Irresponsible Parents

Irresponsible parents drive me nuts! Yesterday, my daughter's friend came over to play. We have had a lot of children over lately so I told her  "If she comes over her parents have to pick her up by dinner." At about an hour before dinner I told her to call her parents and have come and pick her up.  Well, they didn't pick up the phone or even call her back until 7:40.  Almost two hours later! It was different when the child lived just around the corner and you could send her home, but now her family moved and she has to be driven here & home. Now, the thing that makes me crazy about this is, the child has a heart condition! What if something went wrong and the child started having problems or there was some sort of emergency. Her parents are notorious for not picking up the phone when she calls, returning her call hours later and not picking her up when they are supposed to pick her up.  The child is only 9 years old.  If my child calls I always pick up the phone and if I miss their call I call them back immediately. You never know when something can happen.  I pay for my 9 & 10 year old to have cell phones so they can call me no matter where they are and I can always reach them. That seems to be one the problems with summer vacation, you are dealing with kids and their parents more during the summer than during the school year. I am ready for summer vacation to be over all ready.

Prepubescent Boys

Prepubescent boys are a hand full.  I went downstairs to run a virus scan on the computer the kids use and it was running slow and had a lot of viruses. So, I checked the computer's history.  Someone had gone to porn sites on the computer. My son and his friends were downstairs on the computer Saturday. I am guessing it would have been him and his friends. Of course everyone denies any wrong doing. But, the kids are the only ones who use that computer. They were searching for 11 year olds having sex and busty women, among many other things.  Wow, I didn't even know that kids at the ages of 10 & 11 even knew what porn was or how to look for it.  I am cautious about what I let my children watch.  But, not all parents do.  The Internet can be a blessing, but it can also be a real headache with monitoring what your children are doing on the Internet.  You can't possibly go through and block all the porn sites because in parental controls you have to input each site one by one. If you check under 18 content, it blocks all sites with pictures.  There has got to be a better way to limit what your children are doing on the computer.  Any additional software you purchase, you have to block the sites as they are viewed or block each domain.  I did the only thing I could think of, forbid anyone from using the computer when friends are here. Put a password on the computer and their history will be checked whenever they get off the computer. I hate to do it like that, but they have left me with no choice.  God help me, I am not ready to be dealing with these sorts of issue. 

Sitcoms From The 70's & 80's

I was having trouble sleeping last night and so I was up watching Seinfeld. I was laughing at old episodes I have already seen. I don't watch any of the new sitcoms because they don't make me laugh like the old ones did. Whoever thought a show about nothing but the everyday life would have been so humorous or would have made it so big? I can’t count the number of times I have seen the bubble boy episode and it still makes me laugh. Sitcoms like Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Sanford & Son, Threes Company. Now, that was comedy. Maybe I am just reminiscing about my youth. Nevertheless, the new sitcoms have nothing on the sitcoms from the 70’s & early 80’s. Therefore, when there’s nothing on I would rather be watching Seinfeld or one of the older shows than sit there and try to get into one of the new sitcoms.

Keep Your Children Safe This Summer

Safer Summer Fun



SUMMER SAFETY PROGRAM




Participate online in the Summer Safety Program.
It's easy. View the presentation, then follow the link at the end and take a quick survey.
Summer is an exciting time for kids—what are your child’s plans? Will he or she be spending time home alone? Going to local parks and pools with friends? Attending a sleep-away camp?

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children recommends that parents and guardians consider children’s summer activities, both structured and unstructured, and take responsible actions to help keep them safer. The first step is to open the lines of communication.

Kids need to know:
Neighborhood boundaries and whose homes they may visit.
Who to call and where to go in an emergency.
Their full names, address, and telephone number(s).
To keep doors locked and not open the door if they are home alone.
Not to approach a vehicle or accept a ride from anyone without your permission.
To avoid pools and other bodies of water without adult supervision.
Their curfew, and to call you if they will be late.

Other important reminders for parents:
Supervise children at malls, movies, arcades, or parks.
Choose and screen babysitters with care.
Before enrolling your children, investigate daycares, camps, and summer
programs thoroughly.
Always listen to your children.

Going to an Amusement Park?
Theme parks are great places for family fun. Take time to plan your trip, and talk to your kids about ways to stay safer before you arrive at the park. A few minutes of advance preparation can make your outing more enjoyable and safer for the whole family.

Before you leave:
Make a plan to meet in a specific location should anyone become separated; a good place is the closest Help/Information Center.
Pay attention to where kids are and who they are with at all times.
Teach kids to check first with you before accepting prizes or gifts from anyone.
Teach kids to tell you if anyone makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused.
Teach children to runaway and yell, “this person is not my father (mother)!” if someone tries to take them away.
Make sure kids never wear clothing or carry items that display their names.

At the park:
Get a map of the park and immediately show your kids where the Help/Information Centers are located.
Give examples of people who can help (park personnel, mothers with children, etc.) if they become lost.
Have children carry some form of identification and emergency contact information with them.
Accompany young children on rides.
Accompany children to restrooms.
Report suspicious or inappropriate activity immediately.
Immediately report your child missing if you become separated

This information came from the National Center For Missing or Exploited Children
You can find more useful information for keeping your children safe by clicking on the link below.

National Center For Missing Or Exploited Children

LeBron James Booed In New York City

LeBron James was booed outside of Carmelo Anthony's wedding on Saturday by a crowd of New Yorkers. And of all places to do it, at a wedding. The timing was a little inappropiate. I understand they may be angry about him signing with the Miami Heat, but booing Lebron was a little excessive. He made a career change that he feels is in the best interest of his career. Anyone would have done the same. The fans just need to think realistically, players are going to be traded and sign with other teams. Although, I think the hour long ESPN special was a little over the top. I know I was really disappointed when Chauncey and Rasheed left the Pistons. The Pistons haven't been the same since the trade. But, hopefully someday they will pull themselves out of this rut their in. But, what are you going to do? That's the way the NBA works.

Raising Teenagers

What happens to a child when they turn 18? They seem to think they automatically become adults and no longer need their parents. They no longer have to show us respect and they can do and say as they please. I understand they are growing up and want to go on their own, but that doesn’t give them the right to think they can just walk on their parents and their parents should still do as they ask. One thing they seem to forget is once you are 18 and graduated from high school we are longer responsible to support them or take care of them especially when they fail to respect us as their parents. We are no longer obligated to put up with their bullshit. I don’t put up with someone on the street threatening to hit me, yelling at me or even swearing at me. Therefore, what makes them think we have to put up with from our grown children? In actuality, she did get special treatment because if someone off the street talked to me like that I probably would have popped him or her in the face.

So many children today just do not understand they are the child and you are the parent, they live in your home and you support them, not vice versa. The only thing I really require from my children is to show respect for other people. I try to help them understand, you should treat others how you would like to be treated. If you do not want someone to scream and yell at you then don’t scream and yell at them. However, when you are yelling at someone they are automatically going to become defensive. It’s a natural response. Children should not scream at their parents, try to tell their parents what to do or criticize their parents. However, if we are yelling at our children, we are bad parents. Doesn’t that make them bad children or are they exempt from following the rules of society?

Someday when they are grown and raising their own children and their child is standing there yelling at them and saying inappropriate things to them they will understand what you were trying to tell them and possibly feel sorry for the way they acted as a teenager. God help me, but raising a teenager has to be one of the toughest jobs I have ever had.

The Debate Over Jobless Benefits

Sara Murray from the Wall Street Journal needs to keep her nose out of the unemployment extension debate if she is going to cover it from the angle that there are so many people unemployed because of all the extensions.  Saying that some people are being more picky in choosing jobs because of all the extensions is bullshit! Granted she did cover the other angle but that is all the Republicans need to hear is people are turning down jobs while collecting unemployment. Why is it that some people just don't seem to understand that unemployment does not pay you what you were making with your previous employer.  I was making $20.00 an hour before I started collecting unemployment. My income has been cut by more than half of what I used to make working. While Sara Murray is sitting comfortably at her desk collecting her big paycheck millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills and feed their families because of current economic situation.  I started looking for a new job before I lost my job because I saw what was coming. I spend hours on the internet looking for a job daily. Applying for jobs that pay as little as $9.00 an hour because I am afraid I won't find a job before my unemployment runs out.  Sara Murray and all the Republicans should not make general statements about the millions of Americans who are unemployed based on a hand full of people who have rejected jobs.  What needs to considered is some states have a higher unemployment rate than other states have making it more difficult for people to find jobs. I have been to interviews where there was as many as 250 people applying for one position.  The competition is fierce out there because of the high unemployment rates and to make it worse employers are lowering their wages because they know people will take the jobs paying less money.  The unemployed are being taken advantage of by employers because they know we are desperate for jobs to keep our homes and feed our families.  The Republicans are always trying to stop unemployment extensions but I don't see any of the damn Republicans taking any pay cuts.  School teachers are losing their jobs and schools are closing left and right because they are losing the funding they need to keep the schools running.  The Republicans will do just about anything to keep their wallets FAT while cutting back on the average American citizen and educating America's youth.  Since when does a FAT Republicans wallet come before educating our youth and feeding our children.  Millions or even billions of Americans are falling below the poverty level but no one seems to give two shits about that.