So many parents worry about what their kids eat (rightfully) and whether they are getting the right balance of nutrients and vitamins vs junk. How far should you go when preparing food for your family, picky or not?

When my children were growing up, I didn’t cook separate meals for the kids, but I also didn’t cook anything I knew they would actually despise. Kids are fickle. One day chicken is fine; the next it isn’t. Who can keep up? If they are hungry enough, they’ll eat enough of what’s on their plate, and over the course of a week, they’ll get the vitamins, etc., they need. No need to be crazed or to force them to eat carrot ice cream.

Here’s a down to earth article by a foodie father that makes sense:

http://tinyurl.com/lbkpog

Check out this article about how homebirth increases the neonatal mortality rate by Amy Tuteur, the Skeptical OB.  I’ve been reading her blog for a while now.  I started with her previous blog, Homebirth Debate.  There is probably something appealing to many folks on Dr. Amy’s, whether you are interested in homebirth, or dead set against homebirth, or just wanting information about homebirth, or really, even if you don’t give a hoot about homebirth but just love to watch people get seriously into it with each other in the comments.  I mean, these folks go at it.  It’s kind of like the Jerry Springer of skeptical blogs.  I can’t get enough. » Continue reading “Fighting–er, I mean debating about homebirth”

http://skepticdad.wordpress.com

I was surprised by this recent report from a mother who visited an IKEA in Brooklyn, NY. While nursing her six-month old child in the store, the woman–who was fully covered–was asked rudely by the staff to move to the restroom instead. Shamed, she obeyed. Mother and daughter waited for a stall, but eventually gave up and left the store. (For the record, to force a breastfeeding mother into the restroom is illegal in New York.)

I thought IKEA was a fairly family-friendly store. They have great monitored play areas for kids that allow parents a child-free shopping experience (and really, what’s better than that?!). The offended staff member also involved the security guards, so we know it’s not a renegade employee with the naked-mommy-boob heebie-jeebies. But, this incident smacks of a bygone era. Are some people still so freaked out by the thought of breastfeeding (remember, she was covered) that they can’t tolerate someone quietly nursing nearby?

I never experienced any kind of discrimination while nursing my daughters in public. But, I’m curious what other Rational Moms think about this incident, or if they have experienced any breastfeeding discrimination themselves. Discuss….

“Richard Wiseman’s latest book exposes self-help myths, and presents fast-acting and scientifically proven techniques that help you achieve your aims and ambitions in less than a minute. From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, and resilience to relationships, 59 Seconds presents the new science of rapid change.”

“Hundreds of wallets were planted on the streets of Edinburgh by psychologists last year. Perhaps surprisingly, nearly half of the 240 wallets were posted back. But there was a twist.

Richard Wiseman, a psychologist, and his team inserted one of four photographs behind a clear plastic window inside, showing either a smiling baby, a cute puppy, a happy family or a contented elderly couple. Some wallets had no image and some had charity papers inside.”

“According to Dr Wiseman the result reflects a compassionate instinct towards vulnerable infants that people have evolved to ensure the survival of future generations. ‘The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective,’ he said.”

A conversation from this morning:

Me: Wanna get some bagels at Einstein Brothers’?
Leo: You know, Einstein is dead.
Me: Really? That’s too bad. What happened to him?
Leo: People don’t survive for a very long time.
Me: Oh, I see. You’re saying that he lived a long time ago, and he got old and died.
Leo: That’s why when I’m adult, I’m going to make Happy Planet/Mad Planet/Sad Planet*. On Happy Planet/Mad Planet/Sad Planet people don’t die because they have the perfect conditions for humans to survive.
Nico: But Earth has the perfect conditions for humans to survive, and people still get old and die.
Leo: But on Happy Planet/Mad Planet/Sad Planet people don’t get old.

* Leo invented three planets: one where he sends people he likes, and two others where he banishes the people who are mean to him.

Are we finally about to see the end of the it’s-the-latest-most-expensive-therefore-gotta-have-it baby item competition? The New York Times had an article yesterday discussing the new frugality in the world of parenting. Garage sales, thrift stores, .99 stores, CraigsList, and hand-me-downs are now all the rage. It appears that the recession has caused many parents to wise up about the cost of baby things.

Some thrifty parents were watching costs even before the recession. Yes, it’s great that Bugaboos are now being re-gifted and resold to others, but some parents always knew that most any stroller will do when you need to get from point A to point B.

To show how out of control it was before the crash, read this excerpt from the article:

“Three years ago, in the heyday of the moment, someone would come into the shop and say, ‘I want the most expensive thing you have,’” said Ms. Mahar, a designer of educational toys and the owner of Kid O, a toy shop in Manhattan.

But now, she said: “People are much more discreet how they shop. Large orders are placed on the phone. And at birthday parties I see a difference. No one will bring a $300 LikeaBike anymore. Culturally, it’s just not acceptable anymore. Even for those who can afford a $200 toy.”

If someone brought a $300 bike to my kid’s birthday party, I think I would have heart failure. (But, please, if you must, her birthday is at the end of July.)

It’s good to see a little bit of sanity come back to the expense of parenting. I don’t want to be cheap, but I also want my kids to value their possessions and know the value of a dollar. Buying such extravagant toys and doo-dads doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially considering how long they use them. (Seriously, my daughter’s favorite toy for a year and a half has been a batch of plastic eggs. Cost: $.99 at CVS.)

Besides, with the way college tuition is these days, we’ll need every penny we can get later on.

Q: What do the Oort Cloud, the Kuiper Belt, and the dwarf-planet Sedna have in common with the accretion disc and event horizon of a black hole?

A: They’re all things that I first learned about through my 7-year-old son’s hobby of watching astronomy movies on the Internet.

Back when Nico first learned to navigate around YouTube and other sites with science videos, I was worried about what he might stumble onto. As we discussed here, he was confused by a weird conspiracy theory movie that looked like a science movie. But that problem turned out to be a lot less difficult to handle than I’d anticipated. » Continue reading “Nico’s favorite astronomy movies on the Internet!”