LAST CHANCE TO TAKE PART IN ARRIVA SPRING DAYS OUT CHALLENGE

ARRIVA North West is appealing for people in Liverpool to get behind its spring campaign, the Arriva Days Out challenge.

The bus company, which operates services in and around Liverpool, launched the initial appeal in April and is offering to give away Day Saver and Family Saver tickets to the 1st 10 people who register to take part.  Arriva is offering an added incentive in the form of Days Out goody bags to the people who travel the furthest in 1 day using the bus.

Debra Mercer, marketing manager, for Arriva North West said:- “Liverpool has so much to offer and we believe that our Spring Days Out Challenge is a great way for families to get out and about during the school break and at weekends to take in all of the joys that our region has to offer.

There are many fantastic places to visit in the North West, whether it’s historic landmarks, iconic buildings, places of natural beauty, parks, museums or galleries, our Day Saver tickets offer great value for families. Now we want to see who can make the most of the city's fabulous destinations, by challenging people to see how far they can travel in a single day!”

The people who manage to travel the furthest will receive an Arriva days-out goody bag crammed with all the necessary tools to enjoy a perfect day out. This includes a picnic back-pack for up to 4 people, a camera, travel games and a host of useful goodies for the whole family. Winners will also receive free Arriva bus travel, with four runners up also receiving free Arriva bus travel in the form of Day Saver tickets.

The Arriva Days Out challenge is open until Sunday, 24 May. To find out more and register your interest online or, alternatively, you can also use email:- daysout@arriva.co.uk.

MFH - JEMMA LEIGH PLACE

MERSEYSIDE Police is becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of 15 year old Jemma Leigh Place, who has been missing from her home in Prescot, Merseyside since Saturday, 2 May 2009.

Jemma was last seen at around 11am on Kingsway, Prescot and has not been in contact since then.

Jemma is described as white, 5ft 9ins tall of stocky build with long dark brown hair. She was last seen wearing black jeans, a short sleeved turquoise and black top, a black duffle style coat with a hood and white training shoes. She also sometimes wears glasses.

Jemma is known to frequent Prescot town centre and may have travelled to the Nottingham and Derbyshire areas since Saturday.

Merseyside Police would urge Jemma, anybody who knows of her whereabouts, or who may have seen her since 2 May 2009 to contact police on:- 0151 709 6010 or Missing People on:- 0500 700700.

WITNESS APPEAL - ROAD TRAFFIC COLLISION, STERRIX LANE, LITHERLAND

MERSEYSIDE Police is appealing for witnesses following a road traffic collision in Litherland, on Friday, 8 May 2009.  At around 12.15am, officers were called to Sterrix Lane following reports that a car had crashed into a street light.

2 men were seen running away from the car - a turquoise S-reg Vauxhall Vectra - in the direction of Litherland Sports Centre.  Detectives believe the car may have been stolen from the Maghull area and are appealing for anyone who saw the vehicle either immediately before the incident or in the days leading up to it to contact them.

The two people in the car are described as white men who were dressed in black clothing. One had a black jacket which had a 'North Face' emblem on it.

The collision caused the street light to fall over, blocking Sterrix Lane. The road was closed between its junctions with Gorsey Lane and Sefton Moss Lane while engineers made the lamppost safe and removed it.  Anyone who witness the incident or has any other information is asked to call Crimestoppers anonymously on:- 0800 555 111.

TELLY ADDICTS

MILLIONS of youngsters are suffering from nightmares – because of children’s TV, according to a new survey.  Over 70% of parents of children under the age of 7 said their offspring had regular nightmares because of programmes like Ben 10 and the Power Rangers.  Parents are blaming broadcasters for being too lenient about what is shown on children’s television – claiming many of the programmes are overly violent and aggressive.  66% of parents admit they have a hard time deciding which programmes are suitable for their children and admit their children often watch television with their hands over their eyes.  But parents are agreed that so-called family entertainment shows such as Doctor Who, Primeval and Robin Hood should be shown AFTER the watershed.

A spokeswoman for TheBabyWebsite.com which conducted the poll of 3,000 parents with children under the age of 7 said:- “All children suffer from nightmares at some point during childhood, but there is no doubt that viewing unnecessary violence and hostility on television contributes to this.  There is a great uncertainty about what to allow children to watch – on the one hand you want them to be accepted by their peers and be able to join in conversations, but on the other you want to protect them from growing up too fast and suffering with nightmares.”

Parents are steering their young children away from Power Rangers – labelling it too violent with fast paced action which hypes up the children.  Ben 10 received criticism for inducing nightmares, being unpleasant and aggressive.  Children are being forced to switch channels when Hannah Montana is aired, as parents’ fear she encourages children to grow up too quickly and prompts too many questions.  Doctor Who is disliked by many because it is too dark and sinister for under 7-year-olds, whilst Primeval is considered far too scary and frightening.  And Britannia High, which is aired at tea time on CITV, is another programme which glamorizes growing up, encouraging children to wear make up and dress beyond their years.

More than half of those polled agreed that as well as inducing nightmares, much of children’s television encourages bad behaviour.  75% of parents would welcome more guidance from television broadcasters, and age certificates being shown before a programme is aired.

Kathryn Crawford continued:- “We’ve come a long way with children’s television viewing – long gone are the days of gentler programmes such as Bagpuss, Jackanory and Muffin the Mule.  We think that back in the 50’s there was a lot more guidance from broadcasters about the suitability of children’s programmes – they had Watch With Mother banners, and For the Children branded programmes.  Today, children’s television content on commercial free-to-air television is now regulated by the Children’s Television Standards (the CTS) and the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice (the Code).  However, parents are left to regulate what their child watches, how much they watch and when.  This means they would at least need to consult a TV guide to find out which programmes are classed as C band – suitable for all children, and P band – suitable for pre-school children.”

But the polls reveals parents don’t have time to monitor what their children are watching minute by minute, and 70% readily admit they leave their children watching television whilst they make the dinner or get things ready in another room.

MOST UNSUITABLE TV PROGRAMMES FOR CHILDREN UNDER 7 YEARS OLD?

Primeval:- Terrifying futurist creatures chasing humans deemed too scary and frightening for kids

Doctor Who:- The time-travelling doctor’s battles with aliens, daleks and cyber-men causes nightmares; too dark and sinister

Power Rangers:- The colourful costumed heroes jump from one violent action packed fight to another; too fast paced and brutal for children

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:- The sword wielding turtles battle against petty criminals and alien enemies, but are considered rude, cheeky and unpleasant by parents

Ben 10:- Ben can transform into alien life forms to fight evil, but is also open to mischievous behaviour. Generally unpleasant viewing, aggressive and causes nightmares.

Britannia High:- The dance school encourages children to grow up too quickly and prompts too many questions.

Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids:- The adaptations of the children’s series often focus on naughty children learning a lesson for being badly behaved, but parents worry the programmes give their children bad ideas.

Robin Hood:- The adventures of Robin Hood are deemed brutal, aggressive and encourage dishonesty.

Hannah Montana:- The teenage girl who lives a double life as a pop star encourages children to grow up too quickly, and answer parents back.

Horrid Henry:- The horrible boy, who taunts his parents and friends with nasty tricks, encourages bad behaviour, cheeky attitude and answering back.

Editor's Comment:- I'm sorry but I think this is another attempt from parents to find a scapegoat for not bringing up respectful and possibly anti-social children. 

As a child I watched Doctor Who, Scobby Doo, Robin Hood (which had a very supernatural overtone then) and various War Films and never once did I have a nightmare about them.  the nightmares I had were about fitting in at school or tests or whether someone who had threatened me with a beating would actually carry it out.

My parents instilled in me a very clear concept of what was real and what was make-believe, what was right and what was wrong and that asking questions was good, its how we learn.  You didn't hear swearing on children's TV when I was young but you got it in the schoolyard but I knew if I ever did it at home I would be punished and too this day I find it very hard to even think of swearing in my parents house or presence for that matter.

Finally, if you want to censor programmes like these for being honest about their content then surely programmes on at the same time such as Neighbours (scantily clad school age people talking about relationships), Home and Away (as Neighbours), The News (murders, rape, anti-social behaviour) should also be censored.  They are on TV, your child can still watch them and they are just as graphic and explicit as the programmes mentioned above.  As for causing bad behaviour if your child doesn't respect you enough to realise that what the characters are doing on screen is naughty then you as a parent can't be bringing them up right!

Let us know if you agree with this by emailing us to news24@southportreporter.com.