Ellee Seymour

I have always loved the long summer holidays with my boys, I never wanted them to be over quickly. But I wonder how our “cotton-wool“ kids are going to cope over the next few weeks, my heart goes out to them.

It’s hard to believe that one-third of children aged 7 to 12 are reportedly never allowed to play outside because their parents are so concerned about their safety, that the government feels it needs to launch a public education campaign to encourage parents to let their children play outside.

The fact that so many kids are stuck inside the house so much could be a major reason why our children are so unhappy today. Shouldn’t they be out in the fresh air, going off on their bikes and coming home rosy-cheeked and covered in dirt?

Can they camp out safely in their garden with friends? I remember worrying about this. But what better fun is there for kids than stocking up their tent with goodies and having a torchlight midnight feast?

I’m glad to hear that Ed Balls, the Children, Schools and Families Secretary, is very concerned about our future breed of “cotton-wool” kids and has published a consultation document on the subject. As a father of three young children, he should appreciate the real fears parents have regarding safety and how to balance this so children are not over-protected. I’m glad he hear that he wants schools to allow kids to play conkers and snowball fights again.

I’ve always felt that the most important lessons were learnt in the playground - the social and survival skills that carry you through life. Winning and losing at games comes into it too. Maybe Ed Balls will encourage schools to re-introduce sports days and the traditional egg-and-spoon race, I was always hopeless at it, but always enjoyed it, as well as hopping about in a sack and falling in a heap. Those were the days….

With all political parties trying to win over women’s votes, their advisers may want to dip into a new book called If They Only Listened To Us: What Women Voters Want Politicians To Hear.

Soon after the 2004 presidential election, former New York Times journalist Melinda Henneberger interviewed 234 women in 12 states for their in-depth personal thoughts about politics and what they were looking for in the president they will elect in 2008.

They discussed policy issues high on the American woman’s agenda, including abortion and why many otherwise liberal pro-life Catholic women have switched parties over this issue, but continue to look for a way back to the Democrats with whom they agree on almost every other matter.

Henneberger discovered that women really wanted to be listened to, some women talked for hours, explaining how alienated they felt. It didn’t matter what background they came from, they still felt disregarded by both parties.

Henneberger describes a “shout culture” which exists in part to discourage precisely the kind of give-and-take and I-see-what-you-mean discussion that would help women work through what they think about and want from their government.

It seems from this book Bush won women’s votes because they found John Kerry an elitist and didn’t like his personality. That one point is so essential and cannot be underestimated, as I’m sure Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Ming Campbell are well aware. 

However, while female voters are keen to elect a woman as their president, they have doubts about the authenticity, likeability and voting record of Hillary Clinton. It doesn’t look as if she can count on much support from them.

So what do women voters want? As Henneberger discovered, they do not want to be spoken down to, which is what they disliked about John Kerry and the Democrats. 

As well as wanting to be listened to, I would say we want fairness and choices - why can’t all parents have the same choice as Ruth Kelly, for example, to send their child to the best school if he or she has special educational needs? Who is listening to other parents whose child is denied those same opportunities?

It’s been three years and four months since Gareth Koch vanished while trekking in Nepal  with a friend in March 2004 aged 24. The two went their separate ways and alarm bells rang after Gareth failed to return home as expected.

His parents have worked tirelessly to find any information about Gareth’s disappearance, including writing to former Prime Minister Tony after learning from the British embassy in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, that there was no money to search for missing tourists.

They have been constantly in touch with the Foreign Office, politicians and diplomats. They have visited Nepal themselves, even handing out posters to Maoist rebels.

A special scouting Gareth Koch Endeavour Shield has been awarded in his memory. The news updates on Gareth’s dedicated website are becoming less frequent, though the family’s agony must continue to increase as yet another day passes with no news.

In memory of those who are still missing.