Tag Archives: Children

Welfare to Work or is it?

02 Tuesday Jul 2013

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Welfare to Work or is it?

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Today when I was at the park with my dog, I overheard two women talking about this welfare to work program. I will call them Ann and Mary for clarification.

Ann was telling Mary about how she has had to be on public assistance since her husband died. She was complaining about how she had very little time to look for work and take care of her children. She went on to explain to Mary that the welfare department required her to volunteer 30 hours a week of her time in order to receive her small cash assistance of $600 a month.

Mary couldn’t believe that Ann had to volunteer for 30 hours a week. “Wow, that is a lot of time to give to a company…will they hire you after you do this?”

Ann went on to explain that there were no guarantees to employment. She had never known anyone who actually got hired from volunteering their time.

“Ann, didn’t you volunteer for the county?” Mary asked.

“Yes, I did. I volunteered for six months and they said that once a job opened that I would have the opportunity to interview for the position, but a job never opened and I got transferred to another county job.” Ann replied.

“That’s horrible, Ann. What are you going to do?” Mary asked in despair.

“I don’t know Mary. I can’t do this anymore.” Ann broke down, crying on Mary’s shoulder with tears streaming down her face.

This situation is all too true. When you break down the figures of 30 hours per week for 4 weeks and divide it into $600 per month…it comes to $5 per hour. That isn’t even minimum wage.

Employers…especially the county and city jobs are taking advantage of these broken women. How sad for them. It seems like a form a modern-day slavery to me.

Please hit like if you would like to see a change in this work to welfare program.

Written By: Ask Ms Mandi

Why are our Children Cutting?

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

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Why are our Children Cutting?

Any mother’s worst nightmare is founding out that your child is cutting themselves. I say child and not teenager. Cutting is not just a teenage problem, but younger and younger children are starting the craze. How young? I know ten-year old girls that have been cutting themselves.

Parents….we must be aware that this may be happening in your home and with your own children. No child is protected from this horrible situation. It happens to children from poor family environments to affluent families with the mother and father still in the home. The epidemic does not discriminate. It has no prejudice. It is happening more and more each day.

Ten years old is about 5th grade – 6th grade aged peers. Seriously? What does a 10-year-old have to stress about? But they do. It is sad, but real. Peer pressure plays a heavy part in it. Other factors may apply; such as a sense of isolation, pressures to be perfect, and depression.

Parents….read and look at your children’s text messages, e-mails, SnapChats, InstaGram, Kik, ect. Don’t think that your child does not fall into this category of “cutting”. It is happening and in our media. Children have too many resources to connect with people who they think “care” and are there to listen to their insecurities and fears. When you are 10 years old or 11 years old, you trust people who seem to care. But in reality , who are these people that our children our connecting with and talking to about their utmost secrets and insecurities? They pretend to be their friends, their peers, their same age groups, but really? Who really knows who is sitting behind that text message or computer typing words of endearments and concern….it may be the pedophile on the Amber Alert.

It is wrong to say the least, but we as parents, can not pretend it doesn’t exist…it does exist and we must put a stop to it. Parents…if you find that your child is using their phones, computers, and iPods inappropriately…take them away. We lived without this technology and they can live without it too. It isn’t worth the price of losing our children to this epidemic of cutting to “technology”.

Here is a great website that I found. It is simple and to the point on this horrific subject matter, called cutting.
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/cutting.html#
The Nemours Foundation (copyright 1995-2013)
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Written By: Ask Ms Mandi

Is the Innocence Lost?

20 Monday May 2013

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Is the Innocence Lost? I taught a class of first graders today. I don’t know if it is my imagination, but first graders today seem less innocent and sweet than they were five years ago. I remember the wonderful sight of watching my child at the age of six and seven, finding wonder in everything she came across. The simple act of reading a book, brought joy into her young eyes.

However, today, there seems to be something missing from those innocent eyes, that innocent voice, with our children today. They no longer seem so carefree, as I once remember them to be. It appears to be that our children are growing up faster and faster.

Please parents, teach our young ones to slow down and to enjoy life. Let them endeavor into playing in the trees, with dolls, and just being a kid. You only get one chance to be young and carefree, let them have it and have fun. By allowing them the freedom to be a kid, they will value the life given to them and can grow into healthy and happy adults….teaching their own children the same lesson, some day.

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Written By: Ask Ms Mandi

Happy Belated Mother’s Day to All Moms

16 Thursday May 2013

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Happy Belated Mother’s Day to All Moms….

What did you do for Mother’s Day? My daughters made me breakfast, bought me a card, balloons and made me a present from class. It was wonderful. We later went out on a nature hike and ate to sushi. Mother’s Day is a wonderful day that teaches our children the importance of giving, rather than always receiving.

It is important for all moms to spend quality time with their children and not only on Mother’s Day. We had a great time together bonding and also got to enjoy the great outdoors….even though it was 103 degrees this past Sunday.

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Written By: Ask Ms Mandi

A Poem by Jewels

26 Saturday Jan 2013

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A Poem by Jewels:

Sometimes you have to get through the hard days that pass by.

Sometimes you just have to hold your head up high.

Sometimes you may have to fight the pain.

Why? Just make it go away.

Written By: Jewels

Donating Women’s Business Suits to Charities

16 Sunday Sep 2012

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Ask Ms Mandi is asking for your support in donating women business suits to women in need.  So many times single women get stuck in the rut of struggling without the opportunity to find a good job to support herself and her children.  Let’s face it, welfare is not going to provide a stable income for a single mother to properly care for her children.  She will need a place to live, food, clothing and a vehicle.  It is near impossible to get around without a vehicle these days, especially in Southern California.  We need a car to get to the grocery store, take our kids to school, and especially to get to work. Sometimes work is over 30 miles away. 

 

What is a single mother to do when she is barely making it on welfare.  We all know that welfare helps, but it just isn’t enough to get a single mother with children out of a bad situation.  Everyone, at times, needs a helping hand, a push to get over the rough times. 

 

In today’s poor economic times, it is hard to find a job, especially if you are not educated or properly skilled in the workforce.  Study’s say that first impressions are important.  It is hard enough to get that interview, but even harder to get the job.  We must look our best when attending the interview, to guarantee our success to landing the job, that will get us over the hump and back into being a successful, working citizen, off of welfare. 

Nobody wants to be a statistic. Did you know that the poorest economic group are single mothers.  Why is that, you may ask?  A primary reason for this statistic is that women get married and raise the children, while the husband obtains the career and makes the money for the family.  Things go astray and love fades, ending in divorce, while leaving the women to take care of the children with no education and no income.  She may not even get child support, if you married a dead-beat dad, who just doesn’t care about her or his children’s needs.  She may get a minimum wage job, but her children are too young and need to go to daycare.  She will spend most of her income on daycare services with little or no money left over for her and the children to survive on.  It’s a sad story, but too true.

 

Ask Ms Mandi is asking for your help and support.  The first impression and most important matter is how we look when interviewing for a job prospective.  Ask Ms Mandi is asking for donated women business attire clothing.  I will be donating these items to shelters, churches, and half-way houses to help single mothers to re-gain the confidence to walk into an interview with pride and a strong self-esteem.  This will help her to be the best that she can be for herself and her children, getting her off of welfare.

 

Ask Ms Mandi’s goal for the rest of the year, is to donate as many women business attire suits, dresses, outfits to the needy to help these women regain their lives back.  A lot of these women were once women just like you and I; however, they have fallen on hard times, losing their husbands, their homes,their dignity, their self-respect, and their freedom to live the life that they and their children deserve.  Ask Ms Mandi will be donating women business attire too and asks you to contribute to this great cause. 

 

If you want to help, please contact me by e-mail and I will give you the address to send your donations to.  Don’t forget, donations are a tax-deductible as well, so you will be benefiting women in your society and getting a tax break too.

Thank you for your support!

 

Written By:  Ask Ms Mandi

 

msmandi4u@gmail.com

 

The Importance of Children Hygiene

02 Thursday Aug 2012

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Why is children hygiene so important?  The Webster dictionary definition for the word, “hygiene” means a condition or a practice conductive to health.

In other words, proper hygiene contributes to a healthier lifestyle.  A healthier lifestyle means less doctor visits, less dental visits, and less cost for medical expenses.

Who pays for the medical bills?  Some people have health insurance through work, private insurance policies paid by individuals, or governmental programs.

Teaching our children at an early age about good hygiene is important.  Such as washing their hands after school, after going to the restroom, after playing, and before eating meals.  Bathing on regular basis, meaning at least every other day.

Here is a great article from the Mayo Clinic on the importance of washing our hands.  It contains many helpful tips on the “before” and “after” washing of the hands:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hand-washing/HQ00407

Many of us take proper hygiene for granted.  We learn at an early age the importance of washing our hair, washing our bodies, washing our hands, and brushing our teeth.  But not everyone in our society has the means or the financial benefits to practice proper hygiene.  It can be costly to buy shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and household cleaning products.

With a struggling economy, people losing their jobs, losing their homes to foreclosure, losing their cars to repossession, and losing their dignity, they are faced with many financial hardships.  We have all looked down our noses at someone less fortunate than ourselves. Making comments, in our heads, such as, this….. “Why don’t they wash their hair?”  “Look how dirty that kid’s hands are, why doesn’t the mother care?”  But in reality, we have no right to judge.  We take proper hygiene for granted, but others less fortunate may not have the same luxury.

Governmental programs help the needy buy food, clothing, medical care and provide housing, but is it enough?

This shouldn’t be a dilemma, but in reality it is.

Written By:  Ask Ms Mandi