GIVE ADVICE ON FAMILY & PARENTING

 Add to My Yahoo! Add to Google Add Answerology stuff to my website
You are currently hiding some questions. Click here to change your preferences.

Select the types of questions to add to your feed:

Topic:
All
Career
Dating
Diet & Health
Family & Parenting
Married Life
Sex & Intimacy
Friendship
Race, Religion & Politics
Jokes, Polls & Anything Else
Recipes & Entertaining
Pets
Style & Beauty
House & Home
Age:
All
College
20s
30s
40s +
Gender:
For Women and Men
For Women Only
For Men Only
Rating:
PG-rated Questions Only
R-rated Questions Only
All Questions

POP'd Questions:
Display
Hide







Sort Questions

Close
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

Paying Teens Not To Get Pregnant ! Your views?

Greensboro, NC -- Some opponents call it idiotic, but supports say paying these teens pays off for the rest of us.

14-year-old Tiwan Goodner and these other girls are not just learning self-defense but self-discipline and they're taking these moves to the bank.

"We are paying them to avoid pregnancy, to graduate from high school and enroll in college. Because it is a short term and a long-term incentive for them to change their life trajectory," says Hazel Brown, coordinator of the "College Bound Sisters" program at UNCG.

These girls all have older sisters who got pregnant before turning eighteen.

"Most teens that's having babies, they still a child thyself. If they can't take care of thyself, they can't take care of their child," says Tiwan.

Along with self defense techniques, Tiwan learns about abstinence, contraceptives and preparing for college. Tiwan and the "College Bound Sisters" earn $7 a week for coming to this hour and a half program. She has more than $600 saved up right now.

"It's a lot when you don't have any."

To cash in, Tiwan must stay in school and stay pregnancy-free. The dollars are only collectable when she enrolls in college.

"Because they know they have a thousand plus dollars earned and know they will lose it if they drop out of the program, it is incentive for them to stay with it," says Brown.

Brown designed the UNC-G program that started in 1997. She says her data shows these girls are twice as likely to avoid pregnancy as other at-risk teens.

Girls can earn more than $2,200 through the program. They also get five dollars a week for transportation, and a 25-dollar cash bonus for recruiting someone to the program.
Opponents say that kind of paycheck is sending the wrong message.

"To pay someone not to do something wrong, or not to make a mistake like that, that's a concern," says Bill Wright, Chairman of the Republic Party in Guilford County.

Wright says encouraging teen girls to avoid pregnancy is a good idea, but not a good way to spend taxpayer money.

"I'd prefer it be funded by civic organizations, churches or other non-profits and not tax dollars. There's a certain thing called individual responsibility. And I think society is often taking us away from that and trying to put more of that on government."

The program runs on a grant for $75,000 a year.

"Cost for one of these girls is nothing compared to one teenage baby prevented," says Brown.

If one of these girls became a teen mom, Brown says it could cost taxpayers as much as $250,000 when you consider 18 years of Medicaid and other assistance.

Tiwan knows being a teen mom is not part of her plan. "I want to be something in my life. I want to get degrees and I want to have a good job."

So why not just have the program without paying the teens? Brown says that might work for some, but it would be a lot harder to get most teens to stick with it.

Remember they don't get the money until they register for college.

A non-profit group found teen pregnancies cost taxpayers more than $9.1 billion each year.

In North Carolina, nearly 20,000 teens age 15 to 19 got pregnant in 2008.

- Asked by lom2009, A Guy Critical, Male, 36-45, Halifax
Answer this question
Read Responses (13)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

Does anybody besides me feel a little down around the holidays?

I used to love Thanksgiving, but now find it a bit depressing. Most of the older members of my family have passed on, and their children (my cousins, nieces and nephews) don't think of inviting me to join them, even though they know I am usually home alone that day unless a friend invites me to their home. I also have been dreading Christmas because everyone expects a gift and I just don't have the money. Plus it has become so commercial and not about the birth of Christ at all. Anyone else going through something similar?

- Asked by Female, 46-55
Answer this question
Read Responses (7)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

The Swine Flu Vaccination

Yesterday my daughter's school sent a slip to sign if I want her to be vaccinated against the swine flu. They also provided info about its side effects. They're terrifying! Besides, it's a relatively new vaccine and I've heard about some death cases after the shots. Please, note that more than few people contracted the flu here in Turkey and 3-4 out of whom died. So my question is, did you have your child vaccinated?
P.S. My daughter has a very strong immune system, but I can't decide.

- Asked by chichek, A Thinker, Female, 29-35, Other Profession
Answer this question
Read Responses (9)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

Anyone live around Clearwater, FL?

My Husband and I might be relocating to Clearwater Fl.. Could anyone give me any advice as to what the area is like? He will be working at the St. Peterburg/ Clearwater Airport. I would like to buy a house in the area, have any suggestions on where to live?

Thanks a bunch

- Asked by Female, 29-35
Answer this question
Read Responses (4)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

I am sad, I had plans with my dad. He was suppose to come to visit me for Thanksgiving and stay the

week. I already paid for his flight and bus, which are now unrefundable, made plans and reservations for when he was here, and even bought all the food for te Thanksgiving dinner. He called me yesterday morning and said he does not want to see me and would rather spend his days off in Vegas. So I am going to be all alone on Thanksgiving, just moved to this state about three months ago and have not met anyone, so I literally have not hung out with anyone in three months. I am feeling very sad. I wanted to be able to make dinner for someone :(

- Asked by Female, 18-21
Answer this question
Read Responses (5)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

Childhood memories - How much do they remember?

My 9 yr old son. Whom I've never gotten to stay in his room an entire night. A little background, his father and I are divorece, have been for several years. Anyhow, durning the divorce and after, the kids counselor told me that my son, wanted to stay in my room because he was afraid that I'd leave like his father did.
Well, almost a year later, the father started using his visitation.
To make a long story short: Tonight, I asked my son if he knew, what tough love was.. He said No. I told him, it ment that he needed to sleep in his room, no matter how much he cryed or how upset either of us got.
He replied that he was scared to sleep in his room. That he did not have a normal childhood, that his father make him watch CSI, when he was 5. And than my son quoted the Bible saying that children's hearts should be pure.
He has two older sister's that stay in thier bedrooms and would be on the same side of the house as him.
What brought all this up again, is that he's stayed at a friend home this past weekend - he explains that by saying that he just stays awake until he passes out. Indeed he did come home and take a long nap and sleep that evening. (in my room, of course)
Then we talked about going back to the counselor - he sorta agreed. I told him, I didn't know, how to help him and she knew more about helping him with his fear.
DO YOU THINK, him watching those show at young age could still be affecting him?
I do remember, telling my attorney about the kids sitting in the back seat of the car talking about a dumpster and dead bodies. At the time, it concerned me, but that was it. I personaly do not watch horror morvies, ect..
Granted my son, is an "A" student in the fourth grade and reads at an 8th grade level.
I don't know, why this came out now.. Maybe cause of the threat of tough love and I've been sorta after him all week about staying in his own room. We've tryed several things in the past, but I always went back to what the counselor said - and gave it. I KNOW.. I KNOW... MY BAD!!

Any suggestions - go back to the couselor or not?

And as for his father, the end of Jan it'll been a year, sense he's used his visitation...

- Asked by Female, 29-35
Answer this question
Read Responses (7)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

I'm having a hard time forgiving my brother

Our mother recently passed away and I discovered that a few months before she died, my brother had her sign away the majority of her estate to him. I have seen a lawyer. Since she did it during her life -- it is considered a gift. I could go to court, but it would be very expensive with little chance of success. She had brain cancer and I'm sure she did not know what she was signing. But, there is that glimmer of doubt there also. I have always been good to everyone in my family and have a clear conscience. This came as a complete shock to me and I'm extremely hurt. It has destroyed any relationship with my brother for good. My mother always said that everything would be split 50/50 and she had organized her estate for that to happen. Anyway, it is not only him cheating me out of $100,000 or so, but I found out that he sold his house a month ago and divided our mother's things without telling me or letting me help. Friends tell me to let it go -- to forgive him, but I'm having a hard time with that. I never saw this coming -- he and I always had a good relationship until my mom got sick. Forgive him? Or do you have a suggestion for some other form of revenge?

- Asked by A Creative, Female, 46-55, Los Angeles, Executive
Answer this question
Read Responses (11)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

What do you think of a high school leaving kids out of an event if they don't have dress clothes?

My son is a senior in a PUBLIC high school and they had a special ethics class for seniors during the school day held at a country club with a dress code. I got a one day notice that he needed dress clothes for the seminar that while not required was strongly encouraged and some teachers told the students they would have to have it for graduation and to buy clothes at Goodwill if necessary. Students who didn't have the right clothes stayed behind with a written assignment. I objected to this because I didn't feel my son had any choice. He couldn't attend the class because as a widow with 6 kids I choose to prioritize my limited funds, and have been spending money on his SATS and college applications, not on dress clothes for an afternoon seminar at a country club. I buy my kids practical comfortable casual clothes that they will wear more than once without outgrowing them, and dress clothes are not in my budget, even from the thrift store. It would have involved buying dress pants, dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes for a 3 hour seminar on ethics. In this economy it just seemed UNETHICAL, insensitive and discriminatory. Am I overreacting by complaining to the principal that my son was excluded due to not having the right clothing in his wardrobe? I could understand it if it was a fancy prep school with dressy uniforms, but this is a public high school in small country town.

Update: November 20, 2009.
Well, I'm not exactly poor, but I'm a military widow with 6 kids and it's a struggle. Sure, kids should ideally have dress clothes, but with growing boys that's a challenge and often a waste. He will have them for graduation, but I got no warning for this one, and it seemed like a poor choice of venue in this economy when the school has a beautiful new auditorium.

Update: November 20, 2009.
Thanks to all who responded. The seminar was during school hours and not a field trip. I could understand being left out of a field trip that costs a dollar amount, but not a school sponsored activity due to a random dress code at a country club. I had very little warning or I could have possibly budgeted better earlier in the month, but my son and I were in a panic when first told it was mandatory. At this point in the month, a shirt and dress pants would mean no milk and bread, so the shirt and pants were a low priority, especially since my boys are growing like weeds every month. I realize I will have to purchase dress clothes for graduation but I have several months to plan for that, not a day, and he will be two sizes bigger by then too, so anything bought now will be useless. And I purchased dress clothes for my boys last year for my brother's wedding, but I had a year to prepare for that, and those clothes were worn one day and never fit again, so it seems very wasteful when college applications are $50 a pop, and I have a kid in band too. It just seems very wrong to me. I think the schools come up with a lot of frivolous expenses that are a burden on the parents and students. This one just irked me more than most, because it was tailored for the haves and not the have nots, and there are a lot more of the latter right now.

- Asked by abitspoiled, A Thinker, Female, 46-55, Who Cares?
Answer this question
Read Responses (10)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

And what did YOu do today????????

My day was as follows (so far).
I am currently in university. This was MY day today.

GEt up at 6AM. Work out before hubby leaves for work.

Shower, make lunches and check email before the kids get up

Get the kids ready for school. This includes making sure they have their backpacks, homework, hair and teeth brushed, beds made and clean, weather appropriate clothing on. Fed. Oh, and I try to eat something.

I drive the kids to school. I go to school. My day today started with an 8:30 AM biology class. We're spending 2 weeks on the molecular structure of the nervous system. Incredibly complex and a lot of memorization involved.

After my first class is over, I help a classmate with her chemistry assignment. Chemistry class starts 10 minutes later. We are studying quantam physics. Again, incredibly complex. I try to keep up with the teacher, but she's talking a mile a minute, and my hands can't jot down notes fast enough. I learn we have a pre lab assignment due this afternoon. I did not know. I spend my lunch hour sipping coffee and doing the assignement.

Calculus class starts at 1 PM. I learn the final exam has been bumped up a week. That means I have 3 final exams in 2 days. joy.

Chemistry lab. Titrating aqueous solutions in controlled pressure enviorments and set temperatures. Very involved. I have to leave class quickly to pick up kids from school and take them to their after school activities. Thankfully I have an understanding chem teacher. I drop kids off, and am back to lab in 20 min.I finish lab at 5:30, just in time to pick up kids from ballet and ACting class. Go grocery shopping on the way home from picking up the kids.

I get home. Hubby is just walking in the door exhausted and sore, asking "what's for supper". I take the roast chicken I had simmering in the crock pot (oh yeah, I did THAT this morning too...) out, chop up broccoli, and boil and pan fry some perogies.

WE eat as a family (yay!).

Currently, the kids are doing their homework, and I am taking s short break to visit answerology. In 1/2 hour I will log off, get the kids tucked in, and start the 6 hours of homework I have to do tonight. Oh, and I just got a notice that my son's school is having a bake sale, and I need to send cookies or squares. This means that while I do my homework, after the kids have gone to bed, i will be baking and tidying the kitchen.

LOL! And how was YOUR day?

- Asked by girldownunder, A Career Woman, Female, 29-35, Sydney
Answer this question
Read Responses (2)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this
Family & Parenting / 1 day ago Back To Top
Remove from Hot10

Remove Post

Recategorize / Edit

What do you do when someone makes plans for you without asking?

I recentley moved in with an elderly relative. He has lived alone for 5 years and doesn't have family, other than me. Twice, so far, he has had me break plans with friends because he wants me to do things with him. He doesn't drive so I am having to take him places...on demand. I have plans with my children for Thanksgiving and he mentioned that he wants to go to his favorite restaurant for Thanksgiving. I asked him to have dinner with my daughter,son and their in-laws. There will be young children there and he does not want to be around them and he doesn't like eating with what he calls "strangers". He told me tonight that he is really looking forward to eating at the restaurant because he loves their turkey dinner. I cannot be at 2 places at the same time. I already missed my granddaughters birthday party because he made reservations last week without telling me. I just don't know what to do. Help!

- Asked by 3wiltedroses, A Creative, Female, 46-55, Self-Employed
Answer this question
Read Responses (6)
Invite A Friend To Respond
Add to my Watch List
POP this question[ ? ]
Blog this

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next