Children as young as four should be given advice on the dangers of pornography, according to headteachers. Delegates at the National Association of Head Teachers’ (NAHT) conference in Birmingham warned that children were being robbed of their innocence by sexually explicit material on the internet as well as on television, often being shown before the 9pm watershed. The call came as a survey of parents showed four in 10 would like their five-year-olds given lessons on dealing with pornography, at the same time as they learn how to use the internet. On internet pornography, Steve Watkins, headteacher of Millfield primary in Leeds, said schools needed to talk to nursery-aged children about “things that shouldn’t be there” if they accessed material by mistake. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, added: “Young people must be protected from pornography and children should receive appropriate guidance as part of sex and relationships education.”

Pray: for the protection of our children and for the media to adopt a more rigorous and responsible approach to programming. (Pr.8:32)

More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/headteachers-want-fouryearolds-to-be-taught-about-dangers-of-porn-8622991.html

The Church faces huge challenges over the next few years - but growth is still possible, according to a leading researcher. Dr Peter Brierley points to continuing decline in many denominations due to people leaving, deaths outstripping conversions, and churchgoers attending less often. The liberalisation of Sunday trading in 1994 is a major factor here, he told The Baptist Times but the downward slope, he says, is largely due to the departure of teenagers in the 1980s and children under 15 in the 1990s.'Twenty and 30 years later there is a dire absence of those in their 30s and 40s, and no sign of younger replacements.' Nevertheless, he said, Church decline is not inevitable - though clear-sighted and courageous leadership would be required. There are seeds of hope, change is possible. We need to look at which denominations are growing, and why.' He also stressed the need for equipping congregations and encouraging them to witness confidently.

Pray: for the church and for outreach and revival. (2Co.4:15)

More: http://www.baptisttimes.co.uk/news1.htm

A combination of natural hormone changes and greater use of screen-based technology means many teenagers are not getting enough sleep. Research has suggested teenagers need nine hours' sleep to function properly. "Sleep is fundamentally important but despite this it's been largely ignored as part of our biology," said Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at Oxford University. "Within the context of teenagers, here we have a classic example where sleep could enhance enormously the quality of life and, indeed, the educational performance of our young people. Yet they're given no instruction about the importance of sleep and sleep is a victim to the many other demands that are being made of them. The great problem with teenagers is that you're not only biologically programmed to go to bed late and get up late, but there's also many attractions like gaming and social media and many teenagers are doing this into the early hours of the morning and delaying sleep even further."

Pray: for a greater appreciation by teenagers of the need for quality sleep. Pray also for better information to be given to them about sleep. ( Pr.3:24)

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23811690