Recent Comments:
Parents, School Fight Over Gym Class For Student With Diabetes {ParentDish}
Nov 20th 2009 10:28AM The thing is, some of the kids are more in need of, say, reading and math practice. How to decide which kids' special needs are more important for the school to address? Well, I start with what schools are designed for in the first place. The kids can get exercise elsewhere. If my kid needed daily morning exercise, I'd get him a treadmill or other indoor equipment, give him active morning chores, or take/send him for a morning walk / jog (including walking all or part of the way to school). Anyone can plan a kid's physical activity. Not everyone has the skills to address academic needs.
I do agree that all kids would benefit from the opportunity to exercise more, but I don't agree that school hours should have to be used for that.
Parents, School Fight Over Gym Class For Student With Diabetes {ParentDish}
Nov 20th 2009 2:58AM Ridiculous, and not the least bit surprising in this day and age.
Swine Flu: Will Your Kids Get the H1N1 Vaccine? {ParentDish}
Nov 18th 2009 9:59PM We are in good health, so we will embrace the opportunity to build our immunity by being exposed to the flu and riding it out. Actually, I think we already had it. But if someone in my family was high risk (e.g., asthmatic), I might get the vaccine.
I think it's getting late in the day; haven't the majority of Americans been exposed by now? Personally, it strikes me as unethical to push people to get a vaccine when there is a good chance they are already immune. It's one thing to weigh the toxicity of the vaccine against the illness; another to just poison everyone in case a few people are vulnerable.
NRA: Stop Asking Adoptive Parents About Guns {ParentDish}
Nov 17th 2009 6:02PM I don't know what Florida's home study process is like, but in my state, the social worker visits twice and walks through every room in the house, asking questions about anything that looks potentially dangerous. In addition, we have to have a fire inspection and numerous background checks. We had to fill out a form where we checked off various potential household dangers and safety measures that were (or were not) in place. I think it was written like "if you have a pool, does it have a fence around it." And N/A was accepted for stuff like locks on the cupboard doors and gates on the steps, since I didn't have kids yet when I filled out the form.
I think it's important to get a feel for the parents' understanding of and commitment to safety. But guns should not be treated any differently than, say, knives and cleaning products. Nobody asked me "do you have Draino in your house" so why would they ask "do you have guns"? There are enough people who have them, that they should confirm that each prospective parent knows what to do to ensure gun safety, versus singling out people who have guns.
I understand the NRA's concern - that a social worker who doesn't personally approve of guns will be biased and write a negative report. I do believe this could happen. I know it happens if you tell them that you believe in spanking, a perfectly legal and highly popular form of discipline. It happens if you have a dog that they consider to be mean-looking, or a housemate to whom you are not married. So it could certainly happen with guns.
Airbrushed Magazine Photos of Babies Spark Debate {ParentDish}
Nov 17th 2009 12:44PM I just noticed this statement:
"You will have parents thinking, my baby isn't attractive enough, how do I make my baby more attractive?" she says.
Ha ha! I have never met a parent who thought possible the existence of any child more attractive than his/hers! Myself included!
Airbrushed Magazine Photos of Babies Spark Debate {ParentDish}
Nov 16th 2009 10:37PM When I was a tot, they used to put red color to make all the kids' cheeks rosy and improve shadows, etc. In that and earlier generations, the photographers also used to slap the kids' faces in order to get the obligatory crying photos. (I can just see the whole slew of outraged comments that would set off here - oh, they had better not touch my precious poo or I'll rip their arm off, etc.)
Alas, professional photography of children or anyone else has never been particularly honest. For that matter, I've looked at a lot of art from before the days of photography, and I don't think I've ever seen a painting with a booger in a child's nose.
I love the highly concerned comments about the potential fallout of airbrushed babies. Parents will be led to believe their child isn't allowed to have creases! And that will lead to - what? Baby starvation and excessive exercise? A baby body image crisis? Some people have way too much time on their hands.
Airbrushed Magazine Photos of Babies Spark Debate {ParentDish}
Nov 16th 2009 5:55PM Oh, it's child abuse! Exploitation! Capitalistic greed! Let's boycott!
Student Braves Controversy, Refuses to Recite Pledge {ParentDish}
Nov 14th 2009 10:04AM He told his teacher to jump off the bridge. I don't care what started the whole thing, his parents ought to support the school's intention to punish him for that. They ought to punish him at home for it, too.
If he is such a wise and mature young man, he could have turned this into a respectful discussion. I would have been proud of my child had she done that. But the key word is "respectful."
I absolutely believe Americans should be raised to respect the flag and the positive principles it represents. Hence, I would agree with those who say the child's parents should have taught him to stand during the pledge, regardless of whether he spoke or not. To not stand during the pledge is to make a negative statement to your classmates about their love for their country. To me, that's disrespectful in addition to being an invitation to trouble.
The pledge is a pledge of allegiance, not an agreement with every thing that happens in this country. Are we now saying that gays don't consider themselves Americans? Maybe they can go found a new country where they will have better lives than they have here. I hope they are also saying "no thanks" to all forms of government assistance and protection while they are planning their great exodus.
But actually, I think this kid just likes attention and he's basking in it now.
New York Kids in Foster Care Too Long, Report Shows {ParentDish}
Nov 13th 2009 3:54PM By the way, where do you get the idea that "with adoption, you are guaranteed a child"? Many people work on adoptions for years (including adoptions from foster care) and they don't end up with a child. This is one of the biggest reasons many people won't seriouly consider adoption.
New York Kids in Foster Care Too Long, Report Shows {ParentDish}
Nov 13th 2009 3:50PM Elizabeth, I have no desire to judge your choices as far as your own family goes, nor anyone else's. But I know enough about people to know that the desire to bear a child, or to have a biological connection to one's child, is not easily written off as selfishness. Sometimes there is ignorance at play, but not always.
Some things are complex. This is one of them. There is no "one" reason, nor even a dozen reasons, why people make the choice to pursue all the available avenues toward procreation before (or instead of) considering adoption. But whatever an individual's reason, it's best that they acknowledge their feelings as opposed to going down a path that they are guilted into.
When I hear someone say "I couldn't love another child" (which is only one of many "reasons" I've heard), I think, well, I'm sorry about that, but I wouldn't want that person to adopt.
Some people might have all the charitable feelings toward these foster kids, but they recognize they are not up to the job of parenting them. It's one thing to parent an infant, quite another to parent a child who comes with a lot of baggage. Again, I'd rather someone recognized their limitations before jumping in and trying to apply an entirely wrong set of principles in nurturing a fragile young person. As a sub-set of that, there are folks who don't feel up to the task of parenting a child of a different race or culture - not because they are racist, but because they can't personally relate to the challenges these kids will face in order to help them address such challenges.
Then, as you mentioned, there are primal urges that impact individuals / couples in different ways. Who am I to demand an accounting of the whys and wherefores of a person's most heartfelt desires?
That foster kid you are talking about who knows some adults don't "want" him - do you really think he wouldn't figure it out if someone adopted him but didn't wholeheartedly desire him as their son? You can't prescribe familial love and acceptance. It has to come from the heart. It's not going to happen for some people - just like finding the perfect mate. That's reality. But at least the government could try to break down the unnecessary barriers that frustrate even the "meant to be" adoptions.
