My son, who is ten years old, likes to put on my high heels once in a while. He claims he's fooling around and swears I shouldn't be worried, but I am. Should I be concerned?
When my son was smaller than he is now, maybe around two, he always wore my high heels. I took pictures and shared them on Instagram. It was precious.When he was five years old, he asked me to paint his fingernails. I asked him to pick out a color, and he chose blue. I painted his tiny little fingernails blue, and he smiled for a few minutes before getting uncomfortable and asked me to take it off, because he wanted to go play and it was sticky and gross.Later that year, a boy kissed him on the cheek. I asked him how that made him feel. He said, “Good.” I said, “Good! As long as you feel okay with that, your body belongs to you.”When he was six, another boy kissed him on the cheek. I asked him how it made him feel, and he said, “Well, it made my cheek wet and I told on him. We’re not supposed to kiss at school, and I don’t like being kissed by boys.” I said, “I’m so proud of you for speaking up when you’re uncomfortable. Your body belongs to you.”When he was seven, a girl kissed him on the cheek. I asked him how it made him feel, and he said, “Good! I think she’s my girlfriend now.” I said, “Good! Just always remember, your body belongs to you.”Don’t be afraid of your little boy wearing heels. If you’d like something to worry about, worry about who he is, and whether or not you’re cultivating greatness in him. Worry about how he treats others. Worry about how he’s being treated. Worry about his safety. Worry about what kind of stories he will tell his friends about you when he’s all grown up, and even more, when you’re dead and gone.Just love him, as much as you possibly can. Hug him and kiss him. Stare at his sweet face when he’s not looking. Soak it all up, every last moment. Be his best friend and his greatest advocate. Don’t ever let him leave the house without telling him how much you love him, even if he’s just going out to ride his bike. The hard truth is that he could be gone in a split second.His body belongs to him. His heart belongs to you. Protect it. It’s perfect just the way it is.
Do you ever had a paranormal experience/adventure or heard any ghost story which frightened you?
I've already shared my experience with the other side here - > Parvathy Nair Muraleekrishnan's answer to Does any Indian have a real experience of paranormal activities at some haunted place?The following is my friend's experience. He is from Ranchi, and this happened either in Jharkhand or one of its neighboring states. (I don't remember the exact location.) I'll tell the story in first person. "It was the summer after my entrance examinations. I had gone to my grandparents house to spend my vacation. It was a fun vacation until that morning. I used to go for morning walk every morning with my uncle.There was a school near our house and it had a big playground. There was a big tree and a water tap at one end of the playgroup. We used to circle that playground a couple of times, and then went back home. Like everyday, we set out that day as well. It was around 5-5:30 in the morning. After circling the ground a couple of times, my uncle got thirsty, and we went near the water tap to drink some water. As he was drinking water from the tap, I looked around, and I saw an old lady standing near the tree. She was signalling us to go, with her hands. She was dressed in a navy blue saree, like the aayah of that school. I signalled my uncle, who was drinking water from the tap, that a lady was standing there. As soon as he saw her, he took my hand and started running. His face was pale, and he looked terrified. Having no idea what happened, I was baffled. I stopped him forcefully and asked him what was wrong. " Look at her feet. ", he said, took my hand and started running. I looked back, and what I saw terrified me to my very core. That woman was climbing the big tree with using just her hands. Her legs were hanging freely, and her feet were facing backwards. That sight scared the bejesus out of me. It was a chudail. Petrified, I ran with all the strength I had. "I don't remember what I asked him, or what he told me if I asked him something. But I remember that he promised me that this actually happened. I cannot guarantee its credibility, but I trust him.Thank you for the question, Anil.
Is the beating of students in Indian schools legal?
I got slapped by a teacher in 8th class, because some people who didn’t like me told her that I called her crazy. I thought my jaw got dislocated. Moreover, my class teacher yelled at me. It was illegal. I'm not going to write laws but yes, if your parents go to someone in a position of authority and complain - preferably aggressively - she's likely to face consequences. And it was a light slap this time, if teachers like that are not checked, they can get more violent with other students.You do not have to "get used to it" as people here would say. You go to school to learn, not to get battered. You can tell your teacher exactly how many ways she can be legally punished if you or some other student were to complain. Many teachers take out their own frustrations on students, physically as well as mentally.Anonymity : Your parents can request your headmistress or principal to be discrete, but your teacher might let it slip during gossip or something.I can understand not wanting to be the one to get her fired or arrested, but teachers are not supposed to be violent. If your fellow students tell you that it's no big deal, you need to point out that accepting oppression and violence at a young age makes you more likely to take unjust treatment as an adult.Update: So, as it turns out, a teacher “disciplining” students isn’t illegal. At least, it isn’t criminal (according to some case laws). Yet. However, I still maintain that disciplining should be left to the parents. Mine said,”Did you really do that?” My brother accepted that it was irrelevant. Depending on where you are and how much harm was done (and whether your parents are on your side), the teacher could face anything from a termination to criminal proceedings (only in cases where severe damage is done, not for the little whack on your head you get after making a smart comment.) Remember, quoting a section of the IPC should be sufficient to shut her up. Even sending anonymous letter to the school authorities should work. If you’re gonna do that, do it after someone else gets punished, so they don’t immediately suspect you. And have someone else write the complaint (or print it out). You can do a lot, but it’s very likely to highlight you as a deviant or miscreant and mess up your internal marks.Personally, I let it go. I treated her with respect afterwards and 2 years later, I found out that her son had some medical problem. I was really glad I didn’t do anything drastic.
Can someone help me calm my Cavalier King Charles puppy down? She is 6 mo. old and get daily walks.?
You may need to teach her how to settle down. We had a foster dog that was CONSTANTLY on the go, pacing, bothering our dogs to play with her, just wouldn't be still if she wasn't crated. In her case it was because she had been crated for long periods of time and didn't know what to do with herself when she wasn't in the crate. We did have to put her in the crate for time-outs occasionally. But more importantly, we rewarded her for the few moments when she WAS calm and relaxed. After a few days, she adjusted to her new schedule and learned to relax when she was out of the crate. It might help to send her to her crate occasionally for a "time-out" so that she learns not to be constantly active. Or, you could teach her to "go lay down" or "go to her place." Another thing that might help is mental stimulation. Training and mental stimulation can be JUST as tiring for a dog as physical exercise and is often less draining for the owners. Plus it is an excellent way to strengthen the bond between owner and dog. A trainer in the home is a great way to learn how to deal with behavior issues within the home. But a group obedience class will help her learn how to listen in distracting circumstances as well as giving her a change of pace, so to speak. And, since you have the added mental stimulation of being outside of her normal environment, group classes are more tiring for the dog than training in the home environment. After basic obedience, agility, formal obedience, rally obedience, flyball, or some other dog activity would be an excellent outlet for her energy. Even just teaching her some stupid pet tricks could help wear her down a bit.
What is a typical school day like in the United Kingdom?
The school year starts in early September and ends in mid-July. The school day typically starts about 9 am and ends at 3.30 pm, and is Monday-Friday. There will be 4 lessons of an hour, or 8 of half an hour or some mixture of the two. The typical class size is 30 or a bit less. Standard subjects will be English, maths, history, geography, science (maybe separated into physics, chemistry and biology), music, physical education and sports, Religious Education, and Personal, Social and Health Education. In high school, other options will be available, and French will be taught at some stage. For those who want to, German, Spanish and Italian are the most likely other languages available. Ethnicity depends on what part of the UK. In London it can be a real mix - because that's what the city is like, same in some other large cities. Otherwise people will be almost all white. Lunch is available at school and will be a cooked hot meal. Or you can take a packed lunch. Some children get free school lunches if their parents have a low income - it's part of their social security. Uniform in high schools looks like the junior version of an adult suit - jacket, shirt, tie and trousers for boys, jacket, blouse, tie and skirt for girls. So it looks mostly black and white except for the tie - each school will have its own pattern for ties. Most schools have boys and girls together in class, though there are a few that are single-sex schools. School starts at the age of 4/5 and ends at 15/16. If you want to go to university, you stay on another 2 years or go to college to do A level exams and then apply for university. It's high school for the last 4 years, before that it will be a primary school, or a first school followed by a middle school - it's hard to say as it's not standard. School attendance is mandatory unless your parents have made other arrangements for you to be educated. So it is never appropriate to drop out. Truancy officers exist to deal with pupils who are absent a lot. Physical punishment is illegal and the most common punishment is detention - making you stay behind after everyone else has gone home to do some more work. Discrimination is absolutely not allowed. School is free unless your parents choose to send you to a school that charges fees. It's hard to answer the rest as it varies and depends on the school.