answering this question. The place a person currently lives or has spent most of their lives or the kind of life they lead and the culture they have adapted to may be how a person chooses where they will say they are from.
I think it is a matter of identity, and I think we are all entitled to chose our identities and that depends entirely on what we think defines us the most accurately, in the most wholesome way.
When somebody asks me where I am from,  I typically say I am from Britain/England as this is the place I was born and the passport I carry. My parents are both British citizens, though my father was born in another country – other than that of his own parents and techinically he is Indian by blood… so it all gets a bit complicated you see.
Most importantly, I wouldn’t say that I identified myself as being British or English. I am mixed race, British parents; English mother, Indian father (by blood), I have a British passport, I have lived in the USA, and Egypt and I speak English and Arabic and I eat every cuisine under the sun. So where does that leave me? When I answer ‘Britain/England’ I am answering an ambiguous question with an ambiguous answer, but also to make a point. You see, I am Muslim, that is who and what I am, and a Muslim can be from any nation, any culture and any religion prior to embracing Islam. It is not for a specific race, colour or social class and this is what defines me, and it is my choice to let this be the deciding factor of my identity even though this has only been a part of me for a portion of my life  – but I am a Muslim more than anything else, this is what will stay with me regardless of the country I am in, the passports I obtain, or the country I am born in. It will be with me for the rest of my days إن شاء الله and no embassy can take that away from me. This is what defines me, it shapes my life and influences the choices I make in my life. This is what I will stand by, more than any country or nation, my Ummah is what I stand for.
إن لله و إن إليه راجعون
(Inna lillahi wa in ilaihi raji’oon)
To Allah we belong, and unto Him we shall return
So where am I from? In reality I am from my Lord Allah, and unto Him I shall return. That is my true origin and that is my destination.