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Good question - a wide of range of things can affect our parenting, so there is a whole range of things I would deem appropriate - discipline, activities, parties, health, birth, getting pregnant etc....  Some things that come up in Q&A may not totally affect parenting, but may be appropriate because it is a struggle we as a parent have that may be particular to being a parent (confusing huh!) - eg losing weight, particularly after child-birth or while feeding.

I must admit I missed the debate, but I have noticed a number of questions that I wouldn't consider relevant, but I don't report them because I  haven't really seen the point.  I am concerned at the number of medical questions that get asked, as we are not doctors - just parents!  So, I try and say that in my answer....

I also notice lately a number of "advice articles" that are merely one paragraph answers to  a question or a person's personal story without any tips or pointers for parents coming out of it.  These I don't really think qualify as advice, so perhaps we could clarify that for a lot of new Minti-ers.  It is hard though as reporting them could be a big blow to someone's confidence about taking part on Minti if they are new, so it has to handled tactfully.  Sometimes I just think a few more words or an extra paragraph to draw out what they have learned would be enough to qualify it as helpful to other parents.

What do you think?

I think the real question is what isn't acceptable as a parenting question.

To me, anything that affects a parents ability to provide proper care for a child is acceptable.  For example, say I had an elderly neighbour I was concerned about and needed advice on how to help them, would that be accepted as a parenting question?  Now, think about it, because while worrying about the neighbour, my attentions are not completely with my family and therefore could mean I don't provide the proper care my children need.

For the record, I don't have an elderly neighbour, just giving an example.

Parenting is so broad and doesn't necessarily mean just about our immediate family.  Extended family, community concerns and even our pets are part of our family.  Friendships can affect our abilities too.  Relationship issues, trying to get pregnant, weight loss issues etc etc, these all affect our abilities as parents, so why are some of these questions still not being accepted as a parenting question.

Even questions pertaining to Minti are still being reported as non parenting questions.  If minti is a parents way of coping, then the issues they have using the site could mean they don't get the support they need and could lower the parents ability to care for their children.

DA, I can see, I wasn't the only one who gave this a lot of thought! lol.  And I have to say, the events of the other night were getting me rather hot under the collar as I thought all the questions in question were parenting related in one way or another.

I'm thinking of writing some advice pieces on using the q&a section, so the more opinions I get here the better.  Sorry DA, I know you have already beaten me to it, but I think that I need to make it more clear about how and what to ask in the Q's section and another one about how to respond to a Q. 

Good question DA...How long is a piece of string???lol ...... I agree q&a should be open to parenting and family questions alike ......you ask 'where do we draw the line'? ....I say maybe at taboo subjects?..... like sex, as to not offend certain cultures who discuss taboo subjects privately....

Everyone here knows what parenting is however when it comes to 'what else can be included' there will always be debate...My question is why cant the header be 'Parenting and Family questions?'

Izzy makes a good point in highlighting Rachel Cooks MINTI EDITORIAL GUIDELINES however these few paragraphs pertain only to writing advice, the only portion that refers to q&a is only the following;

However when the article expands to writing advice so do the topics.

Is it any wonder people are confused? Maybe? for legal reasons the title must be kept at parenting and not expanded as we are parents here and not employed by Minti in any professional capacity............

Unless there is a Title change or a 'Minti's meaning of Parenting'  (solely) pertaining to the question area there will always be confusion and debate

Of course there are groups for Minti related questions, but they are also acceptable in the Q&A. As far as the definition of "parenting", I've pasted a portion of Rachelcook's Minti's Editorial Guidelines

Definition of Parenting Advice in Minti: It is any advice directly providing benefit for other parents in bringing up their children, however that means everything related around the family unit and all the topics that fall under the family and parenting. However, the advice has to show why it helps being a better parent as a result (via experience sharing, quoting, explaining etc)

Maybe the stress test is..."will it improve the quality of life for other/my children", if yes, then why?

When researching this idea, I felt that the market was already saturated with that type of general advice, and real parenting advice based solely on sharing to improve the quality of life for children globally did not exist like Minti does and I see this as a unique feature of Minti and holds a higher purpose. So you can still write as before, you just need to make sure it also relates to children or effects on children or parents ability to parent better. You can almost relate any advice to the effects on the family, parenting and/or children.
 

i agree that ppl need to lighten up slightly....

i think if it affects your ability to be a parent then it most CERTAINLY is parenting lol and NO that doesnt mean take 4 puzzles!

this is from wikipedia.. if we stuck to "parenting questions" there would be alot of reporting.. i think that should be changed to just "ask a question"

Parenting is the process of raising and educating a child from birth, or before, until adulthood.

In the case of humans, it is usually done by the biological parents of the child in question [1], although governments and society take a role as well. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent blood relations. Others may be adopted, raised by foster care, or be placed in an orphanage.

The goals of human parenting are debated. Usually, parental figures provide for a child's physical needs, protect them from harm, and impart in them skills and cultural values until they reach legal adulthood, usually after adolescence. Among non-human species, parenting is usually less lengthy and complicated, though mammals tend to nurture their young extensively. The degree of attention parents invest in their offspring is largely inversely proportional to the number of offspring the average adult in the species produces.

I think any question related to being a parent, parenting, relationships ect should be able to be asked in Q&A ,it doesnt say "Parenting Questions" on the tab it says Q&A... but it does say "ask a parenting question" so it seems its clear on what should be asked... well one would think so anyway.

It disapoints me to see questions being reported simply because they arent parenting, its not hurting anyone having them there... and for a new comer being reported over something so TRIVIAL would be very offputting and might cause someone to have a bad experience on minti.

We could lighten up a bit with the reporting...

xoxo