Strollerderby : Canada

When Mom Doesn't Know Best

JeanneSager — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:30:00 GMT

Ever wonder how hospitals end up taking control of a child's healthcare when there's a perfectly able mother standing bedside?

When the mother sounds like she's a total whack-a-doodle.

Montreal Children's Hospital has gained permission from the courts to continue treating a fifteen-year-old girl badly burned in a house fire for the next two years. Her mother, who suffered minor injuries in the same fire, says she wants the girl to be taken off life support and sent home. But she couldn't bother showing up to court to tell the judge that.

The girl was burned over fifteen percent of her body, including internal - airway - burns on March 7. Doctors are optimistic - after all, they've called for at least two years of further treatment - but say she will need surgery and is currently on medicines to treat infection and help with her severe pain.

According to the National Post, the mom has taken to showing up at odd hours at the hospital to visit her daughter and was caught wiping the child's face with industrial cleaning cloths (like the kind you'd use to disinfect your bathroom) and playing with the girl's respirator. They don't out and out say it, but everything about this mother seems to scream "she wants her child to die." It may be much simpler - denial, maybe? A lack of trust for the medical community?

I always wonder what drives a parent to play superman (or supermom, in this case) and claim they know more than a set of physicians. Being your child's health advocate is one thing; outright claims that you know more than the people who went to school for this for a long, long time signal someone is delusional. And if the mother couldn't bother showing up in court to fight her side - or send a lawyer to represent her - you have to ask, does she care?

Image: Montreal Children's

They Say: Smoking While Pregnant Makes Kids Aggressive

Brett Singer — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:00:00 GMT

I thought it was generally acknowledged that it was a bad idea for women to smoke while pregnant. A new study provides another reason: the kids could end up aggressive. The likelihood of aggressive behavior increases if the family makes less than $40,000 per year. This is according to a study conducted by Canadian doctors that was published in the academic journal Development and Psychopathology.

To clarify, "aggressive behavior" – or "behaviour", as they call it, since some people have to spell things differently – is that which the mothers characterized "as quick to hit, bite, kick, fight and bully others." (I guess spitting is OK. Throwing things, perhaps?) The children studied were between 18 months and three and a half years of age.

"Mothers-to-be whose lives have been marked by anti-social behaviour have a 67 percent chance to have a physically aggressive child if they smoke 10 cigarettes a day while pregnant, compared with 16 percent for those who are non-smokers or who smoke fewer than 10 cigarettes a day. Smoking also seems to be an aggravating factor, although less pronounced, in mothers whose anti-social behaviour is negligible or zero."

Other factors contributing to aggressiveness in preschool kids, sayeth the study: "mothers who are younger than 21, who smoke and who coerce their children to behave." Also, "children from families who earned less than $40,000 per year were at an increased risk for aggressive behaviour." Which I guess means that families earning less than $40,000 are more likely to have aggressive children whether mom puffs or not. But the aggressiveness INCREASED in those families if mom smoked, and DECREASED if she didn't.

Are you bored yet?

Here's my issue with studies like this. We know smoking while pregnant is a bad idea. (Like playing piano in a marching band, as they say on The Animaniacs.) So what exactly is the point of this study? What did we find out, that families with less money and a mother with a nicotine addiction are more likely to have children who exhibit "aggressive behaviour", as defined by a certain specific "behaviours"? So what? How about a study that looks at methods that might help those kids deal with their aggression?

Reading this study makes me feel very aggressive. I need to go bite something. But since my mother doesn't smoke, I'll just bite into a sandwich.

Source: Science Daily

Image: Church Times

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Nature Lovers Also Annoyed About Children's Dictionary

Brett Singer — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Who knew kiddie dictionaries were so controversial?

First Christians were peeved because the Oxford Junior Dictionary removed words such as "bishop" and "abbey." But they also removed "beaver", "heron" and "magpie."

I could maybe see getting rid of magpie. Other than Heckle and Jeckle, one doesn't encounter too many magpies, and as far as I know, Heck and his homie are not in heavy Saturday morning rotation. But otter? Not that I see them in the wild but otters are at the zoo. They're on Bob the Builder all the time. Plus they're cute.

It's the same problem as before. The publishers took out the nature words in favor of "modern" terms like mp3 player. My feeling on this hasn't changed — it's a dumb move. But it does show that, despite what some in England were saying, that the changes are not an attack on the Christian faith. It's just plain stupid.

Methinks some smart publisher could step in with a better kid-friendly dictionary and take away some of Oxford's business. I know I won't be buying a dictionary that thinks mp3 players are more important than otters.

Source: Canadian Press via Google News

Image: Amazon.com

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Boy Saves Brother's Life With Bone Marrow

Brett Singer — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:00:00 GMT

Sometimes it's good to just read a nice story. Especially around the holidays.

Yes, I'm sappy, but this has to make you smile.

Back in October, Daniel Badmus, a five-year-old boy from Ontario, CA, donated bone marrow to his four-year-old brother John. John suffers from sickle cell anemia, described as, "a genetic condition in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body."

Daniel, the donor, received an award today from the Canadian Armed Forces. They also held a torch ceremony in his honor. (Not sure what that means but it sounds like a good thing.)

I have to admit that this sort of story (a) always chokes me up a little bit, and (b) makes me think about paying attention to my own health so that I can be there for my kids for as long as possible. There's also (c), where I think about whether or not I would have the courage to do what five-year-old Daniel did. I hope I would. He's a brave guy. Good for him.

Source/Image: citynews.ca

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Canada Nixes Parents' Request for Dual Leave At Twins Birth

JeanneSager — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Some say twice the kids means twice the works. That's what Christian Martin and Paula Critchley are expecting anyway . . . along with twins, due to be delivered in May. To get ready, the couple both put in for the thirty-five weeks of leave afforded Canadian parents after a baby is born. They've been denied.

Well, one has anyway. The Canadian government has said its rules for twins (and ostensibly any other multiple birth) are the same as those for a single birth: thirty-five weeks of paid leave to be split between the two parents. One parent can take the full thirty-five weeks, or each can take leave periods that - when added together - are equal to that two-hundred forty-five-day allotment. According to research by Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail, the country's Employment Insurance Act spells out that one person cannot apply for additional benefits for multiple births. But, they say, it does not "specifically address multiple claimants making claims for multiple births." In other words - two parents, two paychecks, right?

Martin says he's not looking to make money off of the government because his wife is carrying two babies. But with twice the work at home, he says it's only right that two parents be there to handle the burden. That means twice the work not being done outside the home - or twice the income not coming in the doors. And with twice the number of mouths to feed . . . well, you do the math.

It's a sticky wicket. I have no doubt that multiples ARE harder than most single births. But what about premie single births that require both parents to take extensive amounts of time off to spend in the NICU? What about parents who have other children already at home and find their new baby exhausting? Or the single mom of the multiple children - however she ended up single and pregnant - should she get that extra money to hire someone to help? What about the parents of a single child who suffers from one of hundreds of disorders that require more than the usual round the clock care of the average newborn? What about the mother of a single child who is suffering from postpartum depression so severe she doesn't even want to see her baby, nonetheless care for him? Should they get extra pay for the extra parent?

Either way, I confess I'm jealous. Nothing like the U.S. where you get six weeks of "disability" payments for a vaginal birth that come nowhere near your regular salary and one of which is taken away (for some reason I could not ever get clear with my company's insurer).

Image: Twinsurance

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Crib Recalls Don't Help Too Much

Amy Kuras — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:33:00 GMT

One of the phrases that can strike fear into the heart of any parent is “crib recall.” The idea that the carefully chosen place we gently lay our babies to sleep at night actually being dangerous to them is terrifying.

But once a recall is announced, little if any followup is done by manufacturers to make sure the dangerous cribs are off the market entirely. That means faulty cribs are still circulating around families and on sites like Criagslist.

This story out of Canada states that recalls there are done on a voluntary basis and that manufacturers are not required to provide any information about how many cribs they actually recovered, and I can’t imagine the same is not the case here.

The issue hits a little close to home for us because I am, right now, willingly letting my baby sleep in a recalled crib. His Jardine drop side sleigh-style crib was recalled earlier this year, and I panicked.

Then I discovered there were really only 42 instances of the slats coming loose, his seemed fine, and we would have had to find somewhere else for him to sleep for three or more weeks after we dismantled his crib, sent all the hardware to Jardine, waited for a replacement voucher, and then found time and cash to get to Babies R Us (the nearest one is a 35-minute drive away) and buy and assemble a new crib.

We don’t have a spare crib sitting around. I am sure I could borrow my 1970s-vintage, probably lead-coated, completely unacceptable by today’s safety standards, even worse than the recalled one crib from my parents but that’s not really a good alternative. Anyone I know who has a crib on hand has a baby sleeping in it.

Assuming it stays in good shape, we’ll dismantle it when he’s done with it, and since we’re not planning on another baby there’s no point in getting another crib then. It’s just irritating, and I wish there was a better way.

Journalist Suing for Sperm-Donor Dad's Identity

JeanneSager — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:51:00 GMT

Oliva Pratten knows her dad was stocky. He had brown hair like her and blue eyes. She even knows his blood type. What she doesn't know is who his or how he came to deposit a cup of sperm at a bank in her native Canada. Now she's suing to find out.

Pratten, a twenty-six-year-old journalist who now lives and works in New York, is suing on behalf of the spawn of all sperm donors in British Columbia, hoping to protect sperm bank records from a shredding of Arthur Anderson proportions. The goal, she says, is to end the practice of destroying medical records after six years practiced by many fertility doctors. The suit has already ensured a temporary injunction against destroying the paperwork in British Columbia, laid down by chief justice of the BC Supreme Court.

Currently adoption records in a number of Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, are protected. Pratten says that protection should apply to the children conceived by gamete donation because they too have a biological parent mystery to be solved. The fertility doctor who helped her mom get pregnant respectfully disagrees. He says he'd be violating the man's confidentiality, and without a signed release he'll give her no more than the basic medical facts.

I'm a big proponent of open adoptions, and I'd say that would extend to gamete donations. Kids should get the full story if everyone agrees to share it. But that's a very personal if. If a guy walks into a medical office today with the full knowledge he might have a kid knocking on his door in 18 years, that's one thing. It's why I think all donors today should be subject to having their identity shared with their "kids" down the road. For the kids' sake.

But for the medical student who yanked off into a cup to help pay his tuition twenty-six years ago, thinking he was doing so under a shroud of anonymity? Is anything more than disseminating medical information to the products of his donation a violation of his privacy? Or should a guy going through med school have been capable of seeing this coming?

Image: Vancouver Sun

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Missing Teen's Dad Blames Xbox Game Call of Duty

JeanneSager — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:02:00 GMT

Their son has been missing for more than a week, and Brandon Crisp's parents put the blame on Call of Duty, a military-style video game. Before the Canadian teenager took off, dad Steve and mom Angelika said they finally pulled the plug on his addiction.

They took his Xbox.

The 15-year-old Catholic high schooler took off on Tuesday, Oct. 14, and the Crisps have heard nothing from him, nor has he appeared in the online world where Call of Duty players meet to talk strategy and fight a virtual war, battling enemies with sniper rifles and machine guns, heavily armed jets and choppers. It's a game touted for its realistic look at warfare, giving players a chance to experience "tomorrow's warfare." It's also rated "M" for mature.

I don't actually have a problem with kids playing these video games. Studies as recent as last month have shown the kids who play video games are no more likely to turn into bad seeds than they are to be bedwetters. Video game addiction is very real, and I could see how easy it is for kids to replace the reality they experience outside of their bedrooms with the "reality" of the life inside a game system. Brandon's parents say he was reclusive, and didn't like to do anything physical. He fit the "loner in the basement hunched over a computer" stereotype of a typical Call of Duty player to a T. Outside of the house, the Crisps say they're afraid he won't be able to handle himself. Online, he has "friends" to back him up as he goes into make-believe battles. He doesn't need money or food or shelter from the cold - really any of the basics of every day life.

I don't blame them for taking away the Xbox to try to snap their kid back into reality. But can you really blame the game? The game doesn't say "play me, play me, sit on your ass all day." It's not the reason a kid has no survival skills at 15 and no desire to do anything physical.

Regardless, I feel for the Crisps. Not knowing where your child is for 24 hours is bad enough. More than a week? It makes me shiver.

Image: Amazon

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BPA Bottles to Be Banned in Canada

Jen Chaney — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:03:00 GMT

They don't mess around with their baby bottles in the Great White North. The Canadian government announced Friday that it plans to ban bottles that contain bisphenol A, or BPA, the controversial chemical found in many plastic products. As we've all heard umpteen times by now, there is evidence that exposure to BPA may cause health problems, including possible hormonal and reproductive disorders in infants.

Here in the U.S., the federal government has not proposed banning baby bottles that contain BPA. But, as the AP reports, several state goverments are considering ways to restrict its use. Some major retailers also have pulled BPA-containing products from their shelves.

If there is a reason that U.S officials haven't issued a ban, it's probably because the scientific community at large can't seem to agree on whether BPA is really harmful. The FDA still says it's safe, although an independent panel is in the process of reviewing that claim. But that panel's effectiveness recently has been called into question because its chairman, Martin Philbert, headed a research center that received a donation from Charles Gelman, a well known critic of the BPA backlash.Lawmakers are investigating that potential conflict of interest. In other words, this whole thing has turned into one hot, baby bottle mess, which means that getting a clear answer about the potential hazards of the chemical may take a while.

What do you think? Is Canada doing the right thing by swfitly banning BPA bottles and erring on the side of caution? Or is the U.S. taking appropriate action by evaluating more evidence before considering a nationwide ban?

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Government Seizes Newborn from Mentally Disabled Mom 22 Hours After Birth

JeanneSager — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:29:00 GMT

I'd like to say it was the unthinkable that happened to Barbara Gamble this week. Canadian authorities seized her sixth child just 22 hours after the little girl, Savannah Nicole Elizabeth, was born. It was just what Gamble and boyfriend Vince Kinney feared would happen.

In the weeks since first sharing their plight with a reporter from the Vancouver Sun, Gamble and Kinney have been the hot topic in Canada. They've become the poster children as much for poverty as for the rights of the disabled. The Canadian government has yet to allow the British Columbia residents to take home one of their children - because Gamble has an IQ that's classified her as "mentally handicapped." She's been quite literally referred to as "too stupid to parent."

She may never be able to take proper care of her children, according to some psychiatrists called in to evaluate her, and officials have said it would cost as much as $6,400 (Canadian) to pay for 10 hours a week of in-home support for Gamble during the first three months of Savannah's life. Gamble lives off government assistance herself, although Kinney (who has an IQ in "normal" range) works as a security guard. Both regularly rack up bills that far exceed the money coming in, and welfare officials have questioned the couple's understanding of their limitations.

Although my initial reaction was to let them take their kid home and just keep a close eye on the situation, a look at a mother in a similiar situation who spoke out in support of Gamble last week gave me a greater appreciation for the government's case. Equating the moms' intelligence to that of a 12-year-old, I realized, leaving a baby with a 12-year-old every day for the rest of his/her life would be grounds for child endangerment or child neglect here in America. A wait-and-see attitude on behalf of the Canadian government in this situation would be tantamount to turning a blind eye to possible child abuse.

Still, I've been holding out hope that before Savannah's birth and subsequent seizure, someone would have pitched in to offer some help for these parents. That someone would step in and work with Gamble to help her understand why having child after child is not the answer. Even a 12-year-old can be taught that in life there are rights and there are privileges. Barbara Gamble has a right to make decisions about her own womb. But parenting is still a privilege. The children she's already delivered are alive - somewhere - they should be the focus of her efforts to be a parent, a chance to show what she can do. Savannah is here now too, and if Gamble wants a chance to be her mom, she needs to put her first.

Image: Vancouver Sun

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A Tragic Secret Revealed About 'Anne' Author

Amy Kuras — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:59:00 GMT

Well this is just plain sad: The granddaughter of L.M. Montgomery, beloved author of the Anne Of Green Gables books revealed recently to the Toronto Globe and Mail that her grandmother’s death at the age of 67 was in fact suicide via a drug overdose.

Montgomery had apparently suffered from deep feelings of anxiety and dread and felt isolated and sad for much of her life. None of this was a secret to her descendents, or to scholars who have written biographies of Montgomery or studied her work.

Kate MacDonald Butler told the Globe and Mail that she and her family decided to come forward because of a series on the Canadian mental health system the paper did this year, and also the renewed attention to Montgomery on the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables’ publication.

They wanted to bring attention to the idea that mental illness can and does strike anyone, Butler said. It’s likely her sense of isolation was exacerbated by the times in which she lived, when depression and other mental illnesses were seen more as weaknesses of character than imbalances of chemistry.

I loved Anne of Green Gables when I was a girl (really, between this and Little Women, I didn’t grow up in the 1930s or anything, I just loved classic books) and still envy redheads and harbor dreams of seeing Prince Edward Island because of reading them.

While it’s not surprising that someone who wrote so prolifically struggled with sadness – perhaps she was so prolific exactly because the idyllic worlds of Avonlea and Ingleside provided an escape from the sadness that engulfed her daily life – it’s still sad to think that she took her own life. As much joy and pleasure as she brought to others through the characters she created, I wish for her sake and that of her family’s that she could have enjoyed some joy of her own as well.

Airline removes life vests

Brett Singer — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

First they stopped serving food. Then they took away the pillows.

Now, it's the life vests.

Jazz, a regional carrier for Air Canada, has decided that life vests are too heavy. They said that, "passengers have flotation devices, don't need life vests too," according to CNN.com. The vests weigh about a pound each, and most of their planes have 50 seats. So… a little math… carry the 1… that's 50 pounds.

Spokeswoman Manon Stuart said that Jazz, " doesn't fly over the ocean," although they do fly over the Great Lakes and other bodies of water. Personally, I'd rather have the life vests, just in case. I also would think twice before flying on an airline called "Jazz." But maybe that's just me.

Aside: when looking for an image to accompany this story, I came across this item from 2006: a Jazz pilot was locked out of the cockpit, spending ten minutes banging on the door. Methinks life vests are not the problem.

Source: CNN

Image: canada.com

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Super Mom Beats Pedophile with Lead Pipe

Cole Gamble — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Okay, right off the bat we should let it be known we at Babble aren't big advocates of vigilantism. There is a reason we have due process and don't all take the law into our own hands. Batman gets to, but that's Batman. Having said that, every now and then something happens. And that something is a little piece of awesome called street justice.

Wendy Nelson had been sitting on her house steps when her 10-year-old daughter ran from the local playground crying. When Nelson inquired what was the matter, her daughter told her a strange man tried to take off her pants and asked the girl to stay overnight at his house.

Nelson probably should have left it for the police to deal with, but she approached the man at the playground and told him she called the police. That's when the 24-year-old man introduced his knife. He stabbed Nelson twice before Nelson found the aforementioned lead pipe and struck back.

Nelson's 17-year-old son jumped into the fray and ended up with a slash to the head of his own. Nelson finally got the upper hand an d delivered two convincing blows to the suspects head. The man is currently in the hospital and expected to recover.

What Nelson did was ill-advised to say the least. She could have been killed. Her son could have been killed. However, with the outcome of this incident a happy one, we can comfortably say, “Lead Pipe Wielding Mamas = Kind of Rad.”

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18 Kids From One Vagina: Woman Births 18th Child

Cole Gamble — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Sorry folks, America no longer corners the market in having ungodly hordes of children. Though we have the oft publicized Duggers and their 17 child brood, a woman in Canada just upped the ante by giving birth to her 18th. Suck it, Duggers!

"We never planned how many children to have. We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life comes from God and that's the reason we did not stop the life," said Alexandru Ionce, the proud papa.

One piece of advice for child number 18: hurry up and grab a deli counter ticket so you can get in que to spend a little quality time with your parents...in 2025.

Here's the question to you folks: how many children is too many? At what point do you have so many kids you're doing the rest a disservice because you can only spread your attention around so much.

Photo: AP

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Pregnant Woman Commits a Kick Ass Citizen's Arrest

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

A Canadian woman named Amanda Bourque is being hailed a national hero—and she’s crediting her raging pregnancy hormones. After witnessing a Pontiac Grand Prix swerve onto the sidewalk, sending garbage cans flying, a super pregnant Bourque gave chase. She was pretty sure the Grand Prix was being commandeered by either a drunkard or a three-year-old and she resolved to get him off the road as soon as possible.

For ten minutes, Bourque, nine months pregnant, trailed the erratic driver, who tried to dodge her, but to no avail. Eventually, the driver crashed into another car. Bourque used her own car to sandwich him in, and the alleged drunk driver was apprehended by police. Of her vehicular heroics, Bourque commented, “I was so mad that he tried to run me off the road, just absolutely furious. And being hormonal, it’s a little bit worse.”

The Ontario Police Constable has said she’ll nominate Bourque for a public service award. But I’m thinking bigger. Adventures of SuperPreggo comic book, anyone?

Photo: Pawel Dwulit/Windsor Star

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2008/07/15/pregnant-woman-apprehends-a-thief.aspx

Man Performs C-Section on Deer Hit by Car

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:50:00 GMT

No good deed goes unpunished—particularly when baby animals and bureaucracy are involved. A 67-year-old Canadian man is under investigation for saving a baby deer’s life, something that conservation officers believe should have been left to them.

Hank Van-Til was driving home one day when he saw a truck hit a deer, sending it into a ditch. Van-Til pulled over and discovered that the doe was pregnant. An animal lover who has worked with cows all his life, Van-Til used a knife to perform a Caesarean section on the dying deer. Once the baby had been safely delivered, Van-Til milked the mother and fed the baby deer with his hands. Then he brought the deer home, named him Dickie, and nursed him out of a bottle filled with maple syrup, Carnation milk, and hot water.

A few days later, Department of Natural Resources officers seized the deer and told Van-Til that he could face criminal charges for bringing home an orphaned animal without a permit. While this is a sensible law, designed to prevent harmful human meddling in the animal world, it seems wrong to apply it to Van-Til, whose particular meddling resulted in nothing but good. Perhaps the best solution would have been to grant Van-Til a permit to care for the four-day-old deer, who can not be safely returned to the wild.

Van-Til has taken the loss of Dickie hard. “I don’t know what happened to that deer, or what’s going to happen to it and I don’t trust the [conservation] rangers,” he said, adding, “I did my part and I’m really sad about it. It hurts.”

Photo: naturalhorsetrim.com

Father Puts Baby for Sale on Craigslist

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:45:00 GMT

With all these babies for sale on the World Wide Web, what’s the point of going through nine months of back pain and swollen feet? You can become a proud parent with just a few clicks of the mouse!

Be forewarned, however, that the latest infant up for sale is a bit pricier than the tot offered for one-euro on Ebay recently. An “unexpected” but “very cute” and “very healthy” seven-day-old was listed for sale for $10,000 on Craiglist last week. A woman searching Craigslist to buy more standard fare—concert tickets? an armoir?—alerted the cops to the disturbing posting, and police tracked the poster to an apartment in Vancouver. And by “tracked,” I mean they looked up the phone number that was listed with the ad. The baby was placed in protective custody.

But don’t worry, folks. Bethany Granholm, the baby's mother, “guaranteed” the concerned public that the baby’s father, 26-year-old Jeremy Pete, was only joking when he posted the ad. Sure, the 23-year-old mother conceded, he was being “a bit of dick” (ladies, I think we all know how that goes! Like, do they ever grow up?!). But it was all for shits and giggles. Besides, Granholm hung up on the one caller who responded to the ad--now that is a scary, scary thought. “This has turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes he [Pete] has made in his life,” Granholm said, leaving the public to wonder if Mr. Pete had ever accidentally set a children’s museum on fire.

The story is not without a silver lining, however, which is that Granholm seems genuinely desperate to have her baby returned to her, and is considering cutting off Pete’s involvement in the baby’s life. Both Granholm and Pete have had drug problems in the past, but Granholm says she’s been clean since she got pregnant. “She [the baby] is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she said. Meanwhile, a tearful Pete, who has a three-month-old son with another woman, assured the press, "I never believed I was putting my daughter in harm’s way. Because, you know, she was here and secure with us.”

Should baby Beverly be returned to the custody of her parents?

Photo: Arlen Redekop/Canwest News Service

'Who Would Go Up and Down the Street Flicking Babies?'

Jen Chaney — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:28:00 GMT

It's a good question, one posed by a Canadian liquor store manager in this story from the Edmonton Sun. The answer, apparently, is Mark Robert Nugent, a 45-year-old man who was charged with assault after allegedly hitting a baby (who was with his mother) on the nose with the nipple of a baby bottle, then flicking the child with his finger. The infant attack, which took place on an Edmonton street not far from the Liquor Depot, was unprovoked, but authorities say alcohol may have been a factor.

A few points about this incident:

1. Flicking is something I used to do to my brother back when he was hogging the TV at the same time I wanted to watch "Family Ties." Generally speaking, it has not occurred to me to flick anyone in about 25 years. While Nugent's behavior is bizarre and, understandably to that poor mother, disturbing, I do have to salute him for creativity.

2. In addition to plain old assault, Nugent also was charged with assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon, that weapon being ... the nipple of the baby bottle. Since when are bottle nipples weapons? If they are, then my house is stocked with some major ammo. Seriously, I could get all "Red Dawn" on someone's ass, Avent-style.

3. To repeat the insightful query raised by Liquor Depot manager Rick Dodson, who would go up and down the street flicking babies? What could Nugent possibly have against this innocent little child? Did the kid look at him funny? Did the baby threaten him by uttering that dreaded, offensive phrase: "Goo-ga"? It's unclear, but one thing is for sure: You can't go around flicking infants. Not in Canada, anyway.

Photo: Megagadgets (Finger Flick Punchbag)

“Santa Claus” Pedophile Caught in New Jersey

Cole Gamble — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:01:00 GMT

A man know for playing Santa Claus and painting children's faces was arrested Thursday for pedophilia after an international manhunt.

Wayne Nelson Corliss, 58, is charged with producing child pornography. If convicted he faces 10 to 20 years in prison.

Colleagues of Corliss described him as a “witty” and “amiable” man. Because Corliss was connected to a child pornography investigation in Canada, this case marked only the second time Interpol has launched a public manhunt for a suspected pedophile.

I knew there was a reason those mall Santas creeped me out. Makes Bad Santa look pretty good in comparison.

Children of Men (for real): Japan's Child Pop. Drops for 27th Straight Year

Cole Gamble — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:00:00 GMT

While we in America like to celebrate the 5th of May by depositing large quantities of tequila into our stomach (just for safe keeping before we deposit said tequila in a toilet later that night), in Japan they celebrate Children's Day. Thing is, at the rate they are going, pretty soon they won't have anything to celebrate.

The population of children in Japan has declined for the 27th straight year in a row. The reasons are thought to be a product of modernization. I.E: as a country becomes richer, birth rates tend to decline. Yes, it's a stereotype but it is true, the poorer and less educated a population, the more kids get popped out.

The effects of such a decline in Japanese youths could potentially be disastrous. Just look at the fears we have with our own withering Baby Boomer generation. Time will come when the infirm and incapable will outnumber the vital and capable, and when it does, look out. It's simple math: when there are more people who are taking out of the system than there are people putting in, well everything kind of goes to hell.

The impact of this youth drain could prove dire for Japan, but at least they'll get watch us fall apart first. Maybe they can learn something from us as our capital building is transformed into a Denny's and the a street gangs of elderly men take to mugging innocent people for their precious Viagra money.

Photo: www.ctv.ca

The Poison Bottle: Canada and Walmart Take BPA Off Market

Cole Gamble — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Thanks to Canada’s proposed ban on plastic baby bottles with the chemical BPA, Walmart stores have announced they look to have such bottles free from their stores by next year.

Playtex, manufacturer of baby bottles, has also jumped aboard the anti-BPA bandwagon, announcing the company will discontinue BPA products by years end.

BPA, or bisphenol A, is a common plastic component found in dental sealants, baby bottles, the liners of food cans, CDs and DVDs, eyeglasses, water bottles and hundreds of household goods. If you are not familiar with the possible dangers of BPA, check out Amy’s or Madeline's post. Among the concerns over BPA addressed in a recent report from the U.S. government's National Toxicology Program are changes in behavior and the brain, early puberty and possibly precancerous changes in the prostate and breast.

While the National Toxicology Program’s findings have found the evidence of BPA damage in animal tests to be “limited” this report states the possible effects on humans “cannot be dismissed.”

Evidence of BPA’s dangers has been around for a while, but this is the first major government initiative to get them out of circulation. How about you, have you been BPA free for a while or is this all news to you?

On a complete unrealted note, take a look at thebaby picture in this post. Are those infant's ears pierced? Who does that?

Photo: www.growingkids.co.uk

No Hitting On April 30 (for Canadians, Anyway)

Amy Kuras — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:31:00 GMT

How I love Canada. Living across the river from such a progressive nation, it brings into sharp contrast the ways in which our two nations differ and ours often comes out on the losing end (ONE YEAR partially-paid maternity leave, people).

Here's another check in the "Canada is awesome" column: the Canadian Red Cross is designating April 30 as No Hitting Day as a way to teach parents the harmful consequences of using physical discipline on their children and to promote alternatives to hitting.

More then 70 percent of assault injuries against children are the result of physical discipline that escalated, according to the Red Cross. Many parents don’t especially want to hit, but lack role models or training about disciplining in other ways.

One of the things I like about this is that it doesn’t deny the need to discipline children. Much anti-spanking rhetoric is eye-rollingly simplistic, written by people who it appear have never met a child, or at least never stared down a hugely willful three-year-old.

The Red Cross's advice mostly speaks to controlling your temper. Some of the suggestions are to put it mildly NOT HELPFUL when said willful three year old is running laps around the preschool classroom giggling at your frantic attempts to get her to put her damn coat on and leave, say, as a completely and utterly hypothetical example I just made up clean out of my head. Others, though, are – like making yourself go to the other side of the room or another area in the house if you feel yourself about to snap.

If there's a parent out there who hasn’t at least once felt the urge to spank – well, you’re ridiculously highly evolved and likely a huge bore at arties. For the rest of us, though, committing to learning better methods will help both our kids and ourselves.

A Drug To Control Your Children

Cole Gamble — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:59:00 GMT

The new drug is called ObayÔ and it’s the key to taking that independent thought your kid’s been developing and nipping it in the bud. This revolutionary product is a gift from our northern friends the Canadians. People keep telling me the drugs are better in Canada. And by “people” I mean nobody. Nonetheless, whether you’re an arthritic granny or just a frat boy looking to stock up for rush week, you know that Canada is one stop shopping for your cheap, no-prescription-necessary pharmaceuticals. But now those Canadians have knocked one out of the park by inventing a drug that will turn your kid into a Stepford child.

At least that’s what this series of advertisements wants you to believe. Clearly this is a spoof on drug ads, played as straight-faced as possible. As far as viral marketing goes, this is a subtle one, and it’s not apparent yet what the creators are driving at. Is it an anti-pharmaceutical campaign? This much is known: Colleges Ontario, an advocacy organization representing twenty-four colleges across the province, is the source and they plan on revealing their next wave in the campaign soon. Which means, sadly, Tom Cruise, isn’t behind it.

Photo: www.flickr.com

Canadians Soon to be Even Happier

Madeline Holler — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:48:00 GMT

When you're Canadian, do you wake up every morning happy ... cold, but happy? I ask because it seems to me that Canadians get it when it comes to families -- healthcare, maternity leave, education. Canadians are just so together, cold but together.

Take this as an example: national lawmakers there are seriously considering an overhaul of their lawmaking schedule in order to make it more family friendly. The goal? Getting more parents of young children involved in public office.

Now, I don't know the workings of the Canadian legislature, but basically they're ending a requirement to be there on Fridays, cutting out evening and late-night sessions and taking advantage of Blackberrys and other technology so that they can be present while also being absent. The rescheduling, proponents claim, simply packs more work in to a shorter amount of office time. Sounds good to me.

Here in the U.S., we certainly talk about making work, government and society family friendly. But we're very short on action. We're someone to mention this in the U.S., we'd have to have a totally polarizing argument that shamed working parents, belittled stay-at-home parents, called into question the motives of those who didn't want to be around on Fridays while ignoring/unduly burdening the chosen lives of the child-free -- and calling into question the productivity of public officials who may actually like hanging out with their kids.

It's as if the best we get down here, even from the Democratic presidential candidates who seem positively pro-pro-family with their healthcare plans, is a vague mention of universal pre-K. Which is fine. Just not enough, it seems to me.

But those Canadians! They just overhaul their outdated Victorian ways and call it a family-friendly night. A cold but family-friendly night.

Canadian My Organic Baby Cereal Recalled: Rancid

Karen Murphy — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 23:32:00 GMT

Ugh, there's nothing worse than rancid anything, even if it's organic. (Actually, I can think of lots of things worse, but that's beside the point and not nearly as dramatic-sounding, is it?)

And four varieties of My Organic Baby have been recalled due to possible rancidity. ("Rancid", by the way, is defined by Mr. Macbook here as "smelling or tasting unpleasant as a result of being old or stale". Yum!) Here's the deal:

The recall is for 227 gram boxes of Barley, Brown Rice, Oatmeal and Multigrain cereal with 'Best By' dates of April 2008 and June 2008. Consumers are warned not to eat the cereal if it has an "off" odor or taste. Uh, that should be the case for anything you consume, but I know you know that. Ditto if it's for your baby. Consumers are also being warned that eating rancid food can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Which is sooo attractive in a baby, isn't it? That's about all I have. There's slightly more information here on the My Organic Baby website if you're interested. Oh, and if My Organic Baby baby food doesn't ring any bells it's because it's sold mostly in Canada. Oh, and also on the original article there's a lovely judgy comment about how you should be making your own organic baby food anyway, but let's just not go there, shall we? Jeez, it's just baby food, not a lifestyle choice. If it's rancid don't eat it. End.

Photo: www.onfc.ca