You’ve all heard the reports of Abercrombie and Fitch’s thongs for prepubescent girls and seen displays of short shorts, mini skirts and scandalous tops in tween sizes at the mall. Our culture is on the fast track to making young girls think they need to dress like a hoochie to be fashionable and well-liked, and it’s heartbreaking to see how many impressionable young women buy into that pressure. Even if you’re blessed with a daughter like mine who is in that target age and would rather eat nothing but steamed broccoli for the rest of her life than be caught wearing something revealing or …
Before we begin, let me be clear. My children have had some wonderful teachers. There are some teachers from years past we still keep up with just because we loved them so dearly. I’m not talking about those teachers today, the ones who motivate and inspire and make learning exciting. I’m talking about the others. A friend of mine shared some teacher woes on Facebook yesterday, and a big group of us chimed in with our own experiences and advice for coping with a teacher who is… difficult. I’ve been very lucky in that my kids have never had a teacher I disliked. My daughter claimed one was …
Earlier this week my preteen daughter had an experience at school that prompted me to post the Facebook status, “Mean girls suck.” I got an overwhelming response from mom friends and older girls who have been through the mean girl circus and made it out alive. It seems that almost every female I know has experienced shabby treatment from her female peers at some point in her life, and it makes me really sad that it’s accepted as "just a part of life." I certainly had my share of dealings with mean girls at her age. The one that jumps to the front of my mind just about every time I think about…
My friends Agnes and Michelle suggested this as a topic for this week’s column. We’re all three busy mothers who also have online personas we like to maintain. Ironically, my friends made their suggestion as we chatted online. Just about every mother I know has a Facebook account, tweets and Googles. The new kid on the block, Pinterest, has also claimed a large percentage of my friends as slaves to their online pinboards. These things have become so prevalent in our lives that we’ve turned them into verbs. We spend much of our free time Facebooking our friends, Googling our kids’ health and …
LEGO, maker of those beloved little plastic building sets that have been entertaining children and causing parents to break ankles in dark playrooms for generations, has caused quite a stir with their new line of products geared specifically toward young girls. The new LEGO 'Friends' range, which is set in Heartlake City, features a pastel-colored beauty salon, fashion design studio, bakery, vet's practice and an inventor's surgery. There are also five pretty mini-dolls in tank tops and short skirts that come with handbags, lipsticks and a number of other accessories. This line has angered …
I stood in the middle of the toy room floor, surveying the chaos left over from Christmas with a nervous twitch in my eye. I realized I needed help, and I thought some of you might too. Let me preface all my complaining by saying I recognize this to be a first world problem. "Help! I have too much stuff!" Yeah, I know. Here's the deal: My kids were very blessed by generous family members this year, and they racked up a considerable amount of fantastic new toys and gifts. I’m very grateful for all they got, but I also don’t really have any extra space in my little house. What I’m in need of …
Monday afternoon, my husband and I indulged in a rare treat—an afternoon at the movies. I’d been dying to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’d read all the books long past and watched the Swedish versions of the film. I was anxiously awaiting the American version of the movie, so I pounced on our first opportunity to see it. We arrived to a packed theatre and settled in with a washtub-sized buttered popcorn. We watched the trailers, and as the opening credits of our movie started, we turned to each other and smiled in anticipation. Then I spotted them. A woman entered the theatre just as …
Assuming you celebrate Christmas and find yourself on the 2011 Nice List, the big guy made his appearance in your home this weekend. Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Kris Kringle, is a figure who can be traced back to the early 1800's. He’s likely one of the most recognizable figures in the world, and he has a pretty amazing job. He works one night a year, delivering toys and goodies to children all over the earth by way of a magic sleigh powered by flying reindeer. Awesome. Only, some folks have a problem with Santa Claus. Even Christians who celebrate …
A friend of mine posted a disturbing news story on Facebook yesterday. 18-year-old twin sisters Akeevia Lajosei Abner and Tekeevia Lasoeialan Abner have both been arrested and charged with reckless murder after their children died in a house fire. Aniyia and Takia Abner, both three years old, and Michael Coleman, one year old, all died in a fire in their Atmore, AL house after being left home alone. That’s right. According to preliminary reports, the toddlers were left home alone with an open, unattended oven as a heat source. Officers on the scene also reported that mattresses were propped …
There’s not a mom in the metro area who heard the news about 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera and didn’t develop an ache in her heart. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. The little girl, who weighed 80 pounds and was three feet tall, was abducted while playing outside her Canton, Ga., apartment complex. She was beaten, sexually assaulted and stabbed. The autopsy revealed that the first-grader died of blunt force trauma to the head. Then she was dumped in a trash bin. We’re all holding our little ones tighter right now, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has given a refresher course on stranger …
The Department of Children and Family Services in Cuyahoga County in Ohio recently removed an 8-year-old child from his home and placed him in foster care. It’s sad, and it happens a lot, but wait until you hear why they took action—the child is obese. Given his age and height, experts say the child should weigh around 60 pounds. He weighs more than 200. County workers and officials said they have been working with the family for nearly 20 months in an effort to change the boy’s lifestyle and diet. The county first became aware of the problem when the child’s mother took him to the hospital …
I’m almost afraid to write this. You see, I have friends who might be disgruntled with me for what I’m about to announce. But the purpose of the column is to get moms talking, so here it is: I don’t think the Twilight Saga is appropriate for young girls. There. I said it. And before you Twi-hard moms start sharpening your pitchforks and assembling your hunting party, let me explain. I started reading the books several years ago, and I freely admit to being susceptible to the Twilight Kool-Aid. Edward Cullen is an undead dreamboat, and the romance between he and clumsy, relatable Bella is …
I read an interesting article from the Associated Press. The phrase that hooked me was this one: “The Senate threw its weight behind the potato Tuesday.” Huh? Here’s the story in a nutshell: This Tuesday, the senate voted to block the Obama administration’s proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture rules that would limit school lunchrooms to two servings a week of potatoes and other starchy vegetables. The proposal was aimed at reducing the number of French fries served in school cafeterias, but a lot of folks were outraged by this tactic—specifically potato growers (duh), school districts and …
I have a confession to make. I’m a little nuts about Halloween. The pumpkins, the costumes, the drama, the history, the crafts, the sweets… Halloween rocks! At the risk of disappointing my Christmas-loving mother who reads this column, I’m going to have to name Halloween as my favorite holiday. I was with a group of moms yesterday, and we were discussing Halloween and kids. It occurred to me as we talked that there are certain rules that apply to even the wildest of holidays. I have a few I’d like to discuss here. This will be our tenth Halloween in our neighborhood, and because our trick-or-…
There are some very good arguments for why babies and children should or should not sleep in the bed with their parents. I happen to take advice from Supernanny as if her advice came from the King James Version itself. She suggests that children should only sleep with parents when they are sick and only with the understanding that when they are better they will return to their own beds. The opposite side of the argument says that co-sleeping is essential for bonding and child development. Personally, I’m not a fan. My daughter has only slept in the bed with us a handful of times and she has …
Should children be spanked for bad behavior? If you peruse the internet, you can find studies that prove spanked kids will have lower IQ's and studies that prove kids who are spanked grow up to be healthier, happier and more intelligent. Likewise, there are websites devoted to sharing discipline ideas for parents opposed to spanking, and there are just as many websites lauding the success of spanking as a form of punishment. When it comes to spanking, we're a nation divided, to say the least. In fact, spanking is such a controversial parenting topic that I hesitate to share my own opinions …
We all do things as parents that we are truly not proud of. At times parenting can bring out the worst in us and our little children are the victims. I am a yeller! I yell in the car, I yell at bedtime, I yell when getting dressed, I yell after meals. But I don’t yell in public. Kind of like a functioning alcoholic, I’m able to keep it under control in public. My mom did a lot of yelling and still does, that’s who I will blame it on. I really wish that wasn’t my communication tool, but when that little person looks at me as if she cannot hear, my natural reaction is to yell and make sure that…
Generally, the back-to-school season brings the feeling of delight, with the smell and sounds of freshly sharpened pencils, new lunch boxes, stopping and starting around yellow school buses and eventually waking up to cooler temperatures. This year among the joys of returning back to the classroom for many Atlanta area children, the back-to-school season will bring new teachers, new principals and fewer erasers. The metro area and even much of the nation has had its eyes on the Atlanta Public School system and the infamous cheating scandal. So many parents and community members are quite …
I’m sure that by now many of you have heard about the young boy in New York who was walking home from summer camp only to be abducted and murdered by a neighbor he asked for directions. As a mother and human being my heart goes out to the family of this innocent child. According to the news, the 8-year-old had been begging his parents to allow him to walk the seven blocks between his summer program and his home. After much conversation, practice walking the route and a compromise to meet the boy half-way, his parents regrettably agreed. On his first day walking home by himself he got lost and…
I’ve often thought that motherhood is the hardest thing you can ever do. I even have a really forced reaction when people tell me that they are pregnant. It’s exciting, but my goodness you have no idea what you are really getting into. One friend of mine said to me, before she had children, “I’m sure there are good days and bad days.” My response was: “There are days with good moments.” More recently, a co-worker explained to me that parenting is like being slowly pecked by a chicken. That hit home for me -- most of the days I’m trying to ignore the squeaky voice in the background asking for …
