More Nanny State rubbish!

[MarkCDodd]

I live in the suburb of Boronia in the city of Knox in the state of Victoria.

Victoria has a reputation of being the "Nanny" state.

It appears that Victorians have no sense and for our own good all actions will be dictated by a never ending set of state laws and local bylaws.

My wife and I were going to buy and operate a child care center but the big binders of rules and regulations handed to me put me off.

All this rubbish about gender neutral toys and the evasion of Christian days of importance and a set list of approved books to be read etc etc etc.

That was all political correct rubbish more than 20 years ago and it has got worse since.

Now my local council has come up with this doozy.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/knox-council-bans-the-sharing-of-home-made-cakes-also-bans-egg-cartons-and-toilet-rolls/story-fnglekhp-1226585158793

I rang and spoke to one of the councilors this morning and asked him to provide me a single documented case where a home made cake has resulted in harm to children.

He said he would get back to me. I don't think so!

Asthma and other childhood ailments are at an all time high because we have wrapped them in cotton wool.

We do not let them get dirty or take risks.

Playground equipment has been changed to remove the dangerous elements and many school grounds have little or any exposed earth.

I used to be proud of the bath rings I would leave after a good day of playing outside!

I used to play Santa for several charities and hospitals for many years.

Than a few years ago they gave me a list of "regulations" that dictated the exact words I should use in response to particular wishes made.

I had to ensure that both hands were visible in every photograph taken.

Of course they could not provide me once single example of a Santa being convicted of groping a child anywhere in the world.

I wasn't going to be turned into a robot so have not played Santa for five years.

I wish I could throttle the idiots who come up with this rubbish.

Many rules are put in place without a tiny bit of evidence that a problem needs correcting.

Enough I say!

[Antie Em]

Bringing in home made cakes was outlawed in my grandchildren's nursery ten years ago because of the concern that some very young children attending nursery may suffer from serious food allergies.

[dudleytaylor]

Being a retired Nursery Nurse , I do understand your concerns . My daughter is a working nursery nurse ,and she has told me that things are changing constantly . Now to make nursery care cheaper for parents the government is thinking about changing the ratio between adults and children. Which will be detrimental to the children . Taking children out for the day will be less likely to happen. With parents permission we would take children to the park ,all this will stop because there will not be enough adults to care for the children. I am afraid that with all the paperwork and rules , children's nursery's will change dramatically in the next few years .

[Antie Em]

I am actually in favour of not allowing children to eat what wasn't prepared in the nursery or sent in by the parents of the child. The nursery my grandchildren attended had a locker for each child for anything that was sent in by their parents and given to them at certain times in the day. All their meals were prepared on site, giving special consideration for any allergies. When they had a "party" day we brought in party food, but it all had to be covered in the manufacturer's wrapping. Even when we have the children's friends staying over or coming for tea, we always ask the parents for any dietary requirements.

[dudleytaylor]

The nursery I worked for had its own kitchen, and cook. All meals were prepared on the day .Children had their own pegs for coats. Clean aprons were used for all meals.We had our own washing machines ,and drier. We catered from 4 months to school age .All dietary needs were catered for.

[snoopysue]

I agree a little with Mark, children today are wrapped up in cottonwool; there are several studies that show that, for example, kids that grew up on farms have less allergies than kids that grew up in "cleaner" environments.
That being said, once a child has an allergy, then we have to be careful, especially with food allergies, as they are so potentially dangerous.

[dudleytaylor]

I also agree with Mark, I also think government's go to far.It doesn't hurt children to get a little dirty ,and build wonderful constructions out of toilet rolls and cereal boxes. When I was a child I played in the garden making mud pies and pulling weeds out in piles ,gathering stones ,selling them in my pretending shop.

[peterd]

I also agree with Mark, I also think government's go to far.It doesn't hurt children to get a little dirty ,and build wonderful constructions out of toilet rolls and cereal boxes. When I was a child I played in the garden making mud pies and pulling weeds out in piles ,gathering stones ,selling them in my pretending shop.

and came in for something to eat some bread and jam with hands as black as the mud

[Rob]

I grew up playing over "The Blue Billy".A vast mound created from chemical waste from ICI and Albright and Wilsons.Red ochre,purple ochre.It would be all over you.

[dudleytaylor]

That's quite right Pete, I never washed my hands . We only had cold water tap ,we had a tin bath hung up in the kitchen . When we had a bath mom would fill the boiler , light the gas underneath ,and we would wait ages for it to get hot. Every morning we would have a bowl of warm soapy water by the living room fire ,and mom would wash me from top to toe. We didn't have a bathroom till we moved ,when I was fourteen. Our house was condemned ,as were many in Handsworth. Now there is a very large school built where I was born . The tree that my uncle planted in my granddads garden, in the same road as us ,now stands proudly in the school grounds. Oh what fun i had as a child.

[dudleytaylor]

I grew up playing over "The Blue Billy".A vast mound created from chemical waste from ICI and Albright and Wilsons.Red ochre,purple ochre.It would be all over you.

My uncle Beric worked for Albright and Wilsons. As a little girl ,my mom would take me on the Midland Red bus to Oldbury and Langley , and i remember seeing ,what i thought was mountains of coal slack, but it might have been what you refer too. I also remember seeing the the last of the tramlines . My mom came from Langley , and we would go there a lot to see family. .

[SRD]

And yet recorded life expectancy goes up and up, I wonder what it was that was killing all those people, especially children, all those years ago?

[Antie Em]

I worked for the local NHS Primary Care Trust about 10 years ago and while I was there we compiled statistics for the whole country for people with asthma, especially children. Sandwell (which includes Oldbury and Langley) had the highest incidence of asthma in the whole of the country. This wasn't for a 100 years ago - this was only about 10 years ago.

[mikleed]

A lot of revived complaints that we have again now, were imported back to this green and pleasant land......including TB.!!!
Mike

[Antie Em]

Oldbury has never been green or pleasant Mike.

Quote from the History of Oldbury : "Industry continued to develop, with chemical manufacture starting in 1837 to supply the glass works at Smethwick, followed by phosphorus extraction in 1850, tar distillation and plastics. As coal mining and iron extraction declined, brick making spread, exploiting the layer of Etruria marl below Oldbury. Iron and steel manufacture expanded with edge tools, railway carriages, boilers and tubes being sent around the world.

This industrial expansion destroyed much of the green countryside that surrounded Oldbury in 1800, leaving spoil heaps, marl holes, quarries, pits and pollution throughout the area, and a legacy of reclaiming the land throughout the twentieth century. What was not destroyed was built over, and now little green space remains, save the parks and open spaces bequeathed by industrialist benefactors."

I live in Langley, which is now a really nice little area of Oldbury, next to Langley Park which was bequeathed by Messrs Albright and Wilson. I remember visiting Langley when I was in my teens and we had to close all doors and windows when the "yellow fog" was escaping from Albright's.