On 14th July 2004 the “Commision for Social Care Inspection” (CSCI) a government department published a report after interviewing 110 children. The report was very insightful into the view of children, with such suggestions as.
- Ban cricket, the ball may hurt me
- Ban chatrooms the internet might hurt me and I don’t have the required willpower to stay away myself
- Throw all bullies out of school
- I’m scared of drug dealers maybe I won’t be able to resist
Convinced this report was a humourous hoax I wrote to send my congratulations.
I read your report with much enjoyment. I am shocked the media believed you were a real group, this is the best hoax ever.I especially liked “Being hit by a ball worried many, especially where the ball could easily cause injury, such as a hard cricket ball.”. That cracked me up.Also the stuff mocking people who know nothing about the internet made me laugh. Of course you understand that to stop the chat rooms you’d have make modems illegal and even then that wouldn’t work.
Good stuff, you should try to get more articles into the gullible media.
Imagine my shock when they actually responded!
Dear Mr PaulgerThank you for your feedback. As we make very clear, the report details the views of children themselves about what they feel are the risks to them and what could be done to keep them safe from harm. These views came from more than 110 children in 25 consultation groups held during Spring 2004.The report also makes it clear we do not censor, amend or adjust the views of the children, we just report what they say and feel. We believe the perceptions and suggestions of children - however real or feasible - are important to informing the work of Government, policymakers and service providers.
We are glad that you enjoyed this report.
Regards,
CSCI webteam