Strollerderby : boys

Toys R Us Can't Be Serious. But They Are.

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:30:00 GMT

Does your daughter have a burning desire to play Ouija board? But clearly she can’t since the game is totally for boys? Well, for only $19.99, you can make your daughter’s dream come true, because Hasbro just came out with a new “just for girls” Ouija board!

What makes this edition different from the original Ouija board that can be handmade in minutes? I’ll give you one guess. You got it: It’s pink!

Not only that, but this new edition also comes with 72 question cards, since a big problem for young girls is that they always freeze up when it’s their turn to ask a ghost a personal question about their lives.

According to the product description, girls needn’t worry their pretty little heads any longer:

It has always been mysterious. It has always been mystifying. And now the OUIJA Board is just for you, girl. With 72 fun questions included, you'll never run out of things to ask. Who will call/text me next? Will I be a famous actor someday? Who wishes they could trade places with me?

Who would have guessed that a splash of pink is all it takes to get the catty, boy-crazy girl ghosts to spill the beans?

You might be interested to learn that the game is marketed for girls between the ages of eight and twelve. Now third graders don’t have to worry whether that “special someone” will send them a text. They can just ask a dead person! Progress never looked so good.

Image: AV Club

Is it a Lucky Boy Who Dates Obama's Daughter?

JeanneSager — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:24:00 GMT

The president is nervous.

Not about the economy (well, probably) or swine flu (OK, maybe that too).

But President Barack Obama is a dad after all, and he can't help but think about what will happen when daughters Sasha and Malia start dating.

Can you blame him? I wrote a piece a few months ago about Jamie Foxx stressing about his daughter dating and earned a ration of comments about my need to buy into patriarchical nonsense. But come on, folks, dads worry about their daughters. Heck, I worry about my daughter!

So why is it so inappropriate for dads to stress about the day their daughter brings a boy home?

The president told a reporter recently, "dating I think will be an issue because I have men with guns surrounding them at all times, which I'm perfectly happy with, but they may feel differently about it."

He was laughing when we said it, and minus the guns, I can her it coming out of the mouth of almost any dad I know. Those poor, poor prospective suitors.

Dating is a fun time for kids, but with hormones high on both sides, it's wrought with challenges. Broken hearts. Nights spent crying in bed because he didn't call when he said he would (and it doesn't make it much better that he simply forgot because that's what teenagers DO!). It isn't just a "Ohmigod, sex," thought that runs through a parents' mind when they think about their kids dating. We don't want them to get hurt.

And yeah, there's the sex thing too. None of us want to be grandparents tomorrow. And we remember what it's like to be in lust, right? We can't tell our kids WHEN to have sex, how or where. But we can worry about protecting their hearts and their bodies.

And let's face it, dads with daughters have an especial worry chiefly because they know what HE is thinking (or at least have an inkling of it). When my husband gets a look on his face about our daughter's little boyfriends, I don't worry that he's spending too much time thinking up ways to exert his patriarchical thumb over her femininity. He's just a dad who doesn't want his daughter to get hurt.

He may not be surrounded by guys with guns and access to his FBI file, but let me put it this way - the boy who messes with our daughter is no luckier than the boy who has to come face to face with the leader of the free world on prom night.

Image: DenverPost

Boy With Toy Gun Shot By Deputy

Brett Singer — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:00:00 GMT

You hear about things like this happening from time to time but you always hope it will stop. But it doesn't.

A boy was "playing cops and robbers" in Palmdale, California when he was shot by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. He is now in the hospital in stable condition.

The police were responding to complaints from neighbors that someone was "riding a bicycle and brandishing a handgun." Deputies arrived on the scene, told the kid to drop the gun, and he pointed it at them instead. According to the report, the boy is 15, which seems a little old for that sort of behavior.

This quote, from sheriff's spokesman Deputy Ed Hernandez, is disturbing: "The deputies, fearing for their lives, shot him once. Later on, they determined it was a juvenile playing cops and robbers." I'm not blaming the police, especially since if the boy was really 15, he should know better. But the idea that a kid can have a gun that looks enough like a real one (the photo above is of a toy gun you can buy at Amazon.com) for a trained police officer to fear for their life...

Source: LA Times

Image: Amazon

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Boy Scouts Say Your Kid is Too Fat

JeanneSager — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:01:00 GMT

If your little boy is overweight, you better be prepared to break this news: he might not be allowed to join the Boy Scouts with his buddies.

The Scouts are adding height and weight standards for boys and their adult counterparts who take part in the "high adventure" or extreme events, the kind of activities that often take Scouts and their leaders off into the woods or other places that are far afield from medical assistance.

The Scouts say the new requirements are for the safety of participants. But parents and a lot of current Scouting participants say they're merely cutting more families out (and I say more because, of course, there's that whole "no gays allowed" thing already going on in the Scouts).

As one major scouting site points out - you can easily be physically fit and not fall within those height to weight guidelines. Besides, there are plenty of Scouting leaders who could stand to lose a few pounds - and we all know how easy it is to get parent volunteers these days (er, NOT).

Of course, the bigger concern here is what does this say to our kids? That fat kids have yet another barrier in front of them?

Let's face it - we all know that kids with weight issues also often face self-esteem trouble. A study found that problem increased significantly when kids hit the early teen years, just about the time that Scouts are allowed into the higher adventure activities. It's worth noting too, that this is when kids are at the heigh of puberty, and their bodies are changing significantly - including their heigh to weight ratio.

In other words - it's a risky and difficult time for kids, a time when they would most benefit from a group activity and the ability to participate. A group activity that may even get them off their butts, out from in front of their XBoxes and out climbing trees and hiking forests and . . . um, losing weight, gaining muscle, etc.?

Obviously, I was never a Boy Scout (although they do accept girls for certain events now - especially the adventure groups for teens), but the men I've known who truly enjoyed Scouts were not necessarily your classic buff, rough, tough athletic types. In fact one Eagle Scout I know has battled lifelong weight problems and was unable to play school athletics because he "wasn't good enough." He found his place in Scouts because he didn't have to be masterful at any one thing to succeed.

It might do the Scouts well to mold their programs to the kids rather than expecting kids to mold to their programs. After all, without little boys, there is no Boy Scouts of America.

Image: Boy Scouts via Chicago Tribune

Don't Ask If We're Trying to Have a Boy . . . or a Girl

JeanneSager — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:28:00 GMT

My friend cried hysterically when she found out her first baby was going to be a boy. Now, two boys later, she says she'd likely only get pregnant again if she could guarantee another boy.

So what's the most common question she's asked about the possibility of number three? "So, are you going to try for your girl?"

Writer Amy Wilson has written a compelling piece for Parenting Magazine about why that question comes so often for mothers of little boys . . . and why it's just so darn inappropriate.

"It bothers me that people assume I feel incomplete without a daughter, let alone that it's my motivation for being pregnant with a third child in the first place," she says.

I actually have a daughter, my one and only, and I get the opposite question: "when are you going to give her a little brother?" Or, maybe worse "when are you going to make your husband a little boy?"

Just as Wilson is disturbed by the notion that her life would be considered incomplete without a little girl, I wonder why a little boy is so necessary to round out a family. And why should I be putting the burden of being one or the other on this little fetus who really has no control.

Gender preferences are somewhat natural, don't get me wrong. There's the idea, as Wilson had, that you better understand the gender you have (with her, the boys) or the gender you are (why many women say they want a girl, many men say they're shooting for a boy). But those preferences will go away when a child comes along. They did for my friend. They did for Wilson, whose third baby, it turned out, was a little girl.

So why does the rest of the world seem to think we can't turn it off? Or assume it's there to begin with? I can honestly say I didn't know which (or I should say who) I wanted. I was equally excited and terrified by each gender. I'd changed boy diapers before, but never girls. But then again, I am a girl, I know how that works . . . and so forth. I worried about the still tenuous mother-daughter relationship I have with my mother. I worried about the father-son relationship my husband has with his dad. I thought about reading Anne of Green Gables with a little girl, about my friend's cuddly little ball of love of a boy.

And, in the end, I got a girl. A beautiful, sweet, sometimes drives me a little bonkers, girl. I wouldn't trade her in for a boy. I wouldn't replace her with a boy. And if I had it to do over, I might even find myself saying "yes, if we could guarantee another girl."

For those of us with one gender of children (be it one, two, three, etc.), it's really not the end of the world. Really. If anything, it's just the beginning.

Iowa Mulling Same Sex Birth Certificates?

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When Toddlers Attack The Neighbors

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:00:00 GMT

It's one thing when your kids mess up your house. It's quite another when they destroy someone else's.

And when they get into the neighbors' house? Look out.

John and Matthew Farrer, ages 2 and 3, are brothers. In crime. The pair of toddlers "wandered away from their home on Friday morning," and while their parents and 100 emergency workers searched high and low, they were having a blast next door at Angie Lovorn's house.

What did the little scamps? Ate some Teddy Grahams and marshmallows. Played with stuffed animals. Oh, and trashed the kitchen.

Ms. Lovorn had worked a late shift, and was asleep while the boys did some damage. She eventually woke up, "just as searchers finally saw the boys leaving through a back door, one wearing her son's Clemson University football helmet," according to ParentDish. That's a great image. Very "Home Alone."

This goes to the theory, espoused by the parent of a childhood friend, that boys should be released into the woods until they're 18. (Obviously girls could have done the same thing. It's just funnier that it was boys.)

As for the boys getting out, this is why I lock my door. I don't need my children running amok outside my sphere of influence.

Image: wyff4.com

Source: ParentDish

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The Funkiest Dancing Kid Ever – Part 2

Brett Singer — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:00:00 GMT

So the funkiest kid ever has a name, or at least a nickname: Mad Skillz Henry, according to Buzzfeed. And he has a second video. Here you go:

It's still good, but what made the first one so special was that he barely seemed to notice that the camera was on him. This time he's clearly mugging. Not to take anything away from Mad Skillz. He still has... well, mad skills. (That's what all the kids are saying these days, right?) But I prefer his early work. You know. Before he sold out.

Source: Buzzfeed

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The Funkiest Dancing Kid Ever – Part 1

Brett Singer — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:00:00 GMT

They say little boys can't dance. Well, anyone who says that has never seen this kid.

Come on! How good is he? His sister (I'm assuming that's his sister although I don't know) is relegated to backup duty, which in this case is right. Somebody sign this kid to an exclusive contract, quick.

Source: Buzzfeed

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Boys Outnumber Girls in China by 32 Million

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:00:00 GMT

A recent study published by the British Medical Journal has uncovered a frightening gender imbalance in China’s youngest generations. With 120 boys born for every 100 girls—a gender difference that far surpasses any other country in the world—China now has 32 million more boys than girls under the age of 20. And since the largest discrepancy is found in children between the ages of one to four, that number only promises to increase.

According to researchers, the disturbing trend is due almost entirely to sex-selective abortions, which have became increasingly common since ultrasounds became widely available in the mid-80s.

The problem, of course, is not reproductive choice. It’s China’s strict one-child policy, combined with a severe, deeply rooted devaluing of females. Female infanticide, once relatively widespread in China, is now blessedly infrequent.

So while outlawing abortion will do nothing to quell anti-girl sentiment in China, a ban on sex-selective abortion must be enacted immediately. Such a pronounced gender imbalance creates a dire situation for women, since the kidnapping and slave-trading of women appears to rise directly with a lower proportion of eligible wives.

Photo: caswell.blogspot.com

Sisters Better than Brothers? We Have Proof

JeanneSager — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:22:00 GMT

Finally, a study proves what sisters everywhere have always known - our brothers are so lucky to have us!

It turns out people who grew up with sisters are more likely to be happy and emotionally settled than anyone else. Those of us stuck with, er, who grew up with, brothers, received a "less positive affect."

Psychologists at the University of Ulster and De Monfort University studied five hundred seventy-one people, ages seventeen to twenty-five to develop their theory. The subjects included people who had only brothers or only sister, people who had both and only children.

The people who had a sister - whether it was just one or many, and regardless of whether they had brothers too - were happier and more ambitious than their counterparts. Overall, those who received the lowest scores on the British psychologists' tests were men who grew up with only brothers!

So why should parents of little girls be thanking their lucky stars?

Researcher Tony Cassidy, of the University of Ulster, told the Daily Mail, "Our explanation for it is that the presence of girls opens up channels of communication and it becomes a much more expressive situation and that's positive. Emotional expression is fundamental to good psychological health and having sisters promotes this in families."

As a big sister who always begged for a little sister, and ended up with a brother instead, I can tell you brothers aren't all that bad. But then again, I don't know what it's like to have a sister, and my daughter is a one and only - so I won't see it happening in my household.

But if you're planning on having more kids, maybe you should be shooting for a girl? Better yet - have two girls, so both get the benefits! And if you throw a boy in there, well, the more the merrier.

Via Jezebel

Image: Amazon

Marching on Washington for the Rights of His "Junk"

JeanneSager — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:57:00 GMT

Penis protectors unite!

That's right - you read that right. A march on Washington this week was all about the rights of man . . .hood.

In honor of Genital Integrity Awareness Week (yes, you read that right too), a group of fifty protestors made their presence known on the national mall to fight to keep newborn baby boys from having their little foreskins removed. Joining the fray was a guy who mass-produces machines he claims will help circumcised men grow back their foreskins, plus the only guy to ever sue a doctor (and win) for his newborn snippage.

The inactivists (don't dare call them activists - that cuts, man), griped that their numbers were down a little for the sixteenth annual march because of the economy. I'm glad to hear it. Not because I'm an especial fan of circumcision (although, honestly, after reading Kate's post the other day about the proven link to STD reductions, I'm leaning more and more in that direction!). I'm just not sure a march on Washington is really in order in this economic climate to protect foreskins.

Little flaps of flesh. Eensy, weensy bits of weenie wrap.

No matter where you stand on circumcision - pro, anti - would you be marching on Washington about this?

Image: SFGate

Power Ranger Toys For Babies And Adults

Brett Singer — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:05:00 GMT

While looking up Power Rangers movies on Amazon for this post, I saw something odd in the Toys section:

One product for "Birth to 24 months," and, more surprisingly, one for "Grownups." But only one for each.

So what are these incredibly age-specific toys?

For the under-2-year-old in your life, you can pick up this 6 in 1 Power Rangers SPD Wooden Puzzle.

Ironically, SPD is in my opinion the least kid-friendly version of the various Rangers' series, since it focuses on a team of law enforcement officers who are all "respect my authoritay!" [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=authoritay] That doesn't really matter much but I thought it was worth mentioning. Also worth noting is the fact that the packaging is in Japanese, although the one reviewer who shared their thoughts on the toy says "there's not many instructions needed for a puzzle but other toys may be impossible to assembly [sic] or know the rules if it's not in English." For the record, she also loved it. I guess the lesson here is that even if the writing on the box in Japanese, try it anyway. Or something like that.

How about for the big people? Well, Amazon says they can have a "3 1/2" Ultraman Marusan Mini Model Kit Replica Figure (One Model - Blind Box)".

No user reviews, but the description is revealing:
    * Brand new in sealed box!
    * Imported from Japan! Not sold in U.S. shops!
    * A must-have for any Ultraman or Japanese Monster fanatic!
    * **You are purchasing one random figure from this series**

So it's from Japan, best for an "Ultraman fanatic" and you don't know what you're buying. If I'm a true "fanatic" I think I'd want to know that. But it is new. That's something.
Only 3 left in stock, so order now!

There are dozens of toys for all other age ranges. Thank goodness. I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of a Ranger-rific lifestyle.

Source/Images: Amazon.com

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Save Your Baby Girl From Humiliating Baldness!

Kate Tuttle — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Do you have a bald baby girl? Do you cringe when anyone asks your baby's sex, or assumes she's a boy? No? Well, honestly, neither did I, when my daughter was small and (briefly) bald. But apparently some parents really worry about this stuff, or at least the makers of Baby Bangs! are hoping they do.

Baby Bangs! (the exclamation mark appears to be a necessary part of the name) are little wigs attached to stretchy headbands, so that parents of infant girls can pretend they have more hair than they do. According to the product's web site:

Our patent pending HAIR+band accessory combination allows baby girl's (with little or no hair at all) the opportunity to have a beautifully realistic HAIR style in a SNAP!! It's quick, easy and baby barely knows it's there. Each Baby Bangs! HAIR+band has been made using only the finest ribbons and fabrics, PLUS our Baby Bangs! come to you pre-customized & size appropriate, cut, styled and ready for immediate wear. The wispy hair strands have been arranged in the cutest most adorable elfish coiffure!

Created by a "hair replacement artist" and her daughter -- and using her infant granddaughter as guinea pi -- I mean, model -- Baby Bangs! are made of synthetic fibers attached to elastic headbands. Instructions on the site detail the procedure for properly pulling them onto your baby's head and arranging the little hairs for "the cutest most adorable elfish coiffure!" One hardly knows where to begin.

My kids had a hard time coping with being forced to wear hats -- you know, to protect them from the cold and the damaging UV rays, not to make them look more gender-stereotypical -- so it's hard for me to believe it would be all that easy to get your baby to go along with your need to control their hair quantity. Beyond that, is it really such a huge problem if someone mistakes your girl baby for a boy? Or is the real problem that our society is so strange about gender that anyone would think it's an insult? And who really thinks "long hair = girl, short hair = boy" anymore, anyway? That kind of thinking is not much in evidence where I live. It's hard to escape the feeling that Baby Bangs! come just at a time when their very raison d'etre is starting to feel a bit laughable. That said, as Saturday Night Live has shown, laughing at wacky baby products is always in style.

Photo courtesy of Baby Bangs (and yes, the little girl is adorable -- but she's even cuter without her wig!)

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Power Rangers Bite The Dust

Brett Singer — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Seems even The Power Rangers aren't immune to the economic downturn. Disney hasn't said anything officially, but according to the New York Post, "the cast and crew [of the Power Rangers TV show] were informed this week that the show has been dropped." OK, it doesn't have anything to do with the recession, it's just plain old economics -- the show doesn't have any ratings. (Interestingly, the toys still sell, according to the Post.)

It's sad, and yet, it's really not. The formerly Mighty Morphing heroes were always pretty awful. My son and I watched one incarnation, Dino Thunder, for a little while when he was, like, 3 years old. There was a Halloween costume, a red one with white puffy spikes on it. After that he seemed to lose interest in all things Ranger, preferring the far deeper storytelling of Justice League, Batman, Spiderman and other "real" superheroes. (OK, I prefer those too. Sue me.)

I know that there are some folks -- Generation WTF, or whatever marketing sobriquet they've been given -- who came of age in the 90's and feel a connection to the Rangers, although the Facebook group "I grew up in Australia in the 90s" speaks the truth to Power when a user recalls, "Power Rangers becoming cooler than the Ninja Turtles, even though the Turtles will always be cooler." The Turtles, by the way, are still on the air. Take that, rubber suited Japanese movie monster person.

Source: NY Post via Buzzfeed

Image: Amazon

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Kid Forced To Stand In Public Square For Bad Grades

Brett Singer — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:00:00 GMT

The amusingly named General parents (Don and Tanyeil) couldn't get their son Trenton to pay better attention to his schoolwork. So they tried something different.

"His parents were about to take the cell phone away — again — recently when they offered their son a choice. 'His cell-phone for two weeks or a corner for two hours,' Don said. 'He chose the corner.'
"'The corner' was not a quiet spot in his room, but rather a very public intersection in the middle of town. There Trenton held a hand-lettered sign that listed his grades — an E in English and math, a C in science and an A in phys ed. At the bottom of the list the sign said, 'My future = shaky!'"

Pretty rough punishment. It's not physical abuse, but isn't it mental abuse? Commenters on ParentDish seem to think that the punishment is OK, with one saying that "public humiliation is quite effective…the parents [did] the right thing." Child Protective Services has visited the family, so they must not agree.

I was a horror in high school, but since I transferred from private to public school, the work wasn't terribly difficult so I was able to get away with not working very hard. In college, however, I stumbled badly my first year. I clearly recall a phone conversation with my mother where she informed me that she "was not going to pay for C's", and that if I wanted to get grades like this I could live at home and go to a community college, one I could pay for with the job I would need to have. She wasn't joking. Guess what? I got my act together.

The problem with threats is that they don't work on all kids. "If you do this we'll take your cell phone away" sets up a benefit/reward structure that doesn't really speak to the value of school, or the fact that you are supposed to do your best regardless of reward. Of course, sometimes nothing works, and in that case, maybe a seemingly crazy punishment like the General's could have some results. Until CPS finds out of course.

Were the Generals wrong? Or should CPS leave them alone?

Source: NY Times

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5 Second-Grade Boys Found with Heroin

Cole Gamble — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Ah, kids. They grow so fast.

Wait, how the heck did a bunch of second graders score heroin?

For now, the Philadelphia Police don’t know and the kids have one hell of an excuse: they said they thought it was candy. A school district spokesman said none of the kids ingested the heroin and a school nurse confirmed the boys were in good health.

So remember, moms and dads, look up your heroin! Stash it wherever you keep your guns, fireworks, Nazi memorabilia and smuggled panda bears.

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They Say: Girls Made of Sugar and Grit

JeanneSager — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:34:00 GMT

In case you needed another bit of ammunition to send the "girls are more delicate than boys" notion blasting into outer space, I'm happy to oblige.

It turns out girls are significantly more resilient then their male counterparts when growing up in a troubled family.

The small study (just one hundred twenty-five kids) published in this month's Journal of Adolescent Health acknowledges the odds are stacked against kids who grow up in dysfunctional homes. The girls, however, seem to have slightly better odds of triumphing - about four times that of the boys.

The conclusion of the study is one of those "duh" findings that come from a lot of social studies: "early intervention with families with opiate-dependent parents to prevent and reduce internalizing and externalizing problems in their children holds the most promise of supporting resilient adaptation in early adulthood."

In other words, help the kids when they're younger, and you'll make more of a difference. Obvious, I'd say, but then a lot of these social studies seem to be geared toward convincing those of us with a lack of common sense of the right path.

I was disappointed not to find more information that would explain why the girls fared better. As a woman, and the mother of a girl, I'd love to say that is a "no duh," conclusion too - but I'm not writing off the boys out there! So I can only posit a few conclusions from my own experience:

1. Sisters are often called on to be the "responsible" sibling in a family. Not every sister, of course, and there are often brothers who end up shouldering a much heftier burden. But in almost every case I know of adult siblings splitting familial responsibilities, the brunt of the work falls to the sister. Sisters are often expected to take up the bulk of caregiving for older parents, even if that means moving across the country while a brother lives in the same town as the parents. Perhaps this relates to the traditional role of mother (female) as caregiver?

2. Sisters tend to "mother" their brothers. Again this isn't true for every family, but in an overwhelming number of families when the going gets rough, the females tend to turn outward rather than inward. That focus on the well-being of the other family members can be a huge source of stress, and not particularly healthy for her emotionally. But it's a form of strength that powers them through - and isn't that just another way of saying they're resilient?

Of course, none of this means boys aren't "as good" or "as responsible." But then again, they're not necessarily all that strong!

Via: Los Angeles Times

Image:NC Medical Insurance

UPDATE: A-Roid Admits It

Brett Singer — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:00:00 GMT

UPDATE: A-Rod (A-Roid, A-Fraud - I still like The Rod, but it's not sticking yet) has admitted to ESPN's Peter Gammons that, you know, he did it. Children everywhere are... actually, I don't think children care about this at all.

When I was a young Yankee fan, my guy was Reggie Jackson. All I cared about was how he played. Granted, it was a different time, but despite all of the posturing from commentators I don't think kids care much about whether or not The Rod was juicing. Maybe I'm wrong.

Original post follows:

*-*-*

SI.com is reporting that Alex Rodriguez, whom I usually refer to as "The Rod", tested positive for two different anabolic steroids, Primobolan and testosterone, back in 2003. (Make up your own joke about Alex taking testosterone.)

What does this have to do with parenting? Well, somewhat like the Plaxico Burress gun incident ("Safety? What's a safety?"), kids who are into sports, and even those that aren't, will hear this news. What do you tell them? If you go with the "tut-tut" sanctimony of Major League Baseball and the seemingly endless parade of columnists and talk show hosts, then you have to tell them that The Rod is a big fat cheater. That's the word that has been assigned to steroid users. Cheaters. At least it’s a word that even little kids understand. You know, because it's childish.

If you want to go with a calmer explanation, you could say that The Rod made a mistake and we don't have all the facts yet. (Probably better to call him A-Rod, since I'm the only one that calls him The Rod.) Columnist Chris Ballard says that "All of A-Rod's achievements, past and future, will be tainted." First of all, what if the report was wrong? I'm not saying it was, but sometimes reporters, sources or no, make mistakes. Also, we're slamming the guy for doing something that may not even be against the law because he "tainted" the "purity" of baseball. That seems like a pretty bad message to send to kids, frankly.

Ultimately, baseball is a game. Professional baseball, like all professional sports, is a business. In recent years it has become a huge business, one that allows someone like The Rod to earn almost $30 million in one year. That's just his salary, by the way. He probably made a lot more in endorsements, autograph signings, and other things. Sports figures are no longer on the same playing field as the rest of us, if they ever were. (Pun unintended.) Kids should be allowed to enjoy the game without the braying sanctimony of adults who appear desperate to believe that baseball is more important than it is. Sports can bring great enjoyment to fans young and old. When you try to pretend that these people are something more than human, any fall from grace will be a huge disappointment.

For the record, I am a lifelong Yankee fan and I never liked The Rod. (Give me Scott Brosius any day of the week.) I also don't much care about steroids. I think Major League Baseball helped create this problem by preferring profits to players' health; there were multiple times when guys were obviously juiced up and no one said anything about it, sanctimonious commentators included. And I never thought I'd say this, but I'm a little bit glad that my son isn't a big baseball fan. Explaining Plaxico's gun was easier than this will be.

Image/Source: SI.com

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Boys Can Babysit Too

Amy Kuras — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:31:00 GMT

When you think about giving the neighbor kid a call to babysit, are you thinking of a girl or a boy?

Most of us are thinking about a girl. There are lots of reasons for that – we certainly sill see childcare as women’s work, and some of us just don’t trust males around our children, which is sad. There’s still an outdated notion that a man who takes interest in children who aren’t his has some sort of creepy motive, when people don’t generally think the same about females.

Which is too bad for all the teen boys out there who would make fabulous sitters. Certainly on my husband’s side of the family where all the nieces and nephews except ours are in their teens and 20s, it’s the boys who are most likely to be holding or playing with our kids and if any of them lived closer, we’d be hiring them for child care regularly. And my dad iss as likely to take care of my kids as my mom is.

That’s why I liked this story about a group of Boy Scouts getting babysitter training from the Red Cross as part of a badge program. It’s the same certification that girls receive,, and qualifies them to babysit for younger kids. Unlike other classes, though, this one was all-male, which gave the boys a chance to see that they were not alone in being interested in caring for kids.

They learned how to change diapers, feed babies and market themselves to parents.

How do you feel about boy babysitters? Are you fine with it, or do you feel more comfortable with girls?

Girls More Confident Since Presidential Election

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:35:00 GMT

50 percent of girls ages 12 to 17 have more confidence since the presidential election, according to a study by the Girl Scout Research Foundation. The study of 3,284 adolescent girls also found that half of young women now believe they will be able to achieve their goals, and 55 percent feel more comfortable speaking their minds.

The Girl Scout Research Foundation speculates (unsurprisingly) that the inclusion of two female candidates—Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin—drastically affected young girls for the better.

I would guess that the election of the nation’s first black president has also increased girls’ confidence in their chances for success. Seeing an African-American family in the White House is a wonderfully concrete demonstration that glass ceilings can be shattered to smithereens.

Photo: Jezebel

Study Finds Girls "Prefer Chatting" to Being Physically Active

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:00:00 GMT

New research has found that women of all ages are less active than men. Observing schoolchildren at play, researchers have concluded that girls would rather socialize than play sports.

While I don't doubt the study’s findings that men are more physically active than women, I have some reservations about the explanation that girls simply like to sit around chatting, while boys like to run around and get dirty.

Until I graduated high school, I considered myself the least athletic person I knew. It was a big joke among my friends that any activity requiring physical exertion was off bounds for me. But once I realized that being active did not have to mean doing Indian sprints at Varsity field hockey practice, I became very athletic. I now bike everywhere, do yoga, dance, hike, surf, and run.

I certainly didn’t shun sports because I “prefer to chat.” But a casual observer could easily have drawn this conclusion from watching me on the sidelines during gym class, laughing with a girlfriend instead of trying to get in on the athletic action. The truth is, I was too intimidated to participate in traditional team sports, since I seem to have inherited a gene which makes me physically incapable of throwing and catching a ball. Even the sports that I did enjoy—gymnastics and track—were unappealing to me because I had no interest in competing. I just wanted to move around and have fun.

Perhaps it’s not girls’ natural inclinations that make them less active than their male counterparts, but rather the way sports are taught in school.

Photo: The Telegraph

Could This Five Year Old Be The Next Rachael Ray?

Brett Singer — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:00:00 GMT

First we had the nine year old who wrote a book. Now there's the five year old with his own cooking show.

Yes, it's on public access TV in Portland, Oregon. But it really is a cooking show. And he really cooks. Really.

According to The Oregonian, little Julian Kreusser makes up the recipes himself, and has been experimenting with food since he was just three years old. He even wrote the show's theme song on the piano. His dad, Ben Kreusser, works at the community TV station that airs the show; he runs the camera. Mom Kristen McKee directs. And two and a half year old sister Eva is in charge of lighting – "mostly turning them on and off."

If Julian were an automaton of Shirley Temple-like precision, it might be as nauseating as one of his lesser recipes ("Yummy Yummy Citrus Boys", the juice of clementines mixed with ginger bread). But Julian is pretty raw and unafraid to ask mom what something is. He even admits that Yummy Yummy Citrus Boys are "kind of yucky", although he liked them at first. So he gets points for honesty.

Here's a clip from the show, where Julian makes Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread:

There's another twist to the story – Julian is "unschooled", which The Oregonian says is describes as "a brand of home schooling that has the kids direct their learning. If Julian wants to learn how trees grow, he does. If he wants to learn which ingredients make the best cake, he does." Of course "learning how trees grow" wouldn't have the same quick payoff that cooking does, so I think Julian made the right choice.

And then there are the comments. Ah, the comments.

"Leo1234" is less than thrilled with the article, Julian, and his budding television career: " This kid is being pushed by his parents; I hope he survives his impending ego trips and posing for video cameras. Any kid with this kind of pushing can be a 'video chef.' GIVE US A BREAK!" A comment by " theromanump" must have been deleted but apparently he said something that caused "cjhutch" to write "I hope that you either do not have kids, or are at least more openminded than you appear… The kid can probably cook better than you can." "Leo1234" comes back with a response that starts out more measured ("A child often lacks the strength to hold heavier pots or dishes. A 'supervised' child - what does that mean in the TV studio's contract? Who sues who over injuries?") and then enters la-la land again ("Portland is getting stupid/er. You folks want a cute puppy under the Christmas tree, but don't want to think about ramifications.") He also seems not to be a fan of unschooling although it's not clear that he understands the term. (To be fair, I hadn't heard of it until I read this article.)

Apparently there are other unschoolers, at least in the Portland area; a couple of them chime in and defend Julian and his parents, who themselves weigh in on various matters. (Interestingly, the site where I originally found this story (Fox Dallas-Fort Worth) omits the unschooling angle.)

Whew! Come on, people! I'd be happy if I could just get my kid to EAT zucchini, much less cook it on a television show.

Source: oregonlive.com
Image: myfoxdfw.com

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Last Day For Free Holiday Shipping

Brett Singer — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:15:00 GMT

With the economy in shambles (even the wealthy are losing big money) I wanted to do my part to tell people how to save a little cash this holiday season. We began with Please Buy Stuff Part 1 – Cheap Toys, which featured a half-off toy sale at Target. Now here is Please Buy Stuff Part 2 – Free Shipping.

If you put off your holiday shopping because you were (a) busy, (b) waiting until the last possible second in an attempt to secure the best price, or (c) all of the above, more than 100 merchants are in your corner. On Thursday, December 18, web retailers from 1800Mustang (specializing in Mustang parts – the cars, not the horses) to Zappos.com (shoes) will ship your stuff for free AND guarantee delivery by Christmas. On the list are Babies R Us, Apple, Big Toe Soccer, OhToy.com – a huge list, and it keeps growing, according to FreeShippingDay.com.

Once again, procrastinators are rewarded. In fact, the web site even says, "Free Shipping Day is the last chance for many procrastinators."

As one who celebrates Chanukah, I wish the same deal applied for the festival of lights. That said, The First Night of Jewy Christmas coincides nicely with Actual Christmas this year – the evening of December 21, with the final night occurring on December 28. So you can pick up some chachkis to give the kids on the first few days (thereby supporting your local merchants), then give them the good stuff later in the week.

That actually works well for the way we do Chanukah in our house. We do eight gifts, but most are of the smaller variety, with a big one on or about the final night. So although FreeShippingDay unsurprisingly focuses on Christmas, it also works for Chanukah, as well as Kwanzaa, which begins on December 26.

It's as if merchants everywhere are saying, "Please – please buy something! The toys are half price, you get free shipping with guaranteed holiday delivery even if you wait until the last minute – wouldja just buy something already? Please? No, really. Buy something. Anything. What's that? My watch? Um, it's not for sale… oh, you'll take a Barbie Dream Car Set if I throw in my watch? And my shoes? Uh… sure! It's the holidays. Why not? Merry New Year!"

Anyone else feel like retailers are desperate? And while it's nice to be the beneficiary of some of this stuff-based holiday cheer, doesn’t it feel a teeny bit weird?

Oh well. Get it while the getting's good. Nothing distracts a kid from the world's problems like a shiny new toy. And seeing them open it is still one of the best freebies around.

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Et Tu, Scholastic?

editors — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:11:00 GMT

These two books came into the office the other day:The Girls’ Book of Glamour: A Guide to Being a Goddess and The Boys’ Book of Survival: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere. Ha-ha, we thought, how retro and ironic and . . . OMG, THEY ARE TOTALLY SERIOUS.

The jacket flap copy on the girls’ book: “Be confidant. Be glamorous. Be gorgeous . . . Be the goddess you were born to be!” On the boys’ book: “Be brave. Be prepared . . . Be a hero!”

Now, our son loves trucks, planes and dinosaurs. Our goddaughter loves tutus. BUT. STILL. Our son has been known to dance around in a skirt, and our goddaughter has been known to play with dinosaurs. The truck books do not say, “TRUCKS FOR BOYS.” They say, “TRUCKS TRUCKS TRUCKS. TRUCKS.”

We read both of these books to make sure they are as bad and reactionary as their covers suggested. In fact, they are worse.

Girls are instructed to “accessorize fabulously.” Boys are taught to “survive an avalanche.” Girls are told how to “give yourself a mini-facial.” Boys are given instructions for making a dugout canoe.

The major theme in the boy book: Be ready for anything! You’re a leader! (“How to Be a Good Leader,” p. 12) The girls’ theme: Be pretty! Also, friendly! (“How to Have the Best Manners,” p.81) And “jazz up” that “boring ponytail.”

For realz? This is the publishing house that gave us Hermione Granger? For shame. — Ada Calhoun

Half Price Toys at Target

Brett Singer — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:00:00 GMT

With the economy in shambles (even the wealthy are losing big money) I wanted to do my part to tell people how to save a little cash this holiday season. So here is Please Buy Stuff Part 1 – Cheap Toys.

* * *

Has anyone else noticed how cheap toys are right now?

I get at least one email per day from Toys R Us practically begging me to buy something… anything… just buy a toy! Please! 50% off is not uncommon. It seems like the closer it gets to Christmas, the cheaper everything becomes.

Now Target is joining the party with a 50% off sale. The cheapest item is the game Monopoly Town, now priced at $7.99 (down from $15.99). On the high end, you can now get a Kota My Triceratops for $99.99 (was $199.99). Click the image below to see all 50% off items in all their glory, and also visit Target.com.

What's interesting, to me at least, is the fact that I don't seem to care much. Let me explain. I'm a cheapskate and I like bargains. Sometime in the past few years, however, I became less and less interested in shopping. It's not that I don't buy things when we need them. But it's less fun than it used to be. I would attribute this feeling to the economy, but it started before our financial system did its imitation of David Caruso's pre-CSI career. Part of it could be perspective – with two kids, stuff seems less important than it once did. But I'm not buying that (no pun intended). I think it has more to do with being tired (see: two kids), and also slightly overwhelmed by the array of choices out there. As an example, our toaster oven has been broken for several weeks. This thing owes us nothing – I believe we've had it for well over ten years. But it SORT OF works. And when I go online looking for new ones, I quickly get bored and decide to just deal with the old one for a little bit longer.

Some of my merchant-based malaise does have to do with the economy, of course. It seems…unseemly to lust after hi-tech stuff when people are being laid off all over the country.

That said, the kids don't need to suffer for my mishegos. (Except for the toaster oven. That they'll just have to deal with.) And if the toys they want are this cheap, go for it. Besides, isn't it our patriotic duty to go shopping?

Next: how to get free shipping and still get your stuff in time for Christmas (or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa).