Video: Today.com via NY Daily News

Every so often, we need a little bit of proof that the nice way is always the best way. Remember that news story from a month or two ago, about the homeless man who safely kept an engagement ring until it was reclaimed by the woman that accidentally dropped it into his cup? As a result, the woman and her husband set up a fund to raise money for him, which has now reached over $183,000. And to top it all off, the media coverage enabled his long-lost family to reconnect with him.

It’s so lovely… click here to read whole article and make comments

As a twenty-year old arts student with one year left of my degree, I admit it must have been natural for some people to respond to my engagement last year with less-than-enthusiastic sentiments. Sure, there have been no issues with the guy - the parents think he’s great and so do all my close friends. However, most of them where initially hesitant at my acceptance of his proposal, seeing as I had only known him for two weeks.

Gladly, I can now say they have been won over. I think this is partly because it wasn’t a purely emotional decision. In fact, emotion was the last thing to come into it, for on my part the decision was initially one of an intellectual nature.

Actually, that’s not quite true -- it was, first and foremost, a highly spiritually charged matter; and so sacred I’m not willing to disclose details here. Let… click here to read whole article and make comments

Hi there,

You have probably noticed over the past week or two that there is a new voice on the blog. Tamara Rajakariar, a young Sydney journalist, has taken over as editor of Family Edge and is doing a great job of it. I am happily playing second fiddle while I give more time to other tasks on the site.

Tamara is not a newcomer to MercatorNet as she has contributed a couple of articles to our main list and also to Tiger Print. (After giving the young adult / lifestyle blog a good trial we have decided to retire Tiger Print and incorporate YA themes in Family Edge.)

Now, here’s some more about Tamara, who is on a mission to change the world in her own special way.

Since graduating from the University of Technology, Sydney, with a journalism degree in 2010 she has worked in television journalism and online fashion, relocated to South Africa to explore her African… click here to read whole article and make comments

It’s the “end of men” theme again, but this time with a new diagnosis. The story so far. Feminist Hanna Rosin says men are sinking in the workforce because they are just not as adaptable as women to the demands of a changing workforce for more education. Conservative Charles Murray says men have given up the commitment to working because the welfare state has sapped their motivation.

But now MIT professor David H. Autor and a co-researcher have dug a little deeper and suggest that family experiences may be critical in the divergent fortunes of men and women in the labour market, reports the New York Times:

Only 63 percent of children lived in a household with two parents in 2010, down from 82 percent in 1970. The single parents raising the rest of those children are predominantly female. And there is growing evidence that sons raised by… click here to read whole article and make comments

A recent study by the University of Portsmouth has found that Facebook users lift their moods and ‘self-soothe’ by looking at their own profiles. Almost 90 per cent of the report’s participants access the site to look at their own wall posts and photos, which serve as reminders of happier moments - especially if the user is upset.  

In a Daily Mail article, the university’s psychologist Dr Clare Wilson said, “These findings are fascinating. Facebook is marketed as a means of communicating with others, but this research shows we are more likely to use it to connect with our past selves, perhaps when our present selves need reassuring.”

So instead of using it to connect with others, we use Facebook to connect with ourselves... Well that’s a bit awkward. Have you ever logged onto Facebook and scrolled through your own page? Now that I think about it, I am… click here to read whole article and make comments

Here is my last report on the World Family Map -- on family culture, which covers attitudes to voluntary singe motherhood, working mothers, children’s need for both a mother and a father, and family trust. The findings are based on the World Values Survey1981-2008.

Voluntary single motherhood. The WVS asked adults whether they approved of a woman seeking to have a child as a single parent, without a stable relationship with a man. This idea went down like a lead balloon in Egypt and Jordan (2 percent approved) and approval was also low in Asia (a high of 20 percent in Taiwan) and Africa. The surprise here was South Africa, where only 29 percent expressed approval despite the fact that less than half of children there live with two parents.

In the Americas, Europe and Australia there was a lot more support: 52 percent in the US, 46 percent… click here to read whole article and make comments

Last week in Philadelphia, two teenage boys were caught on surveillance camera as they stole the wallet of a young girl. Police sent out a media request, the boys’ mothers saw the images on television, and they responded quickly by escorting their sons to the police station.

Wow. To be honest, I am really quite impressed. I don’t have any kids yet myself, and I don’t think I will be a dictator of a parent at all. But I do hope that I’d be as good (and strong) a parent and do the same. It’s not like the boys will end up with a hefty jail sentence, being minors and having only acquired a steal of $13. But who knows - this disciplinary action by their mothers, though surely difficult to do, may give them a kick in a better direction than the one they were travelling.

Parenting is tough!… click here to read whole article and make comments

Ever since US Weekly printed the front page story, “The Virgin Bachelor,” which described Sean Lowe's born-again virginity and commitment to wait until his marriage night to have sex, there has been no shortage of conversation percolating throughout the blogosphere.

Apparently sexual self-control from any quadrant, whether The Bachelor or elsewhere, is front page news. The Bachelor is an American reality television series in which an eligible man is introduced to 25 or 30 potential romantic interests. The women compete for his affections and are gradually eliminated as the Bachelor gets closer to finding a wife.

A guilty pleasure of mine, watching this latest season has been a different experience than before. Not because of the absence of bikinis, muscles, cocktail-induced drama, or premature proclamations of love, but because of the absence of.... well, the “fantasy suite,” if you know what I mean. Contrary to the many surfacing opinions that doom Sean… click here to read whole article and make comments

Sports physicals (also known as pre-participation physical examination) are required at most public and private schools in the United States for students wishing to participate in sports on an annual or seasonal basis. The purpose of sports physicals is to determine if a student is healthy enough to participate in sports and to minimize the risk of sports-related injuries. This exam is designed to identify any high-risk disorder or condition such as heart disease, diabetes, sickle cell trait, and asthma that might affect an athlete's ability to play.   

While there are no absolute standards about what should be included in sports physicals, most people agree that there should be a heavy emphasis on cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. Heart disease is the leading cause of athlete deaths.

Most young athletes and their parents will be asked to fill out a medical history form before the sports physical exam takes place. The medical… click here to read whole article and make comments

The Australian has reported a growing trend of young children spending up to 11 hours a day at school, as they are being placed in before- and after-school care.

Principals have noted children arriving as early as 7.30am and only being picked up at 6pm, an extremely long day for a child who is 5 or 6 years old.

Australia has seen a greater demand for childcare in recent years, as couples struggle to stay afloat on only one income. Ironically however, a large portion of their double-income must then go into childcare: a catch-22 situation.

According to the national body for school-care providers, children would be able to cope in this situation if the care was adjusted to fit their needs, allowing them to rest and relax. But the problem remains that it is yet to be changed. Not to mention that they are out of home for such… click here to read whole article and make comments