Strollerderby : children

Best of FameCrawler - Week of May 29th

Whit Honea — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Mike Tyson's 4-Year-Old Daughter Dies

Madonna Dishes on A-Rod and Kate Hudson

Confirmed - Gisele is Pregnant With Tom Brady's Baby!

Nicole Richie, Dad Lionel & Daughter Harlow (PHOTOS)

Sneak Peek! Jon & Kate Plus 8 Season Premiere

Kelly Rutherford, Lies and Videotape

Amy Mickelson's Breast Cancer Battle

Michelle Williams and Daughter Matilda Support Their Local Coffee House

Angelina Jolie: Madonna Adopts For Fame

Jon & Kate - Who Are The Kids Happier With? (Photos)

Slumdog Kids Finally Get A Home!

Brian Grazer's Prenup Still Makes Wife Rich

Young Lady GaGa Copycats Flood YouTube

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:44:00 GMT

I’m not one to get too bent out of shape if I hear kids singing along with Lady GaGa or Beyonce. Throughout elementary school, I listened to songs with risqué lyrics (I remember performing a dance to “Like a Virgin” to my shell-shocked parents in fourth grade), and I didn’t end up pole dancing for a living. But neither did I videotape myself singing the song as seductively as possible, and then post it to the World Wide Web, which is what a bunch of young wannabe Lady GaGas have apparently been up to.

And it’s hard to imagine any (healthy) adult who wouldn’t feel disturbed watching a young girl sassily pout her lips and suggestively twirl her hair as she sings lyrics like, “I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got,” and, “I’m bluffin’ with my muffin.”

It’s inevitable that kids are going to hear songs with sexually explicit lyrics from time to time, and most likely, learn to sing along with the catchiest of them. Listening to an inappropriate song or two is not going to screw up any child for life who has involved parents. But for children who get most of their sex ed. from pop culture, copying Lady GaGa is a frightening prospect indeed—and would parents who are involved allow their children to post videos like these to YouTube?

The boy, you may be interested to know, goes by the stage name JesseJigalow.

Photo: urlesque.com

Baby Fashion Convention: Disturbing and Hilarious

Toys 'R' Us Can't Be Serious. But They Are.

Judge Pardons Father Who Hired Prostitute for Son

Dad Charges Daughter With Grand Theft Auto

Brett Singer — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:00:00 GMT

A girl in Fort Lauderdale, Florida took her dad's car while he was visiting her much younger sibling (19 months old) at the hospital. She's 12. She drove around without the headlights on and hit a police car.

Her dad isn't messing around. He asked police to charge his daughter with grand theft auto. Not the video game -- the crime.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, this is the second time the girl has stolen her dad's car, according to the AP. On the other hand, it's your daughter. Do you really want her to rot in jail? Is that likely to help?

Something similar happened on 'Gossip Girl' this season. (Yes! I know. You think I'm nuts. Stay with me for a moment.) Lillian Van der Woodsen gives her daughter Serena an expensive bracelet, which is a family heirloom. Then, when Serena does something Lily doesn't like (it's not worth explaining what that was), she calls the police and tells them Serena stole the bracelet. Serena goes to jail. Not exactly the same situation of course, but similar enough. Choosing whether or not to send my kid to jail is a choice I hope I never have to make.

(Side note: what the heck is in the water in Florida? Crazy juice?)

What would you do if your kid were a repeat offender? Turn them over to the police or try something else?

Source: AP via Fox News

Image: SXC

13 Year Old Alfie Definitely Not A Dad

Not Every Kid With a Mother Has a "Mommy"

Baby Asleep On Dad's Head

10 Year Old Burned By Tanning Bed

Colbert to Food Movement Guy: Yes, But Were YOU Breastfed?

Single Mom Sells Ad Space On Her Body on eBay

Best of FameCrawler - Week of May 22nd

Whit Honea — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Gosselins are Good for a Gander

Katie Holmes Sets a Bad Example For Suri

Mormon Marie Osmond Supports Her Gay Daughter!

Stars Come Out For American Idol Finale: Brad Garrett and Kids Max and Hope

Barbara Walters To Interview John Edwards' Mistress Rielle Hunter!?

Bristol Palin and Son Tripp Cover People

Angelina Catches Brad and Jen Aniston Together!

Kate Gosselin Blogs Her Troubles Away

Matt Damon: Bourne to Be a Dad

Pregnant Lauren London & Lil Wayne Will Raise Baby Together!!!

Kelly Clarkson Looks Like She's Pregnant!

Caption This, Julia Roberts (or Don't)

Neighborhood Watch

editors — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Today on Babble:

Neighborhood Watch.

By Ashley Shelby.

How would I protect my family from the sex offender across the street?

Read it here.

8 "PG" Movies Way Too Scary for Kids

Cole Gamble — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:00:00 GMT

As you may know, I'm a big fan of traumatizing kids movies. So when I came upon Brian Hanson's article, The 8 PG-Rated Movies That Should Not Have Been Rated PG, I knew I'd need to post a bit of it. Here's a smackering of freaky-ass movies that somehow got the same rating as Shrek.

Gremlins (1984)

It's been widely acknowledged that both Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Steven Spielberg's one-two 1984 punch of darkly comic blockbusters, directly led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. Gremlins is chock-full of wanton puppet terror and gore, with the titular hellions getting stabbed, beheaded, and exploded in wonderful blurts of green and brown. Of course, despite creating the PG-13 rating, neither Gremlins nor Temple of Doom were ever submitted for re-rating, so the PG rating still stands to this day for both movies. So Gremlins, with its graphic tale of Phoebe Cates' character's father decaying and rotting in a Santa suit after getting stuck inside the chimney on Christmas, gets the PG pass.

Wizards (1977)

Yay, a cartoon set off in a magical land! Sounds like Shrek again. Hold up, this baby's directed by Ralph Bashki, the guy who made edgy, X-rated cartoons like Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic (and the controversial Saturday morning update of Mighty Mouse). Wizards is a certifiable, goddamn mess, full of lame rotoscoped animation and tasteless invocation of Nazi imagery, but even for a PG-rated movie in 1977 it feels a little grotesque. There's a seemingly endless battle scene chock full of crudely-animated orcs and elves disemboweling each other, lots of cartoon characters saying naughty words, and a buxom nymph whose nipples seem incapable of being properly contained by her sheer clothing.

Watership Down (1978)

I touched on this in my own traumatizing kids movies article, but not enough can be said abut the movie in which cute fluffy bunnies rip the bloody hell out of each other.

It's pretty much a cartoon bunny horror film, as a small, ragtag group of rabbits are slowly done in by a variety of nasty enemies—owls, hunger, disease, bloodthirsty hounds, and even each other. There's another animated version that exists that would've saved me from the week's worth of nightmares and tears, but unfortunately it arrived nine years too late.

You can check out the rest of Brian's piece here.

More Good Stuff:

6 Reasons Why it Sucks to Be a Kid Today

Disturbing Baby-Swinging PSA

Dumb Kiddy Product Makeovers

9 Steps to Keep Your Kid from Ruining a Wedding

Eating Your Baby's Placenta

10 Great Books For (Traumatizing) Children

Transgender Girl Kicked Out of School

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:30:00 GMT

An eight-year-old who is biologically male but who has always identified as female has decided to begin living openly as a girl, even though this will mean leaving her beloved elementary school.

The second grader’s parents consulted with therapists and transgender specialists for many years before deciding to allow their son to live as a girl. It’s the same story shared by all parents of transgender children: from the time she could talk, the child (who will remain anonymous to protect her identity) told her parents that she was really a girl; she asked constantly to be able to wear dresses and drew pictures of herself in girl’s shoes and swimsuits.

“I know 8½ sounds pretty young, but when we’ve been dealing with it for six of those 8½ years, that’s a pretty long time,” the girl’s mother said. The Nebraska therapist whom the parents consulted warned them that attempting to deny transgender feelings can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and suicide.

Unfortunately, the child’s Catholic school does not see it that way. Although the eight-year-old wanted to continue third grade with her classmates, the church told her family that she would have to find a new school if she wanted to live as a girl.

So this fall, the eight-year-old will enter public school. Her parents say it’s a “delicate balance between helping people understand and protecting a child who’s different.” While they have chosen to speak to the media about the inborn nature of being transgendered, they do not necessarily want their daughter to be identified as transgender by her peers. They have enrolled her as a girl in her new school, and hope she will be unquestioningly accepted as such.

Photo: KETV

Best of FameCrawler - Week of May 15th

Whit Honea — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Tom Cruise Pressuring Katie For Another Baby?

Dirk Nowitzki's Fiance Arrested?

Comedian Wanda Sykes & Wife Alex Welcome Twins!

Jada Pinkett Smith a Lesbian?

Julie Bowen Welcomes Twin Boys

Mary Stuart Masterson Has Reason to Smile!

Manny Ramirez Busted!

Chyler Leigh Welcomes Daughter Anniston

Sean Penn Still Dating Natalie Portman, Robin is Pissed!

Kate Gosselin's Heartbreak: Jon & I May Separate

Look, Look, It's Another Octomom Story

Jon Gosselin Shelled Out Big Bucks To Buy Mistress Presents

Family Dog Saves Toddler’s Life

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:02:00 GMT

Joshua Childers may only be three, but, man, does he have stories to tell. The Missouri toddler recently spent three days and two nights alone in the wilderness after he wandered off in the vast forest behind his house. As Joshua is treated in the hospital for hypothermia, bug bites, and scratches, the secrets to his survival are becoming increasingly clear.

Joshua told the family doctor that he drank water from a stream and didn’t sleep very much (poor little guy). But most importantly, he’s spoken of being with the family dog, which is a Great Pyrenees, a breed known for its loyalty and guardianship. Indeed, Joshua’s parents confirmed that the fluffy, 125-pound dog disappeared around the same time as Joshua and returned soon after he was found.

Were it not for the dog’s cozy fur and comforting companionship, Joshua may not have survived the rainy, 40-degree nights in the woods.

Photo: bestbullysticks.com

Three-Year-Old Survived Alone in Forest for Days

Best of FameCrawler - Week of May 8th

Whit Honea — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Julia Roberts Shows Her Bikini Bod & Tattoo In Honor Of Her Kids (PHOTOS)

Jon & Kate - Jon Is Cheating -It's Been Confirmed - Photos

Elizabeth Edwards Has "No Idea" If John's The Baby Daddy

Jon Gosselin Tells EW Exclusively "I Did NOT Cheat!"

I'm Following You, Nicole Richie

Pregnant Heidi Klum Naked on Ellen - Video

Mary Stuart Masterson Has Reason to Smile!

'Idol' Winner David Cook Announces his Brother's Passing at 5K Race (VIDEO)

Matthew Fox Prepares to get UnLost with Family

Jenny McCarthy To Get Her Own Talk Show?

Ed Burns and Christy Turlington Are Not Selfish

Kate Gosselin To Address Rumors About Jon?

They Say: Kids Who Watch Adult TV Have Sex Earlier

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have found a link between the amount of adult television children watch and the age at which teens become sexually active.

Researchers tracked 754 children between the ages 6 and 18 at two stages in their lives, first to see how much adult television they watched over the weekend as young kids, and later to see the age at which they first became sexually active. According to Science Daily, “The study found that for every hour the youngest group of children watched adult-targeted content over the two sample days, their chances of having sex during early adolescence increased by 33 percent.”

It seems to me that this correlation may have more to do with uninvolved parents than with TV. Any six-year-old who is allowed to watch several hours of adult television in a day is not likely to have parents who will talk to him or her about sex later in life.

This point of view is enforced by a comment made by a lead author of the study, who said, "Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents.”

That, to me, is far more disturbing than any correlation established between teen sexual activity and television. If parents and educators were talking to kids about healthy sexual behavior, they wouldn’t be nearly as likely to be influenced by the drunken promiscuity portrayed on shows like The O.C. and Gossip Girl.

I’m certainly no fan of the majority of mainstream television—particularly not as entertainment for six-year-olds—but it would be much easier, and perhaps more effective, to raise awareness about the need for parents to openly discuss healthy sexual behavior with their kids than it would be to substantially shift the entire foundation of popular culture.

It’s high time that more studies on teen sexuality activity focused on parent-child relationships, rather than just on the media.

Photo: saidaonline.com

What Burlesque Can Teach Your Daughter

Depressed Dads More Likely to Have Depressed Kids

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:20:00 GMT

Traditionally, research about the link between a caretaker’s and a child’s mental health has focused on mothers. But a team of researchers has officially shown that it ain’t just the womenfolk who screw up their kids.

University of Oxford researchers found that teenagers with depressed dads are more likely to be depressed themselves and to have suicidal thoughts. Kids whose fathers suffer from generalized anxiety disorder are twice as likely to have anxiety themselves. And paternal alcoholism is associated with a whole range of behavioral problems in children (particularly sons), including substance abuse, poor academic performance, and low self-esteem.

Having grown up with a father who struggles with depression, I find this study most important for its societal implications. Whether or not my own depression was imparted to me by my dad—either biologically or relationally—my father is the person who has helped me the most when I’m going through a depressive episode because he understands exactly what I’m experiencing and he’s committed to helping me through it.

But my father’s willingness to openly discuss personal problems is rare among men. As researchers point out, men are more reticent than women to seek help in managing mental health problems. I suspect that this reticence could have a greater effect on children than a father’s mental state, particularly for sons who are taught to adopt a “tough guy” mentality for dealing with emotional difficulties.

Photo: BBC

Best of FameCrawler - Week of May 1st

Whit Honea — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Details Revealed About SJP Twins: Elisabeth Hasselbeck Is Her Surrogate!

Rosie O'Donnell's Marital Spat Gets Twittered By Neighbor

BREAKING: Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick Expecting Twins!

Gavin Rossdale Had A Secret Romance?

Portraits of the Artists as Young Men - Before They Were Famous

Wolverine Goes to Disneyland

Sarah Jessica Parker - Baby Bump On Display

Patton Oswalt Welcomes a Baby Girl

Brangelina Started Because Jennifer Aniston Is A Secret Lesbian?

Jennifer Aniston Adopting A Boy!

Kids Ask Obama to Let Their Mother Back in the Country

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:39:00 GMT

Three Minnesota children have set out on a long journey to the White House in hopes of being reunited with their mother. The Zamudio children—aged 9, 11, and 12—recently lost their mother after she was sent back to Mexico because her work visa had expired.

After Mario Guadalupe Zamudio was first deported, her U.S.-born children returned with her to Mexico, but they could not keep up in school because their lessons were not conducted in English. So they moved back to the States six months ago and have been living with an aunt since then.

The arrangement is intolerable to all three children, and they are turning to the President and First Lady for help. Yesterday night, they packed up their aunt’s van and drove through the night to Washington D.C., where they plan to hold posters and deliver letters, asking the Obamas to let their mother back into the U.S. Lalo, the oldest, said, "We want to ask Obama to help us bring our mom back ‘cause we need her. We are just kids.”

It’s impossible to estimate the exact number of U.S.-born children who lose a parent to deportation each year, but researchers say it is at least in the high thousands. In many cases, the loss of a breadwinner means that the remaining single parent is forced to seek government assistance to put food on the table.

Though immigration officials try to find care for children who are left without a guardian, the law mandates that breaking up families is not a factor in the decision to deport immigrants.

Photo: kare11.com

Kids to Judge Britain’s Smelliest Cheese Contest

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:36:00 GMT

The UK has found an unusual way to make use of their country’s youth—as judges in the national smelly cheese contest. Contest organizers say they use child judges because children’s sense of smell is more acute than adults’, but I think it’s really because no self-respecting grownup would spend all day with his nose glued to hunks of cheese that make gym socks smell like roses.

But apparently Britain’s youth are gung-ho, as numerous eight to eleven year-olds have turned out to audition for one of five available judge seats. The Smelliest Cheese Championships (to be held on May 27, just in case you haven’t yet marked your calendars!) will feature 1,000 cheeses from 150 cheese makers. That’s a lot of sniffing for five little noses.

Next time your kid is driving you crazy, you could stage your own version of the smelly cheese contest at home: they smell, you eat—preferably with a baguette and a perfectly paired glass of wine. After all, when it comes to pungent cheeses, taste and smell are two entirely different experiences.

Photo: coldplaying.com

Does New York City’s Foster System Inadequately Protect Children?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:00:00 GMT

A tragic case of child abuse has gotten the City of New York in hot water over its allegedly inadequate protections for foster children.

The suit centers around Judith Leekin, a 64-year-old who is now thankfully behind bars for exploiting the city’s foster system to get rich. After learning how much the city would pay her to adopt children with physical and mental disabilities, Leekin adopted 11 children under four different aliases, and then moved to Florida with them.

The approximately $800 to $1,300 per month per child that the city paid Leekin is hardly a windfall for any responsible parent caring for a child who is need of special education. But Leekin spent hardly a dime on the children, keeping them locked—and, in some cases, tied up—in her home, with no access to education, adequate food, or health care. By the time her evil scheme was discovered in 2007, Leekin had collected $1.68 million in government money.

Her former foster children (one of whom is pictured), are now in their teens and twenties and are in foster care and group homes in Florida.

The federal lawsuit contends that the city failed to adequately background check Leekin or to monitor the children under her care. But the Administration for Children’s Services argues that Leekin was masterful at defrauding numerous agencies and professionals, and points out that the city did everything in its power to prosecute Leekin and offer the foster children care and resources after the abuse came to light.

While there must be government accountability for this unthinkably terrible crime, I don’t think that a lawsuit is the answer. Taking money away from New York’s child welfare system, which is already facing severe budget cuts, is hardly the way to improve it. The best way to serve New York’s foster children would be public disclosure of how Leekin managed to get away with such severe child abuse, and a full accounting of the concrete measures the city has taken to prevent such a situation from ever happening again.

Photo: New York Times

10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Brett Singer — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:30:00 GMT

Remember Alec Greven? He's the kid who wrote How To Talk To Girls last year. This time when I say "kid", I don't mean someone under 25. I mean kid. Because he's 10 years old.

Now Alec has written two more books. How to Talk to Moms and How to Talk to Dads.

In this interview with The Today Show, the young Mr. Greven tells us that "Dad is more lenient." There is an "80% chance that dad will say yes to little stuff when mom might say no."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

What else?

"Moms love hugs and nice notes." They especially like it when you "admit [that] you make a mistake [and] write a note that says I'm sorry." Helping out around the house is also a way to make mom happy.

His advice about dads could be taken the wrong way. Alec says that "dads have a good side and a bad side," and that "staying on dad's good side depends on your mood and attitude...If you have good behavior, you stay on dad's good side." This sounds a little bit like what an abused child might say on an episode of "Law & Order." Not saying there's anything weird going on, but it sounded funny to me. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Examples of "bad behavior" that will get you on dad's "bad side" include: "tattletaling" on dad to mom (Alec says that he caught dad drinking out of the milk carton, told mom, and dad was not pleased), and also "fighting with your brother."

For their part, "moms don't like it when you bring snakes and spiders into the house." Alec says that he doesn't do this sort of thing, but his brother (the one he fights with, I suppose) does; he says that his mother often finds "rolly pollys" in his brother's coat pocket. (I had to look up what rolly-pollys are, apparently they're pill bugs. My wife and I would be equally annoyed if either kid brought those into our house.)

Under intense questioning from Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera, Alec admits that his advice is based on personal experience, but he did do some research because "parents have their own little tricks and stuff so I had to make sure other families did it to."

On the one hand, I'm happy for the kid. He seems nice enough, and says that he has donated some of the money he's earned to a cancer charity. He also started a school writing contest, and hopes that he has inspired a lot of other kids to write. "Without writers we can't have books to read," he says. "Without books, we can't learn."

Alec isn't resting on his laurels. For the holidays, he will give us "How To Talk To Santa," and he might do "How To Talk To Teachers."

On the other hand, WHERE'S MY BOOK DEAL? Or more to the point, why aren't my children writing books, earning money so I can relax? Huh? HUH?

OK, I think I'm mostly happy for him. Although I may have a little chat with my kids tonight. Perhaps they'd like to pen "How To Talk -- All The Time." Could be a bestseller.

Source: MSNBC (click the link if the embedded video doesn't work), Amazon.com

Image: Nerve.com

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Parents Sue Daycare for Inappropriate Touching Between Students

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:31:00 GMT

I remember one day in daycare when I was about four and a boy in my class kept poking me in the butt during naptime. It made me feel uncomfortable so I told my mother about it when she picked me up. She told me that I should tell the boy to stop touching me if anything similar happened again, and if he didn’t listen, I should tell my teacher right away. Problem solved.

A couple of Florida parents have a different idea about how to resolve inappropriate touching between preschoolers: a lawsuit to the tune of $5 million. They allege that their four-year-old daughter experienced emotional trauma at the Starchild Academy daycare center, after she was “molested and otherwise touched in a sexually inappropriate manner” by another little boy. They are suing the daycare for negligence.

This story is clearly reported with a bias to the daycare, so it’s hard to know whether there is any merit to the offended parents’ case. Assuming that it’s true that their daughter was deeply disturbed by inappropriate contact from another student, this little girl needs to be cared for, not used as a pawn in a lawsuit.

The daycare administrators got it right when they said that the goal in a case like this should be to look out for the welfare of both students. According to a teacher at Starchild, "Our agency would not consider a child, at that young of age, a perpetrator. Therefore, our role is to insure that the child is not a victim of child abuse themselves."

Photo: Kincaid Construction

Best of FameCrawler - Week of April 24th

Whit Honea — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:00:00 GMT

David Beckham's Victoria Tattoo Is Misspelled

David Kellerman -CFO Of Freddie Mac Commits Suicide

Photos Don't Lie: Angelina & Brad Did THIS

In Which Tom Cruise and John Travolta Will Ruin Movies for Our Children and Our Children's Children

Geri Halliwell Reveals Her Dark Past

Guess the Baby Bump!

Celebrity Guess Who: Name the Mom Edition

CBS' Julie Chen Pregnant!

Octomom Nadya Suleman is Ready to Add to The Family, AAACK!

Madonna's Ex-Chef: She's A Self-Centered Mother

FOX Considers Staging Fake Kidnappings

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:00:00 GMT

A Minnesota FOX News affiliate is taking an intensely hands-on approach to reporting the news. To answer the question, “How easy is it to abduct a child?,” Fox 9 News planned to…try to abduct children. Reporters were going to drive around in an unmarked SUV and ask kids for directions. How’s that for hard-hitting investigative journalism?

I think they were planning to stop at the actual abduction part—kind of a, “You’re a candid camera!” type stunt—but I’ve been surprised many a time at how far FOX is willing to go in the service of the news (read: sensationalism and fear-mongering).

Fortunately, parents and school administrators have a lot more commonsense than the good folks who bring us the news. After FOX informed police of their intentions—the last thing these hard-working reporters need is to get arrested for kidnapping, after all—police sent a message to the local school. The principal, in turn, sent out an email to parents, which read, in part:

This message details information about a "news" story KMSP Fox 9 will be "creating". Thanks...

Molly Anderson of the Edina Police Department just informed the district that KMSP Fox 9 will be driving around Edina neighborhoods between 2:00-4:30 p.m. today to "ask children for directions." She indicated that the reporter, Trish Van Pilsim will be driving a 2004 silver Ford Explorer or Expedition.

The police indicated while there is nothing illegal with this, they do not endorse this activity.

As you can imagine, the parents of Edina did not endorse this activity either, and they flooded FOX with complaints, succeeding in getting the station to abandon the story.

Thank goodness. I don’t even want to imagine how terrifying it would be for a child to be approached by a stranger in a truck on his way home from school. Not to mention that trying to abduct a kid, then saying, “Just kidding! We’re actually the news,” is not the best way to instill stranger safety in children. FOX News, ever heard of a little story called The Boy Who Cried Wolf?

Image: Fox 9 News

FOX News Hates Kids In Political Videos--Except When They Don't

Four-Year-Old To Become World’s Youngest Inventor

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Or so his parents hope.

Aggressively marketed as the “ world’s youngest drummer” just a year ago, Julian Pavlone clearly has parents who are determined to get super rich—er, I mean, see their son succeed. (Personally, I’m much more impressed by this baby drummer, whose parents, as far as I know, have not attempted to gain any fame or fortune from this amazing video).

Julian’s latest claim to fame is the invention of a miraculous stain remover. According to his father, the four-year-old conceived of the invention all on his own after he stained his father’s shirt. Feeling remorseful, Julian decided to cover up the stain with liquid paper. He then waved his hands over the shirt, said, “Abracadabra,” and voila! a company with an unbelievably good startup story was born.

Julian has since mixed whiteout with different colored dyes, and then designed a drum-shaped container for the formula—patented as Julian's Abracadabra Stain Cover-Up. Now, he is working with successful engineer and paint companies to perfect the invention. It really is amazing that a four-year-old hired an attorney and secured the backing of huge corporations all on his own!

There’s no question that Julian is an adorable four-year-old whom I’m gladly watch rock out on the drums any day. But as for the Abracadabra magical white-out formula, I think I’ll stick to my regular ole stain stick, thanks.

Photo: littledrummerbaby.com, via Digital City

Baby Rocks Out on a Drum Kit

5-Year-Old Twins with Alzheimer's

Cole Gamble — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Addison and Cassidy Hempel, both 5, hardly ever possess the ability to walk, talk and eat. A rare disease they both share causes their bodies to build up cholesterol, leading to debilitating physical and neurological problems. The two girls must resort to wearing diapers and lost the ability to speak months ago. There is no known cure for this disease, officially know as National Niemann-Pick Disease but referred to by doctors as Childhood Alzheimer’s. Most children with the disease die before their 20^th birthday.

However; there may be hope in the experimental use of a drug called cyclodextrin. Cyclodextrin, an additive in cholesterol-free foods that studies show also might help combat the HIV virus, has not yet procured approval from the FDA for use in the treatment of Childhood’s Alzheimer’s. The Hempels now receive the treatment after their parents and doctor petitioned for the FDA’s “compassionate use” program. The program allows patients with life-threatening illness to use as-of-yet unapproved treatments if said patients find no other medicinal options available.

Should the treatment prove successful, the Hempels may blaze the way for cyclodextrin’s use in other children afflicted by this bizarre disease.

Photo: Chris Hempel

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Best of FameCrawler - Week of April 17th

Whit Honea — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Pete Wentz Posts Photos Of Baby Bronx's Nursery

I was Right - Heidi Klum is Pregnant

THIS Photo Is Why Joel Madden Loves Nicole Richie!

Controversy City Continues: Levi Johnston Dishes More About Palins

Gisele Bundchen, Tom Brady and 'Their Son' On the Beach

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Farrah Fawcett Near Death?

Suspect Arrested in Killing of 8-Year-Old Sandra Cantu

Hugh Laurie Says "My Children are Perfect"

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Tragedy Strikes Katie Holmes and Family

Jamie Foxx Trashes Miley Cyrus On His Radio Show

Tennessee Public School Computers Block LGBT Websites

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Whoopsie! It turns out that the computers of the Tennessee public school system are inexplicably biased against gay rights. How the heck did that happen? School administrators are completely baffled by the embarrassing snafu, but say that it must be the fault of their filtering service, Education Networks of America.

But the ENA has clearly stated that they are off the hook. "The decisions on whether to block certain websites are made solely by the school districts,” the ENA attorney said. “ENA does not participate in these decisions in any way and is instead simply told which websites to block." Huh. Is it possible that homophobia had something to do with this?

Some of the blocked Web sites include Human Rights Campaign--with such inappropriate messages for kids as, “In a world defined by difference, our strength depends on our common humanity”--and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which creepily “envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people.” Not all Web pages dealing with gay people were blocked, however. Tennessee schoolchildren are more than welcome to peruse such sites as People Can Change and The Americans For Truth Against Homosexuality.

As Jezebel points out, the silver lining of this rather shocking homophobic agenda is that no one wants to take the blame for it, showing how much public opinion has progressed in favor of gay rights.

Photo: britannica.com

When You and Your Ex Disagree Over Your Kids’ Health Care

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:30:00 GMT

When I was a preteen, I was diagnosed with a serious kidney disease. My long divorced parents, who were normally quite cordial with one another, differed sharply in their opinions over my treatment, leading to screaming fights and subtle psychological tug-of-wars. They may have been able to compromise over who paid for violin lessons, but when it came to their daughter’s health, neither of my parents was willing to put their beliefs aside.

A Washington Post writer recently discussed this problem with family therapist Elayne Savage, whose commonsense recommendations echo the solutions that my parents eventually found.

Most importantly, Savage suggests enlisting the help of a counselor or mediator. The shift in my parents’ attitudes to each other changed palbably after they started seeing a mediator. Neither of my parents stopped telling me what they believed would be best, but it was no longer couched in terms of the “better” solution. Rather, they both simply explained to me what they would like me to do for my health (in my dad’s case, acupuncture and energy healers; in my mom’s, the most aggressive mainstream interventions), without pushing me or scaring me.

I learned to speak to my dad about certain health concerns and my mom about others, just as many children of married parents would do. I understood how my parents' approaches differed, but I ultimately felt this meant that I had more options, rather than less.

Savage also points out that doctors themselves can also be instrumental in helping parents reach agreements. When one parent feels strongly that medical intervention is not necessary or could even be harmful, a trustworthy doctor can step in and make recommendations that take nothing but the child’s health into account. I was lucky to have such a doctor, who sat down with both of my parents and me and thoroughly explained each of my options and the probable outcomes. In his presence, the three of us came to an agreement about my treatment, so there was no danger of emotions running too high.

Photo: lilsugar.com