Vacuuming Up The Hamster And Other Mistakes That Don't Disqualify You From A Certain Parenting Gig
There are over 100,000 kids in the U.S. foster care system who need families to care for them. If becoming a foster parent is something you've thought about doing, don't let the fact that you're not "perfect" hold you back — you might be perfect for someone who needs you.
When people move in and refuse to move out, what do you do?
Squatters' rights laws are some of the most bizarrely misused legal realities we have, and something no one seems to have a good answer for. Most of us have heard stories of someone moving into a vacant home and just living there, without anyone's permission and without paying rent, and somehow this is a legal question mark until the courts sort it out.
According to The National Desk, squatters' rights are a carryover from British property law and were created to ensure that abandoned property could be used and to protect occupants from being kicked out without proper notice. It should go without saying that squatter law isn't meant to allow someone to just take over someone else's property, but sometimes that's exactly what happens.
It's what happend to Flash Shelton's mother when she put her house up for rent after her husband passed away. A woman contacted her with interest in the property, only she wanted to do repairs and look after the home instead of paying rent. Before anyone knew it, she had furniture delivered (which she later said was accidental) and set up camp, despite Shelton's mom not agreeing to the arrangement.
But since the woman had expressed her intention and already moved in, the matter was out of police hands, as Shelton found out when he tried to contact the local sheriff.
“They said, ‘I’m sorry but we can’t enter the house, and it looks like they’re living there, so you need to go through the courts',” he shared in a YouTube video.
Shelton rightfully didn't want the expense of a court battle, so he took matters into his own hands—not with violence, but with logic. He had his mom lease the home to him, and then told the squatter that she had to move everything out because he was moving things in.
“If they can take a house, I can take a house," he said.
He was calm and clear about her having to get everything out within the day or he would have people come and take it, and thankfully, she didn't put up a big fight.
That experience made him realize how squatter law can be abused, but that there's a faster system for removing a squatter than to go through the court system. If a squatter can move in and force a homeowner to take them to court to prove they are living there illegally, then he could simply move in alongside the squatter, putting the squatter in the position of having to take the homeowner to court instead.
"The legal process is so slow, and at some point when they're in there, you're going to feel like they have more rights than you do and that's how you're going to be treated. So even though you it's your house and you're paying the mortgage or whatever, at some point squatters feel like they have more rights than you, so they don't have an incentive to leave until a judge tells them to, until they're actually ordered to, and that could take months."
After successfully removing the squatters in his mother's house, Shelton has been tackling similar squatter situations for other homeowners in California, earning him the nickname "The Squatter Hunter."
"All I'm doing is becoming a squatter and flipping this process on them," Shelton told CBS News. "I figured if they could take a house, I could take a house."
According to CBS, he's successfully removed a dozen squatters in the past year. ""I'm not going in and I'm not hurting anyone," he said. "I'm not kicking them out, I'm not throwing them out." He's literally just moving in himself, setting up cameras, and then creating small annoyances until the squatters get fed up enough to move out.
California isn't the only state that has seen issues with squatters. There are squatter stories from all over the U.S. of people moving into a property and refusing to leave without a court order, tying owners up in lengthy, expensive legal battles.
Shelton even has a Change.org petition to try to get squatter laws changed to "make squatting in residential maintained homes criminal." Making squatting illegal "will shift the burden of proof onto the squatter and make the crime punishable with restitution an option for damages," the the petition states.
Parenting is the most important job that most people will ever have in life. Your decisions as a parent will be some of the most important determining factors in whether your child becomes a happy and productive adult or not. It's a huge responsibility.
Parenting is a difficult and important undertaking, but many parents simply repeat the same strategies used by their parents. How often do we hear people rationalize their decisions by saying, "That's what my parents did and I came out OK."
This approach to raising children negates the fact that with every generation there are countless studies done on child development, many of which run counter to popular parenting wisdom from the past.
Dr. Kristyn Sommer, who has a PhD in child development, has received a lot of attention on social media because of her dedication to teaching "evidence-based parenting." This expertise has made her an advocate for strategies that run counter to conventional parenting wisdom and have stirred up a bit of controversy.
Here are five TikTok videos where Sommer shares some of her evidence-based parenting strategies.
Three Things I Do Differently as a Mum with a PhD in Child Development
In Dr. Sommer's first video where she references her degree she admits she refuses to sleep train, co-sleeps with her daughter, and never calls her "naughty" or "bad." She delves deeper into her thoughts on discipline in the next video.
How To Discipline Your Child So They Actually Learn
Dr. Sommer uses positive reinforcement to discipline her child and as she said in the previous video, avoids the use of terms such as "naughty" or "bad." If her daughter is doing something wrong she asks her to contemplate whether she's making a good or a bad decision.
How to Handle Tantrums
Most people tend to think of a tantrum as naughty behavior. However, they are actually a combination of a bunch of little stresses that the child has experienced throughout the day that eventually overwhelm them. Once they hit the tipping point, all of their big feelings bubble up to the surface, resulting in a healthy expression of emotion.
Should You Spank Your Child?
Dr. Sommer is passionately against "spanking, corporal punishment, physical punishment, what ever you want to call it." She says it needs to stop because it has little effect on behavior and can lead to antisocial tendencies in the future.
She Doesn't Teach ABCs and 1,2,3s
Dr. Sommer isn't worried about teaching her child her toddler alphabet or how to count. She says that it "doesn't really help them with anything" but they should spend that time playing because that's where they learn best.
As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.
The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.
The map may not subvert one's intuitive assumptions, but it nonetheless quantities and presents the cost of living by geography in a brilliantly simple way. For instance, if you're looking for a beach lifestyle but don't want to pay California prices, try Florida, which is about as close to "average" — in terms of purchasing power, anyway — as any state in the Union. If you happen to find yourself in a "Brewster's Millions"-type situation, head to Hawaii, D.C., or New York. You'll burn through your money in no time.
If you're quite fond of your cash and would prefer to keep it, get to Mississippi, which boasts a 16.1% premium on your cash from the national average.
The Tax Foundation notes that if you're using this map for a practical purpose, bear in mind that incomes also tend to rise in similar fashion, so one could safely assume that wages in these states are roughly inverse to the purchasing power $100 represents.
There are only about 100 known instances of people with uncombable hair syndrome.
Have you ever come across something online that instantly made you smile? That’s what happens when people see Locklan Samples pop up on their Instagram feed. The cute dimple-faced toddler has a rare condition known as uncombable hair syndrome, which results in locks that stick straight up no matter how you try to manipulate them. It also causes the hair to be extremely fragile, so frequent combing can cause it to break off. The syndrome is so rare that Locklan is just one out of 100 people known to have it.
Locklan’s parents spoke with People magazine about how they discovered he was living with this ultra rare condition. Katelyn Samples, Locklan’s mom, explained that when he was born he had a head full of jet black hair, but eventually it fell out and was replaced with peach fuzz. A newborn baby’s hair is often completely different than the hair they end up with by the time they’re toddlers. It’s not uncommon for their hair to fall out in one spot or another, but it’s also not unheard of for their whole head to end up bald while their second sprigs of hair grow in.
Hair can grow back coarser, curlier or a completely different color. In Locklan’s case, his hair went from being jet black to platinum blonde peach fuzz, which eventually grew into hair that stood on end. Locklan’s parents said the color of his hair matched his brother’s hair, so it wasn’t a surprise, but the texture threw them for a loop.
When Katelyn posted pictures of Locklan on Instagram, a stranger messaged her asking if he had “uncombable hair syndrome.” This started Katelyn on a journey to find answers to what was going on with her infant’s hair, and if the condition was something she needed to be concerned about health-wise. Katelyn told People, it sent her into a “tailspin on Google.” Eventually, after climbing out of the Google rabbit hole, Katelyn called her son’s pediatrician to get answers. This turned out to be the first step toward an accurate diagnosis.
Locklan’s pediatrician had not heard of the condition and referred them to Atlanta's Emory Hospital to see a specialist. It was there they got the diagnosis. Katelyn explained to People, “We went to see her and she said she’d only seen this once in 19 years.” The doctor “didn’t think it was uncombable hair syndrome because of how rare it is, but they took samples and a pathologist looked at it under a special microscope,” and confirmed the diagnosis, she said.
He joins the very small club of people with the syndrome. Thankfully, this condition only affects the toddler’s hair and he is developing normally in all other aspects of his childhood. Katelyn revealed she hardly ever has to wash his hair unless it gets visibly dirty as it doesn’t collect oils at the scalp. Everywhere they go people are fascinated by Lock’s locks and ask to touch his soft tresses.
The family documents their journey on their Instagram account, and have found a support group via Facebook, where Katelyn says “it’s cool to see how other kids' hair has changed over the years—for some people it does not go away, and for others it becomes a little more manageable.” For now, Locklan enjoys the attention he gets from strangers, and he continues to bring a smile to people’s faces wherever he goes.
Eating an early dinner has always been a stereotype associated with older, retired people who don't have to worry about work schedules and traffic. Plus, older people tend to have an early-to-bed, early-to-rise schedule and are more concerned about thoroughly digesting their meals before hitting the hay.
But an unexpected change in the great American culture means that older people and Gen Zers are more likely to fight each other for a 5 p.m. reservation at their local diner. A recent story in The Wall Street Journal shows that an increasing number of Americans are going out to dinner earlier.
According to Yelp data cited by the WSJ, restaurants currently seat 10% of diners between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. That number has doubled since 2019 when only 5% of people went to restaurants between those hours. People are also taking Ubers to dinner earlier these days, with a 10% jump in rides between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and a 9% drop in those after 8 p.m.
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The trend has also caught on in New York City, which, at one time, was known for being a city that never sleeps. RESY reports that reservations across New York City made at 5:30 p.m. have jumped from 7.75% to 8.31% over the past two years, while 8 p.m. reservations have fallen to 7.8%, down from 8.31%.
So what has happened? Have Americans been so run down by the last few years that they’re now acting like their grandparents? Is it more important to binge TV before bedtime than burn the midnight oil with friends? The Robb Report attributes the change to hybrid work. These days 34% of people work from home most of the time, so they can leave the house a lot earlier than before. Plus, when you’re cooped up in your house all day it’s nice to get out and enjoy a bite to eat as soon as possible.
Broadway has adapted to the new trend by scheduling its performances earlier in the day. Movie theaters accommodate the new early-bird lifestyle by adding more early screenings and canceling those that run late at night.
Devorah Lev-Tov from RESY New York applauds the change. “A few years ago, we would’ve joked about dining with all the old folks or being condemned to screaming children. Yet now, 5 or 5:30 p.m. is my preferred time to dine … And I’m not alone,” Lev-Tov writes.
According to research, this new change in the American lifestyle could benefit our collective health.
A study published by Cell Metabolism found that people who eat all their meals within a 10-hour window and finish dinner earlier in the day are less hungry, burn calories faster and have a lower risk for obesity.
This rapid change in America’s dining habits shows how sometimes the things we think are deeply embedded in our culture can easily change overnight. The next question is, will brunch still be brunch when people begin eating it at 7:30 a.m.? Because then it’s just breakfast, and drinking champagne for breakfast feels uncouth. But then again, that could change, too.
Look, you’re busy. You’ve got stuff that needs to be done today. Do you really have time to watch tiny baby goatsjump in slow motion? Will that really add anything of value to your life?
These little guys hail from Sunflower Farm Creamery in Maine, where 60 (yes, 60) goats are born each year. Sunflower Farm promises that even if you didn’t love goats before, you will after watching videos from its Youtube channel showing the wee babes run, play, hop and snuggle. I mean, there’s another video showing the goats in pajamas…what’s not to love?
But back to this one. In the video’s description, Sunflower Farm writes, “The amount of effort a baby goat puts into each hop is astounding, and only fully observed by slowing down their motion so you can see every twist and turn clearly. They leap so bravely forward. Even the youngest six, who are one week old, are full of twists and turns and side kicks.”
Yep, in the clip you can definitely see boundless energy and fearlessness in their leaps. Which, let's be honest, might not always result in the most graceful move. And yet when you slow that action down and put on a little Tchaikovsky, it suddenly becomes a riveting ballet nonetheless.
Check it out:
The farm added that the goats aren’t merely hopping around to learn how to avoid predators. They are also simply doing it for the “joy of it.” Play in the animal kingdom is as nuanced as it is for humans, with many experts noting that some species actually don’t engage in play to develop any sort of motor or cognitive skills. They do it, seemingly, just cause.
In other words, these goats “leap because they can.” And that’s that.
Folks who watched the video seemed to agree that their spontaneous, unbridled joy was contagious.
“OMG, the sheer joy! I had no real understanding of how random their movement was! That is probably the best thing I've seen in months!” one person comments.
Another added, “These kids are simply experiencing the sheer joy of life bursting out of them. Absolutely wondrous to watch.”
Sure, it’s a silly little goat ballet, but Sunflower Farms argues that humans could learn a thing or two from it.
“Humans could benefit so much by practicing being more nimble, fluid, and joyful. It is so easy to get stuck in our ways, to feel heavy, and weighed down by the world. The goat kids show us that there is another way,” the video description read.
Indeed, life might feel heavy at times. But take it from a group of baby goats…jumping around for no reason at all can be the best pick-me-up. No kidding.