Strollerderby : North Carolina

Should Child Beauty Pageants Have More Legal Restrictions?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Finally, someone with some power has realized that tanning lotion and false eyelashes might not be the best thing for toddlers.

Representative Annie Mobley has introduced a bill that would establish a regulatory body called the North Carolina Agency to Regulate Beauty Pageants for Girls Under Thirteen. The agency, comprising 10 Congressmembers, would look into the effects of beauty pageants on young girls and make recommendations based on the findings, such as how involved parents should be and what minimum age is appropriate to start participating in pageants.

In principle, I am thrilled with this idea, especially after watching a few clips from Toddlers and Tiaras that actually brought tears to my eyes—those little girls were just so miserable. (Naturally, the older kids seem to have fully embraced the pageant atmosphere, fussing over their hair and makeup with the same panicked attention as their moms once did.)

But in a country deeply committed to the individual’s right to parent as she sees fit, beauty pageants seem like a bit of an arbitrary—and difficult—place to start monitoring parents. Plus, it seems like psychiatrists or social workers, not legislators, would be best able to determine how beauty pageants affect young girls. If the bill passes, I'll be curious to see what effect, if any, the regulatory body has on child pageants.

Do you think that is an invasion of parents’ rights or a commonsense measure to protect children?

Photo: Jezebel

Man Makes Record Catch ... With Barbie Fishing Rod

Madeline Holler — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:56:00 GMT

Having a little introspective moment here, bear with me.

I've always hated -- gagged over, sworn at, waved off, flipped off -- Barbie labled stuff that had nothing to do with the buxom dolls, her Corvettes, or her fancy townhouse with elevator. I mean, why Barbie toddler sneakers? Barbie's feet aren't shaped for sneakers! Why a notebook? Barbie can't write! And why the pink Barbie fishing rod (come on, you've seen them at Target, too)? No way does Barbie leave Ken poolside to go load up her tackle box and catch the big one.

But you know what? She might. And even if she doesn't, she's got great equipment if she ever decided to. A North Carolina man caught a record-size catfish recently -- with a pink Barbie rod and reel. Here I thought all the pink plastic was of poor quality and barely functionable.

Here's the deal: David Hayes was fishing with his granddaughter Alyssa. She asked him to hold her rod while she went to the bathroom. Two minutes later, he's tugging and reeling, pulling and netting a 21-pound 1-ounce channel catfish. A state record! And perhaps a personal best for the much maligned doll and her namesake crap. (What next? A marathon winner wearing Barbie sneakers?)

This calls for an extra hour at the Barbie beauty salon, no?

Photo: AP

They Say: Spanking is the Gateway to Abuse

Madeline Holler — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:01:00 GMT

After unleashing a little whoop-ass on rampant corporal punishment in U.S. schools in an earlier post, I came across a report on a soon-to-be-released study about spanking within the home. Looks like moms who say they or their partners spank also tend to use other, harsher forms of physically abusive punishment on their children. Harsher forms include beating, burning, kicking, hitting with an object somewhere other than the buttocks, or shaking a child less than 2 years old.

Which is not to say every spanker goes this far. A good thing, too. Because while some surveys show a slight decline in the use of spanking as a form of discipline in the last 30 years, guess how many Americans report spanking their 3- to 5-year-old children at least once in a while:

90 percent! So now you know you're not the only one.

But lets look at these harsher punishments and the connection between them and spanking. Around 1,400 mothers in North and South Carolina were surveyed on the phone. Here's what they found (from UPI):

The study, published in the September American Journal of Preventive Medicine, said 45 percent of the mothers reported they or their partners had spanked their children in the previous 12 months, 25 percent reported spanking with an object on the buttocks and 4 percent reported using harsher forms of punishment.

"This study demonstrated that parents who report spanking children with an object and parents who frequently spank children are much more likely to report other harsh punishment acts consistent with physical abuse," Zolotor said in a statement.

Here's the upshot: nearly every parent has resorted to a thwack on the bottom at some point in their parenting history. Of those who didn't then want to collapse in a corner, rocking themselves through the waves of guilt and regret -- in other words, the ones who use the paddle/hand as a go-to discipline of choice, no prob -- they were more likely (though not guaranteed) to also have used a harsher forms of physical punishment (the burning, etc.).

So let's hear it: do you spank? Have you spanked? What do you think of this survey (just North and South Carolina? There's evidence that spanking is more accepted in the South ...). What about other people (teachers) spanking your kids?

Is it ever OK to hit your kids?

Should You Intervene When Strangers Hit Their Kids?

Photo: medicineworld.org

Pass this bill or the kid gets it

Brett Singer — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Do you ever wonder if public officials are escaped mental patients?

At a school board meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, board Chairman Joe White was lobbying for an environmental policy initiative. He then pointed to a 5-year-old in the crowd and said, "if adults don't protect her air and water 'then it matters not one iota; she will die at a young age.'" The girl, Kelly Vazquez, had, "asked board members to preserve the French immersion program at Oaklawn Elementary." (This is, as far as I can tell, a separate issue. At least I hope it is, since environmental awareness really shouldn't be limited to those who speak French.)

According to the Charlotte Observer, the family was "traumatized"; in fact, the mother was quoted as saying, "I didn't mind…It's something true. We need to think about the future of the kids."

Whatever you think of the worthiness of the proposal (which some at the meeting opposed because, according to the Observer, they feared it would add staff and costs and was unnecessary), what exactly is the purpose of picking a little girl out of the crowd and informing everyone that she is going to die young if some dopey proposal doesn't get passed? If this had happened in Manhattan – where I've seen people almost come to blows at a co-op board meeting discussing the building pet policy – those parents would have blown a gasket. Not that that's good either, but "your child will die if this doesn't go through" seems a tad melodramatic, don’t you think?

image (which is completely unrelated): flickr

Sad footnote to sad story

Savage stands by his stupid words

Schools tying up autistic kids

When playgrounds attack, the sequel

America's Main Problem? Men Are Oppressed

They Say: Depression Is Merely a Failure to Count Your Blessings

No presents for this kid - just donations

Brett Singer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

More nice news – an 11-year-old in Greensboro, North Carolina told her friends not to bring presents to her birthday party. Instead, she asked them to bring canned goods that she will donate to a local food pantry.

This isn't the first time Audrey Mangum decided to forgo gifts in favor of more charitable pursuits. This has been going on for four years. Previous birthdays included items such as teddy bears and toys to be donated to less fortunate families.

Some kids, of course, brought presents, and Audrey was happy about that, proving that she's nice, but not nuts. "That is pretty cool," said Mangum. "They didn't even have to do that."

Cool kid! I have a friend whose daughter did something similar one year, and everyone was pretty charmed by the gesture. Frankly, I think it would be nice if more kids did this sort of thing, but I think the idea needs to come from the child. That is, if you say, "Hey, Toy Boy. How about this year you don't get presents and your friends just bring cans for the food pantry?" you may not get a great reaction. Then again, maybe not every kid is going to think of this on their own, or they might be embarrassed to bring it up for fear of being teased (not to mention not getting any cool gifts.) Has anyone ever done this with their children?

Image/Source: digtriad.com

Attack of the Monkey Children

Your baby is ugly

Just Say No

J.LO Is Doing It All Without A Nanny, She's So Awesome

Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Brett Singer — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:29:00 GMT

A pit bull in Greensboro, NC attacked a one-year-old girl. How does something like this happen? The dog is a pet, and the child went to touch the pooch's puppies; when she did, the dog bit her.

The dog is now in an animal shelter for at least 10 days, or "longer if they can't determine if the dog has current vaccinations for rabies." I thought you had to keep records of that sort of thing, but maybe not.

The two comments on the site where I found this story are a bit over the top but do make a good point: "The big question is--where were the parents?" To paraphrase, leaving a little girl, especially a one-year-old, alone with a new mama pit bull and her litter is probably not a great idea.

If you look at the "Related Links" for this story on digitrad.com, it seems like there's an awful lot of pit bull attacks going on in North Carolina. One dog was put to sleep two years ago after attacking two kids, and this story where a pit bull killed another family's pet a month ago. In that case, the owner asked the now-really-unfortunate question, "What if this was a child?"

The little girl – a baby, really – is recovering at a local hospital. Hopefully she'll be OK.

For a video report, click here.

image: digitrad.com

Pregnancy Can't Be Good For Paris Hilton, She Can't Even Care For Puppies!

Pregnant Wife Killed for Refusing Sex

Dog Rips Off Baby's Genitals

Baby-Proofing the Pooch

Political Nanny: 7 Reasons Hillary Won't Pack It In

Madeline Holler — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:31:00 GMT

There comes a time of dread for every nanny, when it looks like one of her charges will have to move on, leaving a hole in her heart, the schedule, life. Political Nanny saw most of her charges' departures coming -- John Edwards caught her off guard, as did the quick demise of Rudy Giuliani (remember him?!).

But Hillary Clinton has been a special kind of emotional roller-coaster ride. The only girl, she's added an interesting dimension to the race. And the most stubborn. Well, that's been a challenge. Seems every other Tuesday Political Nanny is doing a quick and quiet inventory of Hillary's stuff -- sort of mentally packing up the girl's things and getting ready to see her off.

Last night's narrow victory in Indiana would surely, surely bring some closure to the Democratic primary. Or so Political Nanny thought. But Hillary, who loaned her campaign another $6 million, has vowed to stay in. (Truthfully, that was kind of expected.)

So we all know why it might not be such a bad idea for her to get out of the race. Here are 7 plausible reasons she should stay in. Got any reasons of your own for her to stay in or get out? Should she exercise her nuclear option? And, is the general election going to be any fun? Remember when we all used to have fun?

Photo: CNN.com

Political Nanny: Barack Wins North Carolina Primary

Madeline Holler — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:37:00 GMT

News organizations are calling North Carolina for Barack Obama. Not a huge surprise but certainly thickening the plot. No results yet from Indiana, though reports say that Clinton's in the lead.

Could this be the primary that finally calls the Democratic race? Eh. Not likely.

Political Nanny will be staying tuned.

Political Nanny: Mom Exclusive with Hillary Clinton

Madeline Holler — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:05:00 GMT

OK, this isn't quite MOMocrats level Q & A's, but kudos for getting an exclusive with a presidential candidate!

The website MomLogic held a panel discussion with Hillary Clinton over the weekend in North Carolina. There, the senator answered questions about motherhood and child-rearing and (here's where it gets kind of, um, diluted), wardrobe malfunctions, dinners at the White House and whether she's really in this race (will we be any closer after tonight?).

The videos are fairly short and it's always fun to hear how the famous think of parenting. It's broken up by topic, so you can skip to what you want to know.

Now, who is going to corner Clinton and get her take on stuff like torture, rendition, signing statements, executive privilege and the like? Aggressive teens are better left to social workers, not presidential candidates.

We're waiting!

Photo: momlogic.com

Political Nanny: And Then There Were ... Crap! Still 3!

Madeline Holler — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:27:00 GMT

Political Nanny adores her stubborn little Hillary just as much as her other three charges (OK, OK, four. But Ronny's still not around all that much). It's the process that's getting to her, though. And probably to you.

Here's what Politico says about why she won:

For all the campaigning and money spent, Hillary Rodham Clinton won Pennsylvania with the same base of white women, working-class voters and white men that revived her candidacy in Ohio last month. The demography that has defined the Democratic race went largely unchanged, according to exit polls.

But enough from the pollsters pundits, why do you think Hillary won? And what do you think will happen in Indiana and North Carolina? Those races are May 6, which, while not five weeks away, sort of feels like it.

You know, some people are still talking joint ticket ...

Photo: CNN.com

Six Year Old Charged With Sexual Harassment

Brett Singer — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Nope, it's not April Fool's Day again. The kindergarten-aged son of a preacher man in Greenville, South Carolina told his teacher that one of his little friends "liked looking at her behind." This led to a "discipline referral" with a charge of "Sex/Harass."

I'm all for discipline, especially when it comes to kids being obnoxious, which seems to be very prevalent these days. But Sexual Harassment? The little guy is six years old. I mean, don't high five him and call him a stud, but the charge is a bit wacky.

The boy's father, Malory Pinkney, Sr., seems to take the old "this will go down on your permanent record" thing very seriously. He's fighting the charge because he doesn't want his son to be labeled a "pervert" for the remainder of his school career. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is not a likely scenario. ("Well, you would have been Valedictorian, but there was that... incident... when you were in kindergarten...")

When you look at the rest of the items on the referral, it makes you wonder just what the hell is going on at that school. Other potential disciplinary charges include Prostitution, which seems like it would warrant something more than just sending a note home to the parents.

images: wspa.com, IBNlive

Daycare Makes Your Kid Sick

Karen Murphy — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:57:00 GMT

This shouldn't surprise anyone whose kid spends time in the care of others, especially at daycare centers, but a new study reveals the obvious: being in daycare makes your kid sick.

56 North Carolina daycare centers were studied. Half of them received $10,000 of equipment upgrades that included automatic faucets and foot-activated, rollout bins for diaper disposal as well as impermeable-surface tables for food preparation and diaper-changing. Not surprisingly, the centers that received the hygienic upgrades had a lower incidence of illness both in the children and their adult caregivers.

Obviously, not every daycare center can afford $10,000 in equipment upgrades, and daycare itself, while perhaps not the ideal situation for children certainly is a viable alternative, and isn't going away any time soon since so many parents need two incomes simply for survival purposes, so what to do? The company that makes the hygienic equipment says it's being used not only in North Carolina but also in Oklahoma, Illinois, and other states. And where one company makes an item, more surely follow suit, so if it were me needing to use daycare, I'd think about adding the presence or not of equipment like this to the already long list of must-haves when considering daycare alternatives.

Should Contact Between Adopted Children and Their Biological Families be Legislated?

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 21:57:00 GMT

Contact between adopted children and their biological parents can be fraught with conflict. The well-publicized case of Allison Quets who gave up her twins for adoption and then kidnapped them is case in point. While open adoptions usually specify the type and frequency of contact between parents and children, the situation for relatives of biological children is sometimes less clear, especially when the situation involves older children, or foster care followed by adoption.

In states such as North Carolina, where adopted children are allowed to maintain contact with biological relatives, a recently convened panel recommended proposed legislation that would set out enforceable rules to forestall battles over continued contact.

Organizations such as Origins Canada specialize in reuniting people separated by adoption and take the position that adoption is a big business and that some mothers are pressured into giving their children up for adoption. If this is the case, the need for guidelines addressing these relationships seems increasingly important.