If you’ve been living in a cave for the last few years, you might not be aware that Google, once known solely as an internet search engine, currently offers many other services, including street and satellite maps of a goodly portion of the world. In addition, for many cities, you can access their “Street View” — 360 degree images as seen by cameras mounted atop roving vehicles. For some, it’s a great way to explore the world but for others, it’s an invasion of privacy. Such is the opinion of Claire Rowlands of Walkden, Greater Manchester in England.
Archive for June, 2010
Three-Year-Old Nudist Caught By Google’s Camera
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010Autism Causes Whooping Cough
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Whooping cough is at the top of its five-year cycle and, according to Mike Sicilia of the California Department of Health, is “on track to surpass our 50-year high.” So why is a disease that can be fatal to infants on the rise, especially since we have a vaccination for it? That’s an excellent and important question and some doctors think they have the answer. Furthermore, I happen to agree with them.
How Creepy is Breastmilk?
Monday, June 28th, 2010
There has been quite the campaign to promote breastfeeding as the best option for newborns and I fully support it. My wife breastfed all three of our children for more than a year each — no small feat for a woman working fulltime or more and certainly more than most American mothers do. On the other hand, I certainly understand when a woman — for whatever reason — is unable to breastfeed. Certainly, “Breast is Best” but that’s not always possible. But what about when a woman is perfectly capable of breastfeeding but chooses not to?
Things Parents Say
Sunday, June 27th, 2010
“Oh my God, I sound just like my mother!”
Of course, haven’t we all said that?
Have you heard yourself saying something crazy to your spouse or to your kids? Has someone said something to you that, in retrospect, seems completely off -the-wall? Let us know!
Kindergarten Kondoms
Friday, June 25th, 2010
A new policy approved by the Provincetown, Massachusetts school committee would, in theory, make condoms available to kindergarteners without their parents’ knowledge or consent. Naturally, this has a lot of people in an uproar — mostly the sort of folks who are opposed to sex in general. The policy is an “absolute push to promote sexual promiscuity,” according to Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, an organization apparently dedicated to stamping out anything fun. “This is the theater of the absurd to hand condoms to first-graders who don’t even know what their purpose possibly could be, who can’t even spell sex,” he added.
Avoiding the Sun, Aussie Style
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
In addition to the issue of general water safety and that whole not-letting-the-kids-drown thing, there is another issue that needs to be dealt with these days — sun protection. Sunburn is no laughing matter, even if it doesn’t always lead to skin cancer — it’s bloody painful in its own right. As parents, it’s part of our job to keep our children safe and that includes making sure they are not exposed to too much sun.
If just staying indoors isn’t an option (and, truthfully, would you want to be stuck in the house all summer with your kids?) then sunscreen is an absolute must. But for the parts that don’t get sunscreen, is a t-shirt and swim trunks enough? Perhaps — and perhaps not. A lightly woven, wet t-shirt doesn’t really offer that much protection. So what can one do, short of staying indoors?
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Pool Rules: Watch Your Kids or Pray
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
I’m spending a few days by the pool with my kids right now and, although the older two are both excellent swimmers, I am well aware of how very easy it is for even an expert swimmer to drown. After five years of swim lessons, I feel comfortable sitting on the side of the pool keeping an eye on my kids instead of being in the water with them — but I make sure that I keep an eye on them. The little one, at two-years-old, requires constant, hands-on, in-the-water attention. Even with a swim ring, it would be too easy for him to flop over, end up upside-down, and not be able to right himself. Sadly, not everyone understands that.
Talking Cow Encourages Sex Ed
Monday, June 21st, 2010
So abstinence education doesn’t work — even Bristol Palin admitted that. Teenagers need realistic, accurate information about sex and pregnancy. It simply makes sense that teenagers get that kind of information as part of an overall biology/health education program in school, so that what is taught is both correct and consistent. The alternative is to have kids learn about sex on the playground or, even worse, from potential (hopeful?) lovers. That’s where ideas like “you can’t get pregnant the first time” and “if you love me, you’ll let me” come from. So, yes, sex education is a good thing. But should it really come from a talking cow?
Rated E for Exempt
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Most parents filter the movies their kids get to see. Depending on what is important to them, parents will mark movies off-limits due to sex, violence, or other adult topics, using such resources as the MPAA guidelines or ratings from sites such as Kids-in-Mind. However parents judge a movie’s suitability, though, and despite its nearly continuous violence, there is one film that seems to get a free pass onto the screens of almost any young boy. The question is, can a movie be deemed so socially significant, so culturally important, and so much a classic that it is exempt from normal restrictions?
Bad Parenting 101: Shoving Your Religion Down Their Throat
Sunday, June 20th, 2010
Most parents share their religious beliefs with their children; many even require their kids to join their faith. But sometimes parents take that a little too far. Consider the case of Julia Lovemore who killed her six-week-old daughter by shoving pages from her bible in the baby’s mouth and sitting on her. According to a judge, Lovemore was “profoundly mentally disordered and suffering from religious delusions at the time.”
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