| |
The Guest Room
The Housewife Awards
How's Jen
MommaBlog
MommaBlog Photo Album
MommaHeard
TV Room
|
|
Note: This blog is Rated PG-13.
Do you get your news from your neighbors, your husband or the mailman? Is your
newspaper an expensive page-a-day calendar? Do you wonder what's going on
beyond the playground or soccer practice?
Here on MommaHeard, I'll keep you up with what's news out there. I've included
pop-up response boxes after each entry, so you can chime in, too. I'll post
your comments as I get them. Meanwhile, here's the news:
MommaHeard's May 2008 News
May 13th Wanna get married? You have to take a parenting class first, suggests lawmaker.
May 9th Outdoor playtime is an endangered species. Just ask the daycare workers who don't feel like going outside.
May 7th Dina Lohan gets top mom award. Now there's a clever publicity stunt.
May 6th One third of parents clueless about young kids' development.
May 2nd What is my alma mater known for? Oh, er, uh...a porn magazine
MommaHeard's April 2008 News
April 29th Et tu, Hannah Montana? What's behind parents' collective groan over "artistic" Vanity Fair photos.
April 25rd :-( Children are ruining the English language.
April 23rd Want a boy? Go coo-coo for Coco Puffs, perhaps.
April 21st Will your teen be out of work this summer?
April 18th This is your brain on Botox. Any questions?
April 14th Is Google filming your house? Couple sues over online video.
April 7th New study says men create 7 hours of extra housework for wives.
April 4th Tweens hit the salon for highlights. Moms find wallets much lighter.
April 2nd Tweens plot to harm teacher foiled. What the heck is going on?
MAY 13, 2008
Wanna get married? You have to take a parenting class first, suggests lawmaker.
WCBS-TV in New York City reported yesterday that a Rockland County
lawmaker wants to make couples take parenting
classes before getting married.
Oh, where to start on this one... How about, no?
Certainly, there are many couples who could use parenting classes beyond the breastfeeding instruction at the hospital.
I took a few myself when my son was four and melted into the ground like the Wicked Witch of the West whenever
I told him to do something he didn't want to do.
But mandating classes is a bit much. First of all, not every married couple will have kids. Second, not every parent gets married.
Says WCBS: "[The lawmaker's] idea is radical, but some couples find it downright old fashioned, because nowadays families
are being started even before a couple walks down the aisle."
Maybe she should force parents to take marriage classes instead. Or not.
She has a point though, as a recent study showed that one-third of parents are clueless about infant care.
But before you think you're exempt because you have kids already, think again. Says WCBS: "Under Michel's proposal,
even people who are already parents would be required to take a parenting class before obtaining a marriage license."
If I can minor in how to get my son to remember to bring home his math homework, I'll enroll today.
Posted by Jen Singer, May 13, 2008 at 9:56 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
MAY 9, 2008
Outdoor playtime is an endangered species. Just ask the daycare workers who don't feel like going outside.
The New York Times reported today about new findings that
kids in daycare sometimes don't get outdoor playtime because, among other things, the teachers don't feel like
going outside, or some parents prefer work-time to play.
So my kid doesn't go outside because somebody else's mother wants their kid drilled on the A, B, C's?
Apparently, yes.
Says the Times, "Although children learn important gross motor and social skills on the playground by
learning to kick a ball or negotiate with another child for a turn on the swing, teachers said they felt pressure
from some parents who were more concerned with children spending time on academic skills like reading and writing."
Those silly three-year-olds, wasting time on playing when they could be studying for their SAT's.
Other reasons kids don't get out to play include:
- "Some workers said outdoor play is too much trouble because it requires time to bundle up kids during cold weather."
- "Sometimes, the entire class is kept indoors if one child doesn’t have appropriate clothes for outdoor play."
- "One problem is that parents who don’t want their child going outside on a given day will intentionally keep the child’s coat so he or she will be kept indoors."
- "Day care workers keep children inside if they show up in flip-flops rather than sneakers."
- "Staff members complained that kids eat the mulch or use it as weapons, or it gets caught in their shoes, making outdoor play troublesome for teachers."
- "Other staff members just said they didn’t like going outside."
On the one hand, I imagine that by the time you get 23 two-year-olds into their snowsuits, it'll be spring. On the other hand,
mulch has and always will be used as weapons by children under six. Think of it as good practice for kiddie soccer -- offense and defense.
Please parents, don't send your kids to daycare or school in flip-flops or outdoor playtime will be a flop. We can all do our part to keep
outdoor play from going extinct.
Posted by Jen Singer, May 9, 2008 at 10:38 p.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
MAY 7, 2008
Dina Lohan gets top mom award. Now there's a clever publicity stunt.
The New York Post is among several media outlets to report that
celebrity mom Dina Lohan was named a "top mom" last night on Long Island by mommy group Mingling Moms.
Mingling Moms president Erica Logiudice told the Post that the mother of hard-partying rehab graduate Lindsay Lohan
is "such a dedicated mom . . . Through all the ups and downs of Lindsay, she has been by her side." She told Newsday
that, when it comes to the movie star's antics, "It's not the mom's fault. She should be given a break," she said.
They celebrated with a dinner at the Carlyle on the Green in Bethpage to benefit breast cancer research.
Good cause. Good publicity. After all, it's news when Dina Lohan gets a parenting award. Plus, her reality show about parenting Lindsay's little sister Ali is slated to air this summer. E! Entertainment TV has given
the green light to "Living Lohan."
I wonder if it includes trips to jail to bail out Lindsay. Or if we'll find out Dina really does deserve this award after all.
Posted by Jen Singer, May 7, 2008 at 3:19 p.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
MAY 6, 2008
One third of parents clueless about young kids' development.
US News & World Report this weekend reported that
"one-third of parents of babies have a surprisingly low knowledge of child development."
You mean my nine-month-old isn't supposed to be able to ride a bike yet? C'mon. With the mountain of parenting
information on the Net and in bookstores, can this be true?
Researchers examined the results of a survey of parents -- the vast majority, mothers -- of more than 10,000 nine-month-old babies.
Says the magazine: "One-third of those surveyed incorrectly answered four or more of the questions. Even when the
researchers adjusted the statistics to account for such factors as education levels and income, those parents
were still less likely to enjoy 'healthy interactions' with their children."
Says
WebMD: "Some parents may interpret behaviors incorrectly and respond in the wrong way. For example,
some moms and dads might think their baby should be doing more at an earlier age, while others underestimate
their child's abilities, preventing them from learning on their own."
Says WebMD: "Knowledge appeared to be tied to a parent's education and income level. Lower levels of knowledge
were associated with lower levels of education and income."
I know what happens next. I've seen it before with the Zero to Three Initiative, designed to help parents like
these parent better. Agencies try to help this group of parents, but the Mommies get a hold of it,
and before you know it, the two-thirds of parents
who understand infant development just fine use this information to push the bar for mothering even higher.
Then the Mommies poo-poo us if we're not making teachable moments out of a trip to the supermarket or handing out
worksheets to the kids on the sidelines at youth baseball games. The Mommies think it means we have to build
Super Kids, when really, it's not about them or their kids.
The researchers who reviewed the survey's results say the onus is on pediatricians to make sure the one-third
of parents who don't understand parenting infants learn the right way. No word on whether they'll stage a Mommie
Intervention, too.
Posted by Jen Singer, May 6, 2008 at 11:51 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
MAY 2, 2008
What is my alma mater known for? Oh, er, uh...a porn magazine.
I'm trying really hard to remember what it was like to be 20 and in college so I can figure out the thought process behind this one,
but I really can't picture my twenty-something self warming up to this idea.
My alma mater has a porn magazine, and many kids on campus seems to think this is just wonderful.
A student from Boston University has launched a porn magazine called Boink, which, says the school's newspaper, The Daily Free Press,
is "a student-run sex magazine at BU that has gained renown across the globe."
Great. BU used to be known for graduates like Martin Luther King and professors like Elie Wiesel, plus the
renowned College of Communications program, from which I graduated. Now we're famous for
putting out a magazine about, well, putting out.
Says the
New York Times Magazine:
"These days, when anyone can run a virtual media empire out of a dorm room, student-generated sex magazines,
some with the imprimatur of university financing and faculty advisers, are becoming a fact of campus life.
Since when is porn a fact of life? Well, since Harvard launched its own porn magazine, which, says the Freep:
"While Boink is shunned by BU, Harvard administration approves of H Bomb and allowed the student government to
give magazine managers a $2,000 grant. The magazine is also allowed it to be distributed freely to Harvard students."
So, did the grown-ups rush in and shut it down?
Nope. Warner offered Boink founders "Anderson and Oleyourryk a six-figure advance to compile 'Boink: The Book,'
a collection of erotic writings and photographs from college students around the country." Considering the magazine
is already for sale at Amazon, let's hope that when your kids type in "The Ha Ha Bonk" book, they don't misspell.
Posted by Jen Singer, May 2, 2008 at 1:29 p.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
ironysuppmom says:
"I've followed this trend and it's very, very sad. The book "Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political
Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student" (by Miriam Grossman, MD) shows the high price so many
college students pay (especially the women) for casual sex and the hook-up culture. What is almost never discussed
by women's magazines and regular newspapers is the link between higher rates of depression among today's college
kids and this culture that divorces sexual intimacy from emotional intimacy. Not only that, but the STDs that
also result are beginning to show long-term effects, such as infertility problems in women in their 20s.
They are unlikely to hear about these potential risks of this behavior from the campus health care staff,
who think everything is just a-okay. It's not."
APRIL 29, 2008
Et tu, Hannah Montana? What's behind parents' collective groan over "artistic" Vanity Fair photos.
The Internet, traditional media and the nation's tweens (and their parents) are all abuzz over
pop star Miley Cyrus'
Lolita-style photos in Vanity Fair. People are claiming photographer Annie Liebovitz and Vanity Fair stole our Hannah Montana's innocence.
Others say the shot of the 15-year-old holding a sheet to her chest is hardly pornographic. Meanwhile, parents of tweens
and teens are just plain grumbling.
Here’s why Miley Cyrus’ under-the-sheets photo turns my stomach: It’s so obviously a publicity ploy to tweak the Disney star’s squeaky clean
image so she can earn out her memoir’s outrageous advance while simultaneously giving her something to use to fill its pages. (How can you write a memoir when you’re fifteen? I have bras older than that.)
It’s also a sign that, in a few short years, we’ll be watching our beloved Hannah Montana on Access Hollywood as the paparazzi snap photos
of her out on the town with the next generation of Britney Spears/Paris Hilton/Lindsay Lohans.
The San Jose Mercury News got it right with this comment about the shot of the billionaire high schooler between
the sheets: "Her fan base is getting older,
and she wants to bring them with her as she enters Lolitahood. It's impossible to imagine, given Leibovitz's history
of provocative photos - nude, pregnant Demi Moore? - that the Cyruses went into the session naive and starry-eyed."
The bottom line, says the newspaper, "Leibovitz is back in the limelight; Vanity Fair sells a boatload of mags;
and Miley Cyrus begins the fiscally oriented transition from Disney ingenue to pop tart."
It's a win-win-win situation. Except for our tweens, teens and their parents. Et tu, Hannah Montana?
Unfortunately, yes.
Posted by Jen Singer, April 29, 2008 at 1:06 p.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
APRIL 25, 2008
:-( Children are ruining the English language.
The Associated Press reported today that a recent survey
shows that two-thirds of teens admit that emoticons and other informal
styles have shown up in their formal school work. LOL! u r 2 funny!
Says AP: "The Pew Internet and American Life Project, in a study released
Thursday, also found that teens who keep blogs or use social-networking sites
like Facebook or News Corp.'s MySpace have a greater tendency to slip
nonstandard elements into assignments."
I can just picture the corporate annual reports of the future: FWIW earnings
are FUBAR
AP reports: "Teens who consider electronic communications with friends as
"writing" are more likely to carry the informal elements into school
assignments than those who distinguish the two."
soon we wont need punctuation at all just a smiley face or 2 ;-)
The Chairman of the SAT board agrees. Richard Sterling says the rules of
English could change completely within a generation or two. The first go to?
Sentences would no longer need capitalization, "the way the use of commas has
decreased over the past few decades." Says Sterling, "Language changes."
IMHO, it started with drawings on cave walls and heiroglyphics, and it's
heading back there again. :'[
Naturally, says AP, "Parents are more likely than teens to believe that
Internet-based writing such as e-mail and instant messaging affects writing
overall." That's because we can't read their text messages. We need a Teen to
English dictionary.
OMG!!! thats a great idea
Posted by Jen Singer, April 25, 2008 at 9:39 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
APRIL 23, 2008
Want a boy? Go coo-coo for Coco Puffs, perhaps.
Think you can't influence the gender of your baby? Think
again. The New York Times reported today about a new study that found
how much a mother eats at the time of conception may influence whether she
gives birth to a boy or a girl. It appears that "studies show that high
levels of glucose encourage the growth of male embryos while inhibiting female
embryos."
Want a boy? Pass the Captain Crunch.
Says the Times: "The consistency of the trend offers an explanation for
the small but consistent decline in the proportion of boys born in
industrialized countries over the last 40 years, where even though women in
general appear to be consuming more, eating habits have changed."
So then, poor eaters are to blame for the fall of boyhood? We've got nothing
but boys around here. We must all like our breakfast cereals.
Says the Associated Press: "Having a hearty appetite, eating
potassium-rich foods including bananas, and not skipping breakfast all seemed
to raise the odds of having a boy."
And: "Women who ate at least one bowl of breakfast cereal daily were 87 percent
more likely to have boys than those who ate no more than one bowlful per week."
But what if you want a girl? "Still, no one's recommending pigging out if you
really want a boy or starving yourself if you'd prefer a girl."
Yes, but you know they'll try.
Posted by Jen Singer, April 23, 2008 at 2:08 p.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
APRIL 21, 2008
Will your teen be out of work this summer?
The Chicago Tribune reported today that your teen just might have a tough time finding a summer job
as the economy heads down the toilet. But persistence pays. Your teen's, that
is, not necessarily yours.
Teens may find themselves competing with adults for jobs this summer says the
Associated Press as reported in the Tribune. Teens will find "summer jobs
scarcer this year as the U.S. economy slows amid rising oil prices, the housing
crunch and tight credit market conditions." And you'll find more teens on your
couch all summer. What can you do?
Experts say it will take persistence to find a summer job this year. They
should look for jobs that are typically earmarked for teens, especially in
those industries that "draw teen patrons, such as summer recreation programs,
youth services, fast-food restaurants and kid-friendly fashion stores."
Think teens are too lazy to work? Not so, says a market research group whose
latest survey found that 46% of teens have jobs. Many work more than 14 hours a
week and take home an average of $474 a month.
One expert told the Associated Press that teens can get jobs if they work hard
at the search. "Go out and get a real, grown-up set of shoes. Get rid of the
rings-nose rings and other stuff. March up and down the mall with a really good
resume. Walk into every story-every store-and say, 'I'm looking for summer
work.' And you'll get a job."
Other tips include beefing up your teen's resume, removing typos and making
them look professional. (Tip: Emoticons are for IMing, not for employers.)
Finally, invest some of that time spent on the Net into getting a job out in
the real world, where you can't be represented by an avatar or screen name.
But first, they have to get off the couch. ;-)
Posted by Jen Singer, April 21, 2008 at 10:35 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
APRIL 18, 2008
This is your brain on Botox. Any questions?
Newsweek reported this week that
new research shows that Botox treatments might actually wind up in the brain.
Hmmmm. Smooth skin or smarts? Pick one.
Says Newsweek: "One of the deadliest poisons in nature and a possible
bioterrorism agent, this neurotoxin reached the market, in very dilute doses,
starting in 1989 as Botox."
Deadly poison? I know! Let's inject it! Who came up with this idea?
The reason Botox was approved for use as a wrinkle reducer, says Newsweek, "was
that preclinical testing showed that after being injected, they did not travel
along the body's highways-nerve cells-to the brain and spinal cord." Newsweek
added, "Yes, there was some evidence the toxin slipped into the bloodstream or
the lymph system, but Botox in the bloodstream cannot enter the brain, says its
manufacturer."
Well, if it's just in your lymphatic system, no big deal, right? That's safe,
of course... Says
Lymphomation.org, the lymphatic system "distributes immune cells and
other factors throughout the body. It also interacts with the blood circulatory
system to drain fluid from cells and tissues. The lymphatic system contains
immune cells called lymphocytes, which protect the body against antigens
(viruses, bacteria, etc.) that invade the body."
As a lymphoma survivor, I can tell you that the lymphatic system is kind of
important, yes. But back to your brain on Botox.
Newsweek reports: "In a reversal of the usual sequence in science, researchers
have discovered, after millions of people have received the drug, something
fundamental about how Botox can act. Contrary to what turned up in preclinical
testing, botulinum toxin can travel along neurons from the injection site into
the brain, at least in lab animals."
Whoopsies.
In a study with rats, researchers discovered that Botox travels to the brain.
Newsweek reports, "Within three days, the toxin had migrated from the whisker
muscles to the brainstem, where it disrupted neuronal activity."
Oh, but how smooth their skin was.
What does the FDA say? People who use Botox for cosmetic reasons should "make
their own personal best judgment about this," reports Newsweek, and "be aware
that there's the potential for" it to spreak -- perhaps to your brain.
Makes a person want to frown, doesn't it?
Posted by Jen Singer, April 18, 2008 at 10:32 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
APRIL 14, 2008
Is Google filming your house? Couple sues over online
video of their home.
CNN.com and C/Net News reported that Pittsburgh couple has sued Google claiming that the Street View
on Google Maps is a reckless invasion of their privacy. Is someone
looking in your windows?
Says
C/Net News: "Aaron and Christine Boring say they bought their home in
late 2006 partly because of its secluded location on a street that is 'clearly
marked with a 'Private Road' sign'." Only, as you can see from the CNN video,
the Google folks drove up the driveway and filmed their garage, windows and
basketball net.
I'm not sure why anyone would want to watch a boring video of someone's
driveway, but the Borings -- yes, that's their name -- want it taken off the
Internet. They also want $25,000 for the mental suffering, though the suit
doesn't include CNN, who showed the video on TV and online while covering the
story, which presumably drew way more eyeballs than Google Maps Street View.
Legal experts say it's perfectly legal to film on a public street, but not on
private property, though I don't know why anybody would want a picture of the
mud pit that is my front lawn. (My street isn't on Street View...yet.) Google
has removed images of license plates and recognizable faces to quell criticism.
All I know is that, thanks to the Internet, it's getting harder and harder to
hide. I wonder if the Unabomber's shack is on Street View?
Posted by Jen Singer, April 14, 2008 at 9:55 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
mom2p_a says:
"When I found that Google had filmed down my street, and of course you can see
my house, at first I thought "Oh how cool". But as I thought about it more, I
started to get angry that some car came down our street filming. What if my
children were out playing? I can clearly see my neighbor out mowing his grass
and their children's toys clearly displayed in their front yard. Nothing like
giving pedophiles easy access to knowing where children live."
APRIL 7, 2008
New study says men create 7 hours of extra housework
for wives.
The University of Michigan released the results of a new study that confirms
that feeling you've had in the pit of your stomach ever since you got married:
Having a husband creates an extra seven hours a week of housework for women,
Put down that mop and read this...
Says one researcher, "It's a well-known pattern. There's still a significant
reallocation of labor that occurs at marriage-men tend to work more outside the
home, while women take on more of the household labor."
Oh, then, women must cause more work for their husbands, too, right? Uh, nope.
Says the study: "For men, the picture is very different: A wife saves men from
about an hour of housework a week."
Makes me want to mow the lawn.
After children, the study says, things get even worse for women. "Married women
with more than three kids did an average of about 28 hours of housework a week.
Married men with more than three kids, by comparison, logged only about 10
hours of housework a week."
Kids can Swiffer, right?
Still, we do less housework than our mothers did. And your husband does more
than his father did. Says the study's director: "Overall, the amount of
housework done by U.S. women has dropped considerably since 1976, while the
amount of housework done by men has increased."
Who's doing what?
In 1976, women did an average of 26 hours of housework a week, compared with
about 17 hours in 2005.
Men did about six hours of housework a week in 1976, compared with about 13
hours in 2005.
"Marriage is no longer a man's path to less housework," says the director of
the study.
For the women? Stay single if you don't want more laundry to do.
Posted by Jen Singer, April 7, 2008 at 11:04 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
APRIL 4, 2008
Tweens hit the salon for highlights. Moms find
wallets much lighter.
The first time I had my hair highlighted, my mother said, "Don't worry. It'll
grow out." I was 24. By today's standards, I was a late bloomer. The New York
Times reported yesterday that salon trips for highlights, chemical treatments and more are
increasingly popular among tween girls. Don't worry. It'll grow out.
Says the Times, girls like 11-year-old Lexi James of North Carolina, can
"receive six caramel streaks of permanent color along her part, for a look she
described as "a little punky," followed by a blow dry and flat ironing." The
price tag? Forty-five bucks.
While grown-ups like natural looking highlights, tweens like chunky bands of
color, reports the Times. Girls as young as six have received the treatments at
one salon, but 9 or 10 is "the norm," even though, frankly, there's nothing
normal about shelling out that kind of cash for a kid's hair. And then there's
the idea of putting chemicals on your kid's head, but I'll leave that one
alone.
A spokesman for the National Cosmetology Association told the Times, "It's a
lucrative niche market for the industry that is beginning to be addressed at
trade shows and other association events." Your kids can be a niche market!
Just bring 'em on down to the salon. In Manhattan, says the Times, "parents are
willing to spend $200 to $400" on their tweens' hair. Paging John Edwards.
I saw a girl with bold red highlights just yesterday at the supermarket. Silly
me. I thought it was that temporary spray-in color. Hmmm. Are the tattoos I see
real, too? God, I hope not. One salon owner said, "Five years ago, the rule of
thumb was 15- to 16-year-olds would come in for their first color. Now, that
girl is 10."
As I've said before, 10 is the new 15, even though they haven't even been
through puberty yet. Says the Times: "Today's girls often want to their locks
professionally handled."
Well, we shouldn't deny them their professional handling. Get them out of the
sand box. We're heading to the salon.
Posted by Jen Singer, April 4, 2008 at 11:43 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
ezgmom says:
"My 11 year old doesn't know anyone her age that has had her hair colored, but
she's been asking (begging) for several weeks to get hers done. I told her I
didn't get my hair colored until it started turning gray (after children) and I
think that was a good time to get it done. Her response? 'I have to be really
old to get it colored? Is that a law?'"
Mom of 3 says:
"Great! Now we are teaching out girls to worry about their looks at an even
younger age. Heck, why not start streaking hair and applying make up at birth?
Start 'em early, seeems to be the mantra of today's mothers."
APRIL 2, 2008
Tweens plot to harm teacher foiled. What the heck is
going on?
Good Morning America reported that
a group of third graders plotted to attack their teacher in retaliation for
disciplining one of the girls in the class. Says the Associated Press,
the nine kids, ages 8 and 9, brough a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape
and other items to school, "assigning children tasks including covering the
windows and cleaning up afterward, police said Tuesday." The New York Post showed these photos of the kids' weapon cache, which,
frankly, could have done some harm.
Yes, I said they were third graders.
I had a bunch of kids around that age in my car the other day, and they were
looking at a history book on weapons. One kid said he "liked to look at dead
people," and then they all went on to make jokes about death until I stopped
all the nonsense and got them talking baseball. They never went looking for a
steak knife or handcuffs. (Where do eight year-olds get handcuffs?)
Kids talk big, but plotting to kill a teacher? I just can't see it.
Says the Associated Press: "Nine children have been given discipline up to and
including long-term suspension." Another student reported the plot before it
got completely out of hand.
Homeschoolers, breathe easy. For the rest of us, well. Watch your cutlery.
Posted by Jen Singer, April 2, 2008 at 10:40 a.m.
Got something to say?
Click here to tell us and we'll post what you have to say.
|
|