Just think before you complain at a store

Talk PANTS to children!

TO all the self-entitled people among us, may I ask you take time to consider the effect your actions or words has on others during the current situation.

If you have to queue outside a supermarket or a pharmacy it is not going to ruin your life. It will mean you have to wait a little longer to gain access.

Once inside the shop you have no right to verbally abuse the staff, who put themselves at considerable risk by carrying on the job they do. If it means you have to alter your timetable to accommodate such visits, so be it. There are far worse things happening to others than standing outside a shop for 10 or 20 minutes.

Before you decide to make an official complaint because the opening times do not suit you, again please stop and think.

The adjusted opening times are done for valid reasons and the onus is on you to adapt during this trying time.

Please have an appreciation of the adverse effect your complaint will have on supermarket and pharmacy staff, who are working extremely hard and, like you, are human and have the same worries and concerns as the rest of society.

John Fitzgerald, Droylsden

Drivers – use your sense

AS a result of Derbyshire police using ‘drones to spy on people walking in the Peak District,’ there was a great deal of criticism: ‘This is deeply sinister,’ wrote one columnist.

To explain the situation, (April 1) the Chief Constable of Merseyside,

Andy Cooke, told BBC North West: “I think the whole situation is about common sense; common sense from public, common sense from policing. At this time, we all need to ensure that we’re doing the right thing, that we’ve got the right social distancing, that we’re respecting other people, that we’re keeping everyone who is vulnerable safe.”

When Roger Johnson asked: “Is driving a short distance away from home to allow better social distancing, acceptable?” he replied:

“Absolutely, if you’re driving in your car, to a location where you think you get a better opportunity to social distance, but that requires a small drive, you’re actually bringing less danger to others because the opportunity, to interact during that car journey, is minor.

“All I would ask the public to do is, use their common sense in relation to this.” A problem that’s been overlooked is that millions of people can’t afford to drive, and in the case of (vulnerable) cyclists, many drivers pass them too closely, and at excessive/inappropriate speed – not recognising the safe passing distance of 1.5 metres, and also that ‘speed limits are maximum, not minimum.’

Consequently, when people drive ‘to a location where they think you get a better opportunity to social distance,’ it invariably means driving on narrow country roads, where many drivers won’t wait until it’s safe to pass, especially express delivery drivers.

Allan Ramsay, Radcliffe

AS many of your readers are adapting to become home-school teachers, they’re going to be doing everything from reading, colouring, singing, and dancing to help their children learn.

SO, while we’re using this time to teach school lessons, why not teach life lessons, too?

The NSPCC’s PANTS campaign uses cartoons, songs, and drawings featuring Pantosaurus the Dinosaur to get children and parents talking PANTS and, as a result, help children to recognise the signs of sexual abuse in a child-friendly way.

But what are the PANTS Rules? Pantosaurus helps to teach kids that: Always remember your body belongs to you; No means no; Talk about secrets that upset you, and Speak up, someone can help.

Pantosaurus has enabled parents and professionals across the country to start talking about child sexual abuse which, even as an adult, can seem like a daunting topic to comprehend.

Last year, Childline carried out an average of 12 counselling sessions every day with children who have been sexually exploited.

That’s why it is so important to talk about child sexual abuse, so our children know that it is never their fault – and if the unthinkable does happen, to help them understand that what is happening is wrong and that they don’t have to be afraid to tell someone.

It is a very exciting time at the NSPCC as we have launched our first ever crowdfunding campaign to produce a Pantosaurus story book.

The book is designed to help children revisit the PANTS story and understand it at their own pace. We’re aiming to provide free copies for schools.

To find out more, visit crowdfunder.co.uk/nspccpantosaurus-book

Helen Westerman,

NSPCC