FREE YOUR KIDS SUBMISSION
lISTEN TO YOUR CHILDREN CLOSER
Our neighbor is a convicted pedophile. He is currently in state prison for molesting his best friend's daughter. He began sexually assaulting the child beginning at the age of six until she was in her early teens.
I only know this because a friend of mine's wife is best friends with the pedophile's daughter. After my friend told me the story, I verified it by finding the newspaper accounts and cross-checking with the PA Megan's Law website. Our neighbor is classified as a "sexually violent predator".
One day, he may return home. I don't know when that will be. We're not looking forward to it. We'll need to have some discussions with our daughters that we're not eager to have. But have them we will.
Now, why do I tell you this story? Because the victim could have been helped. Her family often spent time with her abuser's family. They went for over-night stays. They went camping together. The families took vacations together. And the victim always protested.
She recounted how she would become hysterical. She would cry. She would refuse to go. She did not possess the words to say what was being done to her. Perhaps she didn't feel comfortable discussing such an intimate violation with her parents. So, she protested in other ways. Her parents either could not or would not ascertain why she was so reluctant to spend time with her abuser's family.
I don't know the girl's parents. My intent is not to throw them under the bus. Maybe they did the best they could. I do wish to stress, however, that too often children cannot verbalize their concerns. What appears to a parent to be an unreasonable reluctance to go somewhere or to do something may have a deeper meaning.
Not all children who express reluctance to visit a grandparent, an uncle, a neighbor, or a friend are being abused. In fact, most of them aren't. But that doesn't mean the child's concerns should be ignored. As much as possible, a parent should try to get to the root of a child's recalcitrance.
Listen to your child. Patiently ask questions. And please, don't simply brush-off your child's concerns. He/she may be trying to tell you something very, very important.
A healthy pizza your kids will love introducing the Chaos N Crayons
Cauliflower Crust Vegan Pizza (toddler tested and mom approved)
Ingredients
1 small head of cauliflower, leaves and stems removed
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan cheese(or Mozzarella)
1 C applesauce + 2 tsp baking powder (mix this together beforehand)
cornmeal, to dust the pizza stone
for pizza
1 jar marinara or pizza sauce
1/2 cup vegan cheese
5-8 basil leaves
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Chop cauliflower florets into chunks. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles a fine grain, like rice or couscous. Pour cauliflower into a large bowl. Add herbs, and salt, then cheese and eggs.
Spread a tablespoon or so of cornmeal all over a pizza stone. Place the cauliflower mixture (note- this won't resemble a ball of dough) on the middle of the stone and use your hands to press it into a circle about 1/4 inch thick.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 then an additional 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Crust will be done when it turns golden brown in color.
Remove crust from oven. Change oven temperature to 450 degrees. Add pizza sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you would like, then bake again for about 5 minutes or until cheese on top is melted.