I'm confused. Where do you (and some of the other posters, not just you) get the idea that the students in this program are actually being shown porn? The article stated the exact opposite.

My first thought: How on earth did they even find a stylist willing to do the haircut? I'm imagining a girl having to physically be forced to go to a salon, and sitting there bawling as her hair is chopped off (and not done very skillfully, judging from the photos.) I do not necessarily love my teen's hair, and often wish he would cut/style it differently, but there is absolutely no way that any of the stylists we have ever seen would have even been willing to participate in such a thing. If my kid was sitting there, crying, and as the parent I was clearly being a jacka$$ about insisting upon it, I think any of the stylists/barbers we know would politely excuse themselves from the situation.

Enrollment is open for Home2Teach, and I'm considering enrolling my 10 year old, but I'm a little confused about the format of the class and wondering if anyone here who has children who has taken classes with them can help explain: What does it mean that the class is entirely chat based? Does that mean they don't have any verbal interaction with the instructor? I've heard good things about Home2Teach, but I'm having hard time grasping how she will keep up in a chat room in which everything has to be typed.

My dh got a flu shot last year at CVS and ended up with a shoulder injury from the vaccine being injected into the wrong spot on his arm. It was at least 6 months before he could use his arm normally again, and we had to pay for several appointments to see his primary care physician and PT.

I opted out of carpooling with my kids until they were big enough for a booster seat just for this very reason. (FWIW, they are both tiny kids who were in a 5 pt harness until about 7 years old each.)

I pay $16 for ds' haircuts and always tip $5.

Reviving a dead thread: Homeschool Book Study aka Essay Tracks seems to have disappeared again. Anyone have updated contact info on this class or know if it is still in operation?

My 10 year old is loving Outschool this year. She has taken a variety of short (anywhere from 3-8 weeks) classes this year. None of them have required her to type/chat to interact with the instructor or other students- it's all done through webcam and microphone, raising her hand and waiting to be called on just like a "real" classroom. She is chatty and a child who does not shy away from participating, so of all the classes we've tried the best one for her so far has been a Socratic discussion book club.

I would consider riding along with him just once. I know it's not exactly the same thing, but for years I worked with people who have disabilities. Staff would ride the bus with a client to and from a new job several times until they were comfortable and familiar with the route, where to get off, transfer, etc.

We used to have a set of melamine for camping, but to be honest, we ended up switching to Chinet. We have a small teardrop (plus a tent for the kids) with a propane stove, no real sink or water supply, and I just felt like I was spending too much of my time on camping trips hauling water, heating it up, and washing dishes. The Chinet is sturdy, and I don't feel too bad about using paper since we never use it at home, on while camping (which is my vacation time!) and we tend to use the dirty plates to help get our fire going. That said, we do carry around a couple pieces of enamelware like this as backup and it works well for our needs. We don't use a microwave when camping, and these can sit by the edge of a fire without us worrying about them melting! https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-12-Piece-Enamel-Dinnerware-Set/dp/B0009PUSPS/ref=sr_1_cc_6?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1516647025&sr=1-6-catcorr&keywords=enamel+plate

I have to sleep with my phone. I'm on call at night for my job, so I have to be able to have the phone close enough to wake me up so I can answer it ASAP. A landline isn't an option- I have to use my work provided cell phone.

I have pretty much always expected my kids, once school aged, to participate in at least one or two activities outside of the house. Of course I'd take their likes, dislikes and requests into consideration, but I would want my 7 year old to do *something.* It could be a sport, a music lessons, scouts, an art class, pretty much anything they wanted. For my kids I simply thought it was important that they have some time to experience being in a group of peers and learning to listen and take instruction from adults other than Mom and Dad.

I use my canning funnel almost daily! My oldest child is in school this year and he likes hot lunches, so I use it every morning to neatly fill his thermos with leftover soup, stew, pasta, etc.

My husband has been dabbling in cryptocurrencies for a few months now. He's made back and withdrawn what he originally invested, so at this point we really have nothing to lose. Neither of us have any privacy concerns.

My son is a younger teen, only 13, but he does hang out with several 14-16 year olds. The mall is probably their very favorite hangout, and I don't see out local mall enacting such restrictions anytime in the immediate future. To the best of my knowledge there has never been an issue with fights at our mall, although I know that it is a problem in the larger city an hour from here. Other things they do: going to a movie roller skating rink ice rink teen center at the library (this is probably tied with the mall in popularity) hang out at each other's houses playing video games, practicing guitar and drums, watching Netflix/movies, dyeing each other's hair, etc. skate park walking around and hanging out downtown, often with their skateboards women's basketball game (we live in a Big 10 college town where women's games are only $3 and popular with families and teens) climbing gym (ds and many of his friends have memberships) go to the pool in summer

She'll be absolutely fine. Can you articulate your concerns since she's going to be with an adult who isn't even going to let them go into stores alone? (Honestly, my 13 year old would find that suffocating!) Would you be concerned if your daughter was going to a mall with YOU? FWIW, I think that 13 year olds are fine in general at a mall without an adult! In fact, I think it is actually probably good for them to get a little taste of independence. My own 13 year old likes to occasionally meet up with friends at the mall. I make sure he has a little money for lunch, and otherwise they just walk around, drool over everything at Hot Topic, lol, pool together their quarters for the massage chair, and fawn all over the puppies at the pet store.

My kids and I probably won't be up until at least 8:00.

My mother used to enjoy reading quite a bit, but over the years pretty much stopped reading for pleasure, so in the last couple of years I've starting giving her books for Christmas. I need to get on Amazon and order her several for this year before it gets too late, but I'm plumb out of ideas. I don't think I've read anything in the last year that she would particularly enjoy. She enjoys books that are relatively easy to read and generally popular. Growing up I remember her reading a lot of Mary Higgins Clark, Nicholas Sparks, Danielle Steele, etc. Out of the books I gave her last year she enjoyed some Jojo Moyes, Jeanette Wells' "The Glass Castle," and "The Help." She found the Barbara Kingsolver that I gave her ("The Bean Trees"- my favorite!) and "The Light Between Oceans" to both be boring and unreadable- she was unable to get past the first few chapters in either. Suggestions for a few books to get her this year that she might enjoy? Thanks!

I started a new job this year and the mandatory December meeting was a Christmas party with a required gift $20 exchange- not participating wasn't really an option. I ended up buying $20 worth of scratch off lotto tickets. I received a hotdog cooker, a pack of hot dogs and buns, but once all the trading was said and done ended up with a throw blanket that looks nice with our sofa, which is good because the person who got the hotdog stuff REALLY wanted it and it would've ended up at Goodwill if I'd taken it home.

Our stockings are not huge, so size is a limiting factor. My kids' stockings usually have a paperback book for each, maybe a pair of earrings or gloves, an orange in the toe, a couple handfuls of small candies like Hershey Kisses, maybe one or two other full sized candies, new earbuds, toothbrush, often a fancy shower gel, lotion, toiletry (and probably purchased at TJ Maxx for $3-$4), beef jerky, a box of ds' favorite pencils, hair ties, batteries, etc. It does add up, and I probably end up spending $30-$50 even on a small stocking, but it's mostly stuff I would've bought for them anyhow (not junk junk), and I only have two kids so it's manageable for us.

I had one a few years ago and it wasn't bad at all. First, ask for the Miralax prep if possible. It involved mixing Miralax into Gatorade and none of the nasty stuff that I've seen others have to take. As for the actual colonoscopy it was a breeze. Didn't feel a thing, didn't feel the least bit, um how to put this, sore or violated afterwards, LOL. Went home, took a nap, and went right back to the normal routine. My dh has had two more recently and his experience was pretty much the same except he did have some pretty foul tasting drink with one and the Miralax prep with the other. He agrees with me to request the Miralax if at all possible! FWIW, the other prep didn't cause cramps or discomfort, it just didn't have the most pleasant taste. Gatorade goes down much more easily in our opinions.

How about an IOU for homemade meals? If you're babysitting twice a week you could prepare the food at your own house and have it ready for her when she picks up the kids, or if you watch them at her apartment you could always bring a casserole or a pre-prepped crockpot meal with you. As for what your other children would think, who cares? Remind them that you can choose whatever gift you'd like for your own daughter, and that if the day ever comes when they have kids of their own that they may find themselves on the receiving end of a similar gift.

The peach fuzz darkened and became noticeable around 12. It's still fine, soft hair, not a full-on, thick, adult male mustache, but it is dark enough that he started shaving it a few months ago right around his 13th birthday. Instead of a regular razor he uses one of these, and only has to do it once a week or so: https://www.amazon.com/Tinkle-Eyebrow-Razor-Pack-6/dp/B014HNOXZS/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_121_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=293AR8HQJRR227TVSYP4

We just ordered this set. It's not a particularly high end guitar and amp, but it's a reliable manufacturer and not a piece of toy junk either. Seemed like a good choice for an entry level instrument for a kid his age. He was able to try one out at a local music store too which helped: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StratPkBSB

For my 13 y/o ds: An electric guitar and an amp A pair of all-weather Vans shoes SmartWool socks Two books: Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Some funky colored hair dye (his hair is currently blue!) A strand of LED Christmas lights to go around his room A Peanuts/Snoopy skater style sweatshirt (his grandmother bought this for him) He would also really like some more flannel shirts (think 90s grunge, lol) and a Fuji instant camera, but the guitar (a want) and the all-weather shoes (a need) are so expensive that it'll have to wait for another gift-giving opportunity. Other than the guitar and shoes, the two big ticket items, everything else I'm buying is in the $10ish or less range.