You have to be living under a rock if you hadn’t been privvy to the Health Care debate that has been sweeping the nation ever since the Obama administration started pushing for the much needed reforms. Even if the issue doesn’t interest you, I’m sure you’ve heard the talk on the news and among your friends. It is of great interest to me.
I think it is a shame that we who are living in supposedly one of the richest, most advanced and most innovative country in the world still cannot get a decent health care. Heck, there are many who don’t have access to ANY kind of health care.
Then there’s us, who are on the fringe. We do have insurance from my job but it’s never enough to cover what the doctors and hospitals charge so we end up paying more money out of pocket on top of our insurance premiums. And really, it’s nice to know that that are people in this country who can afford to pay for their own insurance and all the expenses that goes with decent health care. Hurrah! for you all. It’s really great that you want to be able to keep doing that. Keep paying for the kind of health care you want, where you want to get it and how you want your care delivered. That’s really awesome for you and I don’t blame you for not wanting to lose it. Read the rest of this entry »
Last night, I attended my first ever site warming party on Twitter. The party was for the Speak Now for Kids website and was it a blast! I got to talk to other moms who are concerned about the state of health care for kids in this country. Most of us agreed that the present state of health care now is severely lacking. For a first world country, one of the richest in the world, U.S. citizens should have a better quality health care that is accessible to all of its citizens, not just the ones who can afford it. I’m sure you’ll hear someone argue that we are still better off than most people of the world. That’s true, but we could be better. We SHOULD BE BETTER OFF.
I have a full time job that provides for health insurance that is probably of even quality with most people who have employee provided health care. You’d think that would be enough, right? WRONG. Even with health, dental and vision insurance, I spend an additional $2000 a year on charges that are not covered by our insurance. Thank goodness for flexible spending accounts or else we’d be scrambling to pay the additional charges everytime the kids go to the dentist or the doctor. Even with insurance, we try to be very conservative about using our benefits; my husband and I especially. We know we’re taking our chances skipping check ups and ignoring some aches and pains just so the kids can go to the doctor whenever they need to. BUT THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY, IN THIS COUNTRY!
We should have a health care system that would take care of us when we need it without having to worry whether we can afford to get better or not. Whether you call it Universal Health Care or any other name, everyone in this country should be able to get decent treatment when they are sick. I say my prayer of thanks everyday that we are healthy because, God forbid, a catastrophic health crisis should happen to us, we would be sunk. Talking with other moms on Twitter last night during the Speak Now for Kids Twitter party, and listening to their stories, especially the ones who have sick kids, it truly worries me how we would handle it should something catastrophic ever happen to us. I cross my fingers, I knock on wood, but I am now also going to be more proactive in ensuring that the proper bills go through Congress that will ensure that my kids and their children would not have to worry about getting decent health care in the future.
The right wing just launched a million-dollar attack on President Obama’s health care plan, scaring people off from a critical provision that could guarantee coverage for every American. If their lies stick, we could miss the biggest chance in a generation to achieve universal health care. The first draft of legislation will be finalized in just two weeks—so we need to fight back right now.
Source: MoveOn.org
Contact your Congressman and mobilize all your friends. Visit the Speak Now for Kids website and champion yours and your children’s needs in health reform.
The video below is a funny parody of the present state of health care. Big businesses are going to lose money with health care reform so they are doing all they can to keep the bill from passing. What are you doing about it?
The video above was produced by Moveon.org. Visit their website to see how you can help.
If you’ve never heard of Speak Now for Kids, you’re not alone. It is a new organization that has been long needed. We parents know what a struggle it is to provide quality health care for our children, even when we have health insurance through our employers. God forbid one of them should get hurt. We will find out real quick how inadequate our current coverage is.
For example, in North Carolina,
Child Health Data – North Carolina
* 31.0% percent of children are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), compared to 28.2 percent nationwide.
* 11.6% percent of children in North Carolina are uninsured, compared to 11.2 percent nationwide.
* Among children who are uninsured, 75.4% percent are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP. Nationally, 68.4 percent of uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
* North Carolina covers children with family income up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level through Medicaid and CHIP. A family of four must make less than $44,100 to be eligible.
Speak Now for Kids in Health Reform is a national campaign sponsored by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.). N.A.C.H. is joined by national partners and supporting organizations from around the country who all care deeply about how children will be treated in health reform. Speak Now for Kids in Health Reform urges parents, family members, health care providers and other advocates to tell Congress why children matter in health reform – through stories, photos and videos.
Speak Now for Kids in Health Reform provides an open forum for the public to express their thoughts and concerns about children and health reform. The opinions expressed on this Web site are those of individuals visiting the site, and do not represent the views of the Web site sponsor, partners or supporters.
Be a champion for children. Take a moment to Speak Now to let Congress know in your own words what you think about children’s health care and share this information with your friends.
Please help spread the word about Speak Now for Kids because if we as parents don’t speak for them, who else?
Here are a few things you can do:
1. If you’re a blogger, please blog about Speak Now for Kids
2. Make a video and submit to the Speak Now for Kids website. The videos will be shown to members of Congress. Ask them to take on our mission to have children’s voices heard when they move forward with health care reform.
3. Join the Site Warming tonight, May 6th, from 9 to 10 p.m. eastern time on Twitter for a #SpeakNowforKids
4. Visit the Speak Now for Kids website and join the cause!
My girls eat their vegetables and I’ve never had to fight with them either. Recently, I have been a little lazy about cooking and since I don’t keep frozen or canned vegetables on hand, vegetables had been a little lacking on our table. After about a week of this, the girls started talking about how they had to have some vegetables and how much they miss having veggies with their meals. So I hied my fanny to the store and stocked up on some veggies before a mutiny started brewing in my kitchen. LOL!
I know, I’m lucky that my kids have no trouble eating their vegetables. There are hundreds of meal time battles that I have thankfully been spared from. Friends and family ask me all the time how I got the girls to like vegetables and here are some of the suggestions I give them.
1. Start Early – the earlier you get them eating vegetables the better. This can start as early as infancy. When you breastfeed, and I hope you do because it’s the best way to ensure they are getting all their vitamins and nutrients, make sure you eat a healthy dose of vegetables. Remember, they eat what you eat so eat plenty of vegetables.
Them eating what you eat continues on as they get older. Set a good example and don’t let your own biases influence their taste buds. For instance, when choosing baby food flavors, get the green and brown stuff like peas, spinach, and sweet potatoes. Try to stay away from flavors with names like apple pie, strawberry shortcake and the likes. Bottled baby food is convenient but if you can it is still healthier to make your own baby food. When my girls were young, we used to cook their vegetables without or very little seasoning and mash them. Sometimes I gave them what we’re eating for dinner, which is usually pretty healthy: light on meats and heavy on vegetables, just blended for their sake.
2. Stay Fresh – I believe in eating fresh food as much as possible, ergo the lack of canned or frozen vegetables in my pantry. I am not averse to them (canned and frozen), I use them all the time when I can’t readily get the produce I need in fresh form, but I try to make it a rule to get fresh produce whenever possible.
The best way to get them as fresh as possible is to grow your own garden. But if that is not possible, farmer’s markets can be found just about anywhere now. Even though we grow our own vegetables in our backyard, I still frequent the farmer’s market to get some variety. I am actually counting the days when our own farmer’s market opens for the season again in April.
3. Keep it everyday – Vegetables should be on the daily menu much like you have the starch or the meat. Actually, it should be the main entree and not relegated to the side dish category, but that’s just me. If you start kids eating fresh vegetables early, it becomes commonplace to have green things on their plate and they won’t think anything of it. It’s just something to eat everyday. No big deal.
4. Keep it simple – Vegetables taste best when you don’t do much to them. So even if you say you can’t cook, you can still have your fill of vegetables by following one basic rule: Don’t overcook them! Everyone I’ve talked to who didn’t like vegetables have memories of mushy and overcooked veggies.
We had a guest one time who almost ran away from the table when he found out that we were having brussel sprouts. But out of politeness, he made himself sit down and taste what was set in front of him. After a bite, he exclaimed “Hey, these aren’t like any brussel sprouts I’ve ever had before. These are good!” When I asked him how his brussel sprouts were cooked before, he said they were boiled until they were almost mushy and they were frozen. Well, I wouldn’t eat my brussel sprouts either if I was served something like that!
Vegetables, for the most part, don’t need much time to cook. Simply steam them just until they are tender crisp and you almost don’t need anything else to season them. Try not to drown them in heavy sauces or melted cheese. Their natural sweetness and flavor are optimized the less they are heated and you won’t want to mask their natural flavors.
5. Try something new – Variety is the spice of life. You’ve heard that saying before, I’m sure. When you have broccoli or green beans or cabbage or lettuce day in and day out, no matter how well prepared and fresh they are I’d get tired of them too. So when you’re in the grocery store, make a point of buying a new vegetable to try out every week. That’s how we discovered the joys of asparagus, artichokes, turnip roots, radishes and many more. We just decided to try them one day and now they are regulars at our table.
If your grocery store has a limited selection, try visiting a Latin market or an Asian market. They usually carry produce that you may not have even heard of or tried before. For instance, it was at the Latin market that I found Nopales. Those prickly cactus plants you’ve probably skirted at the botanical garden before. It turns out they have a delicious flavor in salads. Search the internet for recipes or better yet, talk to the people at the store and make new friends!
Eating vegetables is one of the healthiest things you can do to improve your lifestyle and it shouldn’t be a chore. There are so many fruits and vegetables to be discovered that it can be a downright adventure! One of my daughter’s vegan friends, after having visited our house a few times, declared we have more produce at our house than they do and we’re not even vegetarians. Sometimes, I think it’s better when we don’t adhere to a label because even though I cook some type of meat everyday along with the vegetables, the vegetables always take center stage.
Entries (RSS)