Children
Category archives for Children
Great Sesame Street Song
Posted by Martin R on February 17, 2012 Somehow I suddenly remembered the Sesame Street album I loved when I was a kid, 1977′s Signs!. And sure enough, all the songs are on YouTube now!
2011 Enlightener & Obscurantist Awards
Posted by Martin R on January 2, 2012 The Swedish Skeptics, of whom I am the chairman, have just announced their annual awards for 2011 [a - b]. The Swedish public TV show Hjärnkontoret receives the Enlightener of the Year award, “…for their excellent science coverage directed towards children. Hjärnkontoret has aired for 16 years and thus contributed to the upbringing of the…
Hot Troll/Cow Action in Big One Magazine
Posted by Martin R on September 19, 2011 Bamse magazine is one of Sweden’s most beloved childrens’ publications, with a readership mainly about age 10. Its title character’s name does mean “The Big One”. But still, I must say that I was as surprised as Bamse himself and the squirrel when I saw what that troll is doing with such glee to the…
With the Theme of Engrish
Posted by Martin R on June 13, 2011 Fecal sample submission window.
The Silly Conventions of Funding a School Trip
Posted by Martin R on May 3, 2011 Funding trips for classes of school children is a complicated business in Sweden. This is due to two commonly held conventional ideas. One is that it would be unfair to ask each family to simply pay for their kid, since not all families may be able to afford the trip. The other is that the…
Is Child Porn In the Eye of the Beholder?
Posted by Martin R on April 26, 2011 [More about photography, children, childpornography, pornography, porn; fotografi, barn, pornografi, porr, barnporr, barnpornografi.] In issue 2011:1 of Fotografisk Tidskrift, the journal of the Swedish Photographer’s Association, is a fine essay in Swedish by Jens Liljestrand (Twitter @jensliljestrand) about current attitudes to images of children and the definition of child pornography. Before the piece could be…
Juniorette Sings Cohen
Posted by Martin R on March 14, 2011 Juniorette is a precocious seven years old. Here’s her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s 1984 song “Hallelujah”, with the Swedish lyrics by Py Bäckman. The performance is influenced to a certain degree by another young Swedish singer’s version, Molly Sandén’s on her 2009 album Samma himmel. While Cohen’s beautiful lyrics deal mainly with broken love affairs…
Skiing Holiday, Broken Bone
Posted by Martin R on March 3, 2011 Sweden is shaped like a ski, and people live mainly in the southern quarter, but in the other three-quarters there are many skiing resorts. I’ve been going there every few years since I was three. I’m not a competitive or particularly elegant down-hill skier, but I enjoy it and I can get down all kinds…
The Mindless Conventionality of an East Asian Upbringing
Posted by Martin R on January 10, 2011 East Asian child rearing is notorious for the heavy pressure put on children, but also famous for the great feats of technical brilliance and hard work many people who grow up under these conditions perform. Kids are sent to evening classes, weekend lessons, hardly have any free time. And then many graduate at the top…
Gingerbread Cult of Saint Lucy
Posted by Martin R on December 13, 2010 A re-run from 12 December 2006. Tomorrow’s the feast-day of St Lucy, and my son’s school started off the celebrations a day early. So this afternoon, along with a lot of other parents, I had saffron buns and watched kids in Ku Klux Klan and Santa outfits form a long line and sing Christmas carols.…
