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Sunday 17 July 2011

Overweight=foster Care for children?

In Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this week there was an article suggesting that over weight children be taken from their homes and placed in foster care when their weight becomes a health issue. While on the surface this  is may seem like a good idea, get the child help for what could be a serious health problem and teach the parents about healthy eating and exercise. Win win right? Well if you think about it not so.
By removing the child from there home we may be creating more mental stress for the child and possible confusion for the parent, why was their child taken from them, what did they do wrong ect. If we give the parents classes on healthy eating and child raising why not reunite the family one would say. What if when reunited the child doesn't continue to lose weight or gains some back? Then do we take them from the home again. At what point do parents lose there rights and the child become eligible for adoption?
While it is a good idea to treat childhood obesity what if the family can not afford healthy food options. Should one tell others that due to the fact they can pay 3 dollars for a meal at McDonald's that they should be able to afford five dollars plus for a meal from the grocery store? Or should we tell people that if they can not afford to buy the healthy food for their children they should let them go hungry instead of buying cheep unhealthy food so the children do not have an empty stomach or get starved.
Where do we remove the blame from parents and start to accept partial blame as a society? We who have made foods that we shouldn't be eating so cheep as to not be able to not eat them if one is poor. For example a cheep healthy meal for a family of four would cost aprox. five dollars for a whole chicken, three dollars for veggies, three dollars for a starch, and two dollars for a fruit. Not to mention the four dollars to have a gallon of milk to drink with the meal or the four dollars to have a milk product at a meal. That comes out to about seventeen dollars a meal for the family. Take the family to a place where you can order off a dollar menu and  you pay less as little as eight if every one drinks a free water or even four if the adults do not eat(assuming
there are two adults and two children). At most you could pay twelve dollars total allowing three dollars a person. The problem is this twelve dollar meal is loaded with fat and sugar.
When one looks at the cost of feeding the family one can see where the problem lies. Five dollars or more less to eat a sugar and fat filled meal vs a healthy one. A family on a very limited income could use the extra money to buy diapers or pay bills or any of the other expenses that came from daily living.
Maybe before removing children from a home lets look at what the situation is like that may be causing the child to have weight issues and fix that before separating a family.

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Tea Party/Republicans

Ok I am christian and was told that we need to help people who need help. I thought that was the point of so called entitlement programs to help people who need help. So what I don't understand is all the christian who are members of the Tea Party or Republican party who want to do away with entitlement programs that help people. In the bible it is stated that people need to help others who are less fortunate the you.
I know that some of the Republicans who want to do away with entitlements feel that churches will fill in where the government once took care of the needs. What they fail to think about is the fact that they are taking care of those the government is missing for one reason or an other.
What I really wonder is how can they be christian and not want to do what is needed to help others?

Monday 11 July 2011

Warning labels

So everything has warning labels and if it doesn't someone wants to put one one. Most of them seem unnecessary. Some of my favorites of those are "Warning Coffee is very hot," The picture on the hair dryer and curling iron not to place in water when plugged in, and on plastic bags "Do not allow children and babies to play with may cause suffocation if placed over head and mouth." It just seems like we need to tell people everything they should use their brain to figure out.
Most of the stuff that has warning labels have them because some stupid person has done what is being warned against. That all being said I do think that some are needed. Most of those can be found on medications and other things that are not used often and people need special knowledge to understand.
All things being fair most people know the stuff we are being warned against and choose to do what amounts to being dumb. Then their children don't know any better and the cycle continues. Maybe to fix all this we need to teach people how to think, or maybe let Darwin's theory of evolution take hold and do what it is meant to. If nothing else we would control population growth. 

Friday 8 July 2011

Teen moms

Ok So today I was passing some time by reading a blog post asking if teen moms should have a baby shower and all that went through my mind is hell yes. I mean it is not like they wanted to get pregnant in the first place and they need the help and support. Let their friends be there and let them have fun. Once they have the baby life will be very different and not very fun for a while. We want them to become good parents and not a "drain" on society. If not giving them a shower would do that then fine but it wont. They need to stuff they get and the love that comes with it.
I know their babies are not planned but they are loved and hopefully wanted. This is what happened to me. now don't get me wrong I was not a teen mother or single but I did have an unplanned pregnancy and did need some help from WIC MIChild and  food stamps to get started. I am not well off now and still need the assistance but I am working on getting off and not needing the help but like teen mom's I have a ways to go. One day I will be out of debt and not in need of assistance, but for now I do and I am not going to apologize for it. It is not a permanent thing and at one point I was starting to get off of it but my second unplanned blessing came and I need some more help to cover extra cost until I can find a better job or my DH can and we can get health insurance.
Until we can get what we need to support ourselves and our family we will use assistance and not apologize and I will gladly give help to those who need it when I can. I will also do what ever I need to save money so we don't need help or have debt. This is why I breast feed, use a hand pump I got for free, cook from scratch and use cloth diapers. I do not go out more then once a month when I would need money take my son's places when money is needed. My weekly splurge is 30.00 for a day of daycare for my oldest so he can get socialization  and extra therapy he needs.

Sunday 3 July 2011

ER Visit

Dear ER doc.
I know you think that I wanted to be in the ER at 2130 on a Sunday night on a holiday weekend but trust me I had much better things to do. It is just that my baby would not stop screaming and I was at my wits end. I am not dumb in fact I want to start my medic classes in the winter. I know that you don't care and I am just an other over worried mother in what is most likely a long line of them over the weekend. I also get the impression that  you don't want to be working in a small town ER dealing with the every day issues of sick children and dumb drunks ect. but I really do not care. Treat me and my family like we can get some respect listen to what I have to say. My son is sick something is wrong I know this and it is not constipation only. I was right he also has an ear infection. and is in pain. Please treat his infection and pain the constipation not as big of a deal it can wait No dehydration still eating he will poop he is already trying
I know you it is pointless to see the ER for a routine issue such as ear infections and constipation but some times it can't be helped. It is a holiday weekend in a small town and we do not have a walk-in clinic open past 2100. Ok so I came in at 2130 but I wanted to wait until Tuesday to see any one so we could go to the Ped. Then he would know what was going on but it cant always happen that way. You are the one who is on this weekend and that is life. Grow-up and deal.
Thank you
Snowwhite

P.S. I did and 5 hr shift with you when I was doing clinic rotations and thought you were rude and did not care for your pts. You do know you shi* though. Just learn some bedside mannor. You would be better liked. People may even stay to be treated.

Visiting Grandma

So excited my oldest in visiting his grandparents for a week. I know I seem uncaring when I say I am over the moon about this. I just need a break. The stress is through the roof here. My husband has applied for a job that would allow us to stay where we are and fallow what we really want to do instead of moving and him going to law school. Now dont get me wrong there is nothing wrong with law school but he really doesnt want to go. It was a last resort. I also have applied for a job that I really dont want but if it lets us stay I will do it with a smile. I really want to go back to school and get my medic. I am so happy to have my EMT-Basic but cant find a job with it in this small town.
Well now that I went off topic back to the visit away. I feel it is good for him to go there cause he has auditory processing, sensory seeking and some other issues going on. Poor child is basically being put through thrapey all the time at home cause his mom wants him to be able to deal with what is going on and get up to age level in other areas. I feel bad doing this to him but having had issues and his father has to we dont want him to suffer what we did by being different. Grandma works with special need children and Grandpa is just fun making them the best people to go visit. They also have a farm where a hyper 2 yo can run and play.
I am missing him like crazy though. I hope he is doing well and having fun. I know it is much more fun for me to have him here. A 2 mo is not as much fun and sleeps most of the time. His father is going to enjoy it cause he is going to do his thing and enjoy visiting friends and try to wait for his call, and maybe drink a little extra beer. Mom is going to clean and keep on with life as normal along with return to work. I love my family, just wish they would give me a day off.