July 17, 2016 at 2:31 pm

@bestwriter Thanks for the heads up! I don’t know why that sometimes happens here. Usually, I catch it before I submit. But if I go back to edit a comment before I post it can duplicate above where I’m reading, and I won’t see the copy because it’s off the screen 🙁

July 15, 2016 at 8:58 pm

Glad to hear it’s been resolved. Is anyone earning well there? Has anyone received a payment?

Is anyone earning well there? Has anyone received a payment? I am very cautious with EliteWriters because of their history.

July 15, 2016 at 8:22 pm

I think it’s important for us to separate intentions from results. Regardless of the best intentions of a site owner – many of whom are so-called “Bubblews refugees” and know well how much money writers have lost when that site ran out of funds to pay its users as promised – it is still quite possible for an honest site to fail.

Of course, no dishonest site owner can be goaded into paying up. We’ve seen that on a few writing sites too! So no, reminders are not going to make the money appear when it’s overdue. But often it is seeing the reaction of the site owners and staff to those reminders and requests for information that will help users see those individuals’ true colours. It’s a bit of a litmus test, to see whether they are truly apologetic when something goes wrong, or whether they are just stringing users along to make more profits. I think many of us noticed that as the situation got worse and worse at Bubblews, the staff got progressively

It’s a bit of a litmus test, to see whether they are truly apologetic when something goes wrong, or whether they are just stringing users along to make more profits. I think many of us noticed that as the situation got worse and worse at Bubblews, the staff got progressively more nasty. Sending just one request for info on a payment that was 30 days late would result in accusations of spamming the site. Warning bells like that could help prevent writers from being scammed in future, and that is why it’s valuable to sometimes point out the shortcomings of a site.

The other part of that is, we are helping the staff to understand our needs and to gauge the morale of the users here. If we remain silent until we are so angry we want to leave the site, we are not helping anyone. It’s far better to point out the flaws and give the staff fair warning when an issue is heating up than to remain silent until an issue reaches crisis point.

I understand what you are getting at, @bestwriter. And I do very much agree that a site will pay or not pay, regardless of user complaints or prompts. Nobody here is arguing that. But often there are other reasons to speak up. And they can be even more important than simply getting that one payment on time.

July 15, 2016 at 11:59 am

@bestwriter I do understand your interest in seeing whether the site will pay on time without being prompted. I just think the next pay cycle will be influenced both by this post and by the earlier goading. If in 2-3 months there has been no need for goading and payments are always prompt, I think we’ll be able to say the site is beginning to have a clean track record.

July 15, 2016 at 12:44 am

I agree with what @swalia has said. It looks better for the site and improves the chances that users will respect site rules when the staff honour them as well. While there may have been a good reason for the payments to be late, it just takes a moment to post a message explaining the situation. That makes the staff look professional and it improves trust in the site.

While it’s true we won’t know whether the payments were made because people complained, now there’s been a very public appeal to remain silent and see if they pay on time, there will be no way to know if your message was the reason for them to pay on time (if they do) next month. Either way, it’s sad that we have to have any such conversations. That, in and of itself, is a sign that there are improvements that need to be made. Let us hope that @admin and @support take that seriously and choose to be more proactive from now on.

As far as the comparison to Bubblews, how apt! The very first signs that something wasn’t right with Bubblews were the nonresponsiveness of the support staff and the payments coming late. Knowing how that ended, I should think any site owner would be extra careful to avoid any situation that suggested a comparison between the two sites.

July 14, 2016 at 7:41 am

I very much agree with you, @shavkat. The more courses for everyday living skills our kids can get in school, the better! I think it just goes along with learning to cook, clean, budget, and care for their health.

July 14, 2016 at 4:44 am

@lolaze I hope we can get it back up to a point where it can pay writers too. Although I am looking at affiliate programs for my own blogs, I think it’s important that writers be paid simply for writing.

July 14, 2016 at 3:27 am

@kaka135 My son used to scream blue murder when we bathed him. I would worry that one of the neighbours would call the police because they thought we were in some way abusing him! he has always loved the water but with all of the challenges his autism presents, he also felt insecure in the bath when he was a little boy.

Even today, now that he’s almost grown and most of his sensory issues have been addressed, he still screams when his head gets wet. His favourite thing to do at the splash park is to stand under the bucket that tips once it fills. He waits for the cold water to douse him completely from head to toe, screams up a storm, and then goes right back to it!

Yes, feeding a toddler can be a bigger challenge than bathing, diapering or even breastfeeding an infant! It’s important for them to gain a measure of independence and to hold the spoon or the food themselves, but they do make a terrible mess with some foods!

I think many parents will place a sheet under the child’s chair, dress the child in only the diaper, and have the bath water ready for after the meal! Sometimes we are even tempted to feed the child, right in the bathtub!

July 13, 2016 at 11:13 pm

@rebecca I’m sure that looking after a young pup has its challenges, and sometimes they may be similar to caring for a baby. But I don’t think that getting up multiple times a night to prevent the puppy messing the carpet is quite the same as caring for a newborn! In some ways, it’s more stressful.

When the time comes, you’ll discover that parenting is both easier and harder than you ever imagined. Even parenting more than one small child is possible. I raised four children, all spaced closely, and three of them with special needs. My youngest will soon turn twelve – which I think is proof we can live through such nightmares, LOL!

If you want to have a big family, you will find the means to make that happen. Just remember to be patient with yourself, because most of parenting is trial and error at first. You’ll learn what works for you, and soon you’ll be an old pro <3

July 13, 2016 at 11:06 pm

@sauda Bathtime is often held to be almost a sacred moment shared between parent and child. I can’t say it was always pleasant with my kids, as pretty much all of them had sensory issues that made being in the water frightening or unpleasant at times. But still, we found our moments 🙂

@shavkat The secret they didn’t teach you in school is that all first-time parents feel just as nervous about the safety of the little one as you did. That’s why there are classes in school that introduce such an important skill, and why nurses in hospitals teach new parents how to bathe their baby before they can take him home.

As with all things, caring for an infant takes practice. Bathing and diapering can be awkward. But just try feeding a baby strained peas, or serving spaghetti with tomato sauce to a toddler! Experienced parents learn what precautions to take, but that only comes with first making mistakes.

There is nothing magical about being female, or even about being the parent of a child, that qualifies us to care for a baby more than someone who has never raised a child. It’s just the experience that’s lacking.

July 13, 2016 at 10:59 pm

@sauda While it is important to discuss abuse when we talk about punishment, it’s equally important to look at whether any kind of punishment is effective. There is no evidence whatsoever that punishment teaches right from wrong or that it instils values or good habits in children, adults, or even animals. In fact, what punishment tends to do is to teach avoidance of punishment at any cost. Because of this, it can lead to further disobedience – for example, a child lying about his behaviour when confronted.

If we spank, there is no guarantee that we are even telling the child what he did wrong – and more importantly, how to fix it or avoid it next time. And the fact is that most parents spank out of anger or frustration – so, not when we’re at our most communicative!

If a child learns what he did wrong and how to do better next time, it’s certainly not from the spanking! It’s from the discussion that may or may not accompany that spanking. That being said, why not skip the spanking altogether? A frank discussion works much better – and with children as young as toddler or preschool age.

July 13, 2016 at 10:43 pm

@peachpurple Please don’t think that Western kids are any different from Asian kids when it comes to discipline. I have seen lots of tantrums here from kids who were sent to the corner, and lots of parents giving into the kids because they were having a tantrum. We pull our hair out over unruly kids, just as much as you do!

The important thing to keep in mind is to not expect children to do the impossible. We don’t expect an infant to sit up to feed himself, nor to dress himself. We understand that he cries to communicate discomfort and needs. Why should it be any different with older children?

We can’t expect a small child to eat an adult portion at suppertime. Nor should we expect a child to always learn his school lessons perfectly the first time around, or to have consistently perfect behaviour. The things parents punished children for in the past are often just examples of being a small, immature person who has a lot of growing yet to do.

If our expectations match the child’s current phase of development, and if we are very clear in communicating those expectations and the consequences of not meeting them, children do usually behave very well. I don’t think it’s the children who have changed so much since we were little. I think it’s just that we don’t have the homogenous society we used to have. Kids are very aware that rules change when Mom is in charge, or when Dad is taking care of them. They know that other families have different rules, or that the rules are different at school or the babysitter’s. It’s hard for them to sort it all out. And of course, they’ll be in favour of the most lenient rules and will tend to rebel if expectations are greater in one setting than in another.

July 13, 2016 at 1:49 pm

@bestwriter No, the comments in the forum or on posts are worth quite a bit less than posts.

July 13, 2016 at 12:08 pm

@scheng1 I know HubPages was always a profitable site, and one thing that people always liked about it was the ability to use their own ads and affiliate links. It’s certainly something Meg can look into for the longer term. For now, I believe she wants to leave everything as is.

July 13, 2016 at 11:16 am

@peachpurple I really hope PP will revive. But the site must offer a good incentive for writers if it’s to build up its steam again. Affiliate links are good for now, but more will be needed to attract enough active users to sustain the site.