The state of North Carolina might take an overweight child into custody. According to the Star News Online, the seven year old, who weighed as much as 245  pounds recently, has been taken into custody and awaits a hearing. The child’s knees are so damaged by his weight that he is going to have to undergo surgery. At issue is where the surgery will take place, with the mother arguing that it should be done closer to her home. Is this fair? Is this right? Is this the act of a caring government, or is it Big Brother watching over you? To what extent do we really have the right to live, or mess up, our own lives? The Onion published a parody piece a few weeks ago about how parents are messing up children’s lives by not letting them... [Read more]

Some of the local moms are discussing how their daycares handle baby aggression; some others are upset at a playground incident that seems more serious than just baby bites. A mother was watching her two year old explore the playground equipment when the little one ran into trouble with a four year old boy. Apparently, he was mean to her, physically and verbally, wouldn’t let her go up the stairs, and looked to be gearing up to push the little girl down them. When the older child’s mother finally arrived on the scene, she dismissed it all with a wave. “Oh, he’s only four, he doesn’t know any better”. Um. Excuse me? No apology to the mom, no intervention to explain to her son how to behave properly? How does... [Read more]

May 18th is Mother’s Day here in the States. ABC News’ Good Morning America is running a Mother’s Day giveaway: Chef Emeril Lagasse will make some lucky mama breakfast in bed! Go on over to their site for full details. Do you have a breakfast tray? Incredibly handy things, they are. I didn’t get breakfast in bed often, but we used it for our Friday night Movie Night, when the whole family would pile into bed to watch a flick. And they make the perfect table for toddlers learning to draw. just the right height. Nowadays, I  wish I had one so I could put  my laptop on it while I work in bed into the  wee hours. Amazing, how times have changed. [Read more]

One of the easiest things you can do for the planet, and your energy bill, is to switch out your incandescent bulbs. As this fact sheet on compact flourescent bulbs on the Earth Day site clearly states, if every household in the United States would change one incandescent bulb in their house for a flourescent one, we could remove as much pollution as taking one million cars off the road. So as your old bulbs burn out, think about switching them out. CFL’s save energy, last longer, and burn cooler. It’s a win-win solution to pollution. thus endeth the lesson for the day. [Read more]

It was beautiful today. Stunning. The kind of day Spring dreams of, with air that smells good enough to eat, and people out and about with nothing better to do than dream. I hope you threw away your schedules today. We set out to have a Day. Nothing much to do. Went for a walk. Went to a birthday party. Stopped at the park. Admired the flowers. We overschedule our lives, and I found myself guilty of it this winter. Today was a perfectly lazy day.  Our children need time to just do nothing. How else will their brains recharge? Remember to schedule in time for nothing to do. You’d be surprised by how useful and productive that do-nothing time is! [Read more]