A homeschooler here in Washington wrote this article. I thought it was pretty good, so I'm sharing it with you. The only thing I think I would add is that actual involvement in pornography is not the only danger of cell phone and internet use (although that's a high enough risk all in itself) and just because we homeschool does not mean our children are protected from these dangers. There are scales of grey regarding what we choose to center our minds on and the internet (and texting and movies and what we see in stores and what we listen to on the radio, etc.) are all real dangers. They can also be a blessing. Let's go for God's best. Let's honor Him with our lives.

Thinking about Giving a Cell Phone, iPod, or PDA for Christmas?
Protect Your Family from Pornography
By Lori from WA

 
While technology can be a fantastic tool for worthwhile endeavors, it can also be an instrument for engaging in grave evil.  Advancing electronic technology has made pornography and sexual content readily accessible on cell phones, iPods, and PDA’s (and basically any other wireless or mobile entertainment device).    If that’s not bad enough, individuals can buy long distance phone cards at the grocery store to use for anonymous “phone sex,” and download music mp3s with explicit content.  In other words, we’re not just talking about protecting children from internet porn any more.   Even if your family doesn’t own any of the previously mentioned electronic devices, your friends do and your children’s friends do too.  Most of us have a TV­an electronic device that will become more problematic as it continues to morph and merge with other technology. 
 
Pornography is a global problem, but America owns a lion’s share of the blame.   According to Michael Leahy, recovering sex addict and bestselling author of Porn Nation: Conquering America's #1 Addiction, pornography is “a 57 billion a year global industry and America is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of porn in the world.” Leahy is an expert on emerging tech trends in pornography and has been featured on ABC's 20/20, The View, USA Today, and numerous other major media sources. 
 
According to the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, children are often exposed to pornography between the ages of 10-14, if not before.  I would add that today’s pornography is exponentially worse than what my generation saw in 1970s magazines (featuring women).  The Internet contains the most vile filth of every kind, including the sexual exploitation of very young children, sodomy, bestiality, and horrors that would be inappropriate to mention here.  All of these images and video are just a mouse click away.
 
Approximately 60 percent or more of the Internet is made up of sexually explicit content.   According to Family Safe Media, 72 percent of males and 28 percent of females (yes, females) visit pornography sites.   Pornography is easy to access and easy to engage in privately and secretly.  The same goes for explicit conversation via texting (or “sexting”) which can be typed out right under a parent’s nose. 

Here are four reasons I’ve heard from parents as to why they are not safeguarding their children:

(1)   “I’m computer/electronics illiterate--I don’t know what these devices are capable of doing and my kids know way more than me. I don’t feel equipped to figure out how to install or administer filtering software or parental controls.”

My response:  Hold off buying or allowing your children to have these electronic gadgets until they become necessary.  And, when you buy, consider your children’s needs­not wants.  For example, there are cell phones on the market without picture/video/internet capabilities (research and ask about them).  There are also “stand-alone” electronic organizers you can buy as opposed to a PDA (does a 15-year-old really need to sync their schedule with a computer?).  If you decide to consider a mainstream electronic device, ask retailers and service providers if you can shut down certain capabilities (learn also if the phone can connect to internet via other wired/wireless connections outside your home, and if the device can download and upload media).  In summary, get informed with the basics.  Then, get help from on-line resources, friends, and your local retail/computer store to be sure you can put filtering or specific parental controls in place.

(2)   “I trust my children.  They can only go on the Internet when I’m at home, otherwise they know they’re not allowed.”

My response: My husband and I don’t trust ourselves not to sin, and we don’t trust our kids not to sin.  I recently read a quote from a pastor named Bill Perkins that pretty much sums it up:  "If you think you can't fall into sexual sin, then you're godlier than David, stronger than Samson, and wiser than Solomon.”  The stakes are high with pornography so my husband and I take serious precautions to reduce the risk of exposure.  Here’s what we have in place:  We log on to our computer with a parental password (important:  it’s not written down anywhere).  I have an administrative password for our filter which only I know (important:  it’s not written down anywhere).  Our filtering company sends regular Internet activity reports to my husband and me (he and I are both accountable to each other as well as with the kids).  We have a separate user account for our oldest who needs access to the internet for classes.  His user account is filtered down to a “white list” of preapproved sites with no search capability.  Further, his email may only receive messages from pre-authorized senders.  Now, you may think all of this is extreme, and your family may choose do the filtering differently (it’s a personal decision and it’s up to you).  However, I’m trying to stress that I’m much more concerned about limiting the risk of exposure to pornography than other less “risky” areas where my children might disobey me.  If a device poses a risk, it’s either treated as a “controlled substance” or it’s out of here.
 
(3)   “I’m so busy, I don’t have time.”

My response:  Please make the time and let something else slide for a while.  Our children are an inheritance and a gift from the Lord.  They deserve our responsible and reasonable protection.
 
(4)   “Sooner or later my children are going to be exposed to pornography.  I can’t control their sinful hearts, or their temptations.  If they look for something hard enough, they’ll find it.”

My response:  While there are many aspects of our children’s lives that we cannot control, including the sinful nature of their hearts and the sin that surrounds us, it’s important that we don’t assume a fatalistic attitude that equates to laziness.  Our children may gain access to pornography elsewhere.  But, my husband’s and my personal goal is to make it as difficult as possible for our children (or anyone else’s children) to access pornography in our home, or on a device someone in our family carries around with them.  As parents, we must also pray consistently for our children’s hearts, their pursuit of holiness, and for the restraint of evil in this world. We also must pray for the salvation and/or rescue of those who are trapped in the slavery of pornography, which is an addiction that affects non-Christians and Christians alike. 
 
Parents, you can do this!  Please visit the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families (NCPCF) at http://www.nationalcoalition.org/home.asp  You will find a wealth of information including opening lines of communication with your children regarding pornography, and how to be a wise shopper (learning about the capabilities of electronic devices before buying).  You’ll also find information about filtering software and applications for the Internet and portable electronic devices, statistics, and other excellent resources.  The two filters recommended on the website have filtering for internet and mobile phones whereas most others do not. 
 
A sister-section of the NCPCF website has a page that’s an excellent starting place: http://www.icarecoalition.org/icarepurpose.asp
 
Lastly, if you have a child who has, or is engaging in the sin of pornography, here is an excellent article for parents about a Christ-centered approach to helping them:  http://www.crosswalk.com/parenting/teens/11600384/

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Sorry, if you don't agree with me. But, it's too important to not point out.

I can't even tell you each thing...thing after the thing...not just the SPENDING, but REGULATION that will bankrupt our country and our small businesses alike.

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I'm just concerned whether our free speech is in jeopardy. I mean truth in advertising is important - and I'm all behind that. One of my pet peeves - could they quit giving food manufacturers an out with the phrase "natural flavoring" and "artificial flavoring". And when they get you to sign the vaccinate consent form can they list the ingredients in the vaccination? I digress however...sorry about that...

Yet, where does the ridiculousness of our legal system end? And why can't there be more emphasis on people using their brains when reading things on the internet and elsewhere?

As a side note: through our business we have experience with sending out free product to be reviewed on review sites on the internet. We send it out and if where we are sending the product to has much clout at all we know that despite having sent out product for free, we may get a negative review of that product. Where does government regulation end???

As my husband always tells me, if the government can't make something illegal (because it would be too unpopular), they just regulate it to death. The problems we are now experiencing with mortgages is due in part to government regulation or pressure - pressure for banks to accept loan applications that otherwise they would not accept. Now, we bail out those banks and regulate them further. It's insane.

The following article is taken from an ABC article here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/AheadoftheCurve/Story?id=7301845&page=1

Mommy blogger Colleen Padilla never imagined that her opinions would become so coveted by other parents that corporations would come knocking on her door, requesting that she review their products and tout them in the blogosphere.

Colleen Padilla, a mommy blogger who writes on Classymommy.com, is worried that her product reviews could expose her to liability if the Federal Trade Commission toughens its rules.

She launched her blog, Classymommy.com, as a way to chronicle her life as a new mom but it quickly transformed into a small business venture for the Philadelphia mom of two.

In the past three years, Padilla has reviewed more than 1,000 products, everything from diapers to plush toys to infant-safe skin creams, to the delight of the growing parenting community that she says considers a stamp of approval from fellow parents to be the final word.

But, now, Padilla and the estimated hundreds of thousands of fellow parenting bloggers may be in danger of being sued if the government approves a change in its policy regarding endorsements of products by Web pundits.

"I'm nervous; my Web site and blog is almost entirely product reviews, either written posts or video reviews that incorporate my children testing, trying or using products," Padilla told ABCNews.com.

"I've got over 1,000 products in my product finder, so this is alarming news that I may be held liable for my opinion," Padilla said

A regulatory review process is underway to determine whether reviews by bloggers like Padilla may be in violation of good business practices, said Richard Cleland, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission.

"The proposed revisions signal that the commission will apply existing principles of advertising law to new forms of media, like blogs," Cleland said, adding that a decision on the proposal is expected sometime this summer.

"These types of communications that appear to be just one mom to another mom are pretty effective," he said. "Consumer endorsements and testimonials have always been viewed as extremely effective types of marketing.

"But the concern is about those instances when [testimonials] are delivered and it is not made obvious that it's an advertisement for a company."

Whether these revisions, should they happen, will affect particular bloggers will depend on their relationship to the company whose product they're promoting, Cleland said. If a blogger reviews items in return for payment or free products, they may be held liable because the bloggers, unbeknown to their audiences, could be seen as shills for the companies.

"It would only affect bloggers who are paid to write reviews but the sticky issue that is raised is what happens if a product is given for free," Cleland said. "That's something we're going to have to address."

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2008 Homeschool Blog Award Nominations

I nominated some of you for 2008 Homeschool Blog Awards. I just can't tell you who!

Homeschool Blog Awards says they would like our help to get the word out. So, I am letting you know that right now, between October 13 to October 24, 2008, Homeschool Blog Awards is accepting nominations for a whole slew of categories for homeschool blogging.

Just go to their nomination page and use the form to nominate someone!

There are lots of categories like:

• Best Homeschool Mom Blog
• Best Geographical Blog
• Best Artistic Content Blog
• Funniest Homeschool Blog
• Best Encourager
• ETC..

You can submit one blog per category. In order to be officially nominated a blog owner has to receive three nominations. You can vote for yourself if you like!

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Melissa of Twaddle Me Not posted this little ditty. Since my husband and I have business in the computer hardware arena, we found it VERY funny.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated,

'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.'

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........Twice a day
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.

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Hey, do you all know about Google Calendar? It is so cool! It is WAY better than the Microsoft Calendar (so many more great features and flexibility). And, best of all it is available to you wherever you have access to a computer. You can even set it up to send you reminder messages to your cell phone. And, even more cool, you can allow others that you trust to access your calendar so they can check your schedule. You can even set up your entire family's calendar separately and then merge it. And all of it is really intuitive. I am so, so, so bad when it comes to tracking my schedule. If anything can help me this can.
 
Oh, and it's FREE! At least for now.
 

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tiarali79 of Leaflet Academy posted an interesting link in a comment below about food additives, and now I am obsessing about them. Here is my summary about them.

The following is a condensed list of disorders which can be caused by food additives:

Asthma, stuffy or runny nose, chronic throat-clearing, sinusitis, frequent ear infections, tonsillitis, eczema, hives, dark circles under eyes, indigestion, stomach ache, reflux, constipation, soiling, incontinence, arthritis, muscle pain, rapid heart beat, heart palpitations, tiredness, confusion, dizziness, agitation, tinnitus, panic attacks, depression, forgetfulness, difficulty falling asleep, insomnia, night terrors/sleepwalking, ADHD, ADD, Autism, Aspergers, ODD

The following are Food Additives that the Food Intolerance Network recommends avoiding:

Artificial Colors (102,104,107,110,122,123,124,127,128, 129,132,133,142,151,155 - Australian #'s?)
Natural Color 160b (Annatto)
Preservatives (Sorbates, Benzoates, Sulphites, Nitrates, Nitrites, Propionates)
Synthetic Antioxidants (Gallates, TBHQ, BHA, BHT)
Flavor Enhancers (Glutamates including MSG, Ribonucleotides, Hydrolysed Vegetable      Protein)
Artificial Flavors (also called Flavoring)

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ADHD and Additives

Here a major news source and a medical Allergy Specialist confirm what many have been suspecting for years, ADHD is connected with food additives, and it is worth trying to eliminate food additives from a child's diet before trying medical intervention.

I wonder if perhaps other disorders are connected with all the food additives (chemicals) in the food we eat nowadays.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/080523/2/16zl7.html

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