Chronicles of a “Mr. Mom”

The source of my most recent humbling is a pledge made several years ago that I would never hyper-parent my children.

Hyper-parenting, you may recall, is the term coined years ago by a psychiatrist describing parents who over-schedule their children in an attempt to enrich their lives. They drag them from one activity to another, always keeping something on the schedule.

As it turns out, experts say this is bad for both the children and their parents. I frequently belittled those parents and felt quite superior in my parenting skills. I hesitate to go so far as to call myself supercilious, but I was knocking at its door.

Full story: Dad has to eat his words about parenting … again

Nancy Shute, expert writer on all things parenting for US News and World Report, has just described the current salmonella outbreak as the ’scariest’ she’s ever seen. Her fears don’t stem from the number of people sickened (491 and counting) or killed (seven so far) or the widespread geographical scope of the outbreak (43 states and Canada). Her concern is for the extremely large number of common supermarket items that are made from peanuts, peanut butter, or peanut paste.

Many items under suspicion of contamination are common products easily kept at room temperature, don’t require cooking, and are packaged to make them so easy to keep handy. Those same characteristics create an ideal living environment for the bacteria that is making so many people so sick.

Full story: Parenting Expert Says Current Salmonella Outbreak is ‘Scariest’ Ever

What were they thinking?

• Apple
• Bronx Mowgli
• Sunday Rose

More about these names right here…

More stories:

Store Refuses to Make Birthday Cake for Adolf Hitler

Here’s one more:

6 Baby Names You Probably Shouldn’t Give Your Kid

Our baby was having a huge meltdown the other morning while my wife was already at work. As I dropped my older son in front of the television and picked a Bob the Builder cartoon from On Demand, I wondered how my parents raised me and my sister before VCRs and DVR players and YouTube. Did they simply have to hope there was a “Sesame Street” episode starting on KQED when the toddler-related chaos hit DEFCON 1? How did they entertain us when “Electric Company” wasn’t on? Elaborate puppet shows?
I’m perfectly happy to take this for granted.

This is a thought I have almost every day. Whether it’s jumpy houses to wear my kids out at the Farmer’s Market or technological developments such as portable DVD players on plane trips, I frequently salute the parenting inventions that have come along during my lifetime.

Full story: The greatest parenting invention of your lifetime

..reviving an economy is more like parenting. There’s no manual. If there were a parenting manual, every hospital would hand one out with every newborn. But there isn’t a manual because each kid is different. And parents come to learn that they aren’t really in charge. There’s too much of the process they can’t control. So great parenting isn’t about doing whatever it takes. It’s an art. It’s about a set of principles and knowing which principle to apply in which situation. When to be tough. When to be soft. When to give a kid a do-over.

Even the most skilled parents make mistakes. Not because they don’t understand what it takes to be a good parent. Not because they aren’t committed to doing the job as well as it can humanly be done. But simply because there’s no way of knowing what to do next.

Full story: How To Move The Economy Forward

- Ravi Jayagopal

Whether you’re a parent jumping enthusiastically for joy, or a kid moaning and groaning, there’s no getting around the fact that school is just around the corner. And as schools across the country kick into full swing, children will be filling the streets, sidewalks and parking lots as they get themselves to and from school.

When I was a kid, I had to walk … uphill … both ways, for most of my youth. And it snowed most days, too! Whether your student will be traveling by bus, car, bike or under foot power, there are numerous things to keep in mind to make sure each trip is a safe one.

Full story

Your young preschooler may be ready for class, but is she ready for the bus?

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Like most schools these days, Edmonton’s Vernon Barford junior high lived by the modern ethic: more homework produces smarter kids, better marks and happier parents.

But that changed in 2006 when the school decided to buck the trend and reduce the load of assignments sent home in the book-laden backpacks of young teens.

The result? Even better marks, happier students and more creative projects, says Principal Stephen Lynch.

Full story: Less school pressure, more results

In many ways, pediatricians do know more than parents. When your doctor says your newborn needs to ride in a rear-facing car seat, don’t argue. When he says your 2-month-old with a 105-degree fever needs to get to the doctor’s office — and fast — you’d better listen.

But there are far more areas that are gray and have no science, or not very good science, to back them up, says our panel of pediatric experts. They say that sometimes, this means your pediatrician is giving you his or her opinion, not medical fact.

Full story: When it’s OK to question your pediatrician’s advice

Will someone please put an end to her misery?

Either get her help - or just leave her alone to do whatever she wants (even if that includes taking her own life).

How many more tens of thousands of our hard-earned tax dollars are going to be wasted in caring for this attention-seeking, two-bit, incapable, terrible-mom piece-of-you-know-what?

What is this world coming to?

Brit Heads to Hospital for Second Time This Month