Good article by the father (Michael Goudeau) of an autistic child on vaccines and other sensible information:

http://tinyurl.com/m5w8rg

It’s an exciting day for secular parenting! In Britain, Richard Dawkins is helping to launch the first summer camp for non-believers.

Richard Dawkins is subsidising the camp which will offer children aged eight to 17 the chance to sing along to John Lennon’s Imagine and have lessons in evolution.

The five-day camp, based in Somerset, promises to be ‘beyond belief’ – the event’s motto – and will rival traditional faith-based breaks run by the Scouts and church groups.

It’s great to have this option for children. It’s another place that can help teach our kids, according to Dawkins, to “think for themselves sceptically and rationally.”

Skeptic Dad over at Science-Based Parenting blog has a very thorough take-down of acupuncture, including this gem:

acupuncture doesn’t work as claimed, because people who seek an acupuncturist may need actual medicine, and treating with placebo is unethical because deception must occur for the response to be most effective. As for the endorphins, those aren’t anything special. You can get the same response by pinching your skin, running a mile, or having sex.

Get all your questions about acupuncture answered in one handy article.

For formula-feeding parents, a big worry is that your baby might be allergic to, or intolerant of, cow’s milk formula. This can lead to a lot of trial-and-error of different brands and types of formulas. A new study has suggested some parents are misdiagnosing milk intolerance and may be too hasty when it comes to switching formulas–especially without consulting a health professional.

The researchers found that nearly half of formula-fed babies experience a formula change in the first six months. Could parents be over-reacting? While a relatively small study, they found no difference in infant intolerance to either milk-based or partially hydrolyzed whey protein formula. (The later is a formula modified to remove some of the proteins found in cows’ milk.)

While regurgitation, crying, fussiness, and colic can be signs of intolerances, similar episodes are also normal during early infancy. But anxious parents may mistake these normal episodes as formula intolerance.

The best course of action seems to be talking to a health-care professional, such as your child’s pediatrician. Breast-fed babies can also spit up, have colic, reflux, and/or general digestion discomfort. Both of my daughters were breast fed, and each had horrible nighttime crying fits around three and four months old. It never mattered what I ate (or didn’t eat). We just had to comfort them as best we could.

Dairy allergies and intolerance are real, but perhaps may not be as prevalent as some parents fear.

Tux Paint is my favorite free educational software application for kids. It’s not going to teach your kids science (like the astronomy software I reviewed), but rather it provides a blank canvas with some pretty amazing tools they can use to express their own creativity.

Planets and their cores, by Nico, age 7 » Continue reading “Tux Paint!”

The cartoon network is currently testing out three new live action shows. One of the shows is called The Othersiders which is best explained as Teen Ghosthunters and is aimed at kids.

I’ve seen the first episode and some of the promotional material online and my main issues with this show are 1) that it assumes the existence of the paranormal as fact and 2) passes off sloppy thinking, “weird feelings”, and logical fallacies as critical thinking and true investigation.

This show claims to be “skeptical”, “scientific” and to conduct “thorough” investigations but in reality is credulous and obviously pro paranormal. Critical thinking is practically non existent. It wouldn’t bother me so much if they didn’t claim to be skeptical critical thinkers. If kids are watching this as an example of critical thinking they will be misinformed.

They say they do extensive research on the internet to find the most “credible” locations to investigate. KC, the team’s case manager, explains their decision to investigate the Lincoln Heights Jail in Los Angeles on their first episode, “The jail seemed credible because, so much stuff went on in that place there has to be paranormal stuff left over.”

Sam, the web master, explains why they use thermal cameras, “Paranormal energy is heat and our thermal detectors will pick that up.”

In the research they did about the location the kids read that when people entered a particular part of the jail they started to feel claustrophobic and dizzy. When two members of the team enter that part of the jail, surprise surprise, they also start to feel claustrophobic and dizzy. They consider this evidence of the paranormal. There is no mention that they may have fallen prey to the power of suggestion, that there may be a gas leak or that there may be any other explanation.

Check out the show and see what you think. If you, like me are not happy about this sort of stuff being marketed to kids, please write to the Cartoon Network and let them know what you think.  

Because this show is so new and they are still testing is out we can make a difference. 

Rational parents of the world unite!

I just found the site Rethinking Autism that is using celebrity and sex appeal to promote critical thinking about autism.

Click on the link below to see one of their videos. 

Rethinking Autism: No Link

Many of you reading this blog are probably aware of Junior Skeptic. For those who aren’t, Junior Skeptic is a 10 page kid’s science section that is found inside Skeptic magazine.  You can also find it online. 

They just put out their FREE kid friendly Skeptics Mix Tape 2009. 

On the website they have a description of each song and a Parental Advisory so you can pick and choose which songs you would like to download.

Check it out. 

Dale McGowan is there for us freethinking parents. He has two books on the topic of raising children in nonreligious households: Parenting Beyond Belief, the “first comprehensive book for nonreligious parents”, which includes a collection of essays by Julia Sweeney, Richard Dawkins, Penn Jillette and others, and Raising Freethinkers, which is a practical guide to parenting beyond belief, which includes activities and resources for the actual hands-on aspects of the subject.  He also has a blog, The Meming of Life, which gives freethinking parents continuous support, with short articles and funny anecdotes.

In addition to these resources, » Continue reading “Parenting Beyond Belief Channel on YouTube”

One short year ago

My son turned one June 10th!  He is walking like a pro and can say six words:  mommy, daddy, ball, bubble, water, and, “Wow.”  (I don’t think he really understands what he’s saying with that last one, but it’s adorable.)

I have looked forward to this milestone for many reasons, and I can’t deny that one big reason was the promised end of nursing, as the AAP recommends breast feeding for one year.  I don’t know if I 100% buy this recommendation, but hey, I made it a year, which is something of an accomplishment.  So I’d like my certificate and my prize money, please, and then I’d like my old bras back. » Continue reading “To wean or not to wean?”