text:
God, the Oscars, and Football

I am a big fan of the Academy Awards—the glitz, the glam, the speeches, the inevitable gaffes. I love it all. Last night was no exception: Lada Gaga sang The Sound of Music, John Travolta relived his “Adele Dazeem” moment, and we got to see Neil Patrick Harris in his underwear.

Also in the spotlight was how people choose to accept their awards: some spoke out for gender or racial equality. Some talked about the importance of family and supporting each other. Some—although not as many as you might imagine—choose to thank God. The biggest winner to do so was Common, who won the Oscar for best original song. The cynical part of me wonders, though, “What about all those other songs, also deserving of recognition? Do they have God to thank for their failure?”

The other place we most often see public thanks being given to God is in sports: the batter who crosses himself after sliding into second, the receiver who kneels in the end zone for prayer. The implication is that God intervenes in athletic events—which is something I find a little absurd, but obviously others disagree. A poll taken by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 26% of Americans believed God plays a role in determining which team will win a sporting event.

Does that mean that the winners (be they athletes or musicians) were somehow more faithful? That the losers just didn’t believe enough? Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, gave an interview where he said, “I don’t think God cares about football. He cares about the people involved, but I don’t think he’s a big football fan.”

I think that Rodgers does a good job of finding the middle ground. God does care—God cares about people. But Rodgers (who I should note, was coming off an incredibly heart-breaking loss) is unwilling to equate winning or achievements with God’s blessing. Winning is not a sign of God’s love, just as losing is not a sign of God’s contempt or lack of care. God is with us and supporting us throughout all of the ups and downs of life. Do I think that Common, or any of the actors or public figures who make statements thanking God, intended to say God was responsible for the other nominees’ failure? Absolutely not. He was merely expressing the fact that God plays an important role in his life, and he is thankful for that.

Maybe all of this is a sign that I think much too deeply about a short statement at the Academy Awards. But I do love words, and I think it’s good to remember the power that simple, short words can have.

For a slightly more irreverent look at God and football, check out this sketch from SNL: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/tebow/n13335

From Dust to Dust

When I was 16, we had a French exchange student come and live with us for two weeks. His name was Alex, and the plan was that he would do everything we typically did, to really experience American life. Well, one of the things my family typically did was go to church. Alex had never been to church in his life, but he was willing to go with my family and see what it was about.

It just so happened that Alex arrived on a Monday, and the first time we went to church together was that Wednesday—Ash Wednesday. Alex didn’t have enough command of English to really understand everything that was happening, and I certainly didn’t have enough French to explain the theology and history behind this service (if I even understood it at 16). It was an awkward experience for everyone, and Alex choose not to come to church with us on Sunday, even though we promised there would be no ashes involved.

I often think about that experience when Ash Wednesday comes up. How does someone walking into church for the very first time (or even coming to their first Ash Wednesday service) make sense of what is going on? Does the service make sense—at least to those who speak English?

Ash Wednesday is a very visible day for Christians, including those who may not always wear their faith on their sleeves (or foreheads). The ashes are signs of our mortality, of our penitence, and of our utter dependence on God. But they are also signs of our baptisms, made over the very cross that marked our foreheads at that moment—invisible now, but always with us. The ashes are a sign of death and of life.

I think that a lot of people who don’t go to church, or go to a church that doesn’t celebrate Ash Wednesday, are curious about this ritual that marks death and life for us. Have you ever had an experience of trying to explain Ash Wednesday to someone? A friend, or family member, or colleague? If you want to, please share in the comments section–including how the church might better help you to answer some of these questions!

On the Main Line

A couple of months ago, I was with former ELCA presiding bishop Mark Hanson, driving he and his wife to St. Paul’s, where he was preaching. He turned and said to me, “Do you know where the term Mainline Protestant comes from?”

I’m sure it ruined his story of how he learned the answer, but I was so happy to know that I replied, “Sure. The Main Line.”

The Mainline. To most people, its only definition has to do with a designation of churches—the Mainline Denominations. But to those around Philadelphia, it has a whole other meaning—the strip of towns and suburbs that run along the historic train line from Philadelphia to Lancaster—the Main Line.

As someone who grew up in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia, this was my first understanding of the term. My family never had any occasion to pass through the Main Line, so it mostly had abstract meanings to me. It represented money—particularly old money—and sense of tradition and history that you just didn’t find in Lansdale. And it’s true—the Main Line today is home to some of the entire country’s wealthiest neighborhoods. It started as the well-off of Philadelphia sought a respite from the bustle of the city and moved to build houses and towns and a less busy area.

The term Mainline Protestant comes from this strip of towns, and refers to the historic denominations that could be found there—Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, American Baptist. It comes with its own set of connotations. For a long time, these denominations were the leaders in founding colleges and universities, and valuing social involvement, and were respected voices in the national conversation. Today, to some ears, it may mean decline, old-fashioned, loss of vibrancy.

It’s interesting to me, as I start this blog and my own ministry on the Main Line, to think about both of these definitions of ‘mainline.’ Having been in Ardmore for four whole months now, I think that part of our challenge—as an individual church, and as part of a Mainline Denomination—is to decide for ourselves what being Mainline means.

Does it mean valuing tradition and history to the exclusion of all else? Or might it mean loving that history and tradition, and realizing that we are called to continue writing our own history? Does it mean old-fashioned, or does it mean socially involved and aware? Does it mean decline, or does it mean finding new ways to reach out?

I may be a biased source, but in our 250th Anniversary, St. Paul’s has chosen our own definition of what being a historic Mainline church means: loving and treasuring our history, celebrating our present, and seeking where the Spirit is calling us to be the body of Christ today.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
How responsible of a dog owner are you?

relaxing with the dogSeptember is Responsible Pet Ownership Month. Sounds boring, right? But it’s important!

It’s easy to think of your furry friend as part of the family, one of the kids, (a holy terror… ), but it’s also easy to forget that they are totally dependent on you. For everything. So make the most of it and go above and beyond for Fido! Here are some of the topics of our fact sheets for pet owners that can help you keep on top of things.

Dog Licensing – As they say, it’s not just bling, it’s the law! All dogs three months or older must be licensed by January 1 of each year. If you’ve ever walked or driven your neighborhood calling out your lost dog’s name with the hope you’ll see him running toward you or visited your local animal shelter and registered your pet as missing, you know the importance of a dog license.

Dog Bite Prevention –  Nothing goes better together than kids and dogs but unfortunately, kids are also more likely to get bitten. Often it’s just a matter of not understanding how to interact safely with a dog, especially one that isn’t yours.
We have to be able to read body language and understand nuances that tell us what the dog might be thinking.

Preventive Care – Think your dog only needs to go to the vet when something is wrong? Think again. Prevent it from happening in the first place by scheduling regular annual appointments. Regular check ups can prevent bigger problems later which could be much more expensive.

Dental Health – Dog breath? It could be the sign of something more serious. Periodontal disease in our pets is the most common health problem that veterinarians see, yet many pet owners are still in the dark about preventing it or treating it. Don’t think that because your pet isn’t showing signs of oral discomfort that everything is fine. Untreated oral disease can be dangerous to your pet’s health and much more expensive to correct down the road than paying for preventive measures now.

Canine Influenza – Like many viruses, canine influenza is spread through respiratory secretions and contaminated surfaces of everything from food and water bowls to leashes to toys. What’s more, it can stay alive up to 48 hours on surfaces, 24 hours on clothing, and up to 12 hours on hands. If a dog comes in contact with the virus, it can be 2-4 days before it exhibits signs of feeling ill, and the dog is also most contagious during this time.

And there are many more, so check out our fact sheets for yourself and see how else you can keep your dogs happy and healthy.

Now, go ahead. Put your feet up and do a little relaxing with Rover.

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-149-109-157.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-05
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for January 2018
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
Skip to main content

Luis A. Leyva

Assistant Professor, Mathematics Education, Dept. of Teaching & Learning

Leyva’s research rests at the intersections of mathematics education, gender studies, and higher education. It is motivated by issues of underrepresentation and social oppression in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) that have largely been explored in terms of sex or race exclusively. His research uses intersectionality, a theoretical perspective and methodology from Black feminist thought that attends to forms of oppression and privilege that marginalized individuals uniquely experience at different intersections of their social identities. More specifically, Leyva’s scholarship foregrounds the voices and lived experiences of marginalized undergraduate students to understand their strategies in navigating mathematics as a socially exclusionary space as well as developing positive academic identities at intersections of their gender, race, sexuality, and other identities.

Leyva examines marginalized students’ STEM educational experiences in two ways. First, he uses narrative analysis to explore how students make meaning of their experiences in building identities shaped by discourses of academic (or mathematical) ability and STEM higher education. Second, conceptualizing identity as developed across time and place, he adopts ethnographic methods to detail institutional and interpersonal influences in undergraduate mathematics classrooms and support programs that shape students’ identities and STEM educational experiences. Such analyses aim to catalyze change in STEM as a white, heteronormatively gendered space and thus broaden opportunities to meet the unique academic and social needs of various marginalized student populations.

Current Projects

Challenging, Operationalizing, and Understanding Racialized and Gendered Events (COURAGE) in Undergraduate Mathematics. Funded by the National Science Foundation. Lead Principal Investigator (Collaborative research with Rutgers University)

In the United States, historically marginalized groups, including women, African Americans, and Latin@s, are vastly underrepresented in the STEM workforce. There is little research on the relationship between undergraduate mathematics instruction and the retention and achievement of historically underrepresented groups in STEM. This three-year project addresses this needed area of research by using a mixed-methods design to begin finding answers to the following questions: What specific patterns of peer and instructor interactions contribute to or reinforce a culture of mathematics learning shaped by messages of innate ability and values of individual competition? Why does this quality of instruction have a larger negative impact on women and students of color? What, specifically, makes this instruction inadequate in meeting the academic and social needs of underrepresented groups in mathematics? Do instructors recognize these actions as contributing to this underrepresentation in mathematics?

To answer these questions, the project uses observational study and stimulus-recall interviews to identify specific events in pre-calculus and calculus classrooms that women and students of color find potentially marginalizing, and investigate the perceptions of these events from the vantage points of undergraduate mathematics instructors as well as students who are adequately represented and underrepresented in STEM. This is followed by quantitative studies using focus group interviews and surveys to assess the generalizability of these findings with a national sample of undergraduate students and mathematics course instructors. Finally, professional development materials are designed and then piloted with instructors that intend to create more equitable learning environments in undergraduate mathematics classrooms. The goal of this project is to contribute to creating more equitable mathematics learning environments at the undergraduate level and increasing the number of STEM majors to meet the demands of the national workforce. A critical outcome of this work will be a collection of materials including a synthesis of typical events in undergraduate mathematics classrooms that marginalize students, various students' documented perceptions of classroom events, and recommended instructional practices for more equitably responding to their occurrences that can be shared widely to the benefit of the broader STEM education community.

Completed Projects

A Situated, Intersectional Analysis of Racialized and Gendered Mathematics Experiences among Successful Latin@s in Mathematics-Intensive Majors. Writing funded by the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation. Principal Investigator.

This one-year phenomenological study used intersectionality theory to examine Latin@ women’s and Latin@ men’s mathematics success as engineering students at a large, predominantly white four-year university. Drawing on my prior findings of college mathematics as a socially exclusionary experience, the study detailed five Latin@ engineering students’ strategies in negotiating their academic success with their racial, gender, and other social identities across different spaces including mathematics classrooms, home, peer networks, and the university. This study consisted of semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and monthly observations in college mathematics classrooms. A three-tiered analytical framework was used to look across the institutional, interpersonal, and ideological influences on the Latin@ college engineering students’ mathematics success. Findings from this study not only addressed the research gap on qualitatively exploring Latin@s’ success in postsecondary STEM education, but also informed ways in which institutions can better support Latin@ engineering students in navigating academic spaces including college mathematics.

Multidimensional Mathematical Learners: Examining Race/Gender Positionalities in Mathematics. Principal Investigator.

Intersectionality remains to be adopted with a conceptualization of gender as socially constructed in mathematics education research to capture the dynamic interplay of race, gender, and other social identities that shapes the variation in marginalized student groups’ mathematics achievement and participation. Addressing the need for such intersectional analyses, this project examined the construction of mathematics identities among 18 students underrepresented and adequately represented in STEM during their first year of pursuing mathematics-intensive majors at a large, predominantly White university. Using mathematics autobiographies, interviews, focus groups, and a survey, the project analyzed institutional, interpersonal, and ideological influences on the students’ positionalities (defined as socially-influenced participation and self-perceptions) in mathematics to address the following questions: What are the dominant discourses of mathematical ability and STEM higher education raised in the first-year college students’ reflections on their mathematics experiences? To what extent did they encounter these discourses in classrooms and other institutional structures as well as interpersonal relationships during high school and in college? What strategies did they employ in making meaning of their experiences and navigating these discourses at intersections of their gender, race, and other identities? This project aims to provide more nuanced insights into the socially exclusionary culture of mathematics and its influence on the K-16 classroom experience as well as marginalized students’ strategies in negotiating discourses to co-construct positive mathematics and social identities. Findings are intended to inform more equitable educational practices in K-16 mathematics and future development of STEM support programs responsive to marginalized students’ academic and social needs.

Brief Biography

Leyva received a B.A. in mathematics and Ed.M. in mathematics education from Rutgers University. He became certified as a K-12 mathematics teacher in New Jersey and was recognized as a recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Student Teacher of Year Award by the New Jersey Department of Education. In addition to his teacher training, Leyva holds over six years of professional experience in higher education initiatives funded by the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Education, including living-learning communities and summer bridge programs, designed to increase STEM retention and success among students underrepresented in terms of gender and race. He received a Ph.D. degree in mathematics education with a graduate certification in women’s and gender studies from Rutgers University. Leyva was distinguished as a 2015 Dissertation Fellow by the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation as well as received the 2016 Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student Award from Rutgers University.

Representative Publications

(Please e-mail me directly for copies of publications.)

Refereed Articles

Leyva, L. A. (2017). Unpacking the male superiority myth and masculinization of mathematics at the intersections: A review of research on gender in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 48(4), 397-452.

Leyva, L. A. (2016). An intersectional analysis of Latin@ college women’s counter-stories in mathematics. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 9(2), 81-121.

Battey, D., & Leyva, L. A. (2016). A framework for understanding whiteness in mathematics education. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 9(2), 49-80.

Battey, D., Neal, R., Leyva, L. A., & Adams-Wiggins, K. (2016). The interconnectedness of relational and content dimensions of quality instruction: Supportive teacher-student relationships in urban elementary mathematics classrooms. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 46, 1-19.

Refereed Conference Proceedings

Leyva, L. A. (in press). The counter-storytelling of Latinx men’s co-constructions of masculinities and undergraduate mathematical success. To appear in Proceedings of the 20th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, San Diego, CA.

Adiredja, A. P., Leyva, L. A., & Mendoza, J. (in press). Impacts of peer mentorship in a calculus workshop on the mentors’ identities and academic experiences in undergraduate STEM. To appear in Proceedings of the 20th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, San Diego, CA.

Walshaw, M., Chronaki, A., Leyva, L. A., Stinson, D., Nolan, K., & Mendick, H. (2017). Beyond the box: Rethinking gender in mathematics education. In A. Chronaki (Ed.), Mathematics education and life at times of crisis: Proceedings of the Ninth International Mathematics Education and Society Conference (pp. 184-188). Volos, Greece.

Battey, D., & Leyva, L. A. (2016). Making the implicit explicit: A call for exploring implicit racial attitudes in mathematics education. In M. B. Wood, E. E. Turner, M. Civil, & J. A. Eli (Eds)., Proceedings of the 38thAnnual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 664-667), Tucson, AZ.

Leyva, L. A., Massa, J., & Battey, D. (2016). Queering engineering: A critical analysis of the gendered technical/social dualism in engineering and engineering education. In Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education’s 123rd Annual Conference and Exposition, New Orleans, LA. DOI: 10.18260/p.26026.

Leyva, L. A. (2016). A critical look at undergraduate mathematics classrooms: Detailing racialized and gendered experiences for Latin@ college engineers. In T. Fukawa-Connelly, N. E. Infante, M. Wawro, & S. Brown (Eds.), Proceedings of the 19th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (pp. 1040-1046), Pittsburgh, PA.

Media Coverage of Research

Is our children learning? – Science for the People Podcast (Episode 422)

How does race affect a student’s math education? – The Atlantic Monthly

An intersectional analysis of Latin@ college women’s counter-stories in mathematics – Math Ed Podcast: Conversations with Math Ed Researchers (Episode 1701)

Courses Taught

  • MTED 3250: Teaching Mathematics in Elementary Schools (Undergraduate F2016, SPR2017)
  • EDUC 6040: Analysis of Teaching (Graduate F2016)
  • EDUC 8040: Diversity & Equity in Education (Graduate F2017)
  • EDUC 9700: Research Groups: Identities across Educational Contexts (Graduate F2016, SPR2017)
  • WGS (Women’s & Gender Studies) 3850: Intersectionality in STEM Higher Education (Undergraduate F2016)


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Caught on the wire

Posted: April 14, 2011 in Law & Disorder

IlieSeven wanna-be illegal immigrants have been prevented from entering the country after UK Border Agency officers found them hiding inside a lorry bound for Rhondda.

The men, four from Iran, two from Afghanistan and one from Iraq, were discovered at 14-00hrs on 31 March, by agency staff working in Calais, northern France.

Benji, a three-year-old body detector dog, sniffed out the presence of people on board and officers searched the Romanian-registered lorry, finding the stowaways hiding among its load of wire coil.

The seven were handed over to the French border police and the vehicle was allowed to continue on its journey to Clydach Vale.

Talking about unlucky sevens

Seven illegal workers have been caught by the UK Border Agency after raids on a care home, shop and restaurant in Torbay, Devon.

After a tip off UKBA officers targeted Renaissance Care Home and Oriental Touch, both on St Marychurch Road, Torquay, and 99p Store, Victoria Street, Paignton, on Thursday, 7 April.

At Renaissance Care Home, three workers from the Philippines were found to be working illegally. A man and a woman had stayed in the UK after their visas expired, while another woman was working in breach of the conditions of her student visa.

At Oriental Touch, a Chinese woman was working in breach of her student visa.

When officers visited 99p Store, they found three men – two from Pakistan and one from India – working in breach of their student visas.

Note: foreign students in the UK are only allowed to take up part-time employment during term time. Keep your eyes peeled.

All seven illegal workers were arrested and taken to Torquay police station.

The men from India and Pakistan have since been transferred to immigration detention pending their removal from the UK.

The other four people have been released on immigration bail while arrangements are made to deport them. That depends whether UKBA can find them again or be bothered too.

IlieDowning Street David say that mass immigration has led to “discomfort and disjointedness” in neighbourhoods because some migrants have been unwilling to integrate or learn English.

No mention of immigrants taking nearly 2 million of our jobs since 1997, nor that parents are having to take their children to schools in different areas at the same time because migrant children are taking school places, nor the 600 or so foreigners arrested every day for crimes, nor taking our homes, nor claiming benefits for children still in their home country, nor overcrowding our medical services, need I go on?

The King’s wearing no clothes!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
What Comes First, the Concept or the Word?

Words stand for concepts. Typically, nouns stand for entities or things; adjectives for attributes or properties; numerals (of course) for numbers (ordinal or cardinal), verbs for motions, actions or states, prepositions for relationships.

Often, a noun also stands for an attribute, but then it is typically formed from an adjective – e.g., “length” from “long”, “breadth” from “broad”, “happiness” from “happy”, etc.

Pronouns are replacement words, replacing either a noun or an adjective. For example, if I say “he”, it stands for the person I am talking about, etc.

Some verbs are auxiliary – like “do” in “do you agree?” or “I do not think so”, or “have” in “what have you done?” or “what has happened?”. In this case, the verb has only a grammatical function.[1]

Adverbs, I would say, stand for modifications, qualifications or specifications – for example, the word “typically” above, which modifies the thoughts I was expressing. Or the difference between “I stand” and “I stand here”, “It happens” and “It happens now”, which specifies the standing and the happening. (There may be some better way to describe adverbs, but this is the best I can think of for the moment.)

And many adverbs are formed from adjectives, like “typically” and “happily”, etc.[2]

Conjunctions are concepts of relationships among thoughts (here, I merely quote Ayn Rand’s definition).

What about interjections, such as “ouch” or “hooray”? What do they stand for? My best guess is that they stand for some kind of evaluation. We say “ouch” to something we don’t like, and “hooray” to something we like quite a lot.

Of course, this was an extremely rudimentary grammar lesson.

In what order does a child form those concepts?

I think it is obvious that concepts of entities (represented by nouns) come first; then probably concepts of attributes (represented by adjectives) and concepts of motions or states (represented by verbs). Certainly, they come before pronouns. A young child beginning to speak does not refer to him- or herself as “I”, it uses its name. “I”, meaning “the person speaking”, and “you”, meaning “the person spoken to” are really a fairly high level of abstraction. Yet, it does not take long for a child to progress from using its name to saying “I”.

Now to the question in the blog post title.

Ayn Rand’s idea (if I have understood it correctly) is that a child perceives two of more concretes (two or more tables, two or more dogs or whatever), notices that they are similar and that they are different from other concretes, and then forms the concept “table, “dog” or whatever. But in order to retain the concept, the child has to choose a word to denote the concept. Thus, the child forms the concept and then, to complete the process, makes up a word for the concept.

But does it make up the word?

Then how come that a child born into an English speaking environment invariably choose the words “table” and “dog” for those concepts, while I, who was born In Sweden, chooses the words “bord” and “hund”, and a French child chooses “chien” for “dog”? (The French word for “table” is the same, although pronounced differently.) A German child says “Hund” for “dog”, and “Tafel” for “table”.

Now, I must have misrepresented Ayn Rand when saying the child “makes up” the words, because it clearly does not. It uses the words already existing in its own language.

But then one may still ask the question whether the concept actually comes before the word or after. Does the child form a concept “table” (for example) and then asks its parents “What is this called?”? Or does it hear the word “table” uttered by some parent or grown-up and then figure out what it stands for?

Well, both those possibilities are possible.

A child learns his first language partly by imitation. But it is not passive imitation. If it were, the child would be a parrot, not a human.

Now I will quote Ayn Rand:

Even though a child does not have to perform the feat of genius performed by some mind or minds in the pre-historical infancy of the human race: the invention of language – every child has to perform independently the feat of grasping the nature of language, the process of symbolizing concepts by means of words.

This is true for both the possibilities mentioned above.

Why do I bother to think about this?

Well, I do not remember the period in my childhood when I learned to speak (I do not think anyone remembers that far back). Thus, I do not remember forming any concepts or choosing words to symbolize them. I did not think I formed any concepts on my own; I thought I was merely taking over (in some second-hand fashion) concepts that had already been formed by others. And I did not think other people are much different from me in this regard. So I drew the conclusion that children do not actually form concepts; they are merely taking over concepts already formed. They do, however, have to grasp those concepts independently. And this grasping of concepts has to be done by the same process as originally forming them.

But I think the Ayn Rand quote above nails the issue.

And somebody must have been the first man (or woman) to form the first concept and give it a name. Somebody must have been the first to put a simple sentence together. Somebody must have been the first to add a subordinate clause to a sentence.

But how this came about, we can only speculate. It is peering into the pre-historical past.

$ $ $

Another observation is how extremely fast a toddler learns his first language. I have blogged about this too, but in Swedish.

[1]) There are other words that have only a grammatical function. One example is “to” in “to be”, “to talk”, “to run”, etc. It is an “infinitive marker” and only tells that the next word is the infinitive form of the word. I may write about such words later on.

[2]) On adverbs, see also What did Ayn Rand Know about Adverbs?

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Father’s day gift ideas dear to a dad’s heart

What do you do when Father’s Day is just around the corner and you’re stumped for a good, original gift idea?   Here at Pet Barrier, we have a couple suggestions that give protection to three things that are dear to a dad’s heart – his kids, his dogs, and his car.

Did you know that the AAA has calculated that the average American driver spends around seven 40-hour working weeks behind the wheel of a car in a year? This means that passengers including our children and our dogs are spending more time in our vehicles than we may realize, so giving extra thought to making vehicles as comfortable as possible is a priority.

You may already have the best car seat for your child’s age, height, and weight, but there is one addition that you may not have thought about – a Travall® Guard. During a collision items that are unsecured in the trunk can be flung around the vehicle, putting passengers at risk of injury.  This can occur during the smallest fender bender or even when braking hard.  To shield vulnerable infants and young kids from these items, savvy parents are installing vehicle-specific barriers to keep kids protected and maximize valuable trunk space at the same time. Pet parents enjoy the ability to drive with fewer distractions while their favorite pooch is securely positioned to the rear of the vehicle.

Dogs in back of Jeep

Travall has been manufacturing the Travall® Guard for nearly thirty years.  Its use has grown rapidly by Europeans who understand and embrace the benefits of using vehicle-specific barriers in their vehicles.   Thankfully, the Travall® Guard is now available in America, so that we can provide that same level of protection for our most precious cargo.

The barrier offers a snug, precision fit, that can be installed without medication to your vehicle.  Installation takes an average of 30 minutes and unlike traditional, permanently installed cargo barriers, the Travall® Guard can be removed in minutes for use at another time. To give you further peace of mind and confidence in your purchase, the Travall® Guard comes with a limited lifetime warranty. It’s the one essential piece of gear that children and dogs won’t outgrow.

Want an additional suggestion? Consider vehicle-specific rubber car mats to give full-coverage protection against dropped sippy cups and other spills.  We hear Travall has an excellent range…

Visit https://www.travall.com to discover the Travall products available for Dad’s vehicle and make his day.

Happy Father’s Day!

Key signs to be aware of to avoid being bitten by a dog

Inspector Clouseau: Does your dog bite?

Hotel clerk: No

Inspector Clouseau: [bending down to pet dog] Nice doggie

[Dog bites Clouseau on the hand]

Inspector Clouseau: I thought you said your dog did not bite!

Hotel clerk: That is not my dog

Inspector Clouseau dog bite sketch
The dog bite sketch from The Pink Panther Strikes Again

The above quote and image are taken from “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” (1976) and it is one of the funniest skits that Peter Sellars played in his role of Inspector Clouseau.  In real life, dog bites are no laughing matter.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are approximately 4.5 million dog bites occurring in the United States every year.  Regrettably, in 2016 there were 41 dog bite-related fatalities in the US. Even dog lovers who have grown up with dogs and are used to being around dogs are not immune to being bitten.  So what can you do to protect yourself?

Signs that a dog is about to bite

Just as with people, you can tell a lot about a dog’s mood by the body language he is using.  Dogs can bite in 1/40th of a second, so knowing what to be aware of in the lead up to that can be helpful. There are 9 key signs to look for that can indicate when a dog may be about to bite.  Some of them are subtle and may easily be confused with other moods.

Low growling

A dog may growl for a whole range of reasons, and not all of these are a sign of bad things to come.  If you start to hear a quiet, low growling sound, this can indicate that it is time to be concerned that the dog is going to be aggressive. If he is also snapping at the same time you need to take action.

Showing front teeth

When a dog bares his teeth, this may be for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes it is because he is being submissive, but other times it is because he is being aggressive.  An aggressive “smile” is often accompanied by other behaviors as given below, so look out for a combination of all of these things.

dog showing teeth

Rigid body

If the dog’s body suddenly stiffens and the tail raises slightly, you are being given a warning sign.

Direct eye contact and whales eyes

Whale eyes

The above image shows a dog whaling his eyes.  If a dog is showing more of the whites of his eyes than usual by turning his head away but is still staring at the thing that he feels is threatening him, it is a clear signal that the dog is uncomfortable.

Shaking and drooling

A dog may start shaking from the adrenaline rush from the stressful situation.  The stress can also cause a dog to drool more than usual.

Wagging tail

Commonly thought of as a sign of happiness, this is not always the case. If the dog’s tail is raised higher than the normal wagging position and his body is perfectly still, you know there is a potential for a problem.

Canine body language

Licks lips, turns away, and averts gaze

Dogs will tend to lick their lips when they are nervous. A combination of all three of the above movements can indicate trouble ahead.

Raised fur

The hairs on the back of the dog suddenly become raised erect and the dog may even smell differently as odors from glands are released.

Dog with hackles raised and other signs

Whiskers twitch

Due to tension in the body and the face, a dog’s whiskers will begin to twitch.

If you observe any of the above 9 behaviors in a dog, remain motionless, do not run or scream, and avoid direct eye contact with the dog. Especially if you are encountering a large dog, it is easy to get knocked over by the dog. If you are knocked over, it is best to roll yourself into a ball covering your ears and neck with your hands and arms.  Continue to avoid making eye contact with the dog.

How to prevent yourself from being bitten by a dog

Once you recognize the signs that a dog is about to bite, what can you do to prevent provoking this behavior in the first place?  One initial suggestion is not to approach a dog that is unfamiliar to you. Secondly, you should not run away from a dog, or appear to be panicked.  If you are approached by an unfamiliar dog, do not move, run, or scream, and make sure you don’t make direct eye contact.  Thirdly, you should never disturb a dog if she is eating, sleeping, or when caring for puppies.  Fourthly, don’t pet a dog before she has had a chance to sniff and smell you.  Following this, you should never pat her on the head, instead just scratch her under the chin. Finally, it is never advisable to engage in rough, aggressive play with a dog.

Steps to take to prevent your dog biting others

We’ve considered what to do about being bitten by someone else’s dog, but how can you stop your own dog from being a threat to you and your family or to others.  Before choosing a dog for your family pet, try to do as much research as possible and ask a professional such as a vet or a dog trainer, so that you can find the breed that best meets your family’s needs.  In addition to looking at dog temperament and exercise requirements, you should also consider that certain breeds have much stronger bites than others.  Bite strength is measured in pound-force per square inch (PSI).  Examples of breeds with the strongest bite are the Kangal and the Doberman.

If you are considering adopting a rescue dog, you may not know much about the dog’s history or whether it has aggressive tendencies.  In this case, it is better to spend plenty of time with the dog before adopting him, to make sure the dog is a good fit for your home.  This is especially important if you have young children at home or if you have relatives or friends with young children regularly coming to your home.

When you decide on a dog, make sure you exercise your dog regularly to build bonds, reduce excess energy, and to keep your dog mentally stimulated.  Ensure that your puppy has proper socialization with exposure to as many different people and different situations as possible.  Train your dog so that he understands and responds to basic training commands.

It’s important to educate children on how to behave with dogs appropriately so that they are not bringing out aggression in the dog. Don’t play wrestling games or tug of war games with your dog and don’t allow children to play roughly with him either.

Finally, spaying or neutering dogs helps to reduce aggression and is highly recommended if you are not a dog breeder.

Taking the plunge with dogs and kids: Part 1

Many families like to vacation near beaches, rivers or lakes and all of these have one thing in common – water!  When there are large bodies of water present, we should always think of the safety of our children and our dogs.  This two-part series looks at how to keep dogs and kids safe so that everyone can have a fun and safe time on vacation or on weekend trips.

Part 1: Kids

Ideally, swimming is an activity that should be introduced when children are still infants.  Many pools and community programs offer instructor-led “Mommy and Me” swim sessions that allow the babies to get used to being in the water and are great for Moms and babies to bond further.

It is preferable to then progress to swimming lessons with a trained swimming instructor who can show your child the correct techniques from the beginning – it is a lot more difficult to unlearn bad habits and techniques.  This type of swimming instruction is usually available on a group or an individual basis.  Group sessions tend to be less expensive, but as there are more children involved there tends to be less actual swimming time.  If your budget won’t stretch to professional lessons, you may want to consider teaching them to swim yourself. This does not always work, as learning to swim can be a frustrating process and sometimes kids will take instruction better from a swimming instructor than from a parent. It is also problematic if you have multiple children. If you are keen to give it a go and will be working with just one child, here are some ideas to make parent-child swimming instruction successful.

Make it a regular date

In order for parent-child swimming instruction to work, kids need to swim regularly and preferably once a week.  Make a point of assigning this time in your calendar once a week and sticking to it, except when your child is sick.

Keep it short and keep it varied

Swimming is a very tiring activity and as much as we want our kids to sleep well at night, having prolonged swimming sessions when they are learning to swim can be counterproductive.  It’s far better to keep it short (15 – 20 minutes for very young and new swimmers) and to keep lesson activities varied.

Make it fun

Making the swimming lessons fun with games and other activities is crucial to keeping children engaged and in building their confidence in the water.  For very young kids, use games involving nursery rhymes and plastic toys.  As they get older, continue to use those techniques, but also introduce games such as “red light, green light,” (where children kick like crazy on green, slow down on amber, and stop on red) to help improve specific swimming techniques. As they get slightly older, drop the nursery rhymes and include the use of more games, varying the games from session to session.

Kids of all ages will learn better if there is variety in the lesson.  If they get to use kickboards, pool noodles, and other flotation devices once in a while this will be beneficial.  Using these items helps to improve stroke technique, keeps them interested, and will leave them wanting to come back for more.  Not all community pools will allow their use, so check on that before taking yours along.

Make swimming enjoyable

Building up confidence in the water is vital so that kids are not afraid of the water and want to swim. As your little swimmer progresses in ability and confidence, you may want to think about enrolling in swimming clubs where a range of swimming and social opportunities will be offered.

Set rules

Make sure that your children know how to stay safe near a swimming pool.  They must always ask for permission to go in a pool and must have adult supervision during this time.  Rules such as not running by a pool are really important to follow. Use life vests or floaties for young kids when they are not actually practicing their swimming strokes, but do not rely on the floaties for safety. For young kids and those who are not strong swimmers, life vests should be worn for activities such as river floating or when in lake water.  If swimming in the ocean, be conscious of the tide and possible currents.  Where possible try to swim in a lifeguard supervised zone.

Even when your child has become a good swimmer, it is possible to get into difficulties in the water.  Always ensure that children are supervised to minimize risk and ensure that you are all able to enjoy a fun and safe vacation.

Learning to swim is not a luxury, it is a necessity! Being able to swim is such an important skill to have.  Swimming provides fantastic exercise for able-bodied children and those with physical challenges and is an activity that can be continued throughout their lives.

Some of my happiest and most memorable times have taken place around water with my children. What experiences have you had? We’d love to hear about them.

Why we Want US Healthcare to go to the Dogs

Have you ever had to spend any time in the hospital as a patient?  If you have, it is likely that you may have experienced periods of feeling low, anxious, stressed, and frustrated as a result of your illness or injury and because of being away from family, friends, and your home. If any of this sounds like your hospital experience, you were not alone, as it is not uncommon for hospitalized patients to experience a downturn in mental wellbeing, sometimes with physiological changes too.

In order to counteract some of these multi-factor stressors that hospitalized patients experience, many hospitals have introduced a variety of therapeutic programs.  One program that you are increasingly likely to see on that list is animal-assisted therapy sometimes simply called pet therapy.

Why is animal-assisted therapy being used?

The idea of animal-assisted therapy is not new.  For many years, it was considered to be a “nice” thing for hospital patients to experience, but thanks to increasing amounts of research into the topic by clinicians, there has been proven to be a wider range of benefits.

What are the benefits of animal-assisted therapy to patients?

An article by Cole, Gawlinski, Steers, and Kotlerman1 in the American Journal of Critical Care showed that when patients had only a 12-minute visit from a pet, there was an improvement in heart and lung function and a significant lowering of blood pressure, a reduction in the release of harmful hormones, and a decrease in anxiety.  The study was conducted with hospitalized heart failure patients. It indicated that there was far more benefit shown in those patients that received a visit from a pet than in those patients who were only visited by a human volunteer or those who were left alone.

Specifically, the benefits to patients of animal-assisted therapy include:

Mental health benefits

  • Reduced depression
  • Reduced problem behaviors for patients with dementia (less agitation, less verbal aggression, and more social behavior)
  • Reduced fatigue
  • Reduced tension
  • Reduced confusion
  • Improved self-esteem and self-acceptance
  • Increased socialization
  • Reduced boredom

Physical health benefits

  • Lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure when exposed to stress
  • Reduced serum epinephrine concentrations
  • Lower pain perception
  • Endorphins (oxytocin) released giving a calming effect
  • Reduced need for medication

What are the dangers for patients?

If patients are allergic to pets, animal-assisted therapy cannot be used. Guidelines from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) indicate that only dogs should be used, not cats. Cats cannot be trained in the same way as dogs, with more likelihood of scratches and bites from cats.  Additionally, people are more likely to be allergic to cats than to dogs.

There has been a lot of research done on the benefit of having dogs in the hospital, but not much research on the spread of bacteria from having dogs in the hospital rooms. The SHEA developed new guidelines for how hospitals can approach having pets visiting with patients at the hospital. Dogs used for pet therapy purposes and their handlers need to undergo specific training and be evaluated prior to having hospital access and ideally should be certified by a pet training organization. The American Kennel Club (AKC) lists the organizations through which it accepts dogs to have received their certification and to be given the official title of AKC Therapy Dog.

A study done in a Canadian hospital tested dogs’ paws and fur prior to hospital entry and then again after visiting patients.  Of the 26 dogs studied, one picked up C Difficile on his paws during the visit and one had MRSA on his fur and on the handler’s hands following the visit.2 This highlights that although sanitizing pets is difficult, there is a definite need for thorough handwashing by anyone visiting patients prior to visiting and following the visit. When visiting with multiple patients, handwashing between visits is essential.

Hospitals have very distinct protocols in place to ensure that the transmission of infection is kept at a minimum. The animals have to be clean, vaccinated, trained, and have a good temperament before being allowed into the hospital in the first place.  In some cases, such as patients in isolation units or patients in the intensive care unit, pet therapy can only take place with extra measures in place, but in certain situations it is unsuitable.

Examples of successful animal-assisted therapy?

There are two types of patient-pet interactions: animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activity. Animal-assisted therapy is specifically directed toward patients with cancer, heart disease, or mental health concerns and needs to have a credentialed staff member involved in the process.  Animal-assisted activities have a wider scope and are typically used to provide comfort and enjoyment focusing on mental health benefits rather than trying to achieve specific physiological outcomes such as reduced blood pressure, etc. This latter form of activity is typically staffed by volunteer handlers.

Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center in New York City is an example of a hospital where canines have successfully been introduced in the Caring Canines program.

President of Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center with Caring Canines employees

There are many programs of a similar type being introduced across the nation as the full benefits are increasingly being understood.  Dogs are not only being used in surgical and treatment settings but are being used for physical therapy and rehabilitation. Tasks such as brushing a dog can make for more interesting arm strengthening exercises for patients than just doing weight training.3  Dogs can also be used to encourage walking and other rehabilitative exercises.

More and more research is being done on the subject of pet therapy to ascertain the relative merits.  Here at Pet Barrier, we think the answer is simple.  If having a therapy or activity session with a dog can at the bare minimum brighten a patient’s day during difficult times, pet therapy is absolutely worth it. It has been clinically proven that animal-assisted therapy achieves far more than that, with benefits to patients’ mental and physical health being achieved across all age groups, from children through to seniors.  Animal-assisted therapy and activity should be available at all healthcare facilities across the nation. Is US healthcare going to the dogs? We welcome it!

We’d love to hear about your experiences with pet therapy – please share if you are able.

1.       Gole, Gawlinski, Steers, Kotlerman. Animal-Assisted Therapy in Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure. Am J Crit Care. November 2007 vol. 16 no. 6 575-585

2. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/therapy-dogs-and-hospital-infections/?_r=0 Tara Parker-Pope May 11, 2009

3. Haggard, A. (1985). A patient’s best friend. American Journal of Nursing. 85(12), 1374-1376

Why Distracted Driving is Driving me to Distraction

“You can never have too many…” have been the words to start many quotes over the decades, from a variety of people ranging from authors to actors.  Most of these quotes are completed with words such as “friends,” “shoes,” or “books.” At Pet Barrier, I say, “You can never have too many reminders about distracted driving.”  Regular blog followers may remember a couple of posts on distracted driving in 2016 and you may be asking why, with all the subjects that I could be writing about, I am covering the topic of distracted driving yet again.  The answer is simple and sobering. Distracted driving is now considered to be at epidemic levels in the US.1

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), US traffic accident fatalities rose by 7.2% in 2015, which is the largest increase in the last 50 years. Early estimates by the NHTSA for the first 9 months of 2016 indicate that fatalities have increased by a further 8%.  After having experienced many years of decline in fatality rates during the early 2000s, this trend toward an increase in fatalities is worrying.

What exactly is distracted driving?

Many people consider themselves to be cautious, considerate, safe drivers and sometimes don’t realize that things that they do in addition to driving can be fatal. Causes of distractions on the road are numerous, ranging from events occurring outside the vehicle, restless pets or children or adult passengers within the vehicle, eating, drinking, shaving, applying makeup, smoking, adjusting controls on the stereo, downloading music, dealing with hand-held devices, and last but by no means least, using cell phones for phone calls and texting.

According to EndDD,there are three types of distraction:

  1. Manual distractions – your hands are taken away from the steering wheel to perform a task. An example is reaching for a soda
  2. Visual distractions – your eyes are taken off the road. They give the example of when you spill the soda and look down at your clothes to see the outcome
  3. Cognitive distractions – your mind wanders away from the task at hand. They finish the example with you thinking about how to get your clothes cleaned.

In Washington State alone, 30% of fatal road accidents in 2016 were caused by distracted driving. Taking your eye off the road for even 2 seconds can result in an accident. If you talk on a cell phone while driving, your risk of an accident quadruples.  If you text while driving, your risk of an accident is increased by eight times.  According to Alexis Myers of the Associated Press,14 states currently ban hand-held cell phone use while driving in a car. 46 states prohibit texting messaging for all drivers.  Research by AAAsuggests that even when drivers put down the phone or the navigation device, the driver is still not fully engaged with the task of driving as the driver’s mind still remains distracted. An article by Bart Jansen in USA Today indicated that millennials are the age group most likely to engage in risky practices behind the wheel.Although the millennial statistics were the highest, other age groups did not fare well either. This suggests that greater education and awareness across the entire population of driving age would be advantageous.

How can you avoid driving distractions?

There will always be incidents that arise when we are driving that are totally unexpected and cannot be planned for ahead of the journey.  But for many of the distracted driving scenarios, a little bit of planning ahead by trying to manage these distractions before setting out on the road can help to avoid some of these distractions entirely.

Turn cell phones off or switch to silent, before starting your journey

No phone call, social media update, or text message is more important than a person’s life. Don’t talk, or (even worse) text, on the phone while driving.  If you absolutely need to make a call or send a text message during your journey, pull over and make the call or send the text when your vehicle is stationary. As for selfies, nobody wants to see a selfie of you driving, they’d far rather see you in person and more importantly alive.

Take care of personal hygiene before getting in the car

This may seem like an obvious thing to say, but we’ve all seen drivers shaving on their commute, or applying mascara.  It is far better to take care of your personal hygiene before setting out on a journey.  If you can’t do that then wait until you get to your destination to apply your makeup or remove your stubble.

Secure pets correctly

Ensure that pets are securely placed to the rear of your vehicle.  Using a vehicle-specific pet barrier is an excellent choice and if you have multiple pets, having a trunk divider added to this mix can prevent them from becoming rambunctious during a journey.  Other options are to harness your pet in one of the rear seats, in a similar way to using a seat belt. There are a wide variety of products on the market to ensure your pet is positioned in the most appropriate area of the vehicle so that the driver is not suddenly surprised by a furry friend wanting a hug.  Check out what can work best for your vehicle and for your pet.

Set your GPS system before starting the journey

This also applies if your GPS system is on your cell phone. Ensure that the device is located in an area where you can see both the device and the road easily and clearly and ensure it can be operated hands free.

Eat and drink before or after your journey, not during it

Your car will remain cleaner, your clothes will be cleaner,  and more importantly you will not be distracted from the road.

Take care of your kid’s needs before starting the journey

Ensure that children are comfortable and securely buckled in a car seat that is appropriate for their current age, height, and weight.  Make sure that they have their toys, pacifiers, sippy cup or whatever else they need within their easy reach, so they are able to get to items, leaving the driver free to deal with the important task of driving.  If a toy or any other item gets dropped on the floor, leave it there until you can get to a safe place to pull over. Don’t try to reach behind your seat to return it to the child while you are driving.

The following You Tube video was put together by The Try Guysas they considered the effects of distracted driving.  They were certainly surprised by the results.

The Try Guys Try Distracted Driving

Don’t become complacent about driving.  Every trip, take the time to plan ahead and when you are driving ensure that your mind is on the road and not on the other things going on in your life.  Multitasking behind the wheel is simply asking for trouble. Retweet, share on Facebook, reblog, or do whatever you can to get the message out to friends, family, and strangers, so that everyone, no matter what age, is educated about and fully understands the risks of distracted driving.  Let’s all work to make American roads safer for 2017 and beyond.

Do you have any tips that have helped avoid distractions when you’ve been traveling with pets, kids or other passengers?  We’d love to hear about them.

Please drive mindfully every trip – every life is worth it!

  1. Darrow B. http://fortune.com/2016/09/14/distracted-driving-epidemic/ September 14, 2016
  2. http://www.enddd.org/the-facts-about-distracted-driving/
  3. Myers A. Distracted driving penalties could increase statewide in Wash. Associated          Press. Feb 12, 2017 – 10:12 AM
  4. https://www.aaafoundation.org/distracted-driving
  5. Jansen B. Millennial drivers are highway hazards, survey shows. USA Today. Feb 15, 2017.
  6. The Try Guys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2atx1Jh6YP0

Like my blog?  Why not follow Pet Barrier on Facebook and Twitter

5 Amazing (but true) Things About Dogparents

Encouraging kids to grow up to be well-rounded individuals is something that every parent or caregiver tries to achieve.  We already know that having a pet in the home makes for a memorable childhood, but we perhaps fail to appreciate the more profound effects that pet ownership has upon child development. It is typical to ask friends to become godparents and be involved in our children’s lives, but what about the role of dogparents that our pets perform, sometimes without us even realizing. Aspects such as physical and social development, to name just a couple, are enhanced if a child helps to nurture a pet at home.

Benefits of pet ownership for children

Physical development

Dog walking is a great form of exercise and an easy way to burn calories. In a world where our kids live more sedentary lives and are more prone to obesity than previous generations, going for a daily walk or run with the dog is a great habit to form. Fantastic for the child’s physical and mental health, it is a habit that can be continued into adulthood.

Social development

Encouraging a child to be respectful and caring of a pet, also transitions into his or her treatment of other people. There are obviously exceptions, but for the most part, children who have been shown how to behave with pets and have looked after a pet have a tendency to become more caring, more compassionate and more responsible adults. Emotional intelligence, interpersonal interaction, and impulse control are vital attributes to have. Acquiring and further developing these strengths can be facilitated by pet ownership. It is very important to note that simply having a pet in the home is not sufficient for these skills to be acquired. It is vital that kids are shown the best ways in which to interact with and treat other living creatures and they often learn these skills from examples set by parents or caregivers. Kids with dogs have plenty of opportunities to learn patience, kindness, sharing, and generosity; all character traits that can help them to develop closer human friendships. In providing care for an animal they also start to develop some basic parenting skills useful for later in life.

Cognitive development

Cognitive development is the way in which information processing, intelligence, reasoning, language development, and memory all develop through childhood into adulthood. As we know, not all learning takes place in a classroom. Having a pet in the family can help with all aspects of cognitive development.  Encouraging a child to read about his own dog’s breed, to be involved in puppy care and the training of the dog, and to be involved in learning how to care for the dog are all valuable ways of learning. Reading skills and confidence improve when a child reads to a pet, and some school districts are introducing READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) programs with these benefits in mind.

Emotional development

Caring for a dog allows a child to interact with a live being without being judged. This enables self-esteem to build and can help a shy kid overcome timidity.  Dogs also make superb service helpers for children living with physical or behavioral health conditions.

Interacting with dogs also releases endorphins in a child’s body, making the child happier, more relaxed, and less anxious. Additionally, as dogs have a relatively short life cycle, children learn about life and death and how to work through the bereavement and grief process.

Immune system development

In a 2015 study published in JAMA Pediatrics1, Swedish scientists analyzed the relationship between dog ownership in the first year of a child’s life and the incidence of asthma in children up to the age of six. They found that children in Sweden who have grown up with dogs in the house since birth had a 15% decreased risk of asthma by the time they attended school compared with children whose families did not have a dog. The researchers believe the findings would also be applicable to other developed countries such as the US.

How do you increase kid-dog interaction?

Get the kids involved! There are lots of little tasks involved in pet care and if your children are involved in some of them it can make them feel important and responsible.  For young children, setting up a chart with small rewards for tasks completed can be a good way to start – there are even apps for that these days! Carrying out simple age-appropriate duties like filling the dog bowl with fresh water or measuring out kibble can make children feel more grown up, trusted and helpful.

Give your dog extra praise and attention, for being a terrific dogparent, helping you in your quest to raise your kid to be a balanced, content adult.

Why not share how having a pet has enhanced your child’s development?

  1. Fall T, Lundholm C, Örtqvist AK, et al. Early exposure to dogs and farm animals and the risk of childhood asthma. JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169:e153219. doi:1001/jamapediatrics. 2015.3219. Epub 2015 Nov.


text:
Czaplinek Hotel Accommodation

Search 1 hotels in Czaplinek™ Rewards

Collect 10 nights, get 1 reward night

And look out for Secret Prices on selected hotels

  • Pay now or later on most rooms
  • Free cancellation on most rooms
  • Price Guarantee

Where to stay in Czaplinek

Let Australia provide the information you need to find the best hotel and accommodation deals in Czaplinek. You can easily book your online room reservations in Czaplinek today. All you have to do is:
  • Compare various Czaplinek hotels by star rating, amenities, theme or brands.
  • Review Czaplinek hotel room rates, hotel details, user reviews and photos.
  • Securely book your hotel room online today!
  • Receive text and email confirmation for your online booking and hotel reservation details.


text:
Cisów Hotel Accommodation

Search 2 hotels in Cisów

Get Secret Prices on selected hotels

These prices aren’t available to everyone.

  • Pay now or later on most rooms
  • Free cancellation on most rooms
  • Price Guarantee

Where to stay in Cisów

Let Australia provide the information you need to find the best hotel and accommodation deals in Cisów. You can easily book your online room reservations in Cisów today. All you have to do is:
  • Compare various Cisów hotels by star rating, amenities, theme or brands.
  • Review Cisów hotel room rates, hotel details, user reviews and photos.
  • Securely book your hotel room online today!
  • Receive text and email confirmation for your online booking and hotel reservation details.


text:
Komen Hotel Accommodation

Search 23 hotels in Komen

Hotels.com™ Rewards

Collect 10 nights, get 1 reward night

And look out for Secret Prices on selected hotels

  • Pay now or later on most rooms
  • Free cancellation on most rooms
  • Price Guarantee

Where to stay in Komen

Let Hotels.com Australia provide the information you need to find the best hotel and accommodation deals in Komen. You can easily book your online room reservations in Komen today. All you have to do is:
  • Compare various Komen hotels by star rating, amenities, theme or brands.
  • Review Komen hotel room rates, hotel details, user reviews and photos.
  • Securely book your hotel room online today!
  • Receive text and email confirmation for your online booking and hotel reservation details.


text:
GE wants to put a screen in your kitchen, so family and friends can gather 'round the oven

Where do your family and friends gather at the end of a long day? If you said “the oven, obvs,” then great news, GE’s got the device for you. The Kitchen Hub is basically a 27-inch screen designed to sit on the wall above the oven. Users can interact with gestures and voice — because it’s high up and presumably you’ll have food stuffs on your hand while cooking.


text:
Posted by: Dorianne Cotter-Lockard | 4 September 2007

Well, research is a major part of getting a PhD (I was just looking forward to learning and having great coffee-house discussions with fellow students….).  I’ve already been asked, as part of my self-directed Learning Plan, to define my research questions and topics of interest.  Then, I have to map these questions to the required Knowledge Areas in the HOD program as they will become the subject matter of my reading and writing assignments.

I know this much about research – I need to determine if:

  • The question is worthy of exploration
  • The current research and theories around the question are inadequate and therefore deserve more exploration
  • I have a passion for the topic and related questions

So help me out on the first two points here.  I’ve posted a page on this blog (with much difficulty in formatting the page) my research topics and questions of interest.  I welcome your feedback.

  1. Dorianne,

    Thank you for bringing me into the 21st century world of blogging. I am so impressed with your patience and abilitiy to craft such a neat (clearly, a word that signifies the writer is a baby boomer) conversation.
    Also, I am thrilled that I can “feed” my love of words. I have already expanded my vocabulary with hermaneutic.

  2. Chris (DR. Chris, that is….),

    Thanks for your comment – since you’ve been through this whole process, I expect you’ll have many words of wisdom for me along the way. I agree that passion should come first – I’m passionate about all the topics I’ve listed here. However, I’m not sure of the level of my passion toward each one. I believe I’ll discover that as I learn more about the research already completed or in process for each.

  3. Hi Dorianne, and thanks for inviting me on your blog.
    I’ll state the obvious to give you some feedback on your post: 1) reverse the order of your inquiry, i.e.: the passion about the subject must come first, because if it doesn’t you won’t stand a chance when slogging through the grunt work that is bound to show up. 2) combine the first two points into one, and simplify: What still needs to be done on this topic?
    Good luck (even though we know there’s no such thing[as luck, that is])
    Chris (that’s DR. Chris to you…)

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Moderate undersea quake jolts C. Indonesia

JAKARTA-- An undersea quake of 5.8 magnitude rocked North Sulawesi province in central Indonesia on Monday, the meteorology and geophysics agency said.

The quake jolted at 17:38 p.m. Jakarta time (1038 GMT) with an epicenter at 188 km northeast of Talaud island and the depth of 71 km under the seabed, an official of the agency told Xinhua.

Indonesia is prone to quake as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone of "the Pacific Ring of Fire."

Source: Philippines News Agency


text:
Skip to main content
Physics LibreTexts

22.1: Evolution from the Main Sequence to Red Giants

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Explain the zero-age main sequence
  • Describe what happens to main-sequence stars of various masses as they exhaust their hydrogen supply

One of the best ways to get a “snapshot” of a group of stars is by plotting their properties on an H–R diagram. We have already used the H–R diagram to follow the evolution of protostars up to the time they reach the main sequence. Now we’ll see what happens next.

Once a star has reached the main-sequence stage of its life, it derives its energy almost entirely from the conversion of hydrogen to helium via the process of nuclear fusion in its core (see The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse). Since hydrogen is the most abundant element in stars, this process can maintain the star’s equilibrium for a long time. Thus, all stars remain on the main sequence for most of their lives. Some astronomers like to call the main-sequence phase the star’s “prolonged adolescence” or “adulthood” (continuing our analogy to the stages in a human life).

The left-hand edge of the main-sequence band in the H–R diagram is called the zero-age main sequence (see [link]). We use the term zero-age to mark the time when a star stops contracting, settles onto the main sequence, and begins to fuse hydrogen in its core. The zero-age main sequence is a continuous line in the H–R diagram that shows where stars of different masses but similar chemical composition can be found when they begin to fuse hydrogen.

Since only 0.7% of the hydrogen used in fusion reactions is converted into energy, fusion does not change the total mass of the star appreciably during this long period. It does, however, change the chemical composition in its central regions where nuclear reactions occur: hydrogen is gradually depleted, and helium accumulates. This change of composition changes the luminosity, temperature, size, and interior structure of the star. When a star’s luminosity and temperature begin to change, the point that represents the star on the H–R diagram moves away from the zero-age main sequence.

Calculations show that the temperature and density in the inner region slowly increase as helium accumulates in the center of a star. As the temperature gets hotter, each proton acquires more energy of motion on average; this means it is more likely to interact with other protons, and as a result, the rate of fusion also increases. For the proton-proton cycle described in The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse, the rate of fusion goes up roughly as the temperature to the fourth power.

If the rate of fusion goes up, the rate at which energy is being generated also increases, and the luminosity of the star gradually rises. Initially, however, these changes are small, and stars remain within the main-sequence band on the H–R diagram for most of their lifetimes.

Star Temperature and Rate of FusionIf a star’s temperature were to double, by what factor would its rate of fusion increase?

SolutionSince the rate of fusion (like temperature) goes up to the fourth power, it would increase by a factor of 24, or 16 times.

Check Your LearningIf the rate of fusion of a star increased 256 times, by what factor would the temperature increase?

The temperature would increase by a factor of 2560.25 (that is, the 4th root of 256), or 4 times.

Lifetimes on the Main Sequence

How many years a star remains in the main-sequence band depends on its mass. You might think that a more massive star, having more fuel, would last longer, but it’s not that simple. The lifetime of a star in a particular stage of evolution depends on how much nuclear fuel it has and on how quickly it uses up that fuel. (In the same way, how long people can keep spending money depends not only on how much money they have but also on how quickly they spend it. This is why many lottery winners who go on spending sprees quickly wind up poor again.) In the case of stars, more massive ones use up their fuel much more quickly than stars of low mass.

The reason massive stars are such spendthrifts is that, as we saw above, the rate of fusion depends very strongly on the star’s core temperature. And what determines how hot a star’s central regions get? It is the mass of the star—the weight of the overlying layers determines how high the pressure in the core must be: higher mass requires higher pressure to balance it. Higher pressure, in turn, is produced by higher temperature. The higher the temperature in the central regions, the faster the star races through its storehouse of central hydrogen. Although massive stars have more fuel, they burn it so prodigiously that their lifetimes are much shorter than those of their low-mass counterparts. You can also understand now why the most massive main-sequence stars are also the most luminous. Like new rock stars with their first platinum album, they spend their resources at an astounding rate.

The main-sequence lifetimes of stars of different masses are listed in Table. This table shows that the most massive stars spend only a few million years on the main sequence. A star of 1 solar mass remains there for roughly 10 billion years, while a star of about 0.4 solar mass has a main-sequence lifetime of some 200 billion years, which is longer than the current age of the universe. (Bear in mind, however, that every star spends most of its total lifetime on the main sequence. Stars devote an average of 90% of their lives to peacefully fusing hydrogen into helium.)

Lifetimes of Main-Sequence Stars
Spectral Type Surface Temperature (K) Mass

(Mass of Sun = 1)
Lifetime on Main Sequence (years)
O5 54,000 40 1 million
B0 29,200 16 10 million
A0 9600 3.3 500 million
F0 7350 1.7 2.7 billion
G0 6050 1.1 9 billion
K0 5240 0.8 14 billion
M0 3750 0.4 200 billion

These results are not merely of academic interest. Human beings developed on a planet around a G-type star. This means that the Sun’s stable main-sequence lifetime is so long that it afforded life on Earth plenty of time to evolve. When searching for intelligent life like our own on planets around other stars, it would be a pretty big waste of time to search around O- or B-type stars. These stars remain stable for such a short time that the development of creatures complicated enough to take astronomy courses is very unlikely.

From Main-Sequence Star to Red Giant

Eventually, all the hydrogen in a star’s core, where it is hot enough for fusion reactions, is used up. The core then contains only helium, “contaminated” by whatever small percentage of heavier elements the star had to begin with. The helium in the core can be thought of as the accumulated “ash” from the nuclear “burning” of hydrogen during the main-sequence stage.

Energy can no longer be generated by hydrogen fusion in the stellar core because the hydrogen is all gone and, as we will see, the fusion of helium requires much higher temperatures. Since the central temperature is not yet high enough to fuse helium, there is no nuclear energy source to supply heat to the central region of the star. The long period of stability now ends, gravity again takes over, and the core begins to contract. Once more, the star’s energy is partially supplied by gravitational energy, in the way described by Kelvin and Helmholtz (see Sources of Sunshine: Thermal and Gravitational Energy). As the star’s core shrinks, the energy of the inward-falling material is converted to heat.

The heat generated in this way, like all heat, flows outward to where it is a bit cooler. In the process, the heat raises the temperature of a layer of hydrogen that spent the whole long main-sequence time just outside the core. Like an understudy waiting in the wings of a hit Broadway show for a chance at fame and glory, this hydrogen was almost (but not quite) hot enough to undergo fusion and take part in the main action that sustains the star. Now, the additional heat produced by the shrinking core puts this hydrogen “over the limit,” and a shell of hydrogen nuclei just outside the core becomes hot enough for hydrogen fusion to begin.

New energy produced by fusion of this hydrogen now pours outward from this shell and begins to heat up layers of the star farther out, causing them to expand. Meanwhile, the helium core continues to contract, producing more heat right around it. This leads to more fusion in the shell of fresh hydrogen outside the core (Figure). The additional fusion produces still more energy, which also flows out into the upper layer of the star.

Star Layers during and after the Main Sequence.

(a) During the main sequence, a star has a core where fusion takes place and a much larger envelope that is too cold for fusion. (b) When the hydrogen in the core is exhausted (made of helium, not hydrogen), the core is compressed by gravity and heats up. The additional heat starts hydrogen fusion in a layer just outside the core. Note that these parts of the Sun are not drawn to scale.

Most stars actually generate more energy each second when they are fusing hydrogen in the shell surrounding the helium core than they did when hydrogen fusion was confined to the central part of the star; thus, they increase in luminosity. With all the new energy pouring outward, the outer layers of the star begin to expand, and the star eventually grows and grows until it reaches enormous proportions (Figure).

Relative Sizes of Stars.

This image compares the size of the Sun to that of Delta Boötis, a giant star, and Xi Cygni, a supergiant. Note that Xi Cygni is so large in comparison to the other two stars that only a small portion of it is visible at the top of the frame.

When you take the lid off a pot of boiling water, the steam can expand and it cools down. In the same way, the expansion of a star’s outer layers causes the temperature at the surface to decrease. As it cools, the star’s overall color becomes redder. (We saw in Radiation and Spectra that a red color corresponds to cooler temperature.)

So the star becomes simultaneously more luminous and cooler. On the H–R diagram, the star therefore leaves the main-sequence band and moves upward (brighter) and to the right (cooler surface temperature). Over time, massive stars become red supergiants, and lower-mass stars like the Sun become red giants. (We first discussed such giant stars in The Stars: A Celestial Census; here we see how such “swollen” stars originate.) You might also say that these stars have “split personalities”: their cores are contracting while their outer layers are expanding. (Note that red giant stars do not actually look deep red; their colors are more like orange or orange-red.)

Just how different are these red giants and supergiants from a main-sequence star? Table compares the Sun with the red supergiant Betelgeuse, which is visible above Orion’s belt as the bright red star that marks the hunter’s armpit. Relative to the Sun, this supergiant has a much larger radius, a much lower average density, a cooler surface, and a much hotter core.

Comparing a Supergiant with the Sun
Property Sun Betelgeuse
Mass (2 × 1033 g) 1 16
Radius (km) 700,000 500,000,000
Surface temperature (K) 5,800 3,600
Core temperature (K) 15,000,000 160,000,000
Luminosity (4 × 1026 W) 1 46,000
Average density (g/cm3) 1.4 1.3 × 10–7
Age (millions of years) 4,500 10

Red giants can become so large that if we were to replace the Sun with one of them, its outer atmosphere would extend to the orbit of Mars or even beyond (Figure). This is the next stage in the life of a star as it moves (to continue our analogy to human lives) from its long period of “youth” and “adulthood” to “old age.” (After all, many human beings today also see their outer layers expand a bit as they get older.) By considering the relative ages of the Sun and Betelgeuse, we can also see that the idea that “bigger stars die faster” is indeed true here. Betelgeuse is a mere 10 million years old, which is relatively young compared with our Sun’s 4.5 billion years, but it is already nearing its death throes as a red supergiant.

Betelgeuse is in the constellation Orion, the hunter; in the right image, it is marked with a yellow “X” near the top left. In the left image, we see it in ultraviolet with the Hubble Space Telescope, in the first direct image ever made of the surface of another star. As shown by the scale at the bottom, Betelgeuse has an extended atmosphere so large that, if it were at the center of our solar system, it would stretch past the orbit of Jupiter.

Models for Evolution to the Giant Stage

As we discussed earlier, astronomers can construct computer models of stars with different masses and compositions to see how stars change throughout their lives. Figure, which is based on theoretical calculations by University of Illinois astronomer Icko Iben, shows an H–R diagram with several tracks of evolution from the main sequence to the giant stage. Tracks are shown for stars with different masses (from 0.5 to 15 times the mass of our Sun) and with chemical compositions similar to that of the Sun. The red line is the initial or zero-age main sequence. The numbers along the tracks indicate the time, in years, required for each star to reach those points in their evolution after leaving the main sequence. Once again, you can see that the more massive a star is, the more quickly it goes through each stage in its life.

Evolutionary Tracks of Stars of Different Masses.

The solid black lines show the predicted evolution from the main sequence through the red giant or supergiant stage on the H–R diagram. Each track is labeled with the mass of the star it is describing. The numbers show how many years each star takes to become a giant after leaving the main sequence. The red line is the zero-age main sequence.

Note that the most massive star in this diagram has a mass similar to that of Betelgeuse, and so its evolutionary track shows approximately the history of Betelgeuse. The track for a 1-solar-mass star shows that the Sun is still in the main-sequence phase of evolution, since it is only about 4.5 billion years old. It will be billions of years before the Sun begins its own “climb” away from the main sequence—the expansion of its outer layers that will make it a red giant.

Key Concepts and Summary

When stars first begin to fuse hydrogen to helium, they lie on the zero-age main sequence. The amount of time a star spends in the main-sequence stage depends on its mass. More massive stars complete each stage of evolution more quickly than lower-mass stars. The fusion of hydrogen to form helium changes the interior composition of a star, which in turn results in changes in its temperature, luminosity, and radius. Eventually, as stars age, they evolve away from the main sequence to become red giants or supergiants. The core of a red giant is contracting, but the outer layers are expanding as a result of hydrogen fusion in a shell outside the core. The star gets larger, redder, and more luminous as it expands and cools.

zero-age main sequence
a line denoting the main sequence on the H–R diagram for a system of stars that have completed their contraction from interstellar matter and are now deriving all their energy from nuclear reactions, but whose chemical composition has not yet been altered substantially by nuclear reactions

ParseError: EOF expected (click for details)
    at (TextMaps/Astronomy_and_Cosmology_TextMaps/Map:_Astronomy_(OpenStax)/22:_Stars_from_Adolescence_to_Old_Age/22.1:_Evolution_from_the_Main_Sequence_to_Red_Giants), /content/body/div/dl/div/span, line 1, column 33


text:
Pangasinan is 4th Best Performing Province in the country

DAGUPAN CITY, Aug 28 (PIA) –The province of Pangasinan was declared as the 4th Best Performing Province in the country as evaluated by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

In a statement from the provincial government, Pangasinan bagged perfect scores of 5.00 points in development planning and human resource management and development.

The result was based on the Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS) where local government units were evaluated in four aspects to include administrative, social, economic and environmental governance.

Special report was also included to determine how the fundamentals of good governance such as participation, transparency, and financial accountability are valued in the LGU level.

For 2011, the following are the top performing provincial, city and municipal governments with their corresponding LGPMS rankings:

Provinces- Bohol (4.91); La Union (4.89); Cavite (4.88); Pangasinan (4.87); South Cotabato (4.864); Mountain Province (4.855); Albay (4.839); Bulacan (4.836); Rizal (4.832); and Ilocos Norte (4.828).

Highly urbanized cities- San Juan City (4.9); Puerto Princesa City (4.88); Iloilo City (4.87); Valenzuela City (4.85); Makati City (4.819); Angeles City (4.816); Tacloban City (4.77); Quezon City (4.75); Taguig City (4.71); and Davao City (4.7).

Component Cities- Laoag City (4.99); Naga City (4.93); Vigan City (4.91); Ligao City (4.917); Tagaytay City (4.87); Cabanatuan City (4.86); Dipolog City (4.83); Calamba City (4.82); San Fernando City, La Union (4.81); and La Carlota City (4.79).

Municipalities- Ilagan, Isabela (4.92); Carmona, Cavite (4.9); Santol, La Union (4.89); Alimodian, Iloilo (4.883); San Mateo, Isabela (4.879); San Luis, Aurora (4.86); Surallah, South Cotabato (4.843); Maslog, Eastern Samar and New Lucena, Iloilo (4.839); Bacoor, Cavite (4.822); and San Gabriel, La Union (4.820).

The Provincial Information Office said Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. earlier thanked the DILG led by the late Secretary Jesse M. Robredo for conferring Pangasinan one of the top ranks in the evaluation.

He said the provincial government will continuously strive for excellence to attain its mission to be number one. (JCR/VHS-PIA 1 Pangasinan)

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Boucherie in New Orleans

8115 Jeanette St.
New Orleans, LA 70118

OK so actually Boucherie has been on my list ever since I moved here and heard great things about. And this place definitely delivered! It’s high quality food at a very affordable price! My fellow foodie had the brilliant idea to order a ton of small plates so that we could try a bit of everything! We spent about $15 each on food and we helped ourselves to 4 small plates (pretty sizeable) and 1 dessert platter. We both ordered the caipirinha mixed drink because when I was abroad, I was told that it is the Brazilian mojito but sweet. Unforunately, it ended up being lemonade for adults.

The food, however, blew my mind!The complimentary soup was an interesting blend of flavors, especially the curry that kinda snuck up on you at the end:

The Boudin balls and mussels were delicious and don’t get me started on the garlicky parmesan french fries (heavenly!)

The Boudin balls were perfect with the garlic aioli:

The mussels were good but the garlicky parmesan french fries were to die for! Perfect amount of saltiness:

The roasted eggplant and goat cheese terrine surprised me because I was expecting mostly roasted eggplant, not mostly goat cheese. It was interesting but I was not a fan:

I was really looking forward to the bacon brownie. I think the texture of the brownie was a bit dryer (probably from the bacon pieces), and it tasted saltier than a normal brownie but the bacon flavor didn’t really hit me until I had a big piece of bacon in my mouth. I wasn’t a huge fan of mixing two of my many favorite things. The Thai chili chocolate pie was very surprising because the spiciness was a huge kick at the end when you think, ok sweet stuff and then your tongue screams hell no! burnt spicy stuff! The star of the night was the Krispy Kreme bread pudding, they even had this warm honey sugar glaze over it so it really did taste like a Krispy Kreme donut! It was the perfect amount of fluffy and crispy with lots of sweets! mmmmmmmmmmm

Boucherie on Urbanspoon

About julia521

I'm a food aficionado with an interest in photography. Most of my restaurants will be in New Orleans as I will be here over the next few years. Every now and then you will see a post from Boston or Philadelphia too!
This entry was posted in Cajun/Creole, New Orleans, LA and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
How To Stop Yelling at Your Children II

Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast Episode 065.
I don’t know of any mom who wants to yell at her children.  Yet so many moms are struggling with high stress levels.  It often doesn’t take much to “push them over the edge” and they find themselves yelling at their children regularly.  So how do you stop this cycle?

This is the second part of my interview with the Orange Rhino mom.  Two years ago, she decided she wanted to completely stop yelling at her children.  But unlike most moms, she actually followed through on her desire.  She set herself a challenge to go 365 days without yelling at her children.  And then she started a blog to hold herself accountable.

If yelling is something you struggle with, you’ll find some great encouragement and ideas on how to actually make the change so you can “yell less and love more” during this podcast episode.

Episodes Resources

Episodes In Series

Thanks for listening!  Please join me next week when I talk about parenting your children intentionally.

You can subscribe to the Busy Mom’s Survival Guide Podcast:

iTunes RSS Feed

Related posts:


text:
Mueble para el recibidor

Entryway Table Made of 2 Pallets - DIY 20 Upcycled Wood Pallet Ideas

Selfmade pallet bed.

DIY Ideas for Wood Pallet Beds: Pallet wood is a raw material that can be found in abundance.

Estante con cajas de fruta

My lovely DIY shelf in my guest room using 4 crates stacked together! Simple edge-paint project that ties the colors of the room together immediately. All my guests compliment it all the time. It is very sturdy and holds heavy books to sweaters.

marcel bognar

We write a lot about different sorts of interior design, and one thing that we’ve noticed is that some of the most ingenious home products seem to be those that save space in clever ways. This list of clever space-saving… Continue Reading →

Sypialnia styl Skandynawski - zdjęcie od - Sypialnia - Styl Skandynawski -

Sypialnia styl Skandynawski - zdjęcie od - Sypialnia - Styl Skandynawski -

Półki ze skrzynek i stolik ze szpuli.

Love the wooden cable spool tables idea! this would be great as movable end tables in my outside living space sun room

jak zrobić łóżko z palet - Szukaj w Google

'The Wooden Pallet Project' Home Decor - Pallet DIY Headboards Lighting Projects

Sypialnia z euro palet    2

DIY pallet wooden project is shown above in the picture in which the Wooden pallet bed and the headboard is shown. And it looks beautiful in the room because the pallet planks colored white which make fabulous to the bed.


text:
Saturday, January 28, 2017

"When I'm with you I feel naked and sacred"

New CD's in my record collection: Reissue of "Big Thing" by Blue Zone, "The PWL Dayz" by The Cool Notes, "The Hits: Remixed" by Amii Stewart, reissues of "A.C." by André Cymone and "Tear Down These Walls" by Billy Ocean, and finally "Naked And Sacred" by Chynna Phillips.


text:
Diary of a Dogsitter

Imagefrom left to right: Dexter, Penny, Moxie

Dear Diary,

I can’t promise you I’m totally sober as I write this…but I have embarked on a new journey this past week, and I think I found God while doing it. It started so pleasant. Me and the dogs: we laughed, cried, shared secrets, pillow fights, really everything you do when dog sitting and then Monday reared its fat ugly face.

ImageWhile driving to the lovely Morgan Miller Plumbing office with the dogs on Monday, some idiot driving a Penske truck in front of me decides he doesn’t like his lane anymore, so reverses right into the front of my car!  Calm down, I know what you’re probably thinking, “my babies! We should have never let this crazy white female watch our beloved animals.” Don’t worry, we all survived without a scratch. My car on the other hand was rushed to the hospital, but Mr. Bonehead will have to pay for that little mistake.

The other bad news… I think Moxie is going to need some intense therapy. (X days) without you guys were pretty hard on her skinny self. In my new whip, a Toyota Yaris (get your laughs out now, I swear it looks like something Yoshi from Mario Bros would drive), the dogs take up the entire car. The defrost couldn’t even keep up as I would drive to work, I am sure it looked hilarious.

Sleeping with Dexter was so nice, it was the closest thing to sleeping next to a man I have had in a while. His snoring was comforting. Moxie’s whole “I wanna be under the covers and now I don’t” was hard to keep up with, but I made it. I found myself sleeping around all three dogs, god forbid I interrupt their sleep. The California King bed felt like a twin at times.

Despite Moxie’s yummy breath and Penny’s needyness, I wanted to say thank you for allowing me to invade your home for the week. I only had 2 parties and only a couple of people (15) swing by. Wink, just playing. I tried to replenish some things, I got a little out of hand and ate your whole box of ChexMix in one sitting… embarrassing. Hey, when in Rome.

Hope your trip was the best family building trip yet! I can’t wait to hear about the debauchery, you better have taken tons of pictures! Thanks again, and please know I would do it all over again if you needed me to.

Your Rent-A-Daughter, Tosha

PS: Moxie and I were involved in some serious staring contests. Listen, I am good but she is really good.