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The top 5 motherhood myths -
The idea that a “good mom” always feels positively toward her children, no matter how much they test her patience, is just one of the many myths of motherhood The idea that a “good mom” always feels positively toward her children, no matter how much they test her patience, is just one of the ... more
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Sarah Palin: Mommy & Me Pregnancy Test
Taken from Real Time with Bill Maher.
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Where have all the real men gone?
Top American columnist Kathleen Parker is causing a furore with her new book Save the Males, in which she argues that feminism has neutered men and deprived them of their noble, protective role in society:
Extract:
Saving the males is an unlikely vocation for a 21st-century woman. Most men don’t know they need saving; most women consider the idea absurd. When I tell my women friends that I want to save the males, they look at me as if noticing for the first time that I am insane. Then they say something like: “Are you out of your mind? This is still a male-dominated world. It’s women who need saving. Screw the men!”
Actually, that’s a direct quote. The reality is that men already have been screwed – and not in the way they prefer. For the past 30 years or so, males have been under siege by a culture that too often embraces the notion that men are to blame for all of life’s ills. Males as a group – not random men – are bad by virtue of their DNA. Top American columnist Kathleen Parker is causing a furore with her new book Save the Males, in which she argues that feminism has neu... more -
A Very British Gangster
Dominic Noonan is the head of one of Manchester's most notorious criminal families. In this controversial documentary Donal McIntyre discovers what its like to be one of Britain's most wanted gangsters. This pod is a special short cut of the feature documentary A Very British Gangster by Donal MacIntyre and Dare Films. For more films by Dare, check out: http://current.com/topics/88820309_dare_films Dominic Noonan is the head of one of Manchester's most notorious criminal families. In this controversial documentary Donal McInt... more
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German Mr. Moms
People have been talking about a baby boom in Germany but what catches the eye is a boom in fatherhood. I've never seen so many men pushing prams - they are everywhere. Literally. Everywhere. People have been talking about a baby boom in Germany but what catches the eye is a boom in fatherhood. I've never seen so many ... more
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Fatherhood Rules
Rory Stamp, the new and slightly confused father of baby Lucie, decides to gives Current viewers his own, unique 10 point guide to fatherhood. Rory Stamp, the new and slightly confused father of baby Lucie, decides to gives Current viewers his own, unique 10 point guide to fat... more
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Pregnant women get morning sickness to protect fetus
Morning sickness. It's the bane of many of a pregnancy. And many a future mother wonders at the apparently unnecessary suffering. But, it turns out, there's meaning to the misery. Two evolutionary biologists report that morning sickness protects both the pregnant woman and the developing embryo just when the fetus is most vulnerable.
Other evidence that the theory that morning sickness is protective and beneficial, he said, includes:
The nausea and vomiting declines after 18 weeks of pregnancy, as the fetus becomes less vulnerable to the effects of chemical disruptions.
Women with the most severe morning sickness have lower rates of spontaneous abortion than other pregnant women.
Historically, meat and strong-tasting vegetables were likely to contain parasites, pathogens and plant toxins; these foods tend to reliably trigger morning sickness symptoms across cultures. Alcohol and cigarette smoke, which also can harm the fetus while organs are forming, also trigger the nausea.
Societies that consume more meats, strong-tasting vegetables and alcohol have higher rates of morning sickness than societies whose staples are bland plant products.
Only humans experience morning sickness, as far as is known, because, the researchers suggest, of their "extraordinary broad diet," compared with other primates and mammals.
If the alternative theory that morning sickness is a non-adaptive outcome of an evolutionary tug-of-war between the mother and fetus for resources were correct, then the nausea should peak in the final trimester, when the fetus requires more nutrients and blood than at any other time. But it doesn't. Neither does it occur with every pregnancy. If morning sickness were the result of the fetus signaling its viability to the mother, then all humans and other mammals should experience it.
"All this leads us to suggest that morning sickness is a misnomer," Sherman said. "It doesn't occur just in the morning, and it's not an illness. It can occur any time of day and it appears to be beneficial -- we could call it a form of evolutionary wellness insurance."
The current study builds on a 2000 paper published in the Quarterly Review of Biology in which Sherman and Flaxman studied the outcomes of thousands of pregnancies. In that study, they noted, for example, that in the seven traditional societies that had virtually no morning sickness, the diets were based on bland, plant-based foods rather than meats and strong-tasting vegetables.
Source: Cornell University Morning sickness. It's the bane of many of a pregnancy. And many a future mother wonders at the apparently unnecessary suffering.... more -
Angst, Lies & Audio Tape
The Antagonist Movement hosts weekly events in NYC's East Village. It showcases local artists such as Brother Mike Cohen who shares his family's dysfunction through live readings and 'zines. Brother Mike incorporates a boombox into his readings and plays old, secretly-recorded tapes of teenage fights with his father. His booklet, "Somewhere Between a Punch and a Hand Shake," published by the antagonist press, is a highly-regarded example of antagonist art.
http://antagonistmovement.com The Antagonist Movement hosts weekly events in NYC's East Village. It showcases local artists such as Brother Mike Cohen who shar... more -
Adventures in Equal Parenting
Excerpts:
That message was one the Vachons had agreed on from the evening they met, though they were clearly still tinkering with the details. They would not be the kind of parents their parents had been — the mother-knows-best mold. Nor the kind their friends were — the “involved” dad married to the stressed-out working mom. Nor even, as Marc put it, “the stay-at-home dad, who is cooed at for his sensitivity but who is as isolated and financially vulnerable as the stay-at-home-mom.”
Instead, they would create their own model, one in which they were parenting partners. Equals and peers. They would work equal hours, spend equal time with their children, take equal responsibility for their home. Neither would be the keeper of the mental to-do lists; neither of their careers would take precedence. Both would be equally likely to plan a birthday party or know that the car needs oil or miss work for a sick child or remember (without prompting) to stop at the store for diapers and milk. They understood that this would mean recalibrating their career ambitions, and probably their income, but what they gained, they believed, would be more valuable than what they lost.
Other couples might have resigned themselves to inequity, redefining it as choice, but Marc and Amy fought back. If they were to avoid skirmishes over their parenting standards and if they were to avoid defaulting to Amy as the expert, they would have to decide what those parenting standards were. Marc explains: “Did we want to work toward a set nap schedule? Yes. Did our daughter’s outfits have to match perfectly? No. Did we need to take the diaper bag when our daughter came with us to the grocery store? Not necessarily.”
There is one pocket of American parenting in which equality is the norm or, at least, the mutually-agreed-upon goal. Same-sex couples cannot default to gender when deciding who does what at home. How these parents make their decisions, therefore, sheds some light on why married men and women act the way they do. They are the exceptions that both prove and challenge the rules.
“Heterosexual couples can learn from gay couples about sharing housework and child care,” says Esther D. Rothblum, a professor in the women’s studies department of San Diego State University whose comparative study of the relationships of 342 couples — lesbian, gay, heterosexual — was published in the journal Developmental Psychology in January. “They are good role models." Excerpts: ... more -
Are you a Yummy Mommy?
Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum and Halle Berry, with these examples of new motherhood, what's a pregnant woman to do?
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Scientists reveal dangers of older fathers
Children are almost twice as likely to die before adulthood if they have a father over 45, research has shown. A mass study found that deaths of children fathered by over-45s occurred at almost twice the rate of those fathered by men aged between 25 and 30.
Scientists believe that children of older fathers are more likely to suffer particular congenital defects as well as autism, schizophrenia and epilepsy. The study was the first of its kind of such magnitude in the West, and researchers believe the findings are linked to the declining quality of sperm as men age.A total of 100,000 children born between 1980 and 1996 were examined, of whom 830 have so far died before they reached 18, the majority when they were less than a year old. The deaths of many of the children of the older fathers were related to congenital defects such as problems of the heart and spine, which increase the risk of infant mortality. But there were also higher rates of accidental death, which the researchers believe might be explained by the increased likelihood of suffering from autism, epilepsy or schizophrenia.Most research into older parents has, until now, focused on the risks passed on by older mothers. But the new study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, was adjusted to take account of maternal age and socio-economic differences.The research also found higher death rates among children of the youngest fathers, especially those below the age of 19. However, the study said these differences were explained by the risks of teenage motherhood and poorer diet and lifestyle.
Previous research using the same data found that older men were four times as likely to father a child with Down's syndrome, while other studies have found that the genetic quality of sperm deteriorates as men age.
By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent Children are almost twice as likely to die before adulthood if they have a father over 45, research has shown. A mass study found that... more -
Single Mothers in China Forge a Difficult Path - New York Times
The issue of single mothers in China is raising questions about the status of women in society.
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RTFM How to care your child (visual instructions)
Not only software needs manual, kids need it too
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Swat Team Raids Home for a Boy's Minor Injury
A tactical law enforcement team broke into Tom Shiflett's home and took his 11-year-old son to hospital for court-ordered medical treatment for a minor head injury.
Garfield County's All Hazards Response Team raided the home Friday night, a day after Jon Shiflett fell after grabbing the handle of a moving car. The child was returned to the family at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, hours after the raid. A tactical law enforcement team broke into Tom Shiflett's home and took his 11-year-old son to hospital for court-ordered medical... more -
My husband is in Iraq
We have different opinions about why he's there. We have a hard time talking about it.
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Tired of Spanking Your Child...Take em For a Ride
Most of America's population thinks it's improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control my kids when they have one of "those moments."
One that I found effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and talk.
They usually calm down and stop misbehaving
after our car ride together.
I've included a photo below of one of my sessions
with my son, in case you would like to use the technique.
Sincerely,
A Friend Most of America's population thinks it's improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control my kids when... more -
"How did Daddy die in Iraq?"
CamerynLee was only 3 years old when her father, Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski, a Marine Corps reservist, was killed in an accidental shooting during the first days of the Iraq war. Now 8, she is suddenly hungry for information about the man she remembers only in sketchy vignettes: Did he like chicken wings as much as she does? How about hockey? Was he funny?
In a grim marker of the longevity of the war, children who were infants or toddlers when they lost a parent in action are growing up. In the process, they are coming to grips with death in new, more mature and at times more painful ways pondering a parent they barely knew, asking pointed questions about the circumstances of the death and experiencing a kind of delayed grief. CamerynLee was only 3 years old when her father, Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski, a Marine Corps reservist, was killed in an accidental sh... more -
Papa Loves You!
This dad had the bright idea of recording himself yelling at his son on a webcam, and that kid's friend put it on youtube. The son may still have inferiority issues, but I think this video's hilarious.
I'll never turn the monitor off again. This dad had the bright idea of recording himself yelling at his son on a webcam, and that kid's friend put it on youtube. The s... more -
Sex Offender Moving In? Get E-Mail Alerts
Pay a yearly or 6 month fee and Child Help Alert will send you an e-mail notification when a sex offender moves in to your neighborhood. Subscription fee ends up being approximately five cents a day. Pay a yearly or 6 month fee and Child Help Alert will send you an e-mail notification when a sex offender moves in to your neighborhoo... more
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Dad's Home
A day in the life of a brooklyn stay at home dad.
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Parenthood
