Some characteristics of the wealthy are born, not bred. But there’s plenty you can do to make your children smarter at saving.

By Abby Ellin

This is one of the best kept secrets. Did you know you can get up to $17500 towards your first home? Yes, you read it right. You can receive up to $7500 from the bank that you start your “Home Buyers” account with and than get a additional $10,000 after you take a class on homebuying.

Isn’t that great? It’s a process and you must have a JOB.

It works like this:

1. You call the bank that you want to open the account with ( must be a bank that participates in this program)
2. They will see if you meet the requirements
3. You fill out the application
4. Read the contract and sign
5. Open an account with x amount of money that you are required to.
6. START SAVING TOWARDS YOUR HOME!

You must also adhere to all the stipulations in the contract.

Check it out here to see if you qualify, and yes, you must meet the income bracket.

There are many times we hear stories of someone getting stuck somewhere and they end up eating bugs, leaves and things of nature.   Well, I pray to God, I will never be in a situation like that with my kids so that is why I always keep a “lunch bag” packed with snacks and water just in case. It’s funny, but before I had kids, I never thought about packing anything. Now, I’m like a paranoid freak. Every time I get in my car and drive, I think of crazy things that can happen to us. Like if I get stuck in a snow storm or a ditch somewhere, I want to be prepared.  By prepared, I mean not worrying about going hungry. If I get hurt, that’s another story.

You can pack things like pretzels, fruits, and vegetables. I even throw in some candy in there to get a sugar rush just in case I get tired.

Don’t forget to always have a first aid kit in the car too. You can purchase one at any Target store (they have the best Dollar Section ever!  (Some items are a little bit over a dollar, but you can’t beat it) Also, try the 99 cent store around your neighborhood.

Hey, you never know what situation you might be in one day. Better to be safe then starving.

What do 24-year-old Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes Argentine Township, Michigan  ,  34-year-old Jeffrey Weisheit , 20-year-old Larry Greene, of Queens, New York and 28-year-old Jason Padgett of Palm Bay, Florida all have in common? THEIR BABY KILLERS:

“24-year-old Brandon Joshua-Frederick Hayes of Argentine Township, Michigan has been charged with the brutal beating and torture death of his girlfriend’s son 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun”

“34-year-old Jeffrey Weisheit of Evansville, Indiana..He’s accused of binding at least one of his fiance’s kids in duct tape and then setting the house on fire killing 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her brother, 5-year-old Caleb Lynch”

“Toughen up!” 20-year-old Larry Greene, of Queens, New York yelled at the crying child before punching 7 month old Xiah Green in the chest, prosecutors charged”

“28-year-old Jason Padgett of Palm Bay, Florida was arrested in the beating death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son”

“24- year- old Saul Cortez of Far Rockaway is fed up with 8 month old Mario Cortez crying was charged with shaking his infant son until his brain bled, he eventually was taken off life support and died.”

Is it me or is the mother also to blame. Somewhere along the line, I know there was a sign. These women clearly are one of many bitches that should grace a page of DUMB BITCHES CLUB. They clearly chose penis over the lives of their children. No matter how often I read about it, it sickens me every time.

In most of these cases, it’s the BOYFRIEND of the mother that has committed the act.

In the sad case of 4 year old Dominick Calhoun, his mother, Corrine Baker, claimed she would lay on top of her son to prevent the animal from hitting him and that “ She wanted to take Dominick to the hospital for treatment, but her monster of a boyfriend “didn’t want to get in trouble.”

Are you serious? She couldn’t sneak out when the effin piece of shhh fell asleep?? Put her ass in jail for neglecting to be a mother. To make matter worse, this was ONGOING! The police used the word TORTURE, the common word of abuse; he was TORTURED for a week for urinating on the couch.

Please tell me what the hell did 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her brother, 5-year-old Caleb Lynch do? Their mother, Lisa Lynch had to work from 5am to 5pm and left a real life devil of a fiancé, 34-year-old Jeffrey Weisheit to watch HER kids. This devil not only set the house on fire but he’s also accused of binding at least one of HER kids with duct tape. So that means these little angels died a slow horrific death.

Do I blame the mother on this one? YES. Again, somewhere along the line, there had to be a sign. Whether she fought with him, or he hit her before or even the kids, somewhere along the line, she knew something was wrong.

Poor 7 month -old Xiah Green loved his mother so much that it literally killed him. His father, 20-year-old Larry Greene felt that his son was a “Momma’s boy” and for some sick reason, he thought he could “Man him up” by punching his 7 month-old son in the chest.

Now I’m not sure about the mother knowing any signs in this case, but I’m sure he verbally expressed his opinions to her in the past.

In the case of the 2 year-old killed by her mother’s boyfriend, this piece of shit was an ex-con. Now I’m not saying something is wrong with that, but when his arrest record includes charges of domestic violence, child abuse, aggravated battery and drugs>HOUSTON we have a MAJOR PROBLEM!

Do I blame the mother for this one? HELL YEAH! I know she saw a sign somewhere because the neighbors sure did: “Witnesses told investigators they saw Jason Padgett punch the child in the face and head in the three weeks before his death. Their identity was not revealed, nor did officers say why the witnesses did not notify police or child-protection workers. The child’s mother left him with Padgett while she went to work Wednesday night. Witnesses told police that he smoked marijuana while babysitting the boy at his apartment on Pinewood Drive”. (Orlando Sentinel) Of course, I blame the neighbors too, you saw it and didn’t do shit about it.

I hate so called ‘Mothers” like this…

An East Hampton mother was arrested after police said her two toddler sons were found playing in the woods wearing only diapers.

Officers were called to Flatbrook Road after a neighbor reported seeing two small children playing unattended near the roadway Friday morning. Police said the boys, ages 2 and 3, were walking in the woods on the south side of Flatbrook Road near a stream.

Julie Root, 27, was either high or left her children to get high and those two little angels probably would of died if  the neighbors didn’t call the police.

“Police said they believe the boys were outside in the rain for at least an hour.”

Police said Root was found to be heavily under the influence of prescription pain medication. They said Root told officers that she noticed the boys were missing and after she was unable to find them in the house, went outside to search for them.

Root told police that she didn’t know how long the boys were outside and said she may have dozed off while supervising them. Police said Root told them she works a third shift and arrived home at 7:30 a.m. Root told police that the boys’ father, Scott Root, was also home, but had been sleeping at the time the boys wandered off.

The toddlers were released from the clinic to the custody of their father in good health, police said. <<DID YOU SEE THIS? RELEASED TO THEIR DAD! Are they serious? Please, let us pray *bow your heads please*

Source:http://www.wfsb.com/news/23102992/

Children breastfed for more than six months have a lower risk of mental health problems as they enter their teen years.

Wendy Oddy, child health associate professor at the Telethon Institute, said: ‘There has been much evidence about the benefits of early breastfeeding, but the importance of this study is that it shows continued benefits from extended feeding.’

Given the rising prevalence of mental health problems, interventions to assist mothers to breastfeed, and to breastfeed for longer, could be of long term benefit to the community,’ she added.

The research team analysed data from more than 2,000 children. Just over half were breastfed for six months or longer, 38 percent were breastfed for less than six months, 11 percent were not breastfed.

The participants underwent a mental health assessment when they were 2, 5, 8, 10, and 14-years-old. At each of the assessments, the researcher team found a link between breastfeeding duration and behaviour, said a release.

For each additional month of breastfeeding, the behaviour score improved. This remained valid after adjustment for socio-economic, social and other factors impacting on parenting. Oddy said breastfeeding could help babies cope better with stress.

These findings will be published in the forthcoming edition of the Journal of Paediatrics.

I love hearing stories like this. Rachel Ewald is a foster parent who is giving back to teenage girls who can’t afford to get their prom dresses.

As a foster parent who has had over 50 kids in her care, she knows firsthand how tight money can be. So, she collected thousands of donated dresses for these young girls that have no family, went to their Group Homes and hosted an event so they can be the princesses they want to be on their prom day.

Can you imagine how these girls felt? I bet this changed their whole outlook on life. Sometimes that’s all you need, someone to show you that they care.

Thanks Rachel Ewald for being an AWESOME MOM!

Contrary to the nurturing images of sisterhood put forth by chick flicks, female friendships can be a ticking time bomb of fickleness and judgment, according to results of a study in the journal Psychological Science.

Traditional views hold that women are more socially co-operative than men, but researchers from the Universite du Quebec at Montreal, Harvard University and Emmanuel College in Boston found female same-sex friendships are significantly less tolerant, more volatile, and likelier to degrade based on a single negative incident than male same-sex friendships.

A new study by researchers in the US has suggested that if kids feel threatened by even very low levels of violence between their parents, they may be at increased risk for developing trauma symptoms.

The research showed that children who witness violence between their mother and her intimate partner report fewer trauma symptoms if they don’t perceive the violence as threatening.

“Our results indicated a relation between children’s perception of threat and their trauma symptoms in a community sample reporting relatively low levels of violence,” said Deborah Corbitt-Shindler, a doctoral doctoral candidate in the  psychology department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

“The results of the study suggest that even very low levels of violence, if interpreted as threatening by children, can influence the development of trauma symptoms in children,” Deborah added.

The study of 532 children and their mothers looked at the link between intimate partner violence and trauma symptoms in children. The families were recruited from communities in the urban Dallas area.

The researchers presented their findings February 24 at the “National Summit on Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan: Forging a Shared Agenda” in Dallas. (ANI)

Chronic disorders like heart disease and diabetes may germinate much earlier in life than was previously believed, according to researchers.

As per the study reported on MSNBC.com, fat toddlers may have an increased chance of developing the disorders, reports The New York Daily News.

The site reports that the markers for cardiovascular disease have been noted in kids as young as three, and kids as young as seven already have the warning signs of Type 2 diabetes.

It is believed that an increase in the number of overweight youngsters and a decrease in their level of exercise may be the reasons behind the chronic diseases showing up in kids.

“I think parents should be not so much worried as motivated,” Dr. Eliana Perrin, co-author of a new study in “Pediatrics,” said, according to MSNBC.com.

“Catching something early gives us as parents and pediatricians an opportunity to prevent problems down the road. Parents have a huge role in helping children make healthier choices in what they eat and how often they play.”

To reach the conclusion, experts focused on 16,000 kids from age 1 to 17.