As the ticker above shows, I'm getting married in three days time. The house is chaotic and manic. I am running around like a mad woman in an attempt to finish all the fiddly things that make wedding ceremonies memorable for guests.

For the next two weeks I may not be on-line at all. I will be back from my honeymoon on Easter Monday and I look forward to seeing you all then.

Take care and stay safe. Remember to try and post your support of ending sexual violence on April 5, Blog Against Sexual Violence Day.

Do you know what to teach your children to help keep them safe?

The BITSS model of Protective Behaviours (copyright Megan Bayliss) examined a number of existing protective behaviour programs and took the major elements from each program. The elements were lumped into an easy acronym to help people remember what to do - what BITSS they need to cover.

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney is one of our family favorites. I gave a copy to my oldest daughter on her 16th birthday (she's now 24) and we consistently say to each other, "I love you stars and moons." This phrase is a direct link to how much we have all appreciated the potency of love expressions in Guess How Much I Love You.



It is fitting then, that this story becomes a reading at our rainforest waterfall wedding this Saturday. Here it is for you all to enjoy too:

Unlike the Seekers famous song, The Carnival is Over, the Carnival of Australia is beginning. After positive discussions with several Aussie bloggers, we are now seeking submissions from Aussie bloggers (and bloggers who have visited and blogged on their Australian experience) for our fortnightly Carnival of Australia.

Come on Aussie, come on. If you are an Aussie blogger, or you have blogged about something Australian, then Aunty Jack (not really, just me, Carnival organiser Megan Bayliss) wants YOU! Over shadowed by a sea of fair dinkum bloggers from America and England, Aussie bloggers sometimes splash about in the virtual surf trying to keep their blogs alive long enough for the snags to cook on the barbie.

Let's really make a lasting splash and snag some new readers. Australia is such a diverse country, we can share our diversity in thought and interest by showcasing the best of our Aussie blogs, and blogs about Australia, to the rest of the world. Let's celebrate what we think/talk about, what we do, how we live, our humour, culture, politics, music, technology, sport and how great it is to visit Australia, etc.

What is a Blog Carnival? A carnival is a collection of posts all in one place: a particular kind of blog community. There are many kinds of blogs, and they contain articles on many kinds of topics. Blog Carnivals typically collect together links pointing to blog articles on a particular topic (in our case: Australia). A Blog Carnival is like a magazine. It has a title ( in our case, Carnival of Australia), a topic (Australia, Australian bloggers and their diversity), editors (whoever hosts the carnival each fortnight), contributors (you), and an audience (the wider blogosphere). Editions of the carnival typically come out on a regular basis (e.g. every second Monday). Each Carnival edition is a special blog article that consists of links to all the contributions that have been submitted, often with the editors (hosts) opinions, remarks or themed musings.

To see a sample Carnival edition, click here or here.

The amount of information in the blog-o-sphere makes finding interesting stuff time consuming. If there is a carnival for a topic you are interested in (like Australia), following that carnival is a great way to learn what bloggers are saying about that topic, and often about you. If you are blogging on a specific topic, the carnival is the place to share your work with like-minded bloggers and readers. Our carnival will be blogs about Australia with a huge focus on the diversity of thought and blogs by Aussie bloggers.

Want to submit one of your blogs to the Carnival of Australia? Here's what to do:

1. Choose a post you already have on your blog (you can also submit another person's worthy Aussie blog too), or write a new one and post it to your blog as usual. Use this submission form to nominate yours or someone else's Aussie blog musings or blog about Australia. Fill in all required fields. Make sure to use the permalink to your blog post (e.g. http://homeschoolingaspergers.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-make-australian-wedding-quilt.html). Decide which carnival category it fits best into (note, the categories are there as a guide only, if you don't fit a category, still submit under 'walkabout') from the drop-down menu. Leave a brief description of your blog and why it should be included into the Carnival of Australia (i.e., you an Australian blogger living in Australia or overseas, or, you blogged about Australia and would like to share it).
2. Deadline for submissions is every second Monday by 5pm Australian time (begins April 23, 2007). Publication will be every second Wednesday (begins April 25, 2007).
3. Think twice about submitting articles that are adult in nature, abusive or racist. If you go ahead and submit them do not expect to see them posted to the Carnival. Our convict past, is past. This Carnival will operate according to the strictest values of not harming other people. Further, any suggestive or suspicious activity involving children will be immediately reported.
4. When you receive notice of Carnival of Australia publication, visit to check your post and to read the other submissions. Post a notice of the Carnival on your site so that your readers can all come celebrate the best of Australia as well.
5. If you'd like to host the Carnival of Australia on your site, contact carnival organiser, Megan Bayliss, and we'll arrange it. Hosting the carnival will bring many new readers to your site.

Come on Aussie, come on: get those posts submitted (inaugural Carnival of Australia to be held on ANZAC Day, April 25, 2007). Help a mate, be a cobber and email this post to every other Aussie blogger or Australian travel writer you know.

Photo of Luna Park clown courtesy of horizonaus at stock.xchng

If you are feeling brave and looking for a new Carnival to submit your blogs to, why not consider the Carnival of Courage. This fortnightly Carnival features courage related posts: whether your own act of bravery, big or small or that of someone who has inspired you. Share your tales from the trenches as you wrestle with those things that are stretching and challenging you.

The most recent Carnival can be savoured over at The Dragon Slayer's Guide to Life. The Dragon Slayer has a strict one post policy but I submitted two because I just couldn't make my mind up about which one displayed the ultimate in strength conquering fear. Blow me down with a breath of dragon fire: the Dragon Slayer included both of them because she couldn't make up her mind either.

A bonus for me was that this particular Carnival lead me to Scott Davis at Finding Your Marbles. His Carnival submission, “How Winnie the Pooh Taught Me Courage” , is charming, entertaining and inspirational. His site is even better. Dedicated, real and helpful, I'm going to become a Finding Your Marbles regular.

So, be brave and shave or be brave and slay the metaphorical dragons by submitting your courage related posts to the next Carnival of Courage by April 1, 2007.

For those brave souls amongst us who are dedicated to slaying sexual violence, don't forget that it is Blog Against Sexual Violence Day on April 5, 2007. All you have to do is, on April 5, post a blog about your commitment to having communities free of sexual violence. The more brave people around who dare to speak their views about sexual predators being responsible for their violent actions, the quicker the perpetrators get the message that sexual violence will not be tolerated within our blogging community or the wider communities in which we all live. Get your Blog Against Sexual Violence Day banner from Abyss2Hope.

Only seven sleeps to go until our wedding in the rainforest underneath the spectacular Mungalli Falls. Both ceremony and reception are focused on children and we have several adventure based activities organised for the children. Last night, partner and I were going through music choices. Many songs were discarded because of the foul language and suggestive sexual adult content.

Child sexual abuse is still not a topic discussed enough in family homes. Just as the dynamics of sexual abuse are shrouded in secrecy and manipulation, so too are many family conversations: particularly conversations around sexual abuse prevention. Parents often state they are scared of spoiling their children's innocence, scarring their kids or they don't see why they should talk about it because their kids are safe.

Child sexual abusers will take away your child's innocence. Children who know nothing of protective behaviours and the manipulating tactics of predators often are unaware that they are allowed to talk to their protective parents when and if something abusive happens. Scared and confused once something has happened, children who grow up in homes where sexual abuse prevention is not talked about may wrongly assume that abuse is a taboo subject. Perpetrators love this. Not talking about protection and prevention may make our kids fair game for perverts and manipulators. No child is safe from the threat of terrorism - including domestic terrorism.

Eighty five percent of reported child sexual abuse is perpetrated by somebody well known to the child: somebody that access our children on a regular basis and is welcomed into our safe homes and daily lives. Child protection is serious business and serious, good parents talk about serious and scary stuff because they know their children may be a risk from people they trust and love.

A new site has caught my attention: Teacher Smackdown. On the site, abusive teachers are named: those very people charged with protecting and encouraging our vulnerable children. To quote from the site: Anne-Marie Nichols is a 40-something award winning blogger, freelance copywriter, and WAHM to two young school age children. As a founding board member of a Colorado public charter school, she knows that most teachers are dedicated, hardworking professionals. Yet bad teachers exist, betraying the public trust one kid at a time. These are their stories.

Thank you Anne-Marie. You are providing a Protective Behaviour communication service that I hope parents will appreciate and learn from. Your post, Teaching Children About Sexual Abuse, is excellent and based in best practice. I encourage parents, everywhere, to read it.

Can we stop child sexual abuse? We can't because we are not responsible for the perpetrations: the sexual predators are. We can though, educate and protect our children by ensuring they know that sex is not a taboo subject and that some people use sex and touching in very bad ways. If a child is sexually abused it is NEVER their fault. Children need to know this prior to anything ever happening to them. Knowing you are not responsible makes it easier to go and tell someone about the bad stuff that has just happened.

Together we can impact upon the lower risk of our children being sexually abused. We can talk, we can educate, we can place the blame firmly where it belongs: on the shoulders of the sexual predators that trick us and our children into thinking that bad behaviours are acceptable.

If you have been sexually abused, it is not your fault. Please, go and talk to someone. Help us to break the vicious cycle of secrecy and in doing so, help protect all children.

For those interested in joining the call of safe communities with a zero tolerance to sexual crimes consider raising a blog about your thoughts, ideas, aspirations, experiences or even messages to predators. Held on April 5, 2007, Blog Against Sexual Violence day will be a force to be reckoned with. Proudly wear the available banner on your site. Together we will impact upon keeping our kids safe from sexual predators: no matter who or where they are.

Emotional Intelligence includes teaching about and providing a range of feeling words to match to emotions and learning how to use them at the appropriate time. Our English language has over 2000 words to describe our feelings. Typically though, any of us will only ever use six words (three sets of opposites, i.e., hot/cold, happy/sad) in our feeling description repertoire.

1. Affect (feelings) – I feel…,


2. Behaviour (doing) – when you…


3. Cognitions (thinking) – because…

Example: I feel confused when you try to touch my private parts because Mummy said nobody is allowed to touch me there.

Without a range of feeling words to use, children cannot clearly communicate what is happening inside them. The classic example is of a child who says they have a headache in their tummy. The child knows something feels yucky in their stomach but they don’t yet have the right word to match the feeling with.

In Game to Develop Emotional Intelligence and A Mime of Early Warning Information I provide a couple of games designed to stimulate easy teachable moments around learning new feelings words. I will feel estatic when you teach them to your children because it will provide another layer of protection for the world’s children.

Have you seen the beaut posters depicting feeling faces? Very handy as emotional prompts for learning and remembering, we have them plastered all over our walls at home. I feel proud that my children have an excellent grasp on emotional language and the kids are my evidence that teaching emotional intelligence leads to well adjusted children.

What do you do to instill emotional language and clear communication into your child’s vocabulary? I'd love to know because then I can teach your ideas to other parents I come into contact with. Why not consider entering your ideas into the book competition: WIN a Children’s Chapter Book (Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast) for Yourself and Your Local Library.

Here's some other helpful articles I've written on emotional intelligence and feelings:

Emotional Intelligence and Clear Communication
Make a difference in another child's life: Actively listen to them.
Do You Get Angry with Your Child? I Do, Because Anger is a Natural Feeling.

Here's the link to a free sheet of Feeling Faces from Adoption Crossroads.

Competition:

Win two copies of Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast: one for you and one for your local library of choice.

Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast by Megan Bayliss is a tall tell-tale and endearingly stirring children’s read. The 109 page, paperback, children’s book sensitively addresses important protective behaviour strategies aimed at protecting children from hidden harms. The story gives children in the 8-12 year old age group an opportunity to growl against those seemingly sweet monsters that hide within our utopia waiting to change ripeness for life into a rancid, rotting mass of fly blown waste.

Read a families.com media review of Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast here.

Value of prize A$38.00.

1. Post a new blog about how you have taught protective behaviours or personal safety around child sexual abuse to your children (blog must be posted after today 21.3.07).
2. Link your blog back to this competition.
3. Leave a comment here so that Imaginif staff knows you have entered the competition, can read your entry and choose a winner.

The winning entry will be judged (by Imaginif Protective Behaviour staff) on:

1. sensibly addressing child sexual abuse prevention,
2. the inclusion of more than stranger danger information (85% of reported sexual abuse is perpetrated by somebody well known to the child), and,
3. will offer an idea that other parents can use with their children.

You can only enter once and the judge’s decision is final.

Both copies of Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast will be sent to the winner. The winner can then present their book donation to the local library of their choice.

The winner can also place a Dogsbody Army Award winners graphic on their blog entry and in the side bar of their site. Graphic will be emailed to winner.

Entry nominations must be received in the comments section below by 5 pm Wednesday 28th of March 2007 (Australian time, Tue 27th America). Winner will be announced Friday 30th March. Books will not be posted until Tuesday 10th April (because I will be on my honeymoon).

Good luck and get “protective behaviouring.” If you’re looking for some ideas to stimulate teaching protective behaviors to your kids, check out these activities and games:
Say No to Hang Man.
A Protective Play Tutorial for Grandparents.
A Mime of Early Warning Information.
Chatterbox Play: A Touching Experience.
Good Touch Bad Touch

Purse for a Curse is a fundraiser that Imaginif is this year holding for the Abused Child Trust. My partner and his business colleagues have been approaching many high profile Australians – politicians, sporting heroes, singers and actors. Not one person approached has yet refused to donate a used wallet or purse to be sold at an on-line auction. Congratulations and thank you to those people: busy and constantly approached to sponsor, support or mentor a plethora of good causes, I am grateful that child sexual abuse prevention and treatment factors high in their giving.

A donation of a used wallet, purse or bag costs the famous person nothing. However, the funds that the same used accessory can bring may help thousands of children. The recognition of ability to use their fame for good, rather than for pretentious or high revenue return, is what sets these people out as extraordinary.

Our intention is to mount the Purse for a Curse campaign into full swing in late April, 2007. Working with the Abused Child Trust, our company, Imaginif, will host the event and donate profits to the Abused Child Trust (the charity that we donate to will change each year).

Is it okay to have consensual sex with an adult step-child? Ohio (U.S.A) man, Paul Lowe, has gone to jail for engaging in consensual sex with the 22-year-old daughter of Lowe's wife: his stepdaughter. Lowe argued that the relationship was consensual and that because she was an adult, the “incest statute […] to protect children against adults in positions of authority over them” did not apply to his case. Lowe was unsuccessful in his appeal that “barring consensual sex between an adult stepparent and stepchild was unconstitutional.” The opinion summary (including the direct quotes above) can be viewed at Law Barring Consensual Sex Between Stepfather and Adult Stepdaughter Upheld as Constitutional.


Legal opinion aside, debate around sex with adult children of a relationship (step-children, adoptive children, foster children, or natural children) raises a number of social concerns for me. What is the fabric of marriage made of: law, morals or ethics? Can this fabric be stretched to suit the lustful or conjugal needs of any family member? Was Lowe still in a cohabiting marriage with the stepdaughter’s mother? How long had the relationship been going on for? Was it really consensual or had family dynamics acted to sway the stepdaughters view of acceptable/unacceptable? What was the relationship between mother and daughter? Did the wife know of the affair between her husband and daughter or was it hidden and illicit? What is the social/religious/legal history of Ohio in relation to sex crimes?

My views on incest and child sexual abuse are very clear. Similarly, rape in marriage is a crime where I live and I fully support the abhorrence of rape in any relationship. Opportunistic prostitution (the exchange of sex for a concrete commodity – roof over your head, hot meal or shower, etc) is a recognised youth sub culture and funding is pored into services to provide young people with alternatives to opportunistic prostitution.

Despite my clear beliefs, I still find myself seeking more information to fill in the gaps behind Lowe’s case – how consensual is consensual and how did the relationship occur? Curious, I sought comment from the man I am about to marry. He also was unable to answer immediately: is it acceptable to enter into a consensual sexual relationship with an adult stepchild? He required time to think through the issues rather than knee jerk an emotive response. Neither of us can conceive of ever having sex with our adult stepchildren or entering into sexual relationships with any extended family member. In our view (albeit without all of the social answers to my above queries), it is incest.

Lowe has broken the law and is being punished. I am interested in your opinion. Do you think it is okay to have consensual sex with an adult step-child? Why/why not?

Thumbs up to my youngest child. Emotionally intelligent (sometimes!) and full of empathy for others, he today Shaved for a Cure. He raised $170.00 for the Leukaemia Foundation, simply by being brave and getting shaved. Well done darling. I am very proud of you.

Social Workers do it with international relations. No, I'm not talking about incest. International Social Work day falls on March 27th. A day to celebrate the amazing advances Social Work has contributed globally in areas of equality, social justice, community development, research and policy, improving the lives of individuals, rights and education, International Social Work day celebrates each social workers ability in making a difference on a world wide scale. Further, International Social Work day (dated to fall in conjunction with United Nations Social Work day) is a day for local and national social work chapters to highlight concerns and activities of social workers to the wider public.

My blog, Child Protection: Serious Business, is my global social bookmark for highlighting my concerns: sexual assault, particularly child sexual assault, must be prevented. Sexual assault knows no cultural or class bounds. It happens across the globe. Many bloggers, both social workers and non social workers are using the medium of blogs to raise awareness. Join us on April 5, 2007, in a concentrated and global focused voice that demands safe communities with a zero tolerance toward sexual violence.

Thumbs up to Seventh Generation. Their corporate social responsibility extends beyond caring for the environment to caring for homeless women’s sanitary needs.

A simple donation program on their site encourages a click for a box of FREE environmentally safe sanitary products delivered to a shelter in the state of your choice (U.S.A).

Seventh Generations click for feminine products program is currently suspended while they clear the backlog of boxes to be donated. The success of the giving program is due to people like us, each wanting to do their bit to help others. Sign up for Seventh Generations free newsletter so that you know when the backlog has cleared and they are ready to receive your click.

Feminine hygiene products are expensive and an item that women cannot go without. When women flee their homes because of domestic violence or sexual assault, feminine products are not necessarily one of those items on the “I must grab now” list.

While many shelters make provision for supplying feminine products, the shelters still operate on tight budgets where every cent spent is at the cost of something else. Donations of any new hygiene products are always gratefully received.

Collecting the complementary bottles of shampoo and soaps provided at hotel/motels is another simple way to give to shelters or rape crisis centers. Many frequent fliers collect the complimentary goods and when they have a bag full, they take them to a women’s or children’s shelter. A fantastic thing to do that costs you nothing, please consider it when you next travel.

Many thanks to Thrifty Mommy for raising my consciousness about Seventh Generations excellent display of corporate social responsibility.

Another click for help program you may want to consider can be found in Click for Kids at the Child Health Site.

I’ve always said I wished I could click my fingers and make the world a safer place. Now we can all click away and spread the magic of caring and helping others. Who is going to click with me?

My greatest award and reward is my partners decision to marry me/us (six kids and me last of all). As I'm sure most people know, I'm getting married in 16 sleeps time. Our wedding is focused on the comfort of our guests, 30% of which are children. We think it's quite acceptable to have children at weddings and judging from article response, so do you.

Somebody has nominated my post, Children at Weddings: Acceptable or Non-Acceptable? for a Hot Stuff award from GNMParents. WOW! I am absolutely chuffed. Thank you to who ever it was.

The award works on a voting system. The post with the most votes wins an, "I'm Hot Stuff" button to wear on their blog site. There are four articles nominated. Head on over to GNMParents, read the posts and cast your vote.

I was also chuffed yesterday to receive a letter from one of our local politicians telling me I was nominated for an International Women's Day Award. WOW. That really blew me away. I was humbled, honoured and disbelieving all at the same time. The letter (pictured) will go into my precious box for safe keeping for ever.

I don't do the work I do for award, recognition or self gain. I work tirelessly for child safety because I want the world to be a better place for our kids. Whereas I see child sexual abuse prevention as the most important thing for me to do, I am thankful that there are other people who work to develop cures for disease, feed the homeless and starving, or protect our environment from total destruction. Without a healthy environment our kids wont have food to eat or parks to play safely in.

The awards though, need to go to the everyday parents who strive to keep their children safe. Parents worldwide are teaching their kids about personal safety, ensuring healthy diets, putting shoes and warm clothes on, celebrating rather than berating and loving, hugging and talking. These are the actions worthy of award.

Thank you to the person who nominated my article for the GNMParents Award and thank you to the person who has already voted for it. Even though I have no idea who you are, you guys are just the best. To my children and my divine partner: I love you all the way up to the moon, around the sun and stars and all the way back again.

Do you give a blog about sexual violence? Marcella Chester from Abyss2hope does and she is coordinating a Blog Against Sexual Violence event. The goal is to get as many bloggers as possible to participate. If you're a blogger and you give a blog, then that means you.



This is the perfect opportunity for bloggers to come together as a united community: to have a single voice in saying that sexual violence will not be tolerated. For too long victims have been blamed, maligned and ostracised. No more! Rape and sexual violence is the responsibility of the perpetrator, NEVER the victim. Bloggers scream with opinion and consciousness raising. Bloggers are the social marketers of the here, now and future. Make your voice count. Join the Blog Against Sexual Violence event to be held on April 5, 2007

The 2007 Sexual Assault Awareness Month (United States) campaign national slogan for this April is: Prevent Sexual Violence…in our communities. As a community of bloggers we can raise the banner and demand zero tolerance of sexual violence in our on-line community and real time communities world wide.

Not one to be left out of any initiatives involving protection of children, particularly child sexual abuse, I will be waving my flag and focusing on placing blame where it belongs: on the sexual predators that troll the paths our children tred. While one, five or twelve people can make a difference, the combined cry of protecting all people is strengthened by numbers. I invite you to join the Blog Against Sexual Violence and do your bit for making the world a safer and more equitable place for men, women and children. All you have to do is wave the banner and write a post about ending sexual violence.

Can you afford not to be seen participating in this sexual violence prevention initiative? Often the silent majority is taken to be supporting the status quo. Given the high numbers of sexual violence there is no way I would ever want to be mistaken as not caring about, or supporting entrenched sub cultures of sexual violence. If you are thinking the same way, visit Abyss2hope and grab the html code to place the Blog Against Sexual Violence banner on your site. Be seen as against obscene: visually display your commitment to creating a world free of sexual abuse. Individual, business or corporate entity, here is your opportunity to silently speak up without it costing you a cent.

Do you know a young person who may like to enter a short film competition? I have just recieved some information about an exciting free short film competition available for young people aged from 12 - 18 years.

The Police Citizen Youth Club Short Film Competition is a state wide (Queensland, Australia) competition aimed at young people between the ages of 12 and 18 years. The competition is designed to help make our youth of today aware of the current social issues many young people face on a daily basis and to provide an alternate solution.

The competition will address the following issues:

• Youth Violence
• Youth Driving Issues (Fatalities and Hooning)
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse / Abuse by Youth

Entry into the competition is FREE and the closing date for Expressions of Interest is the 5th of April, 2007.

More information, entry forms and conditions are available from
Louise Parkes, Co-Chairperson, TILT (Tomorrow's Inspired Leaders Today)
email admin@pcyc.org.au
or phone her at 07 3357 1850

Megan: You grew up without a Mum and Dad to care for you. You had to live with several other families over the years. What was it like being a foster child?
Georgie: It was the only thing I really knew. I knew from a small age that my Mum and Dad couldn't care for me. They wanted the best for me so they put me somewhere they knew I would be looked after and get the things they knew they wouldn't be able to give to me.

Megan: Did you feel different not having a Mum and Dad?
Georgie: Hell yeah. I knew I was unique, different from other kids. I felt outta place and always aware that other kids thought I was different with not having a Mum or Dad like they did.

Megan: How often did Mum or Dad have contact with you?
Georgie: Between the ages of four to seven I saw Mum regularly (sporadic weekends) and then I didn't see her again until I was fourteen. I have not seen my Dad since I was about three. I am now about to turn 21 and I am today meeting my Mum for the first time in seven years.

Megan: Tell me what that's like for you after such a long time.
Georgie: I am as nervous as hell. Last time I saw Mum I was only a kid and seven years is a long time. I'm now an adult. I feel sorry for Mum but her past life is not the life I want to lead. I'm not angry at her but I am disappointed that it's taken her twenty years to get to know her own daughter.

Megan: What would make things right between you and Mum?
Georgie: It's not about making things right between us, it's about Mum making an effort to know who I am, what makes me tick and the hurt I have suffered. I want her to want to get to know me. I really want to get to know her but it is more important for her to want to know me. She has to make the effort here to make up for all that I've lost out on.

Megan: What do you think your emotions will be like when you meet Mum today?
Georgie: I think I'll turn into the little girl that's been lost inside for so long, the little girl that has been wanting to be with her Mum.

Megan: Have you got support today as you re meet your Mum after seven years?
Georgie: Yeah, one of my ex foster carers is coming with me. I still live with her, even though I'm no longer a kid in care. She's met my Mum. She helped to find and get my Mum up to meet my brother and I seven years ago.

Megan: You are a remarkable young woman; strong, sensible, good work ethic. You have done it yourself. What is it in you that has helped to keep you so focused?
Georgie: I've been lucky that I've had my family (Aunt and Uncle) to help me be the person I am. Having some family around gave me a sense of who I am, where I came from and that I had an alternate way to live life.

Megan: Do you have a message to give to other foster carers?
Georgie: Family is the most important aspect of everybody's life. Even if some parents are incapable of looking after their children, the kids still have a right to know where they came from. Blood is thicker than water. Helping the foster kids to somehow stay in touch with their family is important for healing all the hurt that kids in care suffer with. Sometimes it may be a positive, sometimes negative, but kids have the right to know who they belong to. I want to belong in a family - my family, even if they can't look after me.

Megan: Do you have a message for foster kids, kids like you who grew up in out of home care?
Georgie: At times it may seem like you have been abandoned but a positive way of thinking around your situation is that parents aren't doing this because they don't want you. They want a better life for you that they just can't give. You can make your time in care an experience of learning to make your life with your own future family better or you can stay as a buggered up kid in care that nobody loves, nobody wants and so start the whole cycle of abandonment over again. You have two roads to choose: the nice, straight one or the bumpy, windy, steep one. Life is about decision making. Start by trying to make the right decisions to make life a little easier.

Carnival of Family Life organiser, Kailani over at An Island Life, is running a photo competition around "What inspires you?" Always interested in market research around what inspires individuals and businesses interested in preventing child sexual abuse, I spent a moment reflecting on why I am inspired to give my career, my life, my passion to working against child abuse.

I am inspired by the sun rising every day and providing us with yet another day to make a difference in the life of a child, somewhere. Working in the area of child sexual abuse prevention and counselling is fraught with many black moments. How easy it would be for me to become bitter, cynical and disempowered? How easy it would be for me to say, "too hard, there's no thanks and certainly little remuneration in this, I'm out of here."

Rather than give up, I end and begin my days with reading other socially conscious bloggers thoughts, ideas and commitments. I seek comfort in knowing that the issues that I am unable to contribute to are being championed by others. The colourful quilt of days beginning and end reminds me that blackness can only be contrasted against light and beauty and that it is acceptable to view the world through rose coloured glasses. This is my inspiration and my vitamin boost of care for kids at risk.

Without sunset to end my busy work day, I cannot begin refreshed tomorrow. As my sun sets and I prepare for bed, the sun rises on the other side of the world and the second shift of global workers fighting to make the world a safer place for our kids begins.

This is my inspiration. What inspires you to protect children? Head on over to An Island Life and vote for inspiration.

Individual fiscal increases are not the only motivating factor for investors. Many people give because they want to make the world a better place, because they have received assistance and are now prepared to give back to community, or because they just give a damn about the plight of people. This is socially responsible investing.
Even though my area of giving continues to be child sexual abuse, I am heartened that so many others have found their area of commitment that they support in whatever way they can.

I have just discovered a Giving Carnival: a collection of blogs written from a philanthropic view. Interesting and thought provoking I have checked links and blog rolls and am amazed at the number of people writing about giving.

In Philanthropy Blogs Growing Influence Sean Stannard-Stockton makes reflective comment on the maturation process of giving blogs. In a similar vein I reflected on How to Attract Site Traffic to Child Protection or Sexual Abuse Blogs.

Social topics and social giving appear to fall into three conversation areas: those who care and are passionate about their subject, those who care and give because it is trendy, and those who have a little interest but it is just all too confronting. Regardless of what fuels an individual to help others, Social topic blogs and Philanthropic Giving are not trends that will disappear.

I invest a good deal of time in maintaining my blogs, on top of home schooling my child with special needs and working part time in my consultancy business. Frequently frustrated by time deficits and a desire to do more I rely on others to also do their bit to make the world safer and more palatable for our children. Together, we can do it.

A recent reader has shared her commitment to the School of St Jude with me. On the other side of the world, her in-kind commitment helps to publicize the plight of at risk children in Tanzania. Gillian’s profile, “We can make a difference by giving vulnerable children a good education. The School of St Jude does this in Arusha, Tanzania. Add your support, tell others, make your efforts count,” resonated strongly with me and in an upcoming blog I will assist Gillian in assisting the children in Tanzania.

I encourage you all to consider your tactics of Socially Responsible Investing and Philanthropic Giving. Are your hands for helping or hurting? And…thanks for reading. Becoming socially informed is a first step on the ladder of giving back to those who need it.

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Many of our friends have also stated that they won’t be bringing their children to our wedding in the rainforest.

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Predators are everywhere; in the ocean, in the air and on our streets. Sexual Predators are often in our homes or in places our children frequent.

Protect your children by teaching them about predators. When talking about predators of the ocean or air let your children know that some humans are also predators, sexual predators, and that they prey on children.

The aim of protective behaviours is not to scare children but to give them life skills in personal safety. It is not a child’s job to protect them selves. Sexual abuse is always the responsibility of the perpetrator: a child sexual predator.

It is a child’s right to live a life free of harm. With rights comes responsibility. Children, by design, are irresponsible. Responsibility is a concept that is learnt. If parents are unable to teach children about the responsible actions of personal safety then children may become part of the food chain, the hunted, of sexual predators.

When next a teachable moment presents, seize it by providing information about the predator of the moment (eagle, shark, crocodile, etc) and throw in a sentence or two about human predators. It could be as simple as saying, “some adults prey on children. They don’t eat kids, but they do adult type things to the kids and try to keep it secret. If ever anyone tries to touch your private parts I’d really like you to tell me.”

Predators are scary. Teaching protective behaviours to keep kids safe is not.