“When the lives and the rights of Children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses.” – Carol Bellamy
“In serving the best interests of Children, we serve the best interests of all Humanity.” – Carol Bellamy
“If we don’t stand up for Children, then we don’t stand up for much.” – Marian Wright Edelman
WHAT WENT WRONG IN SOCIETY?
The Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) had a profound and permanently detrimental effect on Western thought. His theories gave the Human Being a uni-dimensional status based on sexuality which erased the sense of Higher Consciousness. From there derived deviations and the destruction of the Traditional Value System. His teachings broke the vital boundaries of Higher Moral Values and were accepted by the masses to permeate into the fabric of Western Culture, increased today with the arrival of the Media, Film, Internet, and Books which distort and blur a true sense of Innocence as advocated in the Traditional Value System
Professor Regis Brunod, is a French paediatrician, child psychiatrist and former head of clinic in both disciplines at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris and formerly “Privat Docent” or Master of Teaching and Research at the University of Lausanne. He holds an authorization to direct research (HDR) in life and earth sciences as well as a diploma of in-depth studies (DEA) in philosophy (epistemology). He has also worked as an expert before the courts in cases of sexual assault of children – author of “Preserver l’Innocence des Enfants.” (Preserving the Innocence of Children).
Following hazardous interpretations of Freud’s writings, the idea of a sexuality present from the outset in the child emerged. The WHO (World Health Organisation) has current recommendations for sex education from an early age which manifest an ambient dogma that Dr. Regis Brunod completely calls into question:
“The WHO assumes that sexuality exists from birth. This idea is not based on any scientific argument. The WHO is not the only one to present this idea, paedophiles do it too.“
“Enforcing random sex education on children whose immature brain and emotional capacity is unable to grasp or even understand the concept distorts the developing mind. ‘Sexuality’ follows a model similar to other sectors of neuro-psychic development, particularly with the child. Before the child is ready to understand the sophistication of sex education an essential pre-requisite acquisition of development in the brain must be reached.”
“Whether you are a pediatrician, psychologist, lawyer, we all come to the same conclusions, there is something deeply traumatic happening for children at the moment.“
Dr. Hilary Cass – OBE FRCN FRCGP is a British honorary physician in paediatric disability at the Evelina Hospital, part of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
The Cass Report – published April 2024 – marks the end of the era of a highly medicalized approach to the treatment of young people with gender-related distress, which has come to be known as “gender-affirming care.” The Cass Review recommends adopting a holistic approach for children seeking gender therapy, instead of rapidly initiating permanent gender transition pathways that usually begin with puberty blockers, which could cause temporary or permanent disruption to brain maturation.
The Cass Final Report argues that the evidence on puberty blockers is insufficient, but also acknowledges their efficacy for some trans young people.
“We must also not forget that some children are born with a disorder of sexual development or intersex condition which means their bodies do not straightforwardly conform to either male or female norms. We need to educate ourselves about physical disorders of sexual development so that we do not over-simplify this conversation and fail to support those Children and their Families.“
“Medicine is a science of uncertainty in a world where we all want clarity and black and white answers. The most important way to reduce risk, improve decision-making and manage uncertainty is through safe systems. The purpose of my Review is to be forward-looking and define what a safe system of care should look like, and how to support that care with the best evidence. I have previously said that the care of gender-questioning children and young people needs to be everyone’s business, with responsibility taken throughout the health system rather than resting solely with a small expert workforce.“
WHAT HAS GONE WRONG FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS?
The importance of free school meals:
“School feeding not only fills stomachs, but has a proven track record of boosting enrolment, attendance and academic performance.”
“Feeding a child at school is such a simple thing but it works miracles.” – Drew Barrymore
Jonathan Haidt – social psychologist at the NYU Stern School of Business – journalist, author of “The Anxious Generation. How the Great Re-Wiring of Children is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Health.”
From his article in the guardian Newspaper 24th March, 2024: “THE TERRIBLE COST OF A PHONE-BASED CHILDHOOD – The environment in which kids grow up today is hostile to human development.“
“GET PHONES OUT OF SCHOOLS NOW. THEY IMPEDE LEARNING, STUNT RELATIONSHIPS AND LESSON BELONGING. THEY SHOULD BE BANNED”
“Something went suddenly and horribly wrong for adolescents in the early 2010s. Rates of depression and anxiety in the United States – fairly stable in the 2000s – rose by more than 50% in many studies from 2010 to 2019. Similar patterns emerged in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Nordic countries and beyond.“
“Young people have been watching TV since the 50’s, but the new tech is far more portable, personalized and engaging that anything that has come before.“
“Companies that strive to maximize ‘engagement’ by using psychological tricks to keep young people clicking are the worst offenders. They hook children during vulnerable developmental stages, while their brains are rapidly re-wiring in response to in-coming stimulation. This includes social media companies, which inflict their greatest damage on girls, and video game companies and pornography sites which sink their hooks deepest into boys.”
“By designing a slew of addictive content that enters through kids’ eyes and ears and displacing physical PLAY and in-person socializing, these companies have re-wired childhood and changed human development on an almost unimaginable scale.“
“What legal limits have we imposed on these tech companies so far? Virtually none.“
“The generation born after 1995 – genZ – has become the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that calls them away from the people near by and into an alternative universe that is exciting, addictive and unstable.“
“GenZ teenagers have been sucked into spending many hours of each day scrolling through the shiny happy posts of friends, acquaintances and distant influencers. They watch increasing quantities of user-generated videos and streamed entertainment, fed to them by algorithms, that are designed to keep them on-line as long as possible.“
“They spend far less time playing with, talking to, touching or even making eye-contact with their friends and families, thereby reducing their participation in social behaviour that is essential for successful human development.“
“In just 5 years between 2010 and 2015 across the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and beyond, the number of young people with anxiety, depression and even suicidal tendencies has risen sharply. The arrival of smartphones in 2007 changed life for everyone. Social patterns, role models, emotions, physical activity and even sleep patterns were fundamentally re-cast for adolescents over the course of just 5 years.“
“Platforms such as Instagram – where users post content about themselves, then wait for the judgement and comments of others and the social comparison that goes with it – have larger and more harmful effects on girls and young women than on boys and young men. Instagram and Snapchat are worst for mental health.“
“A key factor for boys was taking up on-line multi-player video games in the late 2000’s and smartphones in the early 2010’s, both of which pulled them away from face-to-face or shoulder-to-shoulder interaction. Beginning the early 2010’s, boys across the Western world began showing concerning declines in mental health. By 2015 a staggering number of them said they had no close friends, that they were lonely and that there was no meaning to their lives.“
“Families of both boys and girls feel overwhelmed, trapped and powerless in the face of the biggest mental health crisis in history for their children. What should they? What should we do? It has become so ordinary for 11-year-olds to walk around staring at their phones, swiping through bottomless feeds, that many people cannot imagine that we could change it if we wanted to – “It’s too late – that ship has sailed” is the common feeling.
Yet we are not helpless. It often feels that way because smart phones social med, market forces and social influence combine to pull us into a trap that Social Scientists call a “collective action problem”. Children starting secondary school are trapped in a collective action problem. When they arrive for their first day and see that some of their classmates have smartphones and are connected on Instagram and Snapchat even during class. That puts pressure on them to get a smartphone and social media as well.
HOW DO WE ESCAPE FROM THESE TRAPS?
Collective Action Problems require COLLECTIVE RESPONSES.
PARENTS CAN SUPPORT EACH OTHER BY STICKING TOGETHER.
Four reforms:
- No smartphones before 10 years old.
- No social media before 16 years old.
- Phone free schools.
- Far more unsupervised play and Childhood independence – that’s the way Children naturally develop social skills, overcome anxiety and become self-governing young Adults.
“These 4 reforms are not hard to implement – if Parents and Schools in a Community were to agree to join forces and enact them together It’s really hard for any of us to take our kid off if we’re the only one, but if we work together we can do it. Schools are the most powerful way to change these norms. My hope is that a large majority of parents can see what this is doing to their kids and their kids’ education. A really hopeful reason why I think we’re going to succeed, is that the young people themselves see the problem. They’re not in denial. Gen Z sees the problems. They know what their phones are doing to them. You say, ”Well, why don’t you quit?” and they always say the same thing, “I can’t because everyone else is on them”. But if we all do it together, at least roll it back for the younger kids, and put limits on it for the high school kids. If we act together with our children, with GenZ – they want to be liberated – if you show them, say, a summer camp, with no phones, they’re going to realize it’s so much better for all of us. So that’s why I think we’re actually going to succeed within a year or two. We’re going to really change what childhood feels like not just in America, but around the world.”
WHAT WENT WRONG IN THE WORKPLACE
Profit and productivity, competitiveness, rigid hierarchy, non-consideration of the wellbeing of the human psyche has created anxiety and stress which stifles optimal performance in the workplace and has led many to addictions including drugs and alcohol.
WHAT WENT WRONG IN OLD AGE
Senior Citizens are often committed to care centres far from their families leading to loneliness and isolation. Attitudes are gradually changing but “Old Age” is still side-lined and looked on as a handicap.
This negative mentality in the workplace and negative attitude towards old age kills the individual response to life. People lose their passion and positivity and zest for life – which is replaced by depression, hopelessness and collapse of self esteem and values.
The solution to all these dilemmas is to recognise, research and honour the true meaning of Childhood Innocence throughout Life.