Interview a woman on her decision to have children or be childless.
For this blog, I interviewed my coworker Amy. She does not have any children so I asked her why. Amy said that she always wanted children and her husband did too. However, she and her husband work long and crazy hours at work and don’t feel that they are in a place in their lives where this could happen. She said it is unfair to a child to be left in daycare for twelve hours a day or be raised by a nanny. She said she barely even gets enough time to spend with her husband. Also, when they do get time off from work they like to travel and adding a child to the family may mean less traveling. She said that hopefully when they get more financially stable in the next few years she can hopefully quit working and have a baby. This would give her more time to spend with the child and she could raise it the way she and her husband want to. I think that it is good that she wants to be able to have time for a child before she has one, but not many households in the country work like that. Sometimes if you keep waiting for something to change then you may never have a family. I remember when I was little my parents drove an hour and a half to work each day one way. They were gone for twelve hours a day, and I ended up making sure that my little brother and I got dressed and caught the school bus every morning. I didn’t mind that my parents worked so much because I knew that they were just trying to earn the money to give my brother and I a good life. They spent time with us when they could but to me it wasn’t about the quantity of time but the quality of time. We spent much quality time together as a family.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Blog #4
Should sex be taught in the nation's public schools and if so what kind?
This can be a controversial topic because many cultures and religions do not promote sex until marriage, and parents in those cultures may not want their children learning sex education in school. I believe that sex education should be something that parents talk to their children about first, however, I do believe that this should be taught in school also. Many adolescents are embarrassed about talking with their parents about this subject and may engage more in conversation about it with a teacher at their school along with classmates. Sex education classes should promote abstinence until marriage, however, in this society this does not happen much anymore. For this reason kids need to learn about their bodies and how to practice safe sex and pregnancy and STD prevention. I believe girls need to be taught the methods of birth control, the risks and side effects associated with each and how to use them correctly. Adolescents also need to know that there are many sexually transmitted diseases that they can acquire through unsafe practices. For this they need to be taught prevention methods and to get regular STD checks if they are sexually active. Sex education is definitely not a topic that many parents are ready to deal with. I know when I was growing up I found out the majority of my information from a class at school and from my friends. Having education on this at school may be the only way that some kids get the education they need about sex. In America there are too many teen pregnancies and too many kids getting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. If a sex education class in school can help prevent this at all then it needs to be taught in school.
This can be a controversial topic because many cultures and religions do not promote sex until marriage, and parents in those cultures may not want their children learning sex education in school. I believe that sex education should be something that parents talk to their children about first, however, I do believe that this should be taught in school also. Many adolescents are embarrassed about talking with their parents about this subject and may engage more in conversation about it with a teacher at their school along with classmates. Sex education classes should promote abstinence until marriage, however, in this society this does not happen much anymore. For this reason kids need to learn about their bodies and how to practice safe sex and pregnancy and STD prevention. I believe girls need to be taught the methods of birth control, the risks and side effects associated with each and how to use them correctly. Adolescents also need to know that there are many sexually transmitted diseases that they can acquire through unsafe practices. For this they need to be taught prevention methods and to get regular STD checks if they are sexually active. Sex education is definitely not a topic that many parents are ready to deal with. I know when I was growing up I found out the majority of my information from a class at school and from my friends. Having education on this at school may be the only way that some kids get the education they need about sex. In America there are too many teen pregnancies and too many kids getting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. If a sex education class in school can help prevent this at all then it needs to be taught in school.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Blog #3
How can we encourage adolescents to follow healthy behaviors?
In this technological world that we live in it is sometimes hard to encourage kids to practice healthy behaviors such as exercising and eating healthy. Most kids are into playing video and computer games and spend a lot of time watching television or using the computer. These kids tend to eat a lot more junk food. With fast food restaurants everywhere, it is difficult for them to eat healthy. First of all, education starts at home. Parents can be great role models for kids, and if the parents are healthy themselves more than likely the kids will be too. Parents can exercise with their kids at home by going for a walk or taking a bike ride together. Also, meals made at home are usually healthier than ones bought at a restaurant. At home you can pick and choose exactly what is going into the food that you are eating. If you have to go out to eat, most restaurants now have a healthy section on their menu. Parents can encourage adolescents to order food from that part of the menu or simply eat a smaller portion. Kids also spend a lot of time at school. Hopefully most schools are making gym classes mandatory to help promote physical activity. Parents and educators need to also promote sports leagues through the school. Kids involved in sports will get the exercise they need, and it will keep them busy so they will not spend much time watching television, playing computer games, or getting into trouble with friends or alcohol and drugs. Schools also need to make sure they offer well balanced healthy meals and limit the amount of junk food that they offer. Health care providers should educate kids on the importance of getting plenty of sleep and keeping immunizations current. Vaccines such as flu shots can keep a kid from catching a bad illness and missing a week of school. Finally the media and society need to keep informing adolescents about what drugs and alcohol can do to the body. This also needs to be taught at home as well as sex education. It is tough to get adolescents to practice healthy behaviors. Parents and educators are the main people that kids spend time with so they have to educate and be good role models.
In this technological world that we live in it is sometimes hard to encourage kids to practice healthy behaviors such as exercising and eating healthy. Most kids are into playing video and computer games and spend a lot of time watching television or using the computer. These kids tend to eat a lot more junk food. With fast food restaurants everywhere, it is difficult for them to eat healthy. First of all, education starts at home. Parents can be great role models for kids, and if the parents are healthy themselves more than likely the kids will be too. Parents can exercise with their kids at home by going for a walk or taking a bike ride together. Also, meals made at home are usually healthier than ones bought at a restaurant. At home you can pick and choose exactly what is going into the food that you are eating. If you have to go out to eat, most restaurants now have a healthy section on their menu. Parents can encourage adolescents to order food from that part of the menu or simply eat a smaller portion. Kids also spend a lot of time at school. Hopefully most schools are making gym classes mandatory to help promote physical activity. Parents and educators need to also promote sports leagues through the school. Kids involved in sports will get the exercise they need, and it will keep them busy so they will not spend much time watching television, playing computer games, or getting into trouble with friends or alcohol and drugs. Schools also need to make sure they offer well balanced healthy meals and limit the amount of junk food that they offer. Health care providers should educate kids on the importance of getting plenty of sleep and keeping immunizations current. Vaccines such as flu shots can keep a kid from catching a bad illness and missing a week of school. Finally the media and society need to keep informing adolescents about what drugs and alcohol can do to the body. This also needs to be taught at home as well as sex education. It is tough to get adolescents to practice healthy behaviors. Parents and educators are the main people that kids spend time with so they have to educate and be good role models.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Blog #2
What are your feelings about the present state of health care in the US?
The health care system in the U.S., like many other health care systems worldwide, is not perfect. Most health care systems have their flaws, but they also have their strong points. One of the weaknesses of U.S. health care is that you get the services that you pay for. Those who have no insurance coverage or not so good coverage may only be allowed to have procedures that are absolutely necessary and still may have to pay out of their pocket leaving them in financial difficulties. Also if people do not have access to health insurance they may not have a choice of hospitals or physicians that they can use. These patients have to take what medical care they can get or where they can get it. In doing so, many Americans are less likely to visit physicians or hospitals for preventative or urgent medical care and usually end up a lot more ill than people with health coverage. Another weakness is the cost of insurance and prescription drug coverage. Even people that have these coverages still may not be able to afford their premiums, deductibles, co payments, and prescription drug costs. In turn, many Americans do not regularly visit doctors and do not properly take their prescription medicines because they cannot afford them. The great thing about the heath care in the U.S. is that we, compared to other countries, are very advanced in medicine. We have physicians that are highly skilled and all the new medical technologies to diagnose disease. We perform some of the most amazing procedures that would not be performed elsewhere. Again, though, you get what you pay for and not all Americans can utilize this nation's great medical technologies. We have some great health care here in the U.S. , but there is always room for improvement. All Americans should be allowed access to this great health care whether young, old, rich, or poor.
The health care system in the U.S., like many other health care systems worldwide, is not perfect. Most health care systems have their flaws, but they also have their strong points. One of the weaknesses of U.S. health care is that you get the services that you pay for. Those who have no insurance coverage or not so good coverage may only be allowed to have procedures that are absolutely necessary and still may have to pay out of their pocket leaving them in financial difficulties. Also if people do not have access to health insurance they may not have a choice of hospitals or physicians that they can use. These patients have to take what medical care they can get or where they can get it. In doing so, many Americans are less likely to visit physicians or hospitals for preventative or urgent medical care and usually end up a lot more ill than people with health coverage. Another weakness is the cost of insurance and prescription drug coverage. Even people that have these coverages still may not be able to afford their premiums, deductibles, co payments, and prescription drug costs. In turn, many Americans do not regularly visit doctors and do not properly take their prescription medicines because they cannot afford them. The great thing about the heath care in the U.S. is that we, compared to other countries, are very advanced in medicine. We have physicians that are highly skilled and all the new medical technologies to diagnose disease. We perform some of the most amazing procedures that would not be performed elsewhere. Again, though, you get what you pay for and not all Americans can utilize this nation's great medical technologies. We have some great health care here in the U.S. , but there is always room for improvement. All Americans should be allowed access to this great health care whether young, old, rich, or poor.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Health Concerns
My main health concern is cancer. Cancer is one of the scariest illnesses there is because there is usually no cure for it, and it can spread quickly throughout the body before anyone even knows they have anything wrong. There are treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation that may shrink the tumors or keep them from spreading, but those don't always work. Cancer is prominent in my family but not just one kind in particular. My grandfather had a cancerous tumor removed from his colon. My uncle passed away in his early thirties from pancreatic cancer, and my grandmother died from bone cancer.
I talked with two of my coworkers about their health concerns. One of them is very young and was only married a few years when her husband was diagnosed and died from stage 4 lung cancer. She was shocked as he had never smoked a day in his life. She agrees with me that supporting cancer research for finding a cure is critical. My other coworker was concerned about something different. She does general ultrasound for a living and frequently scans pregnant women. She sees a lot of young pregnant women who are malnourished because they can't afford proper nutrition. They also do not receive proper medical attention while they are pregnant generally because they do not have insurance.
This just shows that all women do have different health concerns.
I talked with two of my coworkers about their health concerns. One of them is very young and was only married a few years when her husband was diagnosed and died from stage 4 lung cancer. She was shocked as he had never smoked a day in his life. She agrees with me that supporting cancer research for finding a cure is critical. My other coworker was concerned about something different. She does general ultrasound for a living and frequently scans pregnant women. She sees a lot of young pregnant women who are malnourished because they can't afford proper nutrition. They also do not receive proper medical attention while they are pregnant generally because they do not have insurance.
This just shows that all women do have different health concerns.
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