Outside of the US, dryers are more often condenser type rather than vented type. They often have a water collection compartment that needs to be emptied regularly. https://www.appliancecity.co.uk/laundry/tumble-dryers/condenser-vs-vented-tumble-dryers-whats-difference/

Regarding the stories we pass down: I've seen research that telling stories of courage and overcoming in family and community history gives the younger generation a stronger sense of self and is protective of mental health. We humans, communal and narrative creatures that we are, need stories. We especially need stories that allow us to view ourselves, our families, and our communities as strong and good and capable of overcoming challenges. That doesn't mean we need to idealize our past, but it does mean there is great value in focusing on the good and on arcs involving growing and overcoming. Those are the narratives from which we draw hope for ourselves.

Yes, it's OK if it isn't 100% accurate.

Regarding practical measures that might catch some of the worst cases, I know a handful of states have enacted laws requiring social services to follow up when a family who was reported for investigation of child neglect or abuse withdraws that child from school. Of the various proposals I am aware of, that one seems most likely to have a chance at getting responsible eyes on kids who are at increased risk. Alternatively, while I find it somewhat intrusive, there may possibly be some benefit in requiring that all children be seen once a year by a medical professional--but we need to make those visits free and accessible if we're going to do that. Mobile, government-funded clinic that comes to you would work.

That kind of control can be pretty subtle and really hard for someone who doesn't live in the home full-time to see. My maternal grandfather always seemed solicitous towards my grandmother when I was around them, but I've learned of a lot of controlling behavior from him over the course of their marriage. Trying to control other people often comes from a place of anxiety, and it can manifest very discreetly. It's wrong and abusive, but it can coexist with genuine love.

People are complicatesd and are never black and white. Your grandfather had a positive impact on your life--for you, that is what matters most and rightfully so. You've learned he was likely not a saint towards all people at every point in his life. That's true for most humans. Maybe he was downright awful at times. That's not uncommon either. It doesn't negate that parts of his life and actions were good and resulted in good, and those parts still matter. I was named after my grandmother's grandmother, so I've taken a significant interest in her life. She lived a complicated life; she was divorced twice, widowed four times, had children by five of her six husbands and those kids had different experiences and perspectives on her life. So do tge local newspapers, where I've found some of the more colorful-in-a-not-good-way pieces of her life reported. There's a lot of a human mix of good and bad in her story. To my grandmother, she was a powerfully positive influence and support. Personally, I find that encouraging.

While we're talking about potential harms associated with homeschooling, we might also consider potential harms associated with school. According to this article, more than 1 in 4 middle school students reported being bullied at school in a single year. What percentage of students end up being bullied at some point in their school years? https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=719#:~:text=A comparison of student bullying,from 16 to 19 percent). There have been many studies on the effects of school bullying on mental health. It's devastating. This meta-analysis indicates that rates of depression are nearly three times as high in children who are bullied https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10061722/#:~:text=A total of 31 studies were included in this analysis,P < 0.001] (Fig., and for many people the negative mental effects impact them throughout their lives https://theconversation.com/childhood-bullying-can-cause-lifelong-psychological-damage-heres-how-to-spot-the-signs-and-move-on-100288#:~:text=Depression is another negative consequence,there may be a link.&text=One of the most severe,traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). My husband's depression started when he was severely bullied during junior high. As the awkward kid with hearing aids, impaired vision and autistic traits he might as well have had a target painted on his back. He had a supportive, loving home but that couldn't mitigate the impact of harsh treatment by his peers. I've wondered many times if the nightmare our family has suffered dealing with his mental illness could have been lessened if his young brain hadn't been profoundly impacted by school bullying trauma? While I understand the hope that having adult eyes on kids can help the few who are being beaten or starved at home, if a high percentage are being traumatized in other ways at school are we actually doing more good than harm? Do we cause ten thousand kids to suffer life-long impacts from the cruelty of their peers in the hopes of saving one endangered by their parents (because we know kids are only actually removed from homes if they are considered to be in serious danger)? I was miserable in school; it felt like a prison I couldn't escape, and I rarely had any friends. My husband was miserable in school and internalized far more of the peer negativity than I did. The idea that school is a good default for most kids and the standard for how children's lives should be spent is pretty disheartening to me. I get that for some kids it's a largely positive experience, and for some kids it's a better place than home. That's good. There absolutely must be alternatives for the kids for whom that is not true. Good alternatives. Societally sanctioned and supported alternatives.

I air dried everything for my large family for about four months this past year before I was able to replace my dryer that went out. That was annoying but wouldn't be as bad for one person. Things do take longer in a humid climate, though I've dealt with that before as well. It sounds like the dryer is mostly working, so hopefully that won't be necessary and you can save up for a new unit eventually. I would want to get the potential leak checked though.

How about we do both? Prioritize education funding. We could, for example, take 10% of federal defense spending and allocate it to education--which would double federal spending on education. We as a nation and as states and as communities are not incapable of prioritizing education for all children. Most of my kids have been enrolled in public schools at some point. The schools were a resounding failure for each of them. I stand firmly in favor of multiple educational options for all students and all families, not merely those who have the means to self-fund alternatives to standard district schools.

https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/dd-214 Edit: here's the direct link to the request page: https://vetrecs.archives.gov/VeteranRequest/home.html This is the link where you can file a request. I'm not sure how long it might take with records that old; I was discharged in 2003 and was able to get a copy of my papers emailed the day after I filed a request this year (other requests are backlogged, but they are prioritizing discharge paper requests needed for accessing services). If your Representative doesn't respond quickly try one of your senators, they often have more staff and may have someone dedicated to military/veteran issues. My senator's office has been very helpful.

I don't see publicly funded programs as a way to stop abuse, but educational neglect is a much more widespread problem among homeschoolers and having the funds to pay for classes and tutoring etc. can absolutely help with that. Yes, an organized parent with sufficient mental and emotional bandwidth can educate a child on a shoestring budget, but many people on shoestring budgets are also living in bare survival mode mentally, emotionally and physically. I know that state from experience. Funds earmarked specifically for a child's education can make a world of difference in that all-too-common situation.

They are certainly no guarantee, but nothing ever is. The anxiety voice in our brain discourages us from trying things because of possible future failures...but never trying is of course the way to guarantee failure. In any case, the point of making friends isn't to guarantee a future romance, it's to be out forming relationships with people and living life. The doing is the goal. That said, if I ever end up single and living alone I will probably happily embrace alone time. I earned the nickname hermit from my family by the time I was 12 because I'm quite content to sit with a book or dig in the garden, and find peopling more stressful than not 😊

These are avoidable issues; the programs need to be written better. My kids are currently benefitting from my state's tax credit scholarship for kids who would qualify for an IEP in public school. We don't waive the right to an IEP; they just can't receive both simultaneously. Scholarship funds are disbursed on a monthly basis; while I haven't done a deep dive into the relevant regulations, I don't think there is anything to prevent me from putting a child back in school next month; I just wouldn't get any more scholarship disbursements going forward. I have had no trouble at all using the funds. There are some requirements for in-person tutors, but the retired teacher/former homeschool mom I found to come to my home and help tutor my younger kids twice a week just needed to submit a copy of her (now inactive) teaching license. I believe a copy of her college diploma would have worked as well. I pay her upfront and send in a receipt to get reimbursed, but now that she is registered as a provider she could invoice them directly. I have also been reimbursed with no issues for my kids online tutors, volleyball classes, gymnastics classes, music lessons. etc. as well as for purchases of curriculum, books and supplies. They will do direct orders for those as well for families who prefer that or who can't afford to pay upfront and wait for reimbursement.

The fact that many families were already taking advantage of alternative education doesn't mean the kids aren't benefited by having extra funds. My kids absolutely get a better education with public funds than I could afford without. Yes we would (and have done) homeschool anyway without the funds because school has not been a good fit for any of my crew of neurodivergent kids, but without funding I wouldn't be able to afford the tutors and classes that my kids currently have access to. Nor do I think it's a bad thing if private schools are able to increase tuition because more families can afford higher tuition. Hopefully those funds go towards better teacher salaries and better education! We're hardly in a position as a nation of over-investing in children. In general, if government programs want to help people who are struggling and people who are falling through the cracks, there needs to be acceptance that some benefits will also go to people who don't really need them, and some will go to people who take undue advantage of them. Because tightening things up rather than choosing to be relatively liberal and generous with benefits always results in missing some of the people most in need.

I've never heard of it! Could "decorating" the bride and groom's getaway car be related? That happens around here...

I skimmed through the parent handbook for this program. I judge it to be more likely to help students get a better education than not. Families have extra funds specifically dedicated to educating their children! The money can't be used for non-educational stuff, so there isn't some huge incentive for families to claim they homeschool just to get the funds. Yes, families may hire tutors who aren't super highly qualified, or spend some of the money on low-quality curriculum or kits that don't really teach much or whatever. Isn't that better than the kid not having a tutor or access to music lessons or books or whatever? There's plenty of research out there showing that when moms have money to spend, kids benefit.

What programs are giving out vouchers with zero oversight? I have never heard of such a program.

The people who actually carry the full burden of whatever government requirements are put in place are the people who were already conscientious and never needed extra oversight in the first place.

What exactly will make a difference to the kids at risk and how will it make a difference? Be aware that the more burdensome meeting a government requirement is, the more trouble some people will go to in order to avoid that requirement. If it's only a little harder--or even easier!--to fly under the radar than to jump through hoops, might as well fly under the radar. Especially if you have something to hide! We all know there are families in places with homeschool registration and other requirements who actively hide their kids and avoid registration and reporting.

I didn't keep any homeschool records prior to high school. I throw out my kids workbooks when we're done with them. I'm willing to jump through some hoops when funding is involved, but I'm not a fan of putting additional and unnecessary burdens on parents just because they are parents.

Wow @Faith-manor, that really is egregious mismanagement!

I think carrots are better than sticks for dealing with educational neglect. Give families money to pay for classes and tutors and more homeschooled kids will get a quality education. Having funds through a flexible charter school program (the kind where I get to pick how the funds are spent and then get reimbursed) or more recently a tax-credit scholarship program has made a world of difference in what opportunities I am able to afford.

Like with everything involving children (like teaching...) we want to pay too few people too little to do the job well. We do not value children.

Removing kids from school in order to more conveniently and secretly continue abusing them isn't a "homeschooling leads to abuse" issue, it's an "abuse leads to abuse" issue and an "abusers try to hide abuse" issue. If homeschooling as a concept didn't exist, these parents would likely still remove their kids from school and try to hide them. Remember that horrific situation in Austria years ago--a "father" who was keeping his daughter and the children who resulted from him raping her captive in a hidden cellar? Homeschooling was illegal in Austria when this was happening. The abuse still happened. https://news.sky.com/story/who-is-josef-fritzl-the-rapist-who-kept-his-daughter-locked-in-a-cellar-for-24-years-12878269

I love the Christmas gift wrap window covering solution! And I'm sorry about the flooding. I hope you make progress with the dryer. I hate dealing with tight spaces. I think sometimes those compact stacked units run from a regular electrical outlet rather than a 220 outlet; that means they don't draw as much power so they do usually take longer to dry things. But you definitely want to check for a clogged vent pipe.