Family Importance

So much responsibility is put on families to care for those member that are ill. It always seems to fall on the individual families that don't have much of a work life. To utilize services offered, it usually falls under that family that is most financially stable to pay for services that are rendered. It's a shame how families don't come together and help one another, even if its minimal. I think this will help foster family bonding and enhance communication. I believe that there are some services worth utilizing, but I know the best care for any individual is the love and support of family. Most times, those members that are sick are most comfortable around the people that they know and in an environment that they are familiar with. There's so much shifting of not only our sick family members, but our elderly as well. More focus needs to be on family. Society is so big on technological advances and implementing of new services based on this era, but this is affecting our families. We as a society need to go back to a place where we valued family a little bit more. But how?

The Best Solution for Elderly?

In thinking about care for our elders in society, a lot of new advances for compensation for our elderly has risen. Among services provided, I think nursing home care is still most prevalent to date. It seems to me that once older people go in to nursing homes, they become worse. My grandmother, for example went into a nursing home because my aunt, my moms oldest sister couldn't care for my grandmother like she needed to. A family decision was to place my grandmother in a nursing home. I would go and visit my grandmother and it seemed like every time I would go and visit her, another illness would happen or something was always wrong. I know her being around different elders, there are a lot of germs that can be contracted. But the illnesses my grandmother was getting wasn't contagious things. What took me for a loop was when my mother and I went to visit her and she had bruises on her. I had heard about workers at nursing home not really adequately caring for those that are admitted. I feel like families need to further with options because what may be the easiest solution doesn't mean it is the best solution. If more people were informed about the different ways or caring for our older people, the happier families will be. It may be good to give the individual options if they can competently make decisions for themselves. So much goes on behind closed doors, and families need to be more concerned about how their family members are being treated.

Ban Smoking in Car with kids

California, Arkansas and Louisiana have recently banned smoking in the car while the kids are present. Several other states are also considering making the same type of bans. I personal think this a good idea. Second hand smoke is dangerous to everyone but it is particularly dangerous to children due to their lack of development. Second hand smoke accounts for an increase in health risks. Secondhand smoke can cause children to suffer bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections and more severe asthma attacks. I don't feel like this is hindering people from smoking, I think it just protects the children from the adverse affects of second hand smoke. Children don't choose to smoke so they shouldn't have to deal with consequences of their parents smoking. Its not a perfect solution but at least its one step closer. I know that a lot of smokers may feel as if this may hinder their rights as a smoker, but in reality I think it just further proves the dangers of second hand smoke. I completely support this concept their have been several studies that show that parents who don't smoke in their house or car children are generally healthier. Taking a family perspective on this view I can't help but see the positives that this ban could cause. Not only will it keep the children healthier it also allows parents to become more alert to smoking and its adverse affects on themselves and maybe others. What do you think? Do you think this is a good ban or is the government taking it to far? Brittany

Abusive Boyfriend syndrome

Hey guys
This blog is interesting but portrays sad news. It’s all about “abusive boyfriends syndrome”. Ladies and gentlemen, in life whatever you do please make a good decision with your relationship or one that you will not regret. Among the findings in this article are as follows:
--Children living in households with unrelated adults are nearly 50 times as likely to die of inflicted injuries as children living with two biological parents,
Children living in stepfamilies or with single parents are at higher risk of physical or sexual assault than children living with two biological or adoptive parents
—Girls whose parents divorce are at significantly higher risk of sexual assault, whether they live with their mother or their father.
Guys listen this is not always the case but there are just a few unlovable partners who overshadow the good partners. Every case is different, every family is different. Some single mothers bring men into their lives who lovingly help raise children when the biological father is gone for good.

DARE Program finshed in Suffolk County

Posted in the New York Times today, there was an article about the recent change to the DARE program in Suffolk County. The New York County has decided to get rid of the DARE program and replace it with a new program called Enhanced Health Smart Curriculum. This new curriculum will give students information about gangs, gambling, bullying, driving, dating violence, internet safety and identity theft. The new program will be offered to students ranging from Kindergarten to 12th grade as apposed to the DARE program which was only for 5th - 7th grade. The information will be taught be the school's teachers after they have had a 1/2 day of training. The DARE program that has been around for about 20 years, has always been conducted by police officers, which were thought to make a significant difference drug use. In a study conducted in 2002 however, the DARE program has showed to have no significant difference in the amount of drug use among students.

I think that the new program will be very beneficial and will help students understand multiple levels of problems. The one thing I think they should change is having other people come in to do the program instead of the teachers. I think students would respond better to outside people who have an impact on the community, such as police officers etc. Overall I think all counties should adopt a similar program such as this one.

Gay/Lesbian Campaign

As we all know, California is one of the popular states that has gained much attention on the hot topic of Same-sex marriages and families. In the article, "TV ad campaign attempts to sway the undecided on same-sex marriage," there was a commercial aired in an effort to attract and persuade the public that gay and lesbian couples should have the right to affirm their love, legally. The message was " what if you couldn't marry the person you love?" Polls taken indicated that the state was split on whether or not people agreed and disagreed about the same-sex issue. This campaign has received major funding from many important people and organizations. I know that people are eager and ready for the public to accept their lifestyle and their beliefs, and become socially accepted in our society, but is our government starting to "bend" the rules or are they "stead-fast" on their decision to not accept these individuals as one unit? Although there are laws implemented to nationally recognize a man and woman as a married couple, states are to their own discretion on this issue. I know that some of the comments that I am going to make are going to upset some people, but I really do not care. It is my opinion and my blog.

I really do not care one way or the other whether gay or lesbian individuals gain rights or not. Technically, it really doesn't affect me, so I have no emotion towards it, nor do i have family members (to my knowledge) who engage in this type of lifestyle. My motto has always been "do what ever floats your boat, and make sure whatever you do, you do 'it' well." From a legal standpoint, in class, people were talking about issues in regards to raising a family and how our government doesn't really caters to the needs of families. Honestly, if gay and lesbian gain rights they will want the full benefits of being married such as health care, social security benefits, and so on and so forth. Truthfully, our government just isn't ready for that change, especially when the decision and policy makers are older individuals with traditional values and morals. Don't get me wrong, our world is forever changing, and one day I do suspect that gay and lesbians will gain their rights, but for now... I think we should just stick to the logic of the situation.

Parents Who Spank Being Made Criminals

Can you believe one day if passed, that you as a parent might be labeled as a criminal for disciplining your children? Democrats in California are pushing for a law that would make a parent who spanks their child a criminal, place them on probation for four years, will be required to attend a nonviolent parental education class and be the subject of criminal court protective order "protecting the victim from further acts of violence." Many believe this is just outrageous and I agree. In my opinion, I believe the government is taking away any parental right that parent have for a misbehaving child. Basically, this gives the child control over the parent. I am sure this makes those considering a family think twice. If passed, the government will be faced with a lot of problems. What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the law?

fathers a detriment?

A new study of 6,000 families in Bristol found that stay-at-home fathers may be hindering their son's education as opposed to mothers. Family income did not seem to alter the results, and fathers were not seen as a detriment to their daughter's, only sons. I feel like this say a lot into how fathers and sons relate to each other and how they spend their time. When dealing with the sons, fathers may feel that they need to be more hands on and spend time doing more "manly" activities. This could be more of a nurture factor than nature in that fathers have been raised to be the breadwinners and that this new role men are playing is something they didn't train for. Maybe this, if a lasting trend, will level out over time as the next generation of boys is raised with the expectation that they may be the stay-at-home parent. Do you think that this is a healthy trend? Do you think that the family can thrive the same with swapped gender roles, as opposed to traditional ones?

seatbelts on schoolbusses?

BRILLIANT!!! Why did every legislator and their mother overlook this harmful double standard? According to a column in the Washington Post, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters has proposed a national initiative to mandate three-point harnesses in school busses. Sure it's going to be expensive, about $1,800 per bus, with <400,000 in the US, but habits need to be learned early. I feel like every one of us can relate to someone who was involved in an automobile accident, how many of those were wearing restraints? I witnessed a middle-aged man being ejected out of his Ford Explorer at 75mph and flying 60ft in the air as his car flipped and rolled. Luckily that man lived, but how many other lives could have been saved if they would have learned the habits of wearing a seatbelt? Starting young is the best course of action, and this initiative is the most logical step at reducing auto fatalities. Thoughts? Objections?

Opening adoption records for adults

Guys here’s an interesting blog I found on the “Gainesville Sun” website about opening birth records of adopted adults. I strongly support the idea of opening adoption records for adults because many times adults wanted to know their biological parents. I met a friend who was adopted and never met his parents; he’s really confused because he doesn’t know who he got his physical features from. I know it would be very difficult if their parents don’t want to be found. Most parents might be embarrassed, guilty or afraid knowing that they had to give up their child (ren) for adoption. At the same time children or adults would love to know their biological parents. Do you know anyone who was adopted? How would they feel about this?

Child studies may ease fears on misbehavior

Hey everyone
A recent article in the New York Times by Benedict Carey “Child studies may ease fears on misbehavior” found that children with attention deficit disorders suffer primarily from a delay in brain development, not from a deficit or flaw. Many will automatically catch up academically by fifth grade. I personally think many previous studies of ADHD student were inaccurate because many children are just as smart as their peers but they develop at a slower rate. Many times they do not have access to educational material or other family problems may cause a delay in development emotionally, behaviorally and in other ways. Finally, many children are placed on drugs to reduce behavioral problems that may affect them in the long run. 5% of school age children are labeled ADHD.
What do you think about these issues class?

Same-Sex Marriage: Should it be Our Own Choice

I have been pondering with the idea of same-sex marriage for quite some time. I can not understand why the government even has a say in it. I will explain my reasoning. In my opinion who you choose to love or be with is a choice. Just as we have the freedom to choose and belong to whatever religion we want, we should also have the freedom to choose who we love or want to be with. I feel as if we should not have limits, placed by the government, on who we can love. The government is so afraid of going against what the majority of society thinks is best, and so they reject the idea of same-sex marriage. There are children out there who would be better of with two mothers or two fathers, then in the current living situation they are in. Rejecting same-sex couples from having children, in my opinion, is taking away parents that could provide a better home for these children. I feel that same-sex couples can be just as stable for the child as heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples should be granted the same rights as those in a heterosexual marriage because they deserve equal rights. They too chose who they wanted to love, it just happened to be an idea that is not expected or always accepted by society. But just because it is not widely accepted in society, does that make it wrong? In the end, I'm just perplexed by the idea that the government can interfere with our love lives and say who we can and can not love.

Too little sleep make kids fat

Hey guys this is really interesting:
Even thought this is true that third graders should get more sleep (at least 10 hours) it would be difficult to get children at that age to go to bed at the same time to wake up at the same time and do the same on weekends. You could try to reward them. At the same time it will cost you a lot and the funny thing is most parents reward their children with food which leads to obesity. I cannot think of any solutions that would really work. Does anyone have a solution to the problem?

Hug Banned Enforced

I was appalled when I read this article on yahoo, a girl was actually given two days detention for hugging her friends at school. Has the school system become so frivolous that we focus on these harmless things. Showing affection towards friends is a perfectly natural part of growing up. How about we focus on the harmful things our youth are doing or are exposed to, such as drugs on campus, strangers, violence or anything other that hugging. Come on who did she really hurt!! By punishing good kids with pure intentions what are we telling them that they are the same as truants. This can't be good for our youth. She wasn't making out with her boyfriend in the middle of the hall, she hugged her friends goodbye and in front of her parents no less!!
Brittany

Off the Chain Bush

Lol.I just thought it was quite funny how Bush used to his discretion when time was being set back.I don't know if you all were aware,but time was supposed to go back last weekend. Because Bush didn't set his clock back,he said that time would go back next week,which was this week.How bizarre is that?Years and years have gone back with time being changed traditionally, not because our "president" forgets to set his clock back.Oops Bush!!I think the world is coming to an end.I'm not into politics,but I can't wait to get this man out of office.Gas prices....the war in Iraq.....postponed time change....????Bush is truly off the chain...no,he has broken the chain!!!