This weeks Weekly Waffle questions were compiled by our co-editor, BlissBubbley. The Daily Waffle team answers questions this week about online bullying, pension reform and the NHS.
If you have any questions you would like our writers to answer, send an email to peter@dailywaffle with the heading “Weekly Waffle Question” and we’ll consider it for inclusion.
Should more be done to stop online bullying and should facebook and other social networking sites have an age limit on them? Article
Im Soapgirl: Cyber bullying is alive and very serious, my own daughter being a victim when 2 ‘friends’ set up a Facebook account in her name and announced to the world who she fancied etc. At that stage my daughter neither had, nor wanted a Facebook account. The situation was discovered by day 3 and dealt with immediately by the girls parents, under our watchful eye, and apologies were made. The punishment? grounded for a fortnight and their accounts closed……that never happened. I blame the parents.
I have an account, so I’m aware of how it works and also to monitor what is said. Two of my three teens now have FB. The youngest doesn’t want it. Their accounts are locked to friends only and I can access them at any time and they are aware that I do this and why. I understand the desire for kids to want to communicate 24/7 but the danger is rife. I don’t feel young people are aware nor care about the dangers they open themselves up to. I feel that unless the parents are ‘policing’ their children’s online activities then FB needs to, but then kids just need to adjust their DOB to gain access anyway. This will be an ongoing problem.
JayMotty: Bullying starts and begins in one place. The parents. I’m sorry but the parents of the two children who started this despicable campaign should be forced to apologise to the parents of the victim. I’ve heard nonsense that everything from Grime Artists to Certificate 18 films are responsible for influencing kids in the wrong way but I’m a firm believer that it’s always the parents who mould their children. Stopping bullying by putting an age limit on facebook is pointless as it will simply move off social networks and onto the playground. Parents should be educated better on identifying of their child is being bullied or a bully and what to do about it.
Parnaeus: Bullying on social networking sites has reached an all time high, and I do believe something more should be done to prevent this. An example of a website where cyber bullying is huge is Formspring. It was created for people to have an account and let people ask them questions. You have the option to ask people questions anonymously, and this is where the freedom is abused. People post hate messages on others Formsprings while remaining anonymous. My friend has been told SIX times to go kill herself, because no one wants her on Earth. That’s not just cruel, that’s sick. No one deserves to be told to die. Cyber bullying s getting out of hand, and more has to be done to protect those affected by it.
As for putting a higher age limit onto websites this may seem like a practical decision, but it again can be abused. It is so easy to lie online about your birth date, so this idea would not be full proof. I do believe, however, that cyber bullying needs to be sorted out, instead of being overlooked. It’s something we need to sort out, now.
Does this pension reform seem fair and do you have faith that there will still be a state pension by the time you retire? Article
ManUtdOT: I definitely do not have faith that I will be able to enjoy a state pension when I retire, I’m therefore contributing as much as I can now to ensure that I’ll be sufficiently covered when I retire. I personally think that these reforms are good as it protects low earner and working mothers. What I would like to see is that you only get the guaranteed pension if you have made a certain amount of NI contributions. If you have never given anything to the welfare of the country, why should you expect to be taken care of by the state? If you dont pay your insurance premiums do you wouldnt expect to be covered would you?
Im Soapgirl: From my interpretation of this article, pensions will be like child benefits. A set rate per person no matter what their status or contribution to national insurance. This sounds fair and will be more cost effective to implement. However with our society becoming top heavy, will there be enough contributors now to meet the need. I’m not sure there will be. Regarding my future pension, they’ve already raised the age of retirement. Maybe I’ll need to work it all, to make sure my pension’s even remotely there. Somehow I don’t think I’ll make it, nor will there be much money waiting for me either.
Peter: There is little chance the state pension will remain by the time I’m likely to be collecting it. Not anything like its curent form anyway. The main issue is not enough is done to try and persuade young people to pay into a private pension once they start work. Once the Government step up work on this and push private pensions, it will be a good indicator that state pensions will be going. Personally I’m preparing now as if there will not be a pension. That way my wife and I won’t be left high and dry once we hit retirement.
A report has said that the NHS should use volunteers to help midwives, do you think this is right or more importantly safe? Article
ManUtdOT: Great idea! This initiative is not to put volunteers in roles where mothers and babies are put at risk, but to ensure that Midwives are left to focus on the important activities, not get bogged down with menial tasks such as administration and therefore increasing availability to provide better care. An added bonus is that volunteers could used this as a development opportunity to gain experience in this area and develop basic skills and capabilities if they intend to become a midwife.
Im Soapgirl: Once again, cuts and use of volunteers will help save money but at what cost. I understand the ethos behind this and yes can see how volunteers who say have had children, breast fed, ‘worn the tee-shirt’ so to speak, could be very helpful to new moms, for support guidance and encouragement. The problem is, how trained are these volunteers? Is it not watering down skills and demeaning the training midwives have gone through. Safety is a big issue, mistakes can be made if unskilled are given tasks that may look like they can be done by anyone, but it’s the insight and understanding of why you’re doing the tasks and recognising if something’s not quite right. Midwives provide holistic care to mum and baby. I would hate any in that triangle of care to be placed in danger just to save money. Volunteers are only useful if they are above and beyond what is needed in skilled numbers, not in place of.
JayMotty: I think it’s a terrible idea that is a recipe for disaster, Mothers would arguably want professional midwives helping them, not voluntary ones and I can already imagine the uproar and sensationalist headlines if a volunteer midwife is responsible for a mistake. There needs to be more money put into the health service not asking for volunteers and if that means higher taxes, personally I’m prepared to pay them.
After the daughter of the co-producer from The King’s Speech dropped his academy award and broke it, what is the most important thing you’ve broken? and could it be fixed?
Parnaeus: My first ever contract phone, the Nokia E71, was the worst breakage I’ve ever had. I was about halfway through the contract and I dropped it. Completely broke the screen and had to get a new one put it. Oops?
ManUtdOT: The most important (expensive) thing I’ve ever broken was my second car. I had a Peugeot 106 Rallye, it was my pride and joy. I was returning from Sheffield to Manchester, where I was working at the time. It started snowing quite heavily and I lost control of the car whilst driving over Snake Pass. I fought with the car as it slid from one side of the road to the other, eventually I lost the fight, the car spun, left the road, flipped upside down and I landed in a farmers fields 10 ft below… The car was completely written off as you can imagine, however luckily for me, I walked away from the incident with a few bruises and some minor cuts. I was extremely lucky that day, but it did take me a long time to gain my confidence in driving again.
Peter: The most important thing I have ever broken was not something of mine but something of my Dad’s. I was three years old, and my Mum and Dad had a big wooden shelving unit in the backroom which housed all my Dad’s LPs and his record player (which had been gradually moved to the top shelf). One day my Mum went in the kitchen to make a brew and wash up. ‘Peter’s quiet’ my mum thought, so she went and had a look what I was upto. There was me stood on a pile of Daddy’s LP’s, which I had kindly taken out of the sleeve’s, piled up and was stood on top of them all, doing my best surfer impression. Lets just say my Dad wasn’t too happy.
If you won £1 million – what would you buy first?
Im Soapgirl: Very selfish, but before family friends and charities I would purchase a VW camper van in turquoise, hand in my notice and my husbands, gather up my kids and go touring. That would give me time to allocate the rest of my winnings 😀
JayMotty: If I had a million pounds the first thing I’d buy would be a plane ticket to a beach resort somewhere hot, then I’d decide what to do with my fortune.
Parnaeus: Easy- plane tickets to Paris.
ManUtdOT: The first thing I would “buy” if I won £1 million would actually be to pay off my mortgage! I’d then go out and buy a lovely sports car, maybe an Aston Martin Vantage like this: http://www.astonmartin.com/eng/thecars/v8vantages. Beautiful aren’t they!
Peter: After nearly having a stroke, I’d go mental and buy an executive box at Old Trafford, an extravegant car like this and I’d take the family to DisneyLand!!!