The Week: Most Recent parenting

Stay-at-home moms: More vulnerable to depression than working moms?

The Week — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:10:00 -0400

Here's some fresh ammunition in the "mommy wars": According to a new Gallup poll, stay-at-home moms are more likely to report feeling sad and angry than working moms. Does this mean it's healthier for women to balance family life with a job outside the home, or is the picture more complicated? Here, a brief guide to the findings:

What exactly did the survey reveal?
A quarter of stay-at-home moms said they had felt sadness the day before the survey, compared to just 16 percent of working mothers. One-fifth of the stay-at-home moms reported having felt anger the day before, compared to 14 percent...

Can you trademark your baby's name?

The Week — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:57:00 -0400

This winter, Jay-Z and Beyonce took the "cutthroat" competition to coin the most original baby name to a new level, when they trademarked "Blue Ivy" to ensure other new moms and dads wouldn't copy the name of their new daughter, born Jan. 7 in New York City. Are we in for a wave of parents staking similar claims on baby-name turf? Here, a brief guide:

Why did Beyonce and Jay-Z get so protective about a name?
It's all about the brand. The recording stars most likely reserved the name of their wee A-lister "for a future line of baby clothing or kiddie items with the label Blue Ivy Carter on it," says...

Strange trend alert: Moms who freeze their adult daughters' eggs

The Week — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:05:00 -0400

Fertility clinics may be getting a bit more crowded, as a growing number of women are showing up with their parents tagging along. Why? Wannabe grandparents can hear their daughters' biological clocks ticking, so they're offering to pay to freeze their eggs to improve the odds of becoming grandparents later in life, according to The New York Times. Is this kind of helicopter grandparenting the next big thing? Here, a guide to this new twist on the family dynamics of fertility treatments:

How many would-be grandmothers are doing this?
There are no statistics available, but the Times says fertility...

TIME's jaw-dropping breast-feeding cover: Too provocative?

The Week — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:23:00 -0400

TIME magazine sent a jolt through the blogosphere when it unveiled the cover image of its latest issue: A 26-year-old mom breast-feeding her 3-year-old son, who's standing on a chair to reach her nipple. (See the image to the right, and larger below.) The accompanying article, "The Man Who Remade Motherhood," examines the rise of attachment parenting, a style of child-rearing that abides by three main tenets: Extended breast-feeding, co-sleeping, and "baby wearing," or attaching infants to the parent as often as possible with a sling. "To me, the whole point of a magazine cover is to get your attention...

Parents who pay their grown children's bills: By the numbers

The Week — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:18:00 -0400

In the popular imagination, the money from mom and dad stops when you leave home at age 18 or soon thereafter. In reality, according to a new study, leaving home is optional, and the money flows to most young adults even if they do make their way into the big, wide world. Even more surprising, says lead author Patrick Wightman at the University of Minnesota, parents play favorites, and are "more likely to help those who, even at a young age, help themselves." Take that, common sense! Here's a look at the largesse of today's parents, by the numbers:

62
Percent of young adults (age 19-22) who...

The cost of overprotective parenting: Breaking children's legs?

The Week — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:08:00 -0400

Many worried parents go the extra mile to try and keep their young children safe, but sometimes overprotective moms and dads are more problem than solution. Case in point: Slides. "When your toddler is clamoring to ride down the big-kid slide at the playground, most parents assume that the safest thing to do is put her on your lap and ride down with her," says Lylah Alphonse at Yahoo Shine. In fact, that's a great way to break your child's leg. "It's so common, but parents say: 'How did I not know about this?'" says Dr. John Gaffney. Here, a look at the unintended dangers of parents at the playground...

Drinking hand sanitizer and 9 other unsettling teen substance-abuse trends

The Week — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:30:00 -0400

A half dozen teens in California have ended up in emergency rooms after drinking alcohol that had been extracted from hand sanitizer. Through a distillation process, the kids were able to create a moonshine with a whopping 60 percent alcohol content. If that seems dumb and dangerous, here are 9 other surprising ways teens are making the legal illicit:

'Human Barbie' Sarah Burge: 5 reasons she's the 'worst mother' ever

The Week — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:31:00 -0400

Sarah Burge is quite used to being condemned. The British mom calls herself the "Human Barbie," boasting that she has spent more than $800,000 on plastic surgery to transform herself into a real-life version of the absurdly proportioned, eternally youthful doll. She promotes nips and tucks in ways that even plastic surgeons disparage as "insane." But what's really stoked Burge's notoriety are her efforts to encourage her daughters to follow in her plastic footsteps. Here, five dubious moves that have other parents calling Burge the "worst mother of all time":

1. She promotes kids parties at Botox...

Is Tennessee trying to ban hand-holding?

The Week — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:05:00 -0400

Tennessee lawmakers don't want to stop at teaching teenagers to abstain from sex. A bill working its way through the legislature — and already approved by the Senate — would require public schools to urge students to swear off any kind of romantic contact that could lead to hotter and heavier stuff before marriage. Does that mean something as innocent as holding hands will soon be taboo in the Volunteer State? Here's what you need to know:

What exactly would the bill forbid?
That's unclear: The bill bars sexual education instructors, including outside groups invited to address students...

The disturbing rise of the deadly childhood 'choking game'

The Week — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:35:00 -0400

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that 6 percent of Oregon eighth-graders have played the "choking game," in which thrill-seekers cut off oxygen and blood flow to the brain for kicks. The potentially deadly practice has been around for years, but it now seems to be increasing in popularity, possibly because kids who have done it may be encouraging others to try it by posting videos on YouTube. Just how dangerous is the choking game? Here, a brief guide:

What is the choking game?
It's not really a game. It involves choking oneself using a rope or belt, or having a friend do...

Inside the super-sized life of TLC's Duggar family: By the numbers

The Week — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:25:00 -0400

Raising even one or two children can be a daunting endeavor for parents, which perhaps explains the mystification of many Americans that Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar manage to rear a brood of 19 kids. NBC's Today is pulling back the curtain a bit on the already exposed stars of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting, and according to the Arkansas couple, their parenting feat is less a miracle than it is a product of good planning and teamwork. Here, a numerical look at the Duggars' "super-sized" household:

21
Members of the nuclear family, including 19 kids (age 2 to 24)

18
Children who still live at home...

Puberty... at 6 years old?

The Week — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:20:00 -0400

Puberty can be confusing and uncomfortable for a budding adolescent. But what happens when that process starts as early as age 6? More and more young girls under the age of 10 are showing the first signs of puberty, causing some parents to worry, even going so far as to use hormone-suppressing drugs. And doctors aren't just alarmed — they're stumped. Here, a look at the puzzling issue:

Are 6-year-olds really hitting puberty?
Take the case of 9-year-old Ainsley Sioux in Fort Collins, Colo. At age 6, she began growing pubic hair. By the time she hit third-grade, she was the tallest child...

Is forcing a 7-year-old to diet cruel?

The Week — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:22:00 -0400

Move over, Tiger Mom. America has a new "mom-we-love-to-hate": Socialite Dara-Lynn Weiss, who forced her 7-year-old daughter, Bea, to lose 16 pounds through a strict diet, and then shared her tough-love techniques in the April issue of Vogue. Bea's pre-diet weight put her in the 99th percentile for girls her age and, like 17 percent of kids 2 to 19, she was officially obese. The article — and the news that Weiss would be expanding it into a book, thanks to a deal with Random House's Ballantine imprint — has incensed parenting bloggers, who call Weiss' tactics "disgusting" and cruel...

Ick factor: Why is Alicia Silverstone feeding her child like a baby bird?

The Week — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:53:00 -0400

Plenty of parents post videos online showing off their progeny's ability to play, dance, and generally be ingratiating. But, judging by the mommy blogger reaction, actress Alicia Silverstone has taken the baby video to a disturbing new level. In a clip she posted on her blog, The Kind Life, Silverstone feeds her 11-month-old son, Bear Blu, by chewing up food and passing it from her mouth into his. (See the video below.) She did once star in a film called Clueless — but isn't this taking mother-child bonding a bit too far?

This is disgusting and baffling: "I'm trying to come up with...

Colorado's ruined Easter egg hunt: Helicopter parents gone too far?

The Week — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:30:00 -0400

It's safe to say the 2011 Easter egg hunt in Old Colorado City, Colo., did not go as planned. Organizers had expected young kids to waddle out into Bancroft Park and collect the brightly colored plastic eggs that had been strewn on the grass. Instead, when the master of ceremonies gave the signal to start, the field was overrun by overzealous parents. The hunt was over in the blink of an eye, much to the bewilderment of the children standing on the sidelines and the anger of those parents who had played by the rules. This year, Old Colorado City canceled the event, and the debacle is being characterized...

Free condoms... for 12-year-olds?

The Week — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:30:00 -0400

School officials in Springfield, Mass., are trying a new approach to tackle their district's high pregnancy rate: Handing out free condoms to students age 12 and up. Health officials applaud the program, which is nearing formal approval, and Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno calls it a "smart move." But dissenting Springfield School Committee member Peter Murphy says giving 12-year-olds condoms is "inappropriate" and "illegal," since 12 is below the age of consent in the state. Is this sending tweens the wrong message about sex?

This is wrong for so many reasons: Passing out condoms to middle-school...