I would choose the man, but not because I think he is less likely to harm me than a bear. I would choose the man because I think a man is more likely to be HELPFUL, and I know that the bear will not be helpful. Realistically, the best case scenario with a bear is that the bear will leave you alone. But the best case scenario with the man is either quicker rescue or a fun camping trip (depending on your point of view). (The worst case scenario for both bear and man is the same: a slow, painful death.) Why do people think of the choice as the lesser of two evils, when one of the choices probably is actually a benefit?

I have done the first in the past and we didn't do sleepovers because it's not really a thing in the circles now -- she has done them in the past but I just don't see a scenario where I DON'T know the person. However, tbh I would probably be more cautious about the sleepover than the other examples -- nighttime in the parking lot, peeking into the back seat of the car (that seems the most extreme to me - the car is locked, what the heck). I run at night occasionally and did so in college even while we had a serial rapist who hadn't been caught - I took reasonable precautions and would expect my daughter to do so as well if she ever took up running. I would be more worried about one of us getting bitten by a rattlesnake on our local trail or running out of water than being harmed by someone I met running solo. There is a memorial nearby of a high school girl that was raped and murdered on a trail during a solo run. I think of her and her family when I run past, but it doesn't affect my sense of safety one bit. If I am going to worry about safety, I will worry about something that is much more likely to happen, such as a traffic accident.

Does that line work for her? It didn’t work well for my daughter. But my daughter probably did not say it with as much confidence as yours. Plus, when she actually was 16, my daughter looked much older. Her impression was that the creepy guys didn’t care that she was a minor.

I would say she is less safe, 100%. Her fearfulness is triggering the “prey” drive in the predatory men that you and your other daughter aren’t triggering. It’s not just being female, it’s female+Fear=potential target. I agree that being fearful does make one more of a target. But, in our particular cases, I’m not sure she actually was significantly less safe. She was significantly more uncomfortable, but I think her chances of being kidnapped, raped, killed, or similar were still pretty small. (If I felt there was a significant danger, I would not have her ride public transit.) She also only rides public transit in the middle of the day when there are lots of people around, or when traveling with others. On the other hand, there are also dangers from being overly confident, such as overlooking actual dangers or venturing into more dangerous situations. I have scolded my more confident daughter for riding public transit by herself late at night. (Which is a bit hypocritical of me, since I have also ridden public transit by myself late at night.) Tangentially related, the person I know in real life who has come to the most harm from “strangers” was a teenage male.

Documentaries and some hands-on kits that they help pick.

Dinner was good! Texted with Dd about taking her a humidifier later this week. I got way less done today than I hoped, but it was a nice day. Tomorrow, I will have to squeeze in some of that work between my regular Wednesday things. Done for the day. Jammies and a book.

I think she is statistically less safe just for having already been assaulted. Both women and children who were victims once are more likely to be victims again. I don’t have a link. I think I first heard that on Oprah from the guy who wrote the fear books. Whoever said it, she confirmed she had in fact been the victim of two men as a child.

yeah, that would certainly skew things.

The doc recommended that I have mine out when I was in grammar school eons ago. My parents decided against it. I think they made the right decision. But that was way back in the 60s. When 2 of my sons were preschoolers in the 80s and kept getting ear infections, the pediatrician recommended tubes. They each had a couple of pair of tubes, but the only thing that stopped the infections was when I kept them out of group things, and they stopped getting the colds which always preceded the infections. Fwiw, the tubes left some scaring in one of my son's ears. How old is your dd?

I can see that, but also… I’m not sure. My dds are pretty tough, almost aggressive. The one who works in a coffee chain is still harassed by creepy men at work. Does creepy = dangerous? Not definitively. But it does trigger spidey senses. Her new go-to is to look them dead in the eyes and say, “I’m 16.” Fortunately, she can convincingly pull off passing as a minor to strangers. Yet she was assaulted by a male “friend”. Trust can’t just be thrown about Willy nilly.

My doctor also prescribed me 2 capsules 3 times a day. Have you considered consulting with a healthcare provider for assistance with your medication regimen and potential alternatives to ease your discomfort? Wishing you a speedy recovery!

According to the article I linked above, children are extremely unlikely to be attacked by a brown bear worldwide. It’s mostly adult men who are hunting who get attacked, and more than half the time because of mother/cubs. Apparently bears find adult males dangerous but children are not considered to be either dangerous or food. I have to wonder if the correlation doesn’t have more to do with hunting bringing men deeper into the forest than children are likely to go though.

Thank you! I feel completely out of it on this much Zyrtec. I will ask about trying Allegra instead.

I just received and returned Jurgensen. The teacher edition doesn't have enough teacher support for me. The daily lesson chalkboard examples do not show fully worked out solutions. The book just gives a problem with answer and assumes the teacher can take it from there. Umm, not me. Off to buy Jacobs now.

If you have time, I'd love to hear what you aren't liking about Berean Builders Earth Science since that's what I had tentatively planned on us using in highschool.

Not the most popular choice, but it gets done here and my oldest enjoys it: Rod and Staff a grade higher than actual grade level. Read a lesson, answer comprehension questions, and then many times there is an optional activity or two that demonstrate. Each text is usually 8 units long with a unit test afterward each unit. Some of the 8th grade text (which we are using now in 7th) is material I can see in Berean Builders Earth Science samples online.

home from tutoring - the girls were falling asleep today. Sigh. I need to talk to the parents about May & beyond, but they are rarely actually around.... everyone is home today, so we're going to watch Dune 2 via streaming (rentable for $20) tonight, starting it shortly so it's over in time for me to go to bed on time. I tidied the living room after dinner, so that's off the list.

Thank you for saying this!!! I never post, just read, but what you stated is very correct. As a descendant of African American slaves, the oppression can't be compared to other groups that went through discrimination. It's not to say that what the Irish, Italians, etc., experienced at the hands of others is to be taken lightly, not at all. However, they didn't experience chattel slavery for 250 years and another 150 + odd years of Jim Crow (which was an extension of chattel slavery). My parents, mother-in-law, aunts, uncles, and older cousins, who are still alive today, lived through Jim Crow. The stories are horrendous, and in many case, they're not talked about. I have family that I have found on plantations in Deleware and New York, so slavery wasn't just in the South. Not to mention, other African Americans that were well off would purchase other African Americans, but they were usually loved ones of theirs or people that they considered as family. They purchased them to free them and not to further enslave them. As many mentioned, slavery was all over the world, however chattel slavery was mainly in the Western part of the world. From my research, I wouldn't compare that to indentured servitude.

Well that’s a bummer she continues to have it

I’m not in contact with the doctors but I think the primary care doctor referred them to the ENT. I can check with xh. my guess is the primary care dr supports whatever the ENT suggested.

Most people I know with MCAS are on Allegra 180 (I can take up to four per day). Zyrtec does nothing but make me sleepy. Claritin is not potent enough.

I would look at the research and discuss it with the doctor. There's definitely research showing that removing tonsils does affect immune function (https://journals.lww.com/jfmpc/fulltext/2020/09030/Long_term_impacts_of_tonsillectomy_on_children_s.34.aspx) However, you can never take single studies as gospel, you have to take context into account which is why discussing them with doctors is useful. For example, I'm on a medication which has a side effect of causing fractures. But when I discussed it with the doctor, he explained none of the studies had subjects under 80, and they'd all been on it for over a year, not just one course.

I have taken more precautions against bears in my life than against men. Black bears don't want to harm you, but they want your food, and that can end badly. For hungry grizzlies, humans *are* food. Stats don't make sense here because there are few situations when a human is exposed to bears, compared to many more situations when she is exposed to other humans. If I have to pick between ONE bear vs ONE random man in close encounter, I would choose the man, because the probability that he is a normal dude who doesn't want to harm me is much higher than the chance that the bear is neither hungry nor interested in my food nor feels threatened by my proximity.

Whoever is loud has the most congested nose or throat. So not a gender thing. Same goes for my relatives.

Quote above made me think of this famous quote,“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” Margaret Atwood I send my kids into the woods with both men and black bears on a regular basis (scouts). Safe scouting data and scouting history show that the men are more dangerous than the bears. (ETA:To clarify , my kids specifically have never had an issue with either, and their scout leaders are men I trust)