Keep out of reach of children

As a parent, I can understand how one is concerned about what children come across and read. We are worried they may be reading adult material. But imagine what will happen if WE, as adults read children's books. You may chance upon some pretty interesting and funny stuff. Now, more than ever, Bibi's words ring in my ears. She always says that words have a very huge impact and they should be used with care. This concept is used famously in our Mind Talk sessions of the program. But words like the below can only leave you wondering...

There are some children's books that are specially written for immigrants and children from other nationalities to introduce them to this wonderful country. I found this in a children's book – “United States of America: Enchantment of the World” - in a chapter on sports in the USA....

'.....whether it's hoops star Shaquille O'Neal pounding down the court or kids at the local park, the crowd goes wild over a good slam dunk.'

If one reads this casually, without any prior knowledge of the good man that he is or the idiosyncrasies of the English language, it could seem that Shaquille pounds kids at the local park and the crowd tears his house down.  I hope these foreign kids don't go online to check out such word plays...because what they will get is a YouTube video entitled 'Shaquille O'Neal is Coming for Your Fat Children!' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuTYryytIYg).

With so much information running amok and words written loosely all over the internet, I would not want to be a chubby foreigner.