parenting

On this day when many children around the world return to school it would be good to reflect on the following story. The year was 1847 and a young baby boy, the youngest of seven, was born in Ohio. He was a rather sickly child when he was...

Great article on the intelligence and learning capabilities of infants and toddlers -- has implications for how we approach pre-school learning with children.

Children are the sum of what mothers contribute to their lives. Know the in and outs of mothers at www.bharatmoms.com

Motherhood is not simple but simplicity in motherhood can bring a lot of joy. Visit www.delhimoms.com

...Some simple steps that parents can take at home to support the knowledge and skills that students are learning in school and to help build connections between school and life.

If you aren't familiar with the book "The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition" by Jim Trelease, you could be missing some valuable information about how to read aloud with your child in a way that fosters their own reading ability.

Notes from Danny Brassell's presentation in Houston (August 2008)

Tips for parents to encourage reading and increase literacy.

Books are also a form of technology

Free resources and links to ways to get free books for children.

Great work-from-home or part-time income opportunity for parents and/or educators. Promotes literacy and reading at home -- high-quality and educational children's books.

According to what I heard, the winning video will be receiving a grand prize of about 500$ worth of cheques consumable in Food For Less.

This website aims to provide information about fertility, infertility, assisted conception techniques, IVF and other reproductive information related to conception.

When a couple can not have children, they will often seek out a surrogate mother. This is a person that will carry the couple's child and deliver the baby. Once the baby is born the child will be handed over to the couple. Anyone wanting to become a surrogate mother should look into it thoroughly. You can be an independent surrogate or you can use an agency. The first thing you should do is find out what is expected of a surrogate mother and evaluate yourself to see if you can handle it. Read stories from women who have done it and how it affected their lives. This is not just business, this is your body and you will never be the same. Once you have decided that you can handle it, find out what you need to have a healthy pregnancy. What vitamins and diet you should be on are two very important things to look into. You should find out what the laws and rights are in your area concerning surrogate mothers. Surrogate Agencies There are many agencies out there. You can research them on line or look in the phone book. Each will be different in how they handle a case. Find out from them how they work and what they can do for you. Ask for references of other women who used the agency. Contact those women and ask them about their experience there. Once you have decided on an agency; you will be required to fill out an application. After that you will be checked by a doctor from the agency to make sure you meet all the requirements needed. Once you are signed up and deemed healthy by the agency, they will begin looking for couples that they think would be a good match for you. You will be contacted and meetings will be arranged with possible couples. After having several meetings, you will need to choose a couple. This couple should share your views on pregnancy. If you like coffee and they don't want you drinking it during pregnancy, then they may not be the right couple for you. This is a very important part of the process. Don't forget it isn't only you ch

When a couple cannot have children, they may look into the cost of using a surrogate mother. The details for this are very extensive. There are so many scenarios that can play out that it is impossible to give a solid figure. We can, however, look at the general costs of surrogate pregnancy and some possible extra costs.The fee paid to the surrogate mother can vary. The average rate however is a flat fee of $18,000. Some woman will do it for less and some experienced surrogate mothers will ask for more. This does not include any medical bills or food and vitamins. If at 13 weeks the ultra sound shows that the surrogate mother is having multiple children, there will be an extra fee of $5,000 dollars. There will be contracts drawn up for both parties to sign which means there will be lawyers to pay. Legal fees come to about $5,000. The surrogate mother will need to have a psychological evaluation which costs around $500. With pregnancy comes a bigger body and maternity clothes. Maternity clothes usually run you $750. The surrogate mother will have to drive herself or take a bus to the doctor's appointments. She is typically reimbursed 50.5 cents a mile. Any extra, invasive procedures, like Cerclage, DNC, Amniocentesis or FUC can be another $500. If you are going with the gestational surrogating, transfer will run you $750. Insemination for traditional surrogating costs $500 IN a case where a surrogate mother becomes pregnant with more then one fetus inside her, there is something called selective reduction. This operation removes the extra fetuses, leaving only one. The operation fee is $2,000. If at some point both the surrogate mother and couple decide to abort the child, the fee is $2,000. If a C-Section is involved, this will be another $1,500. If there is a canceled cycle fee then you will pay $350. Often times a Mock cycle will be given. This is to test the surrogate's eggs to see if all will go well. The fee is $350. When the surrogate mother gets

Created to spread awareness about surrogate motherhood.

Couples who oppose infertility or other social bindings, such as gays and lesbians, have options to choose for pursuing the direction of being entitled as parents- it is primarily surrogacy versus adoption.

Surrogate pregnancy is a process in which another woman will carry a baby for nine months and then will relinquish the baby to the couple. This is meant for women or couples that are unable to have children for whatever reason, be it infertility, age, or medical problems. Another option is adoption, which is a legal process to create a new, permanent relationship between a child and an adult. A woman that decides to be a surrogate may be family, friends, or may be a complete stranger. Surrogate pregnancy can be arranged through agencies that help find the couple a woman who will be their surrogate mother for a fee. If the agency arranges for surrogacy, careful inspection is done to make sure the health of the surrogate is guaranteed to avoid possible pregnancy risks. Surrogacy may also be set up without the help of an agency. Surrogate pregnancy can be done in one of two ways. The first way is by artificial insemination, in which a sperm is injected into the surrogate mother's body. The surrogate is the baby's biological mother, but after the birth of the child, he/she is given to be raised by the biological father and his partner or spouse. This is known as traditional surrogacy. The second way is to have a woman's eggs (usually about five eggs) and a man's sperm injected into the surrogate mother. In this case, the surrogate is not the biological mother. This is known as gestational surrogacy. The fees paid for a surrogate pregnancy will be anywhere from ten-thousand to sixty-thousand dollars. The average price for a surrogate mother is anywhere from ten-thousand to thirty-thousand dollars, but other fees such as medical fees, egg donors (if one is used), lawyer fees, or fertility clinics can, of course, up the price. Gestational surrogacy tends to cost more than traditional surrogacy because more medical complications arise in pregnancy. Surrogate mothers that carry babies for members of their family may do it for expenses only, or may get no rewards

A woman must fully comprehend what it means to be a surrogate mother. She needs to know what her body will go through, what the couple she is working for will expect of her while she is carrying their child and what the risks are in all of this. A woman may enjoy the idea of being pregnant and carrying a child but she must think of the risks of surrogate motherhood before she embarks on such a long journey. One of the risks involved in surrogate motherhood is the pregnancy itself. A natural pregnancy is dangerous; let alone an artificial one. Complications happen that can't always be avoided. It is simple fate that may lead you to miscarry, or acquire health problems from the pregnancy. Though using a surrogate motherhood agency is the safest way to go, no one can promise you that there will be no complications. If and when you are pregnant with someone else's child, you are responsible for taking care of it while in your womb. What you eat, drink and take into your body will affect the child. Not everyone has the self discipline to take their vitamins every day or not smoke a cigarette. If something happens and the child is born with a problem that could possibly be because of you and what you did to your body during pregnancy, then you will be investigated. It may not have been your fault, but if the possibility exists then the agency has to look into it. When you get into surrogate motherhood, you become business partners with the parents of the child for the duration of the pregnancy. There is no backing out. If the couple that you chose turns out to be mean or irresponsible, you are stuck with them until the baby is born. This is especially dangerous if you are not using a surrogate agency. If the couple skips town, you won't be taken care of and will be stuck with a baby to raise. What happens if the child is born with some kind of deformity or disease? The parents may not want the child. So then, is it you that takes care of it? Is it put up for a

There are pros and cons to both sides of this argument. With the private arrangement, you will first of all need to find your surrogate mother. This is usually much easier done through an agency, as all surrogate mothers to be will have been screened and will have gone through a comprehensive health screening. Also, all of the surrogate mothers with an agency will have had psychological screenings to guarantee the fact that they will be able to deal with the very strong emotions that will be coursing around their bodies during the pregnancy. Unless, of course, your surrogate mother is a relative or close friend of the family in which case it would seem to be a lot easier. Ethics, moral code and emotions will still loom large in all of the concerned parties worlds. So it would still be wise to involve an attorney and legal contracts so that everyone knows exactly where they stand, and what is expected of them. In most countries and states legal and binding contracts written up by attorneys, are needed by the parents to be anyway. As they are going to have to be legally adopting the child everything, will need to be written clearly and legally about the birth and how it came about. Very often during the pregnancy the doctors and nurses will need to know why there are two women, one pregnant, the other not, and very often two fathers who are so interested in this one child. If you have gone through an agency, they will be able to advise you on what to do and say in this situation. If you are sorting out surrogacy arrangements privately then yes but if anything unexpected should happen and you are unable to deal with the problems there is a reasonable chance you will end up wishing you had gone to the agency. Agencies do have trained professionals that can help you with all of the different issues that are involved in surrogacy. From the emotional feeling of all parties, the majority of agencies will have counselors who can help you work your way through any difficul