ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com/media/feedlogo.gif ParentDish http://www.parentdish.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Yahoo! tells us why we squirt baby bottle milk on our wristshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/09/yahoo-tells-us-why-we-squirt-baby-bottle-milk-on-our-wrists/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/09/yahoo-tells-us-why-we-squirt-baby-bottle-milk-on-our-wrists/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/09/yahoo-tells-us-why-we-squirt-baby-bottle-milk-on-our-wrists/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Baby bottle temperature testerI love the Clips feature in Google Mail. It shows me interesting URLs I might not have found by my own devices. Take this one from Ask Yahoo!. (Yes, Ask Yahoo! is one of the default feeds for Gmail. Welcome to the weird, wild world of the 21st-century info economy, folks!) Some inquisitive reader wondered why we squirt baby bottle milk on our wrists to test its temperature.

Wanna guess? Oh come on, take a guess...

If you guessed it's because the skin on your wrist is thinner than on your hands, you're...right! What you may not have known is that your elbow is also a prime testing spot for warm milk. Or you could bypass your body altogether and put your baby's safety in the hands of these baby bottle temperature indicators. Oh, rapacious capitalism dressed in the sheep's clothing of science, what would we ever do without you??

(On another note, do you think this company could have made their product photo a little less...um, you know...phallic? Yes, I know, I'm terrible...)

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]]>Jay AllenThu, 09 Feb 2006 09:03:00 EST35 percent of American parents are video gamers, says surveyhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/03/35-percent-of-american-parents-are-video-gamers-says-survey/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/03/35-percent-of-american-parents-are-video-gamers-says-survey/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/03/35-percent-of-american-parents-are-video-gamers-says-survey/#commentsFiled under: ,

Ultimate Spider-ManThanks to our peeps at Joystiq for this news about the video game habits of American parents. It seems the digital distractions aren't just for kids anymore: 35 percent of parents partake of the hobby, according to a study commissioned by the Entertainment Software Association. (And given that these folks live or die by how well they market their product, I'm inclined to believe they did everything in their power to get the numbers right.) The numbers not only cut evenly across political boundaries, but across gender as well: 47 percent of gamer parents are moms. [Story edited to remove stupid and sexist comment I made earlier.]

One heartening figure from the survey: 85 percent of parents, whether gamers or not, said it is their responsibility to monitor the games their kids play, and not the government's. Only 37 percent of parents polled believe the government should regulate the games that kids can buy.

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]]>esakidsparentsspider-manJay AllenFri, 03 Feb 2006 21:13:00 ESTCell phone for baby? Better get him these pants to boot!http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/03/cell-phone-for-baby-better-get-him-these-pants-to-boot/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/03/cell-phone-for-baby-better-get-him-these-pants-to-boot/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/03/cell-phone-for-baby-better-get-him-these-pants-to-boot/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Old Navy pantsThanks to Kim at Three Dogs and a Baby for this pointer to Old Navy, where you can make your child the proud owner of a pair of  cargo pants...with a pocket for his or her cell phone, so your baby or toddler can be just like "the big kid". Um, no, Old Navy - if you wanted our tots to be just like "the big kids", you would sell these pants along with a laptop, a jumbo bottle of Tums, and $10,000 in consumer debt. I know kids are growing up quickly these days, but can't we wait just a little longer to grow 'em up? Is it too much to ask to wait until my child is, say, 4 years old before I get him accustomed to a digital tether?

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]]>clotheskidsold navyOldNavypantsparentsJay AllenFri, 03 Feb 2006 20:11:00 ESTStudent essay draws Secret Service to school for President, Oprah threathttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/02/student-essay-draws-secret-service-to-school/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/02/student-essay-draws-secret-service-to-school/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/02/student-essay-draws-secret-service-to-school/#commentsFiled under: ,

Oprah WinfreyYou know, I've read a ton of parenting advice books, and for the life of me I've never seen one that contained a section urging parents to warn their kids NOT to joke about killing the President of the United States. Perhaps that explains this story from Rhode Island, in which an unnamed seventh-grader was asked to describe his perfect day in an essay. His idea of perfection? The annihilation of George W. Bush, Oprah Winfrey, and executives from Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola. The boy has been temporarily suspended from school as a mental health precaution, but was not arrested for threatening the President, as his threat wasn't specific enough to constitute a criminal offense.

I would love 10 minutes inside this child's head to find out how Oprah made it on that list. After watching her takedown of James Frey, I'd think she'd be someone you'd want to have working for you, not against you. (Besides, I'm sure Oprah's SWAT team of trained assassins can take out any potential threat with less than 24 hours' notice.)  Secretly, I have to wonder if the Secret Service was more concerned about the Queen of Daytime TV than about their reputed boss. Hmm...does this kid know something we don't know?!

(Oh, and it's my duty to remind all commenters that threatening the life of the President is a felony. Just putting that out there...)

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]]>essaygeorge w. bushGeorgeW.Bushoprah winfreyOprahWinfreyschoolterrorismJay AllenThu, 02 Feb 2006 20:08:00 ESTFaustian opera broadcast angers elementary school parentshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/02/faustian-opera-broadcast-angers-elementary-school-parents/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/02/faustian-opera-broadcast-angers-elementary-school-parents/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/02/02/faustian-opera-broadcast-angers-elementary-school-parents/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

FaustDid an elementary school teacher encourage his students to strike bargains with the Prince of Darkness? That was some parents in Bennett, Colorado think about  Tresa Waggoner, who showed an opera video containing scenes of a production of Faust to first-, second-, and third-graders. Some parents were appalled that their kids were exposed to the classic story about a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for worldly gain.  Waggoner hasn't been fired, but says she doesn't expect to stay in the "conservative" community for very long.

Truth be told, I can see the parents' point. Faust is a rather gritty tale for the likes of elementary school students. For high school students, however, knowledge of the story should be required. It's a classic Western legend of sin and redemption - not a glorification of Satan, as some of these parents seem to believe.

If anything, Tresa Waggoner should be penalized, not for Satanism, but for trying to coerce young children into enjoying opera. What the hell is that about

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]]>Jay AllenThu, 02 Feb 2006 19:06:00 ESTGroovy Girls: cute, durable - and doomed?!http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/31/groovy-girls-cute-durable-and-doomed/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/31/groovy-girls-cute-durable-and-doomed/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/31/groovy-girls-cute-durable-and-doomed/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Groovy GirlsI was reading Karen Walrond's latest post about Barbie sales being off, and was pleased to see a comment by Mary suggesting that parents ditch the Barbies in favor of Groovy Girls. I have to say, I second that emotion. We have an ass-ton of Groovy Girls at our house, and the kids love them. As Mary noted, they're plush and neatly dressed, but don't contain the ridiculously disproportionate curves of Mattel's mainstay. Another benefit? Since they're not composed of detachable parts like Barbies, they're extremely durable. At this point, nearly every Barbie we own looks like a survivor of Hiroshima; there are hardly any left not missing at least once body part. (And we have a few that look like they could star in a remake of Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun.) Not one of the Girls, however, has come undone in the 6 years we've been buying them.

Sadly, this post may be coming too late: It looks like all of the Groovy Girls for sale at Imaginarium Online are out of stock. Is this just a temporary glitch - or is it the swan song for America's favorite alterna-doll? I've sent email to the manufacturer, Manhattan Toy Company, to try and get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, if you can't find them in stock elsewhere, you can always pick up plenty of Groovy Girls stuff on eBay.

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]]>groovy girlsGroovyGirlskidsparentingparentstoysJay AllenTue, 31 Jan 2006 19:06:00 ESTA physical punishment detente: Education over criminalization?http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/31/a-physical-punishment-detente-education-over-criminalization/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/31/a-physical-punishment-detente-education-over-criminalization/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/31/a-physical-punishment-detente-education-over-criminalization/#commentsFiled under: ,

No Spanking t-shirtMy previous post on physical punishment and spanking has sparked a wonderful discussion about the issue that's caused me to step back and think thinks over. Panthergirl, whose blog against physical punishment started this whole debate, has said publicly that she doesn't wish to debate the issue with supporters of spanking and hitting. With all due respect to Panthergirl, I think that's a mistake.

It's clear that there is common ground in this debate. We all agree that many kids today are spoiled and overindulged. Too many kids believe they deserve the world on a silver platter. We live in a materialistic, McDonald's-focused culture where everyone is convinced that they can have it "their way". Concern for others takes second place over concern for our own stomachs. Is it any wonder, then, that many of America's children are turning out to be brats?

The debatable question is whether spanking and hitting are valid tools to help stem this problem. I believe strongly that they are not.

But does that mean we ought to make it illegal? I'm not convinced.

Continue reading A physical punishment detente: Education over criminalization?

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]]>Jay AllenTue, 31 Jan 2006 16:55:00 ESTThe label un-maker: My toddler terrorizes our canned goodshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/30/the-label-un-maker-my-toddler-terrorized-our-canned-goods/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/30/the-label-un-maker-my-toddler-terrorized-our-canned-goods/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/30/the-label-un-maker-my-toddler-terrorized-our-canned-goods/#commentsFiled under: ,

Cans without labelsAh, I love the age of 2. It's an age of exploration, of discovery...and of driving your parents absolutely freaking insane. The latest devilish device of my two-year-old boy Luka? Tearing the labels off of canned goods. You haven't experienced a good time until you've played Mystery Food, shaking a dozen unlabeled cans and trying to judge by the way the contents shift whether it contains corn or garbonzo beans.

The solution? Um...beats me. Outside of moving all the canned goods to a high shelf, or not getting absorbed in writing Blogging Baby posts, I can't...um...sigh. Hold on, I'll be right back...

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]]>kidsparentingsterrorismJay AllenMon, 30 Jan 2006 16:12:00 ESTWhen kids starting doing chores...be afraid. Be VERY afraid.http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/28/when-kids-starting-doing-chores-be-afraid-be-very-afraid/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/28/when-kids-starting-doing-chores-be-afraid-be-very-afraid/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/28/when-kids-starting-doing-chores-be-afraid-be-very-afraid/#commentsFiled under: ,

Scrubbing BubblesYesterday I saw what had to be the strangest thing I've ever seen in my parenting career: my nine-year-old daughter Neve taking out the trash. No one had asked her to do it; no one had even hinted it might be a good idea. A few moments later, I saw her putting a refill on our Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush (the best invention since the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser).

That's when I knew something was up.

Sure enough, 15 minutes later my daughter bid me to "check your bedroom". There was our bed, perfectly made - and a sign reading "Check the toilet". On the scrubbed toilet was a sign reading, "Check the garbage". There I was greeted by a sign declaring, "Check the kitchen table". And at the kitchen table was Neve, holding a sign reading, "CAN WE GO TO CHUCK E. CHEESE? PLEEEEEEEAS???"

I have to say, I was let down. Here, I was holding out hope - however razor-thin - that my daughter had decided to become an autonomous agent within the household, doing chores out of pure goodness and not expecting anything in return. I thanked her profusely for her hard work...and then told her there was no way we were going to that overpriced noise-fest.

(And no, I didn't use those exact words. I am a professional parent, after all.)

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]]>choreschuck e. cheeseChuckE.CheesekidsparentsJay AllenSat, 28 Jan 2006 16:08:00 ESTNew Jersey lesbian couple demands both be listed as birth parentshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/28/new-jersey-lesbian-couple-demands-both-be-listed-as-birth-parent/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/28/new-jersey-lesbian-couple-demands-both-be-listed-as-birth-parent/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/28/new-jersey-lesbian-couple-demands-both-be-listed-as-birth-parent/#commentsFiled under: , ,

New Jersey - Monmouth CountyBack in July, Stefania Butler reported on the conflict in Massachusetts over how to change birth certificates to acknowledge same-sex parents. The battle has apparently spread to Monmouth County in New Jersey, where Catherine M. O'Conor and Stephanie A. DiVita have petitioned a judge asking that they both be listed as parents once their child is born. Judge Ronald Reisner temorarily dodged the bullet by dismissing the case on the grounds that the child hasn't been born. But the couple has vowed to re-file after the birth.

One judge in New Jersey has approved a similar request, but others have denied it. The New Jersey attorney general insists that existing laws covering artificial insemination don't extend to same-sex couple, and that the legislature must change the law if it wishes to allow it. Aaah, it's always nice to see political buck-passing get in the way of granting people their rights. (Um, not.)

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]]>adoptionkidslesbiannew jerseyNewJerseyparentsJay AllenSat, 28 Jan 2006 14:07:00 ESTDad (wrongly?) slugs teaching assistant after teen alleges molestationhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/dad-hits-teacher-after-teen-alleges-abuse/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/dad-hits-teacher-after-teen-alleges-abuse/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/dad-hits-teacher-after-teen-alleges-abuse/#commentsFiled under: , ,

In Buddhism, it's taught that you should always keep your anger in check, for reacting in anger does nothing but perpetuate the negative karmic cycles of hate and violence. On top of that, sometimes it can land you in jail. That seems to be the case for Dave F. Swafford, the father of a 15-year-old girl who attends Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Florida. The girl told her dad that a teacher's assistant had touched her sexually. The dad did what any rational man would do: he marched into school and punched the poor assistant in the face.

Why do I say "the poor assistant"? Because a surveilliance camera in the class revealed that the supposed incident never happened when the girl said it did. Police concluded that the girl told a tattle to get revenge on the TA for punishing her, and Swafford now faces assault charges for letting his fist fly.

Continue reading Dad (wrongly?) slugs teaching assistant after teen alleges molestation

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]]>kidsparentsschoolteacherviolenceJay AllenFri, 27 Jan 2006 20:31:00 ESTBlogger launches anti-physical punishment campaignhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/blogger-launches-anti-physical-punishment-campaign/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/blogger-launches-anti-physical-punishment-campaign/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/blogger-launches-anti-physical-punishment-campaign/#commentsFiled under: ,

SpankOut Day USAPanthergirl, who has blogged for what seems like a dog's age over at The Dog's Breakfast, has launched a new blog devoted to making physical punishment of kids illegal in the United States. Panthergirl justifies her position in one of her latest posts: "We've outlawed it in most (not all) schools. We have to stop letting parents use their own (often fatally flawed) judgment when deciding where discipline ends and abuse begins." On top of trying to get Oprah Winfrey to pay attention to this issue, she's also promoting Spank-Out Day USA on April 30th.

Personally, I'm all for this. I can understand why some parents think they need to resort to physical abuse to keep their kids in line. But there is no objective situation I've ever seen that demands its use. In the end, physical punishment is an ineffective means of dealing with a developing rational being. Allowing it in any way, shape or form can only lead to more severe abuse as a child's "transgressions" grow more severe. Kudos to PG for her efforts - here's hoping they take off in a big way.

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]]>corporal punishmentCorporalPunishmentdadsdisciplinekidsmomsparentspunishmentJay AllenFri, 27 Jan 2006 19:09:00 ESTFathers 4 Justice will be "household name" in US, says coordinatorhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/fathers-4-justice-will-be-household-name-in-us-says-coordinat/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/fathers-4-justice-will-be-household-name-in-us-says-coordinat/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/27/fathers-4-justice-will-be-household-name-in-us-says-coordinat/#commentsFiled under:

Fathers 4 JusticeFathers 4 Justice, the father's rights organization in Britain that's become (in)famous for dads protesting in superhero costumes and for flinging purple powder at Tony Blair, has officially thrown in the towel in the UK. The group was thrown for a loop after accusations that some of its members plotted to kidnap Tony Blair's son as a "publicity stunt". However, the de-activation of F4J doesn't mean that similar groups in other countries are giving in. In a recent email to the Yahoo! Group dadsinfamilycourt, U.S. group coordinator  John Fowler proclaimed that "2006 will be the year F4J becomes a household name in the United States". In other words, expect lots of spottings of Spiderman and Robin on top of the Washington monument in months to come. Will this do anything to improve enforcement of visitation orders? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

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]]>fathersfathers 4 justiceFathers4Justiceleo blairLeoBlairprotestsuperheroestony blairTonyBlairJay AllenFri, 27 Jan 2006 08:01:00 ESTFor your amusement: "Duck and cover" school video from 1951http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/for-your-amusement-duck-and-cover-video/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/for-your-amusement-duck-and-cover-video/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/for-your-amusement-duck-and-cover-video/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Bert the Turtle - Duck and cover
Want a hilarious blast from the past? The Internet Archive hosts this video on "Duck and Cover", a production of the Department of Defense meant to teach kids what to do in case of an atomic attack. The video focuses on Bert the Turtle, who retreats into his shell whenever a monkey tries to explode a stick of TNT next to his head. (Uhhhh...) The narrator pulls out all the stops in scaring the bejeezus out of kids, explaining that the nuclear air raid alarms can sound "at any time, even when you're outside playing". Hell, an attack can even come so quickly that there will be no air raid siren! One scene shows two kids, Paul and Patty, walking to school as the narrator outlines the potential doom they face: "Here they are going to school on a beautiful spring day...but no matter where they go or what they do, they always try to remember what to do if the atom bomb explodes right then. [White flash] It's a bomb! Duck, and cover!"

It's amazing any child of that era was able to sleep at night.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about this video is that, despite having been produced in 1951, it depicts a racially integrated classroom. I imagine this reel didn't get much play in the South...

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]]>duck and coverDuckAndCoverkidsnuclear warNuclearWarparentingparentsschoolteachersJay AllenTue, 24 Jan 2006 13:07:00 ESTSchool nurses a thing of the past?http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/school-nurses-a-thing-of-the-past/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/school-nurses-a-thing-of-the-past/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/school-nurses-a-thing-of-the-past/#commentsFiled under: ,

School nurseRemember the school nurse? I sure do. For most of middle school I was in her office at least twice a week, attempting to dream up a new excuse to get my ass sent home for the day. (The classes were fine; it was the other kidsin the classes who didn't sit well with me.) If I were a student today - and, for some bizarre reason, I seem to repeat 7th grade in my dreams at least once a week - I'd probably be trying to con the principal and his assistants. CNN.com reports that in most cases, the "school nurse" has gone the way of "duck and cover" drills. In many cases, a single nurse travels a half-dozen or more schools, seeing students and training administrators in what do should a kid, oh, you know, go into anaphylactic shock or something. This means diabetic kids like Katie Assael have to have a parent within minutes of the school at all times - since if Katie needs to have an insulin shot, a parent must administer it, as no one else at the school is legally allowed to give it to her.

This can't be the plan. Tell me this is NOT the plan.

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]]>kidsnurseparentingparentsschoolJay AllenTue, 24 Jan 2006 11:02:00 ESTDisposable vs. cloth diaper debate rages in Britainhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/disposable-vs-cloth-diaper-debate-rages-in-britain/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/disposable-vs-cloth-diaper-debate-rages-in-britain/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/24/disposable-vs-cloth-diaper-debate-rages-in-britain/#commentsFiled under: ,

Cloth diapersSucks to be you, Great Britain. You blokes appear to be entering the throes of a debate we parents in the states have been having - uselessly, I might add - for years: whether to put disposable or cloth diapers on your precious baby's behind. It seems that "environmentally conscious" thing is spreading east of the Atlantic Ocean, prompting some parents to give up the convenience of disposables for the perceived save-the-Earth benefits of cloth. As usual in Europe, the government provides a little extra incentive to make the socially responsible choice: in the London Bureau of Camden, parents can receive a 51 pound/month stipend to offset the cost of external laundering. Even so, the article says, there are a fraction of cloth acolytes compared to disposable apostates, and disciples of the cloth have an uphill battle in convincing their friends to accept cloth nappies as their Lord and savior.

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]]>babiescloth diapersClothDiapersdiapersdisposable diapersDisposableDiaperskidsparentingparentsJay AllenTue, 24 Jan 2006 10:11:00 ESTHigh School Musical party: How we survivedhttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/21/high-school-musical-party-how-we-survived/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/21/high-school-musical-party-how-we-survived/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/21/high-school-musical-party-how-we-survived/#commentsHigh School MusicalLast week, before my wife left to go cover Sundance, my eight-year-old daughter Neve asked if she could have a "High School Musical party". High School Musical, she informed me, is "the newest DCOM" - Disney slang for "Disney Channel Original Movie". (What was that Orwell said about corrupting the language?) Disney's Web site did more than just encourage kids to watch the film, though: it egged them on to throw their own "Red Carpet Premiere Party".

I don't know what mixture of pity and "there's a sucker born every minute"-ness caused me to say "yes", but last night my mother and I found ourselves wrangling a total of eight kids from 8pm until 10pm. Half of the kids were Neve's guests; the other were my three little ones under age 7, whom we had to keep entertained while the big kids watched their "dumb show". By the time we got everybody out the door at 10:30, the floors were littered with toys and popcorn shards.

Somehow, though, we managed to make it through without once losing our collective sanity. (It helped that my kids collapsed in their beds shortly afterwards.) It was one of those situations where you just have to accept that, for the next two hours of your life, you're going to be swimming in a cacophonous hell. And, hey - if you have to be in hell, you might as well bring a stick and some marshmallows and make a time of it.

And the movie itself? It was cute. Very...musical, I'm afraid, but cute. It centered around an inspirational plot about a science geek and a jock who enter the musical together, throwing the entire social structure of their school into disarray. I'm sure I'll be able to dissect its finer cinematic points over the next week, as my daughter astutely recorded it on the DVR. Thank the gods there's a new Full Metal Alchemist on tonight...

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]]>disneyhigh schoolHighSchoolmoviemoviesmusicalschooltelevisiontvJay AllenSat, 21 Jan 2006 17:03:00 ESTTeacher's missing iPod leads to student pat-down, enraging parentshttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/teachers-missing-ipod-leads-to-student-pat-down-enraging-paren/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/teachers-missing-ipod-leads-to-student-pat-down-enraging-paren/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/teachers-missing-ipod-leads-to-student-pat-down-enraging-paren/#commentsFiled under: ,

Stolen iPodYou know, it's sad that a sixth grader thought it was okay to steal a personal piece of equipment valued at anywhere from $200 to $400. I feel for the teacher at Jewell Simpson Houston Academy in Texas who lost her iPod to someone's sticky fingers. But was it necessary - or even appropriate - to round up dozens of students, take them to the cafeteria, and pad them down for the missing equipment? School officials say the search was "within school policy". Well, maybe. But should Americans be getting our students accustomed to what would otherwise be an illegal search if they were adults and the teachers were police?

Here's another question: were any of this teacher's colleagues ever suspects? Or did the staff simply assume it was a kid?

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]]>ipodkidsmp3parentsschoolteacherstechnologytuawJay AllenThu, 19 Jan 2006 14:07:00 ESTGroup to sue Nickelodeon, Kellogg to stop junk food advertisinghttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/group-to-sue-nickelodeon-kellogg-to-stop-junk-food-advertising/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/group-to-sue-nickelodeon-kellogg-to-stop-junk-food-advertising/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/group-to-sue-nickelodeon-kellogg-to-stop-junk-food-advertising/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Talk about a Quixotic quest. The Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood have served notice of their intent to sue both Nickelodeon Networks and Kellogg Co. in an attempt to stop the companies from marketing what they regard as unhealthful food to America's children. Nickelodeon claims it's innocent, saying that it promotes healthful eating and exercise in kids daily. (Carrots, anyone?) But CSPI says BS, claiming that it's analyzed weekday and Saturday morning advertising and found the majority of products advertised to be crap.

The Center for Consumer Freedom opposes the lawsuit , saying that the lawsuit rests on three flawed assumptions: that parents can't turn off the TV, that parents can't control what their kids eat, and that parents can't send their children outside to get some exercise. That's a little disingenuous. If Nick and other stations were constantly broadcasting commercials and content that were attempting to sexualize kids, parents would be in an uproar and would have a right to complain. Why shouldn't parents be concerned if the majority of food advertising pushes junk? It's a matter of cultural values. Mind you, I think a billion-dollar lawsuit is itself a symptom of our broken culture. But that doesn't mean that CSPI doesn't have a point.

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]]>Jay AllenThu, 19 Jan 2006 13:01:00 ESTCarnival of Homeschooling celebrates home-grown teaching and learninghttp://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/carnival-of-homeschooling-celebrates-home-grown-teaching-and-lea/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/carnival-of-homeschooling-celebrates-home-grown-teaching-and-lea/http://www.parentdish.com/2006/01/19/carnival-of-homeschooling-celebrates-home-grown-teaching-and-lea/#commentsFiled under:

Thanks to Glenn Reynolds' Instapundit for turning me on to the Carnival of Homeschooling, a collection of delicious links for those of us who have converted our living rooms into classrooms. There's a ton of information here from parents across the blogosphere - from tips on building time capsules and studying nature at home, to rants about the myth of socialization. As usual, the best part of such a round-up is checking out the names some people come up with for their blogs. My personal fave? "A teacher is simply a student with unlimited chalkboard privileges". Hail and amen!

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]]>homeschoolinginstapunditkidsparentsschoolschoolingJay AllenThu, 19 Jan 2006 12:05:00 EST