Call for more dog blood donors amid growing demand
The charity says there is a big demand for the service, with vets across the country needing blood every day.Dogs have different blood types, either positive or negative.Only 30% have the negative blood type but it is in high demand as it can be given to any dog in an emergency. Ms Osbourne said: "We're looking for any dogs that are confident and enjoy meeting new people. They need to be between the ages of one and eight and they need to weigh over 25kg (3.9st)."She added: "Dogs can give blood up to every eight weeks and that's because dogs replenish their blood stock more effectively than humans do. After their donation, dogs get their 'tea and biscuits', which is a drink of water and snack and are given a goody bag to take home.
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The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
From delaying tactics to age limits and finding your tribe – ten ways to resist giving in to your kid's phone demands
MORE than half of all kids in Britain are addicted to technology – with 91 per cent owning a mobile phone by the age of 11, research reveals. A 2025 Ofcom report found a massive 78 per cent of teens check their devices at least every hour. 5 5 And even when parents try their hardest to control the situation, it is easy to get it wrong, according to clinical psychologist Dr Martha Deiros Collado, whose new book, The Smartphone Solution: When And How To Give Your Child A Phone, is packed with practical advice. In her two decades of experience, Dr Collado has helped thousands of families and appeared on Channel 4's The Great British Phone Switch. She has vowed not to let her own two daughters, aged six and two, have a smartphone until they are at least 15, but admits pester power is already making it a challenge. Dr Collado explained: 'I know the road ahead is going to be tough. 'Our children were born with digital devices all around them — I'm not saying it's easy. 'We're the first generation of parents having to navigate the choppy seas of the internet with very few safety floats to support us. 'We're all going to make mistakes along the way, and that's OK. 'Like many parents, I worry about smartphones' effect on children's development. 'Kids really do need real-life interaction, attention and play. 'And they need to learn to cope if they are bored or frustrated: pulling out a phone out of habit means they don't get this chance. 'In the meantime, we teach them safety from an early age.' Here are Dr Collado's top ten tips for parents on how to resist giving their kids a smartphone. DON'T SAY NO, SAY NOT YET Delaying smartphones can be empowering to you and your child. A ban instantly makes them more desirable, but tell children that smartphones are not out of bounds, they're simply not ready yet to have one with unimpeded access to all the apps and content they offer. 'Not yet' opens up a conversation — we're not ignoring their wishes, but there's still learning to be done. A hard 'no' can feel like rejection, but delaying offers time to develop digital skills which will protect them from engaging in harmful communications online, like learning when it's time to take a break. SMARTPHONES ARE NOT FOR CHILDREN Making kids wait to own a device emphasises that they're not toys. Smartphones shouldn't be considered an object of fun, a status symbol or rite of passage into secondary school. They're a wonderful tool and a dangerous machine. Be present if your children are using their smartphone. Say loud and clear, 'You can take a photo, but I'm trusting you to hold it very carefully. Smartphones are really expensive'. MAKE THE AGE LIMIT CLEAR EARLY ON 5 You needn't wait until your child asks to say, 'You won't be getting a phone until you're at least 13'. Children benefit from knowing that there's an age when you might start to consider it — and guess what happens? Most kids get excited. Because you haven't said no, there's a lot of hope and possibility that youngsters will grab on to. HOLD FIRM Stay strong and wait until their brains and hearts are sufficiently developed and they possess the impulse control and critical-thinking skills to stay safe when they're bombarded with inappropriate content. Your child might not like it, or agree, but it's not your job to justify your decision or convince them that you're right. It's your job to keep them safe, even when it's hard to do so. Dig deep and find the courage to teach them patience and delayed gratification — two life skills that smartphones are really good at stealing away from them. OFFER OTHER DIGITAL EXPERIENCES We can't completely protect our children from the digital world, but find ways to alleviate the downsides of not having a smartphone when their friends get one. This might be allowing them to video call friends via a tablet under your supervision, using an 'un-smart' phone for calls and texts when they're away from home and at certain agreed hours in your home, or letting them enjoy gaming online with their friends on closed digital platforms where you have oversight of what they play, who with and for how long. SET A GOOD EXAMPLE Children learn more by what you do than what you say. How you behave with your phone is crucial in shaping your child's attitudes. If you limit their screen time, but the rules don't apply to you, it sends mixed messages. And it's more likely that you'll end up fighting daily battles about why it's OK for you to have a phone at the dinner table but not them. Get into the habit of telling them what you're doing on your device — this is useful for training yourself to cut back on usage. Also, resist the chance to reach for the phone's camera when you see your kids doing something adorable — join them in their real-life adventures. TELL OTHER ADULTS YOUR RULES You have parental power to say no at the homes of friends who have older children with smartphones. Even though it might be age-appropriate, it's important to teach that they can't play on someone else's smartphone either. This can be tough with friends, and doesn't always work out, but learn to speak up about mobile usage to prevent a situation that you don't feel comfortable with. Say, 'We know your child has one, but if we could keep it out of reach for a couple of hours it would really help us', or 'It's OK if that's what you want to do, but we'd be really grateful if you don't do it in front of her'. FIND YOUR TRIBE Find a parenting circle in which others are delaying phones, too. A few years ago, it might have seemed like you would be alone in this venture. But now, lots of parents have started to wake up to the potential risks of smartphones for children. And momentum is growing. Some parents may fear being rejected by those who are strongly in favour of delaying. Try to be inclusive and compassionate to anyone who wants to consider this idea with you. START CONVERSATION EARLY For toddlers and preschoolers, be a positive role model and set a strong example by ensuring you follow well-defined rules when your child is with you. This might involve putting your phone in a different room or ensuring that if it beeps or buzzes, you don't allow it to interfere in interactions with your child. See your child as the first priority and your smartphone as the last. Use simple language and stay honest, such as, 'When you're older you'll be allowed to use one'. BE READY FOR SCHOOL 5 Set clear expectations when they start school. Say, 'You need to be at least 13 to have the skills and maturity to use them (devices) responsibly and safely'. State your position, get kids involved, listen to their views, opinions and ideas so they feel part of the rules rather than having something 'done' to them. Try offering an alternative, like a brick phone without apps, so they can make and receive calls and messages. Explain that phones distract from schoolwork and the internet has lots of risks that might make them overwhelmed. Say, 'My job as your parent is to keep you safe. Let's keep talking'.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Boy, 14, with MND unable to leave hospital as home not adaptable
The family of a 14-year-old boy with motor neurone disease say they are "desperate" to get him home from hospital but are unable to as their home is not suitable for him. Kyle Sieniawski from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was diagnosed with the rare degenerative condition, which mostly affects people in their 60s and 70s, earlier this mum, dad and brother have been living at hospital with him for almost nine months, but the council has told them their home is not adaptable and no other housing is Cynon Taf council said senior staff met "very regularly" to explore all possible options for Kyle but a suitable property had not yet been found. Kyle was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in January aged 13 after he lost mobility in his arm. Now he cannot use any of his limbs and uses a breathing mask and feeding tube. "You feel awful really, hopeless, because they tell you that there's nothing they can do to treat it, or there's no possible cure," said his mum, and his family are currently living at Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff."We are obviously very desperate. We are living in the hospital. All our lives are on hold," she added."It's quite scary because when we came in, he was walking, and now he can't do anything."With the three of us we can manage to hoist and move him and put him in his wheelchair. He's pretty stable and he's got all the medication that he needs."Their four-bedroom terraced house, which is up for sale, has steep steps up to the front door, a narrow hallway and an upstairs bathroom. The family say they have asked the council for suitable temporary accommodation as they try and sell their home, but have been told nothing is available."It's unbelievable... we're in limbo," Melanie added."It's really urgent because Kyle needs as much good quality of life as he can get now."Melanie said the local authority mentioned the possibility of finding suitable accommodation in another area of south Wales."That would be quite difficult... and believe me, it's hard enough as it is," she said. The family's experience is not uncommon according to the MND Association."Kyle's story is a very, very sad and difficult story for the family, but unfortunately, quite a common one for people living with MND," said senior policy adviser in Wales, Jen Mills."Accessible housing is an issue for several reasons, and partly because there's not enough accessible housing stock across Wales."MND is a really rapidly deteriorating condition and a third of people die within one year of diagnosis." Rhondda Cynon Taf council said it understood the family's urgency in wanting the situation resolved."The family are considered a priority for all forms of housing, and senior staff from children's services and housing meet very regularly to explore all possible options for Kyle," it added."It is sadly impossible to adapt Kyle's family home to meet his needs, the access and layout just does not allow it."We are grateful to the family for their continued engagement, and to recently agreeing for us to extend searches out of the local area to try to provide them with what they need." What is MND? MND affects nerves found in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and usually affects how you walk, talk, eat and is a relatively rare condition which is most common in people over 50.A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300 and about 5,000 adults in the UK will have the disease at any one time.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Blind 99-year-old tragically died after spilling hot tea onto herself as daughter slams nursing home
A BLIND 99-year-old with her heart set on reaching one hundred, has died after being scolded by a cup of tea, an inquest hears. Margaret Eluned Roberts suffered severe burns after the piping hot black tea spilled onto her at a nursing home in Anglesey, Wales. 2 Today, an inquest into the elderly woman's death heard the burn contributed to Mrs Roberts catching a chest infection. She died roughly five weeks after the incident. However, a senior coroner has concluded that the death was accidental. The pensioner's daughter has slammed Glan Rhos nursing home in a recent statement. Linda Pritchard explained that she received a phone call soon after the incident occurred. She said she asked "why did they give a blind lady hot black tea?" Kate Robertson, senior coroner for north west Wales, found that Mrs Roberts died from pneumonia and cellulitis secondary to a burn. Ms Robertson also found that old age, asthma and ischaemic heart disease were contributing factors. Sarah Thomas, a healthcare assistant at Glan Rhos nursing home in Brynsiencyn, who handed Mrs Roberts the cup of black tea, said she knew she was registered blind. She gave the tea to Mrs Roberts in a plastic, two-handed beaker on September 22 last year, insisting that the pensioner was very independent and "wanted to drink the cup of tea herself." Dad, 54, found dead behind garden shed by his wife – two days after freak chainsaw accident The healthcare assistant went on to explain that she watched Mrs Roberts sip the drink through a straw in the spout then moved away. The inquest heard, that moments later, she spilt the tea on herself at around 7pm. Ms Thomas claims she didn't hear a scream. Jo Reavey, a nurse, said in a statement that she heard "Eluned shouting in an urgent tone." She explained that she found her "distraught with her arms raised" and the beaker "upside down" with "black tea on her trousers." The wound started blistering as staff frantically put cold towels on it. An ambulance was called at 7.51pm and arrived at Glan Rhos nursing home at about 10pm. Mrs Roberts was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor. The wound was initially eight per cent of her body weight but after reddening reduced it was classified as four per cent. At the hospital, the pensioner's blisters were lanced and her wound was dressed before being discharged. She later returned to the nursing home, however soon after, developed chest problems. On October 7, Mrs Roberts daughter asked for her mother to be readmitted to Ysbyty Gwynedd. Doctor Abdul Azu, a consultant physician, told the inquest her condition was not improving. She died there on October 28, about five weeks after the scalding. Doctor Azu is confident that the burn contributed to the chest infection and her declining health. The coroner Mrs Robertson, said Mrs Roberts died on October 28 'as a result of the medical conditions which were precipitated by the burn injury sustained on her leg.' She said the spillage had been 'unintended and accidental' and gave the cause of death of Mrs Roberts as an accident. Mrs Robertson told Mrs Pritchard: 'Mam wanted to reach 100-years-old. It would have been such a significant milestone for her and for you.'
