Parenting News
The G-Word
Jul 14, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News,Parenting News
The S-H-I-T (sorry, I’m a mom now; I have to spell it out) recently hit the fan when Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell coined the phrase “ghetto parenting” to describe:
- Cursing around, and at, a child.
- Brawling with your man or your woman in front of your child.
- Letting your child roam the streets until somebody else’s mother has to tell the child to go home. (But I thought “free-range parenting” was all the rage…?)
- Putting your child off on friends and relatives because you want to hang out in the street.
- Getting so hooked on substances that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has to remove your children and place them with strangers.
I would argue that cursing and brawling in front of children are hardly unique to the “ghetto,” but her column — inspired by the tragic fate of victims of such parenting – is a provocative one, as evidenced by the, oh, three gazillion responses to it.
In my West Hollywood neighborhood, I am more privy to another kind of lousy, albeit significantly less abusive, kind of parenting. An approach I like to call “You’re So Smart!” Parenting. That is, parents who allow their toddler to sit on the Starbucks counter — dirty sneakers next to my latte — and fling a pile of straws and cup sleeves on the floor WITHOUT EVEN TRYING TO PICK THEM UP, and then reward their child for this behavior by gushing, “You’re so smart!”* Smart? Say wha –?!
*At least that’s my fuzzy recollection of it. I will admit that, after I saw the rubber soles resting perilously close to my drink, my world went black.
Drop That Children’s Tylenol! Major Recall Announced…
May 1, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News,Parenting News | Tags: Recalls
Don't be jealous of my fancy Photoshop work.
Literally minutes after Mr. Candy gave some Tylenol to Skye for an especially painful bout of teething, I read that Johnson & Johnson has recalled the kind that we gave her (a certain lot of Dye-Free Cherry Infants’ Drops), along with a whole bunch of other children’s medications.
Fourteen-Year-Old Girls Edge Out Toddlers to Claim “Worst Age” Title
Apr 28, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News,Kids,Parenting News,Teens | Tags: Like Duh
Move over, “Terrible Twos” — the “Frightening Fourteens” are officially the the worst age EVER.
Mother Sues Hospital That — Oops! — Let Her Breastfeed Wrong Baby
Mar 10, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News,Parenting News
I have to admit, I laughed when Pam breastfed the wrong baby on last week’s episode of “The Office.” However, it’s no laughing matter for a real-life mother who was handed somebody else’s newborn and then breast-fed him — which is why she is suing the hospital for at LEAST $30,000.
School Principal Suspended for Joke Letter Calling Students ‘Stupid’
Feb 4, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News,Parenting News | Tags: Fine Education System
Ha, haaaaa! That DOES sound like a knee-slapper.
Despite its obvious hilarity, the Arizona school principal who penned the sarcastic letter chiding parents for children who were either “too lazy or too stupid” to complete their assignments in class was suspended after the missive was mistakenly sent home.
German Homeschoolers Granted Political Asylum
Jan 27, 2010 | Filed Under: In the News,Parenting News | Tags: Education, International
A German couple who fled to Tennessee so they could homeschool their children was granted political asylum yesterday by a U.S. immigration judge.
The best part of their new homebase: Only a short car ride to DOLLYWOOD!
Mother of the Week Contender Turns in Own Kid for Shoplifting, Asks to Collect Reward for Reporting Incident
Dec 23, 2009 | Filed Under: In the News,Parenting News | Tags: Mother of the Week
Most parents would prefer to keep their kids out of legal trouble — especially kids who have yet to enter SECOND GRADE — but not so for an Ohio woman who asked that police be called after she caught her 6-year-old daughter shoplifting a package of stickers.
Are Stay-at-Home Moms Wasting Their College Degrees?
Dec 17, 2009 | Filed Under: Featured,In the News,Parenting News | Tags: Fight Fight Fight!
As you can imagine, the shee-yit hit the fan when a trouble maker on MSN’s message boards posed the question: “Have stay-at-home moms with expensive bachelor’s degrees wasted the money?”
