I think we are saying similar things... especially the bolded? I believe I am a situational equality person that leans toward trying to make the big things equal. The "big things" = costly or time/energy consuming things. I would not consider giving any of these to just one child without being prepared to meet the same costs for the other. Little, day-to-day things I do not even try to serve up equally. We consider that experiences do not need to be the same, but that they have equal opportunities for pursuing their individual interests. Case in point: we declined a travel sports program because we believed that it placed undue value on one child's interests, over the other. It would have required whole weekends to travel to games, miss church, etc. The whole family schedule would have revolved around his individual interests. That was just our analysis, that it might not have fostered some character traits we were hoping would develop in him. We had prayed over that decision, and it turned out for the best for us... He continued in the less competitive soccer program, deferred his first choice, and has been thrilled to make the JV soccer team now. I remember my father decribing an unfortunate fact that he experienced as a teenager. He was the 2nd of 11, born around the Depression. He had to quit school in the 8th grade to work on the farm. His parents expected him to stay home and work, because a younger brother wanted to be a doctor... There were limited funds, and he was needed at home. Well, my father wanted to finish school, but was not allowed. He pursued his own dreams later in life. He never finished high school, but he got his GED, went to college and ended up a teacher with a Master's degree. I see that scenario as unjust. He felt like it was unjust, but not unusual. There are many points of view on this issue, so thank you for offering your responses. Food for thought...

For me, the foundational issue is to avoid showing favoritism, even from my child's point of view. This is why I wondered how others grant privileges/ responsibilities and whether you have a conversation with your children about it. Thank you for your insights, they have been very helpful.

As a parent, how important is it to you that your children are granted privileges or given higher responsibilities at the same ages from oldest to youngest. There is a poll if I did it correctly... Are you more lenient with the younger children, or not? How do you think this affects your children? To answer my own ?: I find that in what I consider the bigger things, like: increases in responsibilities/ chores, I tend to maintain a strict equality (ie: mowing the lawn, pay rate for chores). It's the smaller things that I am more lenient on, mostly because I have forgotten... Oldest reminds me that "he didn't get too..." Examples would be gifts or electronic gadgets. That's when I switch to using it as a life lesson, that everything cannot be fair... Or, if his complaint is justified, I may ask him how the situation could be made right in his eyes and we go from there. As I get older, I no longer see the point of insisting on the same things we thought were so important when raising the oldest. I like to assume this is only natural as parenting certainly is a learning curve. I sometimes feel sorry for the oldest as a guinea pig, or the youngest because he follows in oldest's footsteps, depending on the situation. The poll is to allow me to see if I am normal or just as crazy as I (and others) suspect...

I expect that I will need to return to the classroom, but the least amount of higher education, the better. I am hoping for something close to nursing so that I can benefit/ use my nursing experience and still work with people. Looking for $20/ hr wages.

Don't know anything about this... I will need to Google it.

I believe that the OTA or PTA would need to work under the direct supervision of the PT. This would most likely be in a nursing home or hospital.

Yes, that is what also caught my attention. One concern is wondering how much strenuous activity is required by the therapist. I feel like I would need to get into shape for this career, different from the shape I currently occupy :)

I am an RN wanting to transition away from direct patient care as a floor nurse in the hospital setting. I was notified that I need to move from my current niche position in 4 months, but the only openings are as a floor nurse. I cannot see myself going back to that level of stress, these 2 years have been a blessed break... Anyone have any experience/ opinions about working as a Physical Therapist Asst or Occupational Therapist Asst? I thought that maybe some of my BSN credits would save me some time/money, but that was 25 yrs ago... I don't want to invest in a master's degree or pile on debt. I am in my late 40s. I like the flexible hours that PT/OT careers might offer, as I would like to work part-time. The nearest accredited school is 1 hr away. Any advice?

Thank you for all the ideas. I have research to do and decisions to make...

Can this be done from home?

Any job would need to be part-time., maybe 16hrs per week. I actually prefer evening hours, so I can homeschool.

If you were a seasoned nurse in your late 40s, but wanted a complete career change, what would you do? This is not a mid-life crisis, by the way... my niche position is closing. I do NOT want to go back to med/surg nursing. Looking for ideas that would require no more than community college classes. We recently bought a car from a nurse gone car saleswoman. I wonder if other nurses have transitioned away, and are happy? TIA,

This is what I have and I love it.

Not a laser printer, but I have a Canon MG6220. It color/ b+w copies well, duplex prints, and was about $150. I couldn't find a laser printer for $150 or <.

As far as "piecing" things together, it is not always as hard as it seems. It can be as straightforward as gathering the history books together (spine and supplements), count the # of chapters, then divide by weeks in your school year (usually 36). Print out a grid-style planner and fill in the chapter/s she needs to read per week and voila! Or, I glance thru a book, estimate how long it should take to read and fill in the grid month by month. Then I go to math, look at # of lessons, divide by 36, and so on... HTH,

Thank you for your help.

Can the course be done successfully by using the instructional videos only? I'm looking for a beginning computer science course for a 6th grader. Any other recommendations?

I'm looking for your personal recommendations for hotels in or around Lexington, KY. Namely, where have you stayed with good service, clean rooms, and no BUGS? Looking for $100 or less/ night rates. Online reviews are all over the place for this city.... Any help?

BS in Nursing

Thank you, the Rockport shoes look like the very thing I'm after... I will comply with rule, but he has to have comfortable shoes for 8 hrs of school.

Ds will be attending a private HS next year with a dress code (yikes!). He needs to wear shoes everyday. What stores would you recommend for comfortable dress shoes, or even sneakers that look like dress shoes. He would often be wearing khaki pants, button up shirts. If needed, his shoe size is men's 8 1/2- 9.

you actually enjoy the restaurant music because they're playing your high school music as oldies!

My 13 yo ds just bought the 16gb Ipad mini after saving up for it. He is using it as a game device mostly, so did not need all the extras.

You know you are getting old when... you read about your childhood routines or news in your children's history texts...

They start using that tiny font in ALL the best books...