Boy gets Toilet Seat Stuck on his Head

British firefighters said on Wednesday they had come to a boy's rescue after he got a toilet seat stuck on his head.

The toddler, aged two-and-a-half, and his mother walked into a fire station in Braintree, Essex, Tuesday saying the boy had put his head through a small trainer seat for the toilet and now could not remove it.

"His mum had tried to get it over his head but couldn't budge it so she walked him down here and asked us to have a look at it and we went to work and we managed to get it off in no time," firefighter Chris Cox said.

"We simply put some dish washing liquid on his head and ears and it slid off nice as pie."

He said the boy had been "very brave" and "toddled away as happy as can be" after his ordeal ended.

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[tags : unusual wierd bizzare]

Adora Published her First Book at 7 Years Old

Check out child genius Adora. She could read and write simple words at age two and a half; read her first chapter book at age three and half; started to write short stories at age four; started to type short stories at age 6; appeared on Good Morning America and met Peter Jennings at age 7, Published her first book at age 7.

Adora's favorite history book (The Century for Young People) a gift from the author, Peter Jennings. "It is the best history book I have ever read," says Adora.

“Reading and writing is my life.” Adora says seriously. She hopes to use her own success to inspire other kids to take more of an interest in reading and writing. “Nowadays children are lacking in reading and writing skills, and they are saying things like ‘I don't like to read' or ‘ I don't want to write.' That hurts me very much.” Although Adora knows her stories are a way to reach out and inspire, she hopes this website will provide some insights of her success and a platform for visitors to access additional tool for their own reading and writing. Adora's love of books is evident both in the vast amount she reads a day (she gobbles down 2-3 books a day) and in the diversity of her own writing.

A self-proclaimed ‘amateur historian', Adora loves to read historical fiction, so perhaps it's not surprising that her stories range in setting from ancient Egypt to Elizabethan England. Well-researched and wonderfully vivid, Adora's historical fiction informs while following fast paced and spirited storylines. Adora's interest in non-fiction history was originally sparked by historical fiction, and she hopes that her own stories will serve as a similar inspiration for other kids.

	On the site of Kobi (NBC) news with her collection of her stories

Although historical fiction remains her first love and passion, she also writes fantasy adventure stories and contemporary fiction. Adora's sense of humor comes through perhaps most in her contemporary stories, which deal with trials and tribulations that will probably seem familiar to most kids. Journal, a contemporary diary style portrait of a young girl, resonates with a fierce emotional tone.

She also delights in the fantastic, and often sets her stories in landscapes and cultures of her own invention. In The Death of a Hag Lord a young girl comes up with an ingenious plan to defend her town from the onslaught of a goblin hoard. Adora explores more humorous terrain in The Cake of Brovdersvik, the story of two archeologists on the trail of a villainous magic skunk.

Citing the Redwall series and the Narnia books as huge influences, Adora is currently working on Amruin, an animal tale of a bat who leads a rebellion against the forest's cruel overlord.

Adora is often disappointed by the way girls are portrayed in books and movies, and strives to create the kind of strong, intelligent, and sassy protagonists she herself would want to read about. Jousting is Ladylike features just such a character, and also illustrates Adora's penchant for mixing the down-to-earth with the fantastic.

Adora getting ready for the TV Show	Adora's favorite activity--Reading

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[tags : unusual wierd bizzare]

Toddlers Learn from Eavesdropping on other People

Never underestimate toddlers.

Even at the tender age of 18 months they are able to observe adults and use the emotional reactions they see to shape their own behavior, according to a new study.

Researchers describe it as "emotional eavesdropping" -- watching and listening to people to understand emotional dynamics.

"This may be a precursor to ‘reading' other people's minds by understanding their emotional and psychological states," said Betty Repacholi, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington.

She and her colleague Andrew Meltzoff said their findings, which are published in the journal of Child Development, show how sensitive toddlers are to the interactions of adults.

"They don't need to try out a behavior of their own and get rewarded or punished, they can watch what an older brother or sister does and learn from what happens to them," said Meltzoff, who is co-director of the university's Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences.

"This study helps fill in a missing piece, because it shows the children engage in ‘emotional eavesdropping.' Children have their emotional antenna up all the time and they learn from eavesdropping on the behaviors of others," he added in a statement.

The researchers observed how babies reacted as they watched as one adult played with a toy and a second person expressed anger or a neutral reaction.

In one experiment the 96 toddlers were allowed to play with the toy and imitate what the first adult had been doing after the second adult had left the room, or had remained and looked at the child with a neutral expression.

In another test 72 babies played with the toy while the second adult either turned her back on the child, looked at the toddler or pretended to read a magazine.

All the children were interested in what the first adult had been doing and imitated the actions most of the time. But if the second adult remained in the room, it took the toddlers longer to take the toy and they were not as successful in imitating the action of the first adult.

Both boys and girls reacted in the same way.

The researchers said the study shows children modify their behavior in response to emotional communications that do not involve them. They learn important lessons from observing others.

"Infants can use emotional eavesdropping to avoid some of the negative consequences that might arise were they to perform an action themselves. It is also a pretty adaptive way of interpreting what is important and what they can get away with," Repacholi added.

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[tags : unusual wierd bizzare]