MetaFilter posts tagged with parenting

Shouting vs. Spanking

Taft — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:34:29 -0800

Shouting vs. Spanking -- What should the parent choose?

"An Epidemic of Fear." Wired takes on the anti-vax movement

zarq — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:48:51 -0800

Wired profiles pediatrician Paul Offit, co-creator of the RotaTeq rotavirus vaccine and a primary target of the anti-vacci nation movement. Dr. Offit published a book,“Autism’s False Prophets” in 2008 but didn't tour, because he had received too many death threats. The profile by Amy Wallace*, is part of a collection of articles on vaccinations, including "The Misinformants: Prominent Voices in the Anti-Vaccine Crusade", "How To Win An Argument About Vaccines", and "A Short History of Vaccine Panic". *Wallace is receiving hate mail for it. She's been twitting about that here. (Vaccines: Previously on MeFi)

"Why I Give My 9-year-old Pot"

PissOnYourParade — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:12:51 -0800

The titles grabbed me - Why I am going to give my 9-year-old Pot. and the four month follow up, Why am I giving my 9-year-old Pot. But, my mind was changed, and heart softened, by the articles. via

Why Can't She Walk To School?

william_boot — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:21:02 -0800

“She’s just so pretty. She’s just so...blond.’ A friend said, ‘I heard that Jaycee Dugard story and I thought of your daughter.’ And they say, ‘I’d never do that with my kid: I wouldn’t trust my kid with the street.’”

Terminating an Adoption

lalex — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:43:19 -0800

Anita Tedaldi shares her experience terminating an adoption at the NYTimes blog Motherlode. Her response to the support and criticism in comments is here; in a subsequent Motherlode post Lisa Belkin muses on the ethics of blogging about children.

"Why won't feminists admit the pleasure of infants?"

Stonewall Jackson — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:47:18 -0800

My Baby Is Like a Narcotic. Reflections on the "opium den" of new parenthood by New York University professor, author and journalist Katie Roiphe.

Buyer Beware

GatorDavid — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:50:35 -0800

Thinking about becoming a parent? You might find the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's list of recalled items fun! It looks like there's just under a zillion things out there that might harm your new tot. And that doesn't include ... y'know ... toys.

...ink by the barrel...

zarq — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:04:30 -0800

Negative reviews prompt author meltdowns: Ali ce Hoff man. Lee Oi-soo. Alain de Botton. Ayelet Waldman. Previously on MeFi. They should all probably take a deep breath, then read one of these articles. Ayelet Waldman's outraged comments on Twitter were made over Jill Lepore's negative review of her book "Bad Mother." This hilariously contradictory and ironic tweet (language, NSFW) was quickly deleted from her feed.

Because I said so? Not according to my lawyer!

bitteroldman — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:42:35 -0800

'Either way, he doesn't have authority over this child anymore. She sued him because she doesn't respect his rules. It's very hard to raise a child who is the boss.' A Quebec father who was taken to court by his 12-year-old daughter after he grounded her in June 2008 has lost his appeal. _via

"The monster inside my son": Autism + Violence

cgs — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:56:06 -0800

"The monster inside my son" A moving testimonial of a mother's struggle w/ her son's autism and violence. [SALON]

"this chattering-class version of Heat magazine"

paduasoy — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:55:33 -0800

The novlist Julie Myerson has written a book, The Lost Child, about her son's addiction to cannabis, the violent behaviour she says this caused and her tough love policy. Extract. Her son is angry that she's published it, and says his parents over-reacted: "I wasn't doing anything that most other teenagers do, but such was their naive terror of drugs they were acting like six-year-olds". It comes out through MumsNet that Julie Myerson was the anonymous author of a Guardian column, "Living with Teenagers," which described her children's behaviour candidly without their knowledge. Extract. Myerson first denied this. The Guardian discusses whether it was right to publish the columns. Myerson is interviewed about whether she was right to publish The Lost Child. Her partner, and son's father, Jonathan Myerson supports her: This is an emergency. Her son says she's addicted to writing. The tag line "this chattering-class version of Heat magazine" is from Libby Purves's comments. Many commentators consider Myerson was wrong to publish: Ian Jack in the Guardian, Tim Lott in the Independent, balanced by a positive review also in the Independent. The Daily Mail has dug up some more dirt from Myerson's sister. And here's an article by Myerson from 2001 about getting her son into the right school.

The Chuck E. Cheese Ouroboros

batmonkey — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:33:36 -0800

In 1977, Nolan Bushnell allowed Gene Landrum to bring Chuck E. Cheese [yt] to life as a family-friendly access point to Atari games. This, perhaps, explains the pizza. During a search for a unique attraction, Bushnell offended Aaron Fletcher. They then lost a potential major investor, Bob Brock, who was more impressed by Fechter's animatronic wizardry - or put off by the mascot: a giant rat [yt]. Brock instead created the competition, Showbiz Pizza Place*, which would soon surpass and absorb Chuck E. Cheese...by uniformly converting into CEC restaurants or closing completely. The ascendancy of the rat [.pdf] hasn't been without challenges and scandals, though. The effects of alcohol on adults and the child-filled environment have proven to be a contentious combination [nws; yt], leading to some changes and criticism**. While the germ issue may be overblown, it's true that the toys aren't the safest. Skeeball might lead to video poker. Chuck might be pro-military. The food [yt; 1:03] isn't the healthiest. And, most worrisomely, their Child Check program doesn't always work. Probably no killer gnats, though. And at least the condoms are unused. Despite bitter [nws], sometimes even frothing [nws], post-childhood assessments [nws] by the disillusioned and jaded, CEC/SPP [yt] speculation, collecting, monetisation, and inspiration*** abound. Some wonder [nws] if there's anything in it for the legendarily* disaffected [yt], long-suffering [yt] employees...beyond the shenanigans of their infamous, self-important, clueless and sometimes plain ol' famous patrons. Selling tokens to the nostalgic, maybe? It's surely not Chuck. Maybe General Tommy Franks (yes, that one) can turn it around. How the rat will come off in Leonardo DiCaprio's upcoming film is uncertain, but it looks like Gene will be just fine, regardless. [previously: *SPP/RAE post; **WSJ CEC violence article; ***Aaron Fletcher & Chris Thrash (update); Clapton @ CEC; shifting demographics?]

The Disappearing Male

rageagainsttherobots — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:16:35 -0800

“The Disappearing Male” is a one-hour documentary about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system. The whole documentary is on Google Video.

Becoming a Parent of Child with Down Syndrome

plinth — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:07:08 -0800

I Am Capable of More Than I Think I Am - Gregg Rogers discusses his introduction to being a parent of a child with Down syndrome for a segment of NPR's This I Believe. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Take a moment to learn a little more about how we're more alike than different. Or find a Buddy Walk - The NDSS reminds you that there are 350,000 reasons to get involved.

Too much love in the home?

kimdog — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:56:56 -0800

The Kindergarchy: An essay on modern parenting.

Back-to-school in diapers

grounded — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:57:46 -0800

Kids at school in nappies. Another report claims the average age of toilet-training is now 3 or 4, compared to the former norm of 18 months. Teachers don't want to change diapers; parents say they don't have time to toilet-train. Is our future a continuum of diapers to Depends?

It takes a country

thejimp — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:26:58 -0800

CBC Filter: I guess parenting in Canada ain't what it used to be. The Senate wants to make spanking your children illegal and a Quebec judge quashes a dad's grounding of his 12-year-old daughter.

Underage drinking and parental responsibility?

Grrlscout — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 08:15:06 -0800

Under current proposals, parents to be fined or prosecuted if their children drink underage Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has proposed that parents of children caught drinking underage would be subject to prosecution. text of speech The amount of drink consumed by youths, especially by girls, has been an ongoing point of discussion in UK politics, particularly in the light of recent stabbings, shootings, and general mayhem (perceived or actual) committed by under-18s. Many milestones of growing up, such as the age of consent or age to voluntarily leave school in the UK are at 16. There has been some discussion about lowering the age of consent to 14 in some cases. The drinking age is currently 18. Given the different thresholds of adulthood, how much control does or should a parent have over their child's underage drinking? How much responsibility do the parents bear?

We're friends now!

miss lynnster — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:15:42 -0800

PBS Frontline explores Growing Up Online. Here's what they learned.

"My Fake Baby"

Avenger50 — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:08:49 -0800

"My Fake Baby" is a Channel 4 documentary exploring "the lives of women who spend hundreds of pounds on life-like baby dolls. Loved like real babies, they're taken for walks, cuddled and even have their nappies changed." Parts 2, 3, 4, 5.

Choices, constraints, and the 'mommy track.'

waxbanks — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 13:34:20 -0800

Insightful, sociological, bitter: A scholar reflects back on her entry into the academic 'mommy track.' An interesting blend of meditation-on-resentment and just-plain-resentment, worth a read both intentionally and un-. [via] As the poster (olderwoman) points out in her first comment, the post nearly/neatly glosses over the fact that it's written from the perspective of a tenured academic. Her post - not quite an 'essay,' thanks - interests me for several reasons: it's emblematic of the limitations and bizarre literary blind spots of online confession/analysis by scholars; it doesn't flinch in describing the anger and (self-/hubby-)loathing baked into so many relationships, affluent and otherwise; it might be a deliciously reflexive demonstration of the nature of self-righteousness or a run-of-the-mill example of it, or something uneasily situated halfway between. I wouldn't actually call this 'best of the web' in aesthetic, scholarly, or confessional terms, but something about its ironies appeals to me. The scholarly blogosphere isn't well represented on MeFi, so there you go. Incidentally, if you have an eye for academic blogs in general, follow the 'via' link to Crooked Timber, one of the best academic group blogs for several years running. A bit predictable in its politics sometimes, but then isn't everyone?

peers over parents

AceRock — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:16:55 -0800

So he didn't read the baby books! BFD says Judith Rich Harris, author of the "No Two Alike", and originator of a controversial theory about personality development. Namely, that when it comes to our kids' adult personalities, what we did as parents doesn't really matter much at all.

Hey Mom And Dad, Leave Those Kids Alone!

amyms — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:52:54 -0800

Leave Those Kids Alone. The idea that parents should be engaging in play with their children is a modern concept (and not necessarily a good one, according to anthropologist David Lancy). Via.

Children are humiliating.

BrotherCaine — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:57:47 -0800

Even a misopedist such as myself has to laugh at the comments on humiliating moments in parenting.

The Incredible Shrinking World

JDHarper — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:28:15 -0800

The great-grandfather could walk six miles to go fishing; the grandfather could walk a mile to go to the woods; the son can't go more than 300 yards from his house. How children lost the right to roam, including a map illustrating the point.