Opinion: Your Grade-Schooler Doesn't Need a Cell Phone
Call it a day -- cell phones just aren't for kids. Credit: jupiterimages
Today's conventional wisdom seems to dictate that "cell phone" should be right there on the back-to-school shopping list along with markers, crayons and new shoes, but when did it become part of our cultural landscape to keep watch over our children 24 hours a day, even when they're in school?
A recent study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 51 percent of 12-year-olds owned mobile phones in 2008. In 2004, that number was 18 percent. When my generation was 12 years old, we were just figuring out how to manage the Betamax player and this crazy new technology called a "personal computer."
Not to mention the fact that our parents actually relied on the proverbial village to help us make it to adulthood. We were surrounded by responsible adults who weren't named "Mom" and "Dad." We also had teachers, coaches and our friends' parents to look out for us. And you know what? Our kids are surrounded by those people, too.
We did not need an electronic monitoring device, which is basically what a cell phone becomes when you hand it to a 12-year-old. And, frankly, I fear that handing my child a cell phone would open up a Pandora's Box of media exposure that I really wouldn't be able to contain.
School Objects to 'I Love Boobies' Bracelets
Eighth-grader Taylor Trujillo wears the "Boobies" bracelet that has California school officials raising their eyebrows. Credit: Gary Kazanjian, Fresno Bee / MCT
Students in the Clovis Unified School District, in Clovis, Calif., have been spotted sporting colorful rubber bracelets emblazoned with the message "I Love Boobies," according to the Fresno Bee. The accessory is part of an American Cancer Society breast cancer fundraising and awareness effort.
The only thing being raised by Clovis Unified officials, however, is eyebrows. Students who wear the $4 bracelets to class have been asked to remove them and stow them in lockers or backpacks, due to the provocative nature of their slogan. The district's dress code prohibits the wearing of any item that includes sexually suggestive language or pictures.
Taylor Trujillo, an eighth-grader at Granite Ridge Intermediate School in the Clovis district, tells the Bee she wore her bracelet on campus to show support for cancer patients. She says she was asked to put the item in her backpack, or it would be taken from her.
Circumcision: Is It Right for Your Baby Boy?
Newborns, Babies, Health & Safety Babies
The decision to circumcise is up to parents. Credit: Nicole Hill, Getty Images
The debate over circumcision heated up when the Centers for Disease Control announced it may recommend circumcising all baby boys, but experts say the decision still rests with parents.
First of all, just what is circumcision? Dr. Rodolfo Sarmiento, a pediatrician on staff at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Ill., told ParentDish it's an elective procedure done to boys after birth, usually 24 hours after they are delivered. The prepuce, or overlying skin at the tip of the penis, is removed.
The procedure does cause the child pain, so doctors will administer a pain reliever such as Tylenol. Some physicians, Sarmiento says, prefer to give a newborn sugar or a local, topical anesthetic to help with pain control.
Not all parents choose to have their children circumcised, which is why the CDC's announcement caused such a stir. Officials are considering promoting the procedure in the U.S., according to The New York Times, because it may help reduce the spread of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.
Parents Find Playing With Kids 'Boring,' and Kids Know It
In The News, Research Reveals Big Kids, Research Reveals Tweens, Research Reveals Teens
Does family game night bore you to tears? Credit: .A.A., Flickr
If you fear your head may explode if you have to play one more board game or build yet another village out of blocks, you're not alone.
A new survey commissioned by Disneyland Paris found that more than 20 percent of British parents have forgotten how to play with their kids, and 30 percent of moms and dads find any kind of play boring, UK's The Independent reports.
And if you think your kids can't read your poker face, think again: The survey also reveals that 16 percent of the participating kids, all between the ages of 5 and 15, can tell when you're bored. Also, 55 percent of kids are hankering for more quality time with their parental units.
What's to blame for the epidemic of ennui? Chores and work, according to half the 2,000 parents surveyed. Other reasons for the lack of playfulness include interference from rival siblings (32 percent) and technology -- 30 percent of parents surveyed say they choose to play computer games with their kids, but 89 percent of children prefer to play those games on their own.
Is the Recession a Great Form of Birth Control?
The state of the economy is prompting couples to hold off on having kids. Credit: Getty Images
The Los Angeles Times reports that the birth rate fell 2.7 percent last year, despite the fact that the overall population grew, according to numbers released Aug. 27 by the National Center for Health Statistics. The 2009 birth rate also is the lowest recorded in a century.
"It's a good-sized decline for one year. Every month is showing a decline from the year before," Stephanie Ventura, the demographer who oversaw the report, tells the Times.
Experts say the recession is causing married couples to put off having children. The 2007 birth rate was the highest ever, but the recession began that fall, and, in 2008, the numbers began to decline.
"There is quite possibly a connection between the decline in births and the economic downturn," the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which includes the health statistics center, tells the Times. "More details on the demographics of mothers who gave birth in 2009 are needed to more strongly make this connection."
School Apologizes After Awarding First Place to Hitler Costume
Awarding a child for dressing up like Adolf Hitler? A mistake. Credit: AP
Memo to educators everywhere: There's nothing cute about a kid dressed as Hitler.
Administrators at an Australian school recently were forced to apologize after awarding first prize in a costume contest to a 9-year-old boy who came to school dressed as Adolf Hitler as part of a history project, according to BBC News.
Parents complained, calling the costume distasteful. An apology has been issued, but, according to the BBC, school officials still aren't sure what the big deal is.
The unnamed head teacher defended the school's actions, saying the German dictator "was a fairly famous person." He also claims parents made "a mountain out of a molehill" and that most of the uproar was caused by the fact that the students yelled out "Hitler!" when the boy was on stage.
R-O-B-B-I-E Spells Relief: Little Leaguer Gets Shot in Big Game
It's a moment that Robbie Wilson won't soon forget.
According to Buzzfeed, where we first saw this awesome clip, it was the bottom of the sixth inning, with two outs -- which is the final out in Little League -- when Robbie's Auburn, Wash. teammates "voted" him in to pitch his first-ever Little League World Series game against a team from Fairfield, Conn.
We especially love the shot of two of his teammates behind him, pointing at him, as the coach and manager make their decision. Even better? Robbie went on to win the game, defeating Connecticut 9-5.
According to a spokeswoman in the Little League West Region Headquarters, Auburn was eliminated from the World Series after losing 7-5 to Texas on Aug. 26, but the team's overall performance in the tournament will catapult them into the ranks of the top four teams in the country.
This adorable video makes us want to head to the ballpark, or have a catch with our kids in the back yard. Way to go, Robbie!
Related: Hall of Famer Dave Winfield Talks Baseball and Breast Cancer
Federal School Lunches Linked to Obesity
In The News, Research Reveals Big Kids, Research Reveals Tweens, Research Reveals Teens
New research shows that kids who eat breakfast actually weigh less. Credit: Corbis
Science Daily reports that new research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that kids who participate only in the federal government's National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight, but kids who participate in the federally-funded breakfast program and the lunch program are slimmer than most.
Researchers from Southern Methodist University, Georgia State University and Kuwait University looked at data on more than 13,500 elementary school students, and found that kids who eat both breakfast and lunch under the federal program weigh less than kids who only eat lunch, as well as kids who do not participate in the program at all.
Would You Drink for Two?
Is a little vino that bad for your bambio? Credit: Getty Images
Blogger Melanie at Parenting.com confesses that she sipped some vino more than once during her own pregnancies: "I didn't drink nightly, or even weekly, and never did I get drunk," she writes. "And while I know that complete abstention from alcohol is the official position of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, I also quietly received the okay for an occasional glass of wine from a number of medical professionals whose advice I sought."
Are expectant mothers ditching the playbook, as written by ACOG? Probably not altogether, but the New York Post does report that more pregnant women are raising the glass -- without a side helping of guilt.
According to that newspaper, a study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology reveals that babies whose mothers drank one or two alcoholic beverages during their pregnancies had no additional risk of cognitive defects than those whose moms abstained.
Related: Pregnancy: Week By Week
Being the Class Mom Takes Time, Sensitivity and Tact
Just For Moms, Just For Dads, Playground Bureau, Daycare & Education, Expert Advice Toddlers Preschoolers, Education Big Kids, Education Tweens
Are you planning to volunteer at your child's school this year? Credit: Getty Images
"I enjoyed getting to know the teachers a bit better than I would have otherwise," says this Rochester, N.Y., mom of one. "I really enjoyed being part of my daughter's classroom experience."
Now that the calendar is beginning to flip toward fall, it's time to start thinking about back-to-school, and that doesn't just mean getting back into the academic groove or buying school supplies. It also means thinking about how -- and if -- you plan to volunteer at your child's school.
There are plenty of ways to get involved, of course, including fundraising or participating in the PTSA and other formal school-based organizations. But if you're looking for a more intimate experience with your child's classroom, you may want to consider being the class mom.
