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Address the issue of Internet anonymity regularly. Enforce to your child that his or her identity is not unknown. Limit identity to first name only, omitting age, address, and other personal information. Limit contact to friends from school.
Practice manners both on and off the computer. Plainly said, if your child or another won't say something to someone's face, it should be sent through text or IM. Encourage civility at all times. Explain that the lack of face to face speech and the missing inflections of speech often result in misinterpretation of the message reader. Encourage your kids to treat others like they would like to be treated as well.
Cut out the gossip. Yes, kids love to chat about this person and that. However, this frequently escalates into a full-blown fight born on the misinterpretation of a message. Remember the "pass the message" game we played as kids? Remember how the message changed by the end of the circle? Firmly telling your child you don't want him or her to participate in gossip stops this hurtful conduct in its tracks.
Use the blocking feature on IM. IM addresses are rather easy to get, especially among school friends. Block those children that provoke fights with your kids. "Pay no never mind" goes a long way to taking the wind out of the sails of a cyber bully. If the person ahs no audience, he can't torment your child.
Be there. Parents have great power to influence and comfort our kids. Pop into your kid's room and examine the IM goings on. Don’t intrude but encourage your child to share what is happening with their friends online. Just as you ask, "how was school" everyday, monitor the messaging every day.
Prohibit any picture uploading and phone picture taking. This is a recipe for disaster. One cyber bully can send one incriminating picture to every phone, IM, e-mail, or MySpace page in a school. Take this option completely out of the equation.
Make the assumption that people aren't going to be nice. As tough as it sounds, this is a necessity in today's age of instant contact with the world. Talk to your child about how people will use information against them and to limit their trust of people, especially online.
Clearly and plainly discuss inappropriate content. Cursing, inappropriate pictures and mean-spirited messages can be saved on any computer. This is your proof to a bullying incident so use it. Also remind your child that this very avenue of proof could be used against him or her as well. Many children who get bullied strike back in anger, creating an ugly back and forth situation that often escalates.
Protect passwords. Be adamant with your children to never share their passwords with even their closest friends.
Watch your children closely. Very likely, if your kid has trouble on the playground, he or she will have trouble on line. Be observant for sad or withdrawn behavior, sleeplessness, or a reluctance to attend school or functions.
Evaluate the severity of the situation accurately. Just like with any "he said, she said" situation, IM and text speech and bullying among known individuals is very hard to interpret. However, behavior such as sharing identity information or threats of harm should be addressed immediately. Choosing the correct path depends on your situation but often simply contacting the parents will help stop the negative behavior.
Act immediately if an unknown individual is threatening your child. Contact your local law enforcement office for help to determine how to stop this type of bullying. Save any IM conversations but be aware than a paper printout isn't enough for legal action. Consult with law enforcement for further information.
The history of these hybrids has been very carefully worked out by Professor Valentine Bail, Director of the Science and Art Museum, Dublin, from whose papers the following account is taken. The parents of these hybrids were in a travelling menagerie owned at first by Mr. Thomas Atkins, and subsequently by his son Mr. John Atkins; and a total of six litters of hybrids were produced between the years 1824 and 1833. The parent Lion was bred in the menagerie from a Barbary Lion and a Senegal Lioness; while the Tigress was born in the collection of the Marquis of Hastings at Calcutta, and was purchased when about eighteen months old from a ship’s captain, to whom she had been given by her original owner. Being of the same age as the Lion, she was placed with him in the same cage ; and in the course of two years proved to be in cub. The following is a record of the six litters produced by the union of this pair.
First Litter: Born October the 24th, 1824, at Windsor, and comprising two males and a female. They were nourished by a female terrier, but all perished within a year of their birth. These cubs were exhibited to King George the Fourth, at the Royal Cottage, Windsor, on the final of November, by whom they were christened Lion-Tigers.
Second Litter: Born April 22nd, 1825, at Clapham Common; there were three cubs, sexes not recorded. Reared by the mother, as also were all the subsequent litters. They only lived a short time.
Third Litter: Born December 31st, 1826 or 1827, at Edinburgh; one male and two females . Mr. Ball states that the year is given as 1827 in the handbill of the menagerie from which he quotes, and the other references seem to support that date; but Mr. John Atkins says it is given as 1826 in a printed catalogue in his possession. These only lived a few months. The skin of one of them, forming the subject of Plate III,, is preserved in the Science and Art Museum at Edinburgh, and a second is in the British Museum. Sir William Jardine remarks that “the colour was brighter than that of the Lion, and the bands were better marked than they generally are in the young of tire true breed.†Indeed, from his figure, the animal has more the appearance of a Tiger than of a Lion. Writing of the cubs of the first litter in the “Library of Entertaining Knowledge,†where one of them was figured, Griffith observes that “our mules, in common with ordinary Lions, were born without any traces of a mane, or of a tuft at the end of the tail. Their fur in general was rather woolly; the external ear was pendant towards the extremity; the nails were constantly out, and not cased in the sheath, and in these particulars they agreed with the common cubs of Lions. Their colour was dirty yellow or blanket-colour; but from the nose over the head, along the back and upper side of the tail, the colour was much darker, and on these parts the transverse stripes were stronger, and the forehead was covered with obscure spots, slighter indications of which also appeared on other parts of the body. The shape of the head, as appears by the figures, is assimilated to that of the father (the Lion) ; the superficies of the body on the other hand is like that of the Tigress.â€
Fourth Litter: Born October 2nd, 1828, at Windsor; one male and two females.
Fifth Litter: Born May, 1831, at Kensington, three cubs, sexes not recorded. They were shown to the Queen, then Princess Victoria, and to the Duchess of Kent. The whole group performed in a specially constructed cage at Astley’s Amphitheatre, and in 1832 were taken by Mr. Atkins for a tour in Ireland
Sixth Litter: Born July 19th, 1833, at the Zoological Gardens, Liverpool; one male and two females. One, the male, lived for ten years in the Gardens. The young male Lion-Tigers when about three years old had a short mane, something like that of an Asiatic Lion; and the stripes became very indistinct at that age.
(CNN) -- For the past eight years, the White House recognized the National Day of Prayer with a service in the East Room, but this year, President Obama decided against holding a public ceremony.
President Bush marked the National Day of Prayer with a service at the White House.
"Prayer is something that the president does everyday," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, noting that Obama will sign a proclamation to recognize the day, as many administrations in the past have done.
Asked if Obama thought his predecessor's ceremonies were politicized, Gibbs said, "No, I'm not going to get into that again.
"I think the president understands, in his own life and in his family's life, the role that prayer plays."
The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance for people of all faiths.
Under the Bush administration, the White House hosted an interfaith service each year, inviting protestant, Catholic and Jewish leaders for an event at the East Room.
President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush also marked the day with a White House observance.
President Harry Truman first established the day as a national event in 1952. Reagan signed a resolution in 1988 to observe the National Day of Prayer each year on the first Thursday in May, and each president since has recognized this day with a proclamation.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force, a privately funded organization that focuses on mobilizing the Christian community, says it's disappointed in this year's toned down observance, but other groups say the president needs to go a step farther -- and ignore the day altogether.
"It's not his job to tell people to pray," said David Silverman, national spokesperson for the organization American Atheists.
"We are very happy he did away with the George W. Bush-era celebrations and party, but we wish he wouldn't do it at all. ... When church and state are separate, separate is separate," he said.
Although there are no public events scheduled at the White House, representatives from the legislative and judicial branches are expected to attend an event the National Day of Prayer Task Force is holding on Capitol Hill.
But, despite numerous attempts to get a representative from the executive office to attend, "it doesn't appear they are going to fulfill our request," said Becky Armstrong, marketing and media manager of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.
"The White House is a small part of what the national day of prayer is all about. Tomorrow there will be dozens of events held in our nation's capitol and governors from all 50 states have already issued proclamations recognizing the National Day of Prayer," Armstrong said.
"It would be belittling to those millions of people to reduce this day to merely one event not being held at the White House."
Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson said in a statement that she was disappointed in the "lack of participation" by the Obama administration, adding that "at this time in our country's history, we would hope our President would recognize more fully the importance of prayer."
