My Parents Were Awesome Before the fanny packs and Andrea Bocelli concerts, your parents (and grandparents) were once free-wheeling, fashion-forward, and super awesome.
posted by xingcat on Oct 5, 2009 - 128 comments

An Iwo Jima Relic Binds Generations. (SLNYTTJ - single-link new york times tear-jerker.)
posted by alms on Sep 18, 2009 - 7 comments

Your mother has eyes in the back of her head. Chicago Public Schools sends parents a text message when their child is not in class or the kid's grades slip. Mayor Daley attends a demonstration. Chicago is not the only school district to use this technology. It's used in Calloway County, Kentucky. Memphis, Tennessee, and Saratoga Springs, New York, to name a few. It's not just used for monitoring your kids' grades. In San Antonio, you can also monitor the presidential propaganda that's fed to your kids! But what if you want to monitor the text messages your kids receive? Radar alerts you when a "suspicious" person texts, calls, or emails your kid.
posted by desjardins on Sep 18, 2009 - 36 comments

collegehumor imagines a young lady bringing a n00b boyfriend home to her l33t parents (SLCH). That is all.
posted by krautland on Aug 11, 2009 - 28 comments

Recently, there have been a host of websites that delight in exposing the inanity and stupidity of our society. There is the granddaddy, Overheard in New York, which recounts silly conversations heard in the Big Apple, as well as a host of similar sites. There are now a variety of such websites, dedicated to different aspects of our society. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Jul 28, 2009 - 51 comments

Worst Parents Ever
posted by Christ, what an asshole on Jul 12, 2009 - 133 comments

The Case Against Homework. Does assigning fifty math problems accomplish any more than assigning five? Is memorizing word lists the best way to increase vocabulary—especially when it takes away from reading time? And what is the real purpose behind those devilish dioramas? Sara Bennett wants to stop homework. Here she explains why (pdf).
posted by lunit on Apr 9, 2009 - 180 comments

Hugh Reinhoff has sequenced his daughters DNA at home attempting to diagnose her unique genetic mutation. [more inside]
posted by jacalata on Feb 2, 2009 - 22 comments

A NEW FACEBOOK CONTROVERSY A NEW FACEBOOK CONTROVERSY has developed, this time over photos of women breastfeeding their babies. But Facebook is standing firm.. The protesters have also formed a Facebook group, of course, Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding Is Not Obscene. It's not the first controversy at the social networking site and this blog documents activities, rumors and news about Facebook. [more inside]
posted by etaoin on Jan 6, 2009 - 242 comments

"A friend confessed to me that she didn't need to build credit. If the need for a loan ever arises, she told me, she can go to her parents or—as she secretly hopes—a husband who will take care of it."
A generation of twenty-somethings ponder when, or if, they will begin their financial independence from their parents.
posted by plexi on Jul 25, 2008 - 86 comments

Days with my Father
posted by miss lynnster on Jul 24, 2008 - 48 comments

Ze Frank asks when the first time you saw your parents as just being human was.
posted by muthecow on May 20, 2008 - 87 comments

H.P. Papercraft (SLYT) "I knew putting internet in the basement was a bad idea!" [more inside]
posted by Del Far on Apr 4, 2008 - 15 comments

For The Bible Tells Me So. (documentary, Google Video. Trailer.)
posted by Ira.metafilter on Mar 8, 2008 - 52 comments

PBS Frontline explores Growing Up Online. Here's what they learned.
posted by miss lynnster on Jan 31, 2008 - 43 comments

In 1974, Martin Scorsese interviewed his parents on film, prompting them to discuss their life together as well as their Sicilian ancestry. The resultant documentary was entitled Italianamerican. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. [Inspired by...]
posted by Neilopolis on Sep 4, 2007 - 16 comments

A parent advocacy group is upset that Transformer toys are being marketed to children. Group also rumored to dislike the fact that water is wet and that the Pope wears a big hat.
posted by Stynxno on Jul 2, 2007 - 70 comments

The ethics of infertility: After taking fertility drug Clomid, Ryan and Brianna Morrison conceived sextuplets. Their religious beliefs steered them away from undergoing a selective reduction procedure in favor of bringing all six fetuses to term. Four of their newborns have died; the remaining two are in critical condition. This mother of multiples says that while she's grateful that insurance and Medicaid covered her million-dollar hospital bill, her "quest to have a family resulted in a significant drain on society's resources."
posted by lalex on Jul 2, 2007 - 136 comments

A salute to my Dad and all the good Daddies out there for all the sacrifices you made for us; for making us laugh; for letting us come to work with you to help drive the bus; for looking after us and teaching us things; for never being a phony; for all the awesome things you were and for all the awful things you weren't, well for all that, we have a few words we'd like to say to you.
posted by madamjujujive on Jun 15, 2007 - 50 comments

Indian Government proposes bill to penalize children for neglecting their aged parents.
posted by hadjiboy on Feb 23, 2007 - 22 comments

According to a recent Zogby poll, parents would rather their daughter meet a date at a bar or a Star Trek convention than through online dating.
posted by Afroblanco on Jan 31, 2007 - 44 comments

Forget the Career. My Parents Need Me at Home.
posted by homunculus on Nov 23, 2005 - 45 comments

Won't somebody please think of the children? Oh, don't fool yourselves! Americans under the age of 12 now spend or influence the spending of $565 billion a year - up from $2.2 billion in 1968, and kid-spending has roughly doubled every ten years for the past three decades, tripling in the 1990s. Which means someone is always thinking of the children. The American Association of Pediatrics (pdf) cites this bludgeoning of kidvertising as creating in children "a fever for shopping and spending, swollen expectations about material needs, decreasing immunity to the assaults of advertisers, self-concepts defined by brands of clothing, and a rash of of debt by the time they leave college". [more...]
posted by taz on Sep 19, 2005 - 55 comments

some lunch boxes have a DEADLY SECRET
stolen from metaefficient
posted by LimePi on Sep 16, 2005 - 13 comments

"A generation ago, adult children visiting their parents' homes might have left with a Tupperware container of lasagna. Today, many of them stealthily make off with toiletries, groceries, sometimes clothing and even furniture. It is an apparently widespread practice, born of a sense of entitlement among young adults - and usually amusedly tolerated by parents - that gives new meaning to the phrase 'home shopping.'" Guilty as charged.
posted by JPowers on Jul 29, 2005 - 55 comments

From Minnesota to Nigeria - Marty was born in the USA and adopted at three years old. In his late 30s he found his biological parents, a woman named Kathleen and a Chief from Nigeria, making him a Nigerian Prince. via Chookooloonks
posted by SuzySmith on May 30, 2005 - 12 comments

Eye Color calculator.
posted by fandango_matt on May 10, 2005 - 20 comments

A Parent's Guide to Anime includes a few hundred informative and opinionated reviews, organized by rating. Found via this thread at the Christian discussion site Arts & Faith, whose users included Waking Life, Bad Lieutenant, Life of Brian and Fight Club in their list of the Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films.
posted by mediareport on Mar 21, 2005 - 26 comments

Playground Finder is a community service created by Ben and Suzette Hosken. The parents of two young children, they saw a need for a service providing details of playgrounds within their local area as well as when travelling. This idea grew into Playground Finder. [found while eyeballing loobylu]
posted by FunkyHelix on Feb 1, 2005 - 8 comments

Momblogging. The NY Times (reg. required) looks at some blogging mamas. As someone who's regularly losing friends to the new-parent netherworld of suburbia and early nights, I had previously had little interest in reading about childrearing. I checked out Bad Mother because I'm a fan of the author's husband - the novelist Michael Chabon - and realised it was a hoot. I also like the Pessoptimist. So what other good bringing-up-baby blogs are out there?
posted by liam on Jan 29, 2005 - 23 comments

High-school bans traditional crossdressing day because parents complained it was part of the "homosexual agenda." It's replacement? The manly "Camo Day" complete with military fatigues and combat boots. No word on whether there is a "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
posted by hipnerd on Nov 17, 2004 - 99 comments

California bill to ease "move aways" by custodial parents pulled. Until a recent CA Supreme Court decision, it was easy for custodial parents to move themselves and their children far from their ex-spouse. The Court reversed the old rule and held that the move could be blocked if the non-custodial parent could show that it would interfere with his/her relationship with the kids. Legislation to reimpose the old permissive standard passed through the State Senate, but has now been pulled off the legislative calendar after an outcry by father's rights groups.
posted by MattD on Aug 18, 2004 - 17 comments

Another touching, sad, chilling account of obesity in America. The story of Anamarie Regino, a 3-year-old who was abnormally large for her age. Anamarie was taken out of her parents' custody because, it was determined, her life was in jeopardy because of her size. This despite a 550 calorie/day diet and obvious signs that "too much food" wasn't an issue.
posted by hijinx on Jul 19, 2004 - 78 comments

Gay Princes defeat NC Parents. Parents object to library book about two gay princes, concerned because being gay "is not part of their beliefs." Presumably books which discuss other things not part of their beliefs could also be an issue. Is this a basic confusion about the purpose of a library, or is any temptation just too much temptation?
posted by ewkpates on Mar 18, 2004 - 87 comments

A court in the Netherlands has awarded damages to a severely disabled girl for having been born -- a so-called "wrongful life" judgment. While we discussed French suits like this a while back (1 2), this decision seems noteworthy because it allows the child herself to receive damages, not just the parents who must pay for her care. In my mind, that opens up a whole new can of worms, both in terms of the message it sends and the incentives for doctors that it creates.
posted by boltman on Apr 15, 2003 - 12 comments

Do you dread bringing your S.O. home for the holidays? Maybe next year I'll host the festivities and make mom and dad sleep in separate rooms. Nah, they don't have sex anyway.
posted by vito90 on Jan 8, 2003 - 21 comments

Parents charged in death of girl forced to drink water - Forcing a 4 year old to consume large amounts of water seems like an odd way to promote family bonding. Death by over watering can happen, but this sounds more like an episode of Law & Order.
posted by MediaMan on Sep 18, 2002 - 20 comments

Yoga in the classroom? EGADS! That reeks of religious implications, say parents in Aspen, Colorado. "For some families, the chanting that accompanies a selection of yoga techniques creates a challenge for separation of church and state." Aspen Elementary says the pilot program "was proposed as a way to help kids cope with their return to school. Rowdy tots could be calmed and readied for class work after recess using a series of relaxing breathing and stretching techniques."
posted by msacheson on Aug 28, 2002 - 66 comments

Girls seek "divorce" of lesbian mother The Scottish paper seems to take a fairly serious anti-gay stance, where as the report in the Houston Chronicle seems to be a little more factual and less hysterical. But, in either case, do children have the right to demand that their parents "stop being gay"?
posted by dejah420 on Aug 20, 2002 - 51 comments

Remember the little fiasco of those child/preteen "model" sites? Well, finally the husband and wife of one of the children have been sent to jail. Two more site operators have cases pending against them. Nude videotapes of the girl found in the couples home is what they were finally convicted for, not the web site itself.
posted by geoff. on Aug 5, 2002 - 28 comments

Convicted Hockey Dad Killer to get only 3- 5 years? i know he only threw a few punches, but he was 275 lbs and his victim was 165 lbs. I'm sorry, but killing a guy nearly half your size in front of children - in front of both of their children even - is reason enough for throwing the book at this thug. 20 years = 10 years if he stays cool in the pokie - a pittance if you're the victims kids. Hopefully the Mass judge will make an example out of this totally unneccessary tragedy.
posted by tsarfan on Jan 11, 2002 - 48 comments

For Paranoid Parents everywhere. A global satellite positioning wristwatch, in happy-happy day-glo colours, that you can security-clamp onto your kid's wrist. Then, at your office terminal, you can find out exactlywhere they are. Love the 911 button. How about actually playing with your kids, rather than launching them out into the urban wilderness, on a wireless tether? "Latch-key" takes on a whole new dimension.
posted by theplayethic on Jan 8, 2002 - 28 comments

As Harry Potter tops all box office records, it seems that some parents don't want their kids to watch the film because some think it promotes witchcraft. Are separation of church and state arguments valid here, or are the parents a bunch of wet blankets?
posted by Rastafari on Nov 18, 2001 - 120 comments

Start saving for your little MeFite babies! With the UPromise service, every time you make a purchase with a participating company, a percentage of the amount will be contributed to a college fund.
(more inside)
posted by Hankins on Aug 3, 2001 - 6 comments

Nepal's Crown Prince Dipendra kills family, self over arranged marriage dispute. Proving the astrologers wrong, who had predicted that the king would die if the Crown Prince was allowed to marry before the age of 35; the 30 year old Eton educated prince disputing over his choice of bride, killed his parents, brother, sister, and other relatives in what is labeled as the worst mass killing of royalty since the Romanovs. more.
posted by tamim on Jun 1, 2001 - 53 comments

The estate of a divorced father is freed from paying a failing son's tuition. Basically, the ruling establishes (at least in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts) that children have obligations to parents. OK, if you want your parents to pay for your college education, you should at least try to graduate. But what are the other consequences of this ruling? What's the point at which a child's bad behavior releases a parent from their obligations as a parent? If your divorced dad is the Great Santini, can he cut off your child support if you hit him back?
posted by dchase on Apr 20, 2001 - 2 comments

Parent's name their baby "Espn" after the all sports network ESPN. One of my pet peeves is when parents name their babies something "unique" or "cute." I read somewhere that the director Robert Rodruiguez named his kid Rocket. Don't these parents understand how much teasing their children are going to have to endure? Aargh.
posted by JFunk2800 on Apr 5, 2001 - 32 comments

Pennsylvania School cut father's opportunity to lunch with his son after he has been there every day for four years. Due to his work schedule this is the only time he has to spend with his son.
posted by Animus on Feb 2, 2001 - 26 comments

A concerned Vermont parent wrote an interesting letter to the editor regarding the gay rights conflict.
posted by faisal on May 12, 2000 - 5 comments