Story Archives of 'Family'

State Offers Consumers Little Protection When They Buy Their Own Insurance

By Dianne Finch on Thursday, July 10, 2008.

Assurant Insurance Group, which sells health plans directly to individuals, may face $2.5 million in fines if the state insurance commission has its way.

The state agency alleges the firm violated state law by engaging in illegal claim denials, exclusion policies and other issues.

It’s atypical for the state commission to impose fines on insurers.

Yet health policy experts say the individual market is riddled with such problems due to inadequate oversight.

NHPR’s Dianne Finch has more.

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Is the Economy Changing Your Daily Habits?

By Jacob Eaton on Monday, June 2, 2008.

America’s shifting economy has forced us to change many of our daily habits. Newspapers, from The Citizen of Laconia to The Denver Post are detailing ways that families can penny-pinch and cut corners to save money.

More than Chatting: Hair Stylists Recruited to Limit Domestic Violence

By Dan Gorenstein on Monday, May 19, 2008.

Lots of women have meaningful and personal connections with their hairdressers.

A new campaign to curb domestic violence is looking to take advantage of those relationships by training hair stylists to look for signs of domestic abuse.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein has the story.

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The Family and Medical Leave Act

By Laura Knoy on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.

Fifteen years ago, President Clinton signed a law giving unpaid leave and job protection to employees having a baby, suffering from an illness or dealing with a family emergency. Yet some businesses say the law’s been abused, sparking an effort to make some serious reforms. We’ll look at the history of the Family and Medical Leave Act, its impact and the proposed reforms.

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Choosing Single Motherhood

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, May 8, 2008.

You don't have to be a social scientist to see that the traditional American family is changing, and motherhood is changing right along with it. More and more women are choosing to have children without partners. The growth of groups like Single Mothers By Choice and the proliferation of books like Choosing Single Motherhood and Knock Yourself Up point to a generation of women who are choosing a new path. Technology, money and often the loud ticking of a biological clock is making single motherhood a good option for some women. Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott talks about this trend with Jean Railla, who wrote about it in the parenting magazine Babble. Her article is called Fatherless Brooklyn: Why Today's Women are Choosing to have Babies Alone.

Obviously, not all single mothers choose to raise their kids on their own, and when very young women -- like teenagers still in high school -- get pregnant, they can face many challenges. An unexpected pregnancy can throw a girl's life into chaos, and these young mothers can usually use all the help they can get. That's where the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers comes in. Along with the regular high school subjects of English, History and Math, the students at this school also attend parenting classes. Producer Sarah Elzas visited the school and produced this story. Sarah's story was produced with the help of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.

(Photo by waI.ti:)

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Ugly Divorces for All to See

By Jacob Eaton on Wednesday, April 23, 2008.

It seems with the prominence of the Internet in our lives, the lines between public and private spheres are becoming increasingly blurred. Divorce stories and other marital sagas, once reserved for private conversation, have now become topics for discussion throughout the Internet, in places ranging from YouTube to personal blogs.

Tomorrow's Playgrounds

By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, April 15, 2008.

Back in the day, playgrounds looked a bit different. There was usually a swing set, some monkey bars, and maybe a merry-go-round to push. But as our society became more litigious, parks began to change. Soft sand and rubber chips replaced blacktop, and the traditional metal equipment was replaced by intertwined mazes of colorful tubes and chutes.
The evolution of playgrounds continues, though. A group in New York is developing a new park called an "Imagination Playground". It's fixtures encourage interaction and cooperation between children, and maybe most notably, on-site paid employees working as "Play Associates" to help kids use the park.

Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott talks about the future (and the past) of playgrounds with reporter Beth Jones and designer, inventor and child development researcher Jay Beckwith. Jay is sometimes called the "Father of Modern Playgrounds".

Click here to visit the website of New York's Imagination Playground.
Click here to visit Jay Beckwith's BOLDR website.

(Photo by Andrew Walsh)

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Prince Paul and the Baby Beat

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, April 3, 2008.

You might be surprised at what's bubbling-up from the hip hop underground. A new collective called The Dino-5 just released its debut album. Some of the voices on the record will be well-known to rap fans - including Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Ladybug Mecca of the Digable Planets, and Scratch of The Roots - but it's the group's target audience that's new. The Dino-5 are trying to get babies and young children grooving to their prehistoric beats. Legendary DJ Prince Paul produced the record. It was the brainchild of Andy Blackman Hurwitz, a record producer who's trying to find the best talent across genres to produce records that children and adults can all enjoy. This is the latest edition of Andy's Baby Loves Music series. Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott spoke with Andy Blackman Hurwitzabout this latest installment.

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New Hampshire Sets Up Animal Rescue Teams

By Amy Quinton on Thursday, January 24, 2008.

Saving Kitty or Max during a major disaster or emergency may seem a bit extravagant when so many people need help.

But federal law now requires cities and towns to have evacuation plans for animals during disasters…..or risk losing FEMA assistance.

The mandate is a direct result of what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit. Thousands of people were separated from their pets or forced to abandon them.

Following the federal regulations, New Hampshire is setting up its own animal rescue teams to help during emergencies. NHPR’s Amy Quinton attended a recent training and files this report.

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Civil Union Couples Tie the Knot, But Won't Get Same Benefits as Married Couples

By Amy Quinton on Tuesday, January 1, 2008.

Civil unions became legal as the clock struck midnight New Years Eve.

As many same sex couples held ceremonies and celebrated, others were shocked to discover they won’t get the same benefits afforded to married couples.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports.

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