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• They Say: Today's Kids are Rude, Here's Why

  Here's the argument: today's kids, so coddled by parents who prize a sizable self-esteem above all else, are turning into rude, self-absorbed little jerks who not only don't take "no" for answer, they've never actually encountered the word. Yes, that sounds about right. A reporter on MSNBC writes that experts say kids these days are ruder than ever and that it's our fault, we Gen Xers, who were so benignly neglected that we now over-compensate as parents by co-sleeping and baby-wearing and opting out. And that we're so fixated on our children's well-being that we wind up teaching them that other people's feelings are less important than our own, that kids should first make sure they feel good, then (if ever) worry about others.   Read More... Posted May 06 2009, 02:27 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 11 comment(s) Filed under: parenting advice, Gen X, child development, benign neglect, gen X dads, msnbc, they say, rude kids, gen X moms, passive parents

• Morning Sickness Now In Style

  The bar for "good" pregnant women has been raised much higher than I can see. Starting now, nothing says "this pregnant lady's really holding it together," like a disposable, compact, afforadable -- yet stylish! -- barf bag. And 50 of them can be nauseously yours for less than 30 bucks.   Read More... Posted Apr 07 2009, 05:33 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: Slate, morning sickness, Gen X, nausea, modern parents, weird stuff, xx factor, hyperemesis graviderum, barf bags

• They Say: Our Children Will Grow Up to be Boring

  I sort of think sociology can get a little hocus-pocus, but I do love sweeping generalizations that, at the very least, give us a new perspective, a glimpse into the future, or, in case my kids turn out to be straight-laced, snoozy, corporate drones, something to blame besides my unskilled mothering. I won't be to blame! That's if there's anything to this New York Times article on how the current economy -- what some are calling "The Great Recession" -- might shape our children and their adult lives.   Read More... Posted Mar 10 2009, 10:30 AM by Madeline Holler with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: Donna Reed, Gen X, generations, Ralph Nader, NYTimes, recession, they say, Mad Men, revolutionary road, the great recession, frank wheeler, the depression, the great depression, don draper

• 5 Lollipops Your Kids Won't Eat

  Are adult-flavored lollipops another sign of this generation's refusal to grow up? Who knows. But here are five lollipops developed with the grown-up palate in mind. You might like them, but your kids most likely wouldn't -- or in a couple of cases, shouldn't (absinthe for toddlers? Probably not a good idea).   Read More... Posted Mar 16 2008, 09:28 AM by Madeline Holler with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: morning sickness, Gen X, lollipops, liquor candy, nausea, modern parents, adult candy, absinthe, tequila candy, tequila

• Babble Talk: Gen-X Parents Reliving Their Youth Through Their Kids

  In the latest Babble Dispatch, author Susan Gregory Thomas writes that—according to marketers, anyway—Gen-X parents are spending a fortune on nostalgic toys in an attempt to relive their 70's childhood. Let's see if she's right. Born between 1965-1977? Yup. Do my kids play with My Pretty Ponies? Check. Did vintage Strawberry Shortcake curtains adorn the windows in my daughter's room? Yes. Do they own Care Bears underpants? Unfortunately, yes. In some ways, these marketers could be right, but in my own defense, I was too old to play with My Pretty Ponies or to watch Strawberry Shortcake. However, I did observe how much pleasure my younger sisters derived from playing with the colorful toys even though I thought they were kinda creepy. My generation played with the trachea-shaped Fisher-Price figures, Baby Alive, Lincoln Logs, giant Barbie heads, and Tinker Toys. If my kids play with old skool toys now, it's because they are everyfreakinwhere (thanks to Gen-Xers, right?), and not so much that I am trying to recapture my youth through my children. If that were the case, I'd let them put on "kids makeup" and "smoke" candy cigarettes while playing "Happy Days" ("You be Fonzie and I'm your girlfriend and you have to kiss me.") with their preschool friends.    Posted Apr 30 2007, 06:03 PM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Babble, Gen X, susan gregory thomas, babble talk, Vintage toys, my pretty pony

• Shut Up & Parent: Why Time Magazine Hates Babble

  Hip Generation X parents have once again come under heavy fire for doing things differently than our predecessors and peers.  Time Magazine reporter James Poniewozik writes a gentlemanly but scathing piece about the depths of narcissism to which our craven parenting souls have fallen.  Like someone straight from a 1950s parenting book he gently reminds us, "Once, it was understood that raising kids was about subordinating yourself, recognizing that, at least as far as Darwin and the gene pool were concerned, you were no longer the star." He assumes that the raft of parenting memoirs and blogs, as well as on-line magazines like Babble prove our unwillingness to put our kids first. By turning parenting into an intellectual, social, and critical exercise we fail to see that we are no longer the center of the universe. In this analysis, parents are to be seen and not heard.  Read More... Posted Feb 10 2007, 01:31 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with 20 comment(s) Filed under: Babble, parenting advice, Gen X parents, James Poniewozik, Time Magazine, Gen X