Story Archives of 'Family'

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.

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.

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:)

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)

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.