Chronicles of a “Mr. Mom”

Here’s one simple way to keep your children healthy: Ban the bedroom TV.

By some estimates, half of American children have a television in their bedroom; one study of third graders put the number at 70 percent. And a growing body of research shows strong associations between TV in the bedroom and numerous health and educational problems.

Children with bedroom TVs score lower on school tests and are more likely to have sleep problems. Having a television in the bedroom is strongly associated with being overweight and a higher risk for smoking.

Full story: A One-Eyed Invader in the Bedroom

Do we love our kids so much that we can’t even imagine that they’ve become obese?

Full story: Many Parents Fail to See Obesity in Children

Plus, trends that are on the way out and tips to keep your house current…

A well written article that points out the simple drawbacks and disadvantages of many houses.

The only one from the article that my house is guilty of, is the washer/dryer in the basement. But it doesn’t bother me much, as my basement is fully finished, with carpeting. So, it’s not like I have to walk into a cold, damp, dark basement. Instead, it is a bright, warm, and lovely basement!

Here’s the full story: 8 reasons why your house is unsellable

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine made a list of common medical beliefs espoused by physicians and the general public. They included statements they had heard endorsed by doctors on multiple occasions. The result is a seven-item list of medical and health myths that are widely repeated by doctors and in the media, all of which either aren’t true or lack scientific evidence to support them.

Here’s the summary:

1. People should drink at least eight glasses of water a day
2. We use only 10 percent of our brains
3. Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
4. Shaving hair causes it to grow back faster, darker or coarser
5. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight
6. Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy
7. Cell phones create considerable electromagnetic interference in hospitals

See the full story here: ‘Dim light ruins eyesight’ and other medical myths

“While I never thought that I would end up staying home with Sarah, I knew that I was fully capable of doing so,” says Brian Metz, McClure-Metz’s husband.

But almost four years into it, McClure-Metz began to feel her husband was maybe too capable. He had become more competent and assertive in the child-care arena and it showed in small ways. Metz took over when his wife struggled with the car seat, or put the kibosh on plans when he thought their daughter needed down time.

Full story: ‘Momblocked’ mothers feel edged out by dads

“I still remember standing in front of my third grade teacher’s desk and looking at my parents apprehensively. It was my report day, my older sister had come first in her class and I had barely passed, by the skin of my teeth, as it were.

My knees trembled, knowing a beating was in store for me once we reached home and for once I wanted to stay put in school and hide my head in my teacher’s lap but it wasn’t going to be so, it never happened that way.

1) Hitting a child never works. The child merely becomes more stubborn and rebellious.
2) Time out works better to calm a child down and make him/her think about the naughty deed done.
3) Threats rarely work, kids get used to threatening parents.
4) Never compare kids with other siblings that causes low self esteem and festers sibling rivalry”

Full story: Parenting Tips From Childhood: No Two Fingers Are Alike

A 27-year-old newly divorced daughter tells her mother that her boyfriend of two months is moving in with her. A grown son is stressing out over the bills his wife keeps piling up on her shopping sprees.

Even after children are grown and gone from the nest, it seems that isn’t the end of the job of parenting. Once a child is born it’s the start of a job that lasts a lifetime.

Children might look like adults, and even have children of their own, but it’s obvious to most parents that even adult children still need help working out the kinks in their lives.

Full story

Parenting Skills Should Trump Mental Health Screening:

Mental health screening of all children is the goal of legislation introduced into many state legislatures this year. Typical of these controversial bills is the Missouri bill that would require every Missouri school district, in collaboration with “the office of comprehensive child mental health,” to develop “a policy of incorporating social and emotional development into the district’s educational program.”

The Missouri bill requires schools to “address teaching and assessing social and emotional skills and protocols for responding to children with social, emotional or mental health problems.” The bill also requires the Missouri State Board of Education to set “social and emotional development standards.”

Full story

Leytonstone, London, UK — (SBWIRE) — 01/20/2006 — It’s that age old question, which would you choose, great sex, or an amazing relationship? Is it worth staying in a poor relationship if the sex is great? Or if the relationship is amazing, can sex be put on the backburner?

To mark Sam van Rood joining as the new Date Doctor for www.makefriendsonline.com, an online survey of members was carried out to discover what people really value; sex or relationships.

‘This is one of those questions everyone seems split over, sex v relationship – so we decided to find out the answer!” said van Rood.

The survey found that the British overwhelmingly prefer a great relationship over amazing sex. 71% of the 25,000 responses stated they would prefer OK sex with an amazing relationship, compared to 29% who would prefer great sex.

Men and women split firmly along gender lines with 80% of women and 64% of men saying that they would choose an amazing relationship over amazing sex.

Britain’s most sexually demanding region is the Isle of Man, where 52.94% of those surveyed would prefer great sex and an OK relationship.

Gloucestershire, proved to most committed to great relationships, with a whopping 83.08% of those polled saying an amazing relationship is most important.

Aries, Leo, Libra and Scorpios were the most frisky star signs, while Aquarius and Taurus were most committed to relationships.

Not surprisingly, those with higher incomes and education placed sex as a higher priority, with 40.54% in the High Range compared to 24.58% Low range.

Women looking for men who will put the relationship first should stick to the regions, particularly Leicestershire (80.47%), North Yorkshire (76.64%), Mid Glamorgan (76.6%), which fare much better than London where only 59.42% of men put relationship first over sex.

Men looking for a bit of fun should try Isle of Man (60%), Powys (44.44%), or County Armagh where 33.33% of women chose amazing sex over a relationship.

‘It seems that despite all the emphasis that seems to be put on sex, at heart people still want a amazing relationship and may be willing to look the other way if the sex is a bit iffy’ said Sam.

Survey details.

The survey was conducted with members of www.makefriendsonline.com. 25,622 members answered the question:

Would you rather:

Have amazing sex and an OK relationship? 29.21%
Have OK sex and an amazing relationship? 70.79%

Data was analysed by location, gender, star sign, age, income bracket and religion.

About Sam van Rood see www.samvanrood.com
Sam van Rood is a dating doctor who works for some of London’s leading single agencies, has featured in the Mirror, Sun, Express, Mail, Star, Glamour, More, on Trisha, BBC3, ‘What women really want’ and is currently filming the series ‘How to find a Husband’.

About www.makefriendsonline.com
MakeFriendsOnline is the UK’s largest Dating & Friendship service with over half a million members. Site features include free membership, member profiles, email, instant messaging, chat rooms, message boards and events.